My girls amaze me !

So I was clicking around and checking out the new blogspot format and discovered I had a bunch of "drafts".  Post for whatever reason never got posted.  This one was a precious memory, that for whatever reason...a slow connection, an interruption, never was officially posted.  So 3 years later... (It was meant to post on 10/7/09) here goes.  Do you remember Aunt Sharon?

2 weeks ago or so on a Sunday, I was puttering around the house. I slowed down enough to look around my basement to discover all 5 of my children were chillin' with dad and watching football. Even the girls. Big-O-Daddy-O has tried to get me to watch football. I have consented to a willingness to sit with him if I can either take a nap or work on something like handsewing, coupons, or some other lap project. My girls boggle my mind. So when the Aunt and Uncle called to see if they could take Hockey Player and Little Princess to

I was like, okay... But, Hockey Player had other commitments so Fun Mom went instead. I was prepared for tired girls. I was prepared to hear how they got bored. Instead, 2 young ladies walked in our door and they had lots of exciting stories to tell. The stories had to wait till Sunday, as we had church the next morning and it was almost 10 when they got home. We, also, had to wait to hear from Little Princess cause this was as far as she got..

Isn't she sweet when she is asleep?
She just couldn't make it here. And she is not too little, so we left her there for the night.

The noise did not bother them. The length of the time sitting there didn't bother them. They had a blast! Who knew? At least they like to shop and read and do puzzles, otherwise I wouldn't know who their mother was!

Growing Up and Changing Online Nicknames

As hard as it is to admit sometimes, my kiddos are growing up.  Although they have not outgrown their names we so lovingly prayed over and gave them when they were born, their online names are another story.
There was some shock and dismay from Daddy's Buddy when he became aware enough of his online name.  Too little boyish for him.  He asked me to change it right away.  I didn't, but only because I did not know how to go about changing his name or what to rename him.  I couldn't possibly refer to him as child number 4.  He has since referred to himself as Dad's Bud.

Flutter Nutter has since turned 6.  And well, I will always hold dear this name we gave him, but I have to admit he is becoming quite the young man and Flutter Nutter no longer suites him.  The name around the house we hear more often than not is "The MAN".  So from this point on, "The Man" it is.

Fun Mom heard I was renaming her brothers and she asked about hers.  She's right.  She doesn't mother them much anymore.  They all are growing up and kind know what they are doing.  Sometimes she isn't even the one babysitting.  She is starting the transition years of getting ready to fly from the nest.  Oh where did the time go?  A friend of mine likes to refer to her as "Fun Girl".  So Fun Girl it will be.

Kind of sad this changing of names.  It is a mark of the seasons changing and my kids growing up.  But I am focused on enjoying the here and now with each one of them.

Smile for the Camera Fun Mom!

Big Smile for a Big Day!

Driver's Permit

Rules of the Road according to Fun Mom

When driving on wet, slippery roads, the speed limit is...........?
Fun Mom:  As fast as you can drive.
laughter  ! ! !
Fun Mom:  Safely,  As fast as you can drive Safely!
Close to the answer given by the book.  Reasonable speed for the road conditions.

MidWest Hockey League Championships this weekend!

Favorite memories of the weekend so far:

The morning started off early at 5:30.  Had to leave for the ice by 7:00.  But hotel breakfast didn't start till 7:00 so we had to hunt out some food for us and coffee for Fun Mom.  Gotta keep her fun.  Sooo as Big O Daddy O was trying to figure out how to order a Mocha Frappe, Flutter Nutter renames it a Mocha Flabby.  He wants one too.  Anyone who knows Flutter Nutter knows he doesn't need coffee.  He is like the Ice Age Squirrel after 3 pots of coffee on a normal day with no caffeine.  So there was a unanimous veto by the whole crew in the suburban.  Poor Guy!  No Mocha Flabby for him.

Hockey Player was fighting for the puck when his stick was ripped from his hands.  But he kept fighting for the puck.  Shoulders and Feet.  Kept the opposition away by blocking his stick with his feet.  That's my guy ~ warrior through and through!   I would have thrown myself on the ice and hollered, "you can't have my puck!"  Not my boy.  That was big fist bump moment for Mom and son! !

