The Fierce Urgency of Serendipity

Beautiful weather, today.

So beautiful, I made a snap decision to go to the dump.

This is not as pathetic as it sounds, for when "dump day" comes in the spring, so does a visit to The Big Marsh. It's the biggest marsh in all of Ioway.

Yes, in certain locations you know it's spring when the swallows fly back to a place that sounds vaguely Italian.

In Iowa, it's spring when Ma hits The Big Marsh on the way back from the transfer station.

Even so, I was a little disappointed in the available subjects for pictures. No Pelicans. The water's down and I think it might be early in the season, yet.

I did catch this guy swimming around.
I call him, "Mr. Musky."

There were a few ducks but I need more time for identification. Particularly since most of my shots were of them moving away.

Now here's the FUNNY-AND-AMUSING-I-WAS-GOING-TO-BE-MAD-BUT-IT-ALL-WORKED-OUT part.

Along with all the usual cans and bottles--for which the attendant asked a pointless question concerning recycling--there was a rather heavy metal item that may have been a compressor.

I just take stuff to the dump, I don't ask questions. I should have though, for if I'd known it contained oil, I wouldn't have acquiesced to Ethan's suggestion, "Don't you want to lay it on its side so it won't tip over while you're driving?"

The five trash cans and a few miscellaneous bags loaded, I proceeded down the gravel road with the radio on and the vent turned up to compensate for the stale trash smell emanating from the attractive plastic cans.

Soon after turning the corner, I noticed a new smell...sorta plastic-y and...new. Glancing down, I observed a dark fluid spilling out from the evil-metal-thing-of-extreme-heaviness.

Well, you can be sure I stopped and immediately returned that baby to the upright position.

Now I would have to clean up the van floor, as well as rinse out the stinky garbage cans when I got home.

*sigh*

But I did accomplish the trash dumping and marsh walking, fortified by an apple and a Kashi bar.

Upon arriving home, I started in on the cleanup, deciding to dump a box of coloring/activity books that the little kids had ignored for the past 3 years.

The box seemed extra heavy, however, so I rifled through the tattered, yellowed specimens and what did I behold, but a missing biography of Tolkien!

As in, the library book that had been assumed lost and soon needed monetary replacement.

And that's why I don't feel so bad about the spilled oil. Specifically, I'm down from 98% exasperation to 43%, which is quite acceptable in my line of work.

Just another example of how something bad turned into something good.

I can almost hear Julie Andrews singing, this very moment...
 

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Spring Thoughts

Here are a couple more pics from my walk-abouts, taken while the three boys were testing their hearts out a fortnight ago.

Two free-spirited Canadian geese, blissfully ignoring the warning signs that read: "DO NOT STAND ON SPILLWAY."



In sharp contrast, I found this scardy-cat group of minnows by the stream's edge.
Round and round and round they went, playing it safe and pretty much going nowhere.

In other news, we are enjoying a nice warm-up in the weather. Carolyn was out a-diggin' her garden patch, readying it for the potatoes later this week. She stopped soon after her heart starting thumping and racing, but she should still be able to finish up if she goes easy. And maybe her decrepit old mother will pitch in and help :-)

It's a good example of why I don't require her to shovel snow in the winter.

The non-burnable trash has piled up in the cans again, so it's time for Ma to make a run to the dump, which nicely coincides with stopping by The Big Marsh to look for ducks and pelicans on the way home. I can hardly wait! Pictures to come...you can count on it.

We actually had farmers harvesting corn down the road last week (across from Washington Reformed Church). March harvest is pretty unusual. The snows came up and stayed all winter, leaving some farmers with fields unfinished. I've lived here since '94 and this is the first time I remember it happening. Course, there were a few hazy years in there when I was either pregnant or nursing and basically out of it, brain-wise.

It's a miracle any of us survived.

In other news, only 9 weeks of school left!

I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!

And after that, only a few more years of my immediate involvement, then I'll be reduced to filling out forms, making up transcripts, watching out for slackers, and sweating bullets over testing. I won't have to actually teach and drill the basics, which was kinda fun at first, but lost its charm after the first 20 years.

In the meantime, garden plans promise distraction from the evils of seat work.
 

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Remorse (or lack thereof) Revisited

Thought it might be good to tag onto last night's short note concerning Nolan.

(see previous post)

After sensing he "just didn't get it," I observed him lying prostrate on the couch, face toward the wall, not unlike a certain OT king.

This prone attitude pretty much clinched my suspicions (see above sentence) and I decided on a judgment I hadn't utilized in a while, writing sentences.

