tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16020925174275127442024-02-19T16:43:54.740-08:00The A to Z TwinsMy life with twins and my struggle for sanity.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.comBlogger291125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-61274412193668718512012-05-26T10:08:00.003-07:002012-05-26T10:10:15.403-07:00Sunbreak SoapsJust thought I'd post here so that people knew what was up with me!<br />
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I've started my own soap making business, and along with it a new soap blog. I've realized over the past two weeks that there is no way that I can effectively maintain two blogs, and since my focus right now is on soap, I thought I'd post a link here for anyone who might be interested!<br />
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<a href="http://sunbreaksoaps.blogspot.com">http://sunbreaksoaps.blogspot.com</a><br />
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I've also opened an Etsy store - <br />
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/SunbreakSoaps">http://www.etsy.com/shop/SunbreakSoaps</a>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-31089501325268517712012-03-20T14:28:00.002-07:002012-03-20T14:51:01.170-07:00Long Time No PostI know, I've been out of the loop for quite a long time now. At this point, I'm not even sure why I'm posting, does anyone even read this anymore? <br /><br />*tap tap* "Is this thing on?"<br /><br />Well, no matter. I'm still interested in writing, so I will.<br /><br />Life has been hectic and crazy, per usual. I'm now "Officially" home schooling. We ordered the Sonlight curriculum and we just wrapped up Week 5. We're really enjoying it, and it's amazing how much the girls have blossomed since we've started. Each time I ask myself, "Hm, maybe this is over their heads." They rebound with responses that surprise me, and bring things up weeks after I've taught them topics that I was SURE they didn't get. Hubs and I each keep being faced with problems we hear other parents having with different schools, and it just reinforces our decision to keep the girls home. They're happy here, I'm happy here, and overall we feel that it brings us closer together by learning things together.<br /><br />Yes, I'm learning too! I keep reading over and over again in books about home schooling that it's excellent for children to learn by example - namely that mom and dad learn things they're interested in and pursue those interests with passion. For a long time now I've wanted to learn how to make soap. So about a month ago I reserved every book in our library system about soap making. The following week our house was covered with books about soap, and me and the kids poured over them with abandon! I learned about sponification, and trace, and color, and fragrance, and various techniques. It was fascinating!<br /><br />In conjunction with all of this, we were sick. So all we could really do was read. And right there is another reason why it's good for us to home school, we have literally been sick for 3 out of the past 4 months. Just think of all the school the girls would have missed! We're currently in the midst of our 4th cold of the season - and as a result, I decided we needed to do a little lesson on germs! So I found <a href="http://www.peelregion.ca/health/shp/germ-stop-manual/">this great set of lesson plans</a>, FOR FREE, and we're on lesson 2.<br /><br />As part of my research, I compared prices on soap making supplies and found a vendor in my area that has excellent prices AND I could go shop at their store and buy what I needed! SCORE! As soon as we were well we went and picked up the basic things that we needed and rushed home to make soap. At this point, I've made 3 batches of different kinds of melt and pour soap, and oh man is it fun and addicting! I am not much of a crafty person, but this might actually be a craft I can get into! So many different variations that you can make, all right in your very own kitchen, and with the possibility of profit once I've mastered it! I'm so excited, and having such a blast with it!<br /><br />The girls just completed their first set of dance classes. They had their recital last night, and it was so adorable! Hubs, my parents, and my brother came to see the performance, and the girls did a great job. I'm sure we'll sign them up again for the next round of classes. It was a great time together with the family, we haven't all been in one place since Thanksgiving!<br /><br />So if you're reading this, thanks for sticking around! I'm going to try to be a better blogging buddy, and if you comment here I'll be sure to visit your blog and see what you've been up to. :)Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-16277029220810967012012-01-02T18:59:00.000-08:002012-01-02T19:49:11.414-08:00The Mystery of the Missing Measuring Cups<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRP_jRxBGWEdPYkOOyQnAHWFOdG7TnjaKZI2METyG_h-hCWrf_Q-aZvunEmlEFIcvK6uHlYxIFtGSeziZ3I5fFf_qB4q-tmOpZC2-KtM7HXro7rsaKJ9AoHWDIsjNJ3efYjmDbKrLh9tw/s1600/il_fullxfull.261336075.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRP_jRxBGWEdPYkOOyQnAHWFOdG7TnjaKZI2METyG_h-hCWrf_Q-aZvunEmlEFIcvK6uHlYxIFtGSeziZ3I5fFf_qB4q-tmOpZC2-KtM7HXro7rsaKJ9AoHWDIsjNJ3efYjmDbKrLh9tw/s400/il_fullxfull.261336075.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693235698130019730" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Acquisition</span><br /><br />I was given the cups by my mother when I moved into my first apartment. She had been searching garage sales and thrift stores for months gathering a little bit of this and a little bit of that. She made quite the score when she found these cute vintage 1940's style tin measuring cups for $2 at Goodwill. They were one of my most treasured items that she gave me, and I used them nearly every day. No one ever complimented me on my cute measuring cups, but it didn't matter, because I loved them. Their simple design was pleasing to the eye and I couldn't help but think, "Who owned these cups before me? Did she make bread? Did she make pie? Was she a muffin kind of gal? Or was it cookies?" I imagined her, in her cute little apron and her perfectly manicured nails and done up hair-do. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Loss</span><br /><br />The girls were about 2 years old when disaster struck. I don't remember what I was doing, or what they were doing. Only noticed that one day I went to use my 1/2 cup measuring cup and it was gone. I went through everything in my kitchen. The dish drain, the drawer it belonged in, the toy box, the bath tub, every little hiddy hole that I thought the girls might stash something away in. But nothing. It was <span style="font-style:italic;">gone</span>. I was so upset! What did I do with it? Did Hubs put it someplace strange trying to "help"? No? Well, it must have been the kids then... those darn kids! <br /><br />Where oh where could it be???<br /><br />And then I had a thought... the trash. The girls were going through a phase where they thought putting things in the trash was fun. We'd caught them several times trying to throw away "good stuff" like the remote control. Well, that must be it then. It went in the trash. It was gone forever.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Renewal (... sort of...)<br /></span><br /><br />Six months later, and still no sign of the missing measuring cup. This whole time I've been using the 1/4 cup twice each time I had to measure something and each and every time I was reminded of my incomplete set. I was still irritated about it. <br /><br />Hubs thought he came up with the perfect solution, he searched the internet and found another cup set and bought it for my birthday. Alas, this "new" set was more than just antique, it was <span style="font-style:italic;">antique</span>. It was darkened in color, had several dents, and one of the cups had a hole in the bottom. They were perfect for a display of old kitchenware, but not something I could use on a daily basis. I went on with my 1/4 cup twice.