Welcome

If you have stumbled upon this site via a Google Friend Connect button or just scrolling through blogger, I'm sure you quickly noticed that this page hasn't been updated in a very long time. I moved over to a self-hosted platform the summer of 2010 and haven't regretted it at all. Feel free to come on over there at Created for Home. The move allowed me to have more options and freedom for my blogging endeavors. I hope to see you there!

School Days are Fast Approaching

Well, it is now close to the middle of July. Where has this summer gone? For that matter, what happened to the month of June? It seems like I blinked and now we are quickly approaching the start of our "official" first year of homeschooling.

Wow. This is for real. I always pictured myself being a homeschooling mom. It always seemed like the day we would start true academic work was a long way off. However, the Bugs is getting close to being four-years-old. Nearly all her friends at church and in small group are at least a year older than she is and they are all going to kindergarten this year. She isn't. She has asked and begged to go to kindergarten like all of her friends. After explaining to her that she was too young and she had two more years before they would let her start because of her age and where her birthday is, and that we were going to do school at home, she hasn't stopped asking to do school.

We did some school work type stuff back in the spring. She fell in love with some work book pages, and she has always loved being read to. Next month, we are going to be truly starting and keeping track. She isn't of legal compulsary age yet, but I still plan on keeping track of school days this year. I'm not so worried about grading her work though. Most of what we will be doing is read alouds and basic skills. Stuff that we don't move on with until it is mastered. Granted the curriculum we chose for this year is equivilent to our local public school kindergarten and first grade work, I figure that the Bugs is only going to be four, so I'm not going to put the pressure on either of us.

Beans is going to tag along for the ride. She can listen in to the stories and play with play-dough and manipulatives along with her sister. Whatever she absorbs, great, we will repeat this program with her in probably two years. She doesn't turn three until February anyway. She loves to do what her big sister does and is just as smart too.

I still can't believe that our eldest is old enough to start preschool and do school already. It seems like yesterday I got the positive pregancy test with her. And then holding her in my arms for the first time and looking into that tiny, wrinkly face and telling her that I loved her. Time flies when you blink. I wouldn't trade the last four years with her for anything. She has taught me so much.

I've Moved

That's right, I've moved to Word Press. I wasn't expecting the work to be done on my new look today, but I found out that I'm slated to be on the TOS Blog Walk next week and my absolutely terrific husband expedited it for me today before he left for work. So, if you follow this blog, you won't be getting any new posts through here after today (I intend to keep this blog so I can keep up with the blogs I follow though :). We installed Google's Friend Connect on the new blog for your convenience. Please mosey on over here. My husband redirected my web address so you don't have to learn anything new either :) The new blog is almost where I want it, there are a few things I need to finish thinking on and tweaking, but it is close and suitable for company now.

Thank you so much for following and making the move over there.

I Will be Moving

Just a head's up, we are about ready to move this blog to Word Press from Blogger. I can do more things with my blog on there and my absolutely terrific husband has been working diligently to make me a gorgeous new blog look (he finished my header last night and WOW!). I'll let you all know so you aren't left in the dust, and I will have Google Friend Connect on it along with a few other neat things (so you will have to go and refollow, I'm sorry for the inconvience). I figured since I was slated to be on the blog walk next week it should be Sunday (barring any complications with moving my posts over, when Hubbs did this to his blog, you wouldn't believe the headache). The domain name will be the same, so no need to worry about losing me that way.

Sorry for any trouble this may cause, but this move is for the good. Thanks for reading and following!

Happy Anniversary Hon

Ok, so this is a day late. I'm sorry, technical difficulties yesterday (that and well, I was a bit busy)

Happy Anniversary

I want to dedicate this blog post to my wonderful husband. Five years ago today we were married in a small, quiet (and frugal) ceremony in my home church in Illinois. Little did we know what was coming up during our first five years together. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Thank you my love, for being the man you are. Thank you for being strong for me when I need someone to lean on. Thank you for being tough on me when I need someone to call me out on something. Thank you for being such a great daddy to our two daughters. I know we hadn't planned on their arrivals to be so soon after we were married, but I'm glad we didn't wait. I can't imagine life without them. And you are so cute when you play with them. Thank you for chosing me to be your wife. I can't imagine being married to anyone else. I treasure you.

Garage Sales part 2

My last post on garage sales was about how to maximize your profits and hold a successful one. This post is going to be about being a polite garage saler. You wouldn't believe some of what happened at ours.

Please, please, please do not show up early. Even if the ad didn't state no early birds. The people holding the garage sale will be busy setting up before the stated opening time and probably don't have time to take care of customers. While I was setting up, with the sale posted to start at eight, I had people stopping and getting out of their cars to look at seven. A full hour before we were to open. And if I told them we weren't open yet, they said they were just going to look and come back later to buy. There was really no way of convincing them to leave without sounding horribly rude. But then, maybe I'm too nice.

