How times have changed...

I felt it important to have the kids watch the inauguration today. It shows a new president taking office, and one that made history in their lifetime. And it is educational. Cross off government studies on our to do list!

Anyway... if you were watching you saw Aretha Franklin sing My Country Tis of Thee. Being kids, they didn't know who she was. So Rara, J-Bird, and I have this conversation...

J-Bird- Who's she?
Me- Aretha Franklin. A famous singer.
J-Bird- How'd she get famous?
Me- She's a singer.
Rara- She got famous because she sings.
J-Bird- Oh, I get it! I think she made it big on American Idol!
Rara- No! I think she was on America's Got Talent.

Imagine a time when people got famous without having to worry about getting voted off the show!

More Conversations

As we were innocently driving to the apple orchard we passed some cows in a field that that reminded the kids about the dancing cows they saw at this years corn roast. The farmer that throws the corn roast raises heifers. Thousands of heifers. The kids have talked about the dancing cows before, but this kept going on and on and on.

It went basically like this...

Kids...
I wonder if those cows dance like the other cows at the corn roast?
Sometimes one of them would put their hooves on the back of the other one and dance.
Sometimes the one on the bottom would run away when one wanted to dance.
Would you call that dancing?

Dad...
Um...no

Kids...
Well, what would you call it?

A peek inside...

We were doing family devotions the other night and we were studying Proverbs 22. We came to Proverbs 22:13 The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!” and our study bible put this clearly that the lazy man is going to make excuses for not working.

The following conversation happened next...

J-Bird--"Ohh! J-Bell is like a sloth!"

J-Bell--"WHAT?!?!?"

J-Bird--She tries to stay in bed everyday!

J-Bell--"You want me to punch you in the head?"

J-Bird--*shaking his head...smiling* "It's just an example.... and it's true!"

Can't you just see their angel halos?

The newest sports fan

Just hours after blogging about nothing the kids let me know that we have a new Packer fan/golfer in our family. They were having a great time, and believe it or not, so was Allie.

Strange kids... even stranger dog. With that said, we learned that Allie loves to go fishing, almost as much as my mom's dog. She liked being on the dock watching them cast and loved it when they caught a fish!

Pictures to Enjoy

A friend of mine emailed me some pictures she took. I asked her if I could share them here. This is what she emailed with the pictures...

On July 4th we were on our way to our traditional **** family picnic
when we passed this site at a gas station. It was way too good to pass up,
so we pulled over and took a couple of pictures.
Enjoy! Ruth

Thanks Ruth for sharing!

Is it getting warm in here?

For the first time since we have moved into our house I sit surrounded by insulation. The insulators came today and filled our walls with expanding foam insulation.

They got the WHOLE house done in 6 hours.

When they were about halfway through the kids and I stopped home to grab a couple things, check on the progress, and grab some lunch. We came home to the door wide open (that is how they got the hose inside), windows still open, with the men working hard.

One of my wonderful, home schooled children looked at me and said, "It's starting to work already mom. It's already warmer in the house!"

I personally think the heat had something to do with the fact that it was hot and muggy today.

At least they are looking for positive signs!

Didja Hear?????

A new blog...

As I was reading my daily fix to some of my favorite blogs, Big Doofus posted about The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks. Yes, it's a real blog. And I found it hilarious!

...but maybe that's just me.

For more "Unnecessary" quotations you can read Miss Sniz (wife to Big Doofus) post on the subject

Who's stuff did you loose????

Last night we were one of the last families to leave the church. Knight was talking, kids were playing, I was talking to different people while trying to keep an eye on the kids. A typical Wednesday night.

Knight and I got into the car and drove over to the playground to pick up the kids. They started piling in and Rara was still walking across the grass carrying 2 of her babies. No big deal. They Desti asks, "Where are your shoes?"

That becomes the question of the night.

A couple of my kids volunteer to help her look. Then I make the rest of them look. They recruit their friends to help them. Still nothing.

How do you loose a pair of shoes you were wearing?

So I get out to look. And I ask which pair she wore to church.

The answer is "Your sandals."

What?!? You lost MY shoes??

In true mommy fashion I ended up finding them. Only took 10 people searching for 30 minutes.

