Whims and whirligigs

Got tagged -- do the sixth

2009-04-15T21:25:00.009-05:00

So, I got tagged to post the sixth picture on my computer. That's tricky -- it all depends on how the list is formed -- and if I can even find the pictures on my computer.

I usually work with Bilbo, the main family computer. But he has been hypnotized recently to only make available what is most useful to me (Wow! I just made my well-meaning husband sound like some Microsoft henchman!), and so I cannot reach my pictures without first petitioning Gandolf, the all-powerful machine in the office. I suppose I could ask Aragorn (but Ben's MacBook Pro is down for the night)...and Arwen, my pretty white iBook, is sleeping...I don't know if Anduril, the iPhone, would even listen to a call through the network from Bilbo...

So, long story short -- Gandolf says this is the sixth picture in the "not yet backed up" file in his stash.

It is Archer on Josh. He's a Chinese dwarf hamster. We also have Checker, an albino checkered garter snake, and Flare, a motley colored fancy mouse. WAIT! I know what you are thinking ----- BUT FLARE IS NOT FOOD! Plus, Checker is only about 8 inches long.

The children are pining for about three more fancy mice, but we decided three cages, and the fish tank for Checker's meals, is enough for now. (Maybe sometime I will film Checker chasing his minnows around his small bowl -- it's pretty amazing to watch him gulp down four of the little guys!)

Happy living!

Economics from a 4 yr old

2009-03-12T10:44:00.004-05:00

On a whim, Daniel and I stopped at a local donut shop for a 50 cent treat this morning.

I couldn't help but notice the rickety tables and chairs, the out of date wallpaper, the dilapidated posters, the ceiling leaking from last night's rain ... and I wondered again how little places like this stay in business. It seems that's all you hear about on the radio now -- all of the small endeavors that just can't keep afloat as the economy struggles. I wondered how much effort the beautiful Asian couple running the store put into it each day to eek out a living.

But Daniel had a different perspective. "Mom," he said with his tummy full of chocolate frosting and sprinkles, "when that lady (the one behind the counter) was a little girl, she decided she wanted to help kids. So she discovered she could be a donut lady and make lots of little kids happy. She is a good follower of Heavenly Father because He wants us to help people be happy."

I think I need to eat more donuts.

"John Williams is the man!"

2008-11-30T21:17:00.009-06:00

Woke up singing this song this morning. Thought some of you other "Star Wars" fans might enjoy it. My children have it memorized...
(The rendition of Luke's whine is hilarious!)

The recording you hear is actually from an A Cappella group my cousin's husband Tim is in called "Moosebutter" (http://moosebutter.com/). The clip is phenomenal!

Goin' green...

2008-11-10T10:41:00.004-06:00

No more paper.

Called and canceled it today.

When I sat down this morning to five unopened papers and zero desire to read them, I knew it was time.

I can't tell you how liberated I feel!

Aaack! It's another one!

2008-11-04T08:06:00.005-06:00

He caught me at the right time.
I'd been feeling guilty for my self-administered ignorance.
I knew I was uninformed and was now contemplating action.
The proposed remedy fit my abilities ... I could do it...

I could subscribe to the paper!

Just for the weekend editions, mind you. Getting it everyday is information overload for me. It simply takes too long to even just skim the material. And sometimes I don't want to -- sometimes it is easier, and more emotionally sane, to remain ignorant.

Plus, it was only $12 for two months. Not much to pay for enlightenment, huh?

But there was a catch...

"Can I have them deliver it every day, for free?" The man looked at me like he was giving me the deal of a life time.

"No!" I began to panic. I had done that once before and swore never to take the paper that way again.

I tried to save face: "Isn't that pretty cost inefficient?"

It turns out that they can charge their advertisers more if they have a larger reader base. Regardless of whether or not I read it, it pays them to have it land on my driveway.

I gave up. "Sure," I said with trepidation. "You can deliver it ... (choke!) ... every day."

It has been a week. Yesterday morning I sat down to four unopened papers. I made it through three of them and dumped the last one right out of it's plastic into the recycling bin (with only a moment's concern that there might be something in there I would have wished to have known).

Call me what you will, but I now remember why I ran from the fellow at the grocery store who wanted to give me a $20 gift card for subscribing last year.

I guess I was a sucker this go-around.

It was all about timing -- the election, the economy, having just moved, upcoming holiday sales -- lots of information deficits.

Hopefully my recycling bin is getting informed.

Late night thoughts on elephants...

2008-08-08T21:39:00.008-05:00

I've been remembering scenes with my sister Esther when we were teens:

The code words, said in a deeply despairing tone, "Today I feel like such a toad...,"

brought on the invariable answering response, "It could be worse..."

And so began the oneupmanship of slowly contriving progressively worse things that could have been or might have happened on such a "toady" day.

