All About Me...

Sorry I haven't been posting lately...I am extremely busy with trying to meet a deadline for the homeschool yearbook that I am in charge of...but, here's an e-mail that my friend sent to me...I pasted it in & put my answers so you can all see...If you want, respond with your answers or copy it & paste it into an e-mail...have fun!!!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 4:30 am (thanks a LOT Jake!)
2. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last movie you saw in the theater? The Family Stone
4. What is your favorite TV show? ER; Law & Order: SVU; American Chopper
5. What did you have for breakfast? scrambled eggs & a homemade biscuit
6. What is your middle name? Don't Have One :(
7. What is your favorite cuisine? German
8. What foods do you dislike? liver!
9. Your favorite Potato chip? Salt & Vinegar
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Worship Jams (Becky plays it all day long)
11. What kind of car do you drive? Ford Windstar
12. Favorite sandwich? Tastee Sub #7 with swiss & everything +hot peppers & mayo
13. What characteristics do you despise? plastic people!
14. What are your favorite clothes? jeans & a sweater
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Europe
16. What color is your bathroom? mauve
17. Favorite brand of clothing? No real favorite..whatever I like at the moment
18. Where would you want to retire? In a log cabin on 20+ acres somewhere...
19. Favorite time of day? early morning before everyone gets up!
20. Where were you born? Edison, NJ
21. Favorite sport to watch? None...ok, ice skating...
22. Coke or Pepsi? Diet Pepsi
23. Are you a morning person or night owl? Both, thanks to becoming a mom.
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? NOPE
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A vet or a ballerina
26. What is your best childhood memory? spending time with family...esp. christmas at Aunt Joyce's, visiting grandmom's house, sleeping over Sammie's house, family vacations to Wildwood...
27. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Drug store cashier, swim club ticket person, receptionist, administrative assistant, legal secretary, medical transcriptionist, mother
28. Nicknames: Sue, Suzie (from a few select family members)
29. Number and location of piercing? 2 in each ear
30. Eye Color? green
31. Ever been to Africa? No, but I would love to
32. Ever been toilet papering? Nope!
33. Been in a car accident? Yes.
34. Favorite day of the week? Friday
35. Favorite restaurant? Fritzy's
36. Favorite flower? daisies
37. Favorite ice cream? anything double chocolate chunk or mocha-coffee-ish
38. Favorite fast food restaurant? McDonald's
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Target
40. Bedtime: 11pm-ish
41. Who are you most curious about the responses to this questionnaire? Everyone
42. Last person you went to dinner with? Danny
43. What are you listening to right now? the cars drive past my house...& my dogs crunching their kibble...
44. What is your favorite color? pink & black
45. How many tattoos do you have? None - no way - don't like pain!

Short & Sweet...

All I can say is...The garbage men hauled away 6 huge black garbage bags full of JUNK today!!!! I am so psyched!! I decided to start spring cleaning early this year...I started on Saturday~Since Danny had to go into work for some OT, I decided I'd get to work on some long overdue house projects...Becky & Matthew had slept over Jim & Suzanne's house & Jake was very cooperative (plus John came over to play with him, that helped!) so I was able to tackle some huge closet cleaning projects!

I think my motivation has been realizing that in our cable package we DO get HGTV and TLC!! All this time I thought we didn't, but WE DO!! So I've been watching many episodes of Flip This House, Clean House, Design on a Dime, This Old House, etc...

Well, this is a very quick post bc the kids are asleep & I have to get back to my projects...I can get SO much more done in a shorter period of time when they are all ASLEEP! :) I just wanted to give a quick post so you all didn't think I fell off the face of the earth or something...

Good Little Book...

We just finished up reading a good little book called The Courage of Sarah Noble written by Alice Dalgliesh. It is a true story about an eight year old girl who had a great adventure accompanying her father into the the wilds of Connecticut to cook for her father while he built a house for the family. There they slept outside and even met Indians! Sarah had to remind herself many times of the words her mother said to her when she left home..."Keep up your courage, Sarah Noble. Keep up you courage." The kids loved hearing the story (I read it to them), Becky especially...Now I have to go pick up my two other books on reserve at the library...The Matchlock Gun & Abraham Lincoln...This is part of our History using Beautiful Feet Books Primary lessons...

Valentine's Day Fun...

Yesterday I organized a Homeschool Valentine Party & we had it at my church. It was opened up to both of the groups that i belong to & we had a really nice turn out and a very fun time of fellowship! All of the children brought 30 valentines to exchange...when they got there the each started to decorate a white lunch bag which was to be their "Valentine Mailbox"...Then we had some snacks...Then they each made a Valentine Heart Wreath and we talked a little about God's love for us as evidenced in John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Then they all lined up their bags & proceeded to drop one valentine in each bag as they went down the line...It was so cute to see how excited all of the chldren were! They had a really great time...Here's a group shot of the kids & their wreaths...

A Mother's Prayer...

I am a member of the MOPS to MOM Connection and they send out e-mails to every member with articles of encouragement, as well as Prayers from a Mother's Heart...

This was in my inbox today so I thought I'd share...