Please, if you are taking your children with you, please keep them under your control at all times. We had a four-year-old little boy try to climb the antique gas street lamp we had for sale while his parents were looking at a pair of shoes. It was leaning against the tree. He knocked it over, and bent the top part of it where the glass fits in. I'm grateful we thought to take the glass out of it just in case. But instead of being square shaped, it is now diamond shaped. We aren't sure if we can fix it. We also had kids riding around on the ride on toys we had out and nearly took out a few other customers. So please, if you take your kids, keep them under your control. If they can't behave, either don't bring them with you, or take them to the car and leave. I have had to take my kids to the car while we have been out before. Trust me, it isn't the end of the world.

We don't smoke. None of our items smelled of smoke. Until we had customers who thought nothing of bringing a cigarette with them. Please, don't smoke around the merchandise. Yes, I realize that a garage sale isn't a high end department store, however, for the sake of being polite to those around you, please don't smoke around the items. You also don't know if someone is on oxygen at the sale, has asthma or any other health problems that would be made worse around cigarette smoke. Also, we had our kitchen window open. The smell of your cigarettes got into my house. We spent weeks getting the smell of the previous owner's smoking out of our house, we don't want to have to do it again.

I don't know why, but we had three people bring their dogs to our garage sale. Why must you bring your canine? Two of them were chihuahuas which the owners carried under their arms, the other was on a regular leash. I'm not bashing needed service animals here, however, when out, they wear a vest identifying them as such. None of these dogs had the service animal vest on. If your pet happens to bite someone, you will be held liable. I could possibly get in trouble if it happens on my private property. You also don't know if I have an animal that won't get along with yours. Also, I don't want your animal to use my front yard as a restroom. Please, just leave them at home. I honestly can't think of a reason why the family pet would enjoy bargain hunting like you do.

If you are sorting through clothing on a table, please refold items if you decide you don't want them. Same goes for leaving a book table a mess, opening packages to check that the contents are all there and leaving it open. The people holding the sale don't have time to clean up after each and every customer that visits.

Please don't insult my intelligence. Don't talk bad about items, how you wouldn't have priced something as high as I did, or say that the sale was bad. You may not have found what you were looking for, I'm sorry I didn't have it, however, your attitude will rub off on the customers that are there browsing. Feel free to try and haggle, but please, don't go complimenting me and telling me other items are priced too low and that I should raise them first. Also, don't go to your vehicle and show me the bargains you got at other sales in order to impress me. I don't care if you got that towel rack with the brass hangers for fifty cents. Yes you want that guitar, no I'm not going so low on it that it would be giving it away (yes, this did happen). Be polite and be upfront with haggling. I don't have the time to sit and listen about your other great finds, I have other customers to take care of.

One last thing. Before you go out bargain hunting for the day, make sure you have enough cash to last you. Also make sure you have smaller bills. We started out with a $30 change fund. The first five customers all had twenty dollar bills and bought about three dollars worth of merchandise. My husband had to make an emergency run for more change not barely 45 minutes after we opened for the day. We didn't want to refuse the sale, however, it was quite an inconvience. It would take no time to stop and get a lot of ones and fives and quarters. Now, if you are looking for big ticket items, then larger bills will be fine. However, breaking a twenty for a fifty cent purchase will cause some issues for the ones holding the sale later when they can't make change for a dollar.

Please, if you enjoy going garage saleing, just use some common sense. It will save both you and those you are visiting headaches later.

Garage Sales part 1

Last weekend we had a garage sale. It was a rousing success! I know a lot of people that I am friends with have been posting that, "well, we made 24 bucks today holding a garage sale" and I just cringed knowing that they might have been able to have done better. I know we um, well exceeded that amount of money in two days. I want you to be successful and make it worth your time, so I'm going to write about what we did that helped drive sales. The part two of this will be how to be a good garage sale buyer (you wouldn't believe some of the people and what they did while there....)

Ok, so you have decided to hold a garage sale. Great. How are you going to make it worth the time you will be spending on it? Here are a few suggestions:

Pick your days carefully. Around here the biggest day for sales is Friday followed by Saturday. Also, steer clear of holiday weekends. The people in our area like to go out of town for them, which will shrink potential customers. Also pick a day far enough out to give you time to gather all the items you want to sell, get it all priced and borrow any tables and racks you may need.

Have a wide variety of items. Don't just sell clothes and house hold knick knacks. Try and have items for guys too. We sold some rims, car ramps and the like. We put those out to attract the men to stop. I don't know about your area, but on Friday's a lot of the retired men drive their wives around town so they can go to sales. Make the men want to get out of the car. Most don't want to go look at the collection of embroidered hankies you have for sale.

Price things reasonably. I know you want things to get sold to get them out of the house, but don't cheat yourself. I'm also not advising to over price as then things won't sell. If it is a high end item (like a recycled tire horse swing) that is going for close to a hundred dollars on EBay at the moment, don't price it for five. We had one, and had it marked at $45 and compromised with a customer for $40. We also sold an Oscar Schmit (sorry Hubbs if I misspelled it ) that we sold for $50. Those two items were priced lower than what they were worth, but not so low that we were cheating ourselves. Everything doesn't have to be marked ten cents for it to sell. We did have a lot of fifty cent items too. People have very few issues about adding a mere fifty cents to their totals so that helped out too.