<br /><br />After that I looked into buying new measuring cups. I gave up on the idea of finding another 1940's style cups and found myself browsing Bed Bath & Beyond and Anthropologie (which do have some cute cups by the way!). But nothing was quite <span style="font-style:italic;">the same</span>. Sure, the new cups were nice, but they just weren't <span style="font-style:italic;">me</span>. The new cups didn't have some other lady making cakes with them years ago.<br /><br />I'd tell the story of the missing cup to anyone who'd seem remotely interested. Usually other mom's with young kids understood the significance of my loss. It was more than just treasured measuring cups. It was about personal space, and how we as mom's give that up when we bring kids into the world. Nothing is "mine" anymore. All of "my" stuff gets messed with, broken, lost, tangled up, marked up, and dented. Nothing stays the way I left it. Nothing is in the same place. I put something down so I can take a pee only to come back and have it gone! Just gone! And after a while I start to feel like a crazy person! "But... it was just THERE a second ago!"<br /><br />The cup at this point had been missing for over a year. I was getting tired with the 1/4 cup twice. One day, I was browsing Etsy and I was very excited when I happened to find a set of measuring cups EXACTLY like mine. They were tin, and old, but functional. They were $40, but I didn't care. I bought them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Reunification</span><br /><br />I now had three (mostly complete) sets of antique measuring cups. I thought that was pretty much the end of the story.<br /><br />Several weeks before Christmas I was working on baking some goodies for gifts when I was clearing out the dish drain and realized... I was missing another cup. It was the 1/4 cup this time. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Where is my cup?!?!? Is nothing sacred around here???" I questioned both of the girls, at 4 and a half they are completely capable of remembering where they put things. They said they didn't know. I questioned Hubs, he didn't know. I questioned my mother-in-law who had just flown in from out of state, she didn't know. I backtracked my own actions, opened cupboards I knew I was into, looked through everything. Nothing. Then I called my mom and lamented on the phone, "Again?" she said. Yup, again.<br /><br />Thankfully, I now had a stash of measuring cups! I got out the 1/4 cup from the set I bought and went on with my baking.<br /><br />I told the story Christmas Day to a rapt audience. We laughed about how funny it was that it happened AGAIN! <span style="font-weight:bold;">YEARS</span> later. And that I still don't know what happened to them. They were just gone, into the abyss. Along with the missing socks that never come out of the dryer. It was just going to be one of those things... Amy and her missing measuring cups. Wonder what ever happened to those?<br /><br />And then two days after Christmas the most amazing thing happened. I was putting away my big crock pot, you know, the one that goes into the back of the cupboard that I pretty much never use, and I looked down, and there inside my 1940's tin egg poacher were not just one, but BOTH of the missing measuring cups!!! They were neatly stacked one inside the other. "I can't BELIEVE MY EYES!!! I CAN NOT believe my eyes!!!" I laughed and laughed! I ran upstairs cups in hand to where my mother-in-law and daughters were playing. "Do you SEE this?? Do you <span style="font-style:italic;">SEE</span> what's in my hand right now??! It's my CUPS!!!!" I told them where I found them to which my mother-in-law said, "I guess you don't poach eggs that often." Nope, I use the microwave instead.<br /><br />Which of course begs the question, "Which one of you girls put them there???" To which, I got blank stairs and "Uhhh...I don't know, Mommy." I have a hunch which child hid my measuring cups, but it's just one of those mysteries that will live on.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-38127337323601500912011-12-02T14:10:00.000-08:002011-12-03T17:33:31.190-08:00This Week in PreschoolThis week was pretty mellow. We've been taking turns being sick for nearly a month now. First it was colds, then stomach flu, then colds again. Yesterday Little Z was diagnosed with the croup. Hurray. So between, "Mommy, I don't talk so good." and me and Hubs taking turns on the porcelain throne (sorry, TMI) we haven't done a whole lot.<br /><br />We did have a window of wellness this last weekend though, thank goodness, because I was going insane.<br /><br />So we went to the <a href="http://www.thegrotto.org/christmas/">Festival of Lights at the Grotto</a>. For those who haven't been, I highly recommend it. Back in the day, my high school choir did an appearance there each year. Most nights here in Portland you can expect wind, cold, sideways down-pouring rain, and generally horribly cold, wet, weather. We happened to pick a night that was DRY and without wind! It was a Christmas miracle!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRt02zT8JAf-6QM3ve5tuLWvdG5h9FIIVduj5ApfumCSzFnBCE0o3N9eAeDKjKEtXMJUMKocVUswchAfOPok_zuJq3iWtLFnoHAGT1zgfA7OQRZcZZTwy8g5rvdon6X6IlIYyMILORcc/s1600/Image00022.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRt02zT8JAf-6QM3ve5tuLWvdG5h9FIIVduj5ApfumCSzFnBCE0o3N9eAeDKjKEtXMJUMKocVUswchAfOPok_zuJq3iWtLFnoHAGT1zgfA7OQRZcZZTwy8g5rvdon6X6IlIYyMILORcc/s400/Image00022.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5681661412950509362" /></a><br /><br />There are lots of things I like about the Festival, but this year was the first year I took the girls so each thing that we saw made me think, "Wow, this is an excellent learning opportunity." When you walk in, there are stations of lights depicting scenes from the Nativity story with audio narration. You walk a bit more, there's another spot with lights and story. The lights are impressive, but the story is amazing and chokes me up.<br /><br />And then there are the choirs. The Festival hosts the largest gathering of choral groups during the Christmas season. I'm not sure how many choirs will perform during the course of the Festival, but it's a lot. Looking at the program there are 5-8 choirs that perform nightly and the festival will go on until Christmas Day. It was a great opportunity for little ones to see and experience live music! I know personally, that we probably wouldn't pay for the kids to see a concert that we most likely would have to leave after 20 minutes, but we can certainly sit for 20 minutes and leave a performance if we need to in a venue like this. To round things out, there was also a petting zoo, a display of Nativities from around the world, and a puppet show. We really enjoyed it and I think the girls learned a lot. It was a great intro to the Christmas season!<br /><br />Our other preschool activities this week were pretty basic. We learned about the letters C and D. We did some letter tracing and name writing practice. We talked about things that start with each letter, and what kind of sounds they make. I checked out a phonics DVD from the library and we watched that. We also watched a Nature episode "My Life as a Turkey". Ziva liked it so much that she's requested to watch it twice - so we watched it again. We spread out some uncooked rice on a cookie sheet and used it to practice writing their names as well as the letters C and D. The girls LOVE "rice time".<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiBrWArDox2PesV4BDsbfiAojWEQ90d5POHEncCYjCEqZCinIFuMqQzeJeZuwa0G1FXIEhyphenhyphenzduopTzw0OpAq8lZiMtEJfZVUlsbkw90kpod8GcWrkTJNN0KNjtqqfIcuLlahWD9xJ2N8/s1600/Image00017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiBrWArDox2PesV4BDsbfiAojWEQ90d5POHEncCYjCEqZCinIFuMqQzeJeZuwa0G1FXIEhyphenhyphenzduopTzw0OpAq8lZiMtEJfZVUlsbkw90kpod8GcWrkTJNN0KNjtqqfIcuLlahWD9xJ2N8/s400/Image00017.