Can't you see my Supermom cape through my robe?

WHAT?!?!?

I received an email today asking me to leave feedback for something that I purchased on Amazon. I submitted my feedback and then my eyes fell to the "Recommended Based on Your Browsing History" section.

I have recently purchased some items for a friend of mine. Most of it was not things I have purchased, but it was all for her home schooling. Normal, educational books and items. These are the type of items I purchase from Amazon. Not a big deal at all.

So my list included...
Carson Micro Max Lighted Microscope (ok, I can totally see that.)

30x Jewelers FOLDING EYE LOUPE... (wow, didn't know they had something like that. Sounds kinda neat)

Scientific Explorer's Disgusting... (the kids would love this. This should be on my list for next years schooling)

Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible (WHAT?!?!?)

And good news... if you buy the last book and the High Times Growers Series: Jorge Cervantes' Ultimate Grow DVD you can get a discount! (btw...I think the title is so funny!)

Do you think they have misjudged their recommendations just a tad?

Too funny

Princess Rara

Knight took Rara merchandising this morning. They had gotten done with the Little Debbies and were working on Tombstone pizza's. Knight left Rara to go get another load (kids are not allowed in the back room). While Knight was in the back Rara decided to make herself a throne out of the empty pizza boxes.

So this is what royalty looks like at work (thank goodness for camera phones!)

God's April Fools Joke

He's laughing, saying "and you thought it was spring..." I think the official total was somewhere around 7 inches of new snow last night.

My Little Entrepreneur

I came downstairs to find that Rara had opened a pet shop in our living room. The cages were filled, the animals restless. And good news! If you buy one, you get to keep it for a whole 6 hours.

I love watching my kids play.

Sing me a joke

Sometimes my kids crack me up. I especially like it when they don't miss a beat in their jokes.

The other day Rara was singing. She is always singing. I love the fact that she spends the majority of her life in song. She will sing as she is doing math "la la...five times zeeero is zeeEEeero" You get the picture.

So as she is singing along I just called out "sing if you're a dork."

Without pausing in her song she starts singing..."My mom's a dork because she sings all the time..."

What a kid

Wisdom and humor of a 9 year old

My baby girl turned 9 yesterday. Yes, I still have my boy who's younger, but Rara is my baby girl. She is the same height, weighs less, but now has such a big number attached to her. I'm amazed that she can be that old.

The thing with Rara is that she is so funny. All my kids are funny and sarcastic. I think it has something to do with their dad since I am NEVER sarcastic...or something like that.

Today Rara wanted to spend her birthday money. She knew what she wanted and since she saw both of my parents last night, she had birthday money burning a hole in her pocket. She wanted new animals from the build-a-bear type thing in our town.

I had to drop something off at the accountant, so she rode with me and then we headed up to get her new friends. We sang with the radio, picked out the names she wanted, and then she talked, and sang, and made noises, and kept her mouth going...and going...and going.

It never stopped.

So I asked her if she knew who she was reminding me of. Then I let her know that my family always said that I never stopped talking, and singing, and making noise. (I am now understanding what my family was talking about)

So she came back with...

"Did you cry yourself to sleep everynight and then snored? That's the only way you can always make noise"

Yeah, she's definately a product of me. Poor thing.

So funny....

I just got this in an email and couldn't resist posting it.

These men have just finished placing solid steel pillars in concrete to stop vehicles from parking on the pavement outside a sports bar downtown. They are cleaning up at the end of the day.

How long do you think it took until they realized their mistake?

Hanukkah ham, anyone?

This made me laugh. For those who may not know..."Chanukah" is just an alternative spelling to Hanukkah. Gotta love that delicious Hanukkah ham!

This is a real picture by the way. If you want the original blog post written by the one who spotted it, go here.

Happy Hanukkah to any readers that happen to be Jewish!

More humor in Paradise

I have children that love to be with Knight and I. To a fault. You hate to constantly shoo a child away, but sometimes things need to be said without little ears around.

We do our best to only shoo a child away when it is absolutely necessary. So we will have these big long theoretical discussions between Knight and I while the kids listen, or half listen, or not listen at all, but they always feel the need to add anyway.

For example tonight we were doing our fall chores. Putting plastic on our 100 year old windows, taking the trampoline down for the winter, and cutting some of the bushes back. After all of this, we started a fire to burn the brush we had just cut.

Knight and I were talking about some miscommunication earlier. I had gone with him when he went to sell some out dated product in town, and while we were there he said..."Is there anywhere you would like to go? I have already eaten, but is there anywhere you want to go?" I wanted to go to Shopko and even though I would have liked to grab a bite, I did not want to eat alone while he watched. Later we were talking about how he would not have minded grabbing a bite while we were out. The rest of the conversation went like this--

Me- "I don't like to eat alone when I am with someone. I don't mind eating alone, but when someone is with me I don't want them to just watch me eat."

Knight- "Well, sometimes I just like to be out with you. I might not be hungry but I like being with you. Especially when we are alone."

Desti- "Daddy, you know...sometimes I imagine the garden of Eden......."

Her timing was so funny! We started laughing, and she sat there confused on why. So we listened to how she pictured the garden and started talking about different theories.

If the bible says that "sin entered the world through one man, and through sin - death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned." (Romans 5:12) So we were debating if that meant that NOTHING died, that sharks didn't eat flesh, that lions were vegetarians, or does that mean that no man has died, since man is the only one with a soul that has free will. Knight mentioned he thought that even mosquitoes would not have sucked blood before the fall. Then Desti pipes up again after listening to us.

"You know, one day I felt a mosquito on my leg and before I swat it, I looked down and it was THIS BIG!"

We are so glad they pay such close attention

Humor in Paradise

We are finishing up learning about Mesopotamia this week. We've talked about the Pangaea theory, settling, and some of the ancient towns. Ur, Babylon, Sodom, and Gamorah, just to name a few. As I have each week, I have asked who lived in Babylon. Each week they are able to get Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Actually, no matter who I ask, J-Bell pipes up and starts singing the "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego" song. So I asked Rara who else lived in Babylon. She thought about it and answered "Mr. Nezzer!" At least Vegi-Tales taught her something. *For the record she did end up answering Daniel*

I entertain myself, a lot. The other night I was straightening my blanket to get ready for bed and Knight was already cuddled up under his blanket. I took notice that he took the warmer of the two. (No, we don't share blankets) I had a thought that I thought would be funny, so I crawled under my covers, grabbed the corner of his blanket and rolled to steal it. Apparently he was ready for me. He rolled with the blanket and cuddled right up to me with a "I'm so glad you want to cuddle tonight!" Apparently being married long enough, he knows all my tricks!

Having friends over the other day, the kids were talking about Knight's birthday that is coming up. Then they got on the subject of how old he was going to be, then it went to how old I am. Then the friends piped up. "My mom is older than both your parents. She's ____!"

Never a dull moment!

Mother of the Year, I am not

I would love to say that I go through my days cleaning, cooking, and teaching with a smile on my face. My quiet and gentle spirit always winning out. My kids knowing that their mom has undending patience and understanding.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. There are times that I lose my temper. I get angry, frustrated, and sometimes I lose it. I yell.

So the kids were talking the other day and they revealed to me that they have talked about their plan for when I get mad. I had not known they had a plan until then.

They actually have two plans. If we are in the car when I am angry, they all stop talking. No noise. At all. If we are at home they listen until I am done "talking" to them, and then they quietly sneak away to their rooms until I calm down.

I thought these were pretty wise plans. Giving me peace and quiet calms me down faster than anything. So then I asked what their plan was for when Knight is mad. They don't have one. That is how little he gets mad.

So the other day I got really upset. I had been having a bad week anyway, but this was the final straw. Nothing that was totally devestating, but completely irritating. They were supposed to be working on school and they were fooling around. I was trying to do the dishes, but kept having to go back into the living room and tell them to work. Then they spilled a full cup of hot chocolate in the livign room. On the carpet. They are not supposed to eat or drink in the living room.

So I lost it. Even more than normal. So, the plans took effect and the kids disappeared. I started to calm down. Then to my great shame they gave me card. It was filled with lines like..."turn that frown upside down", "maybe if you wore makeup you wouldn't look so angry", and "Don't worry, be happy".

So, I will not be winning the Mother of the Year award, but at least my kids take it with stride.