Presenting your merchandise helps to sell it. Put all your books in the same area, and separate the genres. Place all the toys in another area (on a blanket on the ground is a great place as then kids are drawn to them, same principal as impulse buy items at the grocery store). Put as many things up on tables as you can so your customers don't have to bend over to look at them. I have driven past many garage sales where people just laid everything out on blankets. I don't want to have to to bend over to sort through their goods while keeping an eye on my children. I'm sure I have missed some terrific bargains in the process, but it is worth it for me. If you can get clothing racks, use those to hang up clothes. The clothes look nicer that way, and then you don't have to keep going and refolding them after people have unfolded them looking for that special piece.

Speaking of clothes, one thing that I found that helps, is to use a straight pin and a piece of paper to price them. It takes a bit more time to price them, but then you aren't left with sticky residue on the item. I have been to garage sales where people even used duct tape to price their clothes. Um, that doesn't come off very easily. Who wants to buy a new shirt only to have it ruined by the residue from the tag? Also, especially with children's clothes, safety pin the pieces together. Attach the bloomers with the dresses, the matching shirts and pants. It will help people find the sets, and you can price the full sets a bit higher. I was at a garage sale a few weeks ago, and found the cutest pair of floral pants for the Beans. I go to pay, and the lady there was like, didn't you see the shirt that went with this? I told her I didn't realize that was a set, so she went and spent five minutes hunting her overladen table to find the matching shirt. It is a very cute outfit, however, I had no idea that it was one when I found only the pants.

Have at least twice as much change as you think you will need. Trust me. We had started the morning with thirty dollars in change. Within 45 minutes of opening, my husband had to make an emergency change run. People don't think about getting smaller bills for going out rummaging. We even had a guy ask if we could break his one hundred dollar bill. We had to decline. He did come back and purchase what he wanted later after he had broken it.

Make terrific signs. Use a full sheet of poster board. And get bright colored poster board. Signs are easy. Lay the poster board down, use stencils and contrasting colored paint (we used neon poster board and black paint) and we stenciled the words Garage Sale and the address. We then free handed the days of Friday and Saturday and the times. After the paint was dry, we did the other side. Then, the morning of the sale, my husband used packaging tape to attach them to sturdy dowl rods and put them up on the major intersections coming to our house. Then, to really draw attention, we got one of those small helium tanks and added balloons (we then put balloons out by the road in front of our house). People commented on how great the signs were. If you want them to be noticed, make them noticeable. Using the small signs from the store won't catch people's eyes.


Speaking of signs, you may also want to make and post a sign stating that you are not responsible for accidents. We have to because of city code have one visible. It can save you headaches later just in case something happens.

We put ads in the local newspaper for the day before the garage sale and the days of it. With the ad, we listed some of our bigger ticket items to draw people in. Then, the night before the garage sale, I posted an ad on Craigslist. I listed nearly all the items we had on there. I really think that helped our sales. I know I like to read the ads and plan my route by what is listed in them. And the glory of Craigslist is that you can go back and edit the post as things sell or you add new items.

Finally, have a cooler with cold soda and bottled water in it. I honestly didn't think it would sell, but my husband insisted and WOW! The two days we held our sale were HOT (that's putting it mildly). If you have cute kids who can help, have them sell it. Who can say no to a cute kid, right? We sold it for fifty cents a can or bottle. The older ladies were very appreciative of being able to buy the water. And offer it as people are checking out. It does sell.

If you have smaller kids, it may be wise to get a babysitter for the days you are holding your garage sale. I didn't, but then my husband was home for most of it before he had to go to work, and we did a joint sale with a friend so she was there for most of it too. However, a babysitter would have been nice so I wasn't worried about my kids dashing out into the street or anything (though, they were great, and I had nothing to worry about with them). If you can't get a sitter, put a DVD in for them using a portable player and have a few special things for them to do.

So, there you go. A few ideas to help you hold a garage sale. Coming soon, things I wish the customers hadn't done.

An Amazing Deal!

If you've been wanting a subscription to The Old Schoolhouse magazine and just haven't done it yet, NOW IS THE TIME!!!!! I got my first ever subscription through this deal (yes, I'm on the Crew, and am just now getting a sub...flagellate me with a wet noodle if you will :) )

From The Old Schoolhouse:



1776 was a spectacular year, and it's a smashing, save-more-money price! Grab your subscription to The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine during their four-day Fourth of July sale, and check out the craziest price on July 1 only! Receive a 2-year subscription, free Homeschooling with Heart tote bag, and five FREE E-Books for just $17.76! While supplies last. U.S. and Canadian residents. July 2 through July 4 the unprecedented savings continue. The sparks are flying at TOS Magazine . . . join in the celebration and savings! Get the details here.

Disclaimer, I am a member of the TOS Crew, however, I am and will not be compensated any way for people going through the link I have posted.

Booksneeze Book Review 6.28.2010

No matter what our theological beliefs may be, we are all asked to submit to the will of the Lord and to trust Him with out lives. Such is the case with Sarah in the book Sarah's Garden by Kelly Long.

