Dog Day Afternoons

2007-05-17T20:17:00.001-05:00

2007-05-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

Praying for Bones?

2006-09-26T21:17:00.000-05:00

This from friend Amy.... :)

Something to do....Something to love.. Something to think about...

2006-09-25T21:51:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite quotes is from Charlotte Mason. She said to give our children "Something to do, something to love, something to think about."

One of the things in our life that gives us something to do...love.. think about is our dogs. Actually in this picture I wonder what Ralphie (the dog) is thinking about.. :)

This is our family. Here we are, this is us. We have a strong affection for our dogs and other people's dogs as well. It is amazing when I think of all the areas of life they have touched for us. One of my favorite memories was when we did a co-op class with our local homeschool group. I had taught several semesters (as did other moms) and the last year when I chose a topic to teach on I let my boys help me pick. We chose dogs. We just love dogs and it was a blast.

What fun it was to brainstorm all the ways we could learn about dogs. I had a wonderful 'class'- about 6 kids (including my 2) and all around ages 10-12 or so. What a fun age! We read Jack London, we played Dog Bingo, we read St. Francis. One of my favorite days was when we read from the Bible and CCC about the relationship between God, man and the animals. We learned that man had dominion over animals, but also responsbility. We learned that animals had no soul, but we could love them. It was a nice day.

Another day we did a Charlotte Mason style 'object study' and our big dachshund Boomer was the 'object'. We studied his body parts and deduced what they were used for by his ancestors (long years, tough claws, etc). After the study, we got busy and Boomer made his way around the classroom. Soon we saw a mylar balloon slowly moving across the side wall. Boomer had found the valentine's balloon, obviously left by the preschool class, that had a small Snickers bar attached to the end. He was stealthily trying to steal it away to a private corner. What a laugh we got!

I think of all the group learning we have been involved with over the years, that co-op class gave us the most *real* learning. We all cared about the subject and all shared in the joy.

Thinking, too, of our dog-sitting business. How we learn about our clients and their dogs and their needs. How we care for our sweet but sometimes demanding dogs. And how we realize they are just dogs, but we love them anyway.

Just thinking about how dogs have been a real part of our learning. And now that I am adding some pictures here, had to get a dog one on line. :)

Break Again!

2006-08-14T18:35:00.000-05:00

I got kicked off my blog!

There is a lot going on here right now.. including an increase in our dogsitting business, lots of projects of my boys and a dh who is working from home full time now. I am finding I need to focus more elsewhere, so am going to go on blogging break for a while. (I had to make it official or I always seem to be drawn back...)

Hope to be back soon.

Have a happy August and God Bless!

Ode to My Journal.... May I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

2006-08-07T16:08:00.000-05:00

I am having a love affair with my journal.

When I return to it, I wonder why I have stayed away so long? Why do I neglect it? Why do I leave it laying fallow in a pile of papers so it can barely breath?

My journal is faithful. It never changes. It is always there when I finally come back to visit and share.

My journal is not pretty. It is a spiral notebook. Though I did get a quality one with a lovely lavendar thick cover. My handwriting is not as pretty as I like either. And my posts are not eloquent. Many are short. Some I can barely read. But it is the stuff of our lives.

When I am feeling down or lost or losing my compass, I can turn to the pages in my journal and see a glimpse of what the boys (and I) am learning on our journey. When I take the stilted entries and tap them into to my Word document (sorted by subject areas) I see credits taking shape.. conversations of the past weeks forming into a cohesive mass of learning and thinking and see the paths we have taken and how they all interrelate. It allows me to see how much we do, and I cannot possibly write it all down.

I promise, Oh Journal, not to neglect you again.

Well, unless I get busy.

But I will return.

I Love LOTR

2006-08-06T07:08:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness.

I have wished I liked Lord of the Rings for forever. My boys have been thoroughly taken in and are now reading the histories Tolkien wrote about the peoples, etc after having finished the books. My oldest received the movies for his birthday. It seems everyone loves LOTR and I never could get into them.

I think my problem was I started with The Hobbit. I couldn't read it- just was not into those creatures with the furry feet. Then I started Fellowship of the Ring and it began with.. Hobbits. My boys told me to keep going, it would get better. So, after three false starts, I did and am now launched firmly in and enjoying every moment. I love Tokein's writing style and we are having lots of discussions about the books: the style. plot, and his Catholic themes (can we see them?), comparison to Star Wars, mythology, the times in which he wrote them (because of course I have to read some bio material on any author I read). I also found his essay about faerie stories- what constitutes a 'real' one and what is not. (talking animals don't a faerie story make, according to JRRT).

