Who wrote that?

Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best.


Weary and homesick and distressed,
They wander east, they wander west,
And are baffled and beaten and blown about
By the winds of the wilderness of doubt;
To stay at home is best.

Then stay at home, my heart, and rest;
The bird is safest in its nest;
O'er all that flutter their wings and fly
A hawk is hovering in the sky;
To stay at home is best.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I have loved this poem for many years
and always assumed it was probably written
by some stay-at-home homeschooling mother
who wanted to convince every other
woman in the world
to do as she is doing with her life.
What an assumption.
Since learning who authored this poem,
it has become much richer and
more meaningful to me.
I hope that your home is a place you love to be,
a haven from the craziness and unrest
of the world for you and your family.
I hope you love to "stay at home" as much as I do.

Sweet Home Alabama?

Yeah....not so much my home.....

...but it will be for this week.

The babes and I are in Alabama while Lloyd Dobbler and his father are at my house doing many things. Today is supposed to be a busy day there. The dry waller and his little crew were going to show up this morning (I hope Lloyd Dobbler remembered that) and Lloyd Dobbler had a very important phone call with a particular business man this morning----I really hope he remembered that.

AND they are supposed to start the process of making my tile floor in my kitchen happier. Nothing like sad tile. And ours was really sad. It was the nasty grout bringing it down. That's what is supposed to be going. So dust from grinding up grout and dust from dry wall repair/refinish work should be flying around in my house right now.
Sigh.
I was awake for a while last night (which is becoming my stupid sleeping pattern---what is waking me up?!?!) and thinking of all the things I wish I'd reminded him to do....all the curtains I wanted taken down and tucked away in one of the children's bedrooms where the doors wouldn't even have to be opened for any reason until we get home. I thought of lots of things. But then I thought that I would just leave him alone, not make a pest of myself, let him handle this by himself. He is capable. And his dad is there---his dad who leaves no stone unturned.

So we are here in Grandma's basement doing school
this morning. The kids are not doing too well at focusing.
Math time has been over for a while
and neither one of them have accomplished much.
But it's the first day.
They are distracted.
I'm sure they thought school wouldn't follow them here.
Don't they know homeschooling is portable?
But we'll get stuff done.
Tomorrow we are supposed to go to the zoo.
I am looking forward to that.
I am really into field trips this year.

I should report about the Martha Stewart meal
I prepared last week. Let me just be the second
or the five thousandth person to say,
"Whatever, Martha."
I had really looked forward to that meal and it didn't live up to my expectations. The baked cabbage and pork chop thing was okay...but I could have just cooked the pork chops and fried the cabbage in the ways I normally make them and it would have been just as well. And then the Tomatoes Provencal. Big sigh. I was so looking forward to that dish. I guess I had dreamed up a fantasty of what I thought it would be---and then, it was so nothing. I mean, it was just a waste of ingredients. It was also the beginning my new dislike for mushy textures (which I would much rather have than gagging and nausea) that I am attributing to this pregnancy. I could hardly swallow the few bites of Tomatoes Provencal that I made myself eat. I didn't make the kids eat it either after an initial tasting.

But I do have to say, in defense of your dear friend Martha Stewart, that I made pumpkin bread by her recipe this weekend. It was some of the best I have ever eaten. While baking, it smelled FABULOUS (had lots of nutmeg in it, as should all baked goods in the fall---which I know, is NOT here yet, but it's coming). So the pumpkin bread may have redeemed ol' Martha this time. I just find it so annoying to have a new recipe be a disappointment. Do you react this way?

I know I brought up Fall again. I'm not obsessed with it and I'm not trying to get rid of summer.
I just love Fall. And I'm not the only one who knows that it's coming. Our little weather person on TV the other night said that we are going to have an early fall this year. I guess he sees that season sneaking onto the scene with his Doppler radar or whatever. And hey, this is the last day of August.

Tomorrow is September.
If I were at home (and my home weren't being torn apart) I would be so tempted to break out the fall wreath for the front door and to get rid of the Fourth-of-Julyish red white and blue welcome mat. But this gives me something to look forward to. When the dust is cleared away and the house returned to "normalcy," I will break out the fall decor.

And the county fair will be in the middle of September!
And isn't the first day of official, legal fall
in September anyway?

It's coming people.

It's coming.

Cauliflower Ear

I'm glad I was the busy bee this morning, because this afternoon I spent entirely on Uncle Alexander Graham Bell's contraption---the telephone (perhaps you have heard of it?). The kids were eating lunch and I was reading History to them when the phone rang. I was on the phone for a long time--my ear still feels numb.

And I must be right-eared.
I always have the phone on my right ear.
I don't like to switch it.
Do you do this?
Even if you are on there so long that your ear
begins to hurt?
Maybe I am just out of practice
with the marathon phone calls.
I did this all this time as a teenager and young adult.
I don't remember have a numb ear then.

I enjoyed my lengthy conversation with an old friend though. We got to talking about our birthing experiences and you know how women can go on and on about that (epidurals, pushing, drugs, nurses). She is thinking about homeschooling and we had a lot to talk about on that subject. A couple of other phone calls were mixed in there and there were several beeps from the call waiting that I ignored. I talked to Lloyd Dobbler and my mother and my sister-in-law. No wonder my ear is tired. I'm not a person who usually spends time on the phone. When my mom finally got a hold of me, she thought I must have been on the phone with someone I used to have major marathon phone calls with from time to time---but that person has been miffed at me for a year or so now so she won't be calling.
But I just sat there and talked to my old friend and tried to stealthily eat some cookies and potato chips (ever the health nut! But you know broccoli would have been too loud.) and enjoyed it. I didn't try to iron clothes or clean anything while I was talking to her. I didn't even get on the computer and play Free cell while we were talking---and if you've ever called me, that is what I am doing 99% of the time that I am on the phone. Just so you know.

Didn't finish the History lesson, but you know what? We can do it next week. It'll still be History then. We are done with school here for a while. I need to pack up the necessary things to take with us to Alabama next week. Tomorrow is co-op and the return of my prodigal Superbaby. Saturday will be busy getting things ready for the work on the house and my mother-in-law and I will have to drive to the marvelous fabric store an hour away from here to buy fabric for the bedding for the baby's bed.

