Passing for Normal

Celestial Navigation

2012-01-27T11:02:00.000-05:00

1. "Celestial Navigation" is the name of my favorite episode of The West Wing. It originally aired February 16, 2000, back when my life was kid-less and simpler, but a lot more boring.

I was reminded of it last night because of this: Go watch this video clip right now!

(I'm sorry; either I cannot figure out how to embed it, or it's blocked somehow. Have you finished watching the video yet? Do you know what's coming next?)

No, thankfully, I am not having an emergency root canal today, but Marshall is. And previous to this, the week had been so quiet and peaceful. So I'm having a minor freak-out this morning.

2. I called my mother-in-law earlier, she of CMA designation, so that she could reassure me that Marshall can indeed transport himself to and from his appointment and doesn't need one of us to go with him and hold his hand on the way home. You see, I have a lunch date with a dear friend and didn't want to miss it but was afraid to be selfish. Being a stay at home mom, I am accustomed to my plans being hijacked by the needs of others. Well, perhaps hijacked isn't a fair term. My job is to keep everyone moving forward, juggling household tasks and to be available for care when anyone is ill. In the last few months, though, it feels like there's been a lot of hijacking. But I'm sure that's all just in my head.

3. So my lunch date today is with a friend from church. We are in a Bible study together on Wednesday mornings and we decided to turn our lunch date into a homework date so we can get our workbook stuff done in time for Bible study next week. We figure if we sit there together at the tables in the Moorestown Mall food court, we'll have a nice chat and get good stuff done. The new study our group is starting is Always True: God's 5 Promises When Life is Hard by James MacDonald. We watched the opening video on Wednesday and it seems like it will be a good study.

4. Physical Therapy continues to go well. I enjoy the office staff and get a good work out twice a week. But I'm working so hard there, it essentially wipes me out of energy for the rest of the day. But I am healing, however slowly.

5. My mother flew off to her California vacation on Monday (she gets to meet her 2 week old grand-baby girl tomorrow!) so on Tuesday, my father and I went to the movies after Miranda left for school. I wanted him to see Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol before it leaves the theatres. Although it was my second time for the movie, I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. Go Brad Bird!

6. If you missed it on Wednesday, my movie update is here.

7. I can't remember what else I did this week. Lots of laundry. Wrote some postcards. Lots of time playing Words with Friends on Facebook while sitting with my leg up. Watched a little television. I'm not sure I'm going to stick with Alcatraz or The Finder. The former has an extreme body count and, true to a JJ Abrams-produced series, we are in the same position as the protagonist in not knowing who we can trust amongst all the other players. The latter has some morality issues (inconsistent consequences for bad actions) that I am uncomfortable with, although not, perhaps, when compared to The Fixer or Strike Back! Somehow, I have different standards for UK TV. Silly me.

And here's Jen.

That Promised Movie Update

2012-01-25T21:33:00.004-05:00

I think you can see by the poster posted above what movie I am most looking forward to in 2012. (Oh, Joss Whedon, you're my hero!) But first, let's finish our review of 2011 films.