Oh I've heard that "studies" report no beneficial effects, but I wonder...

I had told him to write, "I will not sulk" 25 times, though he may have heard it as "20." At any rate, around 19 or so, he started to get creative:

Now really, what's not to love?

It almost seems as though he has some sense of remorse, as well as a desire to do right, at least, when he's not all hot-headed and mad.

And I figured he just left out a word on that last line, so I showed it to him and he was surprised that it read as it did.

We parted on good terms for the evening.
 

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Reason #11 why I am tired

The Scene: the end of a fruitless discussion between an obdurate 10-year-old and his mother, over whether or not another child gave him something and went back on his promise.

Ma: "....and that's why you both can play with it. Now it's over and we're not going to bring it up any more. Do you understand?"

*silence*

Ma: "We're not going to bring it up any more. Do you understand? 'Yes' or 'No?' "

Nolan: "You told me not to bring it up any more..."
 

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The Ma Side

 

Driven to desperation by his mother's cruel prohibition of computer games before 10 on Saturday, Nolan Hoyt passes the time by playing the archaic game of chess with his younger brother, and "occasionally" checking his watch...
 

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Weekends are made for Ma!

Especially since I don't have to clean the church anymore :-D

On the docket for tomorrow (besides sleeping in):

--haircuts for each male in the household

--weekly shopping

--a nap, to be slipped in there, somehow...

--getting food ready for the Sunday potluck

For Sunday:

--trying to stay awake/not fidget during church

--not eating too much at the dinner

--huge...and I mean, HUGE nap
 

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The Ma Side

 

Northward flying flock of Canadian Geese doing their group impression of a pointy-nosed man sniffing a wispy cloud on a bright morning in late winter.
 

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Extreme Ma Makeover, Week Twelve

Time for another installment of the EMM.

This week's weigh-in: lost .5 pound. That makes a total weight loss of 14 pounds over 12 weeks. I'm practically back to my pre-wedding weight!

Ardith's wedding, that is :-D

(you just can't beat us old people for wealth of historical background)

The time would seem propitious, however, to ramp up the workouts, sooo....you guessed it, I'm dusting off The Total Gym and channeling Chuck Norris!

No plans to run for office, at this time.

Extremely yours,

Ma
 

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A light exists in spring

 

A light exists in spring
Not present on the year
At any other period.
When March is scarcely here

A color stands abroad
On solitary hills
That science cannot overtake,
But human nature feels.

It waits upon the lawn;
It shows the furthest tree
Upon the furthest slope we know;
It almost speaks to me.

Then, as horizons step,
Or noons report away,
Without the formula of sound,
It passes, and we stay:

A quality of loss
Affecting our content,
As trade had suddenly encroached
Upon a sacrament.

--Emily Dickinson--
 

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What I did Thursday morning

After dropping the boys off at the principal's office in Wellsburg, Ma drove over to Tower Rock Park, 2 miles from Pine Lake.

There's a path that goes winds through the woods, but it's also close to civilization, so I tried to keep off the man-made walkway.

I heard many woodpeckers calling, and finally got a picture.
A male red-bellied woodpecker. I've always wanted to plumb the depths of the mind that named this bird...

Lo and behold, I came upon a bluff above the Iowa River


It might be the one described in this sign


After getting thoroughly tired from walking up hill and down dale, I drove to the quiet end of Pine Lake, to see if the eagles were back...
...they weren't, but this nice cardinal perched fairly close and refused to fly away. Then he started scolding severely. He was pretty mad, so I figure I must have busted up his courting activities.

Well, that's all this migrainal mind can come up with today.

I think I'm allergic to spring.
 

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Deliver Me From Spring Break

We don't have a spring break in our homeschooling regimen, but I did give the the boys Friday off, since we'd all worked fairly hard at preparing for testing and then spent all of Wednesday and Thursday morning ON the test.

But getting back in the swing has been quite a lurch, this morning.

For one thing, Trevor is "tired" and his "arm is tired" and apparently unable to perform the task of writing out and solving division problems.

Nolan is up to his usual tricks of distracting himself, and I am still suffering the debilitating effects of drinking caffeine non-stop from 1-6pm, yesterday.

Let's just say it doesn't help you sleep at night.

In other news, I learned a new lesson yesterday at Wal*Mart:

If you are buying...say, 20 packets of garden seeds, do NOT go through the self checkout.

Aside from swollen packs of peas, nothing will register when you scan and put it in the sack. You will be allowed three "do not bag item" selections before needing help from the catatonic assistant.

