Blessed Christmas

Merry Christmas

Fröhliches Weihnachten

Joyeux Noel

Hauska Joulu

Vrolijke Kerstmis

Buon Natale

Twisted

My poor son is twisted like a pretzel. He awoke Sunday morning just fine, but while getting dressed he got a spasm in his neck. Through the day Sunday he whined, cried, and lay on the floor or on the pew at church. At home he went to bed early.

I had great hopes that, being still only six years old, one good night of sleep would ease the tension in his neck and he would be greatly improved today.
Not so.

He also had a fever.

Rats.

A whiny child with fever, refusing to eat and crying when asked to touch his chin to his chest is not what we were hoping for for Christmas. I took him to the Dr. to rule out anything dangerous. All the while, Rick and I strongly suspected he was using this discomfort to manipulate his way with things. He was so vastly improved during the time Sunday afternoon football was on the TV. How could that be?

At first glance in his mouth, the Dr. suspected strep, but a culture ruled that out. After some chiropractic manipulations, the Engineer was about 10% better. He can move his head to the left without pain, but still not to the right. He's also holding his right shoulder about three inches higher than the left. (It hurts me to look at him like that.) He is so afraid of pain that he braces himself and tenses up when he needs to move. When he is completely distracted (football on TV) he forgets to tense up and he gives his muscles a chance to loosen and work out their kinks.

He was prescribed massages and hot packs from mom, and lying on the floor to relax and watch TV. I can also give him Tylenol for pain. But I'll stay away from the Icy Hot. I tried that remedy yesterday because it is a favorite of mine. I love the stuff, but it put him in such a foul mood he never really got over it until the TV came on.

Priceless

I'm one of those who is spoiled by modern appliances. For years I've taken it for granted that I can do my family's laundry at home in my own basement.

Last week there was a crack in my confidence. The washing machine wasn't emptying the soapy water or the rinse water unless I went downstairs to open and close the lid a couple of times. I wondered how long I could cruise with the machine needing to be babysat before it conked out altogether.

Monday was the (un)lucky day. I'm thankful the family's laundry was all completed before the machine died. On Monday all that remained to be washed was the tarp we used to help transport our Christmas tree from the tree farm to the car, and from the car to the house.

When I opened the lid, I saw some seriously dirty soapy water in there, and it was not going anywhere no matter how many times I opened and closed the lid. I felt like I was manipulating a giant ugly muppet.

The repairman was on his way. When he arrived and he opened and closed the lid just one time and it started draining right away. Does that kind of thing only happen to me?!?!?

After a few tries, he did get it to fail. And then he had his diagnosis. I needed a new one of these:
Cost including the house call was a little over $100. (Significantly less than a new machine).

Being able to do my family's laundry at home in my own basement again, priceless.

Birthday Surprise

The UPS driver brought me a beautiful surprise today:A delectable birthday present from my brother- and sister-in-law!

My actual birthday is Thursday, but the family is getting together tonight to celebrate. And this gift will be enjoyed all week long!

O Christmas Tree

Saturday we went back to our Christmas tree tradition. We had taken a break from having a live tree for a couple of years due to the small children I babysit.

This year I don't foresee any toddlers trying to pull themselves up on our tree, so we went back to the tree farm and searched for the perfect tree for us. Not too tall, not too wide, straight trunk. The straight trunk is always the hardest requirement to fulfill.
Hooray! A blue spruce again!!! One of the farm dogs checked in to see how we were doing and posed for a photo before trotting off to help the next family.
We brought the tree home and got it in the stand right away. The decorating had to wait until Sunday afternoon. The kids helped us select which ornaments to use and helped with the trimming.

Tribe Deja Vu

The last time the Tribe made a trade, we had a remarkable coincidence: The Engineer's rally towel had fallen from its mounting and lay heaped on the floor doing a laundry impersonation. I wrote about it here.

This morning I woke to the news that the Indians had made a 12-player deal with the Mariners and the Mets. Before I heard any details coming over the airwaves I went downstairs to greet the Engineer and make some breakfast.

And what do I find on his floor? Again! I think instead of a rally towel we should call it a trade towel. It landed atop the Engineer's tae kwon do bag.

