A Laugh a Minute

These kids keep me in stitches.  Today at Wal-Mart, we used the brand new family restroom.  F exclaimed about the cute little potty, just for the little folk.  When we came out of the restroom, she saw an employee...a male employee, and told him how much she loved his potty.  He said, "Well, it isn't mine, but I will let my manager know."  She said, "Don't you live here?"  He said, "Sometimes it feels like it."  She said, "Well, what do you do here then?"  I said, "He sells things.  Now stop talking and let's go!"

A few minutes later, F stepped on S's heels or ran into him or something.  He got cranky with her and she said something and then, "...and I will NEVER do it AGAIN!"  A sweet little old lady, who probably should have minded her own business said, "Oh, I'm sure you will."  F turned to her with her maddest face and said, "I WON'T! HMPF!"  I quickly said, "Don't sass, F!"  F shouted, "Well SHE shouldn't sass ME!"  She was right, but I waited until we were a little farther away before telling her that.

After dinner, she climbed up on the couch to sit next to me.  She sweetly said, "Mama, last night you snored so loud that I heard it from my room and it woke me up and SCARED me!  I sat up and went [she screams loudly]! I thought you were a MONSTER!"  Really? I thought I was awake all night listening and waiting for my children to start throwing up, one after another, since IJ started around midnight and there is a nasty flu going around.

Speaking of IJ, F doesn't get all the funnies.  Tomorrow I need to take them all to my midwife appointment.  Here is how a typical conversation goes:

Me: I have to take you all to my midwife appointment tomorrow morning.
S: What's a midwife?
Me: She is the lady that will help me deliver this baby.
IJ: Deliver? Like a package? (switches to obnoxious voice) Here's you package lady (pantomimes ripping paper off a box) Oh, a baby boy! He even comes with a name tag!
Me: And she is going to take my blood...
IJ: She's a vampire too?
E: She's going to drink your blood tomorrow? (hides under blanket)
S: Is the baby going to be born tomorrow? (okay, S didn't really say this.  But it is something he would say and then everyone would stare at him while a cricket chirps in the background.  He actually asked if we would find out the gender tomorrow)

More Fun at My House

The septic system is now fully functional.  All we have left to do is get inspected by the county and pay the bill.

We had an exciting development on Friday.  They dug the trenches and started laying the drain field.  I noticed there was something...big...missing.  Like the old drain field.  There were no plastic or concrete pipes being dug up with the trenches.  Only tree roots.  Where the heck was the old drain field?  After the guys left, we went poking around and found they had uncovered a second old septic tank. Huh? Where did that come from?  It was located suspiciously under what used a be a mound of dirt and an ornamental tree-that M removed last year.  It was apparent that the original owner abandoned this old tank and put in a new one...but it had no drain field because it had no base.  It drained straight down.

When we first started having problems with the septic and started calling people out to solve the problem, one solution was terralift.  This is when they break up the soil around the drain field and create new pathways for air and water to improve drainage.  It was pretty expensive-about half the cost of a new system and no guarantees, so we decided to get a new system instead.  Boy am I glad we didn't pay to have someone terralift my yard that doesn't even have a drain field!  Another company wanted to hose out the drain field pipes.  Would that be something when they said, "...uhhh...we can't find the pipes!"

IJ pretends that he dug up that whole stump.

The fun thing that happened today was the removal of the maple tree stump.  The maple tree shaded us through many summer barbecues over the years, but because it was so old and so close to the house, M decided to cut it down when we moved here.  In the process he almost killed himself and almost dropped the tree on the house.  The core was completely rotten.  The digger (or "diga-diga-diga" as D calls it) was able to yank that stump out and drag it across the pasture in about 30 minutes.  We were impressed.

After the stump was placed, I came out of the house looking cross and said, "I don't like it.  Put it back!"

This is what the yard looks like.  They are bringing in a bulldozer next to level the yard.  After that will be figuring out how to put in a fence and replant grass.

Fun at My House

F is still cracking us up with all the cute things she says.  Among them yesterday were:

"I'm afraid [E] is going to kiss my prince!"

(F is caught throwing a book at E-unrelated to the prince-kissing above- and tries to keep E from telling on her)
Me: ...and you can't hide your sins, because although I can't see everything, God can and he can see you sinning.
F: Well, I can hide my money!