A whole new world.
My dh wants to read them now.

So glad I didn't give up!

Tightening My Pegs and Decorating My Idea Box

2006-08-05T21:42:00.000-05:00

I have been looking at how our home is operating... what is happening, getting done, not getting done.. and how we all are interacting.

I find our pegs are a little fuzzy. Our schedules are running a bit counter- me up at the crack of dawn and in bed by ten, the boys both nightowls and sleeping as late as I will allow....

After some thinking I had a chat with the boys. We agreed to get back to a daily meeting time, sort of as an anchor. We still do most of our learning throughout the day, but this will allow me to share things with them. We agreed to all work toward this time. They can sleep in two days, but the other two must be up (fairly) early.

So, we put an anchor in the middle of the day- noon. To meet. I want to return to daily scripture readings and will also use that time to share reading aloud and ideas from my Idea Box. (more on that later)

I am going to return to something I did for years- a theme of the day- just to make sure I get to it. Monday Math, Tuesday Art/ Music, etc. . Today we read "Screwtape on Time". I love Screwtape. :-)

I laid out my workout and on/off dogsit morning schedule, worked in our daily Mass day, our house cleaning day, etc. It feels good to get these pegs tightened up a bit. I love pegs!

Now, my idea box. In a previous post I mentioned how I have all these ideas swimming in my head- I needed a place for them to roost!

I created a beautiful Idea Box. I started to buy it but couldn't find what I wanted. I wanted something happy and pretty. I am tired of my white binder.

Now, when I have an idea- big or small- it goes in my box. In there now are scraps of paper, printed out emails, articles I want to share, etc. All those floating ideas are now captured.

Here is a picture. It is the yellow box. Really the lid to a box my file folders came in that I covered with pretty wrapping paper.

Here are some things pulled at random that sit in my box atm:

-Article from Catholic Answers on embryo research called Another Attack on Humanity
-Share items from Murderous Maths/Family Math/Websites to share
-Boys draw cartoon charactures of various dog breeds for possible use on greeting cards.
-Boys begin a VG portfolio with print outs of the reviews they have written, favorite posts on blogs, website descriptions of fav games, etc.
-Research history of middle east wars and Isreal- relate to today.

While I am in the picture up load mode.. here are our new digs:

We gave the office to my dh who now works from home and we took up shop in our front living room/music room.

And I am not sure how this picture got on the camera. Some backwards dog knees. lol

Dogs and Horses

2006-08-03T21:44:00.000-05:00

I actually came here to post something else, but stumbled across
this article and thought the following excerpt deserved a place on Dog Days-- Passion and dogs in the same train of thought.... !

"Stage one is ... about really thinking about learning in a holistic manner. It's about examining how we learned what truly interests us---especially those things that didn't require a "teacher". What are your passions? HOW did you learn to do those things? In a classroom?

Two of my passions as a child were dogs and horses. Dogs and horses are NOT taught in any grade, middle, or high school *I* know of. But I wanted to learn everything I could about them. My parents gave me dogs and horses. They bought me books and paid for me to take riding lessons and dog obedience classes. They paid for dog and horse shows and equipment. My passion threw me into reading every book I could find (there were no videos back then—or "Animal Planet"!). By twelve I could identify every breed of dog and horse that I had ever seen or read about and tell you how it was developed, where, why, and by whom. I spent every weekend and every afternoon at a dog show/horse show/event/trial or just hanging around the stable or kennel. I asked thousands of questions and "got my hands dirty". Many of my friends were adults with the same passions. Training, breeding, grooming, showing, husbandry—all of these things I learned because I was consumed by them!

But, of course, dogs and horses are NOT school subjects—and are completely unimportant in the school world. What if I had waited for a teacher to come along and say, "Today we are learning all about dog and horses"? Not only would I have waited all my life, the teacher would only have given me a "taste" of the subject!

OH! And you *can't* make a living with dogs and horses—right? "

Jasper Returns

2006-08-02T22:06:00.000-05:00

I am just going to have to get my Happier At Home! Pet Sitting blog started. In the meantime any of you that are being so nice to read this blog are going to have to suffer the worst. I have to put our clients up here.