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5681671145676334866" /></a><br /><br />We've also got our Advent wreath set up and we're going through a book called <a href="http://www.christianbook.com/getting-christmas-advent-prayer-activity-family/yolanda-browne/9780758608604/pd/608608?product_redirect=1&Ntt=608608&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP">Getting Ready for Christmas: A Daily Advent Prayer & Activity Book for the Family</a>. Each page is very colorful, and it has a brief scripture verse along with a prayer and an activity. The activity is usually something open ended like, "Make an angel ornament for the Christmas tree." I'm usually able to take the suggestions and then look online for something simple to do. So far we have printed out a small angel coloring page, colored it, glued it to construction paper with a loop of ribbon between. It took us about 15 minutes. Today the activity was "Make a sheep ornament or draw/color a sheep." I printed out a cute shepherd/sheep coloring page and we colored it. Easy peasy. But it gave us the opportunity to talk about how a shepherd takes care of his sheep and that God is like our Good Shepherd who provides for all of our needs.<br /><br />My plan for next week:<br /><br />I printed out the local school district's <a href="http://portalsso.vansd.org/portal/page/portal/VSD_Home_Public/VSD_Home_Public_Archive_2003_2009/Departments/CURRICULUM_AND_INSTRUCTION/Early_Childhood_Education">Preschool Packet</a>. The packet is supposed to supply enough things to do for a month, but we usually find that it will only last that long if we add in a bunch of other stuff! The packet this week goes over the letters E and F, so we'll focus on those letters. We'll continue to do the activities suggested in the Getting Ready for Christmas book. I have about 20 Christmas books checked out from the library, so we'll do a bunch of reading. I also bought everything we need to make birdseed ornaments to use as gifts from the girls to the family members for Christmas. I'm sure we'll also do some baking. Lots of cookies need to be made this month for gifts!<br /><br />I linked this post to <a href="http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/">Homeschool Creations</a> Moments to Remember!<br /><br /><a href="http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/search/label/Moments%20to%20Remember" target="_blank"><img src="http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv146/homeschoolcreations/MomentstoRemember125x125.jpg" title="Moments to Remember" /></a>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-21582162966356612011-11-16T13:41:00.000-08:002011-11-16T14:22:56.750-08:00Too Much StimuliAs Americans, it's part of our culture to be busy. It's our national virtue. We work more hours than any other culture in the world. We are taught at a very early age that it's our job to be productive. We fill up most of our life with tasks that need to be accomplished. We give our kids chore charts, we make lists, we carry planners, and when we have conversations with people and they ask what we've been up to lately we lament, "Oh, I've been SO busy!" <br /><br />But who made us busy? Did we somehow allow everyone around us to decide for us how to spend our time? Maybe sometimes that's the case, but most of us make that decision for ourselves. For most of us, the first question we ask ourselves when we finish a task is "What's next?"<br /><br />The problem with this culture of busyness is that it doesn't allow for down time. It values a person for how much they can get done in one day instead of how much time we spend with our loved ones or how much time we spend on reflection.<br /><br />Here at our house, we have been sick for nearly a week. Each family member has taken turns with the stomach flu. It was terrible, except for one thing. We had lots of time. We could easily say no to outside interference, and say yes to doing nothing. It gave me a lot of time to think and read. <br /><br />I made it through two books about home schooling: <a href="http://">Christian Unschooling</a> by Teri J. Brown and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/School-Starts-Home-Simple-Learning/dp/1576836002/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321480711&sr=1-1">School Starts at Home</a> by Cheri Fuller. Both emphasize a need to "unplug" from electronic stimuli AND a strict busy schedule in order for natural learning opportunities to occur. Children have less motivation to turn to reading, pretend play, or educational activities if they are constantly being entertained by television, computers, electronic toys, OR extracurricular activities.<br /><br />Having grown up in a house with a mother who HATED television, this concept is nothing new to me. But what struck me as "new" while reading these books is that it's not just the kids who can be effected by too much stimulation, <span style="font-weight:bold;">I am just as vulnerable</span>. I am just as likely to turn to Facebook or browsing the internet during a down moment rather than doing something that would be more nourishing to my mind and spirit. Instead of writing on my blog, which is an excellent outlet for me because it requires thought and contemplation, I play Sims. Instead of spending time in prayer, or doing personal devotions, I watch TV. Instead of reading a book, I... well, you get the point. I expend so much head space on things that have no value, and avoid the things that do with the thought, "I'll do that when I have more time." When exactly will that happen? <br /><br />In one part of "Christian Unschooling" a mom struggling with scheduling commented on praying over her day planner. Specifically, she prayed that God would lead them throughout the day and that He would guide her children to whatever He wanted them to learn that day. I thought that was such a beautiful thought, because ultimately we as parent's control only a tiny amount of what our children need to learn. Praying, and recognizing, that God is the one who controls these things helps put our anxieties at ease. It allows us as parents to share the burden of raising our children with God, rather than try to carry that yoke on our own (and it's a very heavy yoke at that!). It's something that I need to do more of. As always: a little more You, and a little less me.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-68605556894752439372011-11-09T18:17:00.000-08:002011-11-09T18:51:38.864-08:00New to home preschool? Me too.I'm half way through my third week of home preschool'ing my kids. <br /><br />And check it out, I'm still alive!<br /><br />Some amazing stuff has happened during these short few weeks. I've learned a lot about my kids. I've learned a lot about different home school philosophies. I've developed a routine that seems to work for us, although I'm sure it will improve. <br /><br />Four year olds are amazing. All you have to do is open your mouth, and they respond with questions. They're so eager to know everything, and so ready to jump in when they think they already know. This age seems to be all about learning and absorbing, so teaching them isn't hard. The hard part seems to be getting them to slow down for three seconds! As soon as we finish an activity or project the first question is usually, "What's next, Mommy?"<br /><br />Ummmmmm..... uhhh.... I guess we better think about that for a minute.<br /><br />There are a few things that have helped on this brief foray into the unknown, and since I spent so much time grasping at straws I figure I'd outline those things in case anyone else out there could use a hand. Keep in mind, I am NOT an expert, I'm a blundering first-time mom/first-time homeschooler.<br /><br />- Don't freak out, it's just preschool. This was the wisest bit of info that a friend told me and she was absolutely right. There is no failure here, it's not even required for kids to go to preschool, you really can't mess this up. So relax!<br /><br />- Check out the Library. They have amazing resources both for you and for your kids. Kids learn a lot just from reading. So even if they just pick out a bunch of books and take them home they'll learn a lot from that. I've made it our goal to read at least 2 new books a day. So we go once a week and check out about 10-14 books. When we get home, I put all but 2 of them away so that we can have something new to read each day. This seems to help keep their interest level high when each day we can read something "new". The Library also has plenty of books on home schooling. I check out one a week and try to read it.