M+B=E2O2

Some of my October favorites!

October pictures

Unexpected Hiatus

I meant to post in the last week.  Really.  Funny how life gets in the way of life sometimes. 

My parents have sold their house and escrow was supposed to close last Friday- the 20th.  They have had a POD at their home and got the last of it pack in Wednesday to be picked up Thursday.  They found out Thursday night that the closing was delayed, till Monday or Tuesday.  They had planned on staying with us anyhow, so that was no big deal, however my dad was only going to stay through the weekend then leave Monday for Vegas to start looking for a house.  Monday comes and they find out that it is looking more like Wednesday is the day.  Wednesday comes and now they say Friday.  So both mom and dad are her- the kids are loving it, but it is hard for them being in this limbo of sorts.  Mom plans to stay until Olivia's baptism and birthday party, at that time my sister and dad (who will hopefully have been in Vegas for a couple weeks) will drive out here for the festivities, then sis will go home with Mom and dad to follow shortly there after.    Needless to say things have been different around here.  Our already unscheduled days have more unschedule-ness to them what with Grandma and Papa to play with.  School?  Uh yeah, we are back to unschooling.  We've read some of the books that go along with the curriculum we bought, but none of the writing.  I glance over at the stack of teacher manuals often through out the day though- does that count for anything? 
Emma has been really into water color this last book.  She paints 5-10 pictures a day most days.  She knows to put the newspaper down first, and gets the table all set before sitting down to work.  I have decided to put all the pictures into a notebook for her, I'm thinking I'll 3-hole punch them rather that put them in protective sheets.  I think it would make a nice  book to look through. 

Owen has learned his right form his left.  He also has learned about the proper way to breath through a tube.  He knows that the tube must be short enough to expel the carbon dioxide.  Ben taught him that.  SO learning is still happening here.

I have one more book to finished and I will be done with the Earth Children series.  YAY!  The first three are my favs-  This  last one got on my nerves at a times- too much repetition-  I wished the author wrote more for her fans vs people who randomly pick up and start to read the 4th book in a series.  But all the he same I enjoyed it. 

We have been to the pumpkin patch twice now.  Maybe one more trip since daddy has not gone.  Sunday we went with Uncle Pat and Rita.  My mom came too.  Kids had a great time and we got to see some interesting bulls up close.  Shetland bulls.  We are planning to carve up the things on Sunday.  We meaning Ben and the kids along with Pat and Rita.  I don't do pumpkin carving.  I"ve never really been much into it.  Good thing that Ben loves it!  Our second trip to the patch was with our Tuesday playgroup.  Since most of the older kids have all started school it has been tougher to see everyone.  We hadn't seen them in 2 months.  We had a fabulous time as well.  I got to the patch 2 hours before anyone else.  If I'd had any sense I'd have gone somewhere else first for a bit- but we had left our Science class, which was half way to the pumpkin patch. So we just went and hoped someone else would get there early too.  It worked out ok though- there are many things to climb on and play with and lots of shade  and benches.  It is fairly small and totally enclosed so  it was easy for me to tend to all 4 kids alone.  I miss my mommy friends so much! it was soooooo nice to see them and chat and just feel their firendship and love. 

I gues that would be about it for now.  I'm going to upload  some pictures of the last months adventures on my family photo blog, so check back later.

Happy Birthday Baby!!

OMG I can not believe that Olivia is 1 today!! I remember her birth (scroll down to Oct 19th for the story) so vividly!  She has been such a blessing to us!

            Happy Birthday!!

This is it

Today Ben is taking the test of all tests.  The one that he's been preparing for for the last 10 years or so.  Today he will come home and awaken form his slumber.  His every spare moment will no longer be consumed with studying.  He will feel free to spend his free time playing  with his children, without being distracted with his thoughts.  I will be able to tell him something, and he will not ask me about the very thing in 5 minutes, as if he had not just been told.  His mind will linger on us, not his books.

Yes today is that day.  8 hours of questions.  More than a question a minute.  Our future, his future depends on the passing of this test.  That part doesn't worry me at all. I have no doubt he will pass.  What I hope and what I want for him is not just to pass, but to set the curve. 