Sunday will be another busy Sunday, I think (last week's was busy enough after our two previous days of family fun had already exhausted me). I was going to cook lunch for all the family since they will all be coming to church with us because Big E is getting baptized this Sunday (Isn't that great?!), but since I am leaving that afternoon and the kitchen has to be ready to be torn up a bit in my absence, I'm not going to cook a meal. I think we will go eat somewhere.

So anyway, I enjoyed my phone chat. I enjoyed talking to my old childhood friend. It's funny now that we are both mothers and moving into new stages in life to talk to someone you have known through so many stages. We have a long history together. I tried to hook her up with Lloyd Dobbler when I went away to college. She met the guy she married on the front steps of my parents' house; they had their first date on the day Lloyd Dobbler and I got married. We have times of contact and periods of time where we have no contact at all, but we are bonded. We are kindred spirits. And we make each other laugh. Isn't that a wonderful thing? To share a laugh with an old friend? So natural and comfortable and easy. I love it.

Busy Bee

Today seems to be the opposite of yesterday so far.

Remember yesterday when I couldn't get started,
couldn't shed that "run over by a truck" feeling?
Well, not so today.
I have gotten many things done already.
I rearranged the living room, cleaned the floors in there,
swept and mopped the kitchen, did a load of clothes,
put out a clutter fire here and there, made Lovely K and Big E
do some housework too. Right now I've got cleaner sprinkled
all over the sink, just waiting for me to scrub it
and a couple of piles of ironing laid out on the couch.
At least two of the four bathrooms are going to get
cleaned today if it kills me.
I'm getting stuff done.
This is a much better feeling than
being run over by a truck.

We are working on school---and I hate to admit it,
but I lost my cool over grammar with the eldest.
Today is supposed to be the first big test
from her grammar.
She's been in Chapter one all this time.
And it is basic stuff.
So I sit down to do the review
orally with her and she
doesn't know one answer.
She's been doing all this work and she can't tell me what anything is! I find it hard to believe
that she has done all this written practice all this time (and there's been a lot of it) and done it correctly, but she can't answer any of the questions. I finally just gave her the book and told her to go study that chapter by herself. Again. I will give her the test in a little bit and if she fails it,
it's going to be on her. She doesn't like grammar and it's not important to her. Well, it had better become important. I will see that it does.

Sigh.
I came away from that encounter
thinking about video schooling and
"how expensive is that local Christian school?"
and wondering
whatever happened to the idea
of sending kids off to boarding school.

How easily derailed I get.
On days when things are going smoothly,
I'm all pleased as punch and in love with the world.
And then one child won't focus in one subject
and I am in the depths of educational despair.
Can I blame this on
pregnancy's mood swings?

Well, I am proud of
the cleaning and progress
that has gotten done downstairs this morning.
I must keep up my pace.
Must not get sucked into the computer.
Must not get aggravated with my pupils.

"Let the words of my mouth
and the meditations of my heart
be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord,
my strength and my redeemer."

Looking Ahead

Ever have one of those mornings
where you wake up feeling tired and lousy
and wonder why you even went to bed the night before?
That was me this morning.
Plus a headache
---but I did shed the headache once I got
up and about and got some caffeine
flowing through my veins.

Honestly, I could have stayed up all night
and not have felt much different.
I always refer to this condition as
feeling as though you have been run over by a truck.
And that's been my day today.

Even reading to the kids this morning,
just literally sitting there reading their stuff for school,
I was getting out of breath.
What's up with that?
(Of course, we were doing Bible
and I had to read these chunks out of Leviticus
.....and, well, if you know Leviticus,
you know what a riveting and exciting
part of the Bible that is.)

While the kids were working on something else,
I counted up how many days
we have completed of school so far this year.
Twenty-eight.
Which means we have 152 days to go.
Not that I'm counting.

(yeah, right)

Actually I was scanning over the calendar
for the rest of 2009 and I am quite pleased to say
that we can easily be done with the first half
of the school year by the beginning of December.
And I know a lot of families like to take off
the whole month of December.
Not us.
For me it seems like this is a good time to do school.
I may lighten up some of the load
or mix in more fun activities,
but the kids are so hyped up anyway with the holidays.
They need the school work to keep their feet on the ground.
So unless something happens with this pregnancy
that causes a disturbance,
I plan to plow through as much of December as I can
on the school bus.

It brings a smile to my lips to return to school in January
with less than half the school year to do
---even if it's just by a few days.

Looking at the rest of the year ahead somehow did something to lift me from the "run over by a truck" feeling. It's going to be a busy fall. Big E had his first soccer practice last night. Haven't yet heard from Lovely K's coach. Games will begin in two weeks. And then we have all the stuff starting up with Lovely K and the orthodontist. Did I tell you she'll be getting braces in about a month? Piano lessons start back next month too. I see all this "running around" on my horizon. I'll still have to go to the OB every now and then and I've got so much to do to get ready for this new little man's arrival. And then there's the holidays.

It's all lining up like a row of dominoes and once the first one falls, there's no turning back.

(guess what, Bell?
the first one has already fallen
--it's already started
--you just haven't
picked up speed yet).

Seeing all this laid out before me was a good thing. It didn't seem overwhelming. I feel like I am braced for it all. I'm already thinking about Christmas and trying to make plans for that. I want to be prepared and looking ahead and keeping an eye on the horizon seems the best way to do that. I realize I am going to have to pace myself. If I am already having days like today where I'm slow and lazy and not feeling my best, then I know there will be more of them as I get busier and bigger. So...I am still saying "Come on, Fall!" I love that time of year. I can't wait for the chill in the air.

Speaking of that, I changed the juke box....did you notice? I thought making it red would seem "festive" and "fall-ish" but it kind of looks bright and striking and UNpeaceful, doesn't it? Do you hate it? There are only a handful of colors to pick from. No nice muted orange or brown which would be more complimentary. But I will change it if you hate the red. I am beginning to hate it myself in these first five minutes so I may change it anyway. Let me know what you think.

And while you are looking at the juke box, take a listen to Barry Manilow sing "When October Goes." What a lovely song. He writes the songs, you know.