Sarah is an Amish girl who must learn to lean upon her Creator to sustain her throughout all of life's troubles. Her older sister had married so it came upon her to run the family produce stand, despite her shyness. She has to learn to trust God to protect her in situations she never dreamed she would be exposed to from people asking some of the rudest questions, a man trying to force his attentions on her, her father's sudden illness and even with the coming of the new Englisch veterinarian to the farm next door. Can Sarah learn to trust God without getting her heart torn in the process?

This book was well written. It used a different dialect than most other of the Amish stories that are so popular right now, one that I wasn't familiar with. At first, I was put off with the cover. The picture of the Amish girl with her bun showing from the back of her kapp, the perfectly groomed eyebrows and what appeared to be cosmetic blush on her cheeks really put me off. I have been in at least five different Amish settlements (in different states) and none of the ladies there showed any of their hair, wore any form of makeup, nor had perfectly groomed eyebrows. Overlooking the cover art, I was able to enjoy reading the book. The plot line moved at a very good pace and it was hard to put down. I do wish that the characters had been developed more. I wasn't able to form an emotional attachment or any kind of feeling towards any of them really. When I read a work of fiction, I want to feel what the characters feel, see what they see and understand what makes them tick. I wasn't able to with this book.

This book was a good read and it did have a great theme of learning to trust, even with things don't go the way we picture. However, if you are looking for more of an emotional attachment to the characters, then I don't suggest it.

I was given this book from Thomas Nelson as a part of their BookSneeze program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions within this review are mine and mine alone.

Trust

What is the hardest thing that God asks you to do? Is it to obey? Seek Him? Trust?

For me, the answer is normally trust. I have a very hard time trusting that things are under His control. I am a planner by nature. I like to have things happen when I think they should and in the manner that I think they should. However, my ideas aren't normally the same as God's.

For instance, Hubbs and I got married nearly five years ago now. Within one month of getting married, we were blessed with a pregnancy. No where was it in our plans to even consider getting pregnant that first year of honeymoon bliss. We were just coming to grips and being accepting of this coming addition to our family when we miscarried him. We don't know why, but God sustained us through that hard time and brought us out on the other side more committed to each other and to Him. Three months after losing our first child, we find that we are pregnant again. No way was it a good time for us. We were living in one of the worst apartment complexes in town, Hubbs was working part-time at a big box store and going to school full time. I was working full time at a day care here in town. We didn't have much money at all and with out work schedules not matching up and his school and home work on top of it, we didn't see each other much. Within two months of discovering this coming blessing, Hubbs went full-time to the service desk at work and got a small raise. We also had finished out the lease on the aparment and were able to move to a duplex in a better area of town. Bugs was born nearly 15 months after our wedding day. And she has been such a joy (for the most part, the twos were trying, and the threes were worse, but the closer she gets to being four, the better it has been getting). When the Bugs was four months old, Hubbs was offered a part-time position at our church as the associate pastor (he was still going to school at that point), which really helped out financially for us.

Well, we were adjusting to life with the Bugs. I was able to quit my job at the day care (thankfully, believe me, after I got pregant, there was no way I wanted my child in that environment) and things were still tight, but the bills were paid and we had food to eat. When the Bugs was eight months old, much to our utter shock and surprise, we find that we are expecting another blessing. By then, our old car was undriveable. We were living in a different duplex that had hardly any insulation, and the owner refused to believe us that the air conditioning wasn't working. When I was four months pregnant with the little one who became the Beans, Hubbs was asked to interview for store that was coming to town to be over the service desk. He figured, why not give it a try and the day of the hiring fair was offered the job. It garnered a two dollar an hour raise, and much, much, much better insurance. Bugs was born in February and is totally different than her big sister.

Since then, we bought a house (let's just say that was a learning experience in and of itself, one we wish we could unlearn), then after being assured his job at the church was secure, Hubbs was let go. It was a bad situation. We figured that we could live on the income from his retail job (basically a managerial position but at an entry level, hourly wage) for maybe three months max. It has been nearly two years. We have sought other employment where ever there was an opening that looked interesting, and so far, the right doors haven't been opened for us. And yet, we have had enough. Just enough. We have always had food, even though at times I wondered if I would be able to get groceries that week, the bills have always been paid. There is literally no wiggle room in our budget, and yet, we are surviving on it.

And through all these hard times, the lesson that we have learned is to trust God. He will supply ALL your needs. Sometimes in ways that you would have never expected. We sold the old white car rather unexpectedly. We had a better than expected tax return the last two years which have helped immensly with paying off the medical bill from the Bug's birth and helping with a few other things. We have been provided for including homeschooling curriculum. My wonderful Mother-in-law bought me the curriculum I wanted for the Bugs for her first official year of homeschooling. Then, I was accepted as a part of The Old Schoolhouse Crew where I will be getting homeschooling things to review. It has been amazing. As my husband reminds me, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, He will spare us a little milk. And He has.

