Mama On The Move

I saw this idea on a craft site and thought it would be fun (and easy) to do for Halloween. We each took an empty milk jug, drew a ghost face on it, and put battery operated tea lights in it. I thought they were really cute, and I love how each member of my family put their own spin theirs. But Ben told me we just look like we are too poor to afford a pumpkin!

Kerry's unit had a Powderpuff football game this week. That's where the women play flag football. I was asked if I would like to play. No, I would not. I did go watch, but I have no desire to break a knee or throw my back out. Let the younger women participate. Besides, I really just go to look at the cheerleaders. Jumping around in their short skirts and combat boots.... It takes a secure man to wear a kilt!

I know this doesn't even look real, but this is an actual chameleon that one of the kids at church found in the bushes today. He was not particularly pleased to be shown about the inside of the building and rolled his eyes at all of us a lot. Now, I'm going to be completely freaked out that there might be more of those bad boys around here somewhere.

We went camping on the North Shore. Our friends at church have been renting this same house for one weekend a year for seventeen years. It's right on the beach and we have bathrooms and a kitchen. There are also bedrooms, but I don't think anyone actually used them. The yard is big enough for all of us to set up our tents. Our own personal Taj Mahal had a great ocean view. We brought the air mattresses with us because the last time I slept on the ground I could barely move the next day. Cots or air mattresses are not optional if you want me to stay. Which is kind of funny, because I didn't spend Friday night out there. I went to see "The Phantom of the Opera" with some friends and left for the campsite Saturday morning. So it was just Kerry and the kids. Except Kerry had to go in to work at 1:00 in the morning and didn't get back out to the camp until 5:00 Saturday morning. So it was just the kids. And Ben and Emily decided to sleep on the beach. So i...

We went camping last weekend with a group of about thirty people from our church. Each family signed up to take care of making one specific meal. We joined together with another family to make breakfast Saturday morning and Kerry volunteered to take on dessert for Saturday night. Each family also signed up to bring paper goods which we would all share. I spent the day gathering...... ...two water coolers, two air mattresses, paper towels, toilet paper, coffee cups, water cups, tin foil, flashlights, the tent, a ground cover, blankets, pillows, sleeping bags, sunscreen, bug spray, beach toys, beach towels, folding chairs, a pop up tent to act as a covered porch in case of rain or excessive sunshine, light jackets because it's getting chilly at night, Emily's guitar.... ...charcoal, lighters, a big metal fire pit, ingredients to make breakfast casserole for the entire group, ingredients to make dessert for the entire group, dairy-free food for Emily, and snacks for my famil...

This is Katie's favorite favorite pair of pajamas. She refuses to admit that she might have outgrown them, even though she can barely squeeze into them and the top and bottom won't stay touching unless she constantly tugs on them. I'm not sure why she added the fur-topped socks to this particular ensemble unless it was just to add some pizzaz.

A sunny spot is a happy place. *Yawn*

Last night after dinner, I was cleaning up the kitchen. Emily walked in and said, "You need to go do something else. I'll clean the kitchen." "What?" I was completely baffled. Usually I don't get help unless I specifically ask for it. "God was just really tapping me on the shoulder and saying, 'You should not be sitting here playing solitaire while your mother is cleaning up'. So go sit down and watch television or something, I'll clean up." I looked over at Ben who was still glued to a computer. "What about you, Ben? Is God telling you to get off the computer and do something?" "Nope," Ben replied. "God is very pleased with me already. Emily probably just wants something, but she doesn't want to tell you yet. Tomorrow she's going to ask you to buy her something." "And I'll buy it for her too."

Last night around 9:00, I took Rigger out for his last walk of the day. We were standing in the front yard in the dark when two teenaged girls walked out of the house across the street. One of the girls lives there and one must have been a new friend. Rigger of course stopped and watched them walk out, as he is always interested in what is going on in the neighborhood. The two girls walked out to the center of the street at which point the new girl spotted Rigger, screamed bloody murder, took a step backwards, fell, and then curled up in the middle of the street and laughed for two minutes straight. Rigger, when she screamed, skittered backwards a few feet himself before he realized he wasn't in any immediate danger. The teen girl's mother had come outside to find out what the commotion was all about. She looked over at me and called, "I think you startled her." Yes, well she quite startled the heck out of us as well.

Not too long ago, we threw a birthday party with a 70's theme for one of the moms in our group. They asked some of the men to dress up like The Village People and do "YMCA" as a surprise for everyone. Guess who was asked to dress up as the soldier?? This actually happened a few months ago, but it took a while for me to convince someone to let me use the video on the blog!

9:00 Dentist 10:30 Take Ben to bus stop 12:30 Take Emily to speech class 1:30 Pick Ben up at bus stop 2:30 Pick Emily up from speech class 4:00 Take Katie to dance class 5:00 Ballroom dancing for Ben and Emily 7:00 Sign language class. Somewhere in there, I have to actually homeschool the kids, cook, clean, and maybe breathe. Also, I'm in charge of writing a play for our co-op to perform, and teaching a speech class and a class on Ancient Mesopotamia that I have to prep for sometime this week. This is why I barely have time to write on the blog. * as a side note, Emily hates speech class again.