a little of me to leave with you

I just had to make one last posting before our trip.  If you want to know what fun songs I have in my head this week, here you go!

http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/danny_gokey_come_rain_or_come_shine

http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/adam_lambert_feeling_good

I have mentioned previously that even though we don't have TV,  the past couple of years I have "watched" the best of American Idol via youtube.  Alas, this year I discovered the AI watchdogs had yanked all the fun stuff off youtube.  Bummer.  So I have been visiting the offical site to see the performances--although you can't here the judges comments after the performances, which is half the fun.  I waited until they were down to the final three contestants, and then I went back and heard what they had sung previously.  There were quite a few really good interpretations on the show this year, including Adam Lambert singing "Mad World" and Kris Allen (the guy who won) singing "Heartless."  But the two I have linked are the ones that keep coming to mind, the ones I could listen to/watch over and over.  "Feeling Good" is going to be my theme song for this summer, I can tell.  : )  Lambert sings it like a lifelong but now reformed criminal being released from prison ready to start anew; I sing it more like a prayer. 

Even if you distain American Idol, give these songs a listen--and think of me. : )

Movin' Right Along (doog-a-doon, doog-a-doon)

Tomorrow is (hopefully) the big day--we drive away, "amuck in America," for a little over a month. The reason I am hopeful, and not certain, is that I am looking at the mountain of stuff on my bed waiting to be packed yet, and Doug has not even begun packing the camping gear. I don't even know if he has found it all in the underbelly of our house. And the house is filthy, since I have spent the last couple of weeks sorting, doing laundry, shopping, and wrapping up all kinds of loose ends in anticipation of our lengthy trip. And the more stuff you get piled around the tiny house, waiting to be packed, the less room you have to clean in! So I am hoping to be able to finish packing tonight and then get the girls to help me with a quick Spring cleaning.

So many things to do! So many details you can't overlook! (I am sure I will think of even more, retrospectively)

One of the things I did today that I had purposefully put off until the last minute was tell M's school that she would be missing the last two weeks of school. I should back up and say that I am really scared of Mrs. Higgenbotham, the principal, and twice when we have been walking to school a few minutes late, the bell has rung and the last stragglers are going to their classes (California schools have no interior hallways, so I walk her to her classroom door) and Mrs. H is standing looking sternly at us stragglers and I find myself pretending to be engaged in cheerful conversation with M so I can turn my head away and pretend I don't see her and I am not shrinking from guilt and fear she is going to speak to me and chastise me.

And I am also a little mad at Mrs. H, because of the generally rude way the school is run, in my opinion. It seems like all Mrs. H cares about is getting all the state school funds, and so when you have a kid out sick for an extended period, you don't hear concern for the well-being of the child, you hear nagging about how the child should be in school. Becky knows what I am talking about. So when M was sick for a few days about a month ago, I did not bother to tell the school. M's kindergarten teacher is really great, but I have heard she is not careful about taking attendance. And I figured that if I did not happen to tell the school we were gone, and Mrs. R the teacher did not happen to notice, then maybe the school would not happen to notice either, and they could keep their funding for M for that day and everyone would be happy. Or at least none the wiser. The school never called me, so I figured all was working according to plan. Until I got a form letter last week from the school telling me to report to the principal to explain the absences, and threatening to report me to the truancy office and give me a fine.

A form letter. No one from the school (there are two secretaries) bothered to call our home to ask why M was not in school, but they took time and precious school funds to mail a rude letter to my home.

I was fuming for a while, until I realized: it is nothing personal. Literally. They do not care why M was not in school, and were just doing the minimum of contact the state requires when a child is truant.

So I was not looking forward to telling the school that we were pulling M out for the rest of the school year. Technically you are not supposed to be able to do it, and students can be held back if they miss too many days of school. But this is to protect kids from parents who just don't care about their education--I know for a fact that M will be getting MUCH more learning on the road with us during the next two weeks then she would get at school, since the last couple of weeks are just one big kinder playdate. With lots of videos. Again, Becky knows what I am talking about. So it bugs me that we could actually get in trouble with the school system for giving our daughter an amazing, hugely educational month because we are not following the rules--the whole spirit of the law versus the letter of the law thing.

I had asked M's teacher for advice on how to tell the school, and she said I should just say M was sick. "Not that I am saying that you should lie," she said, "Except. . . I guess I am saying that." But I did not want to lie, so I typed out a brief letter to the school explaining that we were leaving the state and "unavoidable ciscumstances" (i.e. a wedding in Chicago the day after the last day of classes in CA) were forcing us to complete M's year while on the road.