<br /><br />- Check your local school district's website. My school district has printable preschool packets that have a full curiculum that's seasonally appropriate for each month. It includes activities, worksheets, and book lists. If your district doesn't offer one then feel free to <a href="http://portalsso.vansd.org/portal/page/portal/VSD_Home_Public/VSD_Home_Public_Archive_2003_2009/Departments/CURRICULUM_AND_INSTRUCTION/Early_Childhood_Education">click here</a>.<br /><br />- There are homeschool co-ops out there where homeschooling families get together one or two days a week to do more in depth classes. My local co-op doesn't offer anything for preschoolers, but yours might.<br /><br />- Parks and Rec usually has some kind of classes that you can sign up your kids for. Mine offers a movement/dance class. I plan to sign them up in January. Check other places like your community center. This is something I need to do more of, but in the little I've heard there's a lot of options.<br /><br />- Coloring pages! There are a ton of them out there, just google whatever subject matter might be appropriate. I recently found some awesome pages with turkey's and pilgrims by searching "Thanksgiving coloring pages".<br /><br />Websites that I've found exceedingly helpful:<br /><br /><a href="http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/">Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations</a>: She's amazing! I have been using her wonderful thematic preschool printables since day 1. My kids love the activities, and her ideas are terrific. I check her page every day, and I love all of her organizational aids! She really is the one who gave me the courage to even try this.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.icanteachmychild.com/">I Can Teach My Child</a>: An excellent blog with wonderful craft ideas! The thing that strikes me the most about this site is that each activity is meant to point our children to Christ. It's beautifully done!<br /><br /><a href="http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/322-thanksgiving-crafts">Kaboose</a>: I love the craft ideas here! I'm so uncrafty, and these ideas are simple and actually look like something you'd want to display in your home rather than immediately chuck in the bin. <br /><br />If you know of any other great home schooling sites I'm all ears!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-50660120785605691652011-11-01T14:57:00.000-07:002011-11-01T15:46:24.948-07:00Recipe: BierocksI recently read an article about the beauty of recipes that have been passed down for generations, and how those who know how to make such things NEED to pass on that knowledge whether anyone asks for it or not. It's the duty of the knowledge holders to find someone who wants to learn. Otherwise the knowledge is lost.<br /><br />Thankfully, my grandmother (who turned 95 this past August) has generously passed down her recipes. A few years ago my sweetheart of an aunt, Aunt Charlotte, started the monumental project of tracing over all of my grandmother's faded pencil written recipes and making photo copies of them, printing them, binding them, and distributing them to all the relatives. Sadly, my aunt passed away before her project was finished. But her husband and some other relatives pressed on and completed it. Thanks to them, we all have a copy of my grandmother's cook book.<br /><br />The title? Kissin' Don't Last, Cookin' Do.<br /><br />I've been trying to make a point of making something out of this book for my family each month, and of course I'm starting with the things I remember. And since my Dad specifically requested Bierock's for his birthday it made sense to start with that. <br /><br />Bierock's are essentially an eastern European version of a savory hand pie. Seems like nearly every culture has their version: empanada's and calzone's come to mind. It's a convenience food. It can be wrapped in a lunch box, eaten on the go, made in a huge batch it freezes well for a quick weeknight meal. Add a salad, and you're in business.<br /><br />This time around, I took my grandma's recipe and combined it with some other recipes that I found online. And I had one lonely carrot in my crisper, so I threw that in too.<br /><br />It all starts with 2 lbs of hamburger in a skillet browned with an onion and minced garlic clove. Once that's done, add 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper. Then shred a small head of cabbage and put that in, along with 2 Tablespoons of worcestershire sauce and 2 teaspoons of caraway seeds. Cook until cabbage is wilted. The end result is this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0IjeFwofnChMQ6Dl2zTgXQkIlKV4TJtlcNXIrcuCC4taHKcX5HzNneWFd73lC2S2DJb579K-fe8UPp_4XgZwUqAt9lyLyEcrrUMVek7TtDUhNp8PY3oE99atnKt9OxZpxb_HYTcUSpI/s1600/Image00001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0IjeFwofnChMQ6Dl2zTgXQkIlKV4TJtlcNXIrcuCC4taHKcX5HzNneWFd73lC2S2DJb579K-fe8UPp_4XgZwUqAt9lyLyEcrrUMVek7TtDUhNp8PY3oE99atnKt9OxZpxb_HYTcUSpI/s400/Image00001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670155417994189986" /></a><br /><br />Then you get out your dough. You can use whatever you like. I know my grandma makes her own, and I've heard that you can also use those refrigerated biscuits from a can. I used two loaves of frozen dough, and then I set it on my counter to thaw/rise according the the package directions. It takes about 4-6 hours depending upon the temperature of your room.<br /><br />Then I rolled out one loaf at a time and cut it into 6 wedge shapes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBifOzhXrsbSzEpaJ-WxUlKKUo-LEJasRvd0ZsyBNRYNjKl7F63Oj-jcQ5AtoqQIMcNBHmW1tjJp8aS7ifMHt6ovFAsM1c5OiK-IE96-F5TkKgThHeN-gH5RtziNo8AojN43yDIrS0z0/s1600/Image00002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBifOzhXrsbSzEpaJ-WxUlKKUo-LEJasRvd0ZsyBNRYNjKl7F63Oj-jcQ5AtoqQIMcNBHmW1tjJp8aS7ifMHt6ovFAsM1c5OiK-IE96-F5TkKgThHeN-gH5RtziNo8AojN43yDIrS0z0/s400/Image00002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670158043614655378" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPl7VHtMoaJhbGt52WaOpFr3X2QSQtI_JikirYC0EWQTm72QyNnOxkJuIkwO8CYvvykiCJxKGXP1jS2YF1Oxjkv65gAnINaFfRgw39o4nFngjSN4D8g20-N_9pR8aeOoQ5l2R4iWOyeQY/s1600/Image00004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPl7VHtMoaJhbGt52WaOpFr3X2QSQtI_JikirYC0EWQTm72QyNnOxkJuIkwO8CYvvykiCJxKGXP1jS2YF1Oxjkv65gAnINaFfRgw39o4nFngjSN4D8g20-N_9pR8aeOoQ5l2R4iWOyeQY/s400/Image00004.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670158040236582546" /></a><br /><br />Put 1/4 cup of the filling on each wedge and then fold the corners to the center and press the seams together. It doesn't have to be perfect, remember, this is a peasant dish.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMPk7Nq1qgxgynCms9tnZjSL8iIzG1HJxzYWMXVHtLGJDja_QhyphenhyphenXHipcyWcH-pVhcYrhkRtFmUOYBP97ifrhoANtPNsvmltM2TbTh-bn8qgh3_C-uxsHya3aOBVy25nZTj6XrnKfD0nI/s1600/Image00005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMPk7Nq1qgxgynCms9tnZjSL8iIzG1HJxzYWMXVHtLGJDja_QhyphenhyphenXHipcyWcH-pVhcYrhkRtFmUOYBP97ifrhoANtPNsvmltM2TbTh-bn8qgh3_C-uxsHya3aOBVy25nZTj6XrnKfD0nI/s400/Image00005.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670158772098011442" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVsq5vKGWe0XDV0HSmbMkzNwxBMx6ojc9KW8B6F4iarQ_LfJUt1QBUcmwteJd3BKJ9rbwOtpqOJMPE9n9sxIJkN53Y9XDsG1vldy9HNS-HtTwuijwnxem9A1Hf9zUbtnIB13PQ6_CfpI/s1600/Image00006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVsq5vKGWe0XDV0HSmbMkzNwxBMx6ojc9KW8B6F4iarQ_LfJUt1QBUcmwteJd3BKJ9rbwOtpqOJMPE9n9sxIJkN53Y9XDsG1vldy9HNS-HtTwuijwnxem9A1Hf9zUbtnIB13PQ6_CfpI/s400/Image00006.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670158777926646914" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX75CFhbypfUgyrfYI5SiQI1zesS3ZlHOYpU4tr4wDcscHa50SpLqvTa-8chuoUlETe0D40UzdTvkDK7d7E5vWx-z_dQP5dmW8bvBqv1uvVUGx019VNXvXcVH45o2Jov6MKkJVa_a0410/s1600/Image00007.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX75CFhbypfUgyrfYI5SiQI1zesS3ZlHOYpU4tr4wDcscHa50SpLqvTa-8chuoUlETe0D40UzdTvkDK7d7E5vWx-z_dQP5dmW8bvBqv1uvVUGx019VNXvXcVH45o2Jov6MKkJVa_a0410/s400/Image00007.