Vertigo

This past weekend David and I took the kids and my parents to the Ga Aquarium. If you've never been it is well worth the trip.

The whole place is incredibly cool. The Beluga whales were beyond amazing.

The whales would swim right up to the viewing area and rub their backs against the glass.

This one was doing a solo swimming act.

I guess my equilibrium problems started in the Beluga whale exhibit but it definitely got worse when we headed into the tunnel.

On the left is the people mover (which of course I was on) and on the right the people were walking at their own pace. Overhead were a bazillion fish swimming in random circles. How could you not be dizzy with all this random movement going on?

And this silly whale shark kept swimming over my head.

So here's what happened. In an attempt to regain my balance I'd lift my left foot up and flail my arms around like I was trying to take flight. One would think the normal reaction to experiencing vertigo would be to lean back against the nearest wall. But no, not me. I've got this weird pelican dance thing going on.

The first person I hit with my thrashing arms was a poor pre-teen. I whacked her right on the forehead. After profusely apologizing to both her and her mother I made a promise to myself that I'd keep my hands and arms to myself.

That lasted all of 2 minutes. I was not so lucky the next time. Apparently my arms were flying a bit lower this time and I smacked an older guy in his man parts..... I looked up into his eyes after I committed this atrocity and realized a simple apology was not sufficient.

So I did what any other proper Southern lady would do; I ducked and ran !

I decided to leave the all the other touchy and feely exhibits of the aquarium to the kids after that. My hands remained permanently burrowed into my pockets :0)

Hangin' with my Homies

I don't think most people believe me when I tell them that Gwinnett county has the biggest population of home schoolers in the state of Georgia. But I now have irrefutable proof.

Check out the number of women in the photo. This was the fall meeting of one of our local home schooling groups. It offers everything from field trips to spelling bees. There were so many moms there that there were women standing in the back.

Here is Julie, our fearless leader, who did her best to corral everyone. Wait a minute! Something is not right. I think we need more light.

click

I'm BLIND!!!

(said in my best Wicked Witch of the West voice)

OK, much better now.

"And, remember NO paper on the walls and absolutely NO glitter!!!" :0)

In all seriousness, our home school group has over 200 families. I think there is even a waiting list for prospective members.

This is the field trip sign up table. This picture really doesn't do it justice. I can't even tell you how many field trips there were to sign up for. Maybe this will help dispel the rumor that home schoolers sit in the house and never go outside. Quite the opposite!

It was a great night to hang out with friends and just catch up. There was plenty of laughter and even a few tears.

And don't forget the food. See that dip in the lower right hand corner? I made that. It's called Redneck Caviar. I wish I had taken a picture of the bowl at the end of the night. It was all gone. Yay me!

Little known fact: most home schooling moms don't wear jumper dresses with wide collared shirts! I'll prove it. Check out these pictures.

Is this what you imagined home schooled moms to look like?

Or this?

Well, maybe this...

Ha! Just kidding sweet Karen! In all fairness, I was bugging her to turn around and smile for the camera.

I really am blessed to have such a supportive group of women of whom I can ask almost anything. It is great to be able to bounce ideas off of each other, ask questions about curriculum, and even discuss parenting.

The best part is being surrounded by Godly women who inspire everyone around them.

Random Thoughts

1. Tomorrow is our official first day of school. The politicians in Georgia decided that children have to go to school at least 180 days a year and they have to do 4.5 hours of work a day. We do school year round. We take a week off for VBS, a week off for camp, a few days at Thanksgiving, & a week or two a Christmas. We get way more than 180 days a year. That just works better for us.

2. My husband's cousin died yesterday in a car wreck. She had a 16 year old, a 12 year, and 2 & 1/2 year old twins. Please remember them in your prayers.

3. David and I have been watching Mad Men on Netflix for a few weeks now. It is really growing on me. It is not nearly as action packed as 24 but still a good series. I usually feel like a need a shower to wash off all the smoke after I watch it though.

4. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about Governor Rick Perry. I dislike the idea that he mandated the Gardasil vaccine for sixth grade girls back in 2007 but I like that Texas has been teaching creation. I guess it all just comes down to voting for the lesser of the two evils.