Life through the eyes Fun Mom!

Pictures I found on my camera when trying to load pictures in the past week

They make me smile!

Random Conversations!

The girls are loom knitting. A lot of loom knitting is happening here. Aunt Sharon has ordered 26 hats and scarves. So when they aren't sleeping, eating or doing their school work, their fingers are busy. We were in the car tonight and a discussion was started about making hats for babies at the hospital for next summer. Patterns, designs and colors are free for the imagination while their fingers are busy. This particular idea was about babies born on the Fourth of July and having patriotic hats awaiting them. Little Princess didn't want to exclude babies that were already in the hospital. What about the babies born on July 2nd or 3rd and maybe had wet lung?
Wet lung? Yes, she knows about wet lung. She has heard about her birth story and the day and a half she spent in the NICU. However, she doesn't know what wet lung is and asks me. But before I can respond, Flutter Nutter excitedly announces, "I know what wet lung is!"
Fun Mom, a lot quicker than her mom, responds with, "Tell us what it is Flutter Nutter!"
His response: Wet lung is when you take your shirt off and get wet all over!
Quietly, my shoulders shake and quiver and I compose myself before telling him, not quite. I then proceed to answer Little Princess's question. But I get his logic and I really enjoy learning about the world through his eyes.

Why it seems nothing ever gets done at home...

Lately, I am trying to keep from losing my hair.  Gray hair, no problem.  Hair loss could be a problem.
I look around my house and it seems to be in utter disarray. 
Then I have a day/night like I did today. 
Up early, got around for the day.  Took care of some paperwork.  Answered some school questions. 
Met realtor to review inspection list for house my dad is buying. 
Get ladder to inspect a roof.  We were having trouble believing the roof was okay.  Seller said the roof was replaced in 2009.  We happen to know there was softball size hail in the neighborhood in 2010. 
Big O Daddy O climbed up and all was well.  Matter of fact, he was greatly impressed.
Off to get a Pepsi, cause I am fading now. 
More paperwork, phone calls, count up popcorn sales and money for Cub Scouts, it is due tonight.
Whoops, missed lunch.  Time to teach English.  High school English and discuss MacBeth. 
The time quickly passes. 
Time for allergy shots, schedule a handful more and then post some packages at Dillons.
Home once again.  Just in time to start thinking of dinner. 
Fortunately, Fun Mom offers to prep dinner, while I lay down and work on Cub Scouts with Daddy's Buddy and Awana with Little Princess.
Little Princess is off to do her research now that I have her pointed in the right direction on the Awana website.
Daddy's Buddy is brushing teeth, lotioning hands and personal chores thanks to the Cub Scouts' section on caring for one's self.  Then, we discuss character trait: Faith. 
Close the eyes, but it is time to eat and I have to choose between snooze or eat.  Did I mention I missed lunch, and instead ate a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and a few handfuls of Cheez-its? 
Fun Mom has made chicken noodle soup from the basic of ingredients.  A great job she has done.  No canned soup for this girl. 
Time to leave:
First drop off Fun Mom for a play performance, featuring several home school friends. Then, a stop at the library cause it is only 2 or 3 blocks from Cub Scouts. 
Next, Daddy's Buddy has Cub Scouts and Little Princess and Flutter Nutter will hang out with us there.  Hockey Player will be picked up and taken to the rink by a teammate. 
Blink, blink, notes here, notes there, a little flag folding, wiggling, election, debating, and snacks Cub Scouts is over. 
Late heading out, a few phone calls while driving, pick up Hockey Player, pick up Fun Mom, and take the long way home around because the short way is closed due to construction!  Home sweet home and it is 9:45. 
10:30 and everyone but mom is in bed. 
Leftover Braum's and a bit more paperwork, computer work.  The day is done. 
But wait, just in case I can't remember why my house looks like it does in the morning, I will blog a reminder of the day(s) before. 

What's a Hockey Mom to Do??

So I have never been all that excited about sports that require full on physical contact.
Why risk getting hurt? Just silly.
Then I had boys.
Still not all that excited about contact sports.
But what does this mom do?
Well, when 70 pound Hockey Player is a defenseman,
playing with kids that weigh twice as much,
I PRAY and cheer for him.
Momma knows the best defensive is to be fast and to go in, at full speed.
But that doesn't always get the job done.
I tell him to treat the other players like his sisters.
He actually likes to annoy his sisters. He does a pretty good job at it.
I tell him to knock some kids on their padded backsides.
When Fun Mom loaded these pics up and I was playing with them, I whooped and hollered.
My boy threw his shoulder and raised his elbow, which he shouldn't have done I will admit.
However, my boy played it through and knocked the kid off of him!

Tears

It has been a teary week.   First it started with realizing this would be Hockey Player's final official year of Awana.  Should he finish his book this year, he will earn his Timothy Award.  That took me down memory lane.  Cause with our club, they always ask parents what they will remember  most.  I can't help but remember Fun Mom's Timothy Award. 
These two kiddos are intrinsically "tied" together when it comes to Awana.  Cubbies came into our life as an answer to desperate momma prayers.  I wanted something to help me teach my sweet toddler "Fun Mom" about Jesus.  Pregnant with Hockey Player, my then 3 year old Fun Mom started going to Cubbies.  Beginning my journey of learning how to sit, walk, and live my life while teaching these precious children about God.  I had no idea, that a month into her first year of Cubbies, I would be laying in a hospital room in organ failure with dangerously high blood pressure, scared doctors and being induced. I was actually admitted, shortly after taking her to Awana.  I thought I was just going to get checked and sent home.  I wasn't scared when they told me I needed to be induced.  All I could think on was the Bible verses I had been helping my little Cubbie to memorize.... "All have sinned.."  "While we were sinners, Christ died for us..."   "God loved us and sent his son..."   I was asked once by my dear sister how it was I had the presence of mind to quote scripture at a time like that.  I had no real answer for her.  Many years later and many more life experiences later, my answer would be different....practice.  When I spend my time focused on God's Word, it is only natural it comes to mind when times are desperate.  Not that I can honestly say, I have done it "right" all these years since.  I have had my times of distraction, to only realize how distracted I have become because when I am desperate again and there are cobwebs where there should not be.  A reminder for why we are encouraged by God's Word to not grow weary in doing what we know is right (Gal. 6:9).

So as I dwell on my second's growing up and the faithfulness of God in his life, my littlest is starting kindergarten at home.  He graduated Cubbies last year and is starting in Sparks.  So ever glad, I am not sending him off on a bus.  I think it would be even harder on this momma .  My littlest girl turned 10.  She will, hopefully, be trying to earn her Timothy Award next year.  Daddy's Buddy is graduating Sparks this year.  So many milestones, so many reflections. 

A blessed reunion with extended family this weekend. Only six of the "greats" (3 + spouses) are still around.  God showed me how very much I am loved by my extended family.  Something I have known, but I saw it with my heart this weekend.  Made me a bit weepier.  With a childhood torn apart by divorce and lies of this world I sometimes can get lost in bad memories and then God so gently reminds me of the good memories and blesses me with the many grandparently hugs I have been missing for so many years.  I have a place where I belong. 

Then a phone call from my dad. 
My heart tells me maybe I shouldn't put off for another year what can be done now.  It is time for some more memory making. 
Tears, a little heart wrenching at times, soothing at others, joyful still.  But never unnoticed by my Heavenly Father.  May I always rest in the palms of His hands.

Home Economics Home School Style !

