With a Song in our Hearts

I took my entire troop (Baby Boy, Baby Niece and Mom #2's Daughter) to the opera last night to see Rigoletto. Go ahead and check out that link; you can listen to the entire score for free.


It was so beautiful and amazing and the soprano who played Gilda has a voice that was so clear and sweet it could shatter glass like on those old Bugs Bunny cartoons.


But we were up very very late . . . so we're humming beautiful music and taking it easy today.


We have a weekly report . . . It was a great week!


Have a wonderful weekend!


Until next time . . .

Because He's Growing Up So Darn Fast!

Remember that trip down memory lane I went on when we were packing up our old place? Of course you do!

Well . . . here's that photo I threatened you with.

Isn't he adorable? Can you believe we took this photo just last week? Well I may be in Mom denial, but it sure seemed like last week.

He was the ring bearer at my best friend's wedding.

Carry on . . . I'm just having a Mommy Moment.

You know, like when you are about to break your neck getting something off the top shelf by tippie toeing on the step ladder meant for skinny people (and you are NOT skinny) and then your son who just happens to be walking by reaches past you and gets the item without even stretching his arm all the way out.



*SIGH*


Sons.


Until next time . . .

Open For Business!

Well . . . as you know, we have been very busy moving from one place to the next. Anyone who has moved knows that it takes a long time to get settled into a new place, but I am pleased to announce that we are finally at a place where we can slow down, exhale, and at least begin living. It seems like living has been on hold for a couple of weeks.


We finally got the classroom set up so that Baby Boy and I can get back to schoolwork. I was having major homeschool withdrawal, although I think Baby Boy was pleased to get out of it for a couple of weeks. I don't know though . . . the heavy lifting, carrying of boxes, and meticulous cleaning may have gotten to him . . . he showed up for class today without any grumbling or complaining. ;-)


Anyway . . . I thought I'd show you around our new schoolroom:

Real desks . . . Baby Boy and I don't have to share the card table anymore.

A real bookshelf . . . no more hunting through boxes for the book you want to read.

A little extra storage for other supplies . . . WE GET TO DO MORE ART NOW!!!! (Stay tuned!)

Even though they are just things, and we have been living for over a year without them . . . it is very nice to have a little extra breathing room, and after living without them for over a year, I certainly know how to appreciate them. I also know that I can live without them if I have to. These are both two extremely tough lessons to learn, I assure you. Take my advice and, if you have a nice homeschooling space, be thankful daily. Losing it bites! Getting it back rocks!

But most importantly, my two favorite pupils showed up today. Thank goodness!

Until next time . . .

Yes, I'm Aware That I'm Almost a Full Week Late . . .

. . . but aren't they beautiful?

It wouldn't have hurt my feelings if the Obamas had taken some ballroom dancing lessons, but they did all right anyway.

I have never ever ever seen a Presidential couple look at each other so lovingly before. It's refreshing to know they are really truly in love. I hope Michelle Obama comes out with a skin care line or something, that lady has dazzling skin.

Yes, I am aware this is shallow. Yes, I am also aware that she is a highly intelligent and accomplished woman. But, honestly, look at her skin. It's so beautiful.


And those children! Adorable! Can you say kiddie models?


I'd probably be done unpacking by now if I hadn't spent 15 consecutive hours in front of the television watching every single solitary moment of the whole blessed affair. Delicious!


Until next time . . .

As a Matter of Fact, Yes, I'm Still Alive . . .

. . . just very busy . . . with the moving out . . . and the cleaning . . . and the moving in . . . and the cleaning . . . and the unpacking . . . and the cleaning.


Have Mercy! Did I mention the cleaning?


I'll try to be back by next week.


Play nice!



Until next time . . .

Ready . . . Set . . . Here We Go!

Well . . . that's it!

Every single thing we own is wrapped in tissue, tape and/or bubble wrap and tightly wedged into meticulously labeled boxes. They are all arranged neatly in rows waiting to be hauled to their new address.

Speaking of new addresses, this morning we got the keys to our new house. Hurray! I was expecting, you know, fireworks, but there were none. Just paperwork. But that's OK. There was a little sparkler going off in my heart all day long today. Sparkle. Sparkle.