5. I'd like Sarah Palin a lot more if she'd quit and stay at home with her kids.

6. We should get the estimate on the basement later this week.

7. My parents are coming up this weekend. Since the guest room in the basement flooded they'll be sleeping in one of the kid's rooms. I guess I'll need to make sure and get the crayons and Legos out of their beds before then.

8. I love the women in my church. They may not all carry concealed themselves but none of them care that I do. As a matter of fact, we are getting a group together to go target shooting. Ladies shoot free on Thursdays. Let me know if you wanna go with.

9. I ran into a friend at Publix. She works as a lunch lady at the country club of public high schools around here. She said one of the teenagers called her co-worker 2 words. One that starts with an "f" and one that starts with a "b". My friend was having none of this and put the girl in her place. I have to wonder how these children are being raised that they would even think about speaking to an adult in that way.

10. I went to a party last night with a whole bunch of my church buddies. I am so blessed to have such fabulous women in my life.

Snow in August

When you live with one of these

and also one of these

you expect you fair share of mishaps.

David has this pillow which we lovingly refer to as his "butt pillow". It is a Total Pillow which I'm sure you have seen on t.v. I bought it for him before his long flight to Japan. BTW, I'd put a link here if I know how to embed, but I don't. You'll either have to google it or just trust me on this.

Anyway, I now know what is on the inside of the Total Pillow. How, you ask? I know this because when we came home from church today everything that was on the inside of butt pillow was now on the outside. There was a fine layer of these teeny tiny balls spread out evenly over my entire downstairs and porch.

See, the cool thing is, these little balls are so light that any gust of wind will cause them to scatter. Sweeping the balls up is next to impossible. I wish I had taken a picture of the house. But I was too busy sweeping myself in circles and calling the dogs very ugly names.

Can you see the white stuff in the cracks of the porch? That's what formed a fine layer all over my house. It was just like snow in August. This is only one mess in a series of messes the dogs have created. I came home one day to find packing peanuts spread out in much the same way the butt pillow's balls were. I find that slow deep breaths help.

It really doesn't do any good to get mad. Dogs just use their God given ability to give you one of these looks and it is impossible to stay mad ( well except for Yogi, he just looks drunk).

Ransom

I've started and stopped 2 different posts within the last few days. The last few days have been very trying for us.

Tuesday night my water heater decided to burst and flood my basement. Yes, it was a mess. Yes, it was a pain in the butt. But that is not the hardest part. We have a $5000 deductible. Stupid, stupid us.

David and I made an important decision a few weeks ago and had a special purpose for that money. Now it is gone and we are starting over. Big sigh.

I know God will provide. It is all in His timing. That is what I keep telling myself when I get down. At least we had the money. At least we don't have to tell the kids that they have to take cold baths because mom and dad can't afford a new water heater. Did I mention that the water heater isn't covered under insurance? That was an extra $1K. Another big sigh.

While I was trying not to drown in depression I reassured myself by saying it could be worse. One of the kids could have gotten sick. We could have had a higher deductible ;0). Someone could have died... This list goes on and on.

None of my problems compare to what you are about to read.

There are several web sites that I check regularly to see listing of orphans with Down Syndrome (Reece's Rainbow) and how some of these children are doing when they get to their forever home. This is where I learned about Liliana.

Liliana is an orphan somewhere in Eastern Europe. She has Down's Syndrome. She is 11 years old and weighs only 10 lbs. 10 lbs!!!! I'm not sure how a child of 11 years of age can weigh that little and still live. I just kills me to think of the wasting her body has endured. Can you imagine being that hungry and not being fed? Imagine the internal war her little body is fighting. How can that happen to a child? How can a group of people, day after day, walk past this little girl and know that she is dying but still do nothing.

We treat our dogs better than this.

A fellow blogger has set up a Chip-In fund. They will be giving away iPads, iPods, gift cards, and lots of other things to raise money in hopes that someone can be her Mom and Dad. Adoptions in these countries can cost between $20,000-$30,000. The quicker we raise the money the quicker we can get her home.

Please donate if you can. I already did. It's real easy. You just need a PayPal account. Please go to the link below. There are pictures of Liliana there.

http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/

I'm asking you to pray for this little girl and give if you can.