But it wasn't a guilt-laden experience of wallowing through all of the world's woes and trying to feel grateful that you are carrying your bucket of them rather than someone else's. It usually began that way, but it ended more like a lark -- a hilarious promenade down a doomsday road that only could be traveled by Murphy.

And the crowning statement that always sent us into gales of laughter: "It could be worse...you could have an elephant sitting on your head!"
(This MUST be said in all seriousness, with very matter-of-fact foreboding, for the desired effect.)

Somehow, once we got to the elephant, the game was up.

Who wouldn't feel better, knowing that she, once again, had escaped that blasted elephant? :)

[photo by Michael Graham Richard]

Sea World, San Antonio

2008-08-03T23:03:00.002-05:00

One of our summer jaunts was to check out Sea World, San Antonio (2.5 hrs drive from our house). Ben took off a Friday from work...and we liked it so well that we went back the next Friday! We fed sea lions...

lorikeets...

and Dan even bought himself a sword.

Hope you enjoy the next few posts of our two trips to Sea World! (7/11 & 7/18)

Shamu (and friends)

2008-08-03T22:42:00.011-05:00

Such an innocent looking tail...

Such an amazing amount of water coming at us!

They meant what they said about the first fifteen rows being a SERIOUS splash zone! You should have seen the people wringing themselves out, toweling off, and sloshing up to higher seating. They looked like they'd been blasted!! When three whale tails poised themselves in front of you simultaneously, you'd better look out! Here's a shot of a single-tail splash from the side:

Talk about muscle--what a leap!

She disappeared under the water for the longest time and then suddenly they both sprang out, with her on his nose--WOW!!

Hot, but happy at Sea World

2008-08-03T22:10:00.009-05:00

Here's how we got around--their large stroller could hold three tired stow-aways, as well as a fair amount of other paraphernalia.

Happy smiles peeking out of the stroller shade!

Mom and the boys...and Emma!

Any guesses where the children get their great smiles?

Anticipation before the "Texas Splashdown" -- one of the few rides we were each tall enough to enjoy together.

Daniel and Isaac absolutely loved it and wanted to get right back in line and do it again. Emma thought it was terrifying and was glad she sat in the back. Josh and Matthew were thrilled with the ride but then talked themselves into a state of fear long after we were back on dry ground. Silly!

Viva!

2008-08-03T21:56:00.005-05:00

We absolutely loved watching the Viva! show with the pacific white-sided dolphins and the beluga whales. With a cast of 15 or so, they made it part comedy and part fantasy (or so it seemed), and it was all performed to music. Delightful!

Aren't belugas one of the craziest, lumpiest looking things you have ever seen? Ahh, but they seemed amazingly graceful and almost cuddly as they swam with the trainers. What a way to instill amazement and appreciation in hundreds of people every day!

Lorikeets -- wow!!!!

2008-07-30T16:04:00.008-05:00

One of our all-time favorites at Sea World was feeding the lorikeets nectar. How amazing to have a beautiful bird alight on your arm and feed from the little cup in your hand! Here is Josh's "I'm excited out of my mind and must scrunch my nose" grin.

Here's Isaac:

And Daniel:

And Emma:

A little competition?

Celestial experiences on the way to Sea World

2008-07-30T15:49:00.003-05:00

The temple in San Antonio is about two hours from our house and right on the way to Sea World. So we stopped by to show the children the outside. It is hard to see it in this shot, but the text reads, "Holiness to the Lord, The House of the Lord."

The pictures of the stain glass don't look nearly as spectacular in the day as they do at night with the light shining through them. This is the window you see in the Celestial Room, a tree of life with prisms as the fruit -- how they sparkle! What a beautiful image to consider as we sit and ponder in that lovely room!

Feet with traction!

2008-07-09T21:26:00.001-05:00

My sister said Daniel, age 3, must be pretty brave, so I thought I'd post this picture of Dan's expression as the creature settled on his finger. Cicadas have the most prickly feet -- great for them, but it feels pretty queer to be held, almost pinched, so tightly.

"Mom, I found an animal!"

2008-07-09T19:22:00.003-05:00

Thats what Daniel says every time he sees any sort of creature.

The children sure enjoyed holding this aging cicada. It looks like some medieval work of art and armor. What an amazing world this is!

What a guy!

2008-07-09T19:09:00.005-05:00

I bought Ben a book for his birthday --- a book we already had. Oops! He looked all through it with full interest for a number of minutes before he reminded me that we had purchased it three or four months ago.

This happy smile wasn't even jeering at me -- nice chap that he is. I got a good laugh out of the whole thing. What a flub! Here are some more birthday smiles:

Soccer!

2008-07-09T19:03:00.004-05:00

Josh is playing soccer with the YMCA this summer.

Games are early in the morning, but it still gets pretty hot!

Texas is funny!