This is Jasper Week. We have pics of our clients on our fridge (just above our Latin quote) and tacked over Jasper's picture is a note saying:

This is Jasper Week!

This is some dog.
He is a Bassett Hound. Bassetts are very strong-willed. Also there is lots of drool involved. When he is not happy, or when he *is* happy and excited, he bays. Baying is a very loud sound and he puts all his harrumph into it! Today when we made our first visit he was so happy to see is he bayed and jumped on us and basically took over the room.

Jasper does have a problem with allergies. He is miserable and his owners have spent a lot of money trying to help him. I get to give him meds morning and night- it is a messy business, but it is ok- I am a professional. :-) Boys and I read the dermatology report the owners left out for us. Now there is a high paying profession.

The boys are happy to see Jasper again, too. We walked him twice today and he is strong enough to give my 16yo a run for his money. We returned and B curled up with S's new Dilbert book, S curled up with his DS and I curled up with my LOTR audio and we hung out with Jasper in his living room. He watched us, dozed and was very happy.

So, this is Jasper Week. Three visits a day. More if needed, says his owner-if he is lonely. We also get to take him to the groomer, a first for us. Should be a fun week!

Latin Phrase for the Fridge...

2006-08-01T20:53:00.000-05:00

Cave canem, te necet lingendo!

(Beware of the dog, he may lick you to death!)
-- A real danger around here...

>Click here for cool Latin phrase site

More on DPP (Doing/Pruning/Passions)

2006-08-01T15:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I have had a lot of time to think after reading the links I put in the last post. On Leonie's blog I got into a nice discussion with her and Maria about arranging ideas.

Click here and see the comments

Those of you who know me, know my mantra-- how do I bring in ideas without getting too schooly? :-)

So far, over the years I have come to the conclusion that the best learning happens when it is interest-led. But I also have found that I have a wonderful job to find and share ideas-- and to share the ideas the boys might find on their own- as CM says, leading the horse to water.

So, we have lots of ideas. I have several journals with ideas. And can spend time on the Internet and blogs and get more and more ideas.

Then I can get overwhelmed.

In some ways, traditional schooling was 'easier'. It was so concrete. I could research ideas, order up stuff, then plan- lay things out, then execute. Plan the work and work the plan, as they say. I felt I had control, I knew when my role was finished. But, I found that often we shut off from each other when they had accommplished what I wanted them to do. I like to have more room for serendipity and also plant seeds and see what takes root. I like also to see learning throughout life not just during lessons.

On Journey, I have thought out loud about what education is. What knowledge is important. I think I needed to do that to get to where I am with what we want to do.

It is very easy for me to get an idea I want to do, research it, then make it happen no matter what. In the course of that relationships suffered. So, I think the idea gathering and strewing is much better. I guess I am just trying to organize my strewing. It is very exhausting to have all these ideas floating around and not captured for when I want them! And being an all-or-nothing person sometimes, I think I have to do everything so grandly or just not do it! so... I don't do it. ;)

Much of the thinking and discussion I have had is on the physical journals and to do lists. Here is what I came up with, for anyone who is going down the same path. Maybe you have some ideas, too?

What I am doing now:

Right now I have a bindered 8X11 Covey calendar- 2 pages a month. That is my grand view of the world. Everything is on there life-wise. Appts, etc. (no idea/learning related stuff)

I also have the Covey 2 page a week pages. This gives me hours each day and I detail out our day. I go from the monthly to the weekly and put in the details of our life--- dogsits, appointments, Mass--- then to-dos: Errands, phone calls, etc.

So, if there was no purposeful strewing, life would be complete.

Now, for the fun part.

I have these things I want to get to. Right now they reside in my homeschool spiral journal, in some files I have made over the months, in my Clonlara spiral, in my favorites on the computer and in my head.. (the most dangerous place of all.)

What I would like is a way to remember these ideas, research and gather the things that need to be researched and gathered, and put on my main calendar (weekly pages) so I will see them and remember to do them.

(Aside: You know it seems the older I get, the more life seems to be about trying to remember to do things.. or where my glasses are.. or why I came into a room....)

Taking Leonie's Post It Note wisdom (which my Covey time management classes beat out of me- they said NEVER use stickies! What do they know??)--- I am going to survey my ideas and the ones that strike me, I will put on a Post It note on my weekly calendar.