God has proven Himself to be trustworthy time and time again in our lives. I don't know why I still sometimes struggle with trusting Him for the best in all aspects of our lives. But I do. Let's work on remembering that our God is a God who can be trusted, and let's stop listening to the doubts, shall we?

Unexpected Noticings

I love homeschooling. More than loving homeschooling, I love the way it has opened my eyes to be on the constant look out for a lesson in everyday life. The past two days have been terrific.

Last night we were all outside playing with the wading pools and hose. Under the outside faucet leaks a little bit and when Hubbs went to shut it off, he found a fairly good sized toad basking in the cool spray. We caught it and looked at it for a little bit and the girls thought that was the absolute coolest thing ever. They noticed how his skin was bumpy and rough and how God chose to color him so he would blend in with the grass to protect him from danger. After looking our fill, we put him back down and he let us watch him awhile longer before he started to hop off, presumably back to his home. It was so funny, Bugs would start to follow him and it seemed like he would wait for her to catch up a bit before going a bit farther himself. Riotous laughter ensued.

This morning, my husband was putting down a barrier of insecticide in the back yard (you wouldn't believe how bad the ants, fleas and other insects have been this year, it was a last attempt as I hate using chemicals anywhere near where the kids would be playing). He was using the lawn spreader and came across a box turtle out under the swing set. So, for the next few days, we have "Girly" living in my ten gallon aquarium on the dining room table. We went to the library and got a few books on turtles and fed it some salad and a strawberry. Bugs and Beans love sneaking over to peek inside to see if she has come out of her shell and has eaten anything or moved around. I don't intend to keep her more than a couple of days. We have never found a turtle in our yard before (there is an overgrown lot behind us, which is where we think it came from) and the girls have never been up close to one either (don't worry, rigid hygiene is being employed). I was wanting to use that tank for bull frog tadpoles so I know this isn't a permanent addition to the family (I hope...). The girls are learning about turtles first hand and are loving it.

We did also see a very small baby bunny last night. Bunnies come through our yard quite often. They are so cute and the girls love to watch them hippty-hop. That may be our next thing to study this summer.

I love how homeschooling has changed the way I think. I look for things to show the kids everywhere. I try and think up ways to make learning fun and incorporate the most I can into a small lesson. I have been more observant. I think that is what I appreciate the most. I see more. I notice more in nature that all testifies to the splendor of God, I notice people more now too. How they carry themselves, what they do. It speaks volumes. Noticing the little things is priceless. I am so glad we were open to this option for our lives. We as parents have learned so much more and have started to notice more already. If just this short period of homeschooling has changed us this much already, I can't wait to see what we will be like later into this. I'm so excited that the girls get to learn this first hand and will hopefully grow up noticing.

Even if you don't or can't choose to homeschool, please try to notice more. Cultivate keeping your eyes open. It is amazing what you will see that you will have otherwise missed.

A First for Mommy

This was supposed to have posted last evening, but due to some "technical issues" it wouldn't so I'm going to do it now.

Tonight I had a first as a mom. I left my kids. No, not for good, and in fact, I get to go and pick them up soon, but tonight was the first night of VBS. Both of the munchkins got to go, and for the first time in a long time, I'm not involved in anyway except that as of parent. Don't get me wrong, I have been separated from my wonderful kiddos before. I have left them overnight even, with my MIL last year for my and Hubbs' 4 year anniversary camping trip (yeah, we went camping for our anniversary, don't ask.) I have a friend who takes them for me periodically as a thank you for watching her kids. They do go to Bible hour during the sermon at church, their own Sunday School classes and Wednesday night classes. However, I am in the same vicinity as them. My husband has taken them out to give me some alone time, but that doesn't happen very often (frankly, at times not often enough if it is one of those weeks...)

This time, they were dropped off. My husband actually forced me out the door with him. A few of our wonderful elders were in the foyer and they said shoo, go and enjoy some time away.

It isn't like I'm not going to enjoy my time away, however, it was strange just leaving them like that in a large group. Bugs, I'm sure, is having a blast. Beans, I'm not too sure about. She doesn't like new things like that too well.

But, this is good. For all of us. They don't have to be attached to me all the time, and frankly, not having them here is nice. My house isn't quiet very often. Everytime I'm on the computer and they are awake, something always happens, it seems. Hubbs and I are planning on enjoying the rest of the week of this (only until Wednesday night). It is rare when we are without kids. However, tonight he is fixing a computer for some friends. Without the girls' help. Beans has to learn to adapt in different situations. Bugs, well, she came out and thought the world was her stage, so I'm sure she is going to be fine (I'm praying that she isn't being too dramatic, or trying to get in every picture they are taking of VBS....)A

Company Coffee 6.11.2010

Figured I should write for a Company Coffee. Haven't in a long while. I had to go out of town and then getting back into the routines of life have been more of a challenge than I thought.

This week was interesting. The girls decided that this past week and a half was the week to exercise their independence, use those vocal cords and throw tantrums. Bugs has perfected the art of the attention seeking tantrum. She has spent a lot of time in her room to calm down this week. She has a lot of perseverance. Beans has been quite the two-year-old. I mean quite. She has also taken to stripping whenever the whim strikes. Not a good thing as I have been babysitting eight and six year old boys for most of this week.

