Reading when you haave children

I have been an avid reader since I was able to read. My mother even tells of a story when I was in Kindergarten and started getting these inexplicable stomach aches. I was constantly getting sent home from school. My mother started keeping a journal of everything that I was eating and was getting ready to take me for testing, and then she asked me an innocuous question about what was happening in school when these stomach aches were coming on. I apparently calmly made some comment about already knowing the alphabet and wondering why I had to spend so much time on it. It turned out I did not have some strange disease, but instead a case of the boredom. To quell the boredom, I was given a special pass to library during the classes alphabet time and so I've been reading ever since. Well that is almost true . . .

after giving birth to my beautiful daughter, it was like someone put the reading brakes on. Who had time? and if I had a moment, that was all I had. During that moment, there were so many other things to do like showering, going to the bathroom, brushing my teeth. Thus, my reading material drastically reduced. Actually, it reduced not just in length of time but in form as well. With the lack of sleep that I was getting, I couldn't remember where I put my car keys, let alone keep track of a book plot. My reading materials shrunk down from books to magazines. Soon I was pregnant with number 2 and book reading was put up on the shelf for several more years.

I cannot even tell you how glad I was to read again. When finally the kids were older and more independent, I dared to turn the page again. I even joined a book club, so that I had a responsibility to read - - -no excuses anymore. I was thrilled to read again; Until, recently when I was reading Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. This book pulls you through it. There is no putting it down. There is one climax after the next. Every time you think everything is wrapped up, something else happens. Oh, what I would have done for a private island. It seemed as if my kids suddenly could not do with out me. "Mom", "Mom", "Mom". They had questions, requests, complaints. I couldn't get them to stop. Every time I fulfilled their needs and would get back to the book, another question was forming. AGGGGGGHHHHHHH! All I wanted to do is read in peace. Page by page with a million interruptions, I finally finished it last night. Wow! I'm glad I kept up the battle.

Phase 10 - a great way to spend an afternoon

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we spent the weekend in a cabin in Maine, one without electronics. While we enjoyed the out of doors, there were sometimes when we could not venture out due to rain and so we broke out two games: Boggle and Phase 10.




Boggle is always a favorite at our house. I love word games. Phase 10 though is a newer one for us. My father-in-law and his girlfriend enjoy the game but we have always pacified them by playing but never really got into it. This weekend though, the game got very serious. Even though DH kept calling it a stupid game, we all enjoyed it. DS actually stayed up with the adults to play until 1:30 am. Phase 10 is played in multiple rounds (a minimum of 10 rounds, but could be extended to many, many more depending on the luck of the draw). One of our games took over 3 hours, so do make sure that you have time to play. During each hand, you are trying to create a specific type of hand i.e. a run of seven cards. As you meet each set, you are allowed to move onto the next phase. Winning the game is a combination of getting through the last phase and having the lowest score (points are accumulated by adding up the cards in your hand when a player goes out).

DS was so enthralled with this game that he had to get it the next time we went to the store. It wasn't very expensive. I think less than $6.0o and makes a great stocking stuffer for those of you thinking of Christmas. Best of all, it is one of those games that require family time - something you can never have enough of.

Maine Tourism

I know that you all are going to think that I am getting paid off by the Maine Tourism Council, but truly I am not. As I have mentioned I have wanted to go to Maine for a long time, and this year that desire has come to me in spades. I have now been to Maine 3 times since September. This last trip being the longest.

This time we were a little farther north, a bit above Bangor. I would tell you the town, but apparently there is no town and no local government (my kind of place). We actually had to boat in to the cabin we were staying in.

We had no running water, no electricity, and an outhouse BUT we had a wonderfully relaxing time. Even the kids, who I thought might have computer / electronics withdrawl, wished that we didn't have to leave when the weekend was over.

Although it is my goal to get our passports this year, I'm beginning to wonder why we need them with so many wonderful places right in our backyard.