Then we all headed over to the new place to clean the kitchen and the bathrooms and to hang a ceiling fan in the master bedroom, because Mom #2 refuses to sleep in any room that doesn't have a ceiling fan. Mostly we were waiting for the man from the gas company to come and connect the furnace. (You know, between 8 AM and 5 PM and if no one over 18 is available when he shows up, it will cost an additional $50 to reschedule the visit.)

It was cold today (In the 50's and I know that's not cold to some of you, but I am not used to anything under 75 degrees.) so Mom #2 had the great idea to light a fire in our brand new fireplace.

I'll take this opportunity to come clean.

I'm deathly afraid of fireplaces. Well, I like the look of fireplaces. I so do love to put mirrors over them and photos and little nick knacks on the mantle, but I do not like open flames. Flames make me nervous. Don't fireplaces let off carbon monoxide? I think they do. Well, if they don't, then we just wasted $40, because I made Mom #2 buy a carbon monoxide detector before I would let her set nary a flame in that fireplace! But every house should have one anyway, especially a house with a gas furnace. Right? Seriously, right? I'm sure I'm right.

So, we had a fire. It was nice, I have to admit. And warm. We must not leave out the fact that it was warm.

So . . . while I scrubbed the last family's old pot roast out of my new stove . . . the rest of the family . . .


*Sigh*


It already feels like home.


The movers will be here tomorrow.



Until next time . . .

Moving Right Along . . .

We've been working hard all weekend: packing, purging, and cleaning. It is a lot of work, but necessary. One thing about this move is that we all want to move, so that makes the process more a journey of love than when we had to move into this little apartment in the first place. That was not pretty.

There is always so much more to put away than what meets the eye, especially when this is just the books. Oh, how I love books.


And of course I keep getting interrupted by little trips down memory lane. Look at Baby Boy's first suit.


I have a photo of him actually wearing it somewhere, but it's in a photo album (remember those) not digital so I would have to scan it in . . . and that's not going to be happening today.


Anyway, just updating you on our progress.


Have a great week!


Until next time . . .

Our Weekly Report & Updated Moving News

Baby Boy and I had a fairly uneventful week at school. We did a little bit of school during Christmas week and New Years week to keep our brains sharp, but nothing too strenuous. I'm going to try to smash the whole three weeks into this one weekly report, since I've been neglecting to do them lately. I know it bores people to death to give blow by blow details of our school days, so I really am going to try to keep it short and sweet this time. Wish me luck:

• Language Arts: Read and discussed two new short stories, Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown and Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. Both were good, but very creepy. If you're into dark literature, read these. Also continuing with our SAT prep in Vocabulary Cartoons.
  

• Algebra II: We completed two chapters. One on 2nd degree equations and another on radical equations. They were both extremely difficult and challenged both Baby Boy and myself. I think we have it all figured out, but not entirely certain.
  

• Human Anatomy: We completed a chapter on muscle histology and physiology. Now I know more about the who what where and why of the alleged muscles in my body than I ever really cared to know. Baby Boy finds it all fascinating and amazing, this is the one course he works on passionately without any urging from me. Joy!
  

• American History: We are studying the unrest in the United States right before the Civil War. We are also reading a book on the Dred Scott Case and the fallout from that period in American history and how it still affects us today. You can take a peek at the book over there in my sidebar, if you like.
  

• Logic and Critical Thinking: We have gone from discussing specific fallacies in logic to tackling the danger of assumptions. This is interesting conversation, I assure you.
  

• Extra-Curriculars: Baby Boy is doing famously in tae kwon do snatching up another belt, but I don't have a lot of photos because someone (and she knows who she is) bought me non-refundable and non-transferable tickets to see The Nutcracker on the same day as the belt testing. Also Baby Boy is signed up for the Winter League of Texas Ultimate! Frisbee, so look for more adventures in that. Bowling has been sort of a bust as the last two months were canceled due to lack of participants. We may find we have to let that one go . . . but then again . . . maybe we won't.

That's all for school news . . . in other news . . . We are moving into our new house next Friday!!! I'm so excited, but also overwhelmed. Starting tomorrow we will be meticulously packing all of our worldly possessions so they will be ready for the movers to come and pick up first thing Friday Morning. Please wish us luck. I despise packing and moving and cleaning and all things that come with that whole territory; however, I am so excited about our new bigger place with a delicious yard with a nice tall privacy fence. If we can just get past the packing and moving and cleaning and cleaning again and the unpacking and settling in . . . I know it will all be worth it. ;-)


So I'm not sure how much I'll be on next week. Probably more than I should be, because I can already tell that I'll be needing a break, LOL.


