Freaking Friday

No not freaky, freaking. Schools are closed once again. I have a freaking out 16yo who left a project at school and doesn't know how she'll finish (it's due Wednesday, but my straight A's dd can freak out like no one else), I've got two teen boys who would have stayed in bed if they had known, one 10yo who can't deal with my new way of making pancakes (square not round 'cause I bake 'em, seriously, why didn't I think of this before), a 7yo already glued to his ds and a grumpy 5yo who WANTS TO GO TO SCHOOL! Oh, and Miss Clingypants who is having a phase, and the eight other people in this house must entertain her or she needs her mother!!! Overall it'll be fine having them home, it'll sure make shoveling easier, but now they will have to go to school until May 26th. I'd much rather have them home in May when it's nicer weather and I know we'll be at some baseball game way too late at night for school to be fun the next day. Ah well....

Love Thursday

Love is having sons who will shovel out the driveway (though they don't want their pictures taken doing it.) Sisters who will change a diaper, brothers who will read you books and a mom who has the good sense to start on the wine at 2pm if that's what it takes to stay pleasant.

Wacky Wednesday

The high school counselor will be meeting with S next week to pick classes. He told me last night he had figured out his answer to the inevitable question of what he wants to do after high school. His answer "I am going to study necromancy, raise an army of the undead and then bring back my cat whiskers." I nearly drove into the ditch. I'll be waiting for the call from the counselor.

Tightwad Tuesday

Confession time...I don't buy paper towels.
I started thinking about this last night when I had to tell the other Cub Scout moms I couldn't bring in old paper towel tubes because....we don't use paper towels. Gasp.....crickets.... It was as though I had suddenly grown two heads. Honestly, dish cloths and old towels fill this spot really well. I just pitch them in the wash. Is it really that odd? The other moms said "Geesh, they're only a buck at the dollar store." So I did some quick (for me math). Say 7 rolls/week at $1 times 355 (maybe there'd be 10 days we were neat?) comes to oh, duh, $355. I can do some wash for $355. And yes, I totally believe we could go through that many if their tp usage is any indication.

Menu Monday

Monday-hamburgers, home fries, applesauce
Tuesday-baked chicken, rice, green beans
Wednesday-cheese manicotti, broccoli, garlic bread
Thursday-pepper steak, rice, oranges
Friday-bbq pork ribs, corn, grapes
Saturday-pizza
Sunday-Superbowl snacks, nacho dip, relishes

Friday-Migraine Edition

I had a headache last night and this morning (thank you God for Imitrex) so today you just get pictures.
These look cute under a Sunday dress.

How to reuse your brother's shirt sleeve. (Because if you're 14 you must show off those arms when you work out.
">
Jammy pant cuteness. She dumped juice on the red onesie that looks best with them.
">

Manic Crafting

I've been on a crafting jag lately. It'll pass but I might as well ride the wave while I can, LOL. I've made the before mentioned 'crazy legs', crocheted longies, pj pants a hat and thumbless mittens, made a skirt and hat and I found a scarf pattern and ski mask pattern I want to try. I also need to make up some baby gifts for a spate of coming little ones in the spring. I'm going to make either this

or

Monday Menu

Menu for 1/19 through 1/24
1/19 -spaghetti& meatballs, salad, one hour french bread
1/20-chicken macaroni, broccoli, tangerines
1/21-hamburger stroganoff, green beans, banana pudding
1/22-baked chicken, corn, biscuits
1/23-macaroni&cheese w/ham, peas&carrots, apple salad
1/24-chicken fajitas, corn, no egg spice cake

Otherwise, still cold and snowy. Kids have been home for five days and are now begging me to take them to the 'big hill' so I'm off. I finished some craft projects so I'll get some pics of them tomorrow. The crocheted longies came out cute even if I do say so myself.

Risky

So how geeky and lame do you have to be to spend a whole evening playing Risk with your kids?

Crazy

I am pretty much creatively challenged but even I could make these. They are knock off baby legs, which I made for Ad but this pair has been commandeered by Mel. She insists on calling them Crazy Legs. Don't they look great with that red velvet Christmas dress we still insist on wearing? Mel is a dress girl but usually ends up with her warm tight's crotch hovering near her knees. These are actually a good compromise. I added some ruffle to the bottom of the pair Mel is wearing. Ad's pair has little hearts all over them and are just finished at the bottom and are sweet, sweet, sweet. Of course now L wants some and I'm not sure I will be able to find knee socks big enough. Knee socks must be very out since I had trouble finding these.

Riches

This poem sure captures what I feel. Friends living exciting live that matter and me just the nutty woman with too many kids.

Riches

By Jennifer Derrick
I.
It's easy to feel common, like
my existence is less rich than his:
my cousin who speaks Russian fluently
pores over geography for his PhD dissertation
has been the first American
in a certain tucked-away site on the Chechen mountains.

II.
My friend lives in Seattle
between the Olympics and Cascades.
Camping countless nights under dense green canopies
seeing multitudes of starfish drawn toward the ocean's depth
she has traveled terrain so steep and silent
that when she stopped running
all she heard
was her own blood pulsing through her veins.
This is what she said:
you can be in the most beautiful place in the world
and still feel utterly lonely.

III.
The delight of these little daughters who want
to be so close to me
makes me realize, again, this rich experience—my life.
Two umbrellas twirling in the gentle rain
four little hands and four small feet
after dinner, walking up the cobbled street
listening to the echoes of their song
I stand and watch and smile.