Monday night after Judo, Hubbs came home and washed and dried his gui. Well, on the gui's way to the dryer, he knocked a box of fabric softener sheets into the washing machine. Tuesday, I go to do laundry, don't think to check inside of it and drop my load of darks right in and start it. I had no clue what was going on inside the washer until after the cycle ended and I opened it up to see bits of brown cardboard shredded all over my clothes. At first, I think, hhmm, wonder what was in a pocket. I get some out and into the dryer and start finding washed dryer sheets. Now, I don't normally use fabric softener as a general rule due to all the chemicals in it, but I do have a few boxes of dryer sheets for the occasional need for extra scent on my bed sheets. Well, the laundry smelled wonderul when it came out of the wash. Thankfully it didn't stain. You wouldn't believe the lint trap on my dryer after the load was done. Wow, it was full of cardboard pieces, and extra lint for some reason. Tuesday night Hubbs went right after work to Parsons to see O-Sensei Porter do a demonstration. He got home right before midnight. It was a long day as that was the absolute worst day with the girls. He had a great time. The chance to go was his early Father's Day present.

The trip that I went on that threw me sooooooo far off schedule was a trip to watch my sister graduate from Mortuary school and then she and my mom took the girls and I up to Pennsylvania to see my Grandma who is in hospice. It was so nice to see Grandma for more than likely the last time. We have no idea how much longer she has with us, and I am grateful that I got to see her one last time. I'm also grateful that she isn't dying of Alzhiemers disease or anything else that robs the mind. I will be the first to admit that watching her suffer from this cancer is hard, knowing that as the pain increases, so will her medications, which will affect her mind, but I'm glad she is still with us in mind, can carry on conversations and knows us still. I have seen people die with Alzhiemer's and that is a hard load to bear for the caregivers. I can not imagine.

We are in to tornado season here. A week ago this last Wednesday the family spent quality time in the interior closet of our house. Thankfully the girls were asleep and slept through being moved from their beds to the floor in the closet, then back again. I even changed Bean's diaper during this and she never flinched. I'm sure that won't be our only chance for bonding time in the closet this year. As it is, the weather today is feeling very odd. I should go check a radar.

I'm working on putting on a garage sale next week. I have a ton of stuff to get rid of. If you live in the area, feel free to stop by. I'm getting rid of quite a bit of baby girl clothes, baby toys, books, and whatever else we happen to decide to get rid of. I also have a friend with boys who is joining me for the sale, and she has tons of boy stuff.

Well, I have a chicken in the crock pot for tonight. I'm looking forward to it. It is too hot to run the oven this time of year, so I use the crock pot a lot. All I did was rinse the chicken well, then sprinkled on some salt, basil, bay leaves, oregano and Cavender's All Greek Seasoning (love that stuff). I like to add rosemary too, but we are currently out. I'm thinking of serving rice and asparagus with it.

They resurfaced our road yesterday. It reminded me of that scene in the movie Cars where Lightening McQueen is hooked up to Ol'Bessie. Then after he was done and they all cruised on it. I wanted to go cruising on it and playing oldies, but I was babysitting and not everyone would fit into our little Ford Focus. Think I may have to go watch that movie again.

Well, that is pretty much it. Kids are squealing again, so I should go and check on them.

Just a quick catch up

I just realize I broke the 50 post mark with my last posting, which was a book review. Wow. I've rambled about a lot of nothing recently, haven't I?

This past week (well, let's say like seven days) has been torture with the kids. They have been so unruly. A week ago this past Sunday I had to take them to the car as they were so naughty during church. I just strapped them into their car seats and let the eldest throw the temper tantrum she started. No one else needed to be exposed to it. I sat in the car and read the comics on my phone. She settled down enough to rejoin society at the end of services.

Beans has been acting like a two-year-old. Can we say fun. And the Bugs, well, she's been pushing boundaries and trying to see just how much she can get away with and doing the attention seeking thing. It has been tough being a stay-at-home mom with no car for diversions.

Today has been horrible too. The weather is going nuts so it also is affecting behavior. Trust me, I used to teach school, kids go insane when the weather changes, it isn't just an old wive's tale. We did make it to the store to get tv dinners for tonight. I spent the day doing dishes and Hubbs is out of town for a judo clinic with the only 10th degree black belt in this hemisphere. He left right after work today with others from the Dojo and will be back tonight, probably after midnight. Then he has to get up and go to work tomorrow and I'm babysitting starting at five thrity in the morning for the next three days. I don't know why I do this to myself except that it is for a good friend and we could use the cash.

It is supposed to storm here tonight. Fun stuff. I'm home alone with the girls and we are supposed to be getting strong winds and possible hail. Pray for me that I survive with my sanity intact please.

