Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, Monday, April 8, 2013. 

Outside my window...  back to clouds and rain, after a glorious Easter weekend.  Oh well, it makes it easier to be inside, doing school work.

Hearing...  robins... they always seem happy :D

Pondering...  the possibility of doing something while the boys are away... something cheap :D

Praying...  for summer job(s) for the boys, Wyatt especially.

Thankful...  for my family.

Wearing...  jeans!  A blue t-shirt!  A sweater!  *sigh*

Creating...  now that my office is mostly tidy, I can start thinking about baby quilt #4.  Yep.

Going...  to pick up Wyatt from school (too wet to bike) and mail a package at the PO.

Looking forward to...  the boys are so excited about their trip, and counting down the days.  And I'm excited with them :D  So thankful for "the best grandparents in the world" who are generous with them, and provide fun things like this :D

In the kitchen...  hmmm, searching for inspiration.  I made a huge pot of chili yesterday, thinking we'd have a lot of leftovers, but not so much!  (Growing boys...)

In the learning rooms...  seems like forever since we've been doing schoolwork (one week = time warp?) but we're getting back in the groove.  Tate - as usual - was up at 6am, reading his Bible, exercising, and starting on his language work, and he just had me help him with his science experiment (physical and chemical digestion), so he's already nearly done for the day (9:14am).  Gunnar is plugging along with his work, and Wyatt is probably in his Spanish class.  Tate is studying the human body, Gunnar is learning about worms (mostly parasitical... eww!), and we'll be reading together about the Mid-east for the next three weeks.  What else... Tate is working with positive and negative numbers, and Gunnar is dividing with fractions and decimals.

Around the house...  mostly CLEAN!  Didn't get the floor scrubbed and waxed over break, but there's always tomorrow.

The Mother Load...  greatly reduced, after Spring Break Project Week, but there's always more...  I have a pile of books to organize/catalog, and with the tax prep off my shoulders I'm looking forward to starting the planning for our next school year.

Something to remember for later...  how excited the boys are about their Disney trip!

A favorite quote for today...  Melanie's quote of the day reminded me of these words, (attributed to Abraham Lincoln, but perhaps not his?)

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.

Whoever said it, I agree.

One of my favorite things...  money left over at the end of the month.  I mean, not the money so much as the relief.  (I feel guilty even writing that, but there it is.)

A Bible verse...  Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

A few plans for the rest of the week...  not a lot (happy dance!)  The boys have CAP, Wyatt (weather-permitting) will get oriented for his very-part-time job at the speedway, and all three boys are working on their "cars" for the second annual Wiser Lake Pinewood Derby (and potluck), Saturday evening.  I use the word "cars" loosely, and Gunnar is making a submarine and Tate is crafting a SLUG.  Yes, he's a Pacific Northwesterner for sure.

A peek into my world...  back in 2007...

Whew.

Spring Break is winding down and I may need a vacation from vacation.

Well, since that's clearly not an option, I'll take a Sabbath Day instead.  ;D

Ahhh, I feel like a weight is off my shoulders tonight!  After all the family chores (and by "family" I mean "the boys and me") this week, I had work today that only I can do:  the dreaded Balancing of the Checkbook, and Gathering of the Tax Documents and Information.  Talk about depressing!  And stressful!  And - oh! - to make balancing the checkbook and paying bills just that much more Fun and Exciting, guess what happened?  The really big check (from a client) that Kerry has been waiting for finally came, and...

... it wasn't signed.

Fun times, people, fun times.

If my hair is standing on end, just smile and back away slowly.  *sigh*  But it's done.  The accountant came by today and picked it all up.  Hallelujah and Amen.

Wyatt and Tate had a SAREX today (Search and Rescue training) with their CAP group.  To make it realistic, they had to report to the Guard building at 5am.  (Guess who got to drive them?)  That way they could be on site (somewhere in the hills) and searching as soon as it was daylight.  They were scheduled to be out until after midnight (again, realism) but the higher-ups called it early, due to weather (wet and windy).  Hey. It's a scenario.  The K-9 team "found" the three lost hunters they were trailing.  At least that's what the boys told me.  I'm just a clucky mother hen - glad to have all my little chicks back under my roof and asleep in their beds :D

But OH MY WORD.  When they got home they wanted to tell me all about it.  In my office, where I was hunting for a recipe.  And GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY they have discovered a whole new smell.  And it is not a good smell.  Teenage-boy-hiking-through-wet-forest-all-day-in-sweaty-clothes-and-damp-boots smell.  Thank you very much for the recap and the funny stories about the trees and the cliff and the muffin, and now go take showers immediately.  Because I am your mother and I love you with an undying love, but that smell might just kill me.

