Weekly Preview and Review

Saturday - Christmas!
Sunday - Relax
Monday - WORK 5 hrs, Pride & Prejudice Movie Day
Tuesday - WORK 5
Wednesday - WORK 5, David's 16th b-day, Go to see Tron
Thursday - WORK 5
Friday - WORK 5, New Year's EVE!
Saturday - New Year's DAY! (Thrift store 50% off clothing sale! YAY!)

Last week Suzy stayed with my parents when we were in town for Christmas. She had a great time visiting Suzy's donut shop, scrapbooking, seeing Megamind with Aunt Janet, and much much more. We met up with Mom and Dad on Tuesday afternoon to get her back. She was SO TIRED! lol

We went on to Maryann's for the evening. On the way we stopped at Kmart and bought a wafflemaker since I had the bright idea of making waffles for Christmas. We also stopped and bought a used Singer sewing machine I'd seen on craigslist for $30. The person lived only a mile or so from Maryann, so that worked out great. The sewing machine needed a bobbin case, but I found one on ebay for about $5. So for $35 I now have (hopefully) a working sewing machine. When the part comes, I'll let you know for sure!

Weeks have passed, maybe months, since we'd spent any time at the McDowell's, so it was great to visit there! We just hung out, made dinner, chatted, and then watched Knight and Day. Well, that was Maryann and me and Erin (her adult daughter). The kids played with toys and video games, and outside in the snow! So fun! I knew I had to work the next day though, so I cut it off earlier than I'd have liked and brought the whole crew home.

Christmas cookies took up most of Wednesday. I didn't make bunches, like last year. Just some sugar cookies - all for us! LOL

I think it was Thursday I went to the grocery store and it was already pretty crowded. Can't imagine what the lines and parking lots were like on Friday (Christmas Eve) since I didn't go anywhere! We had thought about going to church Christmas Eve but we pooped out. Wish we'd have gone though.

Our Christmas dinner was a non-traditional nibble tray feast and it was a HIT! I think we'll do this from now on. I did cook a ham on Thursday since we got one unexpectedly as a gift. But on Christmas Day, I did trays of: cheeses, summer sausage, deli ham, cut-up veggies, pickles, shrimp, chips, fruits, jello, cookies, candies, etc... I changed up some of it as the day went on. Most of the food was left out all day and the kids just ate as they wanted. Next year, I'll prepare it all on Christmas Eve day rather than waiting for Christmas Day and then all I will have to do is pull it out of the fridge! Everyone loved it and there was virtually no cleanup. I did make cheesy potatoes because *I* wanted them. But those are easy anyway. So, I think we have a new tradition! And I'll be thinking all year things to put on our nibble trays.

I had planned to make waffles on Christmas morning, but we had some muffins and fruit first thing and no one was hungry for waffles at the time we'd planned them. So I figured we'd do it much later in the day. But still no one was hungry - nibbling all day! LOL So, we had it for breakfast today instead (Boxing Day).

This is how our Christmas Day looked:
Sometime between 7-8 am James got up, but no one was up so he went back upstairs, I guess.
Sometime before 9, I got up and made the coffee. James heard me and came down. The rest came down eventually, except David who had to be pried out of bed with a crowbar, almost. Once everyone was upright, we opened our stocking gifts - youngest to oldest (kids only).

We'd planned waffles after that, but as described above, that didn't occur. So I got dressed and Bob too, and then we moved on to the gifts. We decided to have everyone open 2 gifts and then move to the next person, youngest to oldest. (We don't do a chaotic tearing-into-the-gifts thing, here.)

So, that took a while, to get through all the gifts. What a blessing that I was able to buy so much this year. All those extra hours paid off! It's been a long time since we've been self-reliant at Christmas.

After the last present was opened, I put out the food and people began nibbling. Bob napped, the kids played with gifts, and eventually we played Apples to Apples. (We did that on Christmas Eve too.) In the evening, we read the Christmas story aloud from the Bible, sang some Christmas hymns and had our birthday cake for Jesus. We take it outside and He "blows out the candle".