PS. The next state on my wish list is South Dakota and the next individual place is Mammoth Cave in KY. But I will admit that I've learned to take advantage of the opportunities that come along, so who knows where I'll be next. . .maybe another visit to my new favorite state.

Book Review - The Power of Respect by Deborah Norville

R-E-S-P-E-C-T – Aretha Franklin may have spelled it out, but Deborah Norville defines it for us. If you are a parent, teacher, spouse, public official, or boss, this book is for you. Deborah Norville’s book, The Power of Respect, does not set out to complain about the lack of respect in today’s society; instead, it defines respect and begins to layout plans and simple steps that we can all take to reintroduce / support the development of respect in our social structure.

The book is fairly short, only 224 pages, and is written in easy to read language. It contains many personalized stories to drive points home and illustrate her ideas. Although this book is probably not headed for the New York Times Best Seller List and will not be listed on the Syllabus for Contemporary Psychology, it is a book that raises some important questions about where our society is today and gives us some insight on how to change its trajectory. It is an interesting read that will spark much more conversation on the subject.

Note: This book was sent to me by Thomas Nelson for review. I am not paid for this review and the review reflects my own personal opinion of this book.

Wine Barrel Table

Have you ever seen something on tv and just had to have it? The other day, I was watching House Hunters on HGTV and saw this incredible table.

Thank goodness that I was watching it OnDemand and could rewind and pause to get this picture. I absolutely love this table. Now I just have to find it. I have been scouring the Internet and have found all sorts of interesting furniture made out of old wine barrels, but have yet to find exactly the right one. I figure that this table is just the right size to put in the kitchen nook and will go well with my grape relief pictures.

What have you seen that you have just had to get?

Homeschoolers are weird

Please don't be offended. I am only saying that because we too are homeschoolers and sometimes we are just plain weird. DD has even finally admitted it (which is a pretty big step for a 14 year old girl). She and I were looking through books like some search for the Hope diamond. She looked at me and said, "We ARE nerds." I actually think she was a little proud.

The other day though, it was DS that lost his mind. We were making Honey Clove Turkey and combining all the ingredients. Just as I was getting ready to stir everything together, he stopped me and had to get the picture.

He thought it was very cool how all the ingredients remained separated. It reminded him of a project that we had done on density where we had purposely added liquids of different densities to see how they separate from each other and rise or fall depending on their density in comparison with the other liquids in the container.

NERDS - I know - - - -but at least we get a lot of extra laughs.

Identifying Sumac: Poisonous vs. harmless

I don't know that I have mentioned, but poisonous plants and I DO NOT get along well. DH husband used to be able to bushwhack the stuff and come out with nothing. I, however, can barely look at it without contracting it. Frankly, I'm so afraid of it now that if it is an the area then I am not. This posed an especially tricky problem this year as there was a cadre of sumac in the backyard. When I would mow, I would stay as far away from it as I could. You would not believe how well you can move a mower with just the very tips of your fingers. So I decided that I need to know if these were plants that I should be afraid of. Sumac can be both poisonous and not. I figured that you may also have to someday figure out the difference so here is what I found to help you identify the difference (please not I am not an expert and I highly recommend that you err on the side of caution unless you are 100% sure):

Where is the sumac growing? Poisonous sumac prefers damp, boggy areas. Regular sumac prefers drier areas.

What color is the stem? Poisonous is red; regular is green brown

How many leaves does each stem have? Poisonous has fewer (7-13); regular has more

What do the leaves look like? Poisonous are smooth; regular are hairy and jagged

What color are the berries? Poisonous has pale yellow / cream colored to white; regular has a red that looks more like a flower than a berry / seed

Where is the fruit growing? Poisonous grows at the base of the leaves and hang down in the fall; regular grows at the end and aim upward

This is poison sumac:

This is what is in my backyard:

I am safe.Phew! Now if I can just get rid of the Poison Ivy.