It's the middle of the day and I haven't had a shower yet. Sigh. I need to get my rear in gear. But isn't it nice to have a job (teaching my kids) where I can work unshowered and in my pajamas on yucky days? But I'm going to have to have a little transformation if I am to make these new Martha Stewart recipes tonight. I'll have to break out the pearls and high heels (like I normally dress on a day to day basis) to get in a more Martha-frame of mind.

If you feel what I feel, baby, ...come on!

And just what is it
that I feel?

I feel the approach of fall.
Just ever so slightly.

I know I may be jumping the gun a little bit, but surely I can't be the only one. Sunday really messed with my head in this area because it was SEVENTY ONE DEGREES. In August. In the middle of the day. Can you believe it?

(Of course this unseasonably cool day did not stop my babes from swimming as they have become accustomed to doing on Sunday afternoons. You couldn't have gotten me in that water for anything. SEVENTY ONE DEGREES!)

We haven't yet had that changing of the light
when the afternoon sun gets that golden cast to it.
That's when you know it's no longer your imagination.
But yesterday when the kids and I went to College Town
we went into Hobby Lobby. That store was totally
decked out in autumn decor
(--except for the part of the store
that was already pushing Christmas.
Don't get me started on that. I have always had a stink eye
ready for those who would by-pass Thanksgiving
in an effort to get an early start on Christmas.
Maybe it's because I am a Thanksgiving Birthday Person,
but I really hate for that holiday to be overlooked.).
No holiday decorations appeal to me quite as much as
pumpkins and pilgrims and all the cozy stuff that goes with the fall.

When we get back from Alabama,
if the house is still standing and livable,
I will be breaking out all my fall decorations.
It'll be September by then, a week or so into the month.
You can do it then.
I have out just the fall stuff until October 31st.
Then on November 1st (or there about),
I add in the pilgrim/Thanksgiving things.

Do you know what else autumn makes me want to do? Cook. Not that I'm not always cooking anyway, but it's time for some of our favorite recipes to be brought back into rotation. During the summer, I don't make soups or stews or heavy, hearty things that we enjoy throughout the cooler part of the year. So I am looking forward to making Lloyd Dobbler's crock pot stew and Helen's Santa Fe Soup and Big E's favorite Zoop and all those things that we haven't had in ages. I also find myself wanting to bake. I made a loaf of Hawaiian bread last week and I think I may make some pumpkin bread today with the recipe that was in the latest Martha Stewart recipe magazine thing-y.

I am going to try another one of her recipes tomorrow
night that may be a total disaster,
but it might also be really good. It's this baked cabbage
and pork chops thing. It also has bacon in it
(isn't everything better
with a little bacon in it?).
I am developing this affinity for cabbage
in my old age so when I saw this recipe,
I knew I had to try it. If it's horrible,
well, I'll rip up the recipe and make
PB&J sandwiches for us all.
But it might be good.
You never can tell about these things.

So, Fall, I say to you what Marvin Gaye said

in the song quoted above
(in the title of this post),
"Let's Get It On!"
Come on over, Fall;
I am ready for you.
Shorten our days.
Put a chill in the air.
Cause us to break out jackets and long pants
and to turn off the A/C.
Knock the leaves out of the trees
with your gentle breezes.
Brighten up the landscape
with brilliant mums.
I always miss you
when you've been gone so long like this.
I know it's not quite time for you just yet,
but I just wanted you to know
that you are wanted and welcome.

Since My Baby Left Me...

It's true.
My baby has left me.

Superbaby went home with his grandparents after our weekend of family fun. It was such a quick decision made on Sunday afternoon. We went from discussing it to quickly packing a bag for him to saying goodbye. My whole day had been rush-rush-rush and when I finally sat down for a minute, I just thought, "What have I done?" The child is three. He's still my baby (at least until the end of the year, right? No, they are all always my babies!). And he has been down there before for a little period of time like this, but he had Lovely K and Big E with him before. This time he's alone. Well, not alone. He is with his grandparents.

But he was so gung-ho about going. As soon as we mentioned it, he was like "Yes! I'll go!" He never looked back.

I missed him a lot last night.

And today has been very strange
without him. Lovely K and Big E are
different with each other when he's not
around. We did school this morning
and went shopping in College Town
this evening.

I did call and talk to him on the phone tonight.
It was past his bedtime and he was really tired.
I talked to him and then talked to his grandmother.
As we were about to get of the phone and he
realized she was saying goodbye,
he suddenly wanted to talk to me again.
"Why don't you come and pick me up, Mama?"
he asked. I told him I couldn't
just run over there and get him.
(He's four hours away.)
And he didn't really want me to come get him.
He's happy and having a good time.
I'm sure he's loving being the only child.
But it was bedtime and he wanted to see
his mama--- and she would have liked to of seen him.
If he would have started crying or said
"please come get me" or something,
I would have been a puddle on the floor.
But I told him I'd see him on Friday
and that he could call me anytime
and he was like, "Oh...okay. I love you. Bye."
Click.

He's really not a baby anymore.
Sigh.

I miss him.

Here Comes the Tragic Theme from an Iconic Southern Movie....Big Fat and Wide....

Let's take a minute
to talk about the music
from my wedding.
First of all,
I have to say that for some reason
I have found it so amusing to thinking
that somebody might have thought
I had Elvis Costello's
"Everyday I Write the Book"
at my wedding.
No body has said they thought that,
but I have imagined that
someone might have
and it has given me a smile
on more than one occasion.
I'm so easily amused.
And sometimes just with my own thoughts.
It doesn't take much.
That is my 2nd favorite Elvis Costello song
but who would have that played at their wedding?

Rest assured, I did not come down the aisle
to the Tara Theme from Gone With the Wind.
That was played while the wedding party came in.
They were all dressed in clothes we had made
from these green velvet drapes
....and frankly, reader, I don't think they gave a hoot.

What other songs in the current juke box
would be poor choices for a wedding?
Well, several of them.
Not the least of which would be the Goo Goo Dolls
singing "Better Days." I love that song,
(and it's actually a Christmas song)
but if at your wedding you are already selecting
a song that is about
"the chance that we might still find better days...",
well, maybe you better reconsider this marriage
before the song comes to an end.

I can imagine a wedding
where someone might actually play
Alan Jackson's "Right on the Money,"
but it was not played at mine.
And there was no line dancing.