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670158780589035138" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleDpzKBY_9Eye1cIP06iFyGlvC29buZYrUtMQZwi_klQWDBf37rENZZANpKWQRyC1xoCCmWFD2vAWg_Jjlu6SOHzCxHkBDosokKkVJO-4jVu8vpr51HWFGD6pBiTGMHFoIFJqDpAniv8/s1600/Image00008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleDpzKBY_9Eye1cIP06iFyGlvC29buZYrUtMQZwi_klQWDBf37rENZZANpKWQRyC1xoCCmWFD2vAWg_Jjlu6SOHzCxHkBDosokKkVJO-4jVu8vpr51HWFGD6pBiTGMHFoIFJqDpAniv8/s400/Image00008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670158784726092226" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjZKF5UG14Ly1R7t4X06gFkZxD_leTjHXQlehy-fM8-TdIOFAf8t5wC6e8JA4zpVItdRVzSAV6jiXG3K9drjM0dL3_xQaZY1hxa62bQIvkinK0aT3ZCl4JB9NU7jBgHG-vIWKxb97flI/s1600/Image00009.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjZKF5UG14Ly1R7t4X06gFkZxD_leTjHXQlehy-fM8-TdIOFAf8t5wC6e8JA4zpVItdRVzSAV6jiXG3K9drjM0dL3_xQaZY1hxa62bQIvkinK0aT3ZCl4JB9NU7jBgHG-vIWKxb97flI/s400/Image00009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670158785829796754" /></a><br /><br />Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. The result is a heavenly smell in your kitchen and hot yumminess inside of bread.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNWiqzwCFLDRO7PGAO3ZDxfqchtP9B6quWK01skotej-DO2V39dd6rB0UEB-LYvL1gXB90xRdbjPvRqE2IKzMftU9Nwz2QRjL5CbEPtpunWZZYdu7lTIT1HDoyVmfMkbTLUjELhfMsk4/s1600/Image00012.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNWiqzwCFLDRO7PGAO3ZDxfqchtP9B6quWK01skotej-DO2V39dd6rB0UEB-LYvL1gXB90xRdbjPvRqE2IKzMftU9Nwz2QRjL5CbEPtpunWZZYdu7lTIT1HDoyVmfMkbTLUjELhfMsk4/s400/Image00012.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670159606774909986" /></a><br /><br />Beirocks<br /><br />2 loaves of frozen bread dough, thawed<br />2 lbs of ground beef<br />1 yellow onion<br />1 garlic clove<br />1 1/2 teaspoon salt<br />1 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper<br />1 small head of cabbage<br />2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce<br />2 teaspoons caraway seeds<br /><br />1. Place bread dough in a greased bowl on the counter and cover with towel for about 4-6 hours before you're planning to cook. If you need to leave it longer than that you can thaw in the fridge overnight. <br />2. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Add salt and lemon pepper. Shred the cabbage and add it once the beef is cooked along with worchestershire sauce and caraway seeds. Drain liquid.<br />3. Roll out dough 1 loaf at a time on a floured surface. Cut into 6 wedge shapes. Place 1/4 cup meat mixture onto each wedge. Fold each corner to the center and press seams together so that no meat is exposed. Perfection is not part of this recipe. Rustic is a good word for it. :) Place each pastry on a cookie sheet.<br />4. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-47608138222388826592011-10-22T09:53:00.000-07:002011-10-22T10:18:18.486-07:00Preschool DelemaBecause we've had a tough couple of years, and because I was working full-time until the end of August, we hadn't even looked at preschool until just a few weeks ago. Did you know that most people start researching preschool when their kids are babies? And that they sign their kids up for it the spring <span style="font-style:italic;">before</span> they want to send their kids there? Who knew!<br /><br />Due to life, we didn't even know whether we'd be able to afford such a thing until Hubs went back to work. And by then nearly every place I called was "full for the year, but I can put you on our waiting list." The ones that weren't full? Well, let's just say that we don't have an extra $1200/mo sitting around. I kid you not. Will I spend more than our mortgage payment to send our kids to preschool? Hmm... let me think about that for a minute... <span style="font-weight:bold;">NO!</span><br /><br />I did find one school that offered this amazing "needs based" scholarship opportunity. It was an amazing school. Montessori and everything. But we didn't get the scholarship, apparently we aren't needy enough. *sigh* Now, maybe if I left my husband and went back to school I'd qualify, but since I'm not doing either of those things, no preschool for us.<br /><br />I was sad, but life goes on.<br /><br />Next option? Ugh... I don't even want to say it... home school. Don't get me wrong, I have friends who have done it and survived, but most of them are a lot more "with the program" than I am. I am what some might call a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl. Planning? Not my forte. Organization? What's that? I think I'm ok as far as intelligence goes, but I barely scraped myself through school, am I really the right person to be leading two little minds down that path? Well, let's not get overly dramatic here, <span style="font-style:italic;">this is preschool</span> after all. If I screw up this year, there's always kindergarten next year and hopefully I won't be teaching that too.<br /><br />Thankfully there are some pretty great resources out there. Our local library offered me a ton of books on the subject (as if I'll have time to read, but I now have them on my shelf) and a flyer with classes I could sign them up for through our parks & rec department. And our local school district gives us these excellent monthly "preschool packets" which include a list of seasonally appropriate activities, books, songs, and worksheets. But the one thing that really inspired me to give this a shot is <a href="http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/">Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations</a>. She has these amazing themed preschool units that you can print out for free along with ideas on how to use them. They're colorful, and cheery, and just plain fun! Plus she has tons of ideas for parents on how to get organized, and I will most certainly be making use of her "to do lists" and "preschool planning sheets".<br /><br />So after learning all of what's available to home schooling parents, I'm starting to think that maybe I really can do this. And hopefully when this spring comes around, I'll actually sign my kids up for things and I won't have to do it again!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-48069362015232281202011-09-19T13:37:00.000-07:002011-09-19T13:53:53.673-07:00Lead FootThey say I inherited my father's left foot.<br /><br />My dad was infamous for his many speeding tickets and horrible driving record. I remember riding in the car with him as a kid. His ADD takes over and his eyes go this way and that noticing everything from the color of the leaves to the antique car going by. The car gradually goes from the right to the left side of the lane, and back again. Amazingly, I don't recall any accidents either with or without us kids in the car.<br /><br />I don't swerve within my lane like Dad. Instead I'm hyper vigilant. I get nervous as a passenger because I'm never quite certain that the person driving is paying as much attention as I would. I was in two car accidents as a teenager, neither of them my fault, and so other drivers on the road make me nervous. I'm absolutely certain that they're all going to run into me. That I'm somehow a magnet for stupid people.<br /><br />So to compensate for the stupid drivers of this world I try my hardest to pass them. I'm convinced that if I get out in front of them rather than driving along <span style="font-style:italic;">with</span> them that I'll be safe. <br /><br />Well, obviously this idea has backfired, because although I have not been in an accident since college (totally not my fault!) I have recently gotten my very first speeding ticket.<br /><br />But at least the cop was nice. As he handed me my ticket he said, "I hope your day improves." Yeah, me too...<br /><br />No longer can I brag about my perfect driving record. Eleven MPH too fast and $144 later I am now just as unlucky as the rest of those stupid drivers.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-26774884498603684422011-09-14T09:53:00.000-07:002011-09-14T09:54:00.539-07:00Gettin' in the GrooveSince I've officially been off work for 2 weeks I've had a lot to catch up on. Apparently there is a lot that doesn't get done with Mom working and Dad home with the kids... such as clearing the kitchen counters with the accumulated clutter and *shock!