Meme Machine

It has already been established that I am generally "behind the times" culturally. All the hip new tech fads and lingo are uncharted territory for me. So in the great tradition of jumping on the bandwagon after it has already passed, I am participating in my first meme. As I prepared for this post, I tried to understand exactly what a meme is. My lay definition is this: something like a pyramid scheme for blogs but without money. The dictionary definition is: meme

noun

a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation); "memes are the cultural counterpart of genes"

I guess it's like passing on brown eyes, or a tendency to have allergies. But without any Business Time (ARG you are not permitted to click on that link. I mean it!), (The rest of you can go for it) or pregnancy or birth.

So, here goes!

I found this one on Uncommon Blonde. If your have a blog and would like to play along, go for it.

Here are the rules:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

Behold my results:


Voila! Pretty fun huh?

Or maybe not so much for you. But it will be WAY more fun for you if you do it yourself!

Sometimes I am a little slow.

I don't mean that I do things leisurely. I mean that sometimes I don't GET things quickly. Messages that are abundantly clear to most are hidden to me. Lessons that other learn right away take me a long time to learn. I think it has some relationship with being gullible (which I am). People fool me all time

The thing that I have finally realized is this: it is not enough to pay the fee or tuition for your kids' school or club classes. You are expected to volunteer your time to help run the organization. It has taken me about 4 years of fencing and ballet classes to realize this. I had inklings of it. Sometimes I sensed there was "something more" going on. Perhaps I was living in la la land. That land where you just want to pay the exhorbitant fee for the class and have your kid take the class and be done with it.

But no. There are all these extra needs: fundraising (that's a big one), PR for the school, general organization, billing, arranging travel for others (yikes!) and so on. Being "asked" to volunteer my services really means, "You are expected to pull your weight here, you'd better pitch in."

Naturally I picked the job that requires the least contact with people and the most contact with a keyboard. I write press releases for ARG's fencing team. Though there are only so many ways one can write "So and So won the gold at the Blipity Blip Tournament" or "Four fencers from our club won medals." Snore. I feel sorry for sports writers.

This weekend I deftly deflected a hard sell on becoming the overall billing, travel and organizational "assistant" for ARG's fencing team. The mom who did it before is moving away and was trying to fill the spot. I was a big girl and I said NO. Even if I wanted to help out, I know my limits. I'd mess up big time. I am just not detail oriented. And during school time I just don't have any extra energy or brain power to spare. And that's the truth!

But the good news is I got the guy from the HMB Review (whoa we're in the big time now!) to come to this week's National Championship in San Jose. That's something, right?

And yes, you can certainly look forward to more posts about ARG's fencing and me peeing in my pants.

Photo Friday

sea lions snoozing on the beach next to our beach party we were so adult! we spread blankets (well our hosts did it mostly)
and drank wine and ate cheese and crackers

Mini-Me checking out the....

visiting sea lion! he sure checked us out right back

does this look like the barbecue to die for? it was. salmon with all those amazing veggies on top.
talk about colorful food!

just for fun....can you guess what it is?

Fun Words for a Not So Fun Day

Mortification: when you answer the phone at 7:30am, hear your financial advisor's voice, and realize your husband has forgotten about the appointment (you know, the one where your advisor comes to work early especially to accommodate your needs?) and gone off to work, and you have forgotten and are totally unprepared. Doh! Major apolification.

Bummification: When your 8 year old's craft project at VBS doesn't work for some reason, and they don't have any extras for her and she cries disconsolately in the car for ten minutes.

Cryification: When your BIG HUGE 4 YEAR OLD skins not only her both knees, but her ankle and elbow too!

Grumpificaton: When you are super tired from being on your feet all day and eating all the wrong kinds of food, and you're cooking dinner and you spill your drink, burn the quesadillas and the burgers are way raw in the middle. Then your kids bicker at the kitchen counter over NOTHING!