Dear God,

Help my child remember Your faithfulness when the disappointments of life come his way.

Amen.

Walking In A Winter Wonderland...

We got slammed with about two feet of snow over the past day! The kids had a blast playing out there twice...Danny, well he didn't have as much fun - He spent the afternoon with a snow shovel! But, I made two different kinds of soups today for them all when they came in from the cold! I made Celebration Soup & Bacon Cheddar Corn Chowder...I have to say, they were both very tasty!

Also, a little side note...A BIG thanks to Danny for installing all of the cabinet locks today, too! Now Jake can't get into the cabinets!! Yay!!

PS: Yesterday was Danny's 36th Birthday...Can't believe we have known each other for over 20 years!!!

I Can't Believe It's Only 9:00am!

wow...I just looked at my clock and I can't believe that it's only 9:00am...I feel like it is 4:00pm!! Jake woke up early at 6am today and didn't want to hear anything about going back to sleep (that means I didn't get to have my early morning date with Billy Blanks!-aka-doing my Tae-Bo workout!) not to mention that I didn't even get the option of turning off my alarm & falling back to sleep instead of doing my workout! ok. That said...He's been wreaking havoc on my house ever since - I have cleaned up the contents of our "snack cabinet" three times already - Did I forget to mention that we really need to go buy some more cabinet locks!! (half of them are broken from when Matthew was younger!) I was trying to get some work done on the computer while Becky is doing her school work & I walk into the kitchen to see Jake sliding on two packets of instant oatneal - one under each hand, kind of skating/pushing it...If he wasn't so cute - I would be soooo mad!!! So I cleaned it up again & propped a chair in front of the cabinet...

I am also cooking a savory beef brisket with onions and sun-dried tomatoes as we speak for dinner tomorrow night - It's a recipe that tastes even better the next day & since we have the most crazy-busy schedule this week...I am trying to stay one step ahead...[I guess the smells of the brisket slow-cooking in the oven is contributing factor to me feeling like it's 4pm rather than 9am!]

I was out late Monday night at a homeschool parents meeting...Tuesday morning I had to get the kids up & leave by 8am to pick up my friend and her son to go to a MOPS meeting that is 45 min. away...We had a great time..I got home and had to prepare for the yearbook committee meeting being held at my house at 7pm...I have to say that I was so pleased with Wal*Mart's 1 hr. photo service...I had all of the pics we needed uploaded by 4:30pm yesterday & they were all ready when I picked them up at 6pm...then I sped home to make sure the house was still clean before the people got there...it was (for the most part). We had a great meeting - set up some page layouts - set the dates for the rest of our production meetings - Then everyone left, I cleaned up, made Dan's lunch, checked my e-mail & finally got to bed just before midnight...(so I was very not happy at hearing Jake awake for the day at 6am!)

Today we have HS bowling and church tonight - BEcky informed me that she is "Snack Queen" for her group and wants to bring Rice Krispie Treats - The homemade kind! (mental note - add that to the to do list!)...Tomorrow we have another yearbook meeting at 3:30pm & then our Pastor is coming over to hang out with Danny...Friday we have Becky's ballet class & possibly stopping at a friend's house to check out some of her curriculum...She is using Tapestry of Grace and loves it- I may want to look into that for next year...or maybe Sonlight...or maybe my mix of Abeka, Saxon, and Beautiful Feet that seems to be working well for us - I might want to try History for the Classical Child also...Wow - Am I glad that CHAP and ENOCH are only a few months away...I definitely need to check some stuff out at those conventions!!!

Well, as if I wasn't tired enough by living this life...I have now exhausted myself even further by re-telling the accounts of our busy schedule this week to you all! But, I had to get on here & blog a bit so you don't think I disappeared or something! Dan's birthday is this weekend so we will be doing a lot of celebrating with him - The kids are so excited - they want to make him breakfast in bed! (They are big into cooking surprises for us!!) So Danny - Act surprised when they bring it to you, okay??

Two Versions of Going to Bed

She watches over the ways of her household,

And does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up

and call her blessed;

Her husband also, and he

praises her.

(Proverbs 31:27-28)

Here's a little thing I just read called Two Versions of Going to Bed from a book called Moments for Marvelous Mothers by Robert J. Strand. I thought it was funny, but true...We can all relate to this in some way!

Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, "I'm tired and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed."

SHE went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day's lunches, rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for dinner the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and set the timer on the coffee pot for brewing the next morning.

SHE then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and sewed on a losse button. She picked up the newspapers strewn on the floor, picked up the game pieces left on the table and put the telephone book back into the drawer. She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry. She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom.

SHE stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip and pulled a textbook out from hiding under the chair. She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick list for the grocery store. She put both near her purse. Mom then washed her face, put on moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and trimmed her nails.

Hubby called out, "I thought you were going to bed."

"I'm on my way," she said.

SHE put some water into the dog's dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked. She looked in on each of the kids and turned out a bedside lamp, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework. In her own room, she set the alarm, laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her list of thiungs to do for tomorrow.

HUBBY, about that time, turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular, "I'm going to bed," and he did!

(Karen Mallory)