Home, not unpacked yet, but home.

I'm home. I was not sick for about 2 days in the last two weeks. Thankfully long enough to drive home. Now I'm getting sick again. I'm drinking tea, searching for my vitamins, making a point of not eating sugar, and going to bed before 11:00. And just hoping it all works out.

I have so much on my brain that it feels like it's spinning, much like a carnival ride. I guess traveling really throws off a schedule too, so I'm working on taking one day at a time and engrossing myself (well, attempting) in the domestic life for a few days.

At the moment I'm having shipping problems with this not-even-fledgling-yet business of mine. I'm working out some related financial woes, and trying to keep the whole deal from stalling for another several months. Optimism is key. I'll just smile and tell the shipping clerk it's all okay, rub my magic ring, and he'll stamp everything "okay" and send it on over. Okay, okay, I'll do the research on the shipping companies like I'm supposed to.

The semester is pretty much over, at least for me. No finals and all of my homework (except a couple of little quizzes) is done. A needed respite at the moment so I can concentrate on the work at hand.

I'm cleaning my house up, mad at the guestroom bed- I know, it does tons of good to be mad at an inanimate object- and now looking for a futon, attempting to get back into menu planning, and wondering how to get a very nasty smell out of a rug. Trying baking soda next. Also slightly more than irritated at some cute little Army regulations designed to drive people nuts. Ah, well, I'll just keep watching my good old movies and pretending that the Army is like it is in the movies. Some days reality just isn't my thing.

The kids had a great time at Grandma's. And they have absolutely no concept of time. Olie wanted to come back home to see Dad. We're back, saw Dad. Now he wants to go show Grandma a new toy, so he wants to go back to Idaho. I don't even think they remember the drive! Oh, but I do. And it'll be a little while before I voluntarily take it on again. Yeah, like, a month.

Demetri is super excited about getting baptized sometime in the next couple of months. The date keeps changing but I think we're pretty set now with May 21st. The other family whose child is being baptized as well asked if it could be changed to then because they have family flying in from Hungary. Sounds great to me; I like being flexible.

Uh oh. Make that getting to bed by 11:05. I'm going, I'm going...

It's my house...

My brother and my mother just had an argument about whether or not they would record a show called Hot Shots. It's a PG-13 show about people who shoot really well. Mom says its a waste of time and she doesn't want PG-13 shows or movies in the house. How do I justify recording Gilligan's Island but not Hot Shots? I don't. It's completely arbitrary, and I like it that way. It's easy to argue that Gilligan's Island is just as much a waste of time (or more) as Hot Shots and that the only difference is preference. Or even that at least you learn something from watching a movie about real people who shoot really well. I don't care; I have simply decided, like Mom, that I like Gilligan's Island and PG-13 movies and shows are out. And that's one of the beauties of having my own house. (You know, I think a lot of my ideas are shaped by my mother!)

I'm sick. I hate being sick. My friend gave me some Super Tonic and Antiplague. Both are gross, but I'm used to Anti-plague. Super Tonic is the most horrid tasting stuff I've ever voluntarily taken- icky! However, even pico de gallo doesn't drain my sinuses this well; it works like a charm...maybe a little too well. I'm going to have to find out how to make it.

I'm reading a book called The China Study. I'm only about 40 pages into it but so far I love it. I'm never all to sure about health and nutrition books because of all my preconceived notions and my general distrust of “experts,” and I don't know that I'll agree with everything in this book, but so far it's pretty good. Lots of statistics, which aren't really my thing, but my husband will like it.

I think I'll go watch a really good old movie and then go to bed, hoping to feel a lot better in the morning.

Decent day, even if the weather was kinda housy.

My headache is gone. My husband said he cleaned the house today, so it will be nice when I get back...whenever that will be :). I got some of next week's homework done. Life could not better be.
Well, my friend is moving to a place where I'll pretty much never see her again. :( But maybe it'll be an excuse for another trip. Hmmm, maybe. We'll see how this traveling with the kids thing keeps going. So far so good. I do like to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible with no stops, but my sister-in-law made me think maybe I shouldn't be in such a hurry all the time. Maybe it would be nice to stop play for a bit and not rush to wherever I'm going at the last possible minute. I dunno, that would be awfully new to me. :)

My children are sick, but at least my mom is feeling better. It's really not fun to be watching little kids when you feel lousy. I've worried about her all week. I'm going to wait until I see how they're doing before I plan my trip home.

Cold. I have been cold all day long. Okay- bedtime, have to leave early in the morning. Goodnight.

What Sad News

I haven't had time to blog. After a long trip to Idaho I am now on a long trip to Salt Lake City. My trip to the Philippines has been canceled, due to unforeseen natural disasters and the ensuing widespread damage in Japan. We will go later, and meanwhile pray for all of the people in Japan who are suffering. A friend recently said that "they must have done something really bad for God to have done that." I don't buy it. That's like saying when I lose a baby it's because I did something wrong, or when anyone has anything bad happen to them for that matter- that they must have offended God. It's a test. Bad things happen to good people and the test is how we react to our own and others' trials. It may be easy to justify not reaching out or loving others by saying they deserved it or brought it on themselves, but in the end it may not only not be true, but that part is none of our business. The part that is our business is comforting, helping, supporting, and loving.
(On a side note comforting others is one of my own mini trials. When I try to comfort others I become tongue-tied, or ramble on, generally saying the wrong thing, about on par with a teenage boy asking for his first date. It's just that I have no idea what to say in most sad situations, and get very tense and nervous. Handing out hugs and holding a hand is especially hard- mostly because I hate it when others do that to me when I'm upset. Hopefully, I'll improve with age.)

Back on track. It's very sad to see others suffering and not quite know what to do about it except pray. In this case, I will trust that my church will know how to distribute contributions.

In other news, I will be home sooner than I thought, unless I decide to stay longer, or go do something else. (Read, as usual, I'm not yet sure what I'm doing. And I'm okay with it.)

Catching up...a bit

8^th March 2011

My son stayed up reading The Jungle Book for an hour and a half after Shawn and the other kids were in bed. I asked him if he understood much of it, because it intrigued me that he’d stay up and read something that difficult. He didn’t understand a lot of it, but just before bed said, “I just LOVE Rudyard Kipling!” Haha. Love that kid.

My unpacking is nearly finished, my dental work was not painful (I love my new dentist!), and hopefully my finger will heal quickly. I chopped it with a butcher knife, but not badly enough to go to a clinic.

Now for the packing. I'm excited about my upcoming trip...if only I could decide what day I'm leaving. Since I inevitably work to a deadline, it will probably be the last possible moment. There's just too much to do! (Read- I'm behind :().

10th March 2011 @ 12:50 a.m.

Yes- it's late. I'm on my way to bed. But I just noticed that I have several blog entries halfway done (or not even that far) that will probably never get finished. It's okay...haha- did I say 12:50? Had to take a break to make Shawn's lunch for tomorrow; I'd feel horrible all day long if I forgot. Well, I did get a lot of homework done this evening anyway.

Hark- what's this? The cry of a waking child at 1:15? Sure enough. Goodnight blogosphere- I better scoot before the whole house is up.

A late night update

Yes, it's late and I know I should be in bed. I just finished my rough draft of the economic and political conditions in Colombia. I'm looking around my house and realizing that three steps forward and two steps back is still progress. I did get a lot of the unpacking and cleaning done but lagged on general upkeep. I'll get there though.

We initiated "closet time" today, inspired by the blog of a TJED homeschooling momma. It's a set time to use any of the learning tools or games in whatever is designated as the "closet." -Doesn't have to be an actual closet. Mine is. Today we drew pictures from a "How to Draw" book...and spent a good hour and a half on it. The attention span of a child isn't so short when they really want to do something! We drew very recognizable renditions of Walle, which are now hanging on our fridge. Shawn was duly impressed :).

I'm looking for more book series' for my 7 yr. old. We're running out of Magic Tree House books. I'm thinking of Encyclopedia Brown, and the Wayside School books. I'll have to hunt around for recommendations. A Thomas Jefferson Education has a good list in the back...I just have to buy it; I used my mom's copy previously.

Oh yeah. We watched While You Were Sleeping today while folding many many batches of laundry, and I once again noticed that it's so fun to watch kids' expressions. It's a sweet little chick flick and my oldest smiled through most of it, laughing, and saying things like "This is my favorite movie!" (Boy, we need to get out more.) He likes things to be happy and feel-good, just like me. He fast forwards parts of Snow White and Pinocchio (as well as several others I'm sure). Love kids; they are just so interesting!

Sometimes I think I'm superwoman...it's okay that I'm not, just don't tell my husband :)

Boxes and batches of laundry and dishes. Glad to have a dishwasher and a washing machine. Sometimes I forget how hard something is (like moving) and think I'm going to have it done in a ridiculously short period of time. Glad to have my things here. Tomorrow I'm going to use a gallon of bleach and maybe I'll bleach the laundry too just for good measure.

But tonight I'm going to bed, just as soon as the advil kicks in. I'm considering whether I want to sand down a wooden bunk bed set and refinish it or throw it out. It's not much of a contest- I've never sanded anything in my life. No, I take that back. You have to sand shrinky-dinks.

Ah well, I have cartoons for kids, all the fixings for sandwiches, and a decent-sized living room to unpack in. I already promised the kids we'd take reading breaks, and they're not likely to forget. We found some Magic Tree House books on tape at the library for our trip in a few weeks. :)