Simple Woman #27

Simple Woman

FOR TODAY August 31, 2009

Outside My Window... sunshine, breeze, clothes blowing on the line, (sounds like last week... or almost every day, lately), and my kids at the neighbor's house. Stellar jays and squirrels doing the same thing they always do.

I am thinking... I made the right decision to take the pool down. (It was that or re-fill it... the water had gotten beyond the ability of the chemicals and filter to combat.) We're invited to a friend's to swim on Wednesday and we'll probably go to the lake again. The boys had kind of gotten bored with it anyway.

And - this is just the way my mind works - but it's a big job to take it down and pack it away because it has to be dry and clean. And it's big and heavy. Too big for one person to manage. But the boys and I, along with two neighbor kids, made quick work of it together.

So now that's not hanging over me, along with packing for the camping trip... didn't want to be doing both at once. And I didn't want to leave it set up until we return, when the weather could easily be cold and wet.

So there.

I am thankful for... warm (but not hot!) sunny days :0)

I am praying for… a one-year-old boy from our church, down at Children's Hospital with an obstructed bowel. Sounds very painful. Gunnar adores this little boy - looks for him every Sunday, plays with him, etc.

*** UPDATE: Our little friend is home and doing great. Food is going in and - ahem - coming out like it's supposed to. Gunnar is very relieved :0) ***

From the learning rooms... today: handwriting, grammar, and history - the Persian and Ottoman Empires. What a confusing mess. You could spend your whole life trying to understand them and fail. We'll settle for a skim-the-surface overview. I really don't want to spend a lot of time on paranoid Shahs who blind their own children to keep them from being a threat to their power.

From the kitchen... the crock-pot season is upon me, and I am unprepared. Soccer practice begins today, which means our dinner schedule has to be "adjusted". (With volunteer coaches usually scheduling practices when they finish work, it ends up being right at dinner time. Ugh!)

I am wearing... blue shorts, blue t-shirt, flip-flops. A stunning ensemble. *eyes roll* (sound familiar?)

I am creating... well, plans, at this point.

I am going... to soccer practice with Tate, to meet his new coach, and clue him in about Tate's hearing issues.

Soccer has been really good for Tate - his hearing loss hasn't been much of an issue. Once in awhile he'll miss the referee's whistle and keep playing when the ball is 'dead', but that's easily remedied. And we can use the FM if the coach need to communicate from the sidelines.

But I always want to make sure a new coach understands that Tate really can't hear him from across the field, or if the other boys are making a racket. You know... that Tate isn't just ignoring him. Same thing with the refs at the games. And that he needs to wear a hat if it rains, to keep the HA dry. Somebody raised a stink about the hat, once. Get over it. It's a bucket hat. It's soft. It isn't going to hurt anyone. Sheesh. That HA is about $2000 and I'm not messing around. (*smiles sweetly*)

I am reading... no mental space right now. I'm reading aloud to the boys, does that count? "Captured by the Mohawks", by Sterling North.

I am hoping... for motivation. For the boys. I'm upping the ante this year with their school-work and their chores.

I am hearing... silence, blessed silence. They're over at the neighbor's.

Around the house... my office is... mostly clean! I know, prepare to be shocked. The situation was drastic, and the way things are looking we're probably going to be making most of our Christmas gifts, so I need space for crafting.

So, just to be clear, it's not just a hobby for my enjoyment, it's a financial necessity. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

One of my favorite things... oh, and guess what else got tidied up over the weekend? The garage! And that's an even bigger shock. If it were up to me I'd still back a truck up to the door and start shoveling things out, but at least right now it's an orderly train-wreck. Which is a good thing, (um, sort of a requirement), since we'll be packing for camping in the next couple weeks.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: let's see... four soccer practices (since I haven't heard from Gunnar's coach yet - that may go up), an invitation to a friend's pool (!), and slowly increasing our school work while introducing new chore expectations.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

The tiniest hermit crab I've ever seen.