Shoveling Roofs

Weather.com, for what it's worth, is not worth a great deal, in my personal opinion. It told us that the snow storm that blew in on Thursday would be over Saturday afternoon. It is snowing harder than ever right now. Massive amounts of snow mean that, basically, there's a lot of snow up there, and it all comes down here. And it lands on things like trees, cows, haybales, the ground, roads, roofs, etc. The fact that snow lands on roofs is the topic of today's post.

Our neighbors have a barn. The barn has a roof, like most barns do. And the roof had snow on it -- in the sense of, 4 feet deep of snow on it. Now, if you were a barn roof with tons of snow on you, what would you do? For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, quoth Newton, many years ago. (Newton never shoveled a barn roof. Wussy.) All that to say that he barn roof started to bend slightly; also, some part of the barn structure became dis-attached. What does this mean? A barn-roof shoveling party, of course!! We had already been planning a Game Night for tonight, so the guys and their dads (and us and the neighbors whose barn it was, and who are part of our game night group) came on up and shoveled.

And shoveled. (And got tired.)

And shoveled. (And got more tired.)

For three hours. (And got exhausted.)

Around quarter to seven, it was determined that enough of the roof had been rescued so that we could now safely go eat pizza at Rachel's house, which is where the Game Night was held! We devoured aforementioned nutritious food, and played some group games.

Methinks I'll be sore tomorrow...

Random Photo Shoot...

...just totally random, for fun. For Christmas, Jessica got me a ring that matches hers. So today, I was taking a walk outside with my camera. And I decided to have a photo shoot with my ring :)

I married an icicle, to be exact.



And a shadow.

Then I decided to live dangerously and perch it way up on top of a really tall tree stump.




Barbed wire. Of course! Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

You know, the snow made it really cold so my finger almost got frostbite after I put it back on...
Thanks for reading till the end! I hope to post something considerably more substantial next time. (Translation: I wanted to put up these way cool pics, but understand that in order to keep my remaining blog readership, I must promise to, actually, like, post. Something like that.)

Being Sick in Our Family

Hopefully you'll never be with our family when we're sick. I wish I never had to be with my family when they're sick either. But sometimes it happens, and when it does, there is only one thing to be done. And that one thing is to blog. So here goeth.

It starts when one of the little kids -- say Joanna -- starts blowing her nose and lying around more than usual. These are indications that a Sickness is coming. As more children fall ill, the chances of the older kids (namely, Jessica and yours truly) getting sick is greater. Finally, if it's a really bad sickness, we all get it.

There are pros and cons of getting a mass sickness or your own solitary one. If you are sick with 5 or 8 other people in your family, you will get no sympathy. Fevers of 98.7 will be scorned. Fevers of 100 are likewise denigrated. The only way to get pity is to LIMP. (I haven't gotten that desperate yet.)

Getting sick all by your lonesome means that you have more of a chance to get pitied, if you play it right. BUT, compassion in this instance takes longer to receive. See, when you stagger downstairs and announce weakly to the family (who is happily munching their Cinnamon Squares at the breakfast table) that you are sick and don't expect to live past 3 PM, their reaction is indicative of the loving, caring nature of their generous souls. "GET AWAY FROM ME!!" they shout, leaping up, and rushing past you far, far away. They hold their breaths, lest a lethal germ should enter their breathing system and thereby endanger them. Then, for the rest of the day, they sidle warily past you, turning blue from a germophobic asphyxiation as they hasten to do any urgent business they might have. Then they hurry away, leaving a safe radius of, say, four miles, between themselves and the hacking, coughing you.

And then, horror of horrors, if another sibling should come down with the same illness, that member is shunned like a Hindu priest does a beggar. Discussions are held amongst the well ones as they try to recall how exactly the new sick member got sick. Then they avoid anything that person had previously done. Consultations and updates are held with frequency as the kids who are not sick try desperately to remain so. Then, as another child gets sick, the process repeats itself. Or, no one else gets sick and life goes on.

Either way, life eventually returns back to normal, and siblings stop monitoring each other for unusual things which could point to a succumbing to sickness. Then someone gets sick again, and the whole process repeats.

As you might have guessed, our family is going through a mass cold. It's an annoying, lingering one, and its existence is the reason that I am home blogging instead of at Cadet Leadership School like I have anticipated for the last year. Have you ever heard the term "her fever broke," and wondered how a fever breaks? I have, and I found out a couple nights ago. It just stops. I was in bed, awake, feeling shivery like you do when you have a fever, and it suddenly went away. And I went back to sleep. But last night, I had a fever, and it went away somewhat gradually, so I guess I'm not sure. I thought it was cool though.

