Pages

Thursday, November 19, 2009

One More Tidbit because I Can't Resist...

"You aren’t compelled to loan your car to anyone who wants it, but you are compelled to surrender your school-age child to strangers who process children for a livelihood, even though one in every nine schoolchildren is terrified of physical harm happening to them in school, terrified with good cause; about thirty-three are murdered there every year. From 1992 through 1999, 262 children were murdered in school in the United States. Your great-great-grandmother didn’t have to surrender her children. What happened?

If I demanded you give up your television to an anonymous, itinerant repairman who needed work you’d think I was crazy; if I came with a policeman who forced you to pay that repairman even after he broke your set, you would be outraged. Why are you so docile when you give up your child to a government agent called a schoolteacher?" John Taylor Gatto

True, so true...

One of the many reasons I love John Taylor Gatto's, The Underground History of American Education.

Fascinating Documentary

Have you ever wondered where money comes from? Chances are it is not what you think!





I really didn't like the bank (and other) bail-outs before, but now...wow! Something just seemed off about the bank situation and now I have a better idea what it is.

Interestingly enough, it was the Carnegies, Rockefellers, etc who were so instrumental in implementing forced schooling as we know it. Kinda makes sense why schools don't talk about money after watching this documentary. I highly recommend it.

If you like it, check out Money As Debt II: Promises Unleashed (also on youtube) and also their website:
http://moneyasdebt.net/

Great Day!!!

Jeff comes home today!!!

It will be nice to have him home. As he pointed out though, he is unemployed now, so he will be home a lot. It will be interesting to see what kind of new routine we get worked out. I am still excited though! The kids can hardly wait too. Poor Serenity yesterday looked outside and saw Daddy's car (I moved it the night before), and was dancing and saying "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!" I had to break the news to her that he was not actually home yet.


I didn't manage to get the things I wanted done yesterday. I don't know why, it just didn't happen. The key seems to be going and starting the work. I can usually finish it once I start it, but when no one wants to go, it is hard to take that first step.

Hopefully today will be better. I'm going to focus on clothes: putting away summer, breaking out winter and maybe starting to sort what I want to keep and get rid of. Since I suspect the baby (we really need a nickname!) is a boy, I really need to go through clothes and see if I have things that are not stained, ripped, etc. I seem to remember the boys wearing neutral things because I didn't have much for boys, and when they were a bit older they managed to destroy what they wore. One of those things better done sooner.

It is shaping up to be a good, busy day.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Simple Woman's Daybook - November 18th, 2009















The Simple Woman’s Daybookis hosted by Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook


Thank you Peggy.



FOR TODAY November 18th, 2009...


Outside my window... the storm seems to have passed. There are some clouds, but some blue sky too. It looks cold and is a bit windy, but may be nice enough for us to get some of the yard work done. Wow, I see the sun shining as it rises between the trees.


I am thinking... I hate allergies. Maybe I can get an allergy test done and see if there is anything I can cut out to make things better (pregnancy may rule it out). Something at Grandpa's house triggered my allergies last night... I wonder if it was something in the candy he was sharing that tipped me over because I was fine inside before - though I am still having issues this morning so maybe not. I need to take a shower and find a new sweater, I'm sure that will help.


I am thankful for... not having anaphylactic reactions to anything. A bit of sneezing and itchy watery eyes is much better than having to carry around an Epi-pen and all that goes with such severe reactions.


From the learning rooms... We got a good chunk of our first timeline finished last night. We have to erase the pencil outlines and hang it today. Then the kids will be adding to it. We decided to start with the beginning of time and work our way forward. I found a neat chart that breaks down the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras. The kids will add creatures, plants, etc that may have been found during the various periods, and Ariana was interested in drawing the Earth's land masses of the period - what we suspect they were anyway. While this is not a required thing for the kids to partake in, it is there and they all sounded interested. We'll see how it goes. I'm looking forward to more recent history, but the kids wanted to start at the beginning - can't say that I blame them.


From the kitchen... what can I make for breakfast that will use 4 eggs or less? Not the breakfast burritos that are on the calendar for today! I need to think of something soon since the kids will be up pretty quickly.


I am wearing... pajamas. The baby tricked me into spending 45 minutes trying to put her back to sleep before she decided to get up at 6:45. It wasn't too bad - I wanted to get up at 6 anyway. She's reading books now, so I am able to type, but a shower was not an option when she was demanding my full attention earlier.


I am creating... the timeline, also I brought up the Advent binder to start thinking about what we will do for Advent (we've never managed to do anything), and I found another binder for SWAAT (pro-life group) stuff so I can start organizing my thoughts there.


I am going... maybe to a friend's house, maybe staying home, we'll see.


I am reading... Cabinet of Curiosities, I am close to the end. Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads is in at the library for me to pick up. I look forward to reading it!


I am hoping... that I can manage to get at least 1 thing done on my 6+ month old To Do list. I told the kids we would work on the clothes some, enough to break out the winter things, put away summer things and maybe condense some of the overflowing pile of bins and bags in the basement. I really need to clean up the garage enough to have a place to bring up things that will go away - not to mention actually get rid of said things.


I am hearing... quiet, except for Serenity's occasional words as she reads a book to herself. Now its my turn to read to her.


Around the house... still looking pretty good. Ariana needs to work on the kitchen and I need to sweep my bedroom. Then there is always dirty laundry downstairs.


One of my favorite things... The Northwest. In CA the seasons consisted of rainy and dry, and while I am well aware of the more extreme changes in the rest of the country, I find the Northwest seasons charming. Random people I chat with have commented on 'Winter' being here, and I remind them that the rain is still warm and the days are still reaching the 60s regularly, so it isn't Winter yet! We are well into Fall and it feels like Fall, but it definitely is not Winter. I like the mild changes and all the evergreens, it just feels... right. I'm sure other places are beautiful and have their own charm, but I am perfectly happy here.


A few plans for the rest of the week: Wait and see when Jeff will come home - he may stay a bit longer so that the trainees, anchors and supervisor can put their new skills to work and have their questions answered; keep working on the To Do list (I got almost everything on my daily list done yesterday!) - work on the basement, pick up the yard, install my under cabinet radio birthday present; have the kids finish their chores. A lot of the last part of the week will be dependent on when Jeff comes home.


Here is picture for thought I am sharing...



Ariana talked me into letting her keep the spare paper for a parchment. We have to figure out how to treat the paper to make it look old, and either before or after Ariana will add some of the fantasy languages she has picked up from various books. She figures part of the Book of the People from the Artemis Fowl series, Dragon script from the Dragonology book, the prophecies from the Gregor books and something else I can't think of now. Maybe I can get her to throw some Latin in there too since the paper is so long.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Simple Woman's Daybook - November 16th, 2009














The Simple Woman’s Daybook
is hosted by Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook
Thank you Peggy.


FOR TODAY
November 16th, 2009

Outside my window... a typical Portland Fall day: grey with rain off and on

I am thinking... I need to get my laptop in to be repaired and pick up a few things

I am thankful for... my husband. I need to find a way to let him know how much I appreciate all he does.

From the learning rooms... finishing CCD homework in-between the running around and heading out for CCD. RCC review would be good too. I need to get the timeline up too, maybe that would be a good evening project.

From the kitchen... the kids are finishing their malt-o-meal and whenever I get back from errands I need to get the lasagne together for dinner tonight.


I am wearing... a navy shirt, pajama pants and my ugly shoes (most people call them generic Crocs). I forgot to lay out clothes last night and had to wait for the little girls to wake up so I could get them - and since the only working computer is now in the bedroom, I figured I'd stop and throw this post up before getting dressed and out the door.


I am creating... in theory an outline/curriculum for the pro-life group, an outline for summer vacation bible school (I may be able to get paid for this if I can get it done before Christmas).


I am going... to several stores, CCD and ballet. Elora esp looks forward to this day all week long. I'm supposed to have treats for her to share with her friends to celebrate her birthday... hmm... need to work on that.


I am reading... Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, my favorite authors. I think this is the 4th time I've read this book. I just finished my 5th reading of Relic and 4th reading of Thunderhead also books of theirs. I think Relic is my favorite.


I am hoping... that I can get at least 2 or 3 things done on my To Do list this week - the things that I've had on there for the last 6+ months.


I am hearing... the kids talking in the living room, the baby telling them about the pictures in the book she found and Elora getting ready for ballet - she cannot wait!


Around the house... the house is almost clean because we had guests this weekend, so the kids should be able to get their chores done quickly and with minimal complaining.


One of my favorite things... going to bed early enough to read for a while and then get up at 6am without feeling over-tired.


A few plans for the rest of the week: Book group, helping my dad at his place, packing summer clothes and unpacking winter clothes, a few things on my To Do list - maybe going through and starting to get rid of extra clothes and/or cleaning out the garage some more, picking Jeff up at the airport!


Here is picture for thought I am sharing...




Jeff's dad and brother came for a short visit. It was very enjoyable.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

A few updates

My oldest has been complaining about the old picture I had up, so she chose a new one. It was a fun day at the zoo and my biggest child (also known as my husband) was in his usual goofy mood as they stood in front of a bear height chart.

I also figured now that I have a due date it was time to make the announcement about baby number 7 due April 23rd!