Busy Times

Things have been a bit busy around here over the last few days. Rachel's and Lindsay's allergies haven't improved much, at times even being worse. Sunday we all stayed home from church because we had so many that were sick. I will be ever so thankful when allergy season is over!

Gene will be traveling for business, so it will be a long working weekend for me. I hope to get some major re-organization done in my room and to go through some of my books so that I can make some needed room. My room seems to be the household dumping ground, so I'm hoping to go through all of that and get it into shape.

Yesterday I bought a new household helper and I am in love with it! For years I have bought inexpensive ironing boards, and had to replace them every few years. I finally decided to spend the extra money this time and buy a nice ironing board. The one I had was listing to starboard and threatening to sink to the depths of Davy Jones' locker at any moment. I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and purchased this beauty yesterday.



It has a place to rest my iron, a spot for my starch, little slots for my hangers and under it there is a shelf on which to put clothes. It is sturdy and will last for years. It surprised me how well it was made. Its regular price was $49, but I had a 20% off coupon, so I saved $10, not too bad considering a lot of the cheapo boards are nearly $25. I iron daily, and am pleased to have a wonderful new tool to help me.

I will post this weekend if I have time, if not, see ya soon.

Remember Me

If you know someone who is fighting for our country, I encourage you to reach out to them and encourage them. Many soldiers are in remote areas and don't have access to things that we take for granted. A gift package with simple luxuries such as small packages of Oreos, sunblock, lip balm, books, cds, the list is endless. You might want to find out if there is someone in their company who doesn't have anyone reaching out to them, and consider reaching out to them as well.

We may not all agree on the war and it's merits, but no matter how you feel about it, the reality is men and women are putting their lives on the line for us everyday. We should appreciate their sacrifices and commitment. They need our prayers and encouragement when they are far away and when they return. Those of us who are here at home cannot comprehend what they have to battle, on the field and in their minds.

I hope you will consider how you & your family can make a difference in a soldier's life.

Girls And Cooking

Yesterday I was talking to a friend about Hannah cooking dinner and she commented on how she was surprised at how much my 11- 14 year old girls can cook. That conversation made me start thinking about what I do with the girls and how they have learned to cook. Honestly, I haven't done anything special, at least it doesn't seem that way to me. When Hannah and I were talking about it last night she said, "Well, haven't we been cooking since we could hold a spoon?" I guess they have to one degree or another. Cooking, like most things in our home, has been taught in a more natural way. Many times if I'm tied up, I will let the girls fix their own lunch. At times this has made me feel like a failure for not being June Cleaver and making all three of their meals, every day. Though, after thinking about it, I think I'm glad I've done it that way because it has not only made them more self-reliant; it has also given them a chance to be creative.

I allow the girls a great deal of latitude when cooking for themselves. Food Network is a staple in our t.v. diet and they have taken many ideas from things they have watched. We've never done a lot of "kid" cooking, most of what the girls have cooked has just been regular food. They will often take a recipe and adapt it and make it their own. We've had some flops, but usually things turn out O.K.

My advice to anyone wanting to develop in their children a love for cooking would be to make things fun, don't feel like you have to stick to recipes, and be willing to go with your children's ideas. I think that once your child is able to handle the cooking tools, it is a great encouragement for them to be entrusted with the kitchen. When you feel confident to step out and let them do it on their own, I encourage you to do so. My girls are very confident in the kitchen, and I think it's because they know that I trust them and am willing to let them be in control at times. I hope that you will spend some time encouraging your kids to start cooking, and I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Hannah's First Chicken

Wednesday I awoke with respiratory problems much like Lindsay and Rachel have been suffering through for the last few weeks. Gene is also showing symptoms, though it doesn't seem to be in his chest like it is for us. Since I wasn't feeling well tonight I asked Hannah to cook dinner for us. She baked a whole chicken and potatoes. She seasoned them with Rosemary from our herb garden and put olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the chicken and potatoes. She did it all by herself and it tasted wonderful!

Tuesday 4-10-07

Rachel has been battling severe allergy problems for a month now, Over the weekend her symptoms became worse, so today I took her to the doctor. She has a sinus infection, but thankfully it hasn't turned into bronchitis. I'm hoping all the medicine they put her on will begin to work quickly.

This evening Lindsay and I had to do some shopping for a wedding we are going to attend in June. We're trying to get all of the girls outfits together for the trip as they have all grown and nothing fits. We first went to Sam's to get Rachel's meds and we also picked up some micro-fiber cloths for cleaning and some food service towels for the kitchen. After that we went to eat at Johnny Corino's. If you love Italian food, it's great, and they give you so much. Lindsay and I split a combo platter with Lasagna, Spaghetti & Chicken Parmesan, each eating only half of what we had, and we will have the rest for lunch tomorrow. We then went to my favorite re-sale shop to look for clothes. Lindsay wears a size 0-2 and it's really hard to find clothes for her, but she was able to find a few shirts and a skirt, but nothing for the wedding.

Last week I took Hannah and Caroline to this store and found a few dresses, and today I found several more. Amazingly they were modest, and the most I paid for one was $6.50! Having the younger three so close in size is really a blessing when it comes to this type of shopping, because if it doesn't fit one, it'll probably fit another. The other day when we were buying shoes a saleslady brought me a certain shoe in a size 6 1/2, I tried it on one of the girls (don't ask me which one;-) and it didn't fit her, so I just got the next one closest to me and had her try it on. The saleslady giggled, and I explained to her that this is how we always do it. You should have seen me the day I had Hannah, Rachel & Caroline at the re-sale shop trying on pants. I had them in 3 different dressing rooms, and I would go from room to room trading out the pants until they found something that fit. I'm sure we are quite a comedic act to watch.