That was an update on my life. What about yours?

Chocolate Mousse and Chicken Sandwiches

How's that for a totally random title? It's referring to what I've been doing today - cooking. Plus cleaning. Now I'm blogging, and then I'm going to do some math. They are getting back this afternoon. Actually, their flight has apparently landed, so I'm expecting them back home in about an hour or so. Daddy took Josh and Katrina with him (yay!!) so it's quiet :)

To sum up some of the main points of the past 9 (nine?) days:

*Katrina likes her bedroom light to be left on for about 15 minutes after she goes to bed, but if you forget and it's midnight or so before you go up,that's okay too (just don't tell her mom I did that...more than once...)

*If you think Harold and the Purple Crayon is bad the first time through, let me assure you that it does not get any better the second time, or the third time.

*Likewise for The Best of Dr. Seuss...I am forever scarred from the scene in "Horton Hatches the Egg!" where the fish commits suicide. "Now I've seen everything," the fish says, and promptly pulls a pistol from behind his back and blows off his head. Shocking.

*Naptime. Is wonderful. Nuff said.

*Even if kids say they are going to throw up, they probably won't.

*Let me warn you that mopping the floor with 5 and 3 year olds is not for the faint of heart. They turn it into a slip-n-slide. And then they want to mop the floor again. Maybe here would be a good time for me to say that I am faint of heart.

*A 5 year old and a 3 year old can have pretty interesting conversations, such as on marriage. Josh and Katrina have Katrina's future spouse picked out. (I don't wish to publish his name here, but email me if you're curious...which you should be considering he's 16 years older...) He narrowly edged out his younger brother and a buffalo for this lovely slot. "Katrina! Do you `want to marry L____?" "Yes!! No...C______..." "Oh...ok. Wait, do you want to marry a buffalo?" "Yes!! A buffalo!" "You can marry a buffalo!!" "Yay!! Well, actually, I want to marry L____!" That was the gist of it. Sigh.

*Jane Austen is wonderful.

So needless to say, I'm glad they're getting back. And I'm signing off here and shall go stare at my math book :)

Today, which is Saturday.

But in 57 minutes, it will be Sunday.

At any rate, when did I post last? I think it was either Monday or Tuesday, but I don't feel like expelling the energy to actually hop back onto my blog and see. I'm lazy like that, you see. So I will start from one of those days.

*sound of deep thinking*

So Wednesday went well. I mean, if something bad had happened, I think I would have remembered it, so I am going to say that it went fine. That evening, Jessica had choir practice, so we went down to the church and she practiced and I ran and the kids played. I'm going to stick Thursday in this paragraph too because I don't have a whole lot to say about it. (Is this why moms don't generally blog - they can't remember anything?)

Friday was yesterday (yes, it was!) and I should be able to remember it. Josh, Katrina, and I made green jello. And ate it. All of it. I was impressed. I was cleaning up the supper stuff and I realized that they had eaten all of it. I guess they liked it. And we cleaned the house (and I use "we" in the sense of "I," predominantly.)

And then we get to today. (Have you gotten the sequential flow yet? Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, just like we learned in kindergarten?)

***********Wheep!! Wheep!! I'm back!!***************
Yep, ladies and gentlemen, I did it again: I started a blog post, I got halfway done, I got distracted, and I left the blog post and went to bed. My excuse for such obvious neglect was because it was then shortly after midnight and I felt the need to get some sleep. BUT, I am also lazy (see sentence four of this post...), so I decided to not edit it so that it was written from today's perspective. Anyhow...starting where we left of...

Today - or rather, Saturday - was the game night. You know the drill - homeschooled teens get together to, well, socialize. It was really cold out. According to weather.com, with the wind chill, it felt like it was 7 degrees out there. However, weather.com was not playing freeze tag. Weather.com was not being tagged in a game of Fox and Geese. It was sitting in warmth somewhere in the tropics. So, please understand that, although I have the highest regard for weather.com, I think that it was off by about 20 degrees. It was cold.