2008-07-09T18:37:00.004-05:00

I reached under the counter for my Bosch bowl the other day and found it occupied!

Who knows how the gecko got in, but here's a close-up:

Another bridge for Matthew -- graduation to middle school

2008-07-09T14:50:00.006-05:00

Ben and I were amazed and very proud of our son Matthew's accomplishments this year. He entered fifth grade as a timid student, unsure of his capabilities. How delighted we were to see him jog confidently up to the stage to receive his many awards.

He flourished as a reader, winning the top trophy for the most points accrued in the whole fifth grade for reading. You can see it here, pictured with his homeroom teacher, Mrs. McCoy.

What a gem that dear one is! I feel honored to be a part of his life.

Emma's kindergarten graduation

2008-07-09T14:39:00.005-05:00

A flower for a lady...

Two happy smiles...

How can the summation of days and nights that seemed to last forever add up to a fleeting memory of time passing so swiftly -- my little one is growing up! People tell you it will be so, but you never quite imagine how quickly your children will transform!

All in the eye of the beholder

2008-07-02T12:19:00.004-05:00

Emma wanted a castle cake for her birthday party with her friends. I tried, but when it was done, it looked more like a skirt for a princess -- with turrets!

Too many ideas in my head without a really good sense of direction and a limited amount of time. It makes me laugh! The children enjoyed it, whatever it was.

Here's the butterfly cake she had for our family party for her. (She's sporting some of her presents: clip-on earrings and fancy, very fun to spread all over, lip gloss.)

Scout excitement

2008-07-02T11:51:00.010-05:00

Matthew graduated from the Webelos den in May. Here he is walking across the bridge to Boys Scouts. You can see his "Arrow of Light" award on the table. He was very proud to receive it with his good friend Riley.

Here is the cub master and his new 11 yr old scout assistant leader. See the paint on Matt's face? He was pretty colorful as they "marked" him with paint representing all of his virtues, present and hoped for.

Josh and his good buddy Joseph (they were born only hours apart!) enjoy presenting the colors.

Joshua was very proud of his pinewood derby car, Sunflash. (His dad liked it, too!)

He won 2nd place for speed in a race where the top five cars had a racing time spread of only 0.1 second! I think he lost only two races, and those by only fractions of a second.

Progress?

2008-06-30T09:47:00.002-05:00

Progressed to more than 100 hives each morning, held at bay with Zyrtec while we wait for results from blood work to see how easy the return to "normal" will be.

Thankfully Zyrtec takes the edge off. Hurray for little miracles -- and patient, loving children!

Some memories are stressful

2008-06-24T08:08:00.004-05:00

I've been coming up with hives again -- 20 or so each morning, and the rest of my skin kinda tingly/itchy all over. It isn't bad at all, but there is a remembrance awareness that makes it worse than it is. Do I need more rest? Is it allergies? Why is my body having an auto-immune response?

One last pic from March -- two great friends!

2008-06-21T23:55:00.004-05:00

Emma and Dan on our tire swing in the backyard.

Presently, Dan looks pretty similar, with a bit more summer tan. Emma has cut her hair since this photo to barely shoulder-length and is also sporting a bit more tan and a few more freckles. Her bangs have almost grown out to match the rest of her hair -- Hurray!

Wow, I sure love these guys! How grand it is to have my wondrous, five great children!!!

March 19th pics

2008-06-21T23:43:00.006-05:00

On the last day of Spring break we went to a park downtown. However, we hadn't counted on the weather being soooooo very hot (98 plus degrees outside! In March!! Welcome to Texas!). Here we are with snow cones and lunch in the shade.

Finding an indoor children's museum was a BIG bonus! The children loved checking out specimens. Notice Daniel's snow cone "lipstick."

Long overdue pics from Spring Break in March

2008-06-21T22:59:00.014-05:00

Rodeo on Wednesday, March 17th

Free ice cream cones! Daniel's biscuit sample is temporarily forgotten. (Red helps the children stand out in a crowd.)

Petting Zoo

Did the deer like the salt on Daniel's sweaty face? Dan laughed and laughed!

Here's a handsome boy!

Josh looking for holds on the climbing wall.

Isaac giving me a smile in the glare of the sun.

The caterpillar was a huge hit!! Thankfully so, because I told the children they could only go on one ride. By the time we looked at all of the rides that were available, we were maxed out. Carnivals too often are too loud, too visually busy, and feel like an invasion of peace. We had our great ride, plus one other for Daniel, and went home happy.

Notice Dan's delight and Emma's resigned/preoccupied look. He couldn't ride on the caterpillar, so this jaunt was just for him.

Getting tired . . .

One last show -- Whiplash, the Cowboy Monkey! See him in the black hat? He rides a dog and rounds up sheep. Hmm... did it help that the dog is a sheep dog? Whatever the case, we enjoyed the show a lot! (Our vantage point was poor for picture taking.)