* wiping them down. Plus all the projects that I've meant to attend to but up until recently haven't had the time/energy to even think about it. <br /><br />The first week I was off I focused on canning. My sister-in-law was visiting, so my mom came over and we canned batch after batch after BATCH of peaches. Thankfully with so many hands to help it went pretty quickly and in no time we had a ton of peaches in jars. Next up was pickles. My cucumbers decided to produce a mighty crop this year, so my sister-in-law encouraged me to can them up into bread and butter pickles. I think we now have enough pickles to last us until the end of time. Then after everyone left I decided to take the last few peaches and make peach salsa and a couple batches of peach jam.<br /><br />My kitchen is sticky. I've cleaned it a few times, but it's still sticky.<br /><br />I went to my chiropractor a crippled mess. She said, "What did you do??" I said, "You know, just did a bit of canning." "Well, you need to stop!" "I can't! It's berry season next!"<br /><br />Then I went and bought a half flat of raspberries and 2 flats of blackberries. But I tried to be reasonable, I washed and froze them for my sister-in-law's next visit in October. What can I say, I couldn't leave her out of the fun!<br /><br />And then just as I was going through catalogs and sign up forms for fall activities we all came down with a cold.<br /><br />Bleh.<br /><br />I'm still trying to get used to this whole stay-at-home mom gig. It's been a year, and I feel rusty and unsure of what to do with my time. I went to church, and picked up their fall calendar. We considered sending the girls to preschool, but the only one that had availability was out of our budget and 30 minutes away. We're on a waiting list for a coop preschool in town, so hopefully we'll get called for that. In the meantime I figure we'll do stuff with our church and the library and call it good. I'm still trying to work it all out in my brain.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-59690594278770381602011-09-12T12:39:00.000-07:002011-09-12T12:44:24.850-07:00The Great SwitcherooSo the great day has finally arrived.<br /><br />As of August 31st, I have officially been laid off from my job. For those of you who know me, you'll know that THIS IS GREAT NEWS! It means that I can get back to my real passion: staying home with my kids.<br /><br />This news is made even more exciting by the fact that my husband was called back to work just 3 days after I got the news of my lay off. I don't believe in coincidence, I believe in God's plan, and this is obviously His hand at work in our lives.<br /><br />I thank all of you who have been praying for us during this extremely tough year. I know I haven't posted much at all, but hopefully I will be able to remedy that soon now that I have more time on my hands.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-1124793680955092062011-06-02T19:11:00.000-07:002011-06-02T19:21:40.028-07:00U2 and Me too!Hubs and I have a very exciting weekend planned...<br /><br />WE'RE GOING TO SEE U2!!!<br /><br />We're packing the car, we're leaving the kids and dogs behind, and we're escaping to Seattle so that I can meet my new boyfriend, Bono. Oops! I mean, so we can scream and go crazy and have a great time together. :)<br /><br />I love U2. I know they're not the greatest musicians in the whole world. I know they're not the greatest song writers or greatest lyricists on the planet. To all you haters out there, I know. I do. Really.<br /><br />But here's the thing about U2, they have a lead singer who can sell it.<br /><br />Plus, Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree were pretty much the sound track of my college years. Which, is kind of funny considering I'm really not THAT old. But obviously, I'm old enough for U2.<br /><br />In addition to Bono, we'll be enjoying a swank hotel room within walking distance of the concert venu AND I'm hoping to convince Hubs to take me to the glass museum. U2, and glass. Love it!<br /><br />All brought to yours truly thanks to Dear Husband who bought me the tickets as a surprise birthday present not last December, but the one before that. I tell ya, the man's a keeper!<br /><br />And just in case you're wondering, here's my favorite U2 song:<br /><br /><iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ftjEcrrf7r0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-63042222368547091952011-05-30T14:58:00.000-07:002011-05-30T15:10:56.626-07:00What's up?Obviously, blogging hasn't been my forte lately.<br /><br />Mostly I'm just trying to make it through each day, and when I'm done I fall into a heap in front of the tv. No time for writing, or communicating with the outside world in any way. Well, except maybe Facebook but that's a different story.<br /><br />Our life is still complicated, but I'm beginning to think that it just always is. For the past two years I've lived with an injured husband and twins to care for. It's been a marathon of sorts. But we have seen major progress. Hubs got his shoulder surgery... FINALLY! He's still the stay-at-home parent, there's probably going to be some issues with his employer letting him come back and under what conditions. Again, it's complicated. We're not sure when that will all come about, but we're not stressing about it either. At this point, whatever is going to happen will happen.<br /><br />I'm still enjoying my job, but I'm getting tired. I'm trying to slow down and take time for myself when I can. Relax when I can. But it's hard to do that. <br /><br />My girls will be 4 years old in just a couple weeks. I can hardly believe it. It seems like just yesterday I held them for the first time. And now they're not babies any more, they're big girls. Or so they keep reminding me. How did that happen?<br /><br />Anyway, I'm still here. I'm still doing ok. Life is hard, but it's getting better, there's more reason to be hopeful.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-53490094608630394582010-10-23T20:11:00.000-07:002010-10-23T20:12:53.719-07:00Very efficient!I toured 3 groups of people at once today, a record high for me! I also took 4 applications, and I straightened out 50 files. Overall, a productive day, and now I'm going to veg for the next 2 days since <span style="font-style:italic;">my</span> weekend is finally here.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-85057708382616672642010-10-22T20:25:00.000-07:002010-10-22T20:29:06.907-07:00The Ups and Downs of Property ManagementYesterday I had to say, "I'm sorry, we can't rent to you." to a couple with a 1 month old living in a hotel on their church's dime. Today, I sat down and signed a lease with another couple, who have been living in a shelter and scrambling like crazy to get everything in order so that they could have a place to live. Emotions run high here, in this place of can we, or can't we make it work.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-8904005705132904992010-10-04T13:10:00.000-07:002010-10-04T13:11:52.620-07:00Busy Week!I love my new job, but it's very busy with phone ringing off the hook and people coming in and out all day. By the end of the day I'm exhausted! And then I come home to a cooked dinner, tired children, tired husband, and tired dogs.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-30929710467392615222010-09-27T20:44:00.001-07:002010-09-27T20:46:20.245-07:00First DayToday was my first day of work at my new job. Hubs and I are both struggling with our new roles, but we've made it through one day, and tomorrow I'm sure we'll make it too. I'm very much enjoying being in the "real world" again spending the day talking with other grown-ups, and the office I'm working in is crazy and frantic but in a good way.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-71588342766089835692010-09-24T20:09:00.000-07:002010-09-24T20:11:28.749-07:00Ultrasound, but not the fun kind.I had my ultrasound today and to my eye everything looks just about the same as it did 2 months ago when I had my first one. The gallstone is still there, still round, still rolling around inside of me making me say ouch. The report will go to my doctor on Monday, so it will be interesting to see what she will suggest.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-42351893154593701642010-09-23T20:29:00.000-07:002010-09-23T20:31:54.204-07:00In SicknessHaving a gallstone is no fun at all, in fact, it downright sucks. Spent this morning having fun with Anya at speech therapy, and the afternoon in the doctor's office talking about my options. Ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow to check on my little round friend and see if it's moved or grown or what.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-63078843077506719562010-09-22T13:58:00.000-07:002010-09-22T14:11:46.060-07:00Finally, Good News!Are you ready for it?<br /><br />I GOT A JOB! <br /><br />I feel very relived, and at the same time, nervous. I haven't worked full time as an employee for 7 years. So it's going to be a big adjustment, both for me and for the fam. But it's worth it. I'll be getting a pay check which we very much need, and I think it will be good for us to switch roles for a while, even though it's not what either of us had in mind.<br /><br />To start out it will be part-time (about 25-30 hours a week) but it will become a full-time position within a few months. So maybe that will give us a chance to ease into it. I start Monday! EEEEEE!<br /><br />Funny thing, I worked for this company 10 years ago for 7 months. I almost didn't send them my resume because I was never told why I was laid off. So I guess it's a good thing I got up my courage and sent it anyway! I still don't know what happened 10 years ago, and neither do they since nothing was written in my file, so I guess that's good!<br /><br />When I got home from the interview/job offer this morning, we had letters in our mail box from Workman's Comp. And...<br /><br />...<br /><br />He's been denied again.<br /><br />*SIGH*<br /><br />I really have an idea of why some people have gone on rampages. Like, with guns and stuff.<br /><br />It's SO frustrating!!!<br /><br />But on a good note, he was approved for long-term disability through his work! Which means 12 months of health insurance and an actual regular pay check for 70% of his normal wage. HURRAY! This has lifted a gigantic weight off our shoulders!!!<br /><br />So we're going to be fine.<br /><br />Really.<br /><br />Not that we thought we wouldn't be.<br /><br />Well, maybe a little.<br /><br />Anyway, for you lovely people who are still following this blog even though I haven't written much at all this year, I really appreciate you. Thank you for sticking with me even though I haven't been around much. In an effort to actually post here on a regular basis I think I'm going to do something a bit different. My new goal is to write 3 sentences a day. Just 3, should be easy, right? It will be good for me, to return to sense of routine with my daily postings, and at the same time not overwhelm myself or push myself to do more than I can handle. So, that's what you can expect from me from here on out, hopefully it'll result in more concise regularity.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-85510990990990623662010-07-23T10:41:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:10:35.837-07:00Such Is LifeI haven't updated my blog in forever, so I thought I should, and then I thought, "But my life pretty much sucks, who would want to read that??" So I didn't. And then life started to suck even more, and more, and more. And now it's gotten to the point where I can't even put it all into words. I just don't have words. It's too vast.<br /><br />How can one quickly sum up the incidents of a life that lead to this place? The place where sorrow and happiness meet. Where emotions run so high and so complicated that thinking about it makes you want to cry and smile at the same time. I have no idea. But maybe trying will help somehow, although I'm skeptical that's even possible.<br /><br />To catch you up to speed, Workman's Comp denied Hubs' surgery back in April. Since then we've been waiting for doctors and lawyers and insurance reps to get their paperwork ducks in a row. We're still waiting, and praying, and hoping for the best. In the meantime Hubs hasn't been working. We're living on savings (thank God we have it!) and praying we won't have to much longer.<br /><br />In the midst of this waiting, our 24 year old niece passed away on June 19th. We're devastated. I could write a whole post simply about this incident, but I'm not sure I could bear it. Let's just say, no one expects their 24 year old daughter to go asleep one night and simply not wake up the next morning. Alisha was a sweet bright light in our family, we loved her dearly, and miss her terribly.<br /><br />We drove to California for a party in her honor, stayed for a week or so, went to Disneyland with Hubs' family (Who does these things? We do apparently. Although I'm sure Alisha would have approved.) and came home. A grueling 16 hour drive home, but hey, who's counting?<br /><br />Our dogs were sick the whole time we were gone, and although we had excellent neighbors caring for them, our house was a poopy barfy mess when we arrived and we spent the following 6 hours cleaning and sanitizing. And then we fell down and slept like rocks.<br /><br />We also came home to some scary letters from Hubs' work and workman's comp, and had to wait for 2 weeks for our lawyer to get home from his vacation before we knew what it all meant. Basically, they can't fire Hubs, but they can stop paying for his health insurance and force us to pay for Cobra. We learned this on our anniversary this week. Happy Anniversary to us! Eight years, and we're still chugging along. At our Anniversary dinner last night, in the same spot where we had our wedding reception, we decided that I need to start looking for a job. It's not what either of us had planned, but we gotta stay solvent somehow.<br /><br />To top it all off, I found out yesterday that I have a gallstone. I had the ultrasound yesterday morning, and I am waiting to hear from my doctor about whether or not she'll recommend surgery. <br /><br />Truthfully, we're pretty scared and sad. We're not sure where this road is leading but it sure seems like it's not going to a good place.<br /><br />The bright spot of course, is our girls. Without them we'd be wallowing in self-pity right about now. Instead, we're having so much fun with them! They're at such an excellent age right now, learning new things all the time, excited about such simple pleasures, and constantly saying things to crack is up. Laughter really is good medicine. Amen!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-43629311399988429912010-05-23T12:47:00.000-07:002010-05-23T12:50:03.623-07:00Interesting Truth*A conversation between me and my mom*<br /><br />Me: I've learned an interesting truth. That as my kids grow so do my arm muscles!<br /><br />Mom: *grins* Wanna know another interesting truth?<br /><br />Me: Sure!<br /><br />Mom: So does your heart.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-70581259067213084352010-05-19T12:34:00.000-07:002010-05-19T12:50:00.889-07:00The Birds of the AirToday my yard is flush with fledgling birds. I feel a kinship with their parents, each with a squawking baby to feed. Often there is only one parent (I can only assume it's the mother) with two or three little ones following behind, each with their mouths open demanding their next meal. "Feed me! Feed me!," they say with gusto.<br /><br />And then I inspected my freshly planted garden, and sure enough, they had already snacked on my bean sprouts. I growled as I tried to salvage the few with roots, carefully poking them back into the dirt.<br /><br />Obviously, I'm just an instrument of God for their survival. Doing my part to feed the starling population. Begrudgingly.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:26-27</span>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-45579015658369902822010-05-16T13:41:00.000-07:002010-05-16T15:45:23.853-07:00Soul Comfort"As the deer pants for water so my soul longs for you O, God." Psalms 42:1<br /><br />Thanks to Amy Grant and Summer Bible School, it was one of the first verses I learned as a child. Repeat it, sing it, enough times and it tends to loose some of it's meaning. That as we have a need for water, the beverage that sustains life in all living creatures, we have an equally strong need for God. Without Him, we would die. And spiritually speaking, as we stray we experience spiritual and emotional death.