(F gets her finger caught in the baby gate and scrapes some skin off the first knuckle of her right pinkie finger.  There is no blood.  Just missing skin.)
F: (sobbing-five minutes after the accident) ...and it's not as fancy as it used to be and it will never be soft again!  Wah!!!!

The end of Monsieur Hiver

Now, you can laugh at me, the pregnant lady:  I watched the movie Ramona and Beezus with my kids yesterday.  I haven't been this emotionally affected by a movie since I watched Dumbo right after E was born.  I couldn't help it.  It had to be the hormones.  When Picky Picky died, I just lost it.  Big, fat, rolling tears that I just couldn't keep from rolling down my cheeks.  Maybe it was because Ramona was my best friend growing up, along with Laura Ingalls. 

 Also? I can smell everything.  Just ask Pathetic Doberman, who found an old, stinky fish head to roll in yesterday.  Or the hat that was left on the wood stove rack to dry too long. 

E lost her second tooth yesterday...and lost it again somewhere on the floor.  She learned her hand isn't necessarily the safest place she could keep her tooth while waiting for bedtime.  She was pleasantly surprised to find $.99 when she woke up-all in pennies and dimes which she just learned to count in math.  I'm sure the Tooth Fairy will leave the other penny when the lost tooth is located.

I am convinced that God made the ground freeze on purpose last night-just for me.  The pump truck did not get stuck this morning.  And now the old tank is out!

For your education, this is a septic tank

I turned around just in time to see that digger pull up my daffodil tire.  I ran out and asked the digger to stop so I could rescue my bulbs.  This I did, and I hope M appreciates that I froze my fingers off, digging in frozen dirt to save his mother's flowers.

Let's Be Sensible

How about a homeschool post?  This week's theme has been The Five Senses.  It was really nice focusing on one thing this week (not including math).  We read a biography about Helen Keller, E read an easy reader out loud about the five senses, the boys drew and labeled the eye using our anatomy encyclopedia, and we had all sorts of impromptu sense discussions ("I smell the dog!").  We found the different taste areas on the tongue, learned about Braille, and IJ learned the difference between a primary resource and a secondary resource.

E is afraid of what she might smell

We did an experiment on what I just discovered is called the Stroop Effect.  I've seen these brain teasers on facebook, but this was the first time I did it with my kids.  We were really surprised when IJ and I really struggled, but S did not.  We tested E too, because she can't read without sounding out words.  We concluded that because IJ and I are strong readers, our brains have to work harder to see the color and not read the words.  S is not a strong reader, so he had an easier time blocking out the printed word. 

If the drink is green, it must be lime flavored.

Today we did two experiments, one with detecting vinegar concentrations in water by smelling and one with sight's effect on taste.  The experiments came from this book that we got from the library.  I though for sure IJ would catch on to the fact that all the different colored drinks were actually the same, especially since he is a snoop and probably read the entire book when I wasn't looking.  But I fooled him!

Now they are playing a game they call "Hidey Ho," which is the Fraggle Rock version of Marco Polo.  E is blind folded and has to find S ("Watch out for the stairs honey!"), using her sense of hearing.  But I must go now and investigate what my senses are telling me about D getting into mischief!

Cranky

OK.  I know the ground is wet.  For crying out loud, it has been either snowing or raining for DAYS.  But this is too much.  The new septic tank was supposed to go in last week.  I've been living on restricted water draining for a MONTH now.  We WERE supposed to get the new tank in tomorrow, but I've been told they are going to wait ONE MORE DAY because I'm sure 24 hours is going to make a HUGE difference in how much the soil is going to dry.  Weather forecast? RAIN! Yep, 24 hours will give us drier soil.  I doubt it.

Near the End

Here are the last pictures of the ice and snow...

Our blocked driveway.  These branches were all coated with ice-but that didn't stop M from driving right through them, much like an icy car wash!

M on the deserted road, salvaging next winter's firewood.  The pick-up van will never be the same.

Walking the 10 acre parcel to check for downed trees.  We lost a few, but that's okay. 

The snow is slowly melting away and the snowman fell a few days ago.  It has been pouring down rain, completely saturating the soil with rain and snow melt.  Great.  Just in time for the excavator to come in a few days and turn the backyard into a big, muddy pit.  But at least I can run the dishwasher again!  And I've heard that big winds are blowing in tonight, so I'm getting ready for more power outages!