So my motto around here with my kids is "to be above reproach"
One of my goals with home schooling is that our kids are prepared for the world.  That may mean public school at some time in the future.  Who knows where God will lead us?  But I want to present a positive light on home education.  I don't want to do harm to the name of home education.  I, also, don't want to do harm to my children.  Should they end up in public school, I don't want for them to look at me and say, "Why didn't you push me?" 
Today, I told a young teen and mom who will be joining my sophomore daughter in English, "Be prepared, I am going to work you to death.  I triple the amount of work to compensate for my feelings of inadequacy."  To which the mom laughed and I am sure the teen, gulped and groaned. 
But along those same thoughts, Fun Mom is "taking" Home Ec. this year.  Why?  Well cause she wants to take cake decorating classes.  Well I figure that is not enough. I calculated how many hours she would spend in class, and in my kitchen prepping for the class.  Then I considered how many hours she would spend in a high school class room.  Not enough hours.  So what did I do....I compensated and created and amazing list of accomplishments for her to achieve this year in "Home Ec".  The bonus is I am going to get a huge break in the kitchen.  hee hee.  The amazing part is how well she will be prepared for life beyond our home. 
Here is her syllabus for the year.
HOME ECONOMICS 1

Take Basic Cake Decorating Class 1
Take Basic Cake Decorating Class 2
Take Basic Cake Decorating Class 3
Take a Cookie Decorating Class
Take a Cake Ball Decorating Class
Learn to prepare a Roast using a crockpot
Learn to prepare a Roast in the oven
Prepare and Cook a Whole Chicken
Learn to Use and Clean a Grill
Use a Grill
Use a Grill
Prepare and Bake Cinnamon Carmel Rolls from scratch
Prepare and Bake Bread Rolls from scratch
Learn to prepare a Meatloaf
Learn to bake an assortment of pies
Assist in preparing family meals and clean up
Assist in creating grocery lists and shopping for necessary ingredients

Home Economics 2
Sew a pillow
Learn basics of laundry
Plan a raised garden for the next year. Research it and price materials.
Start plants if needed for the above garden.
Balance a checkbook
Home Mechanics: breaker box, hot water heater, furnace, air conditioner, fireplace
Identify and use of basic tools, i.e. Phillips head screwdriver, wrench, etc.
Help stain the yard’s fence
Weather proofing a home
Assist in any other home repair and/or maintenance projects
How to use a lawn mower (1)
Mow the year a second time
How to use a weed-eater (1)
Weed eat a second time
Basic plumbing skills

Now guaranteed she is very skilled in the kitchen.  But I have decided to expand her skills in the kitchen and home.  Her dad is excited about teaching her how to use a lawn mower and weed eater.  Honestly, she is excited about this course work.  Geometry not so much, but the above list of things to do, she is alright with.
Not your typical Home Ec. class. 

Yummy ! !

Don't these look yummy! 

Fun  Mom is taking cake decorating classes. 

I have incorporated these classes into her school year.  Part of her Home Economics class. 

She did these cupcakes the day after we found out she had dry socket from getting her wisdom teeth out.

She was shaky, puny and at the end of the class all she wanted to do was to go to bed.
The class was on making different kind of flowers. 
She can decorate cupcakes for me anytime! 

I am sooo proud of her.

I didn't get to try one. 
Next time though. ;)

No photography this week

Thinking we need to post a "No Cameras" sign on our front door this week. 
Both my girls had oral surgery today.  The eldest lost her wisdom teeth, the youngest, some gum tissue. 
Fun Mom wants company.  She wants sympathy.  But she won't let her friends near her, until their lack of photographic equipment is proven.  I have thought about sneaking a few pics while they sleep.  But their suffering hurts this momma's heart too much. 

Cake Boss I am not, but I did get it done...

So I come home one night to discover that Fun Mom and her friend had designed the birthday cake for Fun Mom. The first words out of my mouth were, "Who do you think I am, Cake Boss?"

To which they laughed.

The cake they designed even had a wire feature that would require being covered in fondant.

The dear friend, that she is, offered to be there to help me. She would make the wire feature and would even cover it fondant.
Guess what, she wasn't able to come over after all...she was with her dad.
Not that the wire feature would have happened. :)
On the other hand, her mom and little sister were there helping to roll out fondant shapes. To taste the fondant and offer comedy and support as I attempt this mammoth cake. 4 cake mixes, lots of frosting and fondant. ONE BIG HUG and Happy daughter. She is so not allowed to make her next cake this complicated. And I need to take a fondant class and learn to make marshmallow fondant.