<br /><br />During hard times it's easy to forget. It's so easy to get caught up in routine. To rely on our own efforts to succeed (whatever that means). To accomplish items on our 'to do' lists, and then sit back and think, "Look what I did! I'm not doing half bad. In fact, look at all the stuff I got done today. I'm pretty awesome! Yay me!" Or just the opposite, to give up because we think we're not good enough. That it's better to avoid failure and just not try at all. Either way what we're really saying is, "Thanks God, but no thanks. I'll just take it from here. I've made it this far without your help, and I'm sure I'll make it through tomorrow just fine too."<br /><br />Except, that God doesn't want us to be "just fine". He wants us to be MAGNIFICENT! And being magnificent requires us to rely on Him rather than our own efforts. Such magnificence requires just one thing, regular drinks of Living Water.<br /><br />As most of you know, we've been going through a hard time. A very discouraging time. Every day passes, while we wait for miracles. So far, we haven't received any definitive answers, so we wait. And wait some more. Most of the time we spend trying to distract ourselves from all this waiting. We watch TV, we play computer games, we scour the internet for useless tidbits of info, and lately since the weather has been nice I've been outside gardening. But it's really just to forget. To pretend that what's happening isn't really happening. <br /><br />And today something interesting happened...<br /><br />I was thinking about back when I was in high school choir, so I did some searches on YouTube looking for songs we used to sing. Seems pretty harmless, right? Well, obviously God can work even within our time wasting because I came across one of my favorites, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nsw1kdLqfec">Sicut cervus</a> by Palestrina. Within the first few bars I had a huge lump in my throat, and by the end I had tears. It's so hauntingly beautiful, the notes so beautifully express such longing. It aches with love. And so I wondered, because 14 years post high school I certainly don't remember, what does it mean? So I did another search and found <a href="http://scribalterror.blogs.com/scribal_terror/2006/03/sicut_cervus.html">this</a>. "As the deer longs for springs of water, so my soul longs for you O, God."<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Thank you, God. For speaking love into my life when I least expect it. For reminding me that you didn't design us to make it on our own, but to rely instead on Your strength and Your ability. I praise you Father, for caring for me. For lifting my burden. For filling me up to the brim with your Water. Amen!</span><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Nsw1kdLqfec&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Nsw1kdLqfec&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1602092517427512744.post-74107862429434982192010-04-24T13:05:00.000-07:002010-04-24T13:38:17.787-07:00Living in Limbo LandWe found out yesterday that Hubs' surgery isn't going to happen this coming week. As you can guess, we're very disappointed. And pretty pissed off at workman's comp and their failure to approve (or deny) the surgery even though they've had 6 weeks to do so. We're back to waiting. A situation we've become familiar with over the past 14 months.<br /><br />I've been trying to look at the bright side. Since this surgery isn't going to happen when we thought, perhaps I might be able to see <a href="http://www.portlandopera.org/">the opera that's performing the first and second week of May</a>. More time before surgery means more time on our diet, which could mean a healthier outcome. More time to clean my house. To plant my garden. To visit with friends. To... oh who am I kidding I'd much rather have a healthy husband.<br /><br />So as a means of distracting myself from the disappointment my mom and I took the girls to see the tulips in Woodburn, OR. This is the last weekend of the festival, so if you're in the area you should go check it out! It's so purty. Made me wanna pull up a lawn chair and just soak in the beauty. Too bad mom and I were chasing 2.75 year olds instead. We both kept saying, "It's an adventure!" After walking through the fields for about 15 minutes Ziva decided to throw a hunger and nap-time inspired hissy fit while Anya dragged her feet to admire each and every lady bug she came across. We ended up carrying them back to the tram. Yes, my arms hurt today.<br /><br />Once we got home I showed the pictures of our trip to Hubs. His comment, "Why didn't you get any pictures of their faces?" Ummm... I TRIED!!! It's pretty tough to capture cute smiling faces when they're in a new place. Looking at the camera is the LAST thing they wanna do. lol <br /><br />See for yourself.<br /><br />"Hmmm... what's this?"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Rk6C9_FtCzXnaU2eFBDGBHKrmDM5VOatwFOtxs-3TBObYeaI_eqYXcr0tlW9OERkhxGHzhTLU5D66Xare3q19D1kBkyI-IfMcpU7lLTY5sbKrKgebxkmkn65gxeqXjunJ6_V1XDgGEU/s1600/Image00055.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Rk6C9_FtCzXnaU2eFBDGBHKrmDM5VOatwFOtxs-3TBObYeaI_eqYXcr0tlW9OERkhxGHzhTLU5D66Xare3q19D1kBkyI-IfMcpU7lLTY5sbKrKgebxkmkn65gxeqXjunJ6_V1XDgGEU/s400/Image00055.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463803953697757026" /></a><br /><br />"What, you wanna take a picture of me in front of the flowers, sure thing Mom."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_R1ms4rStfGk9zVRbpAIBiW2qMHgxnYiZ1JXYunIx5KhQn9rti_2swEnEFf9TBDqXal3TfmL_gQprd1_tWdOu-xYv93Casew9TTJdystQYvINmdQ_KiDW76vp24CQP9V979A55ylgJzE/s1600/Image00056.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_R1ms4rStfGk9zVRbpAIBiW2qMHgxnYiZ1JXYunIx5KhQn9rti_2swEnEFf9TBDqXal3TfmL_gQprd1_tWdOu-xYv93Casew9TTJdystQYvINmdQ_KiDW76vp24CQP9V979A55ylgJzE/s400/Image00056.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463804325937188498" /></a><br /><br />Going...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYV5Go5LxrP3dB-Hg8daH55kck1VimYicxJW4oKR3ZVxHA9jHNyXF0l0bUYUHXix_rx9QR1tvQWOzsRTdk-I0r8q4-AR3rNxigQP6rc_efWAzDlkSGqwq-mTgfMFOmPnCz9qFkbDUK0Q/s1600/Image00059.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYV5Go5LxrP3dB-Hg8daH55kck1VimYicxJW4oKR3ZVxHA9jHNyXF0l0bUYUHXix_rx9QR1tvQWOzsRTdk-I0r8q4-AR3rNxigQP6rc_efWAzDlkSGqwq-mTgfMFOmPnCz9qFkbDUK0Q/s400/Image00059.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463803951612877666" /></a><br /><br />Going...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQ57NJ6vOaTp6av4yP65Kr_kLjFIHfzBdZELEcutdfhYz69hOMxGUM_m5sG1JMXIGInovAib9PnNnpcOdLTBuxneKgtxpNK53cWhTc3yZG5a-RfwiqD6YjmsQmx5V2n2ZTkdS2wIGvMY/s1600/Image00060.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQ57NJ6vOaTp6av4yP65Kr_kLjFIHfzBdZELEcutdfhYz69hOMxGUM_m5sG1JMXIGInovAib9PnNnpcOdLTBuxneKgtxpNK53cWhTc3yZG5a-RfwiqD6YjmsQmx5V2n2ZTkdS2wIGvMY/s400/Image00060.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463803945693410546" /></a><br /><br />Gone.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgK3ksT82GwlIvFCAWZOd3aHG8TjN1jzp3w6acCWf3zKqub1i4cYZkiKDt7t1fOT6wreQCCPIkcsdQppgT18BaV5b_HNAQvqXo9H9GChtzgktAd3ysRVfipjTp4yBOL08MMuhtqEx1c0o/s1600/Image00061.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgK3ksT82GwlIvFCAWZOd3aHG8TjN1jzp3w6acCWf3zKqub1i4cYZkiKDt7t1fOT6wreQCCPIkcsdQppgT18BaV5b_HNAQvqXo9H9GChtzgktAd3ysRVfipjTp4yBOL08MMuhtqEx1c0o/s400/Image00061.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463803940230126610" /></a><br /><br />"Wanna see me smile? CHEEEESE!"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9v112jmEKakffWljQreJhE4J0o3Pzsugz8VNvQYRh1ISQz1t34iSGis_uPBvxrcfksbCfW_ua1IwEhzbig1b_WnizvxZlKXfrRImExBaMlk848o5om3pdmXju-AMTj_PKOURiFY7LF3w/s1600/Image00062.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9v112jmEKakffWljQreJhE4J0o3Pzsugz8VNvQYRh1ISQz1t34iSGis_uPBvxrcfksbCfW_ua1IwEhzbig1b_WnizvxZlKXfrRImExBaMlk848o5om3pdmXju-AMTj_PKOURiFY7LF3w/s400/Image00062.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463803937828359170" /></a><br /><br />Well, at least we have proof that we were there.<br /><br />For some better pictures and the story of our adventure with the tulips last year, <a href="http://theatoztwins.blogspot.com/2009/04/tiptoe-through-tulips.html">check this out</a>.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063493569828318329noreply@blogger.com3