Survivor: Twin Firs Edition

Our power went out yesterday morning.  This storm TRIED to rival the storm of '96, but here I am, one day later, with power.  Ha HA!  But yesterday we didn't know we'd get power back.  And M doesn't do well without power.  Not that he is a pansy or anything; he just needs to work.  He gets restless and cranky, like a husky with no sled to pull.  Or a caveman with no mammoth to spear.  Not having a computer caused a series of crazy events that resulted in a pretty fun day.

The Twin Firs, covered in ice and snow

First, we are well aware of what happens out here when there is no power.  But we are prepared.  I was completely content to sit by the wood stove and knit all day.  M paced, worried about work and having no power for 14 days (like his parents in '96), and exclaimed variations of, "We're in trouble!"  I sat calmly and said, "No we're not. We have bottled water, a propane stove and four bottles of propane, Folgers coffee-and a hand grinder if we run out of Folgers, vanilla creamers to make the Folgers taste better, plenty of firewood for the wood stove, and plenty of food."  That was like stirring up a bees nest! I should have agreed with him and cried about how doomed we were.  We also have an old-fashioned phone that plugs into the wall so we can call people to check our email for us.  And lots of batteries and flashlights.  But that wasn't good enough!  He was making me crazy!  Couldn't I just sit and knit in peace?  Couldn't he just find a book and read by the fire?  He finally lost patience and made us all go clean our rooms (myself included), because just because the power is out, doesn't mean we get to sit around all day.  He then decided he needed a cup of coffee and headed outside to fire up the stove.

Everything has a coating of ice like this

About a half an hour later, I decided to see how the coffee was going.  I stepped outside and found the car missing and the sound of a chainsaw in the distance.  'Thank goodness, he has something to do!" I thought to myself.  And I went downstairs to knit by the fire again.  And dream about a little cabin that has a generator for M to live in when the power goes out.  With his dogs.

The driveway-when there were only two branches down

It is pretty dangerous outside.  The 12 inches of snow froze.  The weight is pulling all the trees down.  You can go stand outside and listen to the crackling ice as the breeze moves the frozen branches.  It is hard to walk because your legs get stuck in the ice crust on top of the snow.  Several trees have fallen around the property, but none have damaged anything.  Only that pesky madrona that landed on the power line on our street.  When M drove up to see what he could see (he refuses to be snowed in), he found the people that live in the development behind us passing their children and car seats to people on the other side of the madrona.  The power had only been out for a few hours, but it was cold!  I can understand how people without wood stoves would be anxious to get their kids someplace warm.  Especially when you never know how long it will be until the crews get this far south to rescue us!

Flushing water courtesy of snow melt

My hero pulled his car over to the side of the road, opened the trunk, and whipped out his chainsaw!  He rescued all the helpless residents and saved the children!  And since we happen to have a wood burning stove...He came back home to get the van.

Who needs a pick-up truck when you have a minivan?

He will  never be allowed to say the kids trash the van.  He is still, one day later, salvaging firewood off the side of the road.  That madrona was very old.  M said, "I walked by that tree countless times as a kid."  But we now have a least a cord of wood for next year-and that doesn't even count what has fallen out on the property!  When the power company came out and M asked if it was okay for him to salvage, the guy said, "I don't know your name!"

The first load-and more coming!

After spending the day cutting and hauling trees off the power lines, M was finally ready to relax by the fire and wait for it to get dark.  I got the flashlights and batteries ready to go and got the kids started on some fun:

The lantern in the above picture is the one Costco sells.  It has that energy efficient light bulb, but the batteries can't keep it lit for very long.  There is plenty of juice left in the batteries to run the LEDs, so I won't change batteries until the LEDs don't work.  Don't waste your money on that lantern!  I heated leftover beef stew in my cast iron pot on the wood stove for dinner.  We ate by candle light, complete with battery-operated votives and throw away dishes!

After dinner, the kids each took a votive and played hide-n-seek in the dark.  That is one of the best things to do when the power is out!  It was so fun!  And since the heat register runs on batteries, we could see the back half of the house was 50 degrees.  Or colder.  It can't register lower than 50.  So we had the kids bring all their blankets and pillows and had a sleep over party downstairs.

I read out loud as the little ones dropped off one by one.  M and I eventually fell asleep too, after we listened to the sound of snow, ice, and branches breaking from trees.  I woke up when M added some wood to the fire place.  I asked him what time it was since I felt relatively refreshed and very hungry.  It was only 11:20!  Now I knew I was in for a long night...or longer if the power stayed out for days....But the power came back on an hour later and the heat started to run and everything was all better!  The heat is actually running.  It took an hour and a half to get the house to 50 degrees.  M turned the heat up to 55, just to take the chill off.  I still hear it run every once in awhile.  Well, we survived our first power outage!  But it was only 16 hours.  I didn't even get into my canned food or other emergency supplies.  Maybe next time...

