Corn...

I should note, Ben bought a bushel of corn and put it up.  I did little more than shuck a few pieces (very few) and put the corn into bags after he had blanched it and removed it from the husks.  

I think I might have to have him get some more for us to eat on the cob this weekend.  It is amazing stuff.

Summer's end

So, here we are, the last week of summer vacation.  Killian and Liam are headed to 5th and 2nd grade at Meadow Ridge, respectively.   Today, I baked some pumpkin muffins for them to take to school for snack.  Also on my list to make: chocolate syrup (you know, some without high fructose corn syrup and nasty chemicals), so they can take chocolate milk with them in their lunches.  I am hoping they will take lunches from home, but they're not too excited about that.  We begged our parents to let us take our lunch to school.  Killian and Liam are quite fond of the school lunches.  Why, you may ask?  Aren't school lunches notoriously gross?  This  

is the first month's menu.  Cheese pizza, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, corn dogs, walking tacos (that would be fritos with taco toppings poured on top), nachos, cheese breadsticks.  Yeah, that's why they want to eat school lunches.  

Seriously?  

I told Killian he could pick one day a week to eat school lunch.  He's not happy.  We still have to address this issue further....

I have convinced Molly that she needs to be homeschooled for pre-school.  It sounds downright silly, but I guess more kids are in preschool these days than are not.  I actually got a curriculum because I need a list telling me what to do.  If I could get a curriculum for my whole life, it might be good for me some days--just tell me step by step what to do. :0P 

What is it about 10 year old boys that they cannot play video games without yelling at the tops of their lungs...?

I ordered some new shoes last week for the kids.  We don't really do the new school clothes thing here.  I suppose that doesn't really become an issue until they're teens, particularly if they're boys (I hope).  But, both boys are ready for the next size in tennis shoes.  I may actually have to buy another pair for Killian for gym, but I think he has at least a few weeks if not a month or two in one pair.  We can sometimes pass shoes on to Liam, and we've had some really nice ones that have barely been worn by Killian, but his feet are much wider, so he often needs new ones.  Today, I also ordered long underwear for all of the kids and some good warm socks.  I wouldn't have ordered them right now, but I needed to get a new jacket for Killian, and they were a good deal.  I'm hoping we can keep the thermostat a little lower this winter.  It's not that we cannot afford heating, but why spend the money if you don't have to?  It's kind of like the whole A/C thing this summer.  It's supposed to be hot in the summer and cold in the winter.  You're not supposed to be able to wear shorts all year round. :)

In the meantime, I'm also delving into holiday planning.  Yes, I'm crazy.  These are my favorite sites for inspiration and that life-curriculum I mentioned ;)(sorry for the over-use of smileys):

Christmas: Simple and Beautiful | Magical Holiday Home

Organized Christmas

I spent some time looking at Christmas music on Amazon yesterday, and I found some cool CD's I think we need to add to our Christmas collection this year (we love the Christmas music).  One is a CD of antique music box music.  I also requested a couple of things from the library, so we can preview them and see if we actually want to purchase them.

I hope to start some fall decorating next week~Fall is my most favorite season.  I like the beginning of winter and the holidays, but I'm generally done with winter by mid-January.  Maybe new long johns will help.

Oh, and here's some lunch box inspiration.

Lunch in a Box: Building a Better Bento

Oh!  And I made corncob jelly.  Is that not hilarious?  We bought a bushel of the most awesome sweet corn we have ever tasted and put some of it up.  Since we had the cobs, and I had recently read something about such a thing, I decided to give it a try.  I am not sure that the corn cobs actually impart much flavor, or if the main taste is Sure-Jel and sugar, but it's actually pretty good.  It will work on a sandwich.  

OK, I think I've typed enough for a while!

Oh, but a garden update.  We still have tomatoes trickling in.  I don't know if we're ever going to have enough at once to actually make anything.  Four of the snap peas I planted and replanted have come up, as have the spinach, lettuce, carrots, and radishes, and some of the radishes look ready to pull.  I am thinking of making potato salad.  I love radishes in potato salad.  My broccoli starts still look pretty sad.  I haven't put them in the ground yet.  Same of the basil....

Thrifting

So, yesterday, we met up with Ben for lunch at Red Robin.  Since we were in the general direction, I stopped by Salvation Army.  A few weeks ago, the last time we were in the area, I stopped at Goodwill (they are both within a couple of miles of one another).  At

Goodwill, I found two pairs of pants for Killian, a polo shirt for Killian, and a dress shirt for Killian.  Also 3 pairs of capris and a nightshirt for me and a long sleeved shirt for Molly.

