My Task Tonight

In April, I painted the living with a top coat by ragging. I love the way it turned out. Well, when we took all of the pictures and other items off of the wall, we set them on the hearth (?) of the fireplace. My big huge French poster went right in front of the fireplace opening.

Now, September is almost over and I still have not hung the pics back up. Mostly because I didn't know where I wanted what and what I wanted to replace/get rid of/keep/etc. So tonight I decide that something is going to happen. I begin to sort through everything and then I get to the huge poster in the back of the pile of 14 framed items. Here is what was behind the poster.

I had completely forgotten that we covered up a huge mess of ash and dust and charred wood.

Now my issue is this. How in the world do I clean this up without completely ruining my new carpet. Anyone wanna come over and help?

This is not Charlotte!

I am not one to freak out over bugs or creepy crawlies. I tend to lose it more when I see the approaching expiration date on a carton of milk more than a spider or worm.

BUT TODAY I LOST IT WHEN I SAW A SPIDER.

Ok, I am exaggerating here. It wasn't a spider. Really it was more like eight spiders. And not just any spider but EIGHT BLACK WIDOW SPIDERS.

The kids and I raked up all of the leaves in the front yard. We moved Jacob's bicycle ramp and turned it over. Helloooooo there were four spiders in separate webs all clinging to the underneath. And, NO JOKE there were ..... ready for this.... five different egg sacs all over the thing.

I knew what I had to do. I pulled them all out and stomped all over those poor lil venomous unborn babies. Kinda goes against my belief of how precious life is - well not really.

Then I went into the backyard to do the same with leaves. Guess what? I found another four spiders. I pried them out of their webs and smashed them too. Them with their big fat black bellies and their creepy red hourglass tattoos. Eeeehhhhhwwwww.

I find Black Widows all the time here. Usually hanging out in the bricks in the front yard. Oh and sometimes nesting under the slide. Yeah, I know, my kids use the slide, they could get bit, blah blah blah. We know that they aren't aggressive unless provoked. Until today, that thought has placated me.

NO MORE. Lover, if you are reading this CALL THE EXTERMINATOR. I might turn into that person that screams at the sight of a spider.

How it's going

So how is homeschooling going for us, you might ask. Well let me show you a couple of pictures that we have that show what some of our activities have been like.

Last week we went on a field trip to a science museum. Did lots of hands-on things and even learned quite a bit. Here is Jacob's face in the "pin cushion".

Jacob at the museum doing an experiment about pulleys and lifting body weight. We learned that the more times the rope wraps around (ie..more pulleys) the easier it is to pull weight.

Sometime during our trip, we did some cool things about dinosaurs. So of course, we went right out and rented Jurassic Park to supplement our learning :) Ok, well it was fun too and such a cool movie. Here is Jacob doing a spelling exercise. You see, one thing about Jacob is that he is ALL BOY. That means he is wiggly, squirmy, ansty, always in motion and never slows down. It can prove quite challenging to keep his attention when all he wants to do it flip his pencil over the table or spin in his new desk chair (yeah, I am reconsidering that one). So, we do something very cool. When we review his spelling words, he takes a basketball and bounces it as he spells the word. Then he says that word and swishes the ball between his legs. It keeps him moving AND focused!!!Ok, this is the best picture ever! Here we are at the bridal shop so Sarah can try on her flower girl dress for Rhonda Cherryholme's wedding. We brought schoolwork for Jacob. He is here getting ready to take a spelling test. All these women were trying on dresses, twirling around, zipping, tying, and chattting about the dress. He is doing spelling. I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING!

I LOVE FALL!

I want to live here!!!! This is my dream place to live. Oh it makes me want to pack up and head to Vermont. I would love the Fall but hate the Winter!

This weather is awesome. Lenny was outside washing the car and I was sitting with him. I had to go in a get a sweater. I was cold. Then we ate vegetable beef soup for dinner. The kids had to get up and get socks because they were cold too! This is great.

Indulgences

I am not one who loves pampering. I mean, of course, I love to get a pedicure when I can. But I do that mostly to just make my feet look normal, not so much because of the attention.

But today, well I got the best in pampering. I got a full body massage. (please no mental pictures here friends)

Many of you know my friend Sharon. She is one heck of a massueseeueueue (how do you spell that?). She has graced me with her talents a few times in the past and believe me when I say it was absolute heaven. Well I got to go back and see her today. And, oooohhhhhhh it was nice.

Then I had about 30 minutes before I had to get back home so I went to Taco Bell. I couldn't go in because I was quite oily and my hair was, well, a sight. So I went through the drive thru, got my food and parked in the lot. And then I just ate my taco and burrito while listening to the KOST. It was nice.

Then I went home. Jumped back into reality as soon as I saw the grammar book and math worksheets on the table.

Just in case you are wondering - that is not me, nor is it Sharon in the picture! I wish.

Seriously, Am I the Only One??

I gotta know. Am I the only one who seems to have trouble with Blogger?

I just noticed on my last post about soccer that the type size has once again changed. For a while it was that size, then for a while it went big. Now, back to normal. And the spacing! Come on. I swear that I look at the blog, edit it, come back and fix it, just to see that there are huge gaps between paragraphs. Or they are squished together when I KNOW that I spaced them properly.

People tell me. Is it me?

Soccer Season is Here!

So last weekend was the first game for both kids. Jacob has played for the last two seasons, but for Sarah, this was her first ever ever game ever.


Both kids had an awesome season opener with winning the games by playing very well. We were so impressed with the way not only both kids, but both teams played.

Jacob absolutely loves soccer. He will go outside and kick the ball around any chance he gets. Sarah, on the other hand, has never really shown an interest until sign-ups last May. We jumped at the chance to get her on a team. We knew back then that we would be homeschooling and that opportunities like a huge playground to run around on would be limited. So, this was a good PE alternative.

Jacob hustles every chance he gets. He doesn't just stand there and look at the ball - he goes after it. Notice the one who is moving in the photo? Here it looks like he is playing volleyball. Not really, but it looks like it. And Sarah too is not afraid of the ball. She will also be aggressive in attacking it. BUT so are the other girls on the team. Good thing, but they all seem to bunch up together instead of spreading out all over the field. Her poor coach is having a heck of time teaching these girls. Out of 10, only two are returning players. Everyone else is brand new at soccer. Ok this goalie pic.... I love this one. Not because it is particularly great photography or even that she is doing something amazing in it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it because she is playing the goalie position after being coached by her brother just 3 nights earlier. Jacob's practice that night was moved to another night so he came with me to her practice. Sarah's coach asked Jacob the week before if he would work with the 4 girls that she wanted to be goalie. He came to the practice all ready to teach. And teach he did. I heard him encouraging the girls (who by the way were more interested in each other's hair that what Coach Jacob had to say), showing them what to do, having them retry different skills. It was very nice to watch.

So here she is ready to show her brother what he taught her. And she did. She blocked a goal by nearly falling to the ground and into the ball so it wouldn't make it into net. And...they won the game.

It is gonna be a great season!!!!

Yo Ho Yo Ho

Look at what arrived today at the DMV..... ta daaaaahhh.

It's official. I am the Captain of the Black Pearl. Aaarrrgghhh!

I had asked Jacob to take the old plates off so we could turn them in. He was stoked to use his tools and put the new ones on. It was cool to ask him to do that, knowing that he could and would know what to use and how to do it. Kinda bugs me though that he is so self-sufficient.

On another note... both kids are enrolled in a science class on Thursdays. This unit is on ecology. Their project this week is to make a dust collector. I thought "Great, they can collect the stuff they mess up." To my dismay, the project isn't like that. But, it is kind of interesting. They took a 3x5 card and smeared petroleum jelly on both sides. Then we hung it up outside and we wait. Each day we check it and record the amount or increase of what gets caught in the jelly. While we were hanging it up, we saw a few specks of dust get trapped. I hope a fly runs right into it and can't move. That would be cool.

First Day of School

Jacob and Sarah started school last week. Jacob is in 4th grade and Sarah is in 1st. I swear it was just yesterday that I ran home to tell Lenny that we were having a baby. That was 10 years ago. I can remember the details vividly and now I look up and here is a 9 1/2 year old sitting right in front of me doing math and taking a model car apart. I blinked and now both of them are big. What happened?

So we have begun our homeschooling journey. We have known for a year that this would be what we would do. September has arrived and school has started. I was doing ok until about two weeks before school started. Then the panic set it. "Could I do this?" "What am I thinking?" "Really, is this gonna be good for them?" Then the day before school started, our pastor's wife came over and brought me a candle. She said that everytime I lit it to remember that she is praying for our school year. Wow, it calmed me down in an instant. I, once again, felt the assurance and conviction that I had for the past year about this being right for us. I truly feel like God has given us all kinds of confirmation along the way that this is what he wants for us. I sadly, lost sight of that for a while.

So last Wednesday came and we hopped right into the business of schooling. We are doing well and aside from a few things that need to be tweaked, it looks like it is going to be a great year. Here is a picture of what the kids think of their teacher!!!

On another note, Lenny took this picture of Sarah and I at breakfast last week. Everyone says we look alike. I don't see it. Do you?

Maybe a blonde version of Katie Holmes and Baby Suri??? Ok,. sooooo kidding!

Garage Clean Up

You know when you need to do something and you just keep putting it off? Well, we are no different. We have a garage that desperately needed to be organized. Mostly it just needed it's contents to be thrown away, but Lenny is not given to throwing much out. So, as compromise, we consolidated, organized and yes, in the end, threw out or donated many things. It was an awesome feeling to tackle it head on together and get it done. Even Jacob and Sarah did their part.

I am constantly amazed and how much stuff we have in our lives. Not just in the garage or in the house, but in our heads and hearts. And, sadly most of that stuff is not worth holding on to. It is just clutter. Looking at the contents of the garage really made me think about my life. How I tend to hold on to things that are just taking up room and creating chaos and anxiety instead of peace and calm.

Take a look at how much paint I have. This drives my husband nuts. I love paint. I love to paint crafts and do cool things to the walls in my house. But that kind of project takes at least three different cans of something...two paint colors and one can of glaze. Then I decide to change the color and there goes another two cans of paint. Yep, I like paint. If you need any, come by and take some!

At the end of the day, we got it all cleaned out and looking pretty good.

Even got the Black Pearl into it's new home! Yea!!!!!!