I did have "Household of Faith" and "I Will Be Here" and "Longer." My college roommate and her husband sang them beautifully. They didn't sing the Everly Brothers' song or the Hawaiian Elvis song. And I did have a Keith Green song at my wedding, but it wasn't the one playing over there. It was the piano version of "Love with Me" (I think that's the name of it---it's a pretty song).

Not that any of this was a pressing manner,
but I just thought I'd address the wedding music.
Go on to your next blog,
read something more worthy of your time.
Oh wait---before you go---
THANKS to all 1.5 of you darling readers
for the well wishes on our anniversary.
We did have a lovely day.
Okay...you can go now...

Rewind

Remember how we started
our 2009-2010 school year?
We started it with a field trip.
Our Uncle John and Aunt Julie
were visiting and we all loaded up
and went to the Hermitage in Nashville, TN.

Here are the kids and I
(don't know why I look like a bright light
is shining in my face)

That was a little more than a month ago.
I don't look very pregnant there, do I?
(You're supposed to say "Oh no, not at all.")

We all enjoyed the visit very much, although it did
turn into a long day. We walked about 823 miles around
Andrew Jackson's home turf.
When I got tired and couldn't make it down the last path
to see some shed he had out on the back forty
(I think it was where he parked his lawn mowers
or something--see why I wasn't very motivated
to walk down that path?
I don't care about seeing any body's
shed if I'm being honest),
Aunt Julie and I sat down on a bench and let
Uncle John blaze on with the kids at his heels.
Julie says he's like the pied piper
when it comes to children.

Even women of the past were affected by Superbaby's charms.

On the whole plantation you got information by the headset given you at the front desk. There were two audio tours, one typical one and then another geared for children. My children really loved the children's tour. It was narrated by a parrot. Superbaby would listen to the same one over and over and over. Lovely K and Big E surprised me with how much they paid attention and read all the little plaques and were really taking in the information.

Can you tell here that Superbaby
is saying "cheese" with all his might?
This makes me laugh.

For those of you keeping score at home,
this aunt and uncle are actually a
GREAT aunt and uncle to my children.
I don't mean that they are particularly groovy
above all other aunts and uncles
(although they are wonderful
and we all love them
and love for them to come visit us),
this uncle is actually Lloyd Dobbler's uncle
even though he isn't much older than Lloyd Dobbler.
And his wife, Aunt Julie, is the same age as Lloyd Dobbler.
We have many Uncle Johns in our family
---didn't want anyone to be confused.

So thanks for letting us visit you,
Andrew Jackson.
Sorry we missed you.

Maybe next time.

Fifteen and Counting

Fifteen years ago today, I married Lloyd Dobbler.

That kind of seems like a long time ago.
I still feel like if I say anything about
fifteen years ago, I should be talking about
my preschool days.

I was just looking at some pictures from
the twenty year reunion of a class
two years ahead of me
and that was SO strange
to see those people who were
the "upper class men"
when I was in school.
They looked so old.
(I will have a one year old baby
when my 20 year reunion rolls around.)
I'm sure my classmates and I look old too.
But sometimes it's just a shock to see that.
When you haven't seen people for twenty years
and then you see them,
you are very aware of the passage of time.


But not so with Lloyd Dobbler and I
---that's what you are thinking
---RIGHT?!?!?!

That day fifteen years ago was a day like today
---only a Saturday.
It was overcast and gray,
and then the sun would break out
and shine brilliantly from time to time.
When I walked down the aisle,
it was pouring cats and dogs and you can hear
the rain in the video, so loud.
I think there was thunder and lightening too.
It was like this sudden crazy storm.
It was over before the ceremony ended.
Is this descriptive of our lives?
I remember driving to the church from the hair salon
and it was sprinkling rain
and I wondered what that meant.
My grandmother always knew what everything meant.
She was like an almanac of that kind of information.
If your nose itches,
somebody is coming to see you.
If you ears itch or burn,
somebody is talking about you.
If you get a sudden chill,
somebody has walked over your grave.
Like I have said before,
the "old wives tale" meaning for me for most things
(like wearing a hat in the house
or sitting on the table or whatever)
was that I would never get married.
So encouraging.
But I guess it would be kind of silly to say
that if it rains on your wedding day
it means you'll never get married.
But I don't know what it is supposed to mean.
Maybe it means that you should be thankful
if you are not having an outdoor wedding.

I was going to insert a picture from our wedding here,
but they are gone.
Remember the great computer crash of 2009?
I don't mean the hard copies are gone,
but the ones that we had
scanned that were on here.
We'll have to scan some more.
But of course we still have
the actual photographs.
We got married before digital.

Some of the songs on the juke box over there
(are you even listening?!?!)
are from my wedding. I think I may have stolen
the idea of having the Tara theme from
Gone With The Wind from one
of you dear readers.
I think we had the same pianist---did we?
You know who you are.

So fifteen years into this thing.....
I guess our marriage is at the eye rolling stage
where it will be wanting to get a driving permit soon.

But to be serious,
I am thankful for my husband.
We have a very comfortable life together
and I can't imagine spending my days with anyone else.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY,
LLOYD DOBBLER!!!
I LOVE YOU!!!

What Would Charlotte Do?

Someone asked me a question the other day
because (in her words) I am
"the Charlotte Mason expert."
I laughed when I heard this.
And I am laughing now remembering it.
I am so NOT the expert
nor am I following her principles to the letter
like a good little disciple would.
But I guess I adapt everything that I use to fit
my lifestyle and my preferences.
(don't you do this?)
I would not make a good cult member.
I don't like blind allegiance.
Not that Charlotte Mason would have people
off on a secluded island
drinking funny kool-aid or anything.

But I did something very
UN-Charlotte Mason-ly
tonight.
I just order two workbooks.
Yes, I said WORKBOOKS.
I ordered two workbooks and I am not ashamed to admit it.

I have come to realize that there needs to be a couple of things that I can turn the kids loose to do and then check the answer key and be done with it and not have to spend all my time and energy trying to recreate the wheel. Do you know what I am saying? Sometimes I need them to just do their little workbook pages. I can't completely separate myself from workbooks. Is this a crime?

