Procrastination

So, I have started another semester of school and I am starting to think this was not a good idea. I have several things to do for the two classes I am taking, and they are hard. Too hard.  In the past, I could read with the radio on or write a paper in a day or two.  Right now I need complete silence just to understand what all of the words in each sentence mean, and then what all of that means put together. There's lots of googling going on.  

I don't like to complain as a habit (keep your comments to yourself Todd), but I need others to hear about how awful this is and then I will let it go.  So this week for class 1 (Health Care Delivery Systems), I have to participate in a discussion- with references in every post-lots of researching, take a "pretest", listen to a lecture and go to like 50 websites and read/watch things.  And find a health care related non-profit community agency that I can do some analysis on starting next week. Class 2 (Theories of Learning); write a "personal philosophy" of learning before having read any of my 150 pages of assigned reading which will end up being about a 3 page paper.  Questions are like this: "To what level, if any, do you believe explanation of learning is reducible?, What universal truths must the learner grasp?"  Participate in a discussion- same rules as class 1, lecture, websites,etc.  And next week I have to read an entire textbook.  It doesn't sound as bad as it feels. 

I have been distracting myself with cleaning today.  I even used a scrub brush in some places. 

Snowy Oliver

I think that's Alyssa in there.

Stuff we did on Christmas break

The blog of the boring is back!! No, this is not because of a New Year's resolution.  It is because of boredom and some well spent time on Pinterest, which has inspired all kinds of things for me to share with all of my (who am I kidding) loyal followers.

The children have been out of school for what seems like forever.  They have been staying up late as well, which is really cutting down on my "Emily time".  ("Emily time" is usually spent drinking tea and watching Bravo, but we aren't going to judge, right?)  But, we have gotten several things accomplished.  Obviously, there were Christmas celebrations on both sides of the family, Advent services at church, the Zion Christmas program, cookie baking, etc.  Then it was over. 

Thing #1: Box of kids stuff being held for ransom by mom.  I stole this idea from some genius mom on Pinterest.  Sick of picking up after your kids and getting nothing in return?  Hold their things for ransom and make them do chores to get them back.  My box includes an envelope filled with chores that are drawn if a girl wants an item back.  My favorite chores include: clean out a drawer in your bathroom, sweep the kitchen, clean all of the bathroom sinks, and fold the laundry that is in the dryer (because there is always a load in the dryer!).  The kids favorite chores include: do 20 jumping jacks while saying "I will never leave my stuff on the floor again", draw a picture of you cleaning your favorite room in the house, and you are free BUT THIS IS A WARNING! 

The BOX.

The best part of the BOX.

Thing #2: Fun new things in the girls' rooms.  This includes Todd-created chalk boards and wall stickers that were received as Christmas gifts. 

Sarah.  Just erased "I have the best mom in the whole world", or something like that.

Alyssa.  I don't wanna go to bed either!

Haley.  I am scared of the owl on the left.

Thing #3: Closet organization.  The least exciting of the things that were accomplished. Really not worth explanation.

So clean!

Thing #4: Homemade Science kit gift for nephew.  January is basically like second-Christmas around here.  There are LOTS of birthdays that we celebrate (including Alyssa's).  I have a truly great idea for my 12 year old homeschooled nephew Isaac this year (thanks again Pinterest!).  It's a science kit made from household items, with each experiment printed and put in a notebook and all of the supplies separated and labeled to correspond to the experiments!  It's so organized and cool!  And if his mom wants him to "learn" while he is experimenting, there is a website for each and plenty of space in his notebook to put pictures, notes, observations, etc.  I know- best aunt ever, right?

Cool notebook!

Stuff in the box- in separate baggies for each experiment. Big stuff is numbered.

Thing #5: Cooking stuff.  My 2 favorites were an emeals meal (discussed in an earlier post-see the link to the right) Garden Veggie Soup and a new taco filling (Pinterest) where you mix the meat with a can of tomato sauce, the seasoning, and a can of refried beans and bake the tacos.  Links: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/11/how-to-make-hard-taco-shells-in-your-ovenplus-a-recipe-for-baked-tacos.html, www.emeals.com

School starts on Monday!! For all of us.  So this is probably the end of cool projects for awhile.  I'm out of ideas anyway.

Art projects

Last weekend we went to Woodbine.  Yes, you read that correctly and yes, I mean Woodbine, Iowa.  We went to church and then had dinner and then went to the coolest place ever- in Woodbine.  It's called Artisan and it's like an art gallery/store/workshop where there are people blowing glass in the back.  The kids were mesmerized.  I was mesmerized.  I always think I'm creative and sort of crafty, but then I see things that other, way more creative people have made and I realize I'm really not that fantastic.  There was jewelry, wall art, pottery, and amazing blown glass. 

Sarah watching glass blowing.  Mesmerized.

The woman working there (at 8:00pm!) wanted to know if the kids wanted to make something with clay.  Of course they did and what started out as a family project turned into three separate vases. 