And with that, goodnight.

Over The Moon

Wyatt, Tate, and Gunnar, after your Big Week of Projects...

What are you going to do next?!?!?!

(Do you know the appropriate response?)

We're going to Disneyland!

Yep.  Grandpa and Grandma Grasshopper just had the 'big reveal' yesterday and boy-oh-boy are they excited!  (The boybarians, I mean, but G and G, too :D)  The trip is mid-May, so they have time to earn some spending money and get their schoolwork in order.  That's no problem for Tate and Gunnar, but Wyatt will have to do some arranging at the high school.

And, no, Kerry and I aren't going.  This trip skips a generation :D  But they're leaving on our anniversary, so we'll try to come up with something fun.

I LOVE seeing them so excited!

Mother Load, Shmother Load, It's Time For A Break

The boybarians have been awesome.  There is more to do (as always) but it is vacation...

And here's the thing.  When I clean out, I want to get rid of the stuff.  NOW.  Yesterday, even.  So Gunnar and I loaded the bags in the back of the van and headed out on errands.

I had a couple of packages to mail.  One for my friend, Jo... she had breast cancer and is having reconstructive surgery TOMORROW.  And she has a new-ish grandson :D  Pray for her healing, please?

When we dropped off our load at the consignment store we had some money waiting for us... ka-ching!  Ironically, the boys are getting too big for me to shop for them there (only goes through size 14, I think.  So, off we went to our upscale shopping venues (Value Village and Goodwill) and found what we were hunting - bathing suits.  (Again with the growing...)  And another deep pie dish.  I might as well get rid of the couple of little ones I have.  You can't make a proper pie in a dish that's only about an inch high.  What's the point of that??  And I found a replacement for a mixing bowl the boys broke.

Now isn't that exciting?  Don't you wish you were me, and leading such a glamorous life?  I mean, it's just an exhilarating whirlwind of activity around here.  And, for an encore, I think I'll change the sheets on my bed.

Or try to pull our tax stuff together.

Wish me luck!

Day Three - Progress Report

I must be slacking off or something.  I only made the boys work for a couple of hours.  However, in that time we gave their room a thorough cleaning.

*  Changed the sheets
*  Pulled tubs out from under the beds and got all the dust elephants.  (You may have dust bunnies, but ours are elephants.)
*  Sorted through all the clothes in their dressers.  How do they grow so fast???
*  Collected two or three bags of clothes for consignment and Goodwill.
*  Tidied their closet (which wasn't bad at all).
*  Sorted desk drawers, and
*  Cleaned off the tops of their dressers.

Yesterday my dad came by and hauled away the futon/couch from the family room.  Kerry tried to give it to some friends that are getting married next month, but they wisely declined (I was SO EMBARRASSED!)  It's disgusting.  We bought it shortly after Wyatt was born, making it sixteen years old.  At one point I bought a new cover, but you just can't clean the futon itself.  And with three boys... well, I'll leave it to your imagination, but there have been things worse than milk spilled on that futon.  And you can't blame the bunnies for all of it, either.  Gross.  It's had a good, long run and now it's GONE.

As I was finishing sorting clothes with Gunnar (always last, since he gets the hand-me-downs) Tate was chomping at the bit for the next job, so I sent him down to the family room.

And, WAH-WAH (or voila, if you're French)... he had it practically finished before I got there.  He'd knocked two items off the list already.

*  Pick up the clutter
*  Vacuum 

I organized the other boys to
*  Vacuum around the edges with the attachment
*  Get all the Legos into their bins
*  Get the winter coats from the hooks in the mudroom and hang them in the closet.  (We don't have a coat closet, so we use the family room closet.)

Then we moved on to the living room and dining room (which is really one big room).  I had thought about moving the furniture, but settled for having them
*  Move and replace furniture as they vacuumed, and
*  Collect any "decor" items to the dining room, for me to put away / redistribute.   Because, yes, it was way past time for the Valentine things to go away.  (And you thought I was on top of things... only some things!)