Not Menu Plan Monday

Ok, it's not Monday, so sue me.


I could have had an iphone, a massage for three weeks, cool new clothes. Instead I opted to feed my kids. I won't be sure that was a good decision until after the weekend.


Here's the line up
Sun-roast chicken, dressing, green beans, cake
Mon-Shepherd's Pie, carrots, pears
Tues-hot chicken salad, relishes, applesauce
Wed-tacos, corn,grapes
Thur-sausage&pepper pasta, broccoli
Fri-chili, cornbread,oranges
Sat-chicken fingers, fries, salad

Random Thoughts

SCHOOL IS CLOSED! That is just cruel. I only sent them off yesterday. (yes, they went back on a Tuesday. Why?) So much for that cup of tea and uninterrupted web surfing.

I'm going to Karen's because I need it straight from the bottle about now.

I need time to calmly refute many of the comments aboutchildren as a financial burden. This one always gets me exercised. People assume I'm making my children live like paupers or waifs because we don't spend crazy gobs of money. Does this child look deprived?

I have a bag of carrots and cauliflower laying neglected in the freezer so I'm making this soup for lunch. And the snow bound kids can eat it or make friends with the peanut butter. Pffft.

See, I haven't wasted my time here at the computer after all.

Twelfth Night (no Shakespeare)

It's the 12th day of Christmas. A day we celebrate in this house because either, I'm continuing useless customs passed on by my immigrant ancestors or I just like to party. There will be cake, and small presents and merry making. Then I'll haul all the stuff back to the basement while the kids go back to school tomorrow. Let's not think about that part. Below, a piece of tripe on the 12 days of Christmas. Enjoy or not, depending on your bent. I'm going off to have cake, yeah, for breakfast. I'm making merry darn it!



The 12 Days of Christmas, Deconstructed


On the 12th day of the Eurocentrically imposed midwinter festival, my potential-acquaintance-rape-survivor gave to me:
· Twelve males reclaiming their inner warrior through ritual drumming.
· Eleven pipers piping (plus the 18-member pit orchestra made up of members in good standing of the Musicians Equity Union as called for in their union contract even though they will not be asked to play a note...)
· Ten melanin-deprived testosterone-poisoned scions of the patriarchal ruling class system leaping,
· Nine persons engaged in rhythmic self-expression,
· Eight economically disadvantaged female persons stealing milk-products from enslaved Bovine-Europeans,
· Seven endangered swans swimming on protected wetlands,
· Six enslaved fowl-Europeans producing stolen nonhuman animal products,
· Five golden symbols of culturally sanctioned enforced domestic incarceration,
Note: after member of the Animal Liberation Front threatened to throw red paint at my computer, the calling birds, French hens and partridge have been reintroduced to their native habitat. To avoid further animal-European enslavement, the remaining gift package has been revised.
· Four hours of recorded whale songs,
· Three deconstructionist poets,
· Two Sierra Club calendars printed on recycled processed tree carcasses
· And an Animal Rights activist chained to an old-growth pear tree.

One Scene From Christmas

Wishing You All

Recipe For A Wonderful New Year

Take twelve whole months.
Clean them thoroughly of all bitterness, hate, and jealousy.
Make them just as fresh and clean as possible.
Now cut each month into 28, 30 or 31 parts,
but don't make up the whole batch at once.
Prepare it one day at a time out of these ingredients:
Mix well into each day one part of faith,
one part of patience, one part of courage,
and one part of work.
Add to each day one part of hope,
faithfulness, generosity, and kindness.
Blend with one part prayer, one part meditation,
and one good deed.
Season the whole with a dash of good spirits,
a sprinkle of fun, a pinch of play,
and a cupful of good humor.
Pour all of this into a vessel of love.
Cook thoroughly over radiant joy,
garnish with a smile,
and serve with quietness, unselfishness,
and cheerfulness.

Enjoy!!!



Wishing everyone a happy,
prosperous and frugal New Year!

Here

We're still here. A wonderful holiday followed by a not so wonderful virus. I have downloaded nothing. I'm just now keeping my head above water. I'll post tomorrow. Maybe.

Small World

Seen in Bejing



I was sent this interesting article.
Who knows?

"There is so much we do not know, about the history of this world of ours. There is so much to discover, both about the most far off places and those that are under our own noses. And between the "heres" and "theres", between the "nows" and "thens" there are ties, lots of them, hidden and manifest, connecting each of our small worlds to the wide world, that is - when all is said and done, a single, unique world.
Let's remember, let's rejoice and let's give thanks for all this.
Merry Christmas. Happy New Year." Viviana

Winter Solstice

The Shortest Day
Susan Cooper

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!

Crack!

Why am I up at 4:22 am? Got me. Could be dh's snoring or the ice cracking I hear outside my window. The predicted apocalyptic ice storm seems to have come but I've got power so it's all good. Now if dh can make it to work and they don't cancel school (a delay, please a delay) my day can go on as planned. I need to speed sew some things and get to a store while I am kid free (well, except for Addie) but she usually just sits in the cart and flirts with people so she can receive the adoration that is her due. (It is, just ask her). I hear dd's phone alarm. I will be so glad when today's finals are over. I know people think they would love to have a grade obsessed teen who studies all the time but really, you wouldn't. I have repeated and repeated that the world will not stop revolving if she's not valedictorian but....she is her father's daughter. Now ds is not troubled by these thoughts. TIme to find a snack and have another cup of tea. I swore I wouldn't turn the coffee on until 5am but tea's okay, right?