Grandma is hanging in there. I don't know how much longer we've got with her. I sent her a letter on Saturday telling her how much I enjoyed getting to visit her and Grandaddy every summer and sharing some of my most favorite memories and how I enjoyed the trips they took my sister and me on. In fact, the two trips they took us on were to places that I wanted to go to more than anything. Gettysburg and Amish country in Ohio. It was a blast. I might have to write about those trips from so long ago. Good grief, half a life time now.....man, I'm old.

Well, I've got to get going. Talk to you later. Sorry I'm so boring recently.

Book Review for Book Sneeze 6.7.2010

I just finished reading Love on a Dime by Cara Lynn James. I requested this book as I was in need of some predictable brain candy, and I got my wish.

Lilly is living a double life. One of dutiful daughter and secret author of dime novels in 1899. She had been jilted six years previously and had finally learned to move on in her life. This is a story about learning to trust God and not settling for what appears to be good when it isn't the best. Will Lilly marry the man who everyone says would be a good proper match? Will she keep her writing career secret from those she loves?

While Lilly's character was fairly well developed, I wished that some of the secondary characters were better developed for the roles they played in the story, especially towards the end. This book is pretty predictable, but I was surprised by one happening towards the end. While I wouldn't rank this as one of my favorite or best books ever, it was still an enjoyable read.

I was given a copy of this book by Thomas Nelson Publishing as part of their BookSneeze program for bloggers in exchange for an honest review of the book on my blog and that of a consumer website. I was not compensated any other way than the copy of the book, and all opinions are mine and mine alone.

I'm So Excited

Back several months ago now, I was just blog surfing (is that even a term?) and I saw that a blog author was a member of The Old Schoolhouse magazine's Homeschool Crew and she had posted that they were taking applications for the upcoming year. I figured, why not apply, the worst that can happen is I'm not selected. Well, lo and behold, I was one of the people selected to be a part of the 2010-2011 Crew! I get to review homeschooling products and write about them. I am so excited as I love doing this sort of thing. And I get to hopefully play with some fun new products. I love this stuff more than the kids do I think :) I just drool over every homeschool supply and curriculum catalog I get. In fact, I had to throw one away recently. It was crinkled, stained, the covers were coming off and it was just nasty. So, I'm am really looking forward to trying new things and hopefully getting some of the things I have coveted. Which, I am not going into the sin of covetessness at the moment....

Today was a decent day. Got caught up on the dishes. Finally. Have half the laundry done, but the remaining load is reds and pinks and it isn't a full one. I'm surprised about that one though. With the Bugs, I normally have a rather large red load every week.

Hubbs is on his way home. I need to log off for the night.

There Weren't any Jelly Beans

It is true when they say that time doesn't stand still. Being a mom of young children, I am reminded of that daily. However, I also remember when I was a child and time seemed to go so slowly. And how things never seemed to change.

As a kid, you have what is familiar to you. For me, every summer we would make the long drive from our home to that of my grandparents' in Erie, Pennsylvania. Frankly, as a kid, I always thought the drive rather boring, and I never had enough reading material in the car. But the drive was familiar. Through Indiana and on into Ohio where every barn is red, or so it seemed. Always stopping at the same McDonald's north of Columbus that was built next to a pond and the duck nesting area was built to look like the restaurant and feeding the ducks there French fries. We would finally cross the border of Ohio into Pennsylvania and the 24 or so miles always were the longest until our exit. When we finally got off the interstate, it seemed to take forever to meander through the roads until we finally arrived.

Every year it was the same, we'd pull in, pile out of the car and Grandad would come to the back door and shout his greetings and come out for hugs. Grandma wouldn't be too far after as she was normally checking on dinner when we pulled in. There was nothing like being greeted by my Grandaddy. He'd scoop us up and give us bear hugs and ask if we were hungry. He'd then inform us that it was Friday night, no matter what night it was, so it was chocolate milk night (growing up my mom made us drink milk every night at supper, and only on Friday nights were we allowed to have chocolate milk. Grandaddy decreed that at his house, every night was Friday night and he would make the best chocolate milk for us) and then we'd get our hugs from Grandma and we'd all troop into the house for what was sure to be a great supper, complete with chocolate milk.

Grandaddy was the coolest Grandad ever. He was full of stories and he made the best wooden toys. He always talked to us as if we were adults, not kids. He never made fun of us as kids, never talked down to us and genuinely cared for his grand-daughters. Next to his recliner he kept an amber colored glass candy dish (the one in the photo at the beginning of this post) that was always full of his favorite treat; jelly beans.

Grandaddy would pretend to not notice when my sister and I would sneak into the living room and eat our favorite colors out of his candy jar. We'd always be careful to not eat the black ones. We hated them, and thankfully they were his favorite ones. If he happened to see us, he'd remind us to leave him the black ones and then went back to whatever it was he was doing and just sort of would forget to tell our mom what we were up to (though, I'm sure she knew).

As a child, you never in your wildest dreams picture your favorite people not being there. You don't think of a future reality when those that we love are no longer with us. I was blessed to have all of my grandparents until I was an adult. On January 13, 2007 my Grandaddy was called home. He had had a heart attack the week before and was doing well. In fact, he was scheduled to be released from the hospital the following day. However, when his nurse came to help him take care of a few things, he stood up and was gone in the blink of an eye. That day was also the day of the worst ice storm in fifty years to hit our area. We were iced in without electricity for nearly a week. There was no way I could make it out for his funeral.

