Happy Birthday to My Sweet Twins!

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Moroccan Nights!

The girls transformed the room into a beautiful tent and we had lots of pillows on the floor and several delicious Moroccan dishes--lamb and couscous, basilla (Moroccan pigeon pie), watermelon and baklava.  

They gave a wonderful skit that showcased what they learned and they were so creative!  We've decided to do China next, so stay tuned.

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Birthdays and Fun Stuff

This is such a fantastic time of year. It's always a race to see who wins--if the weather stays nice I can get a jump on the weeds, or the weather is soggy and the weeds grow 4 inches a day and by the time it dries out they are above my waist. 

This year I want to do Square Foot Gardening. I got so excited when I read it last September and I can hardly wait to have a big garden this year. Big. Lots of stuff and a fall garden and then a winter garden.  Huge garden. Everything but the kitchen sink. 

The Iditarod is going on and we are following it again this year, although it is much harder to follow this time. Last year they had experimented with the top runners having GPS devices so you could follow them along the entire race. This year they charge for the service and it is way more difficult and not nearly as fun to watch. I can't find the screens for some of our favorite ways to follow. I'll try another day and then find someone who might be able to either show me how to access the rest or lodge a polite disgruntlement.

Never mind. Everyone is having trouble. Oh well. 

Jaime has started a blog. She loves to write and will write for hours. This bolts right on for her. Plus it's a great excuse not to be doing schoolwork. Hmm...

We are going to do our Moroccan night on Wednesday. We've been reading lots of books on Morocco and after Awana tomorrow our friends are coming over to spend the night so we can cook the baklava, couscous and lamb, yogurt and cucumber stuff (sorry, forget the name) and hummus and pita. They will all show their notebooks and tell what they've learned, then we'll eat on the low tables while sitting on the floor on pillows in a room they've decorated. It won't be entirely authentic, but it should be fun and we've learned a lot. 

And really? We chose Morocco because we love the food. 

Jason is going for his first overnight at the grandparents on Friday. He's so looking forward to it. I hope he has a wonderful time.

We just celebrated two of the four birthdays we have in this two week span. Kimberly is 22 and Tristan just turned 16. Happy Birthday, lovely children!

Also. The neighbors loaned Tristan a big set of drums to go with the electric guitar he got. I've had a talk with everyone about the difference between "noise" and "music". Practice and bobbles may be disharmonious but expected while learning. Standing outside your bedroom in the hall with the amp turned *way* up and making LOUD screeching and screaming guitar sounds that have nothing to do with any music on this earth is considered "noise" and will be treated with severity.  

That's all for now. Carry on, troops.

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I've Got a Better Idea

I think the scientists would be more valuable finding a way to increase the rate, like say, 100% or more.  

Truly--why do people think rattlesnakes have a specialized niche? Other snakes eat rodents and the same things rattlesnakes eat, and they don't have the down side of poisonous bites. I took care of a guy in the hospital who had been bitten on the finger by a rattlesnake. His arm was swollen and black all the way up to his shoulder. It was horrific. 

I'm not a fan of the pit vipers. 

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Living Room is Finished!

This looks a little grey when it is really a purply eggplant color. I am very pleased with how it came out and now I'm about to tackle Jaime's room, which is quite a more involved undertaking. 

Hurray! One project down!

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Fighting Fires

Wouldn't you have loved to have been here?

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My Current Project

I'm going to ignore that my car is *still* not working.  And because of that, I'm not posting pictures of it being towed. It doesn't deserve any recognition for the grief it continues to put me through. 

Instead, here is my living room transformation. 

I'm a bit unnerved by it at this point, but I'm hoping that it will all look fine when it comes together. I still have that other half to put a second coat on and then replace the baseboards, etc. I think I will like it, but I have a bit of a panic at the edges just in case.

In other news, we went on a fantastic field trip to the fire department with the Homeschool Group this last week. They saw a wonderful and educational movie about the four types of fires and what you use and *do not use* to put each one out. We all learned a lot and they've been talking about it and discussing it since then so it really made an impact.  Then we all went and they got to practice putting out a real fire. They had a liquid fuel fire (diesel, kersosene, etc. mix) and they each took the extinguisher and pulled the pin on it and sprayed the contents on it, walking closer and closer until it was out. All of mine got to take a turn and it was wonderful. 

We've found a math program we love, school is going well. We are studying Ancient Rome right now and are also doing a side study on Morocco with another family. We are putting a lapbook together and will have a Moroccan dinner, sitting on the floor with pillows and tapestries and whatnot, in early March with the entire two families as the children all give a presentation of what they've learned. 

And I signed up the two youngest boys for baseball. Right now it seems like no big deal and I'm going to cling to that delusion as long as I can.

I'm in the process of reading 13 books, with 3 being read concurrently. Only not while I'm on the computer, so I need to go. 

I'll update the room situation soon.  Bye!

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