And then I cut them loose, and did the dusting and what we'll loosely call "decorating" myself.

Last night when Gunnar and I dropped the boys at CAP, we stopped and rented a movie on the way home.  He hit the jackpot when he discovered our little neighborhood store had Wreck-It Ralph, and he and I enjoyed watching it together.  Since we had it until six, he talked the other boys into watching it with him this morning.  And - if you're wondering - they all liked it.  Not so much that we need to buy a copy, but it was fun.  I'm not sure I would've approved when the boys were younger, though - lots of cartoon violence and potty humor.  (If you want a real review, you can look HERE.)

And now they're hanging out with a friend from CAP for the afternoon, so...

back to my own chores.

Spring Break Mother Load - Part Two

Woo-hoo!

We are making visible progress and I love it.  And - thank you, Ibuprofen - I'm feeling better, today.  It's a good thing we worked hard outside yesterday, because the weather is changing.  So far today we have...

1.  Reclaimed the trampoline site.  You wouldn't think it would need reclaiming in less than twenty-four hours, but then maybe you don't have three boys.  Who thought the lovely little area I told them I WANT GRASS TO GROW would be a great place for the bunnies' new playground.

No.

The bunnies can have a playground just ten feet further back, thank-you-very-much.  Sheesh.

2.  Put the screen door back on.  I love not having it (so much easier to bring in groceries, etc.) but bug season will be here before you know it.

3.  Got all the window screens back on.  Ditto.  Love the clearer view, but...

4.  Pressure-washed the front porch, steps, and walkway.  Hurray!  Looks SO much better.

5.  Weeded the I-sincerely-hope-we-can-pull-it-off-this-year garden plot.  Tate discovered an awesome way to weed REALLY, REALLY FAST.  Kerry built a sifter box (for screening rocks out of the dirt) and the boys just set it up on sawhorses right in the middle of the garden and shovel the dirt through it.  It catches the weeds.  Hurray :D

6.  Ran over to the neighbor's and mowed her lawn.  She was widowed last winter and we wanted to offer to do it for her for free, but she insists on paying the boys.  Two of them can mow and weed-whack the edges in about an hour.  Twenty-five bucks  - ka-ching!

7.  Sorted in the mud-room (winter hats, gloves, coats etc and summer sandals) to see what stays and what goes and what needs to be replaced with a larger size.

8.  Defrosted the freezer.  Well, okay, that's still in progress.  But it's all unloaded and set up to drain.  We bought a CHEAP used upright freezer years and years ago and it's still working great, but...  the door doesn't shut automatically, you have to give it a firm push.  And one of the members of this household forgot.  Again.  Grrr.

9.  I have bread baking and everything ready to make turkey soup.  Since the boys have CAP tonight, we'll all have lunch together :D

And later today my dad is coming by with his truck which we will fill with stuff to burn or compost.

Hallelujah and amen.

Bait and Switch

Goooood Monday afternoon.  No, this isn't my usual Monday fare.  No "Hearing... Going... Wearing..." yadda yadda yadda.

And yes, I'm still alive and well.  Just busy with all the activities of Holy Week, rather than blogging about them.  And yes, as a Christian, I feel a bit guilty for not writing about Easter and what Jesus has done for us, but on the other hand... not so much.  (Wait!  That didn't sound right!  Not so much feeling guilty, NOT not so much what He did for us.  Which was a LOT!  Good grief. I just felt compelled to clarify that.  In case you were confused.  Or about to send the elders to straighten me out.)   There are moments I'd much rather live than record.  Sunrise service on the Gibson's farm, for instance.

And now.

Now it is Easter/Spring Break.  Which we observe, along with the local public schools.

Only, guess what, boys? Surprise!  And welcome to the Mother Load!  I told the boys that I OWN them until noon, and then they're on break.  Try to imagine their excitement and joy.

And now, witness the work-power

of these fully armed and operational boybarians!

Or something like that.  So far, we have:

*  Dismantled the War Wagon they were making for their air-soft battles.  Because - hello - the thing was too big and bulky to be practical to lug around.  It was a fun idea but - let me be honest - an eyesore.  I let them build it, because they are boys and they like to build things and I want to be a good mom.  And it sat in the driveway - a huge box (it was meant to be like a tank) made of two-by-fours, plexiglass, plywood, and three colors of plastic tarp... for nearly a year.  Jeff Foxworthy would have been so proud.  Gone!