Computerification: What I'm afraid will happen to my son if he continues to spend every free minute of his life on the bleepity bleep computer! "I'm coding Mom!" he insists. Uh huh.....He found some game maker program that allows him to create games, so he has to play them to test them. Get it?

@!%$#$@!ification: When companies call hubby and set up phone interviews which they INSIST must be done at home on a land line with no distractions, then THEY DON'T CALL. Not once, TWICE.

Coughification: What my kids are doing all the time. All three of them. What gets worse when stupid fires from over the hill blow our way and smell and make our sky orange.

Sleepification: What I am going to do very soon. This getting up and out the door by 8:15am is way too hard for me (and my kids). We are all exhausted. I could never put my kids in school because I'd never get there in time.

More Processed Food Please

I don't usually consider myself a health freak.

Trying to provide well balanced, colorful meals for my kiddos that they will actually eat is a constant struggle. But I do try. Because nutrition is important. You know, "you are what you eat" and all that.

So, this week I've been the Test Tube Treat leader at my church's VBS. If you're not fluent in churchese, that means I'm in charge of snacks for about 120 kids at a bible camp.

I have endeavored to provide tasty and healthy treats for them. I threw out the suggestions that the VBS curriculum provided, which were things like:

-green cake frosting on top of a sugar cookie with M&M's on top
-ice cream float
-cool whip with M&Ms on top

They might as well open up a main line vein in the kids arms and inject the sugar directly!

So, (mean Mom that I am) I decided on things that are mostly real food: cheese, crackers, fruit, yogurt, pretzels, goldfish, trail mix...etc.

You would think I asked the kids to poke their eyes out!

"I don't eat yogurt"
"Bananas - Yuck!"
"Can I have something else?"

Do any of these kids eat real food? Ever? Are they so used to processed, sugary foods that they can't tolerate a piece of fruit? What's the deal? I mean, cheese and crackers - they're not even that healthy. I think they're yummy.

Some of the little darlings even brought their own snacks today because they "don't like the snacks here".

Can you see the steam coming out of my ears? Are you imagining my bewildered and perplexed expression?

Oh how I look forward to Friday when we are serving fruit cups. That'll go over great! And I won't feel bad about the hundreds of dollars the church spent purchasing these snacks. I won't take it personally when we find the garbage cans full of fruit cups. No......

Oh, I'm probably exaggerating a teeny weentsy little bit. Though I have heard those comments. But the truth is that no matter what you serve, with that many people, about half of them will like it, and half will hate it (or their parents will).

So, as long as I'm Marge in Charge, I'm serving (semi) healthy food.

Mess I Don't Want to Clean But Have To

There is a place in our kitchen / living area that we call the "school" area. It contains two desks, three computers, two monitors, a copier/scanner, a huge bookcase, a cabinet, and various plastic file drawers.

And it is always HUGY, UGLY, JUMBLED, PILED UP MESS!

You know how the flat surfaces of your home have a tendency to acquire many, many things on top of them? Well the "school" area is like that to the nth degree. The piles are like two feet high and tottering. Papers, headphones, camaras, keyboards, books (lots of books), blank CDs, art projects, plastic bags filled with who knows what, folders, hairbrush (?), and miscellaneous toys and games adorn this area.

Now, if this chaos were tucked away in an office, it would be more bearable. But it is right in the heart of our living space! Just off the kitchen, next to the family. You can see it from everywhere!

Most of the time I pretend to myself that it is the normal state of affairs to have tumbling piles that slide onto the floor and kleenex boxes two feet off the desk on a pile of books. But when guests come, I take a second, more realistic look at this muddle.

Do you ever look at your home differently when people come over? I do.

So, this Friday we are expecting hubby's brother and his wife for a weekend visit. These folks are as sweet and friendly as can be. But they ain't got no kids. Comprende? They do not, CAN not get what it's like to live in a home with three monsters messy children. It's not that they're judgemental, it's just that they might not be used to it.

So onto the old shoulders goes "I've GOT to clean that mess up!"

Umph.