After playing the aforementioned games (and freezing), we clunked inside, melted, and ate some food. This is where I must tell a story about the food. To make things different, we decided that the boys had to bring the food. They did and it was all good. But half the boy population didn't come because they'd had a previous commitment (and that would be the R___s*, for those of you who know.) Anyhow, Saturday afternoon, a mysterious car pulled up the driveway. I peeked out the window and was struck with terror - it was the R___ boys. (*this is where the scary drum music comes in*) I called up the stairs in panic, and Jessica came to my aid. It was the two oldest boys, and they, out of the goodness and kindness of their hearts, had made a soup for the game night gathering, even though they couldn't come (it was their mother's idea). They had also written a poem explaining the soup-making process. Both were enjoyed by everyone later that evening.

Then we engaged in some indoor activities, such as restarting the fire which had gone out while the adults occupied the house, playing Swap (or is it Slap?), an intense couple rounds of musical chairs, and a violent game of Mix Up the Fruit Basket.

Today (you know, if I keep procrastinating, this could get very long. I plan on publishing it today, anyhow.) was church and it has gone fine so far. I am eating lunch (yes, I'm working through lunch...anything for you, my dear readers!) and have plans to do some cleaning and food preparation. So I am going to sign off here. Thanks for reading!


*Pardon the blank line after R... I try to keep last names off my blog, and I have always wanted to put that little line after some one's initial like they do in books.

Tuesday

Okay then...let's see if I can summarize Monday and today :) yesterday was a busy day. The piano tuner/fixer guy came and fixed the piano's squeaky pedal, and tuned the piano. Then it was time to do lunch, and we had burritos. I chatted with some friends of mine (one of whom showered while I was IMing him. He was mysteriously gone for a couple minutes, and then got back on saying he hoped it wasn't rude that he hadn't been responding for a couple minutes, as he had been in the shower. I thought it was hilarious, and he said that I would be complaining to my mom, saying, "Mom...this guy I'm chatting with isn't responding..." But I said that my mom was in Florida and thus not able to lend an ear to my complaining. So I'm complaining here, which I so totally can do because he doesn't read my blog :D )

So after I got done talking to my friends, I did random cleaning up things, and then supper, and then got the kids ready to go to Awana. So we did that, and then home and to bed (not quite *just* like that...but the latter happened eventually!)

Today... I got some math done! I was glad about that. The kids have had three + meals today and are currently in bed. We had some issues concerning supper - eating the chicken was required before watching the movie, but Josh did not want to eat the chicken. After about a half an hour, he ate. Speaking of the chicken, our crockpot seriously is stupid. That chicken was in there for 4 hours on high and would not get done. I put it on top of the stove and I hope it got done. Isn't it normally supposed to take 2 hours? :P

Anyhow...we'll see what tomorrow brings!

*tries really hard to think of title* *fails miserably*

So, they left Saturday, which, since today is Sunday, I guess that means that Saturday was yesterday. Their flights went well and they landed around 2321. Before they left, I took this picture of Joanna and Katrina. They are inside Joanna's duffel bag...

Then they had to pose for a picture before leaving...


Josh and Katrina had been told for the previous two days that "after Mommy leaves, you can watch a movie!!" So they were excited and watched one forthwith.

Today has been busy. Church was this morning. I'm very thankful for nursery ladies :) This afternoon...well, actually, I can't remember what we did this afternoon. Oh, that's right! The electricity went out for about an hour. I did some transplanting of plants. Then Josh said that we should make ice cream. I was like, why not! So we made homemade vanilla/peach/yogurt ice cream. It was really good.

Anyhow, I'm sitting here and my eyes are telling me that they hate me and want to go to bed, so I think I shall take their advice! Something tells me it'll be a long day tomorrow!

Packing...

Yep, the "middle girls" are packing. Mom, Annetta, Lydia, Hosanna, and Joanna are leaving to go to Florida tomorrow. They'll be coming back on February third. And you know what this means, don't you? With Daddy working and Jessica doing college, Josh and Katrina will be predominately under the care of yours truly.

For 10 days. Me. Them. Yeah...

I'll be sure to keep you updated as to my sanity loss creative babysitting techniques. Also to complain. Comments welcome :)

Winter Pics

No winter is complete without a post of winter pictures. I thought I'd do that post now so we can have summer next week...sound good?

Shopping :)

Let me say up front, here and now, that I don't like shopping. I really don't. It's just one of those areas in my life that I try to weasel out of whenever possible (and even when not possible.) But sometimes, it becomes absolutely necessary, and by that I mean when your gift cards from relatives are piling up, sometimes you've just got to tough up and spend them. That's what I did this evening.