This past week I was blessed to finally be able to return to the home of my grandparents. It was the first time I had been able to go in eleven years. The drive was familiar, nearly achingly so. We pulled into the driveway and stopped and got out of the van (my sister and mom took me and the girls up) and my mom's brother came out the door to give us hugs. Things were horribly wrong, it wasn't my grandaddy. We trooped into the house, and my grandma was sitting in Grandaddy's recliner. She had had it moved to the back sun room after she and Grandaddy replaced the couch and it came with a matching recliner. After dinner, I go into the living room and see the candy jar, it was sitting on the coffee table with miniature candy bars in it. There were no jelly beans. Upon seeing the lack of jelly beans, I had to fight back tears. That, honestly was the worst thing about going back to the greatest place I ever went as a child. It truly said to me, your Grandaddy is no longer here. All the safety and security of my childhood was gone, never to return.

I'll always have the memories of the jelly beans, of Grandaddy, his stories and all the wonderful things he did with us (most probably not classified as safe anymore...). And everytime I eat a jelly bean, I think of him. But now, jelly beans are no longer a treat, they are a reminder that life goes on. People are born, they pass on into eternity, time doesn't stop for anyone and things change. Jelly beans remind me of that now. The memories will always be there, but the person who made them special is not. I will always miss my Grandaddy. And when I have jelly beans, I think of him and the joy he brought to my life.

Book Review for Book Sneeze 5.19.2010

I read God's Promises for Girls by Jack Countryman and Amy Parker. It is a cute little book that consists with verses for different issues little girls can face. Issues about being a good sister, obeying your parents, faith, and telling the truth among others. The verses were taken from the International Children's Version of the Bible and the Reader Friendly Edition, both of which were also published by Thomas Nelson.

This book was laid out in an easy to search format. The table of contents listed the subjects by category and was very logical to follow. Most of the verses were straight to the point that were selected for each topic, and each topic had about three verses to support it. The illustrations were bright and cheery, and went with each category very well. The font chosen for the verses was a little smaller than I would have liked for a book for children, but then, that's just me.

After reading through this book, I gave it to my three-year-old to look at and she loved it. She pretended to play with the girls in the illustrations (she does that with most books) and then she didn't want to give it up when we had to run an errand. I plan on using this as a guide towards Bible memorization in the coming months with her. I really like how this book was laid out and is so easy to use and read. If you are reading this and have only boys, I know that there is a boy's version and I hope it is just as good.

I was given and copy of God's Promises for Girls by Thomas Nelson as a part of their Book Sneeze program in exchange for reading it and posting a review on my blog and a consumer website. All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone. I received no other compensation other than a copy of the book.

I'm back

Well, after nearly being gone from home for two weeks, I'm back. Felt like I was gone a lot longer. The trip was hard in so many ways, but not so bad in others. I feel like the girls behaved themselves quite well on the trip as a whole. My sister took them shopping and they had a blast and made out like bandits. Then, she had to buy them souvenirs while in PA at the peninsula and every time we stopped at a Cracker Barrel. I plan on writing out a series of posts in the next few days about the whole trip. I need to do some processing and I do that best when writing actually. I will say it was rather strange to be back there for the first time in eleven years and not have my Grandaddy there. And my Grandma looked like she had aged 30 years since I saw her last going on 3 1/2 years ago. I've been blessed to have had her this long.

Well, while I was gone I got another book in from Book Sneeze that was a children's book, so I have to go and write that review up and get it posted. Then, hopefully I'll feel like writing a bit more tonight. However, we have yet another thunderstorm rolling in. If the rain doesn't let up in the near future, I'm going to have to go look up the dimensions for an ark.

Book Review for Book Sneeze 5.5.2010

I Am Hutterite by Mary-Ann Kirkby

I didn't know what I was totally expecting when I first started reading this book. I had never heard of the Hutterites, and I had thought myself fairly well-educated on the Anabaptists (Amish and Mennonites). I am glad I was able to learn something new about the Anabaptist's different "denominations," if you will.

Life on a Hutterite colony at first sounds very idealistic. Life is dictated by routine and everyone works for the common good. However, like in all other aspects of life with other humans, personal agendas and politics get in the way. This memoir is not just about how our personal history affects our entire lives, but it also addresses how sometimes we have to make bold moves for the best of our families and ourselves. This book showed that how through determination, perservance and a firm faith in God, we can survive anything.

This book is also about growing up. Of finding a faith that is your own, not riding the on the faith of your forebears. Of trying to be your own person, yet still being part of the group. I suggest that anyone who struggles with life, adapting to new circumstances read this book. You can succeed. Others have before you.

I was given a copy of I Am Hutterite by Thomas Nelson Publishing as a part of their Book Sneeze program in exchange for reading it and posting a copy of my review. I was not otherwise paid for my review, and all opinions are mine and mine alone.