2011 Movies

January 14
Green Hornet (I actually tried to watch this on DVD, but it was so horrible, I turned it off. I made the horrific mistake of watching the original series in its entirety first, which is decent if a little campy. Like The Avengers movie made years ago, this film seems to miss the point entirely. Ugh.)
April 1
Source Code (Marshall and I were able to go out and see this while my parents were here in April--free babysitting!--and we really liked it. Not as amazing as Moon, but still very good.)
April 29
Fast Five (So much fun! Ridiculous fun, even Rotten Tomatoes gave it an excellent rating. However, you should still listen to the people at How Did This Get Made make fun of it here.)
May 6
Thor (I enjoyed it, but mostly for the actors themselves, especially Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, and, of course, Idris Elba. I did not like Natalie Portman as Jane. I have watched all of Wallander and while he is one of the main characters, Hiddleston didn't seem like anything special in it. But in this, he was fascinating. And, after seeing Cappy and the preview for Avengers, I want to see Thor again, eventually)
June 3
X-Men: First Class (I enjoyed this, mostly because of Michael Fassbender.)
June 10
Super 8 (We were supposed to see this to celebrate Marshall's birthday, but we both got sick. Waiting for DVD.)
June 17
Green Lantern (I went to see it the weekend Harry opened. While I did like it, I think this revi ew clearly lays out all of the film's problems.)
June 24
Cars 2 (So we bought the DVD last week when it was first available and so far, only Miranda has been able to sit through the whole thing. I have seen parts of the middle and the very end several times, but never all the way through. Which just means that, somehow, regardless of how enthralling he was in the first movie, Mater just doesn't work as a primary character for an entire movie.)
July 1
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (I saw it opening weekend and while I liked it, the movie was too long!)
July 15
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (We saw it while in San Diego on vacation and it was awesome and I did cry when Harry saw his parents in the woods and cheered for Neville, because he was awesome! I also liked several parts where the film departed from the novel, like when Harry confronted Snape in the Hogwarts main hall.)
July 20
Another Earth (This just looks interesting, but it might be on my "too sad to see" list. Since my home life with special needs children is rather involving, I rarely watch serious or sad movies. I just don't have the emotional energy to spare.)
July 22
Captain America: The First Avenger (It was a fun movie and Chris Evans was awesome, as I knew he would be after seeing him in The Losers and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. But the movie was too short; I wanted more and didn't want to wait until next summer.)
July 29
Cowboys & Aliens (James Bond and Indiana Jones on horseback, fighting aliens-what's not to like? It wasn't the best movie of the summer, but I enjoyed it.)
August 26
Colombiana (Finally caught it on video a few weeks ago. While I continue to like Zoe Saldana, I should really stay away from Luc Besson-produced movies that are all about revenge and never about forgiveness or redemption. I disliked Taken for exactly the same reasons.)
August 31
The Debt (I would like to see this, but it probably falls under the "too sad to see" label, as well.)
September 16
Drive (I would still like to see this.)
September 23
Moneyball (Loved it! Then went and watched the whole Ken Burns Baseball series.)
Abduction (The reviews were pretty terrible; maybe I'll catch it next year on video.)
Killer Elite (I caught this recently and while I liked it because I like watching Jason Statham and Clive Owen, the story line was very uneven as the action went from Europe to Australia to Oman and back to Europe and then Oman and then Europe, and on and on and on. At some point, you just want the story to be over)
October 7
Real Steel (I am still hoping to see this, but would rather see Jackman in person on Broadway.)
The Ides of March (Occasionally, I do watch a serious movie, although I've yet to see Michael Clayton, even though I've heard it's excellent. This also got good reviews.)
October 21
The Three Musketeers (The reviews were extra horrible, but the steam-punk twist still looks interesting.)
October 28
Anonymous (As a fan of Shakespeare--although I turned off Shakespeare in Love after half an hour because I couldn't stand it--I might see this eventually. The reviews made it sound interesting.)
November 11
Immortals (It was visually sumptuous, the costumes breathtaking, even the violence super-stylized, but the plot had a few holes. Still, very pretty.)
November 23
The Muppets (Are there any bad Muppet movies? Actually, I haven't seen them all. The Great Muppet Caper is still my favorite, though. I may have to see this on video; we had a very busy December recuperating from our various injuries.)
Hugo (This has been on so many people's Top 10 movies of the 2011 that I would really like to see it, eventually.)
December 16
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (the first one was fun, so perhaps this one will be, as well, though not as good as Sherlock.)
December 21
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (directed by Brad Bird and I've seen it twice in the theatre. Awesome movie! Go Brad!)
December 23
The Adventures of Tintin (directed by Steven Spielberg and based on famous comics that I've never read, but it got good reviews. I may still try to see it before it disappears from theatres.)