My sister Jessica and our friend Arielle (picture :) ) and I met this afternoon, around 4:00, and walked into JC Penney. (Question: I've always said it "Penneys," but there is no "s" in the name. So what is the proper way to say it? "I went to Penneys?" or "I went to Penney?" Is it possessive, because it's his last name: Penney's?). Then we looked at each other and asked ourselves what it was that we had come here to buy. I had a gift card. But what should I buy with it? That is the sequence that all [female] shoppers go through. Sometimes they have no money or gift card, just an overpowering urge to shop. (I've never felt that way, but I have observed others acting that way.) At any rate, we decided that I needed a black skirt. Guess what? Penney(s) is fresh out of nice black skirts. (My apologies to those of you who consider their selection of black skirts to be 'nice.' They are, but they're not quite what I was looking for.)

So we moved on to Plan B....which was...well, look for anything, basically. (That Plan took some time to come up with, so I expect you all to be impressed with its intricacy.) I found a couple of cute things, and Arielle did as well. However, I now needed a black shirt to go with the two skirts (not the black one I had wanted, but nice nevertheless) I got. How hard can it be to find a black shirt? Not very hard? Guess again... Penney(s) didn't have one. Well, I mean, it did, but they weren't the right kind. (I feel that any guys reading this blog are rolling their eyes. For their sake, I say: "There are certainly different kinds of black shirts out there, and you have to wear the right kind. Ask a girl for help.")

So we went to Maurices. I think the girl Dave Barry wrote about was there. I can't find the article he wrote, but he describes what happens when ladies walk into a women's clothing store (such as Maurices) : you are attended by a female clerk who appears to be roughly 68 pounds, and who enters and leaves the store via the mail slot. If you ask her if they have a certain article in your size, she will look at you while one corner of her mouth lifts smirkily. "We don't have that in your size," she says, "but you might try across the street at Big Bertha's Duds for Whales." Then you will leave. Jessica bought something, but they didn't have any of the right black shirts. So, off we went again.

This time, we went to TJ Maxx. And there, within roughly 24 seconds of entering the store, I spotted and grabbed a black shirt. Of course, we then walked around the store to see if they had anything else, but they didn't, so we made for the dressing rooms. Side note: they have really nice dressing rooms. At least for the ladies. And there, we settled on The Black Shirt. Then we bought it. And then we had to find out where Arielle's family was. They were at Walmart, and Arielle's mom was buying baby things for a baby shower (so I heard). This meant that Arielle's dad and brother were sitting, very bored, in the little Subway that is as Walmart. After we girls had bought Jessica's socks, we were hungry and decided to eat at Subway. Some of you may know that I have a thing for meatballs...and the rest of you probably know that Subway has a meatball sub. But did you know that those things are explosive? Seriously...if our country ever runs out of bombs, we could just drop Subway's meatball subs.

After the adventure with subs and a drink (yes, just one. Three girls, one drink. Yes.) (and we paid the guy with about 4 dollars in change, and he probably thought we were really weird, and he would have been correct), we talked and walked around a bit. Then we dropped Arielle off at McDonald's where her family was, and went home.

Total time: 5 hours.
Cost: Over $100, combined.
Results: Multiple articles of clothing, fun time, etc.

Christmas Morning

Hey, everyone! I interrupt this blog (how DO you interrupt a blog?) to bring you a glimpse into our Christmas morning. Being the official person-who-writes-the-list-of-gift-recipients-and-givers-on-Christmas-morning, I also wrote down some snippets of the hilarity that happened that morning:

"I helped wrap, so thank me, too." --Josh, completely serious.
"So, I was in my room, looking for stuff to give..." --Lydia, who finds it easier to wrap random objects than to go shopping.
"Hey, that's MY pen!!" --anonymous sibling (anonymous because I forgot who it was) who recognized a possession that was given to another sibling (this relates quite closely to the previous quote).
"This must be from Lydia, since she spelled my name right." A certain sibling had managed to spell Erika wrong (she wrote Ericka) and got in major trouble. :)
Lydia gave Dad a mug that had "Hugs for my favorite Grandpa!" written on the outside. When he protested, she admitted that she hadn't even read it!

A Braces-less Jessica

Monday was the day that Jessica has been waiting for nearly four years -- braces removal! She is thrilled.