This could take some time. I don't have a closet I can shove it all into. I have to organize it, or school books will be lost forever.

That actually happened once. ARG's dreaded Spanish book disappeared into the vacuum of the "school" area mess. I was mad. It was just a little to convenient for him.We found it a year later stuck between the back of the desk and the wall. Now I don't think he did it on purpose. I think this area sucks things so that they can be properly aged, bent, and dust bunny filled before seeing the light of day again.

So wish me luck, as I plow into the disorderly jumble of junk so prominently displayed in my home.

Yuck.

Check, Check, Check

Coffee: check
Bacon: check
Pancakes: nope - ran out of eggs yesterday
Laundry: check
Princess dress*: check
Princess accoutrement: check
Realize that I left my camara at my moms: check
VBS kitchen/snack job: check
Worry about kids' hacking cough: check
Swim lessons: check
Grocery store: check
Chocolate chip cookies: check (not as good as the last batch! wah...)
Chicken: check
Mashed potatoes: check
Salad: check
Package EBay sales: mostly check (and yay!)
Dinner with fam: check
Drive ARG to fencing class: check
Walk w/ friend: check
Listen to kids' hacking cough: check (worry, worry, worry)
Write interesting blog: well....er....oh heck it's 11:00pm....check!

* Mini-Me's actual birthday was today. The dress is for her, not me. All the foods listed were her requests.

High School Legacy

Recently, an old friend from high school has created a blog for our graduating class (1986 rocks!).

It's pretty cool to see and read about how folks are doing now.

But it has also made me think a lot about high school, and what made it such a special time of life. Was it just our age? That teenage, raging hormones, crazy-growing-up time? Or were there special components that created (what I remember as) a bubble of intensity. Heart throbs, heart aches, initial profound thoughts, unique, once in a lifetime experiences.......what was it?

I am also curious about the lasting effects of high school. As a homeschool mom, I often wonder about the fine line between protecting my kids from destructive influences and depriving them of positive, influential experiences.

With that in mind I have three questions:

• What was the high school influence or experience that had the most positive lasting influence on your life?

• What negative high school influence or experience do you wish you had avoided?

• When you think of high school, which memory makes you the most proud?

I'll go first.

When I look back, I find it hard to pick just one positive influence. So, I'm going to cheat and pick two.

1.) Sr. Martinez - Spanish teacher for junior and senior years. He was kind, respectful and saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. Plus he was a darn good teacher. He cared about me and believed in me when I was going through rough times. I still dream in Spanish occasionally. And dream of going to Spain again!

2.) Amigos de las Americas - a summer service project in rural Mexico. It was the my first exposure to another culture. And my first experience of poverty. I learned that people there seemed even happier than most Americans I knew. When I came back I was overwhelmed by all the food, luxury, convenience and just plain stuff we have here. It changed my world-view completely.

Negative experience? Aside from a few major heartaches, I'd say a negative influence was the general cliquey-ness of high schoolers. It's pretty brutal to not "fit in" any one group when all you want to do is be a part of something. I'm not saying I was socially adept, just that it was difficult if not impossible to make new friends and break into new groups by junior and senior year.

My proudest moment was probably when Mr. Friss praised a paper I had written about Lady Macbeth, and asked me to read it out loud to the class. To be singled out was slightly embarrassing, but you can be sure I still picture Lady Macbeth vividly to this day.

How about you?

Plan B

Today I exhibited extreme grace under pressure.

If you have ever planned and held a birthday party for your child, you know that quite a bit goes into it. Invitations (and all the politics included in that), supplies, presents, food, cake (or cupcakes!), games, activities, outfits, scheduling and location.

My plans for Mini-Me's 4th Birthday party were coming along swimmingly.

Until THE CALL

My very dear friend (and park scout) asked me in a trepidacious voice,

"Uh, Sue. Have you sent anyone to the park to reserve your spot yet?"

ME: No.

HER: Well, I just drove by the park where you're planning to have the party and it is completely taken over. There is not one table free in the whole place. There's even a tent.

