Out with the old...

Ring Out, Wild Bells
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892)
England's Poet Laureate from 1850-1892

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkenss of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

This makes me feel warm & fuzzy &...

well...a bit OLD too...
I love it! Hope it puts you in the Christmas spirit, too!

For the kids

Cute Animal Christmas Song @ Yahoo! Video

Pretty Kitty

Ok, ok...I don't intend this to become a cat-lady blog...but isn't this a great shot?

The Card Photos

It's that time of year!Even at ages 8 1/2 & almost 10...

Nearly impossible to get a snapshot of both kids looking sane and cheerful...

They are cute none the less, though...
The Christmas Cards will be going out as soon as I pick up the copies from the photo mart!
Hopefully they'll all be to their destinations prior to 12/25!
For those of you who will be receiving cards, I've not posted the "winning" shot!
Merry Merry!

Midnight Update

Our kitten, Midnight...

Midnight in the Stable - she just knocks the Holy Family right over - how naughty!
Contemplating the next naughty move...

Speaking of "naughty"...I've been a bad, bad, blogger...
Things have just been so very hectic, and just as life began to settle a bit, and the boxes were all broken down and on the curb for Waste Management...THE HOLIDAZE arrived!
And SO...my intention is to be fully back "on track" with our daily routine and my blogging as the new year begins! In the mean time, I'll do my best to pop on here as I'm able with photos & some posts on our day to day stuff...
Above is our kitten, Midnight Sprite. She's about 10 weeks now, and a real terror!
She had us all fooled when her sisters and brother were yet living with us...we thought she was the "mellowist" of the bunch...HA! I'm hoping to get some good video of her in full on "insane-mode" soon...She is darling, but very, very, naughty...

Fun with Freddy

I'm Freddy. I'm the boy H's best friend. We do everything together - we're a team of two! H thought it would be fun for me to have a blog entry.
This is me showing you the "talk to the hand" sign.


















This is me doing the French Acrobatics!




















This is me also doing the French Acrobatics!!



















And this is me spending time with Santa Claus - we're dancing!
Thanks for spending some time with me and remember...
TALK TO THE HAND!

From a Turkey

Thankful

Week before Thanksgiving,
I limp around real strange.
Huddle in the corner,
As though I have the mange.
All the other turkeys,
Just gobble, gobble on.
I'm silent, and I act
As if my gobbler's gone.
Everyone is thankful
On Thanksgiving Day.
Friday it's forgotten.
You all go on your way.
I know what thankful is
So listen when I say.
"It's great to be a turkey,
After Thanksgiving Day."

Unknown

moving and working and kittens - OH MY!

The huddle Checking out the game of LIFE...

Wink...wink...

Well...moving day is today! We're all packed & ready to roll - just hoping the rain will pass overnight & we can be dry for the move-in! And saying prayers that all who commited to helping will show up...you know how that sometimes goes...

The kittens are becoming VERY funny and playful...Needing to stop to feed & burp them every four hours or so during the day this past week has definitely cramped my packing schedule - but somehow it all got packed & we're ready to go. It was funny, because there were times I needed to stop to feed them (many times) and having that hour of sit down with them gave me pause to stop & count my blessings/stop stressing...Something about babies - no matter the species - has that effect...

Here are some of today's kittenmania photos - ENJOY!

Day three - Kittenmania

Well...here are our orphans...and the story behind them...

In our new neighborhood, a mama cat had a litter of six about three weeks ago. The kids were over there on the day after the kittens were born, and immediately started campaigning for a kitten.

Being the cat lover who I am, it only took a couple of days between "we'll see, probably not..." and "oh, alright, we can get one!" The kids were there the day they opened their eyes, and the day the "runt" was located upstairs (not sure if the mama or the other cat in residence moved her up there) and rescued/brought back to mama cat.

Three weeks in, mama went missing...on the third day the kids reported how the kittens were soooo hungry, and probably going to die...So I stepped in and offered to take them & see if I could keep them alive - sigh...

All of this about one week prior to moving day!

Am I crazy? Probably...

Are these kittens worth it? Uh...yeah!

We have homes for three of them secured (the black & white - who is the only boy, the white and gray runt, and the solid gray) and will probably keep the little black one...Two remain seeking homes - if you know anybody who would make a great kitten family, they'll be ready in three more weeks, and are really, really nice kitties! Litter training is going well, and three of them are eating mushy kitten food mixed with formula, the other three still pretty much on the bottle... Bottle feeding six babies while getting ready to move has been a real experience, but what a cool learning opportunity for the kids! We'll try to document every couple of days, but with moving day on Saturday - who knows?

Our house...the kitchen...

Here are some photos of our "kitchen update"...We've painted the cabinets, doors & walls...It was funny, because I chose the color scheme not remembering what the floor looked like (right before we closed on the house) and lo & behold...the colors I'd selected match the floor practically perfectly! How's that for using what you've got! New countertops will be going in this week, and then we can put the lower cabinet doors & drawers in place. I'm searching for some cute, retro type cafe curtains for the windows...if anyone comes across a pair (two windows need them) while thrift shopping etc. please let me know! Moving day is one week away!