Belt Test Surprise!

The Engineer's belt test day was Saturday. It was a fantastic day! Along with three students trying to earn their orange belts we got to see a student testing for her black belt. And as a surprise, our friends from the school who moved to Texas last year came into town!

Here are the students lined up for the beginning of the test-class. Students testing various strike skills.
It was so exciting to see our friends again! Best of all, they were somehow able to arrange a visit lasting about a week and a half. Last night the Artist's friend was able to come home with us for a sleepover.

The Engineer should find out the results of his test next week.

Repair Clinic

RepairClinic.com, that is.

When I get good customer service I like to shout it from the mountain tops. Being in Ohio, blogging is more effective.

I recently received great customer service from Repair Clinic dot com. I don't recall exactly how old my electric stove is, but it is old enough for the drip pans under the burners to look like this.
The enamel has blistered off the steel and rust is forming. Now, I am not a fan of the it-will-never-look-clean-again look! After some hunting at the local stores and in catalogs for drip pans, I could not find any with the gray porcelain enamel, and nothing that specified my exact stove make and model. Everything listed a couple of models and said it worked for "most other" models. I wanted to be sure.

An internet search brought me to the "Appliance Parts" section of Repair Clinic dot com's website. I entered my information and found the exact products I was looking for. Compared to the catalogs, they were more expensive. But they were also enamel covered, not plain metal, and I knew for certain that they would fit. The shipping charges were reasonable.

So I bought. My products shipped the next day and I received them in a very short time. Today, as I put the new drip pans onto my stove I noticed a flaw in one of them. Rats!

Then I noticed the packing slip from my box. The slip has very clear instructions about how to return products for returns or exchanges. That was a good sign.

They also listed a number to call if damaged products were received. My call was handled quickly, professionally, and I was issued a replacement for the defective part on the spot. I was given a replacement order number and they told me I would have the replacement part tomorrow. Best of all, since the part I received was defective (the enamel was chipped and the steel gauged) I did not need to bother with returning it.

Thank you, Repair Clinic!

Ring of Mystery

The kids and I just returned from a field trip to see the Cleveland Orchestra perform Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery as part of the Classical Kids LIVE! theatrical symphony concert series.The performance was phenomenal! It is geared to children in grades 1 - 5, but I think there were several schools in the audience who brought older grades too.

The usher brought our small group to a loge box. The little luxuries of being able to hang our coats, and relax in armchairs while taking in the beauty of Severance Hall made the trip extra special. Looking around, I mentioned to one of the other Looper (nickname of our home school group) moms that it seemed the loges were filled with home school families.

I knew the Artist would enjoy herself. I was not so sure about the Engineer. The last concert we attended, he spent a good deal of the time with his hands over his ears as he is so sensitive to loud noises. But during the show I could see the performers held his rapt attention. Only for a few minutes did he cover his ears, and he was not cowering while doing so, but sitting forward and paying attention.

After the performance he was excited to tell me he liked this concert much better than the last one. Now he is not so thrilled, because he has to copy the sentences he dictated to me for a field trip write up.

The Artist most enjoyed the play accompanying the music and our special loge seats.

Allowed to Fail

Yesterday I had the painful opportunity to be a good parent.

Our Wednesday routine includes leaving home so the Artist can attend a Latin class. As some school work needs to be finished before it is time to leave, there is inevitably some rushing around to get into the car and leave in order to arrive at Latin on time.

Yesterday was no different. We finished some morning subjects, and everyone scattered to brush teeth, put shoes on, gather winter gear, and pile into the car. I noticed the Artist's Latin bag sitting on a chair at the table. Problem is, she was already in the car.

I picked up my purse, her bag, my keys and headed for the door. Then I remembered some conversations I had some 8 years ago with a couple who lamented their children's irresponsibility. I had suggested to the couple, things like "Let them forget to study for that test" and "Let them be late for work" or "Let them get a poor grade on the science project." Their jaws dropped and they thought I was the insane mother of a three year old who would change her tune when my child was the age of theirs.

I put the Artist's bag back where I found it and started the car. She had brought her flash cards along to study for that day's test. At each traffic light I could hear her muttering Latin phrases to herself. I knew she was concentrating, so I didn't talk to her. My own suspense kept building as to when she would discover her bag was missing.