ME: ............ (sinking feeling in stomach)....uh....oh no......

HER: I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news......do you just want to move the party to your house?

ME: .....uh.....a tent?....uh....I'll call you back.....

OK. I panicked (on the inside) for about ten seconds. Then I realized that I could just move the party. Plan B: New park.

I quickly called Hubby, who was out picking up ARG from fencing, and assigned him the task of scouting the other park. If an empty table was to be found, he was to claim it (which he did).

A few more calls to other guests and Plan B was smoothly rolling into action.

We had to drive a little farther, but the Plan B park was probably even better than the one I had chosen. The party was great fun! Mini-Me had a blast. Her cousins and friends seemed to enjoy themselves. And it was still sunny (though breezy) on the coast!

So, crisis averted. The Evil Park Taker Overses didn't ruin our party. Whew!

And if I could show you pics of my darlings at the party, you would certainly feel warm and fuzzy inside and say lots of "awwwww"s.

Instead, I'll show you a pic of my mother and me:

Doesn't she look amazing (my mom, that is)?

So, another birthday party success. My little girl is so happy - and that is what it's all about. Does it sound like I'm bragging if I say I feel a deep sense of satisfaction? I hope not.

Now if I can just avoid eating all the left over cupcakes!

Photo Friday

I don't know if I'm starting a tradition, or just running out of topics to write about. Remember, I'm writing every day for a month. That's a lot of writing!

So, instead of delving into my thoughts and feelings tonight, I thought I'd just share some more pictures!

wispy clouds

kids at the beach
(another unusually gorgeous day on the coast!)

(I'm not showing their faces. I think I'm OK here.)

The Best Dang Chocolate Chip Cookies I've ever made!

Don't they just look incredibly, sumptuously, overwhelmingly,
extravagantly delicious and satisfying?

They were.

Just the right amount (a lot) of chocolate chips, perfect texture (chewy, not crunchy).
Nothin's better than these babies warm from the oven.

Jealous?

Mini-Me's Birthday

Mini-me's 4th birthday is in two days.

She's been waiting for it, planning it and dreaming about it for months. But she still doesn't quite understand "in a few weeks" or " in five days". Nope. For her, each day the question is:

"Is it today?" "Is it today?" "Is it today?"

Me: "Not today honey. Two more days!"

Her: "Aw....."

This is her first "real" party, in that friends who are not members of her nuclear family have been invited. Five friends and Mini-Me and us. We're doing it at a local park (easy clean-up). And it will last no longer than 2 1/2 hours.

You see, I've learned through my older two children that a birthday party can be a hugely out-of -proportion suck on my time, energy and money. This is not necessary. Kids are not born with a deed entitling them to party jumpers, live entertainment and gourmet birthday meals. (At least not my kids)

So, I put the kibosh on inviting the entire preschool class (invite one, you gotta invite them all). I insisted upon cupcakes (chocolate with white/vanilla frosting ) at the park, instead of cake and ice cream and me trying to think up fun games for preschoolers at my house.

Each kid will get to administer their choice of sprinkles to their own cupcake.

Sprinkles? Yay!

Rosie will be face painting the little ones at the party. She's a real helper, that girl. Plus she will be leading the crowd in a "treasure hunt" for their gift bags.

Who ever started gift bags anyways? What a lame idea. Not only do I have to craft a fun-filled, creative, heart-warming party and buy presents for my kid, I've got to buy presents for all the other kids! You try to find a bunch of small items that don't cost megabucks and will not end up in the circular file within days. It's tough.

We are giving Mini-Me a princess outfit with the requisite tiaras and rings (because she is that kind of a girl). I'm sort of hoping she'll choose to wear it to the party.

Can you imagine the pictures?

Most Beautiful Day of the Year (Probably)

The weather today was about as good as it gets on the coast. I'm guessin' mid to high 60's, slight breeze, warm sun. OK, it could be a little warmer.