Thank you!

Bon Bons and Oprah

Come on , admit it. You know that you think stay at home moms have it made. If you don't think so now you know you did 10 years ago before you actually became one.

David and I moved into our current neighborhood 11 year ago. I was surprised at how many stay at home moms I ran into. What on God's green earth did they do all day? I mean, I got up, showered, went to work ( 12 hours I might add), came home and did it all again. On my days off I would handle everything that needed to be handled (except for cooking for my husband but I'll talk about that later). Was the stereo type true? Did they really sit around and watch Oprah and eat Bon Bons?

Oh, the ignorance of youth....

Then I had my first child. He was born 5 weeks early. I was released and had to leave the hospital without my baby. You know when you go to the maternity wing at the hospital and you see the women being pushed out to the car with their sweet babies in their arms? Flowers and balloons trail behind them in a cart. The proud daddy hurries the car around to gather up mommy and baby for the ride home. Well, that wasn't me. I was wheeled out and put in my car to go home without my baby. I didn't matter if the car seat was in correctly because there was no baby to put in it. My tiny baby was still inside that big cold building being taken care of by people I didn't know. It was one of the worst days of my life. I remember calling my sister-in-law (who had a similar experience just 18 months prior) and just weeping.

I had planned on going back to work. I have a vague memory of having asked a fellow pharmacist's grandfather to watch my baby along with his own grandchildren. I guess my plan was to plop my kid off with a man I didn't know so that I could go back to work. After all, I made way too much money not to work, right?

God had a different plan.

I was so mad that my baby was sick. He wasn't as sick as some of the other babies in the NICU but he was still sick. It makes me nauseated even now to think about it. The doctors read me the riot act about taking him out in public. It was RSV season and premature babies could get really sick and even possibly die from that. Under no circumstance was he to go into any form of daycare. The church nursery was out as well.

Congratulations! Here's your baby. Sink or swim Mom and Dad.

By the grace of God we swam. I cut back to only weekend work. I was home during the week and David had the weekend shift. It is almost comical looking back. We had the hot water heater shut off because we forgot to pay the bill. How was I supposed to warm the bottle (don't worry, he got breast milk it just wasn't straight from the source-there were sucking issues) without hot water let alone take a shower? Taking care of our teeny tiny projectile vomiting baby was our number one priority.

He didn't get RSV. Come to think of it he was 3 ( I believe) before he was on his first antibiotic. I guess I went a little overboard with the quarantine thing.

Now, almost 11 years later I see God's hand in all of this. I really don't think that we would have made the decision for me to stay at home had Calvin not been born prematurely. Home schooling would have been laughable.

Romans 8:28 comes to mind. 28-And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to His purpose.

I am blessed beyond belief to be able to stay at home with my kiddos. We're blessed to be able to see the kids growing up as the covenant children they are.

On a side note, one of the many benefits of me working weekends was that David got to be the full time caregiver for 2 days straight (did I mention that our closest family lives 3 hours away?). Because of that he has a lot of empathy for what "staying at home" means.

We both used to laugh at those women in our neighborhood who stayed at home instead of getting a real job.

We don't laugh anymore.

Soap Box

I was asked for maybe the umpteenth time the other day why I home schooled my kids. I've been doing this officially for 6 years ( and unofficially 10 & 1/2 years) and I've been asked some version of that question more times than I'd like to count.

I really don't mind being asked this question. Home schooling is not yet the norm and people just don't understand how it can actually work. It is hard to understand how mom can teach both 3rd & 5th grade math at the same time.

I enjoy discussing curriculum and extra-curricular activities. Unfortunately most people ask about home schooling so they can slide the "socialization" question in. "Are you sure your kids are being socialized properly?" or "What do you do for socialization?" are the main questions I get.

When did attending a government school mean you had good social skills? And exactly when did the government get into the business of socializing our kids? That actually frightens me.

Before I'm branded as "anti-public schools" let me just clear the air.

I am.

No regrets & no apologies. I feel the same way about day care. You use them as a last resort. I just philosophically disagree. I don't believe that our founding fathers meant for the government to be in charge of educating our kids. Period.