I ordered a spelling workbook for Lovely K and a phonics workbook for Big E. I had hoped to hit these subjects with these two from different angles. I even ordered the big book from my favorite people at Simply Charlotte Mason to use for Lovely K's spelling/handwriting/dictation. Guess what? It's not going to work. Not for us. Not now anyway. There's some kind of mental disconnect when I go to use that. I think I just don't get it or something. I don't feel like we are doing anything that is really profitable. So we are not going to do that.

And then I just realized that Big E doesn't have as strong a foundation in Phonics as Lovely K and that this particular workbook I ordered for him might be just the thing to give him a daily shove in the right direction.

So there.
Call the police.
Report me to the local educational authorities.
Do whatever you must.
I just thought I would let my flag fly----I ordered WORKBOOKS!!!!

Ancient Chinese Secret, huh?

Does anyone else remember that commercial from my childhood? It was for some laundry detergent or stain remover. The people were always amazed that this laundry mat got their clothes so clean and the little guy at the counter would tell them it was because of some "ancient Chinese secret." And then, of course, within thirty seconds (or however long the commercial was), his wife would reveal that their stain fighting power was ____________.
I honestly cannot remember what the product was.
Is this good advertising or bad in this situation?
I'm remembering it probably 25 years later
(so that's good)
but I can't remember the product
(that's bad).
I need an ancient Chinese secret
for my memory.

Is it true that it's
National Cupcake Day?

Because if it is, I need to make some cup cakes! How easy to join in on this holiday. And that can be our desert for our semi-Asian meal tonight. We are having Orange Chicken w/ veggies and rice---a new recipe. I also bought some of those cream cheese/wanton things in the freezer section at the grocery store. I haven't tried these before, have you? I doubt that they will be as good as the ones you get in a Chinese restaurant, but I wanted a little side that was a bit more authentic than something I might have on hand (I don't know if you know this about me or not, but I am not Chinese). I started to do egg rolls, and that is what I have done in the past with our other Asian meal, but then I remembered that the kids don't care for those and Lloyd Dobbler and I end up eating them all. So I thought we'd try the cream cheese things. I think I also have four fortune cookies left from our last Asian-inspired meal.
So that's what is on the plan for tonight.
Adding a few cup cakes
would not be complicated.

This has been this cool, gray, overcast day here in Tennessee. I have expected rain at every moment, but I don't think it has rained since I got up this morning. Makes for a very cozy, lazy day though. I read from Jack's Insects and I read two and a half chapters from Mozart's biography. I need to read History still, but my throat is weary. I'm no Alexander Scourby. Plus, if I read much more, I will put myself to sleep. This would be a nice afternoon for a nap---but I am afraid I might be able to say that every single afternoon for the rest of this pregnancy.I've been on the phone with my mother-in-law today planning our weekend and the next couple of weeks. We'll be down there (the kids and I) at her house for a week or so while Lloyd Dobbler and his dad are here with all the little worker men who will be busily correcting things that shouldn't have to be corrected on a house barely two years old. But I am glad that we are getting stuff done. When some of these things are done and the paint is dry, we will get to move rooms around, start making a nursery out of the boys' room, start getting on with the rest of our lives.

I am even thinking of having a yard sale.
We shall see.
Goodness knows I have stuff
I need to get rid of.
Plenty of it.

So I need to go set the timer for math and do a little Grammar with a little boy who doesn't like Grammar and then I'm off to whip up a little Bell version of Chinese-American food. I thought this recipe sounded good (and easy, another favorite characteristic of mine) so I hope we will like it.

I'll let you know.

Crab Meat

If by the end of a day,
I am saying that it has been a stinky or a stupid day,
please do not argue with me.

I'm not trying to be the grump of the world,
but nothing annoys me worse than to say that I've
had a stupid, stinky day and to have somebody tell me
that "no day is waste" and "life's lessons are always there
to be learned" and blah blah blah blah blah.
This old friend of mine on facebook
says that kind of thing
and I just want to choke her.
It's nothing personal.
I love her and she is a sweet person.
But don't argue with a person
who says a day has been particularly stupid.
Or stinky.
Or any other negative term they choose to use.
And if you someday come upon my blog,
Tammy, and read this and know that you
are the one who says those things to me
---don't get upset.
I love you,
but some days ARE stupid.

Take today for example----I mean, there were good points. I got up this morning and things looked good. But I got the overwhelming sleepiness that sometimes strikes in pregnancy. I tried to carry on with everything. We went to pay bills and grab some groceries this morning. By the time I got home, I was wiped out. And we had to do about half of our school work still. And my children wanted to ask 114 questions per minute and I was just at the end. Do you know what I mean? I'm sure you guys are never there. But we managed to get most of the school done. I finally laid down in the guest room where I could see them at the dining room table and I cat napped for a little while---amidst 37 phone calls and Superbaby coming in every twelve seconds. And Big E needing to know how to spell every word he needed to write. Sigh.

I did get some things done. We are totally up to date with our home school umbrella school. We are registered and paid up and all that good stuff. I even got this e-mail from them today telling me how to get an ID card for me as a teacher (because technically I am a faculty member of Homelife Academy). I bought groceries. I paid the bills and did the whole check book thing. I guess my accomplishments don't sound so magnificent but I really and truly feel like I was busy all day today. Oh, I did make a good supper for the fam. We had creamy pesto on pasta, a veggie-filled salad and cantaloupe with chocolate pudding for dessert. Superbaby LOVED the pesto pasta. I don't know if I've fed that to him before or not. That's such an easy thing to make and it really is good. So easy to make. Not low carb or anything, but it's vegetarian. And easy---did I mention easy?

So the kitchen floor is dirty (again, imagine that?) and the bathrooms are not clean and there's a basket of unfolded laundry in the middle of the living room. I need to vacuum the entire house and my kitchen sink needs a good scrubbing. I did NO laundry today and Monday is supposed to be the big laundry day. Not to mention all the clutter I am supposed to be working on. The bonus room is horrifying---don't go in there. Just don't.