Looking up at the trees and sky today was like eating eye candy. The blue sky was so blue. So delicious to me. It makes me happy. The shades of green of the different trees, and the light and shadows of the sun through them...well, I could just sit and look at them for hours. Almost as good as Java Chip ice cream.

The bird song today made my heart happy. They were so busy, flying and hopping and singing and scolding. What a cool soundtrack for a walk through our small town.

I forced invited my kids on a walk to our one and only local cafe for a snack. ARG resisted, as usual, but seemed to tolerate enjoy it once he was out. Rosie was glad I let her ride her bike instead of walk. We all enjoyed our croissants, Odwalla and Americano. Does it get any better?

ARG looking at the mountain our town is named for.

View as we walked down the street to the cafe.

We are fortunate that our one and only cafe rocks.

Rosie riding home.

Me.

Photos won't do justice to the BLUE of the sky today.

And.....

BIG thanks to my hubby for sitting down and coding HTML on my blog, after coding HTML all day at work, so that my blog can be more BEA-U-TI-FUL. Like the flower on the side?

Hubby is a hacking God. He's my little code monkey.

Dear Hair,

What have I done to upset you? Why are you acting so unreasonable?

I wash you lovingly. I uber-condition you with expensive products. You are combed gently each day.

Why are you running away?

Come back! I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy! I'll change. I'll take more vitamins. I'll spend even more on expensive hair products. Anything! Just tell me what I can do.

Love,

Sue


A few days ago I went in for a biannual ultrasound of my thyroid gland. My goiter. My lovely lump on the left. I'll be doing the bloodwork soon to see how my thryroid function is going. Up? Down? Hopefully stable. Or "normal", though I understand there is some controversy about what "normal" is.

I'm feeling a bit skittish about my upcoming appointment with the thyroid Dr. because I have been experiencing symptoms of hypothyroidism. Though to the misdiagnosis and confusion of many, these symptoms are also signs of stress and/or aging. Great!

First. People - I am losing hair big time. Every time I comb or brush my hair, handfuls come out. I find my hairs all over my clothes and in bunches on the floor! And washing my hair? Forget it. Bucketfulls come out. It is getting scary.

WARNING: if you are squeemish about hair - go no further.

Check this out. Does this seem normal to you?

brushing after a shower

hair in the drain of my shower

Yuck! I know!

Losing hair is especially trying for my little ego, because it is
- my only good feature (I say)
- one of my many good features (sweet, sweet hubby says)

My GP says that another possible cause is the devastating flu I had earlier this year. Something about hair going into shock, then restarting all on the same schedule, so that the natural falling out happens all at once instead of in stages.

Whatever.

I just want it to stop.

Luckily I have had a pretty thick head of hair, so I'm still OK. No bald patches yet.
(knocking on my wooden desk).

Toddler Joy Gun

Toddlers have this unique ability of compressing infinite amounts of joy within their little selves.

Anyone who has parented, or hung out with the little tikes knows what I'm talkin' about.

Today my daughter, who I am now dubbing MiniMe* begged me to leave off making dinner to play Duck, Duck, Goose with her. Never mind that there were just two of us. That's not a problem for a toddler.

So I sat on the floor of our very messy family room among the duplos and books whilst she made circles around me, patting my head and saying, "Duck, Duck, Duck..." oh the tension...when will she say...."Goose!"

Before I had clambered up she was off and running. The shrieking laughter was like a jolt of electric joy filling the house. She was half terrified that I would catch her, half loving that I was chasing her. Terror and joy all expressed through her mighty screech.

When I rounded a corner to find her sitting in the middle of the family room carpet, she began to bounce up and down, giggling intensely.

"You didn't get me!" she hysterically shouted, amidst more and more laughter.

It was like she aimed a joy gun at me and shot me in the heart. Or maybe it's like she included me in her bubble of blissful delight. How could I resist? Why would I want to? I bounced and laughed along with her, screaming and tickling her.