Then, when I do my weekly planning (usually done Sunday night or Monday am) I will look for times that are open to a) research and gather info for the ideas or b) do the idea. Doing could be strewing, or corralling the boys to come check it out.

Now.. all those ideas. Hum. I wonder if it is against the nature of ideas to be rounded up and neatly indexed? I find my life is often a swirl of ideas... some that make it on paper, some never get said out loud. But sometimes one comes out and the boys and I , or my dh, or my friend over coffee and I will talk about it for an hour. (BTW, Ginger, if you are reading this, when are you going to start your blog?)

Thinking about corralling all my ideas is like the hundred of photos I have upstairs in a box. I tried a couple of times to get them even just in chronological order, much less into albums. They didn't want to go. I think they like the freedom of the box. Just the other day my 16yos found a picture of him when he was six and Boomer was a puppy. They were hugging and smiling. It is fun to find random things. Randomness can be a joy.

Oh, I digress. Maybe that is to tell me not to get too wrapped up in all this neatness. On Journey I have shared some about how much we have all learned just from living. Sometimes too much planning, even if it is planned strewing can circumvent serendipity. But planning can also save many brain cells. This sound like it is getting back to the B word... Balance. :)

So, I think at this point I will go on a hunt of my old ideas. Maybe get them into a plain manilla file (as Leonie recommended). Then just dip in when looking for new ideas and only try and do 2 or 3 at a time.

I have a binder at present which is divided by subject area with book lists, ideas, resources, etc. Maybe just unleash all those into my plain file, too.

I also like the idea of looking out over a period of time... be it a month or two with a plan of what to focus on.

Somethings are naturally at the forefront here. Here is the short list:

Dog sits. We have two customers lined up for August. I am so thankful we have this little business. There are so many small facets to it that is enriching the boys (and me)- from customer service, to work ethic, to respecting property to the nature of dogs... Jasper is this week and he is going to be high maintenance. More on him later.

Driver's Ed: The time has come and the materials are in the mail.

Techie stuff: With the office move and my dh's new cell phone and computer boys (esp B) have been working overtime getting our house in order.

Catchecism Class.com: They are having a 1/2 price sale so I signed S up for the year and plan for the whole family to join in.

LOTR: Boys just finished the books, dh and I are starting them. I have other writings from Tolkein checked out and have heard of some good things about Catholic writers. I would like to make this available while the interest is strong.

Good starting point.

Now.. to DO... to PRUNE... and to pursue PASSIONS. :-)

Doing/Pruning/Passions

2006-07-30T07:52:00.000-05:00

I could not decide on a title for this post as you can probably tell. Is this journey stuff, or dogday stuff? I think both.

I will start with two posts I recently read. This from Marie:

It is the post called Pruning Time
The other post is this one from Leonie:

click here

The post she refereces from Susan is very good, too. Worth the click and read.

Both these posts say a lot to me.
More later..

Routing to Happy

2006-07-28T19:32:00.000-05:00

Were you as tired as I of seeing Anna Karenina's picture on my blog every time you pulled it up? :) Well, I need something fresh. I *am* going to finish that book. As Leonie said in the comments, something about Tolstoy's writing draws me in even though I see her charting her own demise. Sigh.

So... here is something completely different. The picture is of a router, a wireless router at that. (You can tell by the antenna.) You will see why that is up there later in this post.

BTW, this post was inspired by a post by Leonie at her blog.

Happy things that have happened was the theme.

Here are some of mine--

My Happy Thing List

I went to a new personal training class and really
worked out hard. It felt great.

My dh is coming home tonight after being gone on business for 2 weeks.

I have not had to cook really anything
hard for two weeks as both my ds love quesideilias, waffles, fruit, energy bars
and the like. Tonight I did final hurrah and made homeade chicken and dumplings
and they ate them up. There is something about watching a son eat your homeade
food that warms the heart. (Marie Barone, I hear you.)

My 12yosinstalled and troubleshot the new wireless router we got. (See picture above). I was so proud of him. We could not get it to work, but he decided to figure out why and woke me up at midnight to tell me of his success! Yea!

Boys are on target with their reading plan for LOTR.

Met a homeschool friend at Mass yesterday who has been away from Houston for 2 years and is now returning. Boys and I also had a chance to meet our new priest from India.