Happy Birthday Brother!

2008-05-28T17:24:00.001-05:00

Thinking about you today, Brother Benny! Love you!!

Homework fun

2008-05-07T22:21:00.003-05:00

Joshua came home with a list of spelling words he was supposed to put in a poem (a creative idea that caused him grief!), so I helped him with it. I'm rather proud of it, although some spots are awkward because of the mandatory words. Here's the list of words and what we came up with:

upon
family
later
turn
move
vision
tension
action
relation
solution
once
it's

Poetry -- It's Stressful!

When I have to write a poem
I feel a lot of tension.
I stamp upon the floor
And turn colors I won't mention.

My family says I'm crazy
And not at all their relation.
They tell me if I move away
I'll be the solution to their over-population.

And then I have a vision --
I'll get assistance from my mother.
She can rhyme these twelve words
Faster than any other.

Later, once the poem is done,
I spring outside to action.
I have some new tennis shoes
And I want to check their traction.

Stay tuned

2008-03-19T21:32:00.002-05:00

More of spring break to come, when I get a moment . . .
(Update: look in post on June 21st.)

Tuesday's friend

2008-03-16T21:27:00.006-05:00

I found a butterfly outside Tuesday morning. It was obviously old and faltering, so I brought it in for the children to see.

It held on for a few days but seemed determined to fly anytime it was touched. With it's wings in such bad shape, it couldn't do more than flutter. It wasn't interested in the sugar water or the very over-ripe banana we tried to give it.

Emma and Matthew were the most interested. Emma even built it a little lego house!

Apart from the butterfly, we had four or five additional friends over for most of the day -- jumping on the trampoline, playing board and video games, running around with light sabers, baseball bats, and all sorts of paraphernalia -- great fun!!

Inner Space Caverns

2008-03-16T21:10:00.005-05:00

The children had spring break the week of March 10 - March 14th, so we decided to go on some adventures together.

We'd just gotten out of the rain and were lined up waiting for our turn to explore the caves.

Wish I'd remembered how to take the picture sans the flash. It was a much richer sight for our eyes! (I also could have gotten a picture of the bats -- pictures without flash were allowed for them. They weren't cluster oriented but were about the size of a small mouse. Very cute!! I saw one bat, but some of our eagle-eyed children saw two or three altogether.)

And then, after a few more shots, the camera battery went dead. I usually leave all of the picture taking "chore" to Ben, so I've stayed comfortably ignorant, if there is such a thing. Gotta learn sometime, especially if I am ever going to post a picture here!

Anyway, the caves were great! We also came home with a few fun things from the gift shop -- a coon skin hat, two rubber band pistols, a rock bracelet, and an arrow head necklace. Matthew wanted something too, but couldn't find anything really worth the price, so I think he is saving up for later.

Sock War!

2008-03-16T20:39:00.006-05:00

This is one of our favorite Family Home Evening activities -- we roll up about forty socks for a "snowball" fight (notice the colorful battle line on the floor dividing the teams).

The miracle of watermelon at home

2008-03-01T16:52:00.004-06:00

Our family has been working on anger recently -- rather we have been working on controlling our anger -- and finally filled our cotton ball jar with a month's worth of daily personal effort from each person, so the children got to pick a fun place for all of us to go together.

We ended up at "Main Event," an inside entertainment center with extensive rock climbing walls, laser tag, bowling, arcade, etc. The rock climbing was fabulous! Wish we'd brought a camera. Daniel wasn't tall enough, but everyone else tried it. Emma determined after about 60 seconds that it wasn't for her. Matthew took most of the half hour fighting his fear of heights, but by the end was doing very well. Josh and Isaac ate it up. ("Do you think I got more muscles, Mom?" Josh asked.)

Then the three older boys and Ben went over to play laser tag. Sadly, the equipment they were given was poorly constructed and barely functioning (ie: Ben's shooting accuracy was 384% and Isaac's vest wouldn't recharge for anything). After that, we discovered that the arcade was noisy and set up for you to pay out a lot in a hurry, although the center did have quite a few high-tech motion oriented games. So, by the time it was time to go, we were all VERY ready to leave.

We stopped at the store for milk and bread on the way home and picked up a small watermelon.

Eating a cool watermelon on a warm day outside (78 degrees right now) is far nearer to absolute bliss than that mega-entertainment center. Happy chatter and quiet slurping are music to my ears compared to the onslaught of raucous arcade action. I wonder if next time we have earned a family outing I can pick the "main event." We had a nice time today, but for next time, a walk in the hills and a watermelon would be heavenly.

Are these games?

2008-02-08T16:24:00.000-06:00

I just have to post this before I forget:

I have been contemplating how to further explain to my children my loathing for violent video games. Today presented a perfect example. The news websites that pop up when I log on had two news-breaking articles about people getting angry and going on a shooting rampage. And then, lower down the page in the video game news was an article on the awards a number of 1st person shooter games had recently received.