Here's what I've been thinking all afternoon---I wonder
if I could somehow hook up with one of those
hard-working hispanic women who would come over like
one day a week and do a few jobs for me for
not a bunch of money.
I know those women are out there.
And I wouldn't take advantage of her.
I wouldn't pile on the work and then give her fifty cents.
But there are just a few jobs that I see getting
harder and harder to do. I have to do school and
that's taking a lot of energy out of me for some
reason right now.
By the time I do that and feed these people
three times a day and
clean up from the feedings,
I just feel like I have reached my limit.

Wednesday I am getting my hair cut.
Thursday my in-laws are coming in.
That is our anniversary and
we are going to eat that night
with Mr. & Mrs. Popsicle
at one of our FAVORITE restaurants.
Friday will be a day-long adventure in Chattanooga.
And then Saturday we are driving
back to Chattanooga for another day of fun.
I better get some stuff done around here.
It's going to be a busy weekend.

But what I really just wanted to say tonight
is that I am so very glad to see this day
coming to an end.
The kids and Lloyd Dobbler have been outside
since we finished dinner.
I got to clean up the kitchen in peace and quiet.
It's just after 7:30 and it's getting dark.
Shorter days?
Bring 'em on!!!
I'm going to bring the kids in and get them in bed
and fix myself a cup of tea
and sit down and read
---and probably fall asleep
after a paragraph or two,
but I'm just glad to have a ending to this day.

Hope I am a nicer person tomorrow.

Trying on Pants

I told you this morning I spent a big chunk of time in our basement digging out baby boy things. This prompted me to dig around in clothes for the big kids too. I have this huge thing of clothes that somebody at church gave me for Lovely K so I went through that to see what will fit her this fall. Most of it is too big still. It might work a year from now. And I have Big E's clothes that I had put back for Superbaby to go through.

I love getting great hand-me-downs.
I know some people turn their noses up at this,
but not me!
Most of my friends are always passing clothes around.
I am very thankful to have people that give me things
for my kids. It has saved me a lot of money. And I
try to do the same thing to be a blessing to others.

With both of the boys I had a session of "trying on pants" today. They wear mostly shorts through the summer so we had to try on all possible pants in their size range. I have such a hard time with my boys and finding pants that fit them. They are both tall and extremely skinny---especially Big E. He needs an 8 (almost a 10) in length but in the waist, he can still wear a 5! This is why I love shorts in the summer because we don't have the issue of the length. I was pleased that we have several pairs of pants that fit him. We bought jeans for both boys last weekend.

So I went through their closet
and through Lovely K's closet.
I have finally learned to do this
before I start shopping.
I guess that's an obvious thing to do,
but I haven't always done the obvious thing.

They are all in good shape for the fall.
Big E needs some shirts and new tennis shoes
and everyone will need socks, but that's just about it.
This is a good thing to know.

I have had a mixture of busy-ness and laziness today. I go in spurts. I layed down this afternoon hoping to nap a little, but I kept getting interrupted. At least I got to rest. I went to bed a 9pm last night. It's a little after 8pm right now and I'm thinking of turning in already. Is this what my fall is going to be like? Am I going to be eating supper at three in the afternoon and going to sleep at seven?

I also know I have been a crab today.
I haven't tried to be,
it has just happened.
I would hear myself freaking out over something
or over-reacting
or just getting mad as fire
over something
and some little voice in my head would say
"Calm down, Bell"
and then some other voice in my head
would promptly tell that voice to
"SHUT UP!"
I have just tried to avoid people
when I am like this.
I hope to go to bed and wake up
a nicer person tomorrow.

My Cartoon Organs

This is the picture the folks at Babycenter.com
sent me for week #19.
I just thought I'd share with you,
let you see what we are dealing with at the moment.

He looks a bit cramped in there already? Doesn't he? And he's got a long way to go! My baby was folded in half at the butt when we saw him Thursday. His little feet were up at his forehead, his arms raised up above his head. Lloyd Dobbler thought that looked terribly uncomfortable. I'm sure he'll be in many many more positions in days to come.

They said that the baby should weigh 8.5 ounces this week. My baby weighed 10 ounces at the ultra sound on Thursday. I wonder if he'll be bigger than Superbaby? Lovely K weighed 6.8 lbs. Big E weighed 7.4 lbs. Superbaby weighed exactly 8 lbs. So they have been getting bigger each time. But I have no desire to have a huge baby. I get no thrill out of that.

When I am pregnant, I often think of the verses David wrote
in the Psalms about unborn babies. How this child's days
are already known to God.....How he is being knit togehter
in my womb....How he is seen by God
though hid to us....

Just amazing.

Come Saturday Morning

Hello, lovely readers. How are you today?
It is Saturday as I am sitting down to this.
It occurred to me that you guys might have thought
I was over here crying into my pillow or something
since all I posted was what we learned at the ultrasound.
(You know, the "it's a boy" message.)
I did not mean to give that impression.
I am just as pleased as could be about the baby.

I thought I would be disappointed
if I didn't get my preference,
but that's not the way it worked out.
I mean, I was laying there on that table
with this big ole' smile on my face.
It's so magical to get a glimpse
of that baby growing inside.
Who could be unhappy?
Not me.
Who could be disappointed
when God is giving such an amazing gift?
I saw a wonderfully made little fellow
who was already cute.
I just can't wait to see this little guy
face to face
and hold him in my arms.

The first day, that Thursday, I got a lot of odd responses
to the news. This one gal actually said
"Oh, I'm sorry" when I told her that it is another boy.
?!?!?!
I guess maybe in part she was saying that she knew
that I had a preference going into this,
and maybe she was just
trying to support me.
But I didn't know what to say to that.
It's not bad news! My goodness. But I have to say, my friends
at our home school co-op on Friday were so great.
I love those ladies.
My wonderful friend Kathy brought me
a little brag book photo album for him.
His first gift. How sweet is that?
She is so thoughtful and helpful and fun.
I just love Kathy.
She really helped me out in a big way
yesterday and I am so thankful for her.

After the appointment on Thursday,
I bought a couple of bibs
(one that says "I love my big sister"
and one that says
"I love my big brother")
and a couple of outfits for next summer
for this babe (they were on clearance
since it's the end of the season
--only $1.50 each!!).
I also bought the first pack of diapers.
Oh my.
Diapers again.
We haven't had to buy anything
on that aisle for a little while.
I better get used to that again.