Let's see what kind of letter they send me this time.

I took my letter in to the secretary with a big smile, and acted like all was well, leaving, of course, before she could open it. But as I drove the van away, I suddenly had the feeling like I was fleeing, pursued by a pack of yowling hounds. . . We are SO out of there. Literally--M will be joining her older sister at "The Redwood Academy" (the offical name of our home school) next year. : )

Movin' right along, foot-loose and fancy free.
Gettin' there is half the fun; come share it with me.
Movin' right along (doog-a-doon, doog-a-doon)
We'll learn to share the load.
We don't need a map to keep this show on the road.

Movin' right along we found a life on the highway,
And your way is my way, so trust my navigation.

Google Chrome

Ok, we have been trying out Google Chrome as our browser (previously still on Internet Explorer) and I have to admit, pages are loading a LOT faster--and we have DSL.  Recently IE had been buggy for us, randomly not able to load pages, even (especially?) when I was already looking at other pages from the same sites. . . .

But two things are bugging me about Chrome. One, I forget until it happens, but I don't like technical changes.  I am no neo-Luddite, but am definitely not technically savvy.  I still don't know how to download MP3s or use an "i"anything.  We still have a working cassette player (ok, ok, boom box), and use it.  We have an old 16 inch TV, not that we actually watch TV.  When we spend money, we typically want the best, but ironically, we have no problem holding onto really old stuff as long as it is still functional.  I especially hate having to learn new computer applications, when the perfectly good but no longer current ways of doing things are not even available when you upgrade.  So now, to go log into Chrome and have to look for where my favorites are stored, and figure out which box is the correct search engine, etc.  is just annoying.  I hate learning how to do something over again when the old way was just fine, thank you.  Except for those never-loaded pages. . . .

The other thing that is bugging me about it is when I view my blog, the font looks different!  Yuk!  I am such a visual person that things like font really affect how I respond to information, and looking at the typeface here as I am posting makes me feel like I am writing in someone else's blog.

Boy, was this a nothing post!  Well, that just goes to show you the condition of my brain these days.  See, you won't really miss me.  ; )

in celebration of the new and beautiful

My dear friend Rosa gave birth about a week and a half ago to her second child, a son, H.O. He is just the cutest thing. It was funny meeting him for on his first day of life and being surprised at how tiny he is. Even this past Sunday at church (go Rosa!!!) seeing his little, tiny, skinny red leg and itsy furry-socked foot sticking out of his mama's sling, I could not believe that babies came that small. He was born weighing 6 lbs 7 oz.

Of course it is all a matter of perspective, but this is from a woman who--before E--never had a baby born over 6 lbs. G in particular was really what you want for your first birthing experience: 4 lbs 15 oz and an unusually small head. Thank you, Lord! They got a little bigger each time--5 lbs 10oz, 5 lbs 6 oz (but she was a month early). When E was growing in there, I knew he was going to be astronomically big. Well, for me. And he was--I had to look it up on facebook because I could not remember--7 lbs 8 oz.

And of course it makes sense that H.O. looks so small, because E is 8 months older, and so robust. But I still thought it was funny how quickly I have forgotten. : )

One thing I had not forgotten yet--how to handle a newborn. And this is what I was actually inspired to write about today, how I once again had the extreme pleasure of feeling used by God to bless and support Rosa, even if just for a few minutes. I am sure Rosa will blog about her birth experience sometime soon, so I am not going to take the telling of her story from her--I am just going to give a snippet of when our stories intersected.

I knew when they were starting the early signs of labor that morning, and got some updates throughout that day, and knew by evening that they were still at it, but with clearly a long way to go. So I went to bed that night with Rosa on my heart, praying for her and her husband and H.O. That night, I woke up at one in the morning, praying. I mean I woke up for no discernable reason--without a baby crying or a girl kicking the wall in her sleep--and as I woke, I became aware that I was praying. The same thing happened again at 5 in the morning--I woke up praying. This time I remembered doing it for longer, as if I was praying in a dream and woke up from the dream still praying.

I am not explaining this well, but this has never happened to me before. There have been a few times in my life when I had a very powerful dream and woke up from it and prayed because of the terrible feelings or images I was still reeling from. But I have never come to wakefulness and realized I was praying.