Now as any parent can tell you, I was compelled to repeat this hilarity over and over again, until finally the novelty of it all wore off (for me).

"Mommy doesn't really want to play Duck, Duck, Goose anymore, honey."

Just think. Wouldn't it be supreme if we could bottle that capacity for joy? Oh, I know this isn't an original thought. People have asked this question many times before. But still. What a concept. Imagine you could open up, or plug in to a source of childlike ecstatic joy when you needed it.

But perhaps the nature of joy requires something else, something from within ourselves.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3

There may be several explanations of this teaching. But I am convinced that one of the aspects of being like "little children" is the ability to abandon yourself to joy.

*This should be self-explanatory if you've seen Austin Powers.

Moments

Surreal moment today: hearing my sons friend Q exclaim with evident pleasure,

"I had the nicest nuke yesterday. I killed like 6 or 7 guys."

For twelve year old boys, nothing compares to dominating the (virtual) world. I still find it very perplexing to reconcile my peacenik ways with ARG's intense delight and fascination with computer combat.


Strange moment yesterday: realizing that I was way more money conscious, read not as wealthy, as the person I was with.

"I'll just have water, thanks." Gulp.


Adorable moment today: opening father's day presents, my hubby was surprised when our 8 year old Rosie gave him some beautiful paintings of stars and hearts, and a card that read,

"You're the Dest Dad ever." (those b's and d's get her all flummoxed) and $1.

I told him not to spend it all in one place.


Memory lane moment: seeing this picture of me when I was 2

Awwwww....


Bittersweet moment today: seeing my little one's big brown eyes look out from behind her floppy blonde curls and getting a glimpse of the beautiful woman she will be some day.


Grossest moment today: ARG, Q and hubby practicing complete sentences while belching. Then hubby instructing them in the joys of drinking orange juice, drooling spit down to the ground and sucking it back up again. Ew!


Flashback moment last night: watching Godzilla vs. Mothra with the fam (minus little one). Then watching BOC's song about the monster.


Nervous moment right now: remembering that I committed to doing 2 things for church that I forgot to do and need to do right now.

Bye!

A Mama's Right

Prepare yourself to be whelmed, maybe even overwhelmed.

Yesterday was my eight year old daughter Rosie's* first art show. She and a few other homeschool girls from 6 to 14 have been getting their clothes stained and having fun with paintbrushes with teacher Susan since January. Monoprints, watercolor, salting, still lifes, shading and one-line paintings are some of the techniques they have learned and practiced.

Now, I believe firmly in a Mama's right to brag about her kids. I mean, where else do we get our self esteem? And let's be honest parents, living through your kids can be pretty fun.

The show was held at the perfect place for kids, Baskin Robbins. Art and ice cream! Nice combo. Mmmmmmmm...

In addition to the Matisse-like art that I have placed in my blog (upper right corner),
here is a small sample of Rosie's artistic endeavors:






I loved all the art. I thought all the girls did a great job. Here are some of my other (non-Rosie) favorites:








Isn't that fun?

I bend the knee to Susan, our inspiring art teacher. She didn't have to do the show, didn't get paid for it. It's obvious she cares that much about the girls, and art, to make the effort. And, she's just that kind of person.

Yay!

* My kids' names are always changed, per Safety Man.

If you haven't noticed...

I've been paying more attention to my blog lately.

As I pondered the look and feel of my blog, and how I want it to be, I realized a small change was needed. I have changed the previous title into a tag line, with the previous tag line becoming the title. I haven't changed the url - so the oh so many of you who have bookmarked my blog need not worry.

A Serious Attempt at Fun feels a lot more like what's happening on my blog. So there.

More asthetic changes may be in A Serious Attempt at Fun's future. I am waiting for my son to learn more HTML and CSS, or my husband to have time to help me. Then I'm hoping to add pretty things...so it won't look so ....green.

Meanwhile, here is proof positive that my thumb, while not exactly green, is, almost, khaki:

carrots & beans

yum! yum!

carrots up close

Four or five more weeks and we'll be eating fresh picked, home grown carrots! Yes.