I got up this morning and went directly to the basement. I was down there for a couple of hours digging out stuff. I must have kept most of the baby boy stuff because I found a lot. I'm so glad of that. I was thinking I had gotten rid of a lot of the boy stuff, but there was a lot there. More than I remembered. I'm making a mental list of things we will need. There were several items on there this morning, but now all I can remember is " baby bathtub" (used the same one with the first three, then it was looking sad and ragged so it went away). That's the problem with my mental lists. They fade in and out.

Now that I have seen this little man, I am anxious to start getting ready for him. I'm making plans for his room (once I get his brothers out of there---that should happen next month). There's so much to be done. In a way, I feel like we have this great spans of time between now and his due date....but let's get real: times passes so quickly. Even though the beautiful fall is the time of things slowing down and shorter days and all that, I know the days are going to pass quickly. We will be so busy with the house repairs, school, soccer, and the regular holiday activities....it's going to be here before we know it.

And I already feel so big and so tired!
I told Lloyd Dobbler this morning that I definitely have days
when I feel my age and remember that it was easier
when I was younger.
And I would be depressed if I sat around
thinking about how much more tired and large
I am going to feel as this pregnancy goes on.
I am enjoying this pregnancy though.
It's such a precious time.
I am starting to feel this baby more and more
and that has always been one of the most magical
things to me....something I miss once the child is born.
I am enjoying my family.
I am loving my blessed life.

I have so much to be thankful for
and I am so very thankful!!!

It's a boy!!!

This Is the Day That the Lord Hath Made

And this is the day of the ultrasound.

I have always been happy and excited about finding out the sex of my babies. It's always been a fun thing. But as this pregnancy has been different, so has the anticipation of this day. I kind of feel like my innards are tied in knots right now. I have wanted and prayed for a girl so badly---you know how I like things to be balanced and symmetrical and there's just no way to balance out three boys and one girl. Two of each would be so lovely.

And don't get me wrong
---I am completely in love with my boys.
Boys are so easy and my boys are just
....there's just no word for them.
They enchant me.
They are so cute and so kissable.
They are great.
And sometimes I sit back and marvel at the idea
that these two baby boys God has given me
are going to be MEN.
That's where we are headed.
That's a sobering thought to me.
So don't think that I'm being unfair
in anyway in my desire to have another daughter.
And it's not just me.
Lloyd Dobbler is hoping for another girl.
And do I have to even tell you
that Lovely K is hoping and praying
for a baby sister?
She'll stop when she passes by me
and lean in to my belly and say
"Be a girl."

I could hardly sleep last night----and it wasn't just this
matter in my head. About 1am our house got buzzed
by a military plane from the nearest base.
It was so close it made the windows shake.
I looked out the window and saw a red light
(a tail light, I hope).
This is quite a thing to wake to.
I slept fine until then.
Not so much after.
I bet my heart is still beating like crazy.

I hesitated to even say anything about this matter
of my anxiety over the sex of this baby.
I'm going to be happy no matter what.
I mean, boy or girl, it is a gift from God!
I just can't wait to know!
This little person who is down there
starting to tap dance around on my organs
needs some preparation made for him or her.
Once I know which pronoun to use,
the rest falls into place.

It's today!!!!!

But I hesitated to say anything because
I was afraid you 1.5 dear readers
might actually sprain your eyes
from excessive rolling.
("What else is this chick
going to obsess over!?!?
Go clean your dirty house
and you'll have something
to think about, lady.")

I know.
This child already is what it is.
We're just finding out today.
I think in part that if it turns out
to go the way I have hoped for,
I will just burst into tears right there on the table.
Happy tears, of course.
I'd be so amazed.
Do you ever think like that?
You want something and you ask God for it
and you just want it so badly that you almost think
there's no way it could happen.
Like it would just be too much.
That's kind of how I feel.
It would just be so perfect
...I wouldn't know how
to take it all in.

I mean, how great would it be
to buy those precious little dresses again?
To have another head full of curls to put a bow in?
Lovely K was just so precious.
You know how charming little girls are.
Another little girl would be so amazing.
It's been almost ten years, you know.
We've enjoyed the little boy world
....but how nice it would be to take another stroll
through the world of pink baby things?

Well, this is the day.
The next time I post something, we'll know.
Hopefully.
I'm not leaving until they get a shot
of the necessary equipment.
I have always done this on the way to my ultrasounds---
I stop at Sonic and buy a big Sundrop
and drink it on the way there.
A nice chunk of caffeine
to get this baby moving around
so we can see what we need to see.

If you don't know what a Sundrop is,
it's a Southern thing.
Probably a Tennessee thing.
It's one of those yellow carbonated drinks,
a coke, a soda, whatever you call them.
I've heard of people compare it to Mello Yellow
or Mountain Dew but that is rather insulting
to a Sundrop lover. Sundrop is great.
It's addicting though.
I had to stop drinking them
in my twenties because I realized
I was kind of dependant on them.
Of course, I drank those and didn't eat much
and was thin as a rail.
How does that sound for a post-pregnancy diet plan?
(ha!)
But one Sundrop each pregnancy
(and I also have one when I am trying to stop
a migraine that's roaring down the tracks---
a Sundrop and a Goody's headache powder)
won't hurt me. Or my lovely babes.
Look how happy it made the first three!

I'm off to get started
with this day!
Can't wait to find out!
Can't wait to tell you!!!!

Your Nose Will Thank You

Last night for supper I fixed something I have not made in quite some time. It's an easy dish and that is why I chose it this time. Once I started making it last night, I remembered how GOOD it is. The smell of this sauce, while it is cooking, is the thing that makes me love it the most.
It just smells so good.

I remember making it for the first time
at our first little house
on an autumn evening
a few years ago.
That smell filled the house
and intoxicated me
---I mean, I remember it even now.
And how often do you
really remember the first time
you cooked a particular dish?

So what is this dish?
It's simply "Salsa Chicken" and you really need
to stop whatever you are doing and make it right now.
I don't care what time it is.
You'll thank me for it.
Your nose will thank me for it.
You're going to like this.
And it's so easy.