We settled down to watch a Christmas movie. I was hoping for It's a Wonderful Life, but the kids had the idea of watching the new Veggie Tales, It's a Meaningful Life, so we watched that on Netflix instant. It's kind of a take off on the Frank Capra movie, but also with elements from A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express. My verdict? Not a movie for repeat viewings, sadly. Too much sappy singing, and not funny enough, though it was explicitly Christian unlike some of the more recent Veggie Tales. After that we watched another Netflix instant movie - The Missing Lynx. Stupid. Don't bother.

The kids settled down in the living room to sleep "under" the Christmas tree. This was the 1st year that David asked if he could sleep upstairs instead. :-( Made me sad, and I said NO! It's tradition! Sleep in the living room! They had a bit of fun with some lighted glow sticks I'd purchased and then settled down to sleep. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Can you believe David will be SIXTEEN this week!?

Fantastic Friday & Satisfying Saturday

Homeschool Co-op is held every other Friday and yesterday was the occasion. Since I am one of those in charge, each co-op date brings challenges and joys. I got to walk around and take some photographs during one of the hours and had to work through a couple issues during another hour. Ate lunch with my good friend and chatted with many nice people. Saw some cute babies!

Sent James home with a friend and packed up to head out to Maryann's house for the night. We got there earlier than I had thought we would, even with stopping at a new bread thrift store on the way. Another friend arrived, unexpectedly to me, bringing her sons ages 9&10, making me rather wish James had come along. I try to find him some other activity when we go up there because there is no one for him to play with at her house. Usually.

We watched a movie & some Doctor Who on DVD (Maryann's new obsession), while having yummy food and stimulating conversation. We always solve all of our problems in chatting. LOL The kids had an awesome time together.

Slept in on Saturday then relaxed over coffee and more Doctor Who and a couple other movies and eventually moved on to some lesson planning and curriculum chatting. Such a nice relaxing day.

Bob had to work Friday and Saturday so he wasn't missing us, and James had a great time with his friend, as they went to a couple AWANA events and played together all afternoon.

Came home a little later than we had planned, but with my Spanish lessons and Essay writing class plan done!

Oh, and Bob bought another dryer at work, so maybe this will be the one that does the trick for us. Tomorrow we will find out!

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.

Traveling Tiara, Movies, and Friends

My weekend was AWESOME!!! I was invited to join a group of ladies for scrapbooking at my friend Maryann's house. Her husband agreed to take their kids to a hotel for the weekend so we could take over their house for the weekend.

If you've never been to a scrapping weekend, you may not get the attraction. Even if you HAVE been to an event like this, it's likely it isn't QUITE like the ones we create! This is the first time we've done a big weekend like this at Maryann's home, but we have done a few before now. Maryann has a large room (used to be a garage) that we shoved full of folding tables and chairs and a LARGE amount of scrapbooking supplies, along with up to twelve women at any one time. Throw in a TV and a DVD player and a great variety of movies and you may begin to get the idea! Laughing, giggling, and sharing lots of meaningful conversation completed the fun. I hope to have pictures for you soon.

I stayed both Friday and Saturday nights and several other women did too. A few just came for Saturday. We had one baby who was simply adorable. One woman's birthday was today, so we celebrated with cake and ice cream. Great food was in abundance, as was coffee and even a glass or two of wine. OK, several glasses. :-D

I completed eighteen pages, so I got to wear the traveling tiara quite a lot. If you know my totals in the past, this does not compare. I did not do any power layout planning ahead and I also watched all or most of NINE movies over the weekend. Several of us are movie addicts. I fit that description quite well. Some of the others are not movie-people, but we are converting them! Here's that list.

Movies I have seen before (Easiest to scrap to, since I only have to pay attention to the "good parts")
Northanger Abbey - one of my favorites, as you may well know. A Jane Austen novel film adaptation
Miss Potter - it's ok. I got a lot done during this one.
North and South - Riveting! We watched parts 1-2 on Friday night and parts 3-4 on Saturday. Then we watched part 4 AGAIN on Sunday, rewinding and repeating the last few scenes with dedication.
Mamma Mia - yes, again! This makes six viewings for me!
August Rush - Oh, wow I had forgotten that Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is in this! Woo-hoo! Loved him in The Tudors (HBO). Keri Russell is soooo pretty and that Freddie Highmore is quite an accomplished actor for one so young. Oh yeah, and a creepy Robin Williams, too. Also, some weird stuff about the power of music. But it made me cry.
X-Men - Just Dar and I watched this. I am converting her to my recently discovered love of comic book movies. She and I share similar tastes in books and movies. She says she liked it!
A Knight's Tale - as the packing up was just getting started and afterwards, we watched this. Then had dinner and went home!