Home is where the work is...

So I'm a BAD BAD blogger...

The new digs have kept me so busy that I haven't had a minute to spend here, and the extra minutes I do have have been spent trying to edumacate my kids!

Here's what we're doing...

http://picasaweb.google.com/books4usborne/OurHouse#

Move in date is Oct. 25-26...

I WILL be back on track and an exemplary homeschool parent once we've moved in...

No more October Baseball...

Well...

In a way it's an odd sort of relief...

Now I can spend more time working on the new house & we can hopefully move in a few days earlier!

How is that for looking on the bright side???

There's always (always, always, heaven help us ALWAYS) next year...

Is it time to let the goats in?

I'm up too late...it's 12:13am, and I've just watched my beloved Cubs look like little leaguers...and I'm distressed.

Now...

I spent the first 5 innings of the game trying to calm the little boy down, and assure him that

#1 - there are still three more games!

#2 - on that note, the fat lady ain't singin' yet!

#3 - as Cubs fans, it just doesn't matter - we love our Cubs no matter what!

He replied to me, saying "Mom, why in the world didn't they just let the goat in?!"

A big sigh from me...do I tell him curses are nonsense, when I'm seeing the curse right in plain sight (I did see the goat there in front of D. Lee - I swear I did!) or do I lean on the crutch of the curse of the billygoat?

Those of you who are from Chicago, and particularly those of you who are Cubs fans know what this means...And my Cub friend fans, I'm pretty sure you saw what I saw tonight? The goat was definitely on the field!

Last night, game one, Dempster's folly (ok, I confess, the last few years I have referred to Mr. Dempster as "Dumpy"...but this year, I honestly loved the "new" Dempster, who has been decidedly "un-dumpy" as a starter!) How does the guy pitch beautifully all season - HELLO??? 17 and 6!!!!!

But alas...

The goat brought Dumpy back for game 1 of the NLDS playoffs...

I remained (and still remain, as only a Cub fan can) hopeful...

And then tonight...

It looked good in the first inning...Fonsie started the game off positively...Let's go! Goats be gone!

...and then, the second inning and the goat appeared...

Not sure who else saw it? I certainly did! Plain as day, the goat was in the friendly confines!

The commentators on TBS didn't help my mood...It was all "Dodgers woo hoo" and "Dodgers yeah-yeah!" On top of it, WGN radio is "real time" broadcasting and TBS is on delay didn't help. What is up with that????? Anybody else think the TBS broadcasters are annoying? To cover my butt, I have watched a few "non Cub" games on TBS and I find them annoying no matter who is playing...

So... here's hoping the damned goat can't get into Dodger Stadium! Our Cubbies have had a lot of winning streaks this season, more than three games in a row should be no sweat! Just hoping the bleeping goat hasn't knocked the wind out of the boys...

Here's what Wikipedia says about the curse

Say your prayers, Cub Nation...We could use a little divine intervention.

Whistle while we work...

Our lives right now are revolving almost completely around getting the new/old house ready for move-in!

We are doing a lot of reading, and occasionally some math (I've got a list of wonderful and fun resources for "math games" - I'll post it soon) as well as a good amount of science in our new yard (botany & biology!); we've had baby squirrels in our garage & on our window sill -so bummed that the camera was not handy, plus lots and lots and lots of plants to try to identify - and decide what is a weed and what is not to ready the garden beds/yard for winter...SO... officially "school" (meaning our "sit down every morning and do some semblance of traditional schoolwork") will not begin for us until we're in the new house...there is just too much craziness between the half packed apartment and the half torn-apart (ok, more like mostly-torn-apart) new/old house... However, as always, we are learning ALL OF THE TIME and learning a lot of great stuff every single crazy minute!

The little girl is simultaniously reading both LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS for her Liberty Belle's Club, and a DEAR AMERICA book about the Titanic...The little boy is reading book #1 of the CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS series (click here for CU trivia), plus a 3 story collection of TIN TIN comics (thank you Maryanne & Conor!) plus we are reading aloud Sir James Knowles' KING ARTHUR and listening in the car to THE SISTERS GRIMM book ONE...

We're also studying the history of baseball with numerous books from our library...one of our current faves being HEROES OF BASEBALL

Social studies right now consists of meeting all of the wonderfully diverse kids in our new neighborhood! One of the things that appealed to us most about our new neighborhood was the lack of homogenization...wink...wink...

The world is full of all sorts of folks, we believe a neighborhood should be the same! The kiddos have befriended a family whose parents speak mostly Spanish (HALLELUJIA!) - the kids, who are incredibly lovely, are bilingual...so Daddy-O is speaking spanish to the kiddos, and we've asked them to please help the little boy and girl work on their spanish! I've been looking for "immersion" avenues that don't require me to spend thousands of dollars every couple of months...now if I can just find a spanish speaking sitter for my work nights I'll be all set!!! We also have a magnificent (I need to get back to running/jogging! ACK ACK chubby-chubby!) home-made candy shop - mostly chocolate - where we found AMAZING caramel apples last week...hand dipped, some with chocolate/caramel, pecan/chocolate/caramel...need I say more... Kids rode bikes over there today and didn't bring candies for pop & mom! Kids these days...