Now we can finally move on to

2012 Movies

January 20
Haywire (if only to see Michael Fassbender get his butt kicked by a girl; also, the reviews are good.)
Underworld: Awakening (even though the first one was only mildly entertaining and the second one was so problematic I had to refer to Wikipedia's plot summary to figure out what was happening while I was watching the film on cable, Kate Beckinsale is a lot of fun to watch run around in black leather with double pistols)
Coriolanus (still only in limited release; I have already been looking forward to this for months, but then I'm a sucker for Shakespeare anything)
February 10
Safe House (because Ryan Reynolds is just so appealing and I like cotton candy action movies)
March 9
John Carter (of Mars. Here's hoping Andrew Stanton has as much success as Brad Bird in the live action film world.)
March 30
Wrath of the Titans (even though it seems to have stolen most of its plot from the Percy Jackson novels, it still looks like cool eye candy)
April 20
Lock Out (awesome trailer; hope the movie is as good)
April 27
Safe (I will probably wait until video, but I'm developing quite a taste for Jason Statham)
May 4
The Avengers (So excited! I'm not watching the trailer every week, like I did with Star Trek, but I still expect it to be my favorite movie of the summer and worth at least one return trip to the theatre.)
May 18
Battleship (I am curious; if the reviews are bad, I'll just go see The Avengers again.)
May 25
Men in Black III - (MIB is my mother-in-law's favorite movie so she might want to see this, too.)
June 1
Snow White & the Huntsman (I was doubtful until I saw the trailer, which makes this look much more interesting than its competitor, Mirror, Mirror.)
June 9
Prometheus (this is the movie Marshall is most looking forward to in the summer of 2012; with a cast that includes Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba and Logan Marshall-Green and directed by Ridley Scott, it would be hard for this to fail. Possible, but unlikely.)
June 22
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (I'm curious; I'll wait and see what the reviews say.)
Brave (Pixar's new film that we don't know much about yet.)
June 29
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (looks like so much fun! I was one of the few who enjoyed the first film.)
July 6
The Amazing Spider-Man (this picture has transfixed me for months.)
July 20
The Dark Knight Rises (Can Christopher Nolan really finish his trilogy well? Is the Pope Catholic?)
August 3
The Bourne Legacy (Basically, I'll watch Jeremy Renner in just about anything.)
Total Recall (maybe; I like Colin Farrell and am not fond of Paul Verhoeven so I might find this version an improvement, maybe.)
August 17
The Expendables 2 (the first one was amusing; I will probably will see this on video.)
September 14
Argo (sounds interesting, although I have yet to watch any of Affleck's director projects)
September 21
Dredd (Karl Urban is a good actor and I've read enough about the project on Wikipedia to read the reviews and think about seeing it.)
September 28
Looper (comparisons to Moon can only be good.)
November 9
Skyfall (new James Bond; end of story.)
December 7
Les Miserables (love the musical so am curious about the film)
December 14
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (do I have to make any explanation about why I want to see this movie?)

Unannounced Date
Much Ado About Nothing (directed by Joss Whedon, cast includes innumerable old favorites--what's not to like?)

And that's my list, so far.

Strange Week

2012-01-20T11:20:00.001-05:00

I am having difficulties getting my mind around everything that happened this week so I think the easiest way to parse it is to go day by day.

1. Friday (last week, duh) - Marshall and I received many generous gifts for Christmas, much in the way of cash, so we indulged in an evening out that included dinner and a movie. One of our favorite babysitters was available (before she went back to college this week) so she came by and we whisked away to the fine dining establishment of Applebee's (ha!) and then to see Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, which was awesome! It is rare for me to want to see a movie more than once in the theatre, but this is now on my list. Go Brad Bird! And Jeremy Renner was even better than advertised. I really must see him in The Town now. If you were foolish enough to skip watching The Unusuals in the spring of 2009 (which, since it was canceled so unceremoniously, you probably did) you should try to find it on DVD. Renner absolutely steals the show and made me a life-long fan.

2. Saturday - I started the day with a date with my father to see Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and then a nice lunch out, just the two of us. Now, if you haven't read the book (I'm in line currently to check it out of the library) or seen the Alec Guinness series from 1979, you have no hope of understanding this film, so don't bother. Since I recently watched the original series, I followed the action just fine and enjoyed the film. All the critics are right: Gary Oldman is amazing. I heard part of his interview on Fresh Air on Friday which only deepened my interest in the film.

Then I came home for an hour or two, welcomed a different but also wonderful babysitter into the house and then Marshall and I went off to my parents' house for a lovely dinner party with friends from church. It was delightful, both the company and the food.

3. Sunday was the usual morning church service and then home in the afternoon, where I planned and rested up for Youth Group in the evening. I showed my small group clips from a modern version of Pride & Prejudice that came out in 2003 and I caught on Showtime during one of those free pay cable months. It gave us a great jumping off point to talk about why women love romance stories and how women are wired for love. It led to a lively discusssion, but a good one.