I had a lovely dinner out with a dear friend and the boys had their own table with her son and we all talked
for hours.

I took my sons and a friend out to Olive Garden for our
traditional birthday lunch of unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks. Three
teen/almost teen boys can eat a lot of breadsticks. I am so happy because we all
talk together and I am included in it all.

I had a 2 hour coffee with my friend I have known since I was 8. If you need dirt on me, call her. We laughedabout how we probably talked about the day we would be middle aged with husbands and kids back when we were 20 really wondering if it would ever be. It is. It be. :)

I have had lovely conversations via blogging and email with my
cyber and long distance friends. I am so blessed.

I ordered a book on creativity and am going to start painting/drawing/artist-ing again.

I have a cheerleader who thinks I am a good artist and is going to make me pursue
it and try to sell note cards on eBay. B and I did some drawing and idea brainstorming on it today.

B and I had fun plotting S's upcoming birthday party and gifts.

We had a lovely dog sit with our new customer last week, several long walks with my boys and she paid promptly! Boys and I had some nice time together.

Realizing my dh will need exclusive use of the office (where the boys
and I spend a lot of time),my boys and I set up a second office in the ex-music room- moving furnitures, leaning out file cabinets and drawers for his use. It looks great!

I don't mind the Houston weather so much, now that I am even more thankful to be
here.

My first born turned 16 this week and is a happy, healthy, smart,
kind and sweet kid. This is true bounty.

That's all for now.

Wow, this router works great. What a talented son I have.

Update on Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

2006-07-25T21:58:00.000-05:00

I have been vaguely depressed all day and I think it is Leo Tolstoy's fault. This audio book is beautifully done. The reader is wonderful and they have brought in classical music between some chapters that set the mood wonderfully. It feels so Russian, so 19th century... just what I thought Tolstoy would be.

But, gee, these characters do the dumbest things. Anna loses her head and has an affair. Sigh. Her husband is not very good at expressing himself (I wish I could see his outcome in a Meyer Briggs personality test!), so Anna just thinks he is a dud, when all he needs is a bit of TLC. Her lover seems to be great, but adds fuel to the fire. The the husband decides he no longer loves their son due to how much he now loaths Anna so will take the son in the divorce just to spite her.

This could be Court TV.

But, it is set in romantic Russian aristocracy. So, it is elegent. But, it is still depressing. Sigh. Just people making the same dumb mistakes over and over.

But, I am drawn to the book. In another plot a quiet man who almost lost his love to the same guy to is having the fling with Anna is winning his love. He also decided to work 'with the peasants' on the harvest and is loving the hard work with the sythe. Is that how you spell sythe? It is the thing they mow the grass with by swinging the blade. The imagery is really neat.

Also this book is abridged, which drives me crazy. They will switch to a new chapter, and I can just feel Tolstoy's pen being taken from his hand... just from what I read I can tell he must have had pages and pages more in that scece that has been discarded for breviety. But the music almost makes up for it.

So, off to finish Anna. I hope they get smarter, but have a feeling they won't.

Walking and Talking

2006-07-24T20:37:00.000-05:00

With the dogsit we just completed my sons and I did a lot of walking and talking.

The two dogs loved walks and we promised to take them on one each visit. That added up to 8 walks for the guys and myself over the past 4 days.

(I did the 4 early morning visits and walks alone, and told B that when they were not with me to talk to, I talked to the dogs instead... about the trees, the squirrels and what good girls they were.)

The walks with my boys reminded me of an article Sandra Dodd wrote called Leaning On A Truck.

In it she talked about how sometimes the best way to communicate with your child is when you are both leaning against a truck, looking out over the horizon- or playing LEGOS, or doing a craft, or.. taking a walk with two Australian Shepherds. In other works, not with eyes locked on each other, or with mom's brow raised looking for the right answer to come forth. But just shooting the breeze with something to distract and ease the atmosphere.

Well, today as we walked the dogs we were talking about video games.

Bryan had read an article that said that National Park attendance in the U.S. is down because of video games. He was very skeptical. That was a mis-statement and unprovable. Why? I asked. Could it be true?

We talked about the cons of video games and that it is possible for them to take over kids' lives. Yes, but so can TV, he said. It isn't the media itself, it is how people use it or parent allow their kids to use it. Like Guns don't kill people, people kill people? I asked. Yup, he said.

Humm....