When I got to visit later that evening, and got to hear the whole story, it was fascinating to tell them my experience and for Rosa and her husband, B, to say "Oh yeah, that was when ____ was happening." The coolest part, though, was when they told me that they had heard of another woman who woke up at 3 in the morning and prayed for them--so it was like the Holy Spirit was moving people to pray all throughout the hours when they needed it the most, and God beautifully covered them with His safekeeping.

Then on that first Sunday, we took Rosa's daughter little G home with us after the church gathering. After dinner I took her back to the hospital and then got to hang out with Rosa while daddy took little G to Grandma's for the night. And it was here when, again, things seemed to happen in a way that was beyond coincidence, that pointed to a merciful and loving Father providing for his children in need. While B was gone, I got to hold little H.O. and was so pleased with how easy and natural it seemed, just to tuck him in the crook of my arm and be moving around the room adjusting furniture and fetching things. I have four kids, so I do have some experience. Yet never in my life have I naturally gravitated towards holding or tending other people's children. Especially babies. I love to admire them, but always am too afraid that the minute I hold them they will start crying and everyone will then know that I am secretly inept with children. I have always envied those women who just swoop in and gather up other people's children in their arms and chuckle and coo and the babies just eat it up and are completely at home. I've never been able to do that, even with my sister's kids.

So, it was such a pleasure to have little H.O. in my care, and for once feel like that strong and capable woman who knows what to do and has a way with babies. I got to change his little poopy diaper and knew just what to do (even how to hold his little ankles so those clumsy security anklets don't scrape his delicate skin). And then, just when H.O. was awake and wanting to nurse, Rosa started to feel really ill, and had to quickly hand him off to me again. She called her husband to ask him to come back as quickly as he could, and as she hung up the phone, he was there! He had been walking into the hospital as she called. It was God's perfect timing--for he could then be there to help Rosa and I just hung out with little H.O., awash with peace and love, praying for them all, feeling like I was just the right person to be there and snuggle a newborn who at that moment wanted his mama but who did not cry because I knew enough how to keep him feeling taken care of. And since you understand that I have never been that person before, it was that much more a gift.

Shoes--the Saga Continues

This time, it is about new sandals for G for the wedding we will be attending in Chicago in just a couple of weeks. I need to order something soon, and so have been online for a couple of days now, since I can't find anything remotely cute or suitable here in town. Mom is making dresses for the girls, and G's dress is really kinda vintage looking, with a peaish green floral background with red and white polka dot accents and black trim at the neck on the pockets--really hard to describe, but from the pic she sent of the work in progress, it looks really cute.

So I was originally leaning towards a black sandal, and found a Kenneth Cole that will do.

Then I saw these, also Kenneth Cole:

Oh, so cute! Would look adorable with the dress! They are on sale, too. But I would never buy a 2 inch heel shoe for an 8 year old. Or would I. . . ?

I am soliciting feedback here. The whole impracticality of the red polka dot is offset by the fact that she actually has the cutest red and white polka dot skirt. . . . But the heel. I am just wondering what my sister girlfriends think--would you ever get a shoe with such a heel for your young girl?

Feedback would be greatly appreciated--the quicker the better! And if you want to gently lead me away from my temporary insanity, just tell me you think black would be cuter with the dress anyway. ; )

Thank you, Mom

So the posting I made a few days ago about clothes for the girls made me think about all the pretty and useful things my mother has made for us over the years. Going back through the photo archives, I realize there are too many that I do not have photos of the girls wearing. But with those photos I did find, I will now post a fashion show of many of the things Mom has made that we have enjoyed for many years. Thank you, Mom, for all the love and care you have put into your artistic creations! Happy Mother's Day. : )

(If you want to see any of the gorgeous detail on the smocking of these dresses, just double click on the photo)

B's baby quilt

Fishies! (all the dresses are hand smocked)

Princess M, Summer '08

Princess G

Princess B

Sweater Mom made for my older sister when she was little--here on M

Monkey costume made for my little sister's older boys, handed on to us, now handed back for her youngest boy!

M's baby quilt (I pick the fabrics, Mom does the work!)

Another costume passed between sisters for maximum enjoyment. Rawrrrr!

Pioneer girl dress Mom made for my older sister for Halloween long ago, worn roughly 30 years later for Halloween by G

My favorite dress when I was a girl. I was thrilled G could wear it last summer.

Newborn G on her quilt

Newborn E on his quilt (the back side), wearing a sweater mom knitted for my older sister before she was born

A lot of these dresses are hand-me-downs from my older sister, who has two girls roughly the same age apart as mine are from each other.

G with D's sister at their cousin's wedding

Love them bibs!!!!!!

We call this our Colonial girl dress--also from my childhood--and play accordingly

Thank you, Grandma!

more easy yum!

Yesterday I made one of my favorite dishes, which is very loosely inspired by Carribean cooking:

--fresh yams/sweet potato (about one per person), cooked and peeled and roughly cut into bite-sized pieces. (I microwave mine and then peel when cool enough to handle)
--topped with cooked black beans (I use canned beans, rinsed and drained)
--topped with shredded sharp or medium cheddar cheese
--sprinkled with ground cumin and black pepper

Warm it up in the microwave or oven, then before serving, sprinkle with plenty of snipped green onion and, if you like, a twist of fresh lime.

As you can tell, the recipes I invent are very, very easy. Toss em' together kinds of meals that dirty as few dishes as possible! ; )

I gussied up this recipe a little for an international banquet last year and made a batch to serve 50 people and called it "Carribean sweet potato and black beans," and the poor young Carribean man who was one of the speakers got tired of telling people he did not make it and did not know how to make it, because so many people were complimenting him and asking for the recipe, that he finally made an announcement from the podium that I was the one responsible!

But I think the simple version I gave above is better than the one I served at the banquet.

can't forget the little man!

My Smiley E!

Dress-up

My Merry M

My Happy B

My Sunny G

I took some pics a couple of Sundays ago when we had a cold snap and the girls could wear their Christmas outfits one last time before we will put them away until next winter (sorting clothes and emptying the camera card among the things I am doing before our trip). My mom makes such beautiful dresses for the girls that we normally don't buy dresses (other than playdresses), but most of you know I have a fondness for the Dutch clothing makers Oilily, and I had been drooling over some particular items for a year, but the prices were just too outrageous. And yet, they are sooooooooo cute! And actually practical, since they are well made and wear really well and are machine washable--which is all great if you are rich enough to buy them. We are not.

But the one bright side to the economy right now is that all kinds of once-expensive children's clothing on eBay is dirt cheap! Well, relatively speaking. So I was thrilled to find M and G's outfits on eBay for sooooooo much less--literally a fraction of the original retail price. We do not actually buy that much clothing--we are blessed with lots of hand-me-downs from sisters and friends, so we mainly just replace things that have been worn out or fill in wardrobe gaps. I would rather have fewer clothes that are well-made and practical and we enjoy than a closet full of things that don't really get worn. So getting these outfits for the girls was a real treat.

B is wearing a Hanna Andersson outfit handed down from M, another clothing brand that is more expensive (not Oilily expensive!) but is worth it if you plan to hand clothes down to multiple children.

I love my girls. And I love dressing my girls. ; )

Tip for friends in town: art at the Abbey/Vintage makes a great backdrop for photos!

How Time Flies!

Wow, I can't believe how long it has been since I have written here. But it seems like the past week + my brain has been so full of things that when I have a chance to sit down and type, I am too mentally exhausted. So, here is a quick summary of things as they stand:

--Homeschooling suddenly went kaput after Spring Break. Don't know why. Things have been going great for several years, now out of the blue--pfffffffffffffft. Because of that, things have been really frustrating around here, and G was getting very little done. Ok, some homeschooling moms have consoled me with how much my girls are doing, like watching nature documentaries and doing martial arts and guitar lessons and Spanish lessons and videos, and educational books, etc. Still, I am not happy with our current rate. Which has led to. . .

--Restructuring the daily home life. I thought some of our problem was that the way I was trying to organize the daily "to do" list was too open-ended and ended up being frustrating for both me and G. I was making one list for the day (schoolwork and chores) and G was mostly able to choose what she wanted to do when, and there were rewards for finishing it. But then she would procrastinate and want to do her vacuuming chore after I put E down for his nap, or want to do a project that required my assistance right when I was getting occupied in something of my own. So I am trying some new ways of ordering the day, in the hopes that will help, breaking down the day into morning and afternoon work. And this offers her more incentive too, since she likes getting stickers as rewards for getting her work done, and now I reward her for work and chores done in the morning and in the afternoon both. She also gets a heart sticker for her daily "heart lesson," like obeying her parents the first time, not interrupting, etc.