While I was lying around Sunday afternoon, I finished The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies. I was originally intrigued by the book after listening to the interview on Radio Times but didn't feel tremendously enlightened after reading it. I guess I wanted to discover why gangster movies are so popular and while I have a better technical understanding of why, it doesn't make me a fan of them. I have seen The Godfather movies and Pulp Fiction (a movie which I particularly despise) but didn't find the process of watching those films to be life-changing. In fact, I prefer Infernal Affairs to The Departed, which, apparently is unusual for a gringa but places me within a wide-ranging disagreement in the film fan world. In fact, the only movie I want to see after reading the book is The Killer, an early film by John Woo, a director of which I am already a fan. Still, it is an interesting book for film fans and written in a very conversational style. And you don't have to read it cover to cover like I did but only read about the movies in which you are curious.

4. Monday - My darling husband played "Fun Dad" on Monday and took the children off to the Delaware Museum of Natural History to meet their cousins there and see the dinosaur bones together. One of the great things about the DelMNH is that they have a reciprocal agreement with other museums, like the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, which has a visiting Giant Mysterious Dinosaur exhibit at the moment, which I also heard about on Radio Times, that I think my children will enjoy.

So, on my day off (essentially), I went to PT and then met a friend for lunch at Panera's. I came home about 3 o'clock feeling refreshed and ready to see my children again, after taking most of the weekend off from parenting duties. And even though Marshall was at church for a meeting during the evening, the children were happy and calm and went to bed almost painlessly. It made Tuesday morning rather shocking to our systems, though.

5. Tuesday - We did not start the day well. I woke up with a seriously aching ankle (too much driving and running around Monday afternoon) and so wasn't in the best mood to motivate Alex to get ready for his 8:45 am bus and then push Miranda into the car to drag her off to MOPS with me. After MOPS, I dropped Miranda off at school and came home to spend all afternoon on the couch with my foot up, catching up on all the paperwork-type things (postcards for small group, attendance records for YM, etc.) I usually did on Monday mornings. I worked for about 4 hours straight, with a few breaks for Words with Friends games, of course. I got a lot done but I haven't lost the feeling that losing Monday (taking the day off, essentially) has made me feel like I'm behind in everything for the rest of the week.

6.. Wednesday - My women's Bible study group started up again and it was a joy to reconnect with all of my friends and get excited about the new study. Miranda had a good time with her friends in the "baby class" (which is what she calls the nursery), did some laps around the sanctuary, and was dropped off at school again. My mother came with me and was kind enough to drive us, to spare my still-healing ankle.

7. Thursday - My mother leaves for California on Monday to visit family and go spend a couple of weeks cuddling her new grand-daughter. And, given how darling and beautiful my new neice is, can you blame her?

So yesterday my mother and I had a nice lunch at TGIFriday's and then did a shopping blitz from Wegman's to GNC, Petsmart, Joann's Fabrics and Costco.

On the technological front, Marshall has been working on our new DVR/server to get it ready for another visit by a Comcast technician tomorrow morning in the hopes that we can finally say good-bye to Vonage and Directv. I love upgrades; really. Even when they go like this.

And here's Jen.

And the Good News Is...

2012-01-13T09:53:00.000-05:00

1. A brand new niece is a great way to end the week. Here are all the details, courtesy of my mother:

We wanted to share with you our joy in the safe arrival of Brandon and Piper's beautiful and healthy daughter, Madelynn Grace. After a long labor, it was decided that she was too big for Pi to deliver and she was also face up, so they did a C-section about 4:15 Pacific time yesterday and all is well with Pi and Maddy, and her Daddy is so happy! :-) as are we! She weighed 7lbs 13oz and is 20 1/2 " long.

And here's a picture of our new darling girl:

My first thought was, my goodness, she looks healthy!

My mother leaves for California on January 23 to visit with my Grandma and Aunt Katie, enjoy my other sister-in-law Stephanie's baby shower (yes, I get to be an aunt again come Easter!), and then spend at least 2 weeks helping Bran and Pi with baby Maddy. I expect to be absolutely drowning in adorable pictures of her right quick!

We hope to be able to visit my family in California again this summer, after summer school is over. But right at this moment, waiting until August to meet Maddy seems a terrible hardship. Dang.

2. I love my library! This week I read Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops by James Robert Parish and am two-thirds of the way through The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies: Featuring the 100 Greatest Gangster Films of All Time by George Anastasia and Glen Macnow. I can't remember how I found the first book (somewhere online while reading movie reviews) but I really enjoyed it. The second book was written by local writers who were interviewed by Marty Moss-Coane on Radio Times and I loved the interview. One of the privileges of being home in the mornings is having the opportunity to listen to Marty's show on a regular basis. Even though I don't always agree with her, she is a fair and excellent journalist who introduces me to all kinds of new writers and stories.