Not only was this woman super patient, she is an ex-teacher and has great ideas to keep 3 little girls busy on a Saturday night.  She also had a bar in the back with wine and beer (Todd) and plenty of stuff to look at to buy (me).  We were all happy.  And a little messy.  It was awesome!! Go to Woodbine people!
Here is her facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Artisan/111936408924466?ref=ts&fref=ts
She has classes and events and a bar.  In Woodbine.

Sighs of relief...

I don't know how other people celebrate when they accomplish things like finishing homework, the end of a fundraising event, a Saturday night, etc... But I am calling it "A sigh of relief" and celebrating with a glass of wine.  Today is the end of possibly the longest week ever- which included me catching a cold- and in my old age (33) all I have to entertain myself with is wine and my computer.  In the distance I hear the children (possibly arguing, but not telling me about it) playing the Wii.

Tomorrow I have to talk about the scrip program at church.  I don't mind talking in front of a group of people, but I feel like there will be questions.  Sometimes I get nervous when people ask me questions in front of a group of people.  So I am a little nervous about that.  It's ok to admit that, right?

We went to the library today (children's, of course).  I got a book called "Pocket Babies" about little tiny marsupials.  Because I thought they were cute and the kids would think so too.  I also got our favorite Dr. Seuss book "Six by Seuss".  It's a treasury of books; our favorite of which is "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins" where Bartholomew is to take off his hat for the King as he passes but as he does another hat appears (500 times) in it's place.  It was first published in 1938 and makes the girls laugh really hard!  I had never heard of it before we checked out this book and it has some moral value.  Alyssa is starting a series about pets and Sarah is reading an easy "Little House" series.  Haley didn't come but she is reading "The Book Thief" which I recommended and she actually likes!  Sometimes mom is right.  Just sometimes.  We brought some very well behaved friends who are excellent readers also.

The Denison Dog Park Howl-oween walk was a success!  We had human walkers and dogs dressed in costume.  We had one human dressed in a dog costume.  We made some money.  We had fun.  People know more now about the park than they did before.  Goal met.  I got to work with people who are very talented and creative.

The girls have been into making keys into necklaces.  Some of these are actually keys to our house.  I realized this after it was too late. 

Our latest project: Key Necklaces-colored with nail polish

Sarah making her necklace key (it was her idea, she wanted me to tell you this)

Haley's key

Volunteerism and the Wedding

I have recently volunteered for everything.  I seem to have decided that not working means that I should be doing more volunteer activities.  I am now Todd's volunteer accounting specialist (if you know me well, you should be alarmed at this news), I am helping to organize a walk to raise money for a dog park in Denison, helping to start a scrip money program at the girl's school, and helping raise money for a basketball tournament.  All of this added to my regular volunteerism- doing the laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc, has become quite a workload.  It is all stuff that I want to do, of course.  Here is what I have learned:

People will help you if you ask them to, so you should ask them.
People will give you things if you ask them and if you tell them why you need them.
Denison is full of awesome people.
I don't always have the best ideas, but sometimes I have an ok idea.
Volunteerism is way more fun than scholarly writing.

Oliver, who will be dressed up for the walk on Saturday.

Here are the links to my volunteer projects:

http://www.facebook.com/denisondogpark?ref=ts&fref=ts The walk is Saturday the 20th (this Saturday!!).  Registration is at 9:30.  It is a costume contest, so if you are coming, dress up your dog!! Check the website for details.

http://www.shopwithscrip.com/ This is the scrip program link.  If you buy a gift card through this website (there are also local businesses who participate and you can order with a paper order form- pick one up at Zion Lutheran or Our Savior Lutheran Churches), a percent of the money goes to Zion Lutheran School for new technology.  There is no catch- you get the full amount of the gift card- the companies are giving us a rebate!  To set up an account you have to use the code D47LBFL611L7 (Zion's account).  Orders have to be paid for by Monday's at 9 am and the cards will come to the Zion school office within a couple of days of ordering.  

The Zion basketball tournament is November 16th & 17th.  Teams from other Lutheran schools are invited to play in the games that weekend.  We are hiring refs for the first time this year and need to raise funds to help pay them and some of our other expenses.

So that's that!  They are good causes.

My cousin Joel got married last weekend in Columbia, MO!  Alyssa & Sarah were flower girls and danced all night long.  I am always a little worried that they are annoying people because they kind of latch on to people who pay attention to them.  But these same people kept saying how cute they were, so I think they were really ok with the constant chatter & dance requests.

The girls and the bride Katy.  Beautifulness!

Picture I took of Sarah.  I think it's pretty good.  Thanks to my photography instructor/friend Brad.

Homecoming

Last weekend was homecoming, and this was the first year we were really into it.  I think because Haley is at the middle school and there is a lot more purple-and-gold talk there than at Zion.  Todd took all three girls plus one friend each to the football game while I went to the Carroll High game (once a Tiger always a Tiger?)- because it was my high school reunion this weekend.  I didn't see much of the game (talking), but I did pay lots of attention to the band at half time, particularly the flag twirlers (me in high school) who now have 3 different flags to use during their routines!!  We had one flag and a seriously hideous leotardish outfit with lots of sequins.  I remember being cold a lot. 

Me (left) and my BFF Heidi in our flag twirling get-ups in 1997. Thanks for leaving your yearbook in my car Heidi!