Other shoppers will sidle up behind you, observe your helpless estate, then shuffle off, mumbling quietly under their collective breaths at your unmitigated gall and ineptitude.

On the sick front, Carolyn is the last of the children to come down with the cold that struck two weeks ago. She's coughing and not feeling well, but at least it hasn't done much wacky stuff to her heart rhythm.

Loren and I haven't exhibited drastic symptoms yet, and one can only wonder if we sent Kendra back to college with incubating virii.

Oh yes, if anyone's hankerin' for a pet woodchuck (aka "whistle pig") just let me know. We seem to have one of the varmints living under our stoop.
 

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It's Spring!

I can tell because the snow from last night is melting.

Also realized I didn't report in on the Extreme Ma Makeover for this week. So here goes...

Week Eleven Weigh-in: no change from last week. That makes a 13.5 pound loss over 11 weeks. Not terribly impressive, but not headed in the wrong direction, either. I'm pleased, considering the difficulty of the last ten days.

One might wonder about the term "Extreme." Does it, in fact apply to Ma's makeover?

Not in the usual sense of the TV show where people get on the scales and drop 11 pounds in one week. But if you apply the word to my personality, you get a better sense of things.

I always assumed, in my humble and benign way, that I was fairly average. But I've been told in recent years that I have a reputation for making outrageous statements on occasion, so I think we can safely use the word "Extreme" without fear of exaggeration.

It's gratifying to know I have this kind of power. I will strive to use it only for good and not for evil or telling people off that annoy me or seem hypocritical or just generally get in the way of my rise to fame and glory and that eventual inevitability...ruling the world.

In other news, we went over to Steve and Debbie Bell's house last night and had a wonderful time. There was much confabbing amongst the menfolk and lots of eating and playing within the kid-cadre. Ma was honored to have her own little dish of cookie dough. It was scrumptious and worth all the complaints of my digestive tract, later.

And I have to say, that aside from my own children, the Bell kids are the cutest around. Here are Trevor and Luke, preparing for what could well be careers in the sound room:

"Let's put on your earphones..."


"...a little adjustment..."


"Now listen to my beautiful music!"


Yesterday was insanely busy with shopping in the morning, lunch, dishes and a nap, and then getting ready to drive an hour to Waterloo.

Also in there, preparing a meal for a family with a new baby at church. Ma was in a dilemma since several things happened this week to work against good meal planning. I did something I've never done before and sent over a frozen lasagna from the store!

Yes, the epitome of lameness, I know. But when the world conspires against you, one turns to the freezer section of the local grocery.

Not to worry, though.

It's spring.

There'll soon be lasagna plants growing in the garden.
 

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Woo-ee!

Is this big, fat Ma ever tired. No, it's not the title of a new movie, it's just how I feel after tramping through ravines this morning while the boys finished up testing.

Now we wait until the end of April for the results. That should give us enough time to get into the Witness Protection Program if "someone's" scores aren't up to snuff. "Someone" was ratted out by his brother and seen filling in a few answers without looking at the questions. Again. But I'm told "it was just a couple," so maybe we can keep our identities.

Still, I might as well work up a remedial education plan, just in case...

Ma went to Tower Rock Park this morning. It's close to Pine Lake but gets it's name from...get this...a rock bluff that towers over the Iowa River.

It reminded people of a steamboat, long ago, and thus the town of Steamboat Rock was born.

Yes, Ma traipsed over hill and dale and she's got the sore muscles to prove it. Heard and saw a slew of woodpeckers and cardinals, but my pictures aren't yet where I want them to be because I haven't finished reading the manual for the "new" camera. Something's different about the focus.

It was either that, or the older gentleman with his dog that stopped to talk and scared away the birds.

*sigh*

But at least I got the lowdown on his dog's ear infection and witnessed it gagging and heard that it still has an appetite so its food must be passing through OK.

Can you say, "Too much information, sir?"

In other news, when Loren upgraded my computer he also put on a newer version of IM, and that means I lost all my "away" messages. That's ok. Some of them were out of date. Especially the ones that said I was thin and happy, ha, ha.

After the nap that was interrupted by "someone" who can't deal with being blasted in a computer game, I went out and pruned the cherry trees and hacked some more offa the pears. One of these days I may have to take a saw and do something drastic. They are so tall that no one can reach the tops to pick fruit.

Tomorrow is another big day, partly because I've called off school for the three youngest. After the past month's preparation for testing, I couldn't bring myself to sit down and do anything. I figure their brains are burned out, anyway.