Movies I hadn't seen before - watched these in comfy seating in the living room, instead of the scrap room
The Duchess - Dominic Cooper (Sky in Mamma Mia) was our impetus for renting this and he was pleasing. The story was quite poignant and none of the characters made choices I would have in most cases.
Someone Like You - with HUGH JACKMAN, Greg Kinnear and Ashley Judd - LOVED IT and am going to purchase it. Now I am thoroughly and completely a Hugh Jackman fan. I can't believe it took me SO LONG. lol

Yes, I did let other people pick the movies some of the time! LOL They also watched Baby Mama while I was doing something else. I've seen it before twice, and quite recently too.

So, now we are all back to our respective homes, our relaxing mini-vacation over. Can't wait til the next one!

I think I'm going to see Australia (hint - JACKMAN) this week. Even though I am utterly NOT a fan of Nicole Kidman. Not even a little.

My Day at Maryann's

This is Maryann's pond on her property. The raft is new this year, I think. Her 19yo dd Erin is standing by the raft and 3 of my kids and 2 of hers are on and around it. (This video about 50 seconds, so be patient if you try to load it.)

The kids had an awesome time! I guess the birthday party guests swam for about 3-1/2 hours! Our kids swam today for more than an hour, I think. I didn't wear my watch purposely today, so that I wouldn't worry about time at all.


This is another view of the pond. Emily, Kathleen (birthday girl!) and Suzy are playing in the sand. The boat behind them on the beach is one of the ones that was constructed at FIRE camp a few years ago. James and Gabby are in the water. (This one is almost a minute.)


This is 4 seconds of me and Maryann. Quick video! (I have NO MAKEUP on and my hair was slicked back into a French braid to avoid dealing with it in the heat.)



James found a nest on the ground with 3 baby birds in it. Probably it blew out of the tree during the thunderstorms last night. They were alive when we left them. This video was a little blurry since I tried to get too close for part of it.

Doesn't James look sweet? He got a sunburn on his shoulder blades. I should have put more sunscreen on him!

We had such a lovely day! The weather wasn't as hot as they predicted, or at least it didn't seem like it! I hope we can all go back again sometime soon for another relaxing afternoon.

IMAX! Cinco de Mayo! Goal! Wheelie!

Oh wow, I just got an email that Speed Racer is going to be out on IMAX. :::shivers:::

And may I just say that I am still uncertain of the reason for the desire I have to see this movie? I'm not a fan of anyone in the cast (as screenit.com often says in their reviews), nor am I a fan of automobile racing. And I barely recall the old cartoon.

:::shrugs::: Mysterious. Yet fascinating.

And, yes, I believe I'll be seeing it this weekend. Unless I have to work.

Went to Maryann's Sunday night for the night and dragged all 4 kids along. They had a blast! Monday was Maryann's annual Cinco de Mayo party and about 75 homeschoolers descended upon her home bearing Mexican food and candy for the pinatas. We had to leave before anyone else so I could get to work on time. ::::sticks out lower lip:::

David had a soccer game Monday night. He made a goal! But he was offsides so it didn't actually count. Don't ask ME to explain offsides. I still can't!

For some reason I got to thinking of other old cartoons I remember besides Speed Racer (which actually I barely recall) and Underdog (which I once adored). And a vague memory of chopper motorcycles came into my head. Oh yeah, maybe it's because I drove most of the way to work behind a guy riding a chopper.

ANYWAY...( Yes, you are getting the "after work babbling Lisa" tonight! lol)

It's Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch which aired in the fall of 1974, when I was 8 years old. I think we still had a TV then.



What will James remember from this time? He's eight.