| Start: | Apr 21, '08 |
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Welcome to my crazy.....
I have to paint the boys' new bedroom by this weekend. Problem is I can't pick colors. Don't tell me to ask my children. DS8 goes from bright orange to jungle green. I'm trying for something more neutral and will have longevity. So as you can see, I've got all these paint chips on the wall, and I can't make up my mind. DH suggested khaki and green so I'm trying to stay in that family. Should I:
A.) Cut apart the swatches and throw them in a hat?
B) Throw darts?
C) Play pin the tale on the paint chip?
D) Go back to the hardware store for even more paint chips. Cut them all apart and start gluing them to the wall in a Seurat sort of way.
Can you see I'm losing my mind!
I also feel like there is so much to do and not enough time. The post holiday pace has actually increased. Plans are being laid forth, and I feel like more and more of my calendar is being filled up rather quickly. I have to trust that we'll get done what needs to get done. Its all about letting go and going with the flow.
Monday, January 07, 2008
DS8 quizzes me
DS8: Mom, if there was a hole in the earth, do you think you would fall through to China?
Me: I don't know DS8. We should look at our globe and see if China is on the other side.
DS8: No Mom!! You would only make it to the middle and then gravity would be reversed! You can't fall to China!
You never know what they're thinking do you!
Me: I don't know DS8. We should look at our globe and see if China is on the other side.
DS8: No Mom!! You would only make it to the middle and then gravity would be reversed! You can't fall to China!
You never know what they're thinking do you!
Another quote I like!
| Rating: | ★★★★ |
| Category: | Other |
problems to solve.
--Roger Lewin
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Eating Elephant
Bite by bite......Its got to be because for the past 9 years, we've unschooled. Most homeschoolers I know have too many books and not enough book shelves. We're no different. Today we began to change the guest bedroom into a new bedroom for the boys. The biggest challenge was moving the bookshelves.
Our home is small. We don't have the luxury of a library room, and as much as I love books, I hate the cluttered look of book shelves. I really didn't want to move the bookcases into the main living areas of the house, so I settled on one in the hallway (photo) and for now, two in our bedroom. You see, I want easy access to our books. I don't want to shove them all down in the basement. I know I'm sacrificing my love nest for now, but after I finish redecorating the boys' new bedroom, perhaps there will be room in the new guest room.
We quickly ran out of boxes to store the books, and I resorted to making stacks in the kitchen. I knew this meant having to touch each book twice- an organizing no no- but I had no other option. Moving the 3 bookcases with the books on them was not going to work. I had to quickly go through and reshelve the books before DH decided to fill them with other stuff like DVDs and CDs. All those empty shelves were so inviting!
The book move took up most of my day, but I did manage to take down the wallpaper border and spackle holes. Tomorrow I will tape and prime.
I'm anxious to get their room done because then the purging can really begin. DS12 agrees with me, he has too much stuff. Their new room will have "a place for everything" and it will be easier for the boys to keep "everything in its place." Right now you really can't hang out in their room because the floor space is taken up by boxes of toys, magazines and of course, clothes. I have to go through their dressers because they say they can't find room to put away their laundry. How can this be when they keep wearing the same outfits?!
Its overwhelming when I realize how much stuff I have to find places for. Even just finding space to put the stuff I'm purging is a challenge. I'd like to Freecycle it, but I don't want to have stacks piled up waiting to go. I'll probably just start loading up the van and stopping every day on my way to work at Goodwill drop boxes.
I'll keep telling myself "Take it one step at a time- Bite by bite!"
I can't wait!
I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas. DH bought us Blind Melon tickets for March 18th in Milwaukee!! He promised to take me to more concerts this year after taking my niece to several Velvet Revolver shows last year.He's really made good in my book! I love Blind Melon! Of course he's also planning on taking my niece to see Velvet Revolver, for a 4th time, in a few weeks in Chicago. I think if he didn't come through with my Blind Melon tickets, I would have poured the guilt on really thick.
March 18th is going to be so great! It will take me back to my B.C. days (Before Children). This is one date night that will rock! When DH and I began dating in high school, over 20 years ago, this is what we did. We went to concerts. We skipped prom to get tickets for the Amnesty International Concert in Chicago 1986, a decision I don't regret one bit. I saw my favorite band at the time, U2, but I also saw the Police reunite for that concert! It was amazing.