If you've never met Ben, you might not now how smart he he. He amazes me.  He  works very hard for his knowledge, but some of it I think, is just there.  Did you know that he listened to over 14 hours of audio board review 4 times.  It was a DVD series that my dad ripped the audio off of and put on his ipod.  So while most people rock out (me) while working out.  He learns about infectious diarrhea, irritable bowels, colon  polyps and various other diseases. 

He really is amazing.  And right now he is proving it.  I hope to himself more than anyone else.  He is very modest about his brains.  But he is smart- brilliant I'd say.  Not only that, he is  in medicine for the very reason you want a doctor to be in medicine.  He cares.  He care about his patients.  He wants to help, he wants them to  do right  and feel right.  How fortunate his patients are to get him.  If they only knew how much they mean to him on those days when  something happens and he is behind schedule, and can't spend as much time as he'd like or need to with someone.  On days when they are angry at him for telling them they have to change their lifestyle or that their life is not going to last as long as they had hoped, I hope they can feel or sense that he cares.   He does care- more than they will ever know I suspect.

So today- think of him. 

This is it.  (Ihope he remembers that he got married and had 4 kids in the last to years! More so I hope he likes us!)

must stop...

Can't function-

need to finish book

(see recent reads)

so I can function as a good mommy & wife again.

*poof*

This afternoon I was clearing off our table when I saw the postal truck pull up to our box.  Whenever I see the truck I automatically look to see if our regular guy, Rodney, is working.  Such a nice man.  He loaned me a stamp once after I spent several minutes frantically looking for one in my car.  When we were having problems with mail delivery, he spoke up for us at the main office and got it straightened out.  We sometimes would share a "parent" moment, talking about his 8 year old boy and how fast kids seem to grow. The love he had for his son was quite apparent.  We only been here since May, and I felt as though I had made a friend.

Today as I looked at the truck, noticed it was not Rodney, and that something about the truck looked wrong.  There were words where there shouldn't be.  The door was open so some of it was obscured, what I could see read:  In Loving Memory of   odney    ick  #375.

I knew what it said, I knew what it meant.  Yet I ran out to the truck, already next door to ask what I already knew. 

"Excuse me, did Rodney pass away?"  He looked at me with sadness in his eyes, face and whole body.  "Yes, he went into surgery on Wednesday and never woke up".  I tried to blink away my tears  as I told him how sorry I was.  He told me that it  had been in the paper over the weekend, and that his service was yesterday.   I thanked  him.  He  told me he had been trying to let folks know.   It wasn't just me he had been nice to- it was everyone he talked to. 

I walked back into the house and pulled out Sunday's paper.  I looked at the page of obituaries, and didn't see him.  I had looked at them just yesterday, having not read the paper on Sunday.  Then I turned the page and saw that there was another full page of them- something I missed.  And there he was.  50 years old.  6 year battle with cancer.  8 year old boy and a loving wife.  The tears fell. 

I had known about the cancer even though he had not told me.  My neighbor across the street had told me.  Richard had talked to me about how Rodney had fought it and had been doing so well over the last few years.  And how a spot had been recently found on his lung.  Richard had also told me what a great guy Rodney was.    Today I told Richard that Rodney was gone. 

I suspected that he didn't know, they were gone over the weekend during the times mail was delivered and  had been at work today.  I took the paper across the street and told him.  He recalled that the last time he talked to Rodney was over at my mailbox, and they had planned to  get together in October to go on a bike ride.  After Rodney's surgery. 

I am still sort of in shock about it.  He was alive, then he wasn't.  Now his boy is with out a dad.  Without a great dad, who loved him so much he shared his love for his son with new folks on his route.

Sometimes it just doesn't seem fair. 

Cough Cough

I am so tired of having sick coughing kids. Spinning? What was that again?  *SIGH*

Fears

Conquered or confirmed?

Thursday I went on a field trip with a local homeschool group.  It was against my better judgment really.  Last year I marked my calender for the very same place- but I just couldn't bring myself to take the kids there alone. 

This year, the group that we are taking our science class & history club through, planned a trip.  So I thought I could do it, knowing that I had other  moms to take over for me if I couldn't hang. 

Where did we go?  The Spider Pavilion at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. 