I am working on several short papers for school.  Instructors call them "summaries", but really they want you to write like 3 pages.  I can summarize in way fewer words than that.  I also volunteered myself to work on a walk to raise money to create a dog park in Denison.  So- Denison residents with dogs- the Dog Dash will be held at Yellowsmoke on October 20th!  We are having a costume contest for the dogs since it's right before Halloween and what is cuter than a dog in a costume??  There will be prizes! More info to come...

Maybe you have noticed a link on my blog for Emeals?  Maybe not.  But it is one of my favorite time saving things on earth.  It is a meal planning site that gives you 7 meals a week with a shopping list broken down by what department the ingredient is in.  I don't use all 7 meals and sometimes I don't use any, but it is a great way to decide what to eat for the week if you are like me and are always struggling with what to make.  It costs $5 a month.  You can customize your plan to be Gluten free, low fat, low carb, etc AND then you can choose a store that you shop at- for now the only one around here is Wal-Mart.  I just use the Any Store plan.  Anyway, I love it.  www.emeals.com

Serenity NOW!

I am channeling Frank Constanza.  Come on though moms (and dads).  There are those moments when there is so much noise that those are the words you are screaming in your mind.  Right?

My youngest lovely children are in competition for the airspace around them at almost all times.  They MUST fill it with sound.  From the moment they wake up they talk constantly.  I don't know if anyone elses kids are like this.  I don't spend enough time with anyone else's kids.  We were on our way home from gymnastics today, and Alyssa and Sarah were talking.  This is how it went (60 seconds of the drive home):

Alyssa: Did you see my cartwheels?  She wants me to do one handed cartwheels. I don't know if I can.

Sarah (simultaneously): Where is my cup?  What happened to the ice in my cup?  Alyssa do you have my cup?

Alyssa: Do you think I can do a one handed cartwheel?  I don't like Dairy Queen water.  It tastes gross.

Sarah: I can do a one handed cartwheel.  It's so easy.  Alyssa give me my cup!!

Alyssa (shoving cup at Sarah): It isn't your turn to sit in the front anyway! Here's your stupid cup.  Mom!  There's a deer!  Mom!!  Did you see that tree?  I like those trees that are cut so that they have shapes, you know, like a circle and then the stem and then another circle at the top? 

Sarah: Mom!  I think Aunt Traci is at Grandma's house!  What do you think they are doing?  There were 5 people at  Grandma's table.  What were they doing? 

Alyssa: Sarah, can you do a bridge and then stand up?  I can go down into a bridge. But I can't stand up.  That's really hard.

Sarah: I bet they are having dinner.  I can go into a bridge but I have to have help standing up but only sometimes but I bet today I can do one.  We should practice when we get home.  Alyssa!  We should have a contest when we get home.  Or do you want to play Barbie's?  We could have a gynastics (yes, gynastics not gymnastics) competition and do cartwheels and whoever does the best cartwheel wins.  Mom can be the judge.  Mom! Can you be the judge of our contest? Please???

ETC...

This is a very typical conversation!  I have stopped several of this kind of conversation lately and said GIRLS!! STOP TALKING!! I don't think this is normal!!   Other children DO NOT talk this much!  This was one minute of my life with these girls!!!  And NO!  I cannot judge your gymnastics competition.  Or referee your silly arguments!  I am hoping this is a phase. Please tell me I am not alone here.  Is this an age thing (14 months apart)?  Or a girl thing?  Or a Thams kid thing (no frame of reference)? 

Alyssa and Sarah do have some seriously redeeming moments.  Alyssa loves everyone, everything, and intensely.  She loves animals (her cat/Aunt Ann's cat, our dog, random lawn critters).  She once spent an entire afternoon loving a tree frog and another loving and naming bunnies found in our yard.  She thinks everything is cute.  She also loves her family like that, including Sarah.  This is the first year that she is the big sister at school because Haley is at Middle School, and she is awesome at it. 

Sarah has an attitude about everything, but underneath that attitude is genuine love for everyone (mainly me, her Dad, and Jesus).  She gets in trouble a lot.  But when I talk to her about what she did wrong and ask her what she should do to fix it, she tells me that she should pray for forgiveness.  You can't be mad after your kid says that.

These two are going to be in a wedding in October.  I thought I would show you all one of their finer, quieter (because a picture can't speak) moments, so here they are trying on their dresses and hair for the wedding of my handsome cousin Joel and his lovely bride Katy:

See?? They can pretend to love each other!

Alyssa & Sarah in a curtsy for the camera

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other exciting news:  my sister Allison and her husband John had their baby yesterday!!  He is SOOOO cute!  His name is Ernest Phillips Schoonover, named after my father Ernest K. Phillips, a.k.a. Phil.  I don't know if this makes him a junior because he isn't the first generation after my dad, but he isn't going to be called junior, so I don't think it matters.  He is going to be called Phil.  I love it.  I think it's an honor to be named after a great man, and baby Phil definitely has that honor.  He is a beautiful baby, born into a beautiful family.  Here he is!

Baby Phil and Allison

Beautiful baby Phil