Feathers...they just get this momma in trouble

So just a little while ago, my oldest turned 15. What did she want for her birthday? A feather in her hair! What did I say in return, "Will you call it macaroni?" Fun Mom, didn't think I was too funny. Why do you want a feather? Cause some of my friends have them and they are cool. I couldn't help myself, "Cause birds of feather flock together?"

So in spite of the constant laughter on my part, I decided we could do this. The one liners, I must admit just kept coming. That first night, I laughed so much, that even dear hubby told me I had to get a grip and stop laughing. But it only got worse, cause.....

I was going to make it happen and fortunately for my sweet daughter, her cousin, my niece posted these instructions on how to adorn one's mane with feathers. We can do this ourselves, I told her. Of course, her cousin is one cool cousin and that was okay. We texted her in Colorado. We found the tools and devices. But feathers??? They were hard to find. Texted my niece...checked out the stores she recommended.

Guess what?? Fly fishing is not as big in Kansas as in some other places. But, we were referred to a fly fishing store. We went, the guy knew we were coming... I should have known something was up. He greeted me at the door and said, "don't have any." HUH???? Don't have any what??? "What you are looking for?" But I haven't asked for anything. "I know what you are here for." You do???? Someone from the day before tipped him off that I was coming. But I didn't understand, left my name and number and left. But the birthday is now days away. I had no idea feathers would be difficult to come by. So I call my Gander Mountain loving friend. Well actually, she loves the man in her life who loves Gander Mountain in Wisconsin and sent her an SOS text. I, also, send a similar SOS to my sis in Colorado Springs. I am, meanwhile, on the computer looking up fly fishing stores in Colorado. My friend is in Wisconsin talking to her husband asking for feathers and he is like what??? Have I mentioned how much everyone adores FUN MOM! ! So my sis finds them in Colorado and priority mails them to us and they arrive within hours of party time.

YEAH ! !

Fun Mom, meanwhile, is not very impressed. This is far more of an ordeal than she bargained for and she doesn't understand why the salon is out of the question. AND she is very frustrated, her mother starts laughing hysterically at the mere thought of a feather, bird or anything fowl. Why??? might you ask. Well, in the course of searching fly fishing shops in Colorado, I came across a few online articles about these feathers....

This led to a little research about where these feathers come from....

Supposedly fly fishermen are angry. They can't find the feathers they need for their hobby. Why?? because they are walking all over the world not on fishing hooks but on the heads of human race. And yet there is a tremendous irony to this little fact. Which sends me rolling on the floor in hysterics, much to Fun Mom's displeasure. You see these feathers come from roosters. In particular, rooster's behinds. They are tail feathers ! ! !! Roosters are the males of their species. Male birds are all pretty colors and fancy to attract their more duller in appearance female counterparts. Think on this a bit. What particular part of the human race are attracted to these feathers..... the females. They are wearing tale feathers on their heads. They aren't attracting the males of the human race. They are annoying them. This irony sends me over the top. However, when you are 15 or almost 15, these ironies are not appreciated, nor is the uncontrolled laughter of the mother.

Alas, I get myself under control. Voila, my daughters and the friends have feathers. One day, the neices will have feathers too.

Aren't they beautiful???

and now they can "go shake their tale feathers! "

My Favorite Quoteables of the Day

Courtesy of Hockey Player.
The Mom: HP, have you learned the states and their capitals?
HP: Some of them, I know more now than I knew before.
Mom: Laughter, lots of laughter. Maybe, 5 minutes of laughter. It sure did not generate the same enthusiastic chuckle from dad. Though Dad said, "Wow, he used more than one word to answer!"
Hockey Player is honest. He is a man of few words. But how can you argue with, "I know more than before."
Well, he better learn them quick. The test is coming.