I also am establishing firmer morning and evening routines, since they are key to keeping things in order around here, and I need more order! So now in addition to making the bed, getting dressed and putting away pj's in the morning, each girl also has a zone in the bedroom for which she is responsible: G has the dresser top, M has the closet, and B has the boxes at the foot of the bed where invariably yesterday's clothes and toys are found stashed. So now we start out the day with the room picked up, and the girls really like the idea of having a part of the room that is "their zone." In the evening routine the zone to check and pick up is in the living room: G has the toy shelves, M has the bookshelves/cupboards, and B has the floor.

I am also giving each girl responsibility for the kitchen table at one meal a day. So far this is working well, and arguments about who gets to pick what cup color or style of spoon are waning, since each girl knows she will have her time to choose everything. So the girl is responsible for setting, clearing, and sweeping the floor underneath. The only catch is that I can't stand the girls putting half-wiped placemats away, so I am the one to wipe the table--which often means that it never gets done, since by the time they are done with a meal I am off nursing Evan or doing one of a thousand things and don't make time to go back and finish. But when I wipe up immediately this new routine it is a huge blessing, since I don't have to look at a messy table or crumby floor after every meal. Seriously, I never realized what a difference to my kitchen or my spirits a clean table would be.

(And this is where some of you are shaking your heads in wonder, thinking, "you mean you don't clear the table immediately after every meal?! Tsk Tsk." Some of you are also not going to be asked over for playdates without at least a day's notice. ; )

And then there are parts of the routine that are for me, like keeping up with dishes better and wiping the table immediately, and zone work (ala FlyLady) and starting the day with Scripture at breakfast (something the girls love but which we fell out of the habit of doing when M started school and suddenly they were not all gathered for the meal at the same time). They are all GOOD things--but they each are one more thing to do, and one more thing I have to remember to do.

So, training the girls and myself to this new order has been tiring. And like I said, there are even more things that I want to work into the rhythm of our day, like reading and devotions and exercises. But I have to do the most urgent things first--the ones that will help me stay sane.

--Then we are also trying to do all the usual wind-down the year things like teacher appreciation lunches and paperwork to register M for homeschooling next year. And I feel like I am quickly running out of time because. . .

-- We are pulling M out of school the Fri before Memorial Day weekend, and we will start our Summer Road Trip Homeschooling Extravaganza! (Or, to quote from MTV of my youth, "Amuck in America.") We have to arrive in my hometown of Champaign, IL before my cousin's wedding in Chicago on the 6th, but until then we will wander through states, focusing most of our time on people and places in CO, I hope. After the wedding, D will fly back home (still have to get the airline ticket and figure out his transport from airport!) and the girls and I will hang around in IL for a few weeks, getting our fill of Abraham Lincoln sites and the Amish and whatever else Central IL affords. Then my parents will caravan with us on a long, education-rich trip back to CA: our plans include the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum in MO, the "little town on the prairie" DeSmet, SD, Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, maybe some of the Oregon Trail? Still have LOTS of flexibility, and my parents are being so awesome, and allowing me to choose most of our sight-seeing and being along for the experience.

(My parents are seasoned road-trippers, and we grew up driving yearly from IL to AL, to CO, and some years to the East coast or CA--we are not going anywhere they have not gone before! But almost everything that we will see this summer, like Yellowstone, my parents did B.C. (Before Children) and so it will be new for me! My parents are also retired educators, and appreciate and enjoy making the most of learning while you travel.)

So as I prepare to be away from home for more than a month, I keep remembering things that I need to get or do before we go. Like get shoes for the girls for the wedding. Like make sure G has clothes, since she has outgrown a lot. Like get G a new swimsuit--just did yesterday. Like get girls new sunhats. Like get someone to water my plants, and someone to take our Community Supported Agriculture share for those weeks.

Anyway, things are just wearing on me right now--getting stressed by so much to do and having the whole house and kids falling apart at the same time. But slowly, it is all coming into place. G got more school done in the past three days than in the last two weeks combined. The girls are not fighting the new routines and seem to enjoy them. I am making myself be focused on the tasks that must be done, and that feels good.

But that is one more reason why I have not been posting.

I so appreciate that some friends and family stop by here to see how I am doing and what I am up to. I sincerely thank you for your interest. So when I am gone for the month of June, please check by every now and then, just to keep yourself in the habit. ; ) I will post when I can!