Thoughts for Thursday - not so therapeutic

Thinking all those late nights have finally caught up with me - headache! And Bob drank more than his share of the coffee today, so I've made another half a pot all for ME!

Gave James a hair cut because he was starting to resemble a Q-tip.

Was thinking of going to the children's museum because it's Dollar Day. However, the girls room is not clean, aforementioned headache precludes me wanting to drive an hour, plus only James is done with his lessons for the week.

Need to run to the grocery store, though, because our last roll of TP is on the roller! While I am there, need to get some stuff for co-op lunch and to make Valentine treats.

Speaking of Valentine treats, have you tried the nasty new candy hearts from Necco? Blech! Only the green ones are worth eating. The rest tasted like perfume. Ew.

Renewed all my library movies so I don't have to return them, especially the ones that have not been watched.

Skype is pretty cool - do you have it?

Relaxing Time

Friday was homeschool co-op. I will write about that on Cornerstone.

I went to Maryann's for the night Friday night, taking David and Emily along to hang with her kids. She and I and Erin watched a couple movies Friday night and relaxed with Mexican food and rum and Coke. :-) (Not Erin, she's not yet one-and-twenty.) Movie reviews on Mirkwood. I guess David and Alex and another friend stayed up into the wee hours, playing video games. I turned off Emily and Gabby's TV at about 1am. LATE NIGHT for all the kids.

This morning we watched Someone Like You (Hugh Jackman) which I own and enjoy a lot, but hadn't watched with Maryann yet. Watching movies with my friends is usually a time for conversation and discussion. lol Then we had lunch and chatted. Another friend came by and used Mare's Cricut machine for a couple hours, then she left and another friend came by to pick up her son. A nice relaxing day. I needed that!

Left there about 3pm and stopped by Meijer on the way home to get the week's groceries. I should make up a menu for the week. Heated up pizza rolls for dinner, resulting in everyone's happiness.

There are four loads of laundry waiting to be folded - everyone does their own and puts it away. Chores are done, dishes are being washed, baths and showers are happening. Need everyone to lay out church clothes. I have to finish planning my Sunday School lesson. I have new curriculum which uses lots of hands-on stuff. Not sure how it'll work out, but I'm glad to give it a try! Can't be worse than what I WAS using, I don't think.

No plans tomorrow except to take David to youth group. I was thinking about my story off and on all weekend so I may be writing, since I need to get back to it. It's calling me!

I'm reading a book that's caught my interest - two actually. A Christian romance by Robin Lee Hatcher and Blue Like Jazz, which is another book on post-modern Christianity, to sum it up in 3 words which doesn't do it justice.

Oh yeah, and I wanted to say that it was NICE OUT today and it smelled like spring! I know it's not going to last, but at least it's a tiny break from the unrelenting wind chill and below zero temps we've been experiencing.

SWEET!

On the way back from Suzy's soccer game tonight, I stopped at the grocery store because I needed some powdered sugar to make the "candy corn" recipe I want to make with the kids. Of course, one can never get just one thing at the store, and of course I needed some chocolate.

Anyway, THIS is what I came out of the store with: Symphony chocolate bar, bag of powdered sugar, bag of sour gummy worms, jar of honey, bottle of strawberry syrup (like for milk), 4 pack of food coloring, bag of chocolate chips, box of 6 donuts.

Notice a theme there? LOLOL SWEET!!!

I also went to the thrift store and got a few books - Webster's New Thesaurus, a Harlequin romance (research, you know!), Sisterchicks on the Loose (Christian chick lit), 3rd Usborne Book of Puzzle Adventures (out of print!), Were-wolves and Will-o-the-Wisps: French Tales of Mackinac Retold, The Ragamuffin Gospel. So, there you are. Or rather, there are my books. :-)

I'm excited about a new thesaurus. I depend on a thesaurus a lot for my writing. Yeah, of course there is one in my word processor, but the more the better, imo.

Oh yeah, Suzy's game went fine. We lost again 0-1. One of our players was not there. David ref'd the game again. He does a great job with it! Suzy was very tired and I pulled her out of the 4th quarter because she was just walking instead of running and she looked just miserable. I think the night games are much harder for the kids in general. We played a 6:30 game which ended around 7:30 - late for six-year-olds, you know! She needs more sleep, in general, I think, because she has been melting down every afternoon. I'm going to have to try harder to get her to sleep before the big kids.

Stay-cation

Wow, what a weekend! GORGEOUS weather EVERY DAY! Too good for me to even have conceived it! Today is lovely still!

After the garage sales yesterday, we had dinner and then went for a bike ride. Yes! Me on a bike ride. Bob and the kids finally dragged my bike down from the barn (upstairs). It was fun, but then David got a flat tire.

S'mores by the fire, fireworks in our front yard. I have some pix of that, but they are still on the camera. We pitched a tent in the side yard for a backyard campout.

We played Scattergories Jr before we went to sleep. The Jr. version has the great adaptation of allowing you to put an answer that DOESN'T start with the key letter, but gives you two points if you DO start your answer with the key letter. This avoided meltdowns in our family! lol They all enjoyed it, except Suzy who declined the opportunity to play. Likely a wise choice since she can't yet read or write fluently.

Yes, we slept all night in the tent. Yes, all of us. Woke up before 6:00 and tried to sleep more, but it didn't happen for a long time. Finally drifted back off and woke up again around 8:30 when Suzy was the first of the kids to awaken.

We went to church and had lunch before heading out to a friend's pool. It was a PERFECT day for swimming. The kids had a great time (even David) on her floatie toys and swimming back and forth. THEN she brought out snacks and pop which made her even MORE favored among the Wagner children!

After that, the kids put on a movie and I headed out to spend scads of money at the grocery store. Now, it's bedtime - and after THREE late nights, every kid is good and tired!

Angel Food

Picked up my Angel Food Ministries order today.

What is Angel Food?

"Joe and Linda Wingo founded Angel Food Ministries in 1994 to provide food for friends and neighbors who were struggling financially. Today, they are still doing the same thing. The Angel Food program now is helping provide food relief to more than 500,000 families each month."

The $30 pack for June included:
1.5 lb. Rib Eye Steaks (4 x 6 oz)
1.5 lb. Hamburger Patties (4 x 6 oz)
2 lb. Pork Riblets
1 Whole chicken
2 lb. Breaded Chicken Tenders
20 oz. Supreme Pizza
1 lb. Mild Italian Sausage
1 lb. Tater Tots
16 oz. Sliced Carrots
16 oz. Mixed Vegetables
32 oz. Borden 2% Reduced Fat Shelf Stable Milk
6 oz. Pancake Mix
15 oz. Pork and Beans
14 oz. Ketchup
7.5 oz. Macaroni & Cheese
1 Dozen Eggs
1 Bag cookies

I bought 2 of these packages.

The food is supposed to be enough to feed a single person for a month and a family of 4 for a week. I figured that 2 packages would feed my family of 6 for nearly two weeks, supplemented with fresh veggies and fruits, as well as pantry items (like rice and potatoes). We'll see. The food looks to be good quality. Each month has a a different menu, which you can see on their site.

You can also buy special packages if you buy at least one of the regular packages. I decided against it this month.

There is no income requirement for this ministry. All you have to do to qualify for participation is EAT. lol Check if there is a local ministry for you. My church does it now, so it's just down the road for me. (Yes, Jen, there are participating churches in your area! lol)