As we continued to talk on the subject, we led the dogs around the block.

I wondered out loud that if we had had different dynamics in our house would we have banned video games, too? We talked about that for a while, then my oldest came out with this:

Video games are educational, but not in the way that people think. Often he had seen games that had a set of facts they wanted to get into the child's brain, so they designed a game around it and called it educational. Those are not the real educational ones.

The ones where you really learn something are those that take something interesting and make a game, and it all becomes interesting and any facts you learn are part of it. Like Civilization, where you learn all about history, but the game is not artificially designed to try and 'teach' kids history.

Or the many strategy games they play-- they are so deep-- deeper than some books and all TV. (he said)

What about TV? I asked.

My youngest said it is OK, but like VG, you have to be selective. Again it is not the TV that is bad, it is how it is used and what you choose to watch. Plus, he said, it is passive. VG require interaction.

The more we talked, I pondered. I have really seen how VG have added a lot to our lives. Are we alone?

Do other parents see the value, or are many just afraid to open Pandora's box. Why can't adults see what is really available in video games? I wondered this out loud.

I wonder if I should write a book on this? I pondered also out loud. Not that I have ever written a book before, but it crossed my mind.

Later in the walk, my almost 16yos said.. 'About that book, Mom.. maybe you could also write about..."

Maybe we have a new project brewing...

Cherry Pie and Happy Dogs

2006-07-24T19:56:00.000-05:00

Today we finished our sit with Wrigley and Jemma. The 'man-hater' Wrigley now loves my boys. :)

They (the boys) decided a cherry pie sounded awfully good. I told them how I loved them as a child. So, we decided I would try and make one from scratch. Well, I made the crust from scratch. Bought the filling. I think next time I will try for homeade filling, too. To my surprise the crust came out great, despite the warnings and encouragement from my cookbook.

Here is Wrigley-- what a cute girl!

Here is Jemma- darling dog...

Here is Jemma and me... (sorry about the fuzzy picture)

Here is the pie:

Birthday Thoughts

2006-07-23T22:22:00.000-05:00

I am so sore I can barely move- and this is 2 days after a PT workout. Is it that the workout was so great or that I am 47?

I am so thankful for my life, family and friends. Today I got numerous phone calls, an email birthday card and 2 calls from my dh who is out of town on business. Usually he spoils me on my birthday.... so I had to make do without. But the boys rose well to the occasion and were very accomodating to me all day.

This morning I woke up, took care of our dogsit clients (Wrigley and Jemma) and then drove straight home, climbed back into bed and slept until time for Mass. Hey, it is my birthday!

Then our pastor gave a wonderful homily on rest. Jesus told his disciples in today's gospel to rest. We need rest- to recharge, recoup...and especially on Sabbath. He told me to rest. I took it to heart. Plus I was really tired.

So, this afternoon I gathered up my latest book- my first Leo Tolsty, Anna Karenina, and lazed around. This is the first Russian novel I have read. B and I watched a Northern Exposure where a Russian comes to visit the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska. They talked a lot about the Russian soul in that show. This book has that.

This afternoon the boys and I went for the mid-day dogsit with the girls. They were happy to see us, as usual.

Then tonight wewent out to eat to celebrate my birthday. They we very kind and obliging and asked me to pick the resturant. Gosh, these guys are getting so grown up. We narrowed it down to three of our favorites and chose the seafood grill.

We sat, ate and talked about all sorts of things. Past days, current friends, new video games, driver's licenses, college, dogs, businesses, etc. etc. etc. It was very nice. And the waiter called both my boys 'Sir' when he took the orders.

This was a nice day. Time to be thankful, even when everything is not just the way I would like. This is a very quiet birthday with my husband gone, but the day was nice. Life never is *just* how we want it, but it was a reminder of how much I have and how thankful I am for all of it.

July-- Birthday Month!

2006-07-22T11:12:00.000-05:00

This is birthday month around these parts.

My birthday is tomorrow, July 23rd and I will be 26. I know, it is amazing since my son is almost 16. Well, not.

I am going to be a glorious 47! I was thinking about how old and creaky I am getting, then went to an aerobics class and Sue, the instructor, told us she was 53. She is in great shape. So , so much for any excuses. I love being active and am thankful for my health and that I can move as much as I can. :)

Stephen is turing 16 on July 26th. Yes, he was 10 days late when he was born, just late enough to make me 31 instead of 30 when I had my first child. It just sounded so much older to me.. 31. All this from someone who claims not to get caught up in numbers.