How did I do?  Not so great.  I was able to look at the ones they had boxed up in glass boxes- barely.  I couldn't keep  my eyes trained on any one big ugly thing for longer than maybe 3 seconds.  At that point my heart would start racing and my breathing would quicken. 

Still, when it was time to enter into the main pavilion, where spiders run free of glass boxes, I forced myself in.  I got about 10 feet in and stood still.  I held Olivia close and stood looking around fearfully for wayward spiders.  I wasn't left looking long.  I strange smallish spider was dropping down form the ceiling a little bit off the trail.  It had a yellow belly that had a shield like quality to it.   I stood rooted to the middle of the trail, fearfully looking for others- occasionally spotting huge, intricate webs in the plants.  I managed to glance a several large (really large) spiders off to the side.  Owen Emma and Evan happily made their rounds through the whole place.  Evan the most interested, the others not scared, but not really into it either.

I tried to begin my journey again, only to see a very large web that spanned over the  trail.  It seemed as though it might be high enough that I could pass under it with out disturbing it, but I couldn't be sure.  As I tried to determined the bottom of the web, I caught a glimpse of a very fat and rather large beast up above it.  One of the boys in the group was in the same spot as me, also frozen with fear.  It got the best of him and he began to cry.  His mom was further in  with  his younger brother.  I could so much relate with K.  I was not to the point of tears- yet- but I was close.  My heart was racing and I was making an effort to breathe in a more controlled fashion.  I decided that I simply could not get by that web and took the path to my right that cuts over to the other side.  I got a few feet over and again stopped in fear.  I began looking around again, and while there were none dropping down, the reality of how many spiders were surrounding me began to take hold.  I could see webs everywhere, and many very large, strange looking arachnids.  After a few minutes it just got the best of me.  Tears started pooling in my eyes and I could hardly breath.  I felt, quite literally, as though if I did not leave right away, I might just die, or pass out, then die. 

I let my kids know that I was going out side, and they all oped to go with me.  I do not doubt that Evan could have stayed much longer, but he is quite attached to me still at this point and left with out argument.   

Needless to say, I will be skipping that party next year.  The kids are welcome to go, I'll wait outside, thank you very much.

Conquered or confirmed?  I think you can guess.

Recycled

One of the moms in one of the local homeschool groups I belong to posted this and it has been on my mind lately.

http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Ocean/Pacific-Garbage-Patch27oct02.htm

It is about something called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  I had no idea this existed, did you?  I was feeling pretty guilty for a while because one of the things she also posted was a quote:

"According to the Container Recycling Institute, Americans used 4 billion pounds of plastic in the form of bottles in 2002, up from 1.1 billion pounds in 1990. The main culprit for the increase is "use once & toss" water and beverage bottles."

I use them, not all the time, but I almost always have a flat  around.  We have a water purifier at home, so more often than not I reuse the bottle until it gets too crushed or gets icky from the kids sharing it with me and their sticky hands.  Once I'm done with it it always goes to recycle. 

I am confused now and wonder why this quote is used along with the garbage patch link.  Do most people throw those bottles in the trash?  I thought recycling was fairly widespread.  I know that some places still don't do curbside, but most still have recycle centers.  Or do they? 

Does my use of those bottles contribute to the general plastic waste? I remember years back when Patagonia (local outdoor company) boasted of making jackets from recycled water bottles. 

I did feel guilty for a bit, then I really thought about my use and how I live my life.  We recycle everything that we are able.  We compost all our food waste.  We have a reverse osmosis water purifies so we can  limit our use of plastic bottles.  We conserve energy.  We bought a fuel efficient Honda to balance out our gas hog suburban.  We donate to thrift stores, we buy from thrift stores.  We  support companies that  do what they can to help the environment.  We avoid those that blatantly hurt it. 

So I don't feel bad any more, but I do wish more folks would do their part. 

I would think rather than it being all those recyclable plastic bottles, that ziploc baggies might be  a bigger plastic problem.  I do use those often and they are not recyclable to my knowledge.   That is one change I can make.  I plan to start reusing those by washing them, and choosing other methods of food storage when I can.

We are so cool!

Check it out!  We had 1 out of 3 turn into what they were supposed to!!