Salsa Chicken

2 Tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup almond slivers
chicken breasts or tenders

(mix the following together in one bowl)
2 cups chunky style salsa
1/2 cup water
4 Tbsp currents
2 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon

Heat oil over low heat--add almonds (make sure you read my note below about this). Cook almonds until golden brown (1-2 min). Remove almonds with slotted spoon and set aside. Add garlic to skillet. Cook 30 seconds then add chicken. Cook 4-5 minutes, until brown, turning occasionally. Add salsa mix to chicken. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover and cook 20 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring occasionally. Stir in almonds. Serve over rice.

Bell's notes: I don't cook the almonds anymore. I used to and it just seemed to serve no purpose. I save them until the end now. I just sprinkle a few on top and it looks pretty and they are nice and crunchy. I used to put the currents in this recipe (I really like them, they give it a sweet little surprise of a taste). My hubby doesn't care for the currents (even though they are so tiny). So since I hadn't bought any currents, I left them out of the recipe last night and no one missed them except me. Also, be generous with the cumin and cinnamon. It is the combination of these two spices that make it smell and taste so good. I guess too much of them can make it seem a tiny bit hot (to super mild families like mine), but they taste GREAT!! This feeds my family of 5 (two adults, three children) with leftovers for a lunch the next day. Make plenty of rice to go with it. I think I made six cups last night. It's one of those things that tastes great warmed up too. Oh yeah, I buy chicken tenders and cut them into bite size pieces--this works best with my little kids.

This is such a simple dish, easy to make,
and it looks attractive on the plate.
I like to put a green veggie with it or a salad.
A thick, crusty bread would be good too.

I hope you'll let me know if you try it.
I'll be putting it into a more frequent rotation
here at my house.

Do you ever do this?
Forget about a recipe that you love?
And then when you finally make it again,
you wonder how you ever forgot about it.

Third Time is the Charm

You remember how pleased I was
with myself today
for being so "on top of" things?

Remember how I patted myself on the back?

Remember that?

Well, I guess I jumped the gun when giving myself that
pat on the back. It seems that one month into educating
my children for this current school year, I realized that I
have not registered my kids for school anywhere!
Mercy me.
We take the option that most home schoolers in Tennessee
(the ones I know anyway)
take which is to be registered with an umbrella school.
This makes my life so easy. I can not imagine doing it
any other way. But the thing you have to do
is actually REGISTER the children.
Sigh.
I don't know what I was thinking.
But I was glad to find out that I wasn't too behind.
I have five more days to do it before the late fees kick in.
I started to do the old,
"Oh, I've got five days; I'll do it tomorrow"
but then I thought that if I know me,
I'll mess that up. So I went ahead and registered
them tonight. So it is done.
All but putting the check in the mail,
but I have a note to myself to do that tomorrow.

I mentioned to Lloyd Dobbler a few minutes ago that I didn't sleep very well last night. His instant response was "Yes! I know!" Evidently I woke him up with my tossing and turning. Hopefully there'll be no repeats of that tonight.

Three posts in one day?
What is this world coming to?

Later that same day....

It's me again.

Are you rolling your eyes?
I know, I know.
I go for days without saying anything
and then today, when I really have nothing to say,
I'm back again for my second post.

And it's not even
noon yet.

But things are going smoothly
here at The School of the Bell.
In case you were wondering.
We've done History and Bible and Math and some Grammar and copy work and I've read a handful of stories from the great Richard Scary collection to Superbaby. Laundry is underway. The bathrooms have been vacuumed. I had the boys try on and model the new clothes they got yesterday. I even know what I am having for supper tonight.

Can I just pat myself on the back for a second?



It's so unusual for me to feel like I'm not just
overwhelmed with life in general.
Don't get too excited.
I'll let you in on a little secret:
I've lowered my standards and expectations.

The house in general is still a mess.
It's not horrible, but it doesn't get a gold star today.
The kitchen floor is crying out to be mopped.
I need to dust.
The living room floor has been neglected too.
Lloyd Dobbler informed me last night that he was wearing
his last shirt today which means there's going to have to be
an ironing marathon at some point today
(I've been out of clothes for a couple of days....
I've got to iron some for myself too!).
And Superbaby is downstairs yelling at Lovely K
while she tries to vacuum the last bathroom floor.
I don't know what he's mad about,
but he's about to get thrown into the Loch Ness
if his attitude doesn't change.
Ever have a child wake up in a very cross mood
that lasted for a couple of days?
This is where we are at with that child.
Something has made him cranky.
And taller.

I also had Big E start reading a book today.

Big E can read very well (other moms at our co-op are always commenting this to me and I never know what I'm supposed to think about it when they say this to me---can't their six year olds (almost seven) read? Am I expecting too much?) but he doesn't seem to like it. He's kind of lazy about it...wants you to tell him a word rather than trying to sound it out himself. This annoys me.

I checked out the first book in the Magic Tree House series (it's about dinosaurs) for him and made him sit down in my presence and start reading the first chapter aloud. This way I know he's actually reading it and not looking at the pictures as he is want to do with many books. So he read that first chapter and was interested in the book. He wanted to read on, but I made him stop and go do some other school work. Maybe this will spark his interest to want to return to it on his own in free time this afternoon. I'll assign Chapter Two tomorrow if he hasn't done it on his own by then. I'm trying to get him interested without shoving it down his throat.

It took years for Lovely K to develop
an independent interest in reading.
I don't know if she just wasn't into it yet
or never got enchanted with the books
that I was surrounding her with.
I don't know what it was.
But she has discovered mysteries
(sometime in the last year)
and that seems to be her thing.
I was never a mystery reader myself,
but I am glad that she has found her interest.
She is working on a Happy Hollister book
and a her first Nancy Drew mystery now.

Last night after church
Lloyd Dobbler found her
in her Sunday dress
stretched out on the couch
with a blanket and a book.
He said she looked like
one of those girls from the fifties
that Norman Rockwell
would have painted.

I'm just glad she's found her interest in reading.
Now if I can just light that fire in Big E.

Well, I need to go make sure that things are still happening downstairs with my very capable students while I'm up her in Blogland. Must keep things running smoothly. Must stay on track. Must do another load of laundry and drag out the MOUNTAIN of laundry waiting to be ironed.

It's a very good, busy, ordinary day.


I am thankful that I have a house to clean
and clothes to iron
and healthy, happy children.

I am thankful.