AND....

Today is Rosie's big art show at Baskin Robbins! After helping her art teacher set-up, and going out to lunch with said art teacher, she will debut several pieces of her original art work (along with other classmates).

And while I can't show my beautiful, talented daughter on this blog, I can show her art.

Stay tuned.

Do we live in a shoe?

Do you ever hear what you say to your kids like it is someone else talking to them? I do.

The balanced, healthy part of me thinks, "Wow! That mom isn't being very attentive or kind."

The frazzled, brain dead, I just wanna read a book or watch a movie now part of me thinks, "Leave me alone!"

Once in a while, usually late afternoon, I hit a place when I just can't process much more. My mind, nerves and emotions are fried! Caput! I'm running on bare minimum to get us through dinner and little Marie into bed.

So when all three kids incessantly, repeatedly, annoyingly, continually (get the pic?) ask me questions, want to me listen to their stories, or require more response than "Hmmmm..." Ifind it hard to be "attentive and kind".

"Would you stop talking to me?!?!?" is more like what usually comes out of my mouth.
"Go play! Shoo!"

Now is that the kind of mom I want my kids to remember? Because you and I know it is always the crummy stuff that sticks. Not the hundreds (thousands?) of hours spent cuddling, reading to them, heart to heart talks. No - that will all be taken for granted.

One of my kids will end up in therapy whining about how Mom didn't "listen".

At least my oldest is beginning to have a sense of humor about it all. Last night I stomped my foot, gesticulated wildly and proclaimed,

"I get to have time for myself!"

He smirked and said, "You're a Mom - it's your job to sacrifice your life for us."

"Yeah!" my 8 year old chimed in, "It's your job! Hee hee..."

Soooo, I

whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

Pajamas all Day!

I love summer.

I love it even more after 7 years of homeschooling my kids. It's a time of freedom. Of relaxation. Of staying in pajamas all day.

Waking up and thinking, "I don't HAVE to do anything today" is delicious. Laying in bed for an extra half hour because I can spare the time is luxurious. Drinking my Peets at leisure while checking email and blogs....mmmmmm....

To be honest, it is the absence of the normal "school" things that makes summer so nice. Yes, warm weather is great. But we live on the Northern CA coast, so we don't get too much of that. Long days are super too - more time to go for walks at night after the littlest one is in bed.

But it is the lack of urgency and pressure that I often feel during "school" that I enjoy. Some homeschool moms may be laid-back. And I am more now than I was in the beginning. But the sad truth is that I need to coax, urge, encourage, push and threaten (just kidding!) my kids from 9am to 2pm most weekdays.

I exaggerate of course. Reading together snuggled on the couch is lovely. But we still do that during summer. It's the other stuff that I dislike:

"OK, do your math!"
"Have you finished your Spanish?"
"You've got to practice violin before you go play."

Then there is the mental, emotional and psychic energy it takes to "inspire" my kids to think outside the box, stretch beyond their limits, try something new or just plain work hard. I can't always push learning on them, I have to lead them to it so they can learn it themselves. And that is MUCH harder than handing out a worksheet. Believe me.

So, summertime is major vacation-time for me. Every summer I read one Dicken's novel. To me, Dickens is like literary icec ream. I've just started Bleakhouse; hoping the book is more fun than the title. The first few chapters were a bit more dense and roundabout than his other novels...so we'll see. But it is lovely to have a date with him at some point every day.

Summertime is also a time for games. My kids and I have re-discovered Scrabble. Though we bicker and argue about what is acceptable, we laugh a lot and generally have fun. Does anyone know if abbreviations that have made it into the language as commonly used words are acceptable? Biz? Pro? Ex? Those z's and x's matter!

I've actually spent only one day in my pajamas. It was pretty nice though.

Steppin' Out

Blogging is fun. But it is more fun when people actually read my posts.

So, on the advice of a blogging goddess, and thanks to extra hours of summer (no school!) free time, I am steppin' out more into the blogosphere.

I am jumping into the NaBloPoMo pool of bloggers. That's right, starting today I will endeavor to post every day for a month. The theme for June is Home, which should be convenient for me. There are so many things that go on at Home. Hopefully, some will be interesting.

So far I have joined the following groups: Hip Homeschoolers, Natural Family Living, Scrabble Afficionados & Stay at Home Moms. I almost joined the Republican blogger group, but I really am a Libertarian and would probably fight with them.

And though I scoffed, sneered and laughed at the idea before, today I joined Twitter. It's that silly avant garde social networking site where you post an answer to the question: What are you doing? in 140 characters of less. I have in on good authority that this can be an effective way to get your blog "out there". If you'd like to know when I'm making a dentist appointment, or fixing lunch, please join me on Twitter. Be my follower. I'll be yours (as long as you are not some anonymous freaky person). My username is NinaSue.

Though I am moderately web savvy, I haven't figured out yet how to add people to my Twitter account. Let me know if you figure it out. :)

So, look forward to a plethora of dazzling, enlightening, hilarious posts EVERY DAY!
(no pressure, sue)

The Itch that Rashes

Eczema is surely one of the most evil scourges that ever afflicted a poor toddler's body.

My youngest has had terrible eczema since she was about 6 months old. Every change of season, illness, mystery allergy food or polyester costume sees her sensitive skin break out in an itchy rash, especially behind the knees and inside the elbows. Plus she gets it all over her body, perhaps excepting her feet and head.

Little ones have no reason. They don't understand that itching makes it worse. So she scratches until she bleeds in many places. I cut and cut her fingernails. I apply all sorts of ointments, creams and emollients to her baby skin. Nothing much helps. The best thing so far is smearing her head to toe with vaseline (I know, yuck!) when she is still wet from a bath. Then pronto into jammies so it doesn't get all over the carpet or sheets.

behind her poor little knees

I've had her tested for food allergies. Nada. My pediatrician informed me (after) that food allergies that present with eczema symptoms are notorious for false negatives on food allergy tests. Hmmmmm.....

So I still don't know if it is
a. citrus
b. strawberries
c. nuts
d. ????
that causes or affects her rash.

On particularly bad nights we do Benedryl. But I try to stay away from that if possible. Tight jammies protect her from her itching, but of course she wants to wear a loose nightie. If she gets her way we have a whole new set of scabs in the morning. Urg.

She looks afflicted. She IS afflicted. And she has developed the self-soothing habit of sucking her thumb on one hand, while scratching everywhere else with the other hand. There's a real healthy, socially acceptable habit. Huh?

Poor baby. It's so not fair. Wah!

EBay Fever

I've got it!

I confess. I admit it. I really enjoy selling stuff on EBay.

For one who hasn't earned a greenback in many a year, there is an exquisite thrill of satisfaction when losers buyers bid on my junk!

As the bids go higher, I get more worked up. My kids wonder at me bouncing in my computer chair wiggling my fingers in delight.

So far I've sold old clothes, legos, ceramic cannisters and a book. The book was kind of an oops, as I found out (too late!) that my hubby wanted to keep it. Wince.

But I'm bringin' in the bacon! I'm earning wages! I'm receiving the fruit of my labor. Want to know the massive amounts of dinero I've brought in?

Almost $60!!!

Wooo hooo!

For just three or four hours of my time, I've brought in 3/5 of $100. Not bad. Not bad at all.

I now look at the possessions in my home with a whole new eye. Do I really need that? Would that sell? What price might it go far?

Unfortunately, I've swept through the house twice already. There's not much else I (or my kids) are ready to part with. But I'm gonna keep looking. Clothes that I just don't wear anymore? EBay! Toys my kids will never use again? EBay! Homeschool curriculum we no longer need? EBay!

My fondest desire is that there would be an intense bidding war on one of my items.

I can dream.