I'm going shopping, instead. There are those three bags to drop off at Goodwill and chocolate chips to buy and.....other important stuff.

And now for the all important "putting kids to bed."

Free for the next 10 hours!
 

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Clumping Through Woods of a Foggy Morn

Leaving the three boys to the horrors of reading comprehension et al, Ma took herself away to Pine Lake State Park for a nice walkabout. A 2.5 hour walkabout.

The Iowa River on a cold, misty day


One of two bluebirds I saw :-)


Discovered moss has hair


After exploring an area to the west, I walked under the road to the beach where we go swimming. Then I continued on around to the end, where a small stream enters the lake. Ma was excited to find two species of ducks I've never seen, as well as several of these fellows...

It's always worth it when you see a Bald Eagle!
_______________

I was told Trevor did fairly well on his testing and we stopped by Casey's for the obligatory doughnut celebration.

Upon arriving home, it was time for lunch and a nap, after which Ma went out and did major pruning of the apple and pear trees, as well as all the raspberry bushes. Still have the two cherry trees to go.

Perhaps "major pruning" is a bit exaggerated. I can't reach the top parts and most of the trees were either planted before we lived here, or before I knew how to prune, so there's only so much one can do without several days and a modified cherry picker. But I try to do something.

That took 2.5 hours....probably enough exercise for one day.

By this time Loren had installed Windows XP on my computer and everything was up and running.

Personally, I think it makes everything look cartoony, but I 'spose one gets used to that.

If men had to update themselves as much as they update computers, we'd all be dead. And that reminds me....

Carolyn has been wanting to watch My Fair Lady for a while, so Kendra and I stayed up to watch it with her tonight. Gotta love her shocked reaction to the ending:

"WHAT?! She should have shot him!!"

And with that I'll bid you "adieu."
 

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New Specs

Another great milestone in the life of Nolan Joseph Hoyt.

New frames and clear (old) lenses.

He's not dramatic, no.

Next on the docket...
...a haircut.

His first words after getting out to the car, "Wow...everything's so shiny !"

Why am I suddenly reminded of the sixties?

Speaking of bright lights, it felt great to wear my shades even though it was cloudy. I've perfected the technique of attaching my clip-on shades to my glasses while driving.

It was either that or ask Nolan to take the wheel for a few seconds.

Before leaving Waverly I had half a mind to stop in at Trinkets-n-Togs for a looksee at their books. But I wasn't sure half a mind would be enough, and suddenly, the thought of a nap was irresistible, almost to the point of nodding off on the way home.

Ye ol' noggin is fatigued from the migraine. It doesn't hurt all the time but there's a funny, empty feeling in my head. I'm pretty sure brain cells were oozing from my tear duct, this morning.

Fortunately, I have SUCH an abundance that the several thousand which leaked out won't be missed, ha, ha.

In testing news, we've done almost as much as we can, to prepare, barring a better curriculum, longer hours, and a qualified teacher.

I think Trevor may do OK, and it's a good thing for Nolan that the math and reading cores are what count, as opposed to...say, science. But they're watching two more Bill Nye episodes tonight so I'm sure that will take care of any shortfall.

*cue laughter*

All the boys have been thrown in the shower or bath so we may get bonus points for cleanliness.

And Trevor just informed me that he wants his black jeans so like the good mother I am, I threw them in the washer.

It remains to be seen whether they make it to the dryer or not.

Ethan is counting on donuts from Casey's for a snack, afterward, but I may make that contingent on his scores and whether or not he talks too much to the testing lady.

So many variables.

So little temps.
 

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Sometimes it just takes one thing

Despite the impending doom of testing, and sickness and migraines and night-time coughing, a few good things are happening.

And now I'm reminded what I forget to report...

Desperate to utilize every resource at this late disposal, I tried to think of a way to improve Nolan's potential test scores.

Even though he had no trouble learning to read, and was more adept at sounding out words than at least one older sibling, he still stumbles around, loses his place and rereads phrases.

Then I noticed how scratched up his glasses were, and that he shifts his head around while reading, as if trying to find a clear place in the lenses to look through. I knew his lenses were a bit scratched, but the marks seem to have given birth to a multitude of new scratches....thank you, plastic lenses!

Since our regular visit to the eye doctor doesn't occur until April, I hoped he might be eligible for replacement lenses of his old prescription...and he was.

But the frames are no longer available, and the lab used by our insurance company has....*cough*...a lackluster record in fitting news lenses to old frames.

HOWEVER, Nolan qualifies for new frames as well, and since he's grown quite a bit, hardly fits into his old frames, anyway.

SO, Ma had the bright idea to get clear glasses for him before testing!

Then testing was moved up a week.

Miracles still occur, however, and Davis Vision managed to get the glasses finished in 11 days. We pick them up tomorrow, the day before testing starts!

I'm so happy! Something is finally going right!

The migraine is still here. The two youngest are still hating their testing practice. Nolan continues coughing at night, though not as much. Ethan and Melinda don't feel that great. And food calls to me at every available opportunity.

BUT AT LEAST THE GLASSES ARE DONE.
 

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Out and Springing About

Quite the nice afternoon, in Iowaland. Much of the snow has melted and Ethan insisted on Carolyn joining him for the start of spring training.


Trevor inadvertently hit a ball over the fence and had to go the long way 'round for retrieval.
He's walking in the snow with his shoes because I told him not to get in the mud :-)

Ethan's fast ball....
...the awesomeness of which appeared suddenly after spying the camera.

Not exactly outside, but not to be outdone in spring break activities, Kendra....
working hard at relaxing.

Ma had a nice nap too, for which the need demonstrated itself as she nodded off several times during church, this morning.

It's not from undue partying or even the time change, so much as Nolan coughing continuously during the entire night. The sound goes right through walls. Can you say, "earplugs?"

I hope tonight will be better, because I'm having my first migraine of the new year and my usual good combo of ibuprofen and acetaminophen is providing but moderate results.

Only fifteen more minutes until I can take the next dose! But I might wait until closer to bedtime so I can have a happier night.
 

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Listing to Port

Maybe it was the Doritos I nibbled on the way to Cedar Rapids, yesterday. The Doritos that contain salt and aid in the drinking of 44 oz Diet Cokes.

Despite limiting my intake, there must have been enough salt to cause fluid retention on the ear, making me moderately dizzy, this morning.

I jumped right on the treadmill--well, first I got a sliver out of Trevor's hand--but then I jumped right on the treadmill to work some of this salty sweat out of my system.

Not as bad as sometimes. It's not to the point of sitting rigidly in a chair, adjuring the kids not to bump me or the chair, looking straight ahead in an attempt to keep nausea at a non-regurgitating level.
___________

In other news, two consecutive weeks of buying groceries at a Wal*Mart Supercenter are enough. Their food is uniformly more expensive, and I've now spent nearly three week's allotment over two.

BAD Wal*Mart!

Lackluster produce. No friendly meat choppers.

I should get free chocolate for life, to compensate.

But first, a nap.
 

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And. She's. Back.

Kendra.

Home for spring break.

Ma.

Beat. Drained.

Cedar Rapids.

Shopped. College kid met.

Supper

Eaten.

Dishes.

Done.

Groceries.

Put away.

Mouse

Sick from poison. Euthanized.

Day.

Done.
 

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EMM, Week 10, and the Bluebird of Happiness

Greetings, O fellow Earthlings! (the kids are watching Chicken Little)

Ma just got off the treadmill where she burned off 2/3 of tonight's Weight Watcher-approved meal :-D

Speaking of which, time for ye ol' reporte.

This week's weigh-in brought a loss of 1.5 pounds....yippee!

Due to last week's gain of 1 pound, that makes a net loss of 13.5 pounds in 10 weeks.

I'll take it.

In other news, the robins, grackles and starlings showed up in in the yard, today. Spring is here!

Also, much to Ma's delight, 2 Eastern Bluebirds! Here is one, taken through the dirty window...


Gotta love it. Especially since I've never seen one before.

Hot doggies. Now, it's off on another un-date...
 

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Muddling Through

Tomorrow brings a slight change in the weekly EMM or Extreme Ma Makeover. I'll be weighing in on Thursday mornings from now on, simply because we tend to go out every other Thursday and I want the freedom to enjoy my Weight-Watcher approved meals with less angst. No more post-feed Friday morning weigh-ins.

That said, it's not going to be pretty, tomorrow. One less day in the week for losing, plus, I've had the nibbles for the past two weeks.

Nothing to do but plod ahead. My goal is to gain no more than one pound. You know how they say to have modest goals and not lose too fast, ha, ha.

In testing news, I have been carefully taking Trevor and Nolan through their ITBS practice books. Had it all planned so that the practice exercises would be finished this week, and they'd take a complete practice test next week.

HOWEVER, the school office called and offered us testing in the office with other kids on the normal week (22-26), or testing next week by themselves, on two half days.

We decided for the latter, though I'll have to scurry along to get through most of the material. Trevor already missed one sick day so it's going to be tight.

I guess it's too late to get Trevor to read better, but since the school told me they don't usually test until the second grade, I'm assuming his scores won't "count" this year. I should get an idea of what needs to be worked on for next year, though.

School life was a lot simpler in Indiana.

On the bright side, it gives me one less week to develop ulcers.

Maintaining our "muddling through" theme, I don't exactly know what we're having for supper tonight. I've taken a pound of ground pork out of the freezer and now we'll let the creative juices simmer in Ma's brain, hoping something of value will appear in the next 90 minutes.

While the plan o'pork percolates, I'll be choosing another happy location of the house to de-clutter.

I'm sorely tempted to pack a few more bags for Goodwill, but I'm sensing this is not the ultimate solution to dirty laundry or clothing that people have given to us, "those poor folks in that old farmhouse with all the kids."

Maybe I could bury some of this stuff when the ground thaws...
 

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Please Pray...{updated early Wed}

...for Amy Hoyt, wife of nephew David. As you may remember, she had her baby a bit early due to pre-eclampsia. Amy was able to go home from hospital last week, and beautiful, baby Annabelle came home yesterday, so that is good news.

However, Amy had to be taken to the ER today due to elevated liver enzymes and very high blood pressure. Please pray that these things can be stabilized once and for all and the family can get back to the process of raising their baby and just trying to live normally.

Thanks very much for your prayers.

(Elizabeth, David's mom has let us know that Amy will need her gallbladder taken out in the next three months. Not related to the pre-ecalmpsia, but can sometimes flare up after a pregnancy. She's staying overnight in the hospital. Thanks for praying!}
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Continuing on the health news, but not nearly as critical, Trevor maintained his coughing apace, today. Ethan claimed the hacking kept him awake half the night, but I believe this is a slight exaggeration. Don't know where the boy gets his penchant for drama...

Nolan however, despite his occasional to moderately often forays into orneriness, has some worthy impulses concerning the afflicted. I saw the following sitting on the table...


A folder of sickie activities, I believe.

At first glance I was shocked to see what looked like the word "git." This is pretty surprising since he has a 95% or higher record of finding spelling errors in his test practice book.

Upon further perusal, however, I looked at his other "e's" and decided he's going for the nearly illegible look (good thing they don't test on penmenship).

So he either dotted his "g" or his "e," or he had some unfortunate slip of the green marker on the file folder that he neglected to ask permission to use.

But his heart was in the right place....though, I would have said, "Hope you get better soon," as opposed to Nolan's version which sounds like it's a 50/50 chance of survival, at best.
 

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Take a Shakespeare and Call Me in the Morning

Because it will be too late to report when you get home from the play.

Carolyn and I were just about conked when we returned at 11:30pm last evening.

Given the 7:30 start and 50-minute commute I had imagined perhaps, 10:30.

Even the introduction from the chorus talks about "these next two hours."

But Romeo & Juliet in fact takes three hours, and that's a 5-hour stretch in which this old lady had to stay awake. Couple that with the morning's church services and Ma set new records for indolence.

Good play, though! So glad I got in a read-through beforehand. All along I kept making mental notes of quotes apropos for Facebookian situations :-D

My only complaint came about from my extreme cheapness. I booked seats along the second-tier side, thinking the moveable (less expensive) chairs would be both comfy and afford a closer view.

HOWEVER, when you account for the box railing, and the other box below you, and the people in that box who lean forward because they were raised by cavemen wanted to see better, you end up having one third of the stage cut off.

Fortunately, it was not the third involving the balcony scenes, so we could decently see most of the play. But I will not make that mistake again!

I could have wished for period costumes instead of early 1900's dress....but oh well.
______________

In other news, Trevor came to me this morning and stated, "My mouth is sick."

(Hmmmmm....) "Does it hurt?"

"No, it's hard to swallow."....*cough, cough, cough*

So, in the space of one night, the kid has woken up with a full-fledged sickness. I listened to his lungs and they have this deep, bassy sound that the kids sometimes get (I don't know how else to describe it). A few rattles and squeaks, too.

And now he's running a slight fever, so I'm gonna keep my eyes on that boy.

I also have to keep him away from Loren, since the heart transplantee isn't supposed to consort with known fevarians.

And testing comes up two weeks from today.

*sigh*

I guess it was too much to expect that we'd only get one sickness this winter.
 

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And that's why my feet hurt

With Melinda, Carolyn and Ethan off to the Republican District Convention...

....oh, did I forget to mention that?

It's because I didn't find out until yesterday!

Got a call from a kind neighbor who was going and wanted to know if we had any junior delegates in the household. I said, "Sure! I'd be glad to get rid of a few kids for the morning."

I didn't say that, actually. And none of you can prove I was thinking it, either.

But Sandy Ritsema needed to be there for registration so it was an early wake up call. Our three future anarchists arrived at the Butler County courthouse by 8 sharp, where Ethan found solace in free donuts.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Ma and her trusty sidekicks, Nolan and Trevor, dug their heels into cleaning "The Boys' Room."

It didn't quite need the aid of a front-loader, but it was close.

The boys went through all their toys and while they didn't toss as much as I would have liked, at the end of the day we had a large bag for Goodwill, a large bag of trash, and every single dresser drawer excavated and exhumed.

They took a break while I cleaned behind both sets of bunk beds and ripped off the sheets for laundering. Then I swept everything, including the cobwebs on the corners of the ceilings. And I just have to say, the cobwebs could have been worse. In fact, I know a couple places reminiscent of horror films, but those rooms are carefully cordoned off from company.

When Ethan arrived home he had his own assignments, while the little boys continued odding and ending.

I swapped both bunks. No mean feat since Loren built them SO solid...well, let's just say they would still be standing after an F4 tornado. An F5 would knock them over, with joints tight as ever.

The boys will now sleep against a different wall, providing them with a completely new outlook on life.

Basically, six figure salaries are not out of the question.

But getting back to reality, except for two breaks and one crucial nap, we were working on that room much of the day.

It is so clean that Ethan now goes underneath the double bunks "to think about things."

Those Hoyt kids...so DEEP.

Less fathomless, Ma's ability to stand for long periods sans aching legs and feet.

And the last lesson of the day? It must have been a man who invented bunk beds. A man that never had to change the sheets.

Probably the same guy that devised high heels for women.

Which I don't wear anymore.

'Specially when I'm changing bunk beds.
 

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EMM, Week Nine, et Plus!

This week's weigh-in for Extreme Ma Makeover has shown a gain of 1 pound.

That makes the total weight loss: 12 pounds over 9 weeks.

When I read the scale this morning, I contemplated taking off my watch, shaving my head, and trying again. But scalp stubble is so gauche, this time of year.

A couple of weeks ago this would have bothered me, but now I'm resigned and in it for the long haul.

Today fits in with the alternating weeks of no loss so I wasn't expecting a good result, anyway.

In lieu of the arduous workouts from shoveling snow, I shall have to bide my time until garden and mowing season comes 'round. Can't be too far off since there's only eight inches of snow pack left on the ground.

Until then, I'll be delving into that little known--and lesser practiced--method of weight loss: house cleaning.

Starting on the boys' room this weekend. It promises to be a combination of sweat, allergy inflammation, and appetite suppressant.

And that's just the closet.

Ethan's not bad, but Nolan and Trevor have serious work to do in becoming non-slobs.

Who is their mother, anyway?

I suppose it's time to stop making excuses. No more passing the buck. You can only blame circumstances and other people for so long.

And that's why I'm stating definitively and categorically, in the most unequivocal way possible, that this state of disarray is not my fault.

I wasn't going to tell this to anyone, but sometime in the past 30 years I was involved in a time continuum experiment that ended in the unfortunate consequence of me being traded with my counterpart in an alternate reality.

Yes, that's right. There's another world, remarkably similar to this one, where a lonely Ma strives to make things neat and tidy.

Meanwhile, back at El Rancho Terriblo, my family has to endure the hardship of her evil twin.

It's not unlike Shatner's dual personality in priceline.com, except I'm a lot taller.

The real Ma does exist, however. Slim, sans varicose veins, and presiding over a spotless home with ordered bookshelves and matching linens.

She's out there...

...somewhere.
 
 

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Update on a Grand Niece

Ma has a few pics of the adorable Annabelle Lynn, born by emergency C-section on February 22.

Father David, with babe


The one and only Anabelle :-)


Mother Amy and child


Here's an update from Elizabeth, the proud grandma:

Amy was discharged last Friday. They make themselves leave around 9 each night and then David takes Amy back in the morning and he goes to work. It seems like each time I see Annabelle that she has one less wire hooked up to her...she is progressing as expected. Tomorrow they have their infant CPR class. I'm hoping that I get to hold her...SOON! :)

Things seem to be going well and it is hoped Annabelle will be released from the hospital as soon as next week.