As we neared our destination it dawned on her. She would not have her book with her to make notes as the class reviewed the new word list after the test was taken. I know she felt some regret and was disappointed in herself for forgetting. I felt awful saying something to the effect of "You'll just have to get along without it." But I believe allowing the relatively small failures on an 11-year-old here will help build a sense of responsibility in her that will prevent things like being consistently late for work as a teen.

Kid's Crafts

The Artist's supplies to make another shoe came in over the long weekend. She was pleased to find sculpting a shoe came more easily the second time around. This time she was able to use all one color, white, and she plans to paint the details later on. We agreed this works and looks much nicer than a jumble of colors smoothed together.

Here it is cooling after spending time baking in the oven. Another change from her first attempt, she was able to add lacing holes. Over all the proportions are better this time too. She definitely has a talent here that I do not possess. The Engineer kept busy over the weekend too. Daddy brought up one of his wood crafts, a car this time, from the basement. The Engineer planned the paint job, and Daddy drew some pencil lines on the wood pieces. Then the Engineer painted, mostly by himself. There are some details that Rick ended up doing for him on this car. When it came time to gluing the pieces together, the Engineer took the lead with some pointers, instructions and "press and old" help from Daddy.

Head to Toe

The Engineer lost another tooth. This is the fourth he has lost, but only the second that the tooth fairy will take from his pillow. He found a way to lose the other two.

Some time before six o'clock Sunday morning the Engineer came up to our room and shouted a happy "Guess What!" I was too groggy to raise my head. The Engineer had gotten sick Saturday evening and I was up checking his fever, breathing rate and listening for signs of an asthma attack periodically through the night. He had lost this tooth too, but I found it in his bed. Now it awaits the tooth fairy in a safe place.

The Artist spent some time with her sculpting book recently. The project she is working on next is making a shoe. It is an ambitious project, and this one has given her some problems. She has made a first draft, so to speak. When done, she made some observations on how it could be done better next time. We will save this one until another is made. She plans to try again with all one color and paint the finished product after is it baked. Working with one color will make for fewer joins and less smoothing of joins.

Drop Drop Fizz Fizz

The Artist spent the week studying some rocks in her collection. She did streak tests, and scratch tests first. A few days later she was able to conduct an acid test. She used vinegar to test for soft carbonates. None of her four specimens fizzed with household white vinegar. That did not make for a very exciting experiment, so I brought out a clam shell and an oyster shell from the lot she had found on the beach in Florida a couple of years ago. Those both fizzed a bit, to the delight of the Artist and her Engineer side kick in this experiment. At the end on the instructions, the Artist's book mentions that an adult can conduct a second acid test with diluted HCL. I don't happen to have that handy. But I do have some 12% food grade hydrogen peroxide. It was interesting that the peroxide solution made one of the Artist's rock specimens fizz actively. We did not try the H2O2 on the shells, they were soaking to get rid of the vinegar smell.

All Dressed Up

One of the wedding attendees took this photo of Rick and me. It's been a while since we had a photo of ourselves all dressed up. The Engineer, his duties as a member of the wedding party completed, fell asleep waiting for the rest of us to finish dinner.

One Week Ago

It was just one week ago that we were enjoying dipping our toes in the Pacific. Rick took us to Santa Monica Beach and Santa Monica Pier. We got there shortly after 10 a.m. and the beach was almost completely empty. We shared the view with just a few surfers. The water was cold and I wondered if a wet suit would have been enough to keep me warm in the waves. Despite rolling up the pant cuffs, the kids still were drenched from the mid thigh down. After playing in the water we wandered over to the beach to walk and play on the playground. Here's the old fashioned clothes drier at work. Rick and I just watched them play and we played around with our new camera. Still learning how to use that new camera. The video I intended to take didn't work out. This shot does not show how well Rick did climbing rope. He got very close to the top. There were several balance beams of various heights, but the Engineer saw the high beam first. The Artist got over her fears in a couple of steps and finished well. Last we found some child-sized climbing ropes. The verdict is-- the rope is a little too short for the Artist, she could touch the top with a jump and more push-ups needed for the Engineer.