You know what else my DH did this weekend? He brought me red roses Friday night! He's so good to me! He knew I was feeling a little sad since DS12 wasn't going to be home for "Family Fun Night." DS12 spent the night at a Posse Rat's nest instead of mine. I know, I was shocked too. I'm thinking the other Mommy Rats are figuring it out.
Since it was only DS8, DH and myself, we asked DS8 what he'd like to do. He decided we should eat a family fry at Culvers. Of course we get there and the flavor of the day is Chocolate Oreo Volcano. Needless to say my diet plans didn't work out that night.
DS8 craves fries like I crave chocolate. Its something we both have to work on. For his 18th birthday he has told us he plans to celebrate that milestone by ordering, eating and finishing a Family Fry Basket by himself at Culvers. So mark the date, January 25, 2017, DS(18) will consume the impossible. Of course he'll be full grown with the appetite of a teen aged boy. Maybe he will do it?
BLIND MELON CONCERT!!!!!!!!
| Start: | Mar 18, '08 |
| Location: | The Rave |
Friday, January 04, 2008
Rosy cheeks
We braved the negative wind chills to get our need for speed fix. We have a wonderful place to go sledding at our local golf course. We made it up and down only half a dozen times before we needed to get back to our warm home. We'll try to go again today since it should be a little warmer with a high of 32.Crazy thing is by the end of the weekend, all our snow could melt as we reach almost 50 degrees! This has the boys worried their sledding days will be over, but I reminded them its still only January. We could still have blizzards through March in Wisconsin.
Before we go back to the hill today, I have to be a grown up and meet with our insurance agent for an insurance check up. Blah... I hate these kinds of things. I hope it doesn't take too long. I want to get back to having fun this Friday.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Greeting the New Year...
We had a great time visiting Great Grandma with Domo! For lunch we enjoyed one of the best K-town pizzas in awhile, and the snow held off for us to reach my brother's house for the evening. We filled up again on fun food - Culvers, and then headed back to my brother's to watch the snow fall, play games and goof around. We decided to head home around 11:00pm. The roads were a little slippery but we made it home safe 2 hours later.
We figured out that we passed the "Clocktower" right at midnight! The Clocktower is a hotel resort in Rockford, Il. As we passed by the resort, the giant clock's hands were together at midnight position. We then saw fireworks go off and realized, we had just greeted 2008!
Today was our last day of holiday goodness. We hosted my parents and sister's family and feasted on taco bar fixings. I made 36 homemade tortillas! A record for me! It went very quick though and the "make your own" tacos, nachos and quesadillas went over really well. I'll have to remember to use this menu again for gatherings.
Tomorrow is back on track day, and I'm not just talking food here. I have been going through library withdrawal!!! I think I'll be there right when it opens, giant totes in hand. I'm going to do my happy, happy, joy, joy dance as the library will be empty except for us homeschooling souls and preschoolers. Maybe afterwards I'll take the boys to the sledding hill where we won't have to worry about running anyone over. I'm even looking forward to going back to work! How twisted is that!!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Happy New Year!
We're road tripping today. First up we'll head to K-Town to visit with Great Grandma. Then we'll head south to party Domo style at my big bro's home. We don't plan on staying late enough to countdown the new year, but we'll see.Hopefully the weather cooperates. We have a 30% chance of snow today and temperatures will plummet bringing negative wind chills. The crazy thing is next weekend they are forecasting upper 40's. That's Wisconsin for ya!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Saturday's Date Night!
Last night I saw a non-kid movie in a real movie theatre!! It wasn't any old movie theatre either. We went to Sundance Cinemas in Madison. We're talking reserved seating, real movie ushers that introduce the film, coffee cafe and restaurant! To take full advantage of the fact we were childless, we decided to see Sweeney Todd. It was the rated R version, but I still enjoyed it. I can't wait to check out a director's cut sometime in the future.
I must be gore de-sensitized after all these years with DH.(That's another subject for another blog.) I really didn't think it was that gory. The blood is so obviously stage blood red for the look of the film. The latte lady next to me watched a good deal of the film between her fingers.
I wouldn't say the movie is scary. It's a musical with a tragic tale. Our 4:40pm show time was a matinée, but I'd give this movie a rating of "Pay full price." My rating system is "Pay full price- Matinee - DVD - See it on cable - Wait for network TV - Don't waste hours of your precious life."
As for the Sundance theatre, I would definitely see another movie there, although DH wasn't sure about the popcorn factor. The place was kind of high brow for a movie theatre and it would have felt funny to order popcorn and junior mints. Everyone I saw held covered cups of joe rather than mega sized buckets.
We will have to make a point to get out without the boys more often. Another resolution for 2008, date nights will have to be more than a few times a year!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Friday Fun
Aren't these cool?! My parents had a birch tree branch from their land, drilled into candle holders. Now I need to get new candles. I love outdoorsy, natural things like this. My parents arrived safely last night, but this morning wanted to risk the snow to drive to Stoughton. The town is about 12 miles from us. Its chock full of Scandinavian goodies which is why my mom wanted to brave the snow. I've decided to stay home with the boys and sniff dangerous fumes.
You see it wasn't the ceiling fan that was noticed, it was the mildew on the underside of our tub mat. I promise you right now, if I'm blessed enough to live long enough to visit the homes of my sons' families, I will not point out any dirt or grime I see.
Last night DS8 took out his new Bananagrams game. Its sort of like a portable scrabble. He just wanted to play with the letters. He ended up spelling words and writing sentences on the floor. My favorite was "Soda pop makes you fat." I was glad he did this in front of Mormor and Grandpa. Maybe now we won't hear, "When are you going to do school?"
DS12 played his new Trama game for the Wii. You get to play surgeon! His patient had been attacked by a bear and had broken bones and deep wounds. You have to work quickly, cutting open the wound just so, removing the pieces of bone and putting them back together. You have to stitch up the wound and inject medications. Its not too bloody, but its pretty realistic. You could point out the educational value as well. Its very cool!
When my parents return, my sister will come over and we'll bake Vetebrod, a Swedish coffee bread, very yummy! I can't wait to start smelling the cardamom.
My only worry today is how DH will get home from work. We are expected to get up to 5 inches today with temperatures hovering around 30. I'm sure this will make for heavy wet snow. I really wished he could have stayed home today.
Tonight's family fun will be amped up since our grandparents are with us and my sister and her family will come over. We'll pig out one last time, and I'm sure a marathon session of Apples to Apples will be played. I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Making future plans- Thursday 13
Now that we're moving through Christmas and 2007 is coming to an end, I'm planning for future days. This keeps me up emotionally. Thursday 13- Things I'm planning for 2008
1. READ: My MIL gave me these beautiful bookmarks by Renate Otto. There are 12 of them in a calendar format. I want to read a good book for each bookmark, one each month. Can you recommend any great books I should read this year? I admit I don't take enough time to read fiction. My nose is usually in non-fiction or magazines.
2. AWAKEN MY ARTIST WITHIN: I've also been inspired to get back to my ATCs. I haven't made one in weeks. I've had all these ideas in my head, and I haven't even taken the time to sketch them down in my notebook.
3. GET EVERYONE HEALTHY: DS8's rapid strep test came back negative and this morning he woke up very congested. So YEAH- its probably not strep, Boo- its a bad cold. He has been keeping busy though, reading all his cheat books. (These are video game guides.) DS12 learned to read the same way.
4. CLEAN AND PURGE: We cleaned up the guest room and my parents should arrive tonight! Yeah!! Note to self- dust the ceiling fan as soon as you're done typing this blog entry Dawn!
5. REDECORATE- After cleaning up the guest room, I realized I really am ready to take down the cutesy teddy bear wall paper border the previous family had put up. I want to redecorate this room for the boys and move them into it. Its time to realize our baby/little guy days are long over and we're moving on to pre-teendom.
6. ROCK OUT! DH is watching for ticket sales for us. He's promised to take me to real concerts this year. No sooner had he started planning this, my niece called and asked him to take her to see Velvet Revolver, yet again, a few weeks from now.
7. MOVE MY BUTT! DH is now running 3 miles a day. He's left me in the dust. Seriously, he's motivating me to catch up.
8. CELEBRATE MY MIDLIFE CRISIS: I will turn 40 in 2008. I want to do something radical. Something I've never done before. Something I never thought I would do. Got any ideas for me?
9. PRACTICE WHAT I PREACH: I keep telling my children to become entrepreneurs. I need to model this myself.
10. MY BABY TURNS 9! I need to start planning his birthday bash.
11. REMEMBER EVERYONE'S BIRTHDAYS: I'm terrible when it comes to sending out cards. Every year I resolve to do this, but I always fail. Not again this year!
12. FIND DH A BETTER JOB: Maybe he'll work for me when I master #9.
13. MAKE MORE MULTIPLY FRIENDS! "Make new friends and keep the old. One is silver and the other gold...."
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