After going there, I wondered why on earth I have not gone to any thrift stores in years.  I do believe I am going to make an effort to go at least once a month and/or when the kids or I need anything BEFORE we go shopping anywhere else.  Now, don't get the wrong idea--I don't spend a lot of money on the kids' clothes.  I frequent garage sales, swap clothes with Julie, buy stuff on extreme clearance or used online, and Ben's mom is always finding awesome little things for the girls (and sometimes the boys) on super clearance or at garage sales.  Oh, and don't forget the birthday and Christmas gifts that always come along from grandparents, aunties and unclies.

So, anyway, at the Salvation Army store, I found about 5 t-shirts for me (which I desperately needed), 2 sweaters, a long-sleeved t, and a skirt for me, a couple t-shirts for Killian, another pair of pants for Killian (still a bit long, but he will be wearing them soon, I'm sure), a Pikachu t-shirt for Liam, and two cute shirts for Molly.  Also, not necessary, but due to Molly's insistence, an Ariel mermaid pillow, a Barbie insulated lunch bag, and a doodlebear.  Oy.

Maybe "desperately needed" is not correct.  No, I did not desperately need them.  In fact, I did so not desperately need them that I have continuously put off buying anything for quite a long time.  However, having some nice t-shirts to replace the ones I've been wearing for the last few years is a real boost to me.  And, it would not have been if I spent a load of money on them. 

I also found a great-looking crib mattress to replace the one currently in the crib that is probably 20 years old and downright disgusting.  I had decided I would likely not replace it, due to the fact that we won't be using it much longer, but didn't realize I would find one at Salvation Army for 14.00.  I cleaned it with soap and Thieves' Oil and set it out in the sun when we got it home. 

So, perhaps I shouldn't  publish all of this.  Somehow there is a stigma attached to buying things used, I know.  But, consider this:  New things cost more than just money.  New mattresses off-gas yucky chemicals.  New clothes do too.  No one would know buy looking that what we bought was not bought new.  Some of it even still looks new.  New clothes are often made in less than ideal conditions for workers.  The money I paid for these is not going to supporters of cheap labor, questionable governments, massive worldwide shipping (and pollution).  Why use the world's resources (and mine) for something that already exists?  

Anyway, I'm quite pleased, and I can't believe I didn't go sooner.  I was never opposed to going, I just never did.  

Cyber Conference

So, today I attended an inservice for work on my home computer.  They used a live chatroom with voice and text capabilities.  While I listened in, I did the following:

Folded laundry

nursed Reagan

requested the new text for my class

How cool is that?  I have a couple more sessions to attend today and tomorrow.  Can I just say what a tremendous improvement this is on the traditional day-long inservice?  I haven't been to an inservice in years due to perpetually nursing a baby.  Not that I've missed them terribly, or anything.  But, it is nice to feel like I'm actually fulfilling work obligations.

:)

Chinese Gymnasts

So, this is bothering me.  Yeah, I know, the Chinese women (girls) gymnasts are not the corn-fed, drive-thru frequenting women of American gymnastics.  The genetics are different; the environment is different; things couldn't get much more different, likely.  

But there is no way all of those girls are 16.  Is there???  There is one, I am unsure of her age, who looks to be about 8.  She still has baby fat.  Ben said she looked like Molly's age, but I was guessing 8 or 9.  Crazy.

So, I just got around to Sarah's Question...

Without spending much time in thought (meaning: this is likely not anything poetic or earth-shattering), here is my response:

Sarah, I'm just now reading this. What do I want? Well, if I can get beyond the want for sleep ;0), I want my children to be happy and healthy, to feel at peace with themselves and their lives. I want to live in such a way that I feel no regret. I want for my children to be capable, strong adults who love themselves and others fully. We live in such a questionable time....I want to gain the knowledge and share with others what we need to be able to live, hopefully comfortably (though I'm not sure that the meaning of that word will always be what it is today...), come hell or high water, so to speak...How to achieve that? Well, that's another story, isn't it?

Flash Flood

Ugh....I emptied the filter on the washing machine last night and forgot to screw it back in.  So, this morning, I threw a load of sheets into the washer, walked away, and came back to a flooded laundry room.  :(