But I don't begrudge people for sending their kids to the public schools. It's their choice. Far be it for me to tell them how to educate the children that God gave them. Some of my dearest friends send their kids to public school.

But they also don't ask me the phony bologna socialization question either.

So what if my kids are weird? So are yours.

My kids aren't weird because of not sending them to a government school, that I can assure you of.

My kids are weird because their mom and dad are weird. And I'm cool with that.

Pharmacy - More Than Counting By Fives

So the way I understand this, when you write your blog you should write about something you know a lot about.

Well let's see.... that would be home school, home school curriculum, dogs, cleaning, cooking, shopping, Meerkat Manor, and oh yea... pharmacy, that degree I spent 6 years getting.

So, here goes.

I recently read an email from a home school group that I am a part of. The lady has cancer and was struggling to find the meds that would help ease the pain. She had called and been by several pharmacies and none of them had the particular medicine she was looking for.

I'll tell you a little secret. The pharmacies probably did have the medicine they just didn't know her or her situation and thought she was a drug seeker. Drug seekers are the bane of our existence. We do everything we can to get rid of them. We even lie and tell people that we , in fact, don't carry that schedule 2 narcotic you're looking for. I know, I know... that's awful but we can't tell the difference between a cancer patient and a drugged out stoner especially if we have never even met you. Getting rid of one of those drug seekers usually involves law enforcement. It's just easier not to go there.

I'll tell you another secret, if you want your pharmacist to bend over backwards to help you, ( and believe me, they will) you just need to get to know them. Get to know the technicians. Get to know the cashiers. You won't have to worry about driving all over town looking for your pain meds because your buddy, the pharmacist, will do it for you. She'll know that you are suffering from stage 4 kidney cancer and she'll know that you don't have the "uumph" to drive all over town looking for the medicine. She'll call everywhere she can think of and vouch for you. She'll tell the other pharmacists that you are, in fact, not a drug seeker but a patient who is suffering from cancer who just needs her meds.

I'm not saying bribe the pharmacist. I'm saying be friendly. Strike up a conversation with them and only go to that one pharmacy.

Cancer isn't the only thing we're empathetic to. What about the mom who has a one year old on her hip screaming his bloody head off because he has a strep throat. As soon as the pharmacist tells her they don't have the medicine in stock the one year old decides to puke all over the floor. Now poor momma has to schlep this poor sick kid all over town looking for drugs.

I have known pharmacists and technicians who would move heaven and earth to help out a nice patient. They'll even risk catching hell from their employer for going above and beyond. I know I did.

This is a pharmacist friend of mine and me being goobers dressing up for Halloween at work.

Murphy and Bridgette

Murphy was the first dog David and I ever owned. He was my first baby and he loved my human babies! He took every opportunity he could to snuggle with them.

Murphy actually crawled up into Holley Kate's car seat and slept with her (Note the pen scribble on the picture...stinkin' kids and their stupid mama letting them play with pens).

Bridgette, on the other hand, was not the snuggly type but she loved us in her own unique grouchy way. There was never a dog to walk past our house that didn't get an earful from her.

Murphy and Bridgette both died last year.

Pet ownership is a crazy thing. Who would willingly put themselves in a situation where they knew they only had 10-15 years with something they would grow to love as one of their own?

Us.

We got two more. Thought we'd branch out and try a few different breeds. I now wake up with one under the covers ( the little one) and one on top of the covers (the big one) making it impossible to to pull the covers up. They both sore like freight trains ( smooshed snouts will do that ) and have copious amounts of gas ( I still can't figure that out).

But, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Pyromania & Daddyhood

Even though popular culture may portray men as nothing more than glorified sperm donors, nothing could be further from the truth. Men are such a vital part of the family. I've read many books that sight the significant role that fathers play in the healthy upbringing of both boys and girls. Dismissing their importance is dangerous. The relationship kids have with their fathers is as important to their psyche as healthy food is to growing strong, healthy bodies. Dads are a vital part of their life!

Dads have a way of parenting that moms just don't have.

Does that mean that I smile with enjoyment as my son initiates a punching fight with my husband at the dinner table? Do I giggle along when my husband hits back and tells Calvin to block and not get hit in the face?