I also found some great books at the re-sale shop and a couple of tote bags. One of the tote bags was a tapestry horse print, which went to Hannah, and I found a red toile one for me. I also found Caroline a really nice apron.










After the resale shop we ran to Wal-Mart for a few thing and while there we found Lindsay a skirt for the wedding. We were pleasantly surprised to see that Wal-Mart was actually stocking size 0-2.

Well, that was my day today. I'm pleased that I was able to get a good deal accomplished in my shopping, even though I didn't get much done at home.

Another week has gone by

Another week has flown by, I don't know where time is going. Last Tuesday I took Lindsay to the doctor for a sinus infection. It seems that we are experiencing the highest pollen counts on record here in Houston. She got on her meds and they seem to be helping. Rachel has also been suffering with allergy problems, and may warrant a trip to the doctor if she doesn't get better now that the pollen in decreasing.

On Wed. Gene went to Denver and saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time. He was only in Denver for about 18 hours and didn't get to see much. He did wake up Thursday morning to about 6 inches of snow blown up against his hotel room door. He said it was strange to wake up to snow, and by noon to be back in the 75 degree weather.

While Gene was gone Hannah, Caroline and I re-arranged the family room. It was quite an ordeal, but I'm pleased with the change. The family room is where most of our school books and supplies are stored, so I went through some of them. I'm beginning to cull some books out, but I still have a lot to do on that front.

Saturday we were supposed to have our first Family Evangelism Day, but due to severe Thunderstorms, we had to cancel it. Hopefully, next month things will work out better.

Sunday I stayed home from church with Rachel because of her sinus migraine. The rest of the family went and Lindsay had a friend from an online homeschool group attend. He is from CA, but in Houston for several months working for an engineering firm.

Next Sunday our church will have a fellowship after church at one of he elder's ranch. The girls are really looking forward to spending the day out there. They have about 500 acres on which the girls are free to run and roam. We've been out there twice before for Christmas and New Years and the girls had a great time. They are really excited about the baby chicks and bunnies
they will have there.

Wal-Mart Insanity

I usually do my running to Wal-Mart and such during the day, but since
we are down to one vehicle, I am doing things differently. Last Wed.,
Lindsay and I made a run to Wal-Mart at about 10:30 pm. Let me explain
our Wal-Mart situation here in Katy. We have the "bad" Wal-Mart, which
is about 2 miles away, and the "good" Wal-Mart, which is about 6 miles
away. I usually go to the "good" Wal-Mart because it newer, cleaner,
its lines aren't as long, it's better lit, and it just "feels" better to
me. Many times I have walked into the "bad" Wal-Mart and thought about
turning around, getting in my van and driving the additional 4 miles to
the "good" Wal-Mart. Last Wednesday night was certainly one of the
times I should have done this.

Lindsay and I got what we needed and then headed to the lines. For some
unknown reason, every line had 2-3 people in them. I guess they had all
waited until after Lost to do their shopping. We looked for the line of
least resistance and decided on one that had two carts; though they were
quite full, this still seemed to be the shortest line. Well, as we all
know, things are often not what they appear to be. There were two
carts, but 4 young women (early 20's). I did notice that this checkout
had several carts loaded with merchandise beside the carts these women
had, but didn't think much of it. I should have been paying more
attention! The young woman who had the conveyor belt loaded with all
types and colors of lingerie and baby products looked at the display
that showed her what her subtotal was and she went a little nutty. She
apparently didn't realize that she couldn't get the $800 worth of stuff
she had for $200. This is not an exaggeration; she didn't have any
clue what she was spending. This is where the story became
interesting. The other three girls began looking in their carts to see
what they could discard, ya know, what lace undies they really didn't
need. The one thing they all kept were their diapers. So I'm assuming
these were all unwed mothers(none were wearing rings) who were on some
kind of shopping spree. I stood there-no I wasn't the picture of
patience, maybe eternal hope-for about 10 minutes, then something
happened that made me want to scream. (I didn't, but boy did I want
to!) Girl number 3 pulled her cart in front of mine as girl number 2 was
finishing. Remember those merchandise laden carts? Well, they belonged
to the other 2 girls! And they were all paying together! At this point
I went to get into another line.

Things didn't go much better for me in the other line. After I emptied
about half of my cart, the cashier told me I needed to move up to the
next register (ya know how they stagger them, it was the one behind
hers). So, being the obedient child that I am, I put my stuff back in
my cart, only grumbling under my breath so Lindsay could hear me, and I moved to the third register. When I arrived at the register, there was another
woman there. The cashier came and told her to step back to the
register I just left, and then proceeded to check her out.

I was still in close proximity to the girls, so we could see their
progress as time marched on. They all took about 10 minutes checking
out, and they all had to void many things off of their tickets. They
ended up getting mad at the cashier (I think she earned an all expense
paid vacation for dealing with them) and then things became really
interesting. When they all finally decided what they had to have, one of
the girls stepped toward the counter to pay with her credit card. She
looked at the other three and said, "O.K., you all are going to pay me
back, right? Are you sure?! When will you pay me back?" I was
thinking... "You have spent 45 minutes in line, put everyone out, and
you are just now asking this question?" She then proceeded to swipe her
card and they all left.

It was a few more minutes before I was finished, and on the way to the
van I was quoting MLK to Lindsay.

"Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!"

I'm sure the time will come when I will visit the "bad" Wal-Mart
again... but it won't be any time soon!