I would call my understanding of world happenings pretty limited. I don't take the paper (although one is delivered to us once a week). I don't watch news on television. I tend to find out most major national and world happenings long after the fact. But this week has been full of terrible gun tragedies, local and world-wide. Every time I have sought or even been exposed to any news this week, I have heard of someone shooting someone else, sometimes even family members.

And then Matthew came home today with a request from a friend whose birthday party is tomorrow -- a request for "HaloWars" -- I'm not sure what the friend was talking about, because I don't think it is even out for purchase yet, but it is an RTS game building off of a line of mature-rated games. And the boy is turning 11.

Furthermore, his party is being held at an arcade/pizzeria. I went to check it out today, because thankfully my son Matthew is very strict about immodesty, something for which many arcade games don't have a very high standard. I didn't see a lot of bare skin, but the lighting was low, the music was very loud, and there were lots and lots and lots of guns.

So, I would like to say -- what gives? How can adults, and especially parents, play these games themselves and allow their children to play them and not think they will have a deleterious and even sometimes deadly impact?

I guess the real question is how can I help my children hold to the standard in the "Strength of Youth" pamphlet: "Do not attend, view, or participate in entertainment that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way," when it is all so readily available and acceptable in our society?

I feel like the dam holding back the tide. But too much is slipping through.

Update on Sampson

2008-01-24T15:27:00.000-06:00

Exciting news!! Matt came home from school today with a few copied pages from a book about African-American inventors that had a very short chapter on Henry Sampson. AND, it is written for elementary age students -- explanations of inventions included. (One of the other children is also researching Sampson and located this text.)

Hurray! So, although we don't have a lot of extra info about any other aspects of his life, at least we don't have to read through any more patents to understand the applications of his inventions or go looking for abstracts in old periodicals.

Nice little present, those three copied pages.

Laughing about Matt's research report

2008-01-24T11:42:00.000-06:00

My fifth grader was asked to do a two page research paper on a well-known inventor for his science class. The name he came home with was Henry Simpson.

After 15 minutes on the web, I figured there must have been a mistake -- they couldn't have meant we should study a Portuguese economist/banker, a British artist from the early part of this century, or "The Queen's Veterinary" who was found drowned in August of 1900.

Matt went back to the teacher to tell her we couldn't find anything, but she must have been busy because she passed him off saying, "A lot of kids are having that problem." The next day I went to school with Matt to see which of these non-inventers they wanted us to cover, and found out the name was Henry Sampson ("a" not "i").

So, we "Googled" this guy. At least we could see he was an inventor -- he invented the cell phone. . . Wait a minute -- one website credits him with the cell phone and another says it was Martin Cooper with Motorola. It turns out there is quite a divide, with most websites falling cleanly on either side. The situation is compounded because Henry Sampson is Black. Some web sites even have running dialogs that, but for their venue, would be quite bloody as people bash out their frustrations about racial bigotry, preferential treatment, and who really created the most important inventions of our time. I was surprised at how many myths have just made their way into mainstream culture and probably will never be debunked!

Suddenly this was more than a fifth grade report. It was a learning experience in the veracity of the web, how easily information can be misconstrued and and then disseminated, and also how to dig out difficult facts for research. I think it was more than either Matthew or I bargained for!

Let me tell you a bit about Mr. Sampson, just a little bit because this isn't Matt's report. (But beware! You should probably verify EVERYTHING I say, because my info has come largely from that ubiquitous and sometimes deleterious web.) Sampson is a brilliant nuclear physicist who has contributed much in the field of propellants for heavy rocket motors. He has held very high-level positions with space test programs and as a head chemical engineer with the US Navy.

I found three patents under his name, but my time is limited, so there may be more. Two deal with rockets and the last is the one that probably started the whole cell phone debacle in the first place -- he co-invented the "gamma-electric cell" with a man named George H. Miley. (Now, why is it that nowhere on the web could I find anyone crediting Miley with the invention of the cell phone? Ask me about that personally, and I will tell you all about my theories on that one. Interesting phenomena are lurking about here!)

Because I needed to know for certain whether or not Sampson had anything to do with the cell phone, I pulled up the gamma electric cell patent and skim-read it. Just so you know, I was a history major in college, and although I minored in math, I did not take physics, let alone study nuclear physics. So, I understood only the basics of the patent, after multiple readings, and nothing I read led me to believe that the gamma electric cell had even the remotest connection to cellular phone technology. So, much of the info we were gleaning for the report was false, and we needed to dig deeper for our research.

Now, Matthew is supposed to do the aforementioned report, but he is also supposed to dress up like the inventor and give a presentation next week -- with props! Sorry chum, but there is not enough info available for a fifth grader (let alone his mother) to glean for a two page paper and such a presentation that will captivate other fifth graders. After describing the basics of the gamma electric cell to Matt, I asked him to summarize it for his paper, and he looked at me all glassy-eyed. So, I figured we would need to extrapolate, and we began researching everything around Sampson. What a project!

Interestingly, he is most well-known for his historical research and published books about African-Americans in the film industry. From my limited understanding, he is the preeminent authority in the world for that research. Now that is something cool!

Yesterday Matt and I finished his rough draft. According to the rubric sent home as a guide for the final paper, we would have gotten a "C" -- we couldn't fill the required two double-spaced pages on an inventor who really did patent some neat things but who is so little known that he didn't have easily accessible published facts about much of his life.

So I went to school again today to figure it out what we should do. Our next research options were periodicals in university libraries or purchasing Sampson's books on film to see if the back flap gave any more biographical information on the man-- not quite what I would expect Matt's teachers to expect of him. I caught up with the science teachers, and it was as I had light-heartedly expected -- the teacher giving out the assignments had mistakenly thought that Sampson developed the cell phone, initial searches confirmed the fact, and surely that topic would be something of interest to fifth graders. That crazy web again! It has really made me wonder what Sampson thinks about it all -- does he know that fifth graders nationwide are giving reports about his gamma cell that led cell phone technology to advance to its now present speed of communication? What a hoot! How could I name my own inventions to become equally famous?

Today we will begin a new strategy for this report, again. But, I must admit my mind has been greatly enlarged the past few days, and my brain has had quite a lot of new material on which to chew. So, even though at times I have been extremely frustrated, kudos to the science teachers for unwittingly giving me a great ride.

a bit busy . . .

2008-01-23T09:48:00.000-06:00

Potty training, meetings with a child neuropsychologist, a rat that has slipped in between the two levels of our house and is busily chewing on . . . something, various winter colds and allergies, Ben's company changing hands, and the normal rigors of everyday life in our household -- it's no wonder I haven't posted.

Each time I sit down to do it, I feel like Inigo Montoya: "Let me 'splain. [pause] No, there is too much. Let me sum up."

Still too much!!

So, if you want news, give me a call. I'll get back to this eventually.

Unclogged!

2007-11-13T09:57:00.000-06:00

Did I mention my dryer has been under-functioning since we moved in three months ago? Most loads have to be dried twice, a few need a third go-around. It seems to be heating fine, but for some reason everything just stays wet. Laundry has been a real problem.

I was willing to give allowances for our dryer (a model of unknown age and origin refurbished in a high school tech class), but I found out by accident that the former owners of our home had recently replaced their dryer. With a little digging I discovered that their new replacement hadn't worked well either. Aha!

So, I began poking around. After sending a drain snake through the downstairs bathroom fan vent by mistake (and being blessed to not have ruined anything), I finally discovered that our dryer vents nearly straight up onto the roof. Who invented that? Sounds like a lint trap to me!

I snaked out what I could, pulled out a ton of lint, attached a new dryer hose, and found that all my efforts had significantly . . . INCREASED the problem. Now EVERY load needed to be dried three times with some needing a fourth!

So, this morning Ben climbed up on the roof and unclogged the whole thing for me. It took longer than we thought, but I can't tell you how satisfying it was to turn on the dryer after we had snaked out some of the main blockage and see lint come volleying out of the pipe, some even in compact rug-like rectangles larger than my hand! I no longer wonder why the laundry room always felt so humid and warm -- there was absolutely nowhere for the air to go.

I am happy to report that my dryer seems to be back to normal. What a boon for the Cloward laundry!!! Wonder how much it will lower our electric bill?

One other note: I have a pretty nasty cold. Wish my sinuses were similarly unclogged! Any ideas?

Primary program quirks

2007-10-28T16:43:00.001-05:00

Primary programs are beautiful things that always bring tears, testimony, and a bit of mirth.

Today the joke was on us as one of our children determined to singlehandedly meet the challenge to "use a really big voice." She out-sung the whole group on many of the numbers, and the poor girl in front of her spent much of the program with her fingers in her ears. Too far away to make a change, I just grinned and wondered about opera lessons.

Later someone told me that my Emma was the best part. I chuckled, thinking of all of my covert smiles over the years at other people's children. For all you laughing out there, just wait -- you never know when the parent you will be embarrassed for will be you.

Allegiance

2007-10-27T20:30:00.001-05:00

Did you know that my children now pledge allegiance in school each morning to both the USA flag and the Texas flag? This was a surprise, and I must admit that when I happen to be in the school during announcements my voice is silent after the USA pledge as I listen with some disgruntlement to the children pledging allegiance to a state. Now, I was a history major in college, and I think I understand at least a little bit about the critical need for a balance between state and federal governments. However, I consider myself foremost a citizen of the United States of America and don't think any length of time spent in Texas (or any other state) will ready me to pledge my allegiance to it.

Interestingly, when Ben and I visited Colonial Williamsburg a few years ago we sat in an interactive lecture with the Colonial Thomas Jefferson (or at least someone who had studied the man enough to portray him as well as anyone could portray someone gone that long) and learned something about the portrayer's view of the pledge of allegiance. The subject of flag burning came up and "Jefferson" seemed untroubled by it, allowing for it as a healthy outcome of freedom of speech. An audience member pressed "Jefferson" further and applied to what many of us consider the sacred words of the pledge of allegiance. I'll never forget the Colonial "Jefferson's" comment: "You pledge allegiance to a flag?!"

So, I looked up the pledge to the Texas flag to include it here so you could be disgruntled along with me, but I learned something that made me pause, something that brought new meaning to the words my children recite each day. The Texas pledge was created in 1933 and has remained basically the same since then. However, just this year it was amended to include the phrase, "one state under God." To me, this critical change at a time when so many are moving the opposite direction says something incredible about Texas!

Will I say the pledge now? No, I'm still not ready to pledge allegiance to a state; but now when I hear the Texas pledge I will think of the many Texans who want their children to know that they believe in and request the merciful help of our Father in Heaven.

Here is the Texas pledge, for your benefit: "Honor the Texas Flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible."

{I have wondered how Jefferson might have felt about the Pledge later in life. Would he have answered as his Colonial portrayer did? Also, you may enjoy reading about the Pledge on Wikipedia where there is any interesting account of how the Pledge came into being and also what prompted Eisenhower and the US Congress to add the words "under God" to the US Pledge in 1954. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance).}

Mission Accomplished!

2007-10-25T15:57:00.000-05:00

The other day while we were shopping Daniel noticed that Christmas had already come to Walmart, so naturally we went over to see. Before long we discovered all of the noisemaking Christmas "toys" -- the seals singing "Let it Snow," Santa on a Harley, a grandfather bear reading the story from the Bible, and some unknown creature singing some Christmas song I had never before heard.

He pushed buttons slowly at first, and I followed behind him, "shushing" the ones that we had passed. However, after a while I just let him go at it, and WOW! the cacophony!! But, it was early, the store wasn't crowded, and we will never own one of those, so I figured it was best to just get it all out of his system at once.

He enjoyed it, I got a good laugh, and we both left feeling some sense of accomplishment. Quite a successful outing.

Ben on the tramp

2007-09-28T10:20:00.000-05:00

I need to get a picture for this: last Family Night Isaac chose jumping on the trampoline for the activity. Ben got on with the older boys and they played a "jump-as-high-as-you-can" game.

You should have seen Ben, knees nearly up to his chin with each jump, sending children sky-high all over the tramp. Isaac was propelled to heights that to him felt like a dream come true! It was all pretty comical.

Ahh . . . A/C!!

2007-09-28T09:56:00.001-05:00

Our A/C went out yesterday, and it got up to about 90 degrees in the house. When you add in the Austin humidity, the air felt heavy and even breathing took more effort. I was amazed at how much the heat distracted me. It was as though something pesky was always poking at the back of my mind, and I felt pretty lethargic and ineffective, not to mention almost wringably wet.

Today a neighbor mentioned that I probably had a second breaker box, which I searched for and found hiding outside behind a very large bush. With a flip of the breaker that had partially tripped, we are back in the cool!! (Well, we will be when it gets back down to a comfortable temp.) We won't have to through another night of children struggling to go to sleep because they were sweating. HURRAY FOR A/C!!!!

What a great word!

2007-09-26T23:02:00.000-05:00

"Can you help me finish my 'cwackanoni'?"

(Daniel, age three, asking for some aid with his macaroni and cheese so he could have a treat.)

Holding the quints

2007-09-26T08:26:00.000-05:00

A family in our ward just had quintuplets -- maybe six or eight weeks ago -- and there are shifts set up around the clock to help them. I signed up for the 7-10pm shift last night. Wow, what a joy!

There were four adults there (the parents, a grandma, and me), the quints, and also the two older children (ages 7 and 4). All four of us adults were BUSY the whole time! It was not uncommon for one of us to be holding two babies at once, something that will only be possible for a few more weeks before the babies get too big.

I was interested to see some of the organizational set ups to make things workable. The baby room is right as you enter the house and has five cribs lining the walls with a five foot open square space in the middle. Right now, only two cribs are in use. Across from the baby room is a formal dining room that has been converted into a sitting/caring/changing/feeding room for the babies. There are two changing tables and a large shelf with baskets in all of cubbyholes to hold bibs, burp cloths, 0-3 month sleepers for girls, 0-3 month sleepers for boys, 0-3 month onsies for girls, 0-3 month onsies for boys, all of the same categories in premies, blankets for boys, blankets for girls, etc.

In order to help all of the people who are assisting, and also probably the tired parents, each child has been given a color that he/she wears solely (as much as possible). That way you can keep track of who has been fed, who's diaper was changed, and who is who.

The quints are still pretty small (about the size most of my babies start as), but quite alert and seem to be growing well. Lots of miracles in that family! I can't help but wonder how the parents are coping and if they try to avoid too much forward thought and planning right now. There is SO much to occupy the whole family (and myriads of others!) with just the minute to minute needs of the household. Others have taken over the care organization for the quint shifts and the daily play dates for the four year old. Friends and businesses have donated a lot (a 12 seater van, dental work for the quints until they leave home, formula for a year, etc.). But wow, huh? You can read more at their website:

http://www.wilkinsonquints.org/

The media page has some great spots. A short but very good one is the Austin-American Statesman Slideshow.

I have signed up for another evening shift in a few weeks. It's hard to find a free shift -- amazing, huh? Even the eight hour overnight shifts that happen daily are full! The parents also attend all of the three hour Church block together with their two older children. This is a community effort, and I sure felt blessed to help for a little while. What an eye-opening experience.

Cutting day

2007-09-22T15:56:00.000-05:00

Remember the first head of little boy hair you ever cut? Matthew was two and captivated by the water filling in the washing machine. So I seized the opportunity, grabbed some scissors, and finished the job by the time the water shut off. There were a few extra baby hairs in that batch, but no matter.

Today I cut four heads of hair, one after another, and Ben had to take the trash out after he finished sweeping up. Guess you can measure the growth of your family by the mound of hair on cutting day. If Daniel hadn't been napping, we might have hit a record -- a Mt Everest style pile!

They all sit pretty quietly now, too. No need for hairy suckers to "enjoy" while Mom cuts. Sometimes they'll even talk to me -- prime time, then.

When I told the lady who cut my hair this morning (yea, I got one too -- really short and cute!) that I was headed home to cut five heads of hair, she asked if I had a license. Nothing like having a lot of boys to give you license to do all kinds of things, huh?

Now, if I can just get all of the little hairs out of my fingernails and off the front of my clothes . . .

Parent perspective

2007-09-20T14:38:00.000-05:00

This is a parent's hectic day set marvelously to Pachelbel's Canon. It's a keeper!

Ever eat a torpedo?

2007-09-15T22:32:00.000-05:00

Daniel called out as were shopping, "I want those torpedoes!" Not seeing any torpedoes in the food isles at Target today, I asked him to point them out.

"Ahh, you mean 'Doritos'!" I felt the light coming on. However, when I touched the bag, he was definitely not satisfied.

Hmm . . . some more pointing and urgent insisting . . . not the Ultra Nacho Cheese Doritos or any of the other remarkably prolific varieties now available. Boy, what kind of mama can't find torpedoes for her son? I was failing! A few more blunders and then, "Ohhhh --- Cheetos!" They're similar to torpedoes, right?

Luck was with him -- it has to be for me to buy Cheetos. He hugged them all the way to the checkout, immediately removing them from the grocery sack the minute they were "ours" and fervently enjoying them as we exited the store.

By the time we got home, he had fallen asleep, the bag of torpedoes cradled in his arms and evidence of their impact everywhere.

Damage report? I carried him in carefully, so I avoided turning orange, at least for today.

Motherhood and blog titles

2007-09-08T23:38:00.000-05:00

Ever play with a whirligig – the kind that is just a large button on a string? It seems deceptively simple: holding the string at both ends, twirl the button until the string is tightly wound, then pull the two ends taunt; modify the tension so the button will continue to spin in a way that appears almost independent.

The winding and pulling, the challenge of tension balance, striving to encourage and yet also guide independence . . . interlacing the very souls of those entrusted me . . . this is motherhood. And yet, I find joy not just in the success of the proper touch but in all of the wonders of the whims and whirligigs along the way.

(Hmm . . . must be late. I'm waxing melodramatic.)

Return of the Jedi

2007-09-07T22:45:00.001-05:00

We sure are glad we have defenses against these Texas scorpions.
What would we ever do without lego?

Pity the parents . . .

2007-09-07T08:42:00.000-05:00

We were reading this morning in Mark10:14 where Christ tells his disciples, "Suffer the little children to come unto me . . ." and Ben asked why Jesus loves little children so much.

Isaac, who just turned seven, offered this sage observation, "Probably because they aren't boring like parents."

When we chuckled, he qualified, "I mean 'cuz parents aren't active, and stuff . . ."

Add that to my to-do list: "Don't be so boring!"

and she begins . . .

2007-09-07T08:41:00.000-05:00

If but to have a place
to explore a thought,
share a laugh,
or unburden a soul
-- to the world?

What an odd thought, a blog.