Between Fun Mom and Flutter Nutter.
Flutter Nutter is waiting for Fun Mom to finish her homework.
When she finishes there will be a trip to the store for marshmallows for Rice Krispie Treats.
He comes to get close to me, because sometimes he just needs to be right by my side. He discovers my secret stash for Scooby Doo Fruit Snacks! ARGH. He is so sweet..... Yes you can have one. But there is two.
"Can I share them?" he asks.
"No, there's not enough (I have been eating them), go to the table."
"Flutter Nutter, can I have some?" Fun Mom.
FN: "No, not till you finish your school work!"
laughter
FM: "Can I have something to help me get through and finish, an incentive? Pleeeeeease!"
FN: "NO!, not till you finish your work!"
She tries to blackmail him with brownies, to no avail. He wants his Rice Krispie Treats. She best hurry bedtime is in an hour.
I love it, for once it wasn't me ordering her to a chair to get work done! !

Mom's Reflections...

I have tried really hard to take the wisdom of those before me to heart.
Especially, "enjoy the children because they grow up all too quickly."
It is true they do grow up quickly and I have found the more children I have the faster they grow up. It wasn't too long ago I looked at my middles and wondered where the preschool/toddler days went. I realized the addition of baby after baby left me with blurry memories. Now I am losing those very same days with my youngest. The olders are bigger and busier and I find myself in this fight against time to gain time with each of them while they are at this very moment. Then there is the struggle with my own selfish nature of just wanting a quiet moment for myself, a nap, a moment to stop and truly look around. There are times when I get the chance to stop and take a deep breath and I realize my surroundings have changed. It is no longer summer, the leaves are falling off the trees and then I blink and I am running for hats and scarves because of the bite in the air.

Lately, I have been savoring the sweetness of Little Princess. Her desire to comfort and serve others. She loves giving back rubs and scratches. She is learning new domestic arts, which she really enjoys.
Savoring the preciousness of Flutter Nutter. He is quick to say thank you without prompting, flatter his momma with no prompting, just the pure love and joy in his heart, and his innocent honesty when he is reflecting on things.
Hockey Player has been renicknamed this year around the house. I affectionately call him "Man-Child" and/or "Mowgli". If you can't remember where these names come from, take sometime to review Jungle Book. In the blink of an eye, Hockey Player has grown. He is no longer a boy, but not quite a man. He is clipping those apron strings from mom and gently sending me packing. He does still dote on me in his own ways. But he is becoming a man. He even has hairy toes now! That sends me in shock...I remember those precious little baby feet, the ones I kissed and tickled. Now they are strong feet, feet with a purpose and destination. In them, I see strength and manliness and my momma's heart aches with the truth, the days with this man-child are numbered and quickly passing.
Fun Mom leaves me all twisted with joy and anxiety. Her aunt once said, God made babies and little children, cute and adorable so we would continue to care for them and enjoy them. (Even if they flushed hot wheels and animal figurines down the toilet...my addition) But God, also made them to grow up and in that process allowed them to become annoying and irritating enough that as parents we didn't mind clipping some of those apron strings and giving them a good positive shove out of the nest. I am enjoying walking alongside Fun Mom during these years. The conversations we are able to have. We are moving away from the time where everything I say she just takes in and accepts. She asks questions, she reflects, she ponders, she makes observations. There are more and more adult conversations between us. There are the moments when "the littles", as the younger siblings are called, provide humor to us, that only the two of us get and we can look at one another in amusement and smile. A special time, where we are both enjoying their innocence and yet sharing in the private joke. The beginnings of a friendship, that I hope and pray survives the coming years to the time when we are mostly past the role of mothering and daughtering. In the midst of these precious moments, she does something so shocking to my system I am reminded, she too is growing up. Another apron string has broken and the struggle for independence and adulthood is still enduring and I have to let go just a little bit more.
Then there is Daddy's Buddy. He has had a tough autumn. Lots of changes in this boy. No longer little. Impatient to be like his big brother Hockey Player. Slicing those strings with mom with great warrior-likeness to only come running back for a brief moment or two. Even those moments are getting farther apart. He has lost his first tooth and for him that means he has arrived to Big Kid status. He has his own personal struggles. Ones we are learning alongside with him about and how to help him overcome them. Part of that overcoming involves in our interaction with him. He responds best when he is spoken to as an adult. Everything is very mature and grown-upishness with him. This Christmas he keeps making plans to fill everyone's stockings, even though Santa does it. He is planning and organizing when all will get done. He has taken over the responsibility to make sure Christmas happens. Decorations, check; menu, check; presents, check; calendar countdown, check and so on.
It seems all too quickly, I have only one little one left in my nest, Flutter Nutter, and he is very content to stay little. You might even say he has Peter Pan syndrome. The others are all leaping from the nest and trying to soar. How does a momma stop to even sleep when she knows very well, that the time is coming when one by one her little ones are going to take off soaring and if she even blinks, she will miss it?