Wedding Day

If someone asks us what we were doing on November 8, 2008 we should have no trouble remembering. That was Uncle Paul and Aunt Brittany's wedding day! And it was a beautiful day in southern California for this wonderful couple.

Moments before the ceremony:
The best man gives a toast:Note the custom black and purple converse shoes and the snazzy cheetah tie!

Layers of chocolate raspberry and red velvet cake:

The happy couple: Congratulations! We are so happy for you!

Date Set

The date is set for the Engineer's next tae kwon do belt test. On December 6th he will be called upon to show what he knows and demonstrate his skills. If all goes well, several days later he will be awarded his orange belt.

On the way to his first class back from vacation I asked him if he remembered all his techniques. He said yes, but I kept my doubts to myself. Silly me! That first night back he was awarded his star and given the go-ahead to test.

I hope to write about our trip soon.

Confidence

This morning I was treated to a radio commercial paid for by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. She used John Glenn to speak to Ohioans and tell then they should vote with confidence that the system is fair and the elections officials are hard working.

I'm incredulous. It seems to me, if you need to spend the money to advertise that Ohioans should believe the system is fair, there is actually a huge problem.

This follows just a couple of days after Jennifer Brunner said the Ohio registered voter database is so poorly constructed that if the system had to be tested it would crash.

What I'm really feeling can hardly be described as confidence.

"Did You Hear the One...

...about the southern belle and the fireman?

Trick or Treat!

Recital

Rick and I owe many thanks to the Presbytera and our friend, Polly for bringing the Artist along on a home school retreat to Ft. Wayne.

Along with meeting some new friends and learning some new games, the Artist was able to attend some interesting lectures and take part in a recital.

The Artist attended talks about the history of deaconesses, about altar guild responsibilities, and about missions in Kenya.

On Friday afternoon several members of the group performed various recitations, vocal and piano pieces they had prepared. The Artist assured me she did well, but we still regret we could not hear it ourselves. Thank you, Presbytera, for the photos! The Artist performed A Classical Moment from her Alfred's Basic Prep Course Level E. I figure I won't ask where her shoes are... I did see her take them out of her suitcase when she got home, so I know they are not lost.

Fossils

In Earth Science class we have been reading about fossils. The Engineer showed a mild and fading interest in the topic. I think part of that is due to the fact that science is the last subject we come to in the day. By the time we get there, he is usually quite ready to be done with school.

To spur his interest a little I got out my old rock collection. I happen to have a beautiful wee sand dollar preserved in rock. You can see how tiny it is by comparing the sand dollar to the ring on my finger.

The fossils the Engineer made were less dramatic. Still, he was fairly excited to do the project because I started out by showing him some fossils his sister had made when she was in second grade. She had pressed some sea shells into modeling foam and let the foam dry holding the imprint of the shell.

The Engineer selected some different shells from those his sister used and made his own fossils.

Artist at Work

This year for her art classes the Artist has a coloring book of classic paintings she is to use. I like that it has biographical information about the artist and the work depicted.

I do wish the book also had color plates of the works, however. As it is, the Artist is looking up the work in question on the internet and using the information there as a guide for how to color. Now, for example, she is working on a detail of The Battle of Constantine by Piero Della Francesca. This site, which shows this picture, has been most helpful to her:Still, it is very painstaking work to get all those horses legs colored the right colors in the black and white line drawing she has to work with they all jumble together. As much as she is enjoying the coloring book, I think she gets more joy from the sculpting book she works with on her second art day of the week. Art class is saved for the end of the school day to her her relax, enjoy and get rid of some stress. She worked on this goldfish project for a couple of hours. I continue to be amazed and the things she can shape. I fall so short in this area, I can't imagine making the things she makes.

Food Groups Project

The Engineer recently completed his food groups project for health class. I wrote a bit about it a little while ago when he was at the cutting out pictures of food stage.

He is very pleased with himself! And true to his passions, he glued the pictures on the poster being careful to save the sugary junk foods section for the very last.

I found myself uncertain of where to put the ice cream -- sugary junk foods or fatty junk foods. I explained to the Engineer, ice cream has the distinction of fitting in both categories. Then I lot him choose its destination.

Some close ups: