It's easy to introduce mass chaos into your home, if you know how.Step One: Ignore various design flaws in your home for at least eight years. Thanks to the Law of Entropy, ignoring these issues is sure to complicate things immensely down the road.Step Two: Imagine you might be able to do the repairs yourself. Actually attempt a few of them yourself, but leave them … [Read more...]
Mmm…Monday Food Report: Whole Chicken in Crock Pot (a mixture of personal beef with chicken)
I intended to compose some Friday Food Reflections, but Friday slipped away without time to post.So I switched to a Monday food report instead.Because I know you're all dying to know about my food discoveries, I'm such the chef.Ha.So here's the first report:Whole Chicken in a Crock(a mixture of personal beef with chicken)Wad up several pieces of foil in loose balls and … [Read more...]
Olympic Marathon Ponytails
The Boy (6yo) was in my bedroom watching the Olympics, making himself scarce while the rest of us cleaned up after dinner.He came down when he heard some discussion about ice cream sundaes."Were you watching the Olympics?" I asked."Yes.""What's on? Are they showing that Michael Phelps race again?""No. It's running. Women.""The marathon?""Yes! That's it! The … [Read more...]
FWIW: TM Acronym Primer for Concerned Parents
There's been some discussion on various blogs about the appropriate age for kids to get their own cell phones and how much freedom they should have on the Internet, whether its e-mailing, IM-ing, setting up a Facebook account, or surfing the Web.I find it's helpful to gather information as we're making decisions in these areas, so I've been interested in reading comments … [Read more...]
Hey, I'm a 41-year-old Mom, Too! Dana Torres and I Have Sooo Much in Common!
Surely you've read about Olympic swimmer Dana Torres?If you haven't, here's the skinny (if I've cobbled together the details correctly):This former Olympian, now a 41-year-old mother of three (the most recent of the three kids was born only two years ago), came back from a six-year retirement to earn a spot on the team in the 100m freestyle.The 100m freestyle, people! … [Read more...]
Crock-Flops and Minor Crock-Successes
I was so eager to try some new recipes in the crockpot after being inspired by A Year of Crockpotting that I did a little online search and came up with this highly recommended stew: Crockpot Chicken & Quinoa. It looked soooo good in the photograph. The instructions were easy. I even shocked myself by having on hand in my cupboard a box of quinoa and in the freezer, … [Read more...]
If You Want Something Done, Give It to a 10-year-old Girl
One time a speaker said that if you want to get something done, give it to a ten-year-old girl. They're enthusiastic, diligent, hard-working, determined, industrious, earnest...not yet consumed by the boy thing or makeup, yet able to tap into their childlike energy and accomplish a lot. As my kids have one by one turned ten, I've thought how true that is.They're … [Read more...]
Thankful Thursday
Prairie Prologue reminded me that it's Thankful Thursday. She linked to the carnival hub at Sting My Heart.So I pause, in my thinking and learning and reading and writing and cleaning and planning, to give thanks: Laughter from upstairs. Two children putting dresses on stuffed animals. Neighborhood swimming pool. Having one's own pool sounds like a lot of fun, but sharing … [Read more...]
What’s Your Family Culture?
When I wrote this post about family culture, I offered a few simple thoughts and personal examples on the topic. For more, scroll to the bottom to see additional resources. When I ask "What's your family culture?" you might think I'm asking if you use cloth napkins and dress up for dinner; but I don't necessarily mean "culture" in the "cultured" sense of the word … [Read more...]
A Belated "Au Revoir, Europe!"
I wrote this not long after we got home from our trip, but we got so busy with laundry and birthdays that I forgot to click "Publish." I've been back for a while, but I'll post it anyway. For fun:Several months ago, as we were buying our tickets for the trip, we hesitated purchasing the flight that went to and from Luxembourg, even though it was cheapest. But our in-laws … [Read more...]
Crabbing in the North Sea
Our last full day in Holland began first with some crabbing, or crab-catching, by the docks. The children were captivated by this as they waited for the adults to slowly roll out of bed and gather for those Sunday family devotions I described in the last post. This crab-fishing activity evolved over the course of several days. First the kids observed others with nets and … [Read more...]
Let the Little Children Sit by the Water's Edge and Come to Him
Last Saturday, as we anticipated our last day all together in Holland—and given our little family's impending departure, our extended family's last day all together for a very long time—we considered where we might gather the next morning for family devotions. We could have simply cleaned up from breakfast and gathered around the table in one of the rented cottages. Then … [Read more...]
Belgian Frites Deserve a Post of Their Own
I'm pretty embarrassed about my grammar in yesterday's post. I meandered in and out of present and past tense without even pausing to think about it. Maybe I was subconsciously trying to make the swan scene seem as if it were happening vividly in the present, to communicate the excitement. Anyway. On the menu for dinner last night?Frites. (Definitely visit the … [Read more...]
Castle Dreams…or Nightmares?
We're in southern Belgium at the moment, in a town called Charleroi. You can see it on this map. This morning we said, "How about we drive to Dinant? It's not far, and the castle there is pretty interesting."When we described it, the kids were interested in seeing a castle set high on a hill, so we packed a picnic lunch and set off.After driving for a while, we realized … [Read more...]
Ichthus Smoke, Lye Bread, and Other Minor Travel Notes
To save some money, we purchased tickets that required several connections. Had the trip gone without a single glitch, our total traveling time would have been longer than ever before.Unfortunately, the trip had a glitch. So the trip was wayyyy longer than ever before.The glitch doesn't even include the 14 or so Eagle Scouts on the long, transatlantic flight who stayed up … [Read more...]
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