Geminid Meteor Shower

Ever so slowly I am reading through our astronomy book by Jeannie Fulbright. Last night at the hockey rink while Daddy's Buddy was going through drills, Little Princess, Hockey Player and I read about comets, meteors, and asteroids. At the end of the chapter is a chart giving approximate dates for meteor showers throughout the year. Instructions to go to a website were also included. Thanks to technology, I did a quick internet search and discovered that very night there was to be a meteor shower. Now it will continue for a few more days...till the 16th, if I remember correctly. But God's timing is perfect, because we didn't have to be up at a certain time this morning. With excited kids who asked if they could sleep in, we made our plans.
If you get a chance to head out in the cold, cold night this week, do so!
Hockey Player, Little Princess, Fun Mom and I headed out just after midnight to escape the city lights. It took us a while to position ourselves in the right direction. Hockey Player wasn't able to keep his eyes open long enough. One of the disadvantages of having had a game earlier in the evening, and a tournament the past weekend. He was pooped. The girls and I weren't disappointed. Beautiful !
We opted to head home before the shower peaked, but sleep was calling. We were blessed with the opportunity to watch the shower as we headed home.

It appeared to me the shower was coming from the south. Though one of the employees at the observatory said to keep our eyes towards the northeast. ?? ?? But the best vantage point was just looking straight up! If only it wasn't so cold, I would have reclined on the ground, instead of hovering in the suburban with my face pressed to the glass. I did eventually roll the windows down and stick my head out the window while the motor and heat were running. When the clouds thinned, we could see the meteors traveling through the sky, with one or two suddenly falling towards the earth as a shooting star! It was breath taking.

Unless Hockey Player begs to try again this week, we won't head out again. Sleep is crucial for this momma to function. But definitely worth the loss of sleep last night.

Learning a New Language

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine myself learning this new language.
Testosteronese
I have been a little slow at picking it up. But I had a break through tonight with Daddy's Buddy. He actually understood me the first time I spoke.

I need you to sit down proper in your seat. We are going 64 miles per warp speed. If I get to light speed you might fly out the window.

He sat.

The tension in the suburban was thick. Would Mom make it it time? We were 3 minutes from the start of the new Clone Wars episode. I was doing all sorts of warp speed down the highway. Threatening to slow down out of warp speed if children did not remain safely seated and buckled into their seats.

Then there was "Hold on, I am making a warp speed turn."
To which Fun Mom corrected me, "Light speed turn."
I will rejoice in the one success today. :)

Science for the day!

Can't remember what I was doing exactly yesterday afternoon. But I happened to see a spider on Little Princess' window. Went to see about killing but not before noticing the fly he was carrying around in his jaws. No web. Just eight furry legs and a dead fly. I couldn't resist and called the kids to come check it out. There were a few who said, "cool!" and one that just squealed and squeaked and shrieked, "ewww!" Another, who just watched in awe. I went to capture him in a jar to let him outside. He had endeared himself to me. I couldn't bring myself to kill him after the entertainment he had inspired in Fun Mom to provide me with. :) And the awe and coolness factor I was elevated to for calling the children to witness such a fantasticly, gross discovery.
But, oops, he jumped, I was startled and now he is somewhere in Little Princess' room. Fun Mom went a little nutso and announced there was absolutely no way she was ever going to sleep in Little Princess' room ever again. I never told Little Princess. She woke just fine this morning. Doesn't seem to be missing any blood or body parts. Though, she does keep living behind some sticky substance everywhere she does......