Ummmm..... HECK NO!

I scream and holler for them to stop because they are probably going to knock over a tea glass.

What about when my daughter gets in one of her moods and he sends her to her room while she wails through the agony of it all?

Through the years I have tried to learn to relax and just let David parent. So what if somebody gets a little hurt. Nothing will be broken and a lesson will be learned; maybe the hands should have been covering the face and the gut ;0)

A few weeks ago I looked in the backyard and my kids were setting things on fire. WHAT?????? My husband was on the back porch grilling hamburgers and the kids were about 10 feet from him lighting up pieces of paper, leaves, sticks, and just anything they could find that was flammable.

I have to admit that this was waaaaaaaaay outside my comfort zone.

What if the kids burned themselves?

What if they thought it was ok to play with matches?

We were all taught not to play with matches.

What if they decided to burn something that shouldn't be burned?

What if they enjoyed playing with fire just a little bit too much.

Honestly, I thought my husband had lost his flippin' mind.

Turns out he hadn't. He was just doing what dads do best. I'd just forgotten to let him be a dad.

Auditions

I did it again. I swore the kids wouldn't try out for a play this fall. I didn't want to deal with rehearsals, practicing lines, staging, tech week, and 3 weeks worth of plays. I wanted to take it easy. I wanted to enjoy swim lessons, home school group, piano, and even college football (yeah right).

But the email came in and we couldn't resist. It's good for the my introverted, un-socialized home school kids to stand in front of an audience and perform something...

In all seriousness, it is good for them to perform. Community theater is a great way for them to hone this skill. And the best part about it is it's free!

On a side note, this is the skirt I found for Holley Kate at Target (see earlier post). Isn't it pretty and not "hoochie looking" like most of the clothes on the racks theses days???

Anyway, HK decided to dress up real girly so she would have a better chance of getting the role of girl. The last two plays she's been in she's been cast as a boy. Not that we're ungrateful, mind you, she just wants to be cast as a girl. Imagine that!

We'll find out on Wednesday what if any parts they've gotten. Keep your fingers crossed!

City Life Sort Of

David and I both moved from very small towns to the big city of Atlanta in the mid 90s (separately of course). It was quite the transition for me. I grew up in the middle of a cow pasture about 5 miles out of a small town in south Georgia. Don't ask me the population. I have no clue and even if I did it would make no sense to me. I can't grasp the size of a town based on its population. We have way more than one traffic light and a 4 year college. And a Super Wal-Mart. Can't forget the Super Wal-Mart.

Any-hoo... when I moved to Atlanta to go to school I had to get used to the sound of car horns, ambulances, and the occasional police helicopter. While I had , of course, heard these sounds before (except for the police helicopter which is terrifying) just not in this magnitude or this close up. It was rather unsettling for me to watch the local news and see the reporter right outside my apartment complex reporting on some horrific crime that had been committed right down the road. I went from dodging the deviant cow who had figured its way out of the fence to driving in bumper to bumper traffic on 285 going 70+ mph.

17 years later we occasionally get a glimpse of "home". Like tonight on our way home from Publix. There is a house across from our subdivision that is uninhabited. The wildlife have now claimed this property as their own, which is fine with us. We're just glad our kids are getting to see more than just strip malls and parking lots

.

Two fawns frolicking. You can't see their mom but she was having no part of us snapping pictures.

Aren't they pretty?

Their flags are up. Run babies! This was our sweet ending to a blessed Sabbath.

Modesty Gone Amuck

Right now, in the dead heat of a Georgia August, I am jealous of those who live in the North. Because summer lasts from April to October here my daughter has already outgrown her shorts.

My quest was simple. Go to Target and buy my daughter a few pair of shorts that were long enough not to show her butt. Really? Should it be this hard to buy an 8 year old a pair of, dare I say, modest shorts?

Apparently so. Hours later I came away with a whopping two pairs. And they weren't even shorts. They were skirts with privacy shorts underneath.

Because of my great undertaking today ( did I mention the county schools start back Monday and everybody including their Grandma was in Target?) I decided I would not cook but have someone cook for me! Dos Cabos it was!