Take care and I hope everyone had a fantabulous week and will have an even more spectacular weekend!



Until next time . . .

Show Me The MONEY!!!!!

This weekend GrandBabyGirl's mom and dad came over for a fun filled family evening of board games. We board games in this family and play with lots of gusto. The rowdier the better! Usually we enjoy a game of Taboo or Scene It, but this time our daughter and son-in-law/her boyfriend/baby's daddy/whatever (Can you tell I'm pushing for a real commitment that does not seem imminent, but I digress) wanted to bring over the game. Fine. Guess what game they wanted to bring? MONOPOLY!!!


I love this game, but I haven't played in years. Mom #2 and I were so excited, we kept calling them to make sure they were still coming and to hurry up because everyone knows that Monopoly takes forever to play.


When they got here, we quickly slopped sugar and dispensed with the obligatories and set up the game table. Here is where things get kind of sticky. I remember Monopoly as a wild and crazy game where you have lots of fun and you totally get a mental work-out counting, spending and collecting all that delicious brightly-colored cold hard cash. If I couldn't get my hands on Board Walk and Park Place, then shoot, I'm not sure why I showed up to play.


Well they showed up with this ridiculously morphed carbon copy of the game I used to know. There were no railroads, just airports. No regular utilities, just cell phone and Internet service. Board Walk and Park Place - - nothing doing - - how about Times Square and The White House.


What the heck? Oh, well, I can tolerate all of that if the last part had not hurt my heart so badly. Brace yourselves. There is no more Monopoly Money! It has been replaced with Monopoly debit cards and an electronic banking system. WHAT!!! Why would they take the most wonderful, fun, educational game in the land and turn it into a useless, lazy, dim-wit version of the real thing? WHY?


Now, don't get me wrong. We still played. It was still fun. And, most importantly, I still won.


But, I just have to tell you . . . without being able to toss all my yellow, pink and green money in every one's face at the end of the night . . . it just wasn't the same.


*SIGH*


What is the world coming to?



Until next time . . .

Time To Get It Started

This is all that's left to represent Christmas Season 2008 and Baby Boy and Mom #2 are getting ready to take it down to the storage unit right now. Yes, I'm one of those people. We practically had to renovate the whole place to get all of the Christmas stuff up; which of course has to be done in reverse to get it all down again.


We ate our black-eyed peas with the celebration chopsticks that SabrinaT sent us from Japan, so we're all set in the superstitious good-luck department, LOL.


This morning Mom #2 is on her way back to work and Baby Boy and I are getting ready to jump into our schoolwork all the way in the deep in. We've been doing a little school "lite" for the past couple of weeks just to keep our brains nice and sharp but now we're going back to cooking with gas. Sizzle!


I've made my usual resolution to lose lots of weight and start exercising much more regularly. . . I'm not sure if black-eyed peas are conducive to that goal or not, but it doesn't matter because I hate them and won't be eating them anymore until New Years Day 2010, LOL. Maybe I should continue using those chopsticks, because it sure was a workout trying to get food onto them and I was all worn out way before all of my food was gone ;-).


I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, or continues to have one, if yours isn't quite over yet.


I hope getting back into the swing of things doesn't hurt too badly. I'm a bit of a night owl and all three of us have been sleeping in every single morning . . . so I'm already hurting a little bit, and since I don't drink coffee - - I have to wait for my natural stimulants to kick in . . . so I'm waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting, LOL.


Have a great week and a fantabulous 2009.


In the words of my favorite late night host from seasons past, Arsenio Hall,

LET'S GET BUSY!

Until next time . . .

Happy New Year - It's Our Anniversary!!!!

Today is the anniversary of the day Mom #2, Baby Boy and I became a Family.

Here are a few souvenirs from the journey of our lives together!

In our home, on New Years Day we eat black-eyed peas for good health and greens for prosperity in the new year. Since no one in my family likes either of those things, Mom #2 prepares them, we each hold our noses and swallow one spoonful, and then we go out for dinner. Gotta love traditions, LOL!


Of course, this year, we'll be eating those black-eyed peas and greens using our celebratory chopsticks from Japan, courtesy of SabrinaT. Perhaps we'll get to double dip in the good luck pool just this once, ;-).


Feel free to express any of your families' New Years Day traditions and have a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009.

Until next time . . .