Largest Snowman in D Family History

The other day, E said she made the biggest snowball in D Family history.  She thought so, but there were other sisters that came before her that delighted in making big snowballs too.  Today at nap time, I sneaked into M's office and said, "Hey, you wanna build the World's Biggest Snowman?"

He's always up for a challenge.  That's why he married me.  So we headed out into the snow.  Here is how we built the Largest Snowman in D Family History:  First, we made two big snowballs and rolled one down the hill.  Then:

M went down to the pond to get the 12 foot surfboard so we could slide the second snowball on top of the first.  This took three of us pushing (IJ and E joined us outside).  IJ and E made the head and M and I lifted it together to the top.  We were a little worried it would roll off the other side!

Then we packed in the cracks so the snowman wouldn't fall on anyone.  Wouldn't that be dreadful?

We searched all over for the perfect face (M is standing on a bucket to reach the snowman's face-it only looks like he is levitating)...

He has a flower pot hat, spray paint can lids for eyes, bike-hanging hooks for a mustache (IJ's idea), a carrot for his nose ("Find the biggest carrot in the house!"), and a bungee cord for a mouth. 

Reposition the surf board, and we were set!  I can't believe how fun we had.  I could have stayed in all afternoon, nice and cozy by the fire with a knitting project.  But we have 15 acres of 12-inch snow.  It would be a shame to miss a chance to make a memory like this.  Snow like this doesn't come around very often!

Snow Pictures

The House

The Pond

The Pirate is up to his armpits!

IJ makes an igloo, just to have it infested by cats...

...whose first order of business is to add a window...

"That's better!"

A 3 1/2 yo's big snow adventure is walking from the front door to the back.

The 1 1/2 year old didn't make it that far.

My school ruler wasn't big enough; we needed the yard stick!

Ya gotta see it to believe it!

"It's Snow Wonder...

...people read your blog," M says about my last title.  Hard-dee-har-har!

Yesterday, for our science and art, S, E, and I read about how snowflakes are made along with some properties of water.  Then we cut out fire-starting materials, I mean, snowflakes.

Usually, when people cut out snowflakes, they fold the paper in half and in half once more.  This creates snowflakes with eight sections.  Everyone knows that snowflakes have six sections because of the hexagonal nature of the frozen water molecule, right?  I folded many sheets of paper with nice, 60-degree angles for my little scientists.  I knew that protractor would come in handy someday.

D with scissors? Could anything be more scary?

And then they cut it with my vast collection of scrapbooking scissors that were so cheap they hardly cut.  They're good enough for kids; abysmal for scrapbooking.

Where was IJ? Catching up on school work.

As I obsessively checked the National Weather Service website, M added to my insanity by saying things like, "the coming storm could rival the one of '96 where my parents lost power for 14 days."  Yes, I was up at 4:00 this morning, wondering how much snow we had and if we were going to lose power-and water.  Power I can live without.  Water for my coffee I can't.

Creeping out to the living room to peek out the windows was more exciting than Christmas morning!  I haven't seen snow like this down this far south for years!  We would get this much about once a year in the Old Town, while this area would get an inch or two.  I am so happy for my kids, who have gone two whole winters-almost three- without a decent snowfall.  IJ and S were out before breakfast.  They tramped around pretending to be explorers until S got tired and hungry.  He said, "I almost gave up and stayed out there forever."  Now if only they would go back out to find my compost container that someone left outside yesterday... it's buried in the chicken yard someplace they think.

Snow Much Fun!

I've lived in this area my whole life, so I know the disappointment that endless grey, wet winters bring.  I know other states laugh at us when we cancel school for an inch of snow and even send kids home from school early if there is a chance of snow.  It is pretty funny.  But snow days are like getting an extra, unexpected holiday!  It only snows once or twice a year!  And then it only lasts for a day, maybe two.  There is nothing that compares to the excitement and anticipation of snowfall!  As soon as the kids woke up, they were outside in coats, hats, gloves...and pajamas.

I made two full-sized applesauce muffin "cakes" and a gallon of hot cocoa.  That might feed us all on this cold morning!