Part of what keeps me thinking young is my mother in law. She will be 87 this fall. She is still winning bridge tournements. She has had a variety of ailments and 4 surgeries for hip and knee replacments, but she loves her bridge and it keeps her young and active. She calls me 'young', too. That is nice.

I also think about my grandparents who all lived into their mid-late 80's. On my mom's side, my grandparents were active and social for the whole duration. They always had something to look forward to, which I think was their secret to a happy and active life.

Now, on the other end of the spectrum is my son, who is turning 16. It is kind of cool in that this number is not such the 'magic bullet' it was for me when I was growing up. I was so intent on driving and freedom, I could not wait for that birthday. But, my son is very happy with his life, claims once he drives I will be sending him on errands all the time, so wants to peruse it but is not just dying to get out on the roads.

He is growing up gently. It is nice to watch.

So. My dh is busy with work and always waits until the last minute to buy presents, so I have outdoor skates all ready for them to wrap up and give me. Stephen's presents are all ready, too. And we are all out to eat next weekend at a great Italian grill.

And, talk about how we are not moving. Sounds like a fun time!

Happy Birthday to us!

Bark! (Translates: Good'ay Mate!)

2006-07-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

We have a new client at Happier At Home! Pet Sitting. We are caring for Jemma and Wrigley, a couple of sweet Austrailian Shepherds.

Jemma is 13 and has one blue eye and one brown one. She is very sweet and laid back. Her side kick is Wrigley who is 3. Poor Wrigley has had some terrible allergies in her time and is on a lot of medications that we give to her in a spoonful of peanut butter each day.

The owner said she does not like men. No reason why as they got her as a puppy and she had no known tramua. So, we were careful the first time I showed up with my 5'11" son. He is a very gentle soul and has a way with animals and a quiet nature. But Wrigley was still a bit careful. But by our 3rd visit today, she was fine with both boys.

Oh, we were also told never to let my sons wear baseball caps around her. That makes her very wary. Humm... Wrigley, if only you could talk.

They have not tried to herd us yet, as I hear Shepherds sometimes will. I wonder what they would do if set loose in a field of sheep? Would it all come back to them...?

But, we are enjoying our new girls to watch. They love walks and we love giving them belly rubs while their family is off in New York. It is fun learning about and spending time with a breed we are not familiar with.

Authenticly, Really, Good

2006-07-21T22:24:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about homeschooling.. or really just living. Parenting, learning, etc.

It is so easy to see all the things we think we are doing wrong, or more accurately the things we think we should be doing but we arent. Or see the things our dc are not doing, instead of what they are.

That is easy to do when we see so many other dc doing so many great things.

But, I have been noticing, especially with my oldest son about to turn 16 (in 4 days), how he is becoming the person God meant for him to be. I see it in my 12 yos, too.

They are doing so much, in their way. And I think because I have looked at what is real and authentic, it has allowed them to become that way even more. Not that things are perfect here, nothing is perfect, but I did want to allow myself that things are right. All is right with the world.

Sometimes I think we just need to allow ourselves that. Quit looking for all that is wrong, but enjoy the blessings God gave us. Time is too short.

Things are good and we are doing a good job.

"If People Think You Can't Learn While Playing Video Games, Then They Are Crazy!"

2006-07-18T07:51:00.000-05:00

My 15yo announced this to me yesterday afternoon. With an element of passion.

Of course, I replied with full motherly interest:

"Why is that, dear?"

Actually I never call my boys 'dear', but do use "Sweetie-Pie" a lot. :)

He began to list off all sorts of things they had encountered in the past few days. They recently took some of their hard-earned money and bought some 'vintage' games on Amazon. Vintage, and delightfully cheap!

I suggested he funnel this passion into a post/essay and I would put it on my blog.

Watch for future posts....

Dog Days of August

2006-07-16T08:14:00.000-05:00

We are looking forward to August because we get to take care of some of our favorite Happier At Home! customers.

Internet Quiz time:
Can you guess who has the lowest energy level?

(a) Bailey the Lab

(b) Sophie the Great Dane

or,
(c) Jasper the Basset Hound.

Moving Update

2006-07-15T07:06:00.000-05:00

After three weeks of discerning and talking with all parties and thinking and all... we have a compromise that our family is very happy about.

My husband is going to take the new job that is based in Dallas. But the company has agreed to let us live in Houston. At some point we may need to consider moving again, but they recognized several factors we brought up and are going to work with him on running the job out of Houston.

This actaully makes sense for the kind of work he does, but we also repsect the company culture of having all the people centrally located. There were other factors involved, but overall everyone is happy with the outcome.

Now- reflecting.

This has been a different scenario than any other move we have had. And as I posted earlier, we have had several.

It took us as a family deeper. Paritally because our boys are older now. Partially because John and I are at a different stage of life. Also there are many other factors which came to the surface. In the past, we were a young building family with few roots and we would pick up and move and just enjoy the adventure. Every place we lived was a treasure in its own way. And each place brought me growth in my spiritual life. I can even bullet list them..:)

To San Fransicso to become a SAHM- Searched for Christianity and met several dear Protestant friends who included me in Bible study and fellowship. Raised my babies and B was born. God put me around evangelicals and fallen away Catholics.

To Ohio- the Catholic Belt- there my sons enjoyed the salad days of childhood, running and playing in the fresh Ohio air. I converted to Catholism, met Scott Hahn, went to Steubenville conferences and came to know the beauty of the Catholic faith. I discovered and began homeschooling.

To Houston- moved on the heels of becoming a fresh homeschooler and Catholic and my faith journey continued to grow. For the 8 years we have been here, we have embraced homeschooling, my faith and I have some very close and dear friends within a short drive.

God has given us blessings wherever we went. And I knew he would give us the same in Dallas. So, I was prepared to go, should that be the outcome.

But, there were more issues to it than I can share here. Many with my dh and his job and situation as well as financially the best course.

At any rate, this move has opened a lot of doors for my family. I am so thankful the past year has taken me down the road of learning about personality types. The books Please Understand Me has given me so much food for thought. I have watched the way my dh percieves and reacts to situations, as compared to me. And then watching my boys it is amazing! S will tackle a situation so much like my husband and B will attack it just like me.

This move has caused me to become more perceptive and less controlling. I have learned to let things unfold, in large part because of my husband. One friend gave me a great tidbit that has stuck with me. Though we are a partnership, this is really his journey. This is his job and he needs to find the path. Much like my role as homeschooling mom has been my journey. He supports me, but it is my deal.

So, I have tried to support him and let him find the path. Wow, that is hard for a type A like me. But I am learning.

I think this has pulled us together as a family. The boys have been involved in as much as possible. Their thoughts matter, but they know we have to make the decision. But they felt heard.

And it taught them a lot about decisions of life. How to weigh. How to go and ask for more information or request things the company may not have thought of. How to weigh one situation against another. (ie why can't we stay?) How to weigh money and potential security (retirement, etc) against lifestyle.

Not that we have all the answers, but hopefully they will see we don't but are doing the best we can. And that we rely on prayer and trust that God will lead us, even when we can't hear him.

So, we are in Houston for a while. We are feeling content.

Computer Guru

2006-07-14T21:06:00.000-05:00

Today our computer Guru, Alan, came over to help with some minor problems. Well, the minor problems ended up turning into an 2.5 hour visit as he cleansed our computers of spyware and viruses and fixed a variety of other maladies.

He also gave us a lot of computer education.

Alan is a retired air traffic controller. He began this PC fix business on the side while still working in the 'tower'. But the time he retired he had a nice clientele built up. Now he does this full time. He lives in our neighborhood and has a strong client base here. I often see him out walking Rocky, his chow/rotweiller mix or see his SUV parked in front of other customers' houses. He also serves small businesses.

Today as we waited for scans to run, we talked a little about his business. Upon a few inquiries he told us all about running his own businesses. The good, the bad.. the rest. He mentioned how you have to have determination to run any business of your own. If you want to have people tell you what to do and when to do it, this is not for you.

Also, he talked about the lack of benefits, etc that independent business owners must accept.

He told us how he started the business and how it grew. It was a real lesson and I was glad the boys had a chance to listen.

He also filled us in on sound cards, the next version of Windows coming out (Vista), how to expand our hard disk space, how to detect spyware, how the boys can get their new game sound to work... etc, etc. etc.

He was a wealth of information. Just more of life.. more data for them to consider as they grow and begin to think about what they might like to do with their lives and livelihoods.