If you're in the neighborhood...feel free to stop in & pick up a paintbrush! I'll even buy you a caramel apple!

You can look in on our progress HERE

Until next time...

Oh happy day!

Cubs Clinch!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

We own a house!

Here we are, we closed on our new home on Tuesday! Couldn't be happier! Will post more details/photos when we have a moment!

No Stress Chess and other great games...

The boy got this game for his birthday in June. Click HERE to find it - type in NO STRESS CHESS in the search bar... We've been playing a game a day for the last week or so - and really enjoying ourselves at it.
I've always wanted to learn to play, and my brothers both learned as kids, but somehow I never got one of them to sit down and teach me. No-Stress-Chess to the rescue. The game is from the great company MINDWARE . It's very cool because it offers several levels of play - the first couple of levels use cards that specifically show you what piece to move, and tells you where each piece can move (what direction etc.) and includes a board with the outline of where the pieces start. Once you've mastered the pieces and what they do, you phase out the cards gradually until you're playing full blown strategic chess. Flip over the board and you're ready to go! The directions are very concise, and even include strategic suggestions/explanations for the advanced level of play.
We play a lot of games - and I'm always searching for more ways to integrate "learning" into our day to day, since I try to not have a division of "schooling/learning" and everyday life...

Some of our other current favorites are
Conga and Cadoo, by the fabulous Cranium Co., which has apparently been bought out by Hasbro... we also love Zigity, a card game from Cranium - great for restaurants! Zooreeka is another Cranium game the kids really like - but it's a bit tedious for parents in my opinion...just doesn't hold me like the others do...I don't see it on their site, so maybe I'm not the only one who found it dull.
We love Great States, and when the kids were younger Great States Jr. was a definite favorite - the ticking timer seems to dazzle little ones!
Enchanted Forest is a WONDERFUL game I'd never heard of until my mother-in-law was digging through some of her son's old stuff (he's 30 now) and found it. We have the older version, but I assume the new one to be the same. It's a memory game that also integrates some strategy. Play time can get to be a bit long, but it's always held my kiddos rapt.
We made these home made Mancala boards out of egg cartons and use river rocks as markers. You can find Mancala rules HERE if you'd like to make your own & don't know how to play.

Late summer at Pilcher Park

If you live in the Chicagoland area, and have not been to Pilcher Park in Joliet, you're missing a very lovely place!
Pilcher Park is one of our very favorite places to hike/picnic/take nature photos & they also have excellent field trips with really friendly naturalists who are very "homeschool-friendly"! My fellow homeschool friends, you know the difference! wink wink...Check out their field trip offerings HERE
I have organized many field trips at Pilcher Park, and have yet to be disappointed! The naturalists are great, I can't say enough about how great they are with the children, the field trips at Pilcher Park have been the best received/reviewed of all I have organized...Chicago venues have nothing on Joliet! ;)

We went out to PP with friends today, and Hazel & I took some really nice photos of green & colorful stuff.
On the grounds is a beautiful greenhouse built at the turn of the century by Daniel Burnham's firm.

Enjoy & get out there to enjoy the last spoils of summer...We saw a few rogue red and yellow leaves on the forest floor today...shades of things to come too soon - sigh...Check out the trail map for Pilcher Park HERE

 

 

 

 

Our house

Those of you who know us know we've been in the trenches of the process we call "homebuying"...

Here it is!




After an agonizing (and everyone we know who has ever purchased a home does tell us our experience has been MUCH MORE agonizing than the average transaction) couple of months...we are ALMOST there...

I've started to resent the poor, lovely home...

but I'm confident that once it's OURS I'll be excited about it again...it IS a lovely home...every thing I could've wanted...4 bedrooms...3 baths...you can see it's stone & brick (how awesome is that?)...Great neighborhood...

This is the home we see ourselves growing old & grey in...playing with grandkids in the yard...let's hope it is indeed meant to be!

Someone is looking forward to autumn

 

Apple & Blackberry Picking

Our friends live in Frankfort Illinois, and have a couple of GLORIOUS acres...On these acres they have pears, apples, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries & grapes...as well as the occasional traveling otter family, deer, raccoons, a pond etc...
I had to laugh as I was planning this post - because when I typed "blackberry" into my browser bar, the first seventeen or so entries were for the electronic type!
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the original blackberries
This paragraph is my favorite: "As there is forensic evidence from the Iron Age Haraldskær Woman that she consumed blackberries some 2500 years ago, it is reasonable to conclude that blackberries have been eaten by humans over thousands of years."


We were invited out to pick blackberries & apples last week - it was a really steamy day, but we collected quite a bounty! Can't wait to go back soon & gather more delicious food...Thanks B family!!!