Thanks for praying!
 

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And for the weekend....Shakespeare!

It all started when I waited too long to get tickets for the Simon Estes concert in Hampton.

Sold out.

So I cruised over to UNI's Gallagher Bluedorn theater site to see what was playing in the next months...

Romeo and Juliet. This Sunday night. BINGO!

Kids are a buck, so Carolyn will be accompanying me :-D

I would prefer Hamlet or Much Ado About Nunc, but R&J will be fantastic, as well. Now I have three and a half days to reread the play.

Carolyn is all a twitter since we'll be seeing a REAL play on a REAL stage.

And I discovered I can hear Simon Estes at Parkersburg in May, anyway.

Supper's in the oven, snow is melting, and I went 4 miles on the treadmill today.

Life is good, baby!

I also had an email from Derek and classes are going well. Derek is one of those wonderful lads who reports in to his chère maman on a semi-regular basis. Or at least, does not require extraordinary measures to elicit a response.

(unlike SOME people at LeTourneau we could mention...)

Still, life is good.
 

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Ma's Literary Corner

Picked up another $.89 paperback at Goodwill, Saturday.

John Keats Lyric Poems.

Here is my favorite...

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain'
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;--then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

To think what Keats could have written had he not died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-five.
 

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Great Aunt Becky, Strikes Again

I've just become a great aunt, for the gazillionth time!

John Sebastian Banek, born to Matthew and Noëlle, son of Loren's sister.

What a name:

Great Aunt Becky.

*sigh*

And "John Sebastian" is pretty impressive, too.
 

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In which Ma needs an outing. Very soon.

I seem to have this problem with things that don't work, or kids with bad attitudes, or computers that keep freezing, or email that won't take attachments. Or work at all.

My next option is to open gmail in a completely new window of Firefox. Unfortunately, I can't do the same thing with the other perplexities.

But I did get school done this morning. Also went 5 miles on the treadmill, so something got accomplished.

In addition, I've started (last week) taking Nolan and Trevor through their ITBS practice books. Every time we get to something that seems to be a problem, I write it down on a card so we can go over that specific item, later.

The list is getting longer, but there are also areas where they do quite well. NOT well enough (yet) to calm these feelings in my stomach, however. Will keep plugging away, though I think probability questions for a 5th grader are a bit much to expect.

In other news, things are definitely melting. I drove through a real, live puddle while shopping on Saturday. There was water and splashing and EVERYTHING! Not sure I've even seen a puddle since early November. And this weekend might bring temps in the 40's. Woo-hoo!

The Olympics are over, bringing our nightly supper back into the dining room. No more praying during the commercials. Getting dressed for bed during the commercials. Shutting down computers and brushing teeth during the commercials.

Life was lived in commercial time.

Unless there was a funny one, and then all life stopped.

However, the video sedation is over and we are almost back to normal. Normal being kids running around the house and driving me nuts.

I must be getting old. The boys sound noisier. Stuff is breaking down and/or getting on my nerves. Stuff that didn't used to bother me.

I need a nice long walk in the woods.
 

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Trevor Turns Eight!

And since he's the youngest...ELEVEN BEAUTIFUL PICUTRES :-D

(I can HEAR the older kids gnashing their collective teeth)

Let's get started...

The Bonny Little Blond Bunny Boy, with the Texas Sheet cake that he decorated sorta mostly by himself.
Trevor wanted the downhill skiing from the Olympics, so Carolyn designed the blue guides and the red fencing, and Trevor filled it in with the icing.

Blowing out the candles which he'd arranged in a "T."


First present. The birthday boy carefully loosens each piece of tape...


"How to Draw" books. Pirates, dinosaurs, and....something else I forget.


Time for present number two...


The Wee Laddie checks carefully to see if he's annoying the kids by taking so long...


Hmmm...it's not actual construction vehicles, but a floor puzzle OF construction vehicles.


Now for the biggest one...


It's...it's....


...a very---large--tractor!


Which Ethan has helpfully pointed out contains a place for batteries.

(yeah...THANKS, Ethan)

Trevor chose Kung Fu Panda for his birthday movie. There had been hints concerning another Godzilla flick, but through the subtle persuasion of Ethan and/or other desperate siblings, the popular panda movie came out on top.

Hard to believe Trevor is eight years old. Particularly since he's the size of a small 5-year-old.

But he's still an awesomely cute and clever boy!
 

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