*  Cleaned out the storage shed which is supposed to be my garden shed and the bike garage, but ends up being a dumping ground when it's just too troublesome to take five more steps to the garage door and put whatever they were using away properly.  And I made them get a magnet and get all those drill bits and the little u-shaped nails out of the gravel floor, too.

*  Installed my green "sun chair" on the patio (in other words, dug it out of the shed).  Because everyone in this county is apparently dangerously low on Vitamin D.  So when I need a quiet moment or twenty, I retire to the patio and am not to be disturbed because - doctors orders, of course - I'm getting my quota of D.

*  Gave our trampoline to the neighbors.  You should have seen the trampoline (it's ENORMOUS) walking down the street, with sixteen legs under it - I took pictures but they're on Kerry's camera, so you'll have to wait.  I know, try to be patient.  This is the hard-hitting journalism you've been waiting for.  The boys haven't played on it much for a year or two and I was tired of looking at it.  Now I look out my window and - HEY! - no War Wagon!  And no trampoline!  Maybe the grass will grow again.

*  In that hope, we picked rocks.  Actually the boys did most of this.  They had used the back corner of the yard - known as The Black Forest, because it gets so little daylight - for army battles and Dino-opolis for years.  In fact I found a few more plastic army men just today.  And they piled up cinder blocks and rocks to make homes and stage battles.  But NO MORE.  They've grown out of it.

I think we'll be picking rocks all week.  Maybe all year.  And sticks.  Because you can never have enough sticks for Stick Wars, can you?  Or bamboo.

And, by the way, here's a little tip:  Don't burn bamboo if you're trying to keep a low profile about burning in your yard.  All the segments of bamboo are sealed chambers, and when they get hot enough they explode.  It sounds a bit like gunshots.  Fabulous.  My pacifist-environmentalist neighbor is quivering in her Birkenstocks.

*  Pressure washed the driveway.  That was me.  Because I'd rather pressure wash than pick rocks any day of the week.

*  Got the fourth load of laundry washed and on the line to dry.  Yah.  That was me too.  While the boys...

*  Mowed the lawn.  Ah... much better :D

I'm trying to push hard on all the outdoor chores, since our sunny weather probably won't last.

And there's plenty to do inside the house, next... heh, heh, heh.

Are you on break?  What are you doing?

Atheists' Day

The fool says in his heart,

"There is no God."

Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, March 25, 2013

Outside my window...  hmmm.  Not exactly like the picture, but it is light.  Light enough that Wyatt rode his bike to school, hallelujah.

Hearing...  quiet, so very, very quiet.  Tate has already started on his work and Gunnar is reading.

Pondering...  I really need to go to Costco and I dread it.  I have lovely, wonderful Canadian friends.  Fabulous people.  They are not the ones who come down here, en masse, to do their shopping.  UGH.

Praying...  to keep our focus in this busy Holy Week.

Thankful...  my parents, married 48 years!

Wearing...  jeans.  T-shirt.  Sweater.  Yah.

Creating...  breathing space?

Going...  shopping.  Probably.  But not to rehearsal tonight :D

Reading...  a biography of Amy Carmichael, Around the World in Eighty Days, and Shadow Spinner.

Looking forward to...  a break from school, next week :D

In the kitchen...  a whole lot of leftovers - happy :D  And I'm thawing a turkey to cook later this week.

In the learning rooms...  one more week of India, Wyatt launching into botany (no more dissections), Tate coming down the homestretch with his math book, Gunnar spending another week with arachnids (not just spiders, but scorpions, harvestmen, and acarinas - mites and ticks, ewww.)

Around the house...  a lot of cleaning to do!

The Mother Load...  see above.  Making big plans for spring break ;D

Noticing that...  Tate is just on the boil right now.  The hormones are rising.

Something fun to remember for later...  Gunnar claims to have FIVE loose teeth.  Well, at least FOUR.  I didn't know he had that many baby teeth left.

Something fun to share...  I heard good news at church yesterday... one more mom is expecting!

One of my favorite things...  a bright, light, sunny day.

A Bible verse...  Matthew 21:9
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!

A few plans for the rest of the day...  school.  Shop.  Clean.

A peek into my world...  we live in a lake basin.  I'm sure in the Big Picture the weather patterns are different, but right here, the way they swirl around the valley... For most of the year, we get our weather from 'down the lake'.  This is what I saw, early in the morning last week.  Sure, the sky is blue...

... but do you think it's going to stay that way for long?

The clouds are thick.  That's what I mean about the darkness getting to me sometimes.  *sigh*

Scatterday Brain Dump

Well.

1.  We started our weekend off by breaking into our neighbor's house before breakfast.  You?

No, this isn't a future career opportunity for the boys, though they've "helped" other neighbors this way, also.  She'd locked herself out and was late for work and a little panicky.  Never a dull moment, yah?

2.  Last night's concert went well, and Wyatt and I have another this afternoon.  I love singing with the choir, but look forward to a break from the rehearsals, (in another town and a 30+ minute drive away.)

3.  After my rainy pictures yesterday, today is sunny!  I don't mind the thick frost, it's the brightness I crave :D

4.  My parents are coming over for lunch tomorrow to celebrate their 48th anniversary.  Yippee!  I'd have them over for lunch just FNAR (for no apparent reason) but in this culture especially, anniversaries ought to be really celebrated and honored.  They're coming up on 50, y'know?  Amazing.

5.  Cleaning and purging.  What is it about spring that makes me want to turn the house upside down, shake everything out on the lawn, and then only put back what I really love?  Do you feel this way?  I've already been to Goodwill and the consignment store with boxes and bags full of STUFF.  Inspired by someone (Deborah, maybe? - yes!) I kept a list of what I got rid of in 2012.  Ready?

• 1 bag of (little kids') party supplies to Goodwill
• 1 small CD player/radio (the CD player was questionable, but the radio worked) to Goodwill
• 1 large laundry basket full of housewares, old placemats, and clothing to Goodwill
• 1 bag of boys' clothes to consignment
• 1 bag of toys to consignment
• 2 sacks of (adult) clothes to Goodwill
• 1 sack of home decor to Goodwill
• 1 sack of stuffed animals to Goodwill (consignment won't take stuffed animals... germs.)
• 2 sacks of boys' clothes to consignment
• 4 pair of (too small) roller blades to consignment
• 1 pair boys' dress shoes to consignment
• 2 bags (20 items) clothes to Goodwill
• 2 large bags (40 items) clothes to consignment
• 1 winter coat and 2 pairs snow boots to friends
• 1 bag of bathing suits and sumer clothes to consignment
• 2 bags craft supplies (foam shapes, glitter, etc.) to Goodwill
• Laundry basket of clothes (sweaters/jeans) and craft stuff to consignment
• Laundry basket of gifts-I-will-never-regift, Christmas decor I don't use, a lid-less pot (thanks, boys), and off-season clothes to Goodwill
• 2 sacks of clothes and knick-knacks to Goodwill
• 2 sacks of toys to consignment
• Laundry basket of toys to consignment
• 1 large garbage sack of clothes to Goodwill
• Laundry basket of miscellany to Goodwill (clothes and large fabric scraps I won't use)
• 1 large garbage sack of soccer cleats and shin guards to consignment
• 4 boxes of kids' magazines (Ranger Rick, Kids' Discover, Highlights) to friends

I know it seems repetitive, but the consignment store will only accept so many items per month, hence a bag here and a basket there. To make it easier (at least for me) I keep a large laundry basket in the bottom of the closet that is dedicated to Stuff To Get Rid Of.  That way, when something is going to go, it has a place.  Once something goes in there, it's dead to me.  When the basket is full (or - more likely - overflowing...) I divide up what the consignment store will take and what will go to Goodwill.

Yes, when I look at the size of the list I realize I could have had a yard sale and made a few bucks.  But I'd rather get rid of the stuff when the mood strikes than have it piling up around me all year.  Ack.  And we do make a few bucks from the consignment store.  Enough to treat the boys to a burger and fries once in awhile.

Anyone still there?  I mean, I know how fascinating my cleaning and purging is to everyone...

6.  Oooo, excitement is in the air.  A large box of books arrived yesterday.  Let the planning begin!

7.  I feel like there should be seven things.  Why, I don't know.  Time to get back to Things I Must Do Before The Concert...

Happy weekend :D