3. Speaking of movies, Marshall and I are going to see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol tonight and tomorrow morning my father and I are going to see Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I'm just praying my ankle survives all that sitting in chairs. Or, maybe, the theatres will be empty enough for me to put it up somehow. It is still healing, but, as my doctor warned me, it is a very slow process.

4. The new Sherlock series tackled The Hound of the Baskervilles, transforming it into The Hounds of Baskerville. The changes from the original story are pretty significant, which I approved of, even though it didn't make me love it. It was good, just not as brilliant as the previous week's episode. It does set us up for another encounter with Moriarty in the series two finale, The Reichenbach Fall.

Even though Series 3 has yet to be announced, they would be stupid to stop now, so I don't expect Holmes to die at the end, at least not permanently. Steven Moffat can be infuriating in his writing but he is always conscious of the bottom line.

5. My mother is helping me to clean up various piles stuff that have remained undisturbed for months because of our difficult 2011. On Sunday, with the able assistance of an old friend, Marshall disassembled our bed frame and moved it into the garage for a decent quarantine and bug spray interval, which meant we had to shift the piles in our bedroom anyway. On Tuesday, my cleaning ladies came through, which gave everything a boost. We haven't conquered all the chaos yet, but we still have another 9 days before she leaves for California, so there's hope.

6. Our technical upgrade to Comcast Digital is still in progress. Marshall had to take the server apart again to upgrade it to Windows 7, so the status on the ground is a little shaky, although we should still have access to all the video data we've accumulated since it went down right before Christmas. Should. I haven't tested it this morning. Miranda's been happy to play pbskids.org instead of watching Pocoyo.

7. Our sleep schedule this week has been a little rocky. Marshall is working the early shift, which means he leaves the house just after 6 am to arrive at the office before 7. Miranda has been up at or before 6 every day but if you hand her a bowl of dry cereal and turn on the computer for her, she seems happy until Alex and I get up at 7. Thankfully, most nights we've all been able to get to bed early.

And here's Jen.

More Technical Difficulties

2012-01-07T10:51:00.000-05:00

1. Sorry this is 24 hours late. I didn't have connectivity yesterday. Our Comcast digital upgrade is having some problems. Our salesman keeps chasing down those problems, though. And no internet meant that I had all morning to do laundry and clean up the living room. How is it there is always 3 loads of laundry that need doing, at least? And I wash clothes nearly every day. I guess we're just messy people.

2. Miranda's new favorite show is Pocoyo, which on first examination I thought was of Japanese origin but it's actually a Spanish show with the narrative rerecorded for an English-speaking audience. It's a very sweet show.

3. I watched 3 excellent British shows this week:

Sherlock Series 2 has begun with "A Scandal in Belgravia" and as good as Series 1 was, Benedict Cumberbatch was so good in this, he left me breathless. So his new casting announcement this week was even more exciting!
One of my father's all time favorite television mini-series is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with Alec Guinness made in 1979. Before we go see the new film (with Benedict Cumberbatch!) I wanted to see the original. And it was transfixing, even though I knew what was going to happen (I read too many spoilers on Wikipedia.)
I am a big fan of Lewis, though not so much of Inspector Morse. One of the worst losses on our recent hard drive death was my 15 gigs of Lewis, Series 1-5. The same production company who created Lewis has just started a new project called Endeavour, about a young Morse and set in the 1960's. The pilot ran this week and it was enthralling. I hope they pick it up for series. Shaun Evans was brilliant and Roger Allam better than I've ever liked him before. The ending almost had me almost in tears. It makes me wonder if I should go check out some Morse videos from the library.

4. All of my lying around, playing Words with Friends for hours on end, has been doing me some good. My physical therapist told me Thursday that my ankle is healing nicely. And my Scrabble skills are improving, though more slowly.

5. Simcha Fischer had a great post recently about resolutions, kinda. It's still very funny. My resolutions are basically to get well and get caught up on life. The piles of paper in my bedroom that I've been ignoring for months are eventually going to get sorted and put away. Really, I mean it. :)

6. Youth Group starts up again tomorrow night. I'm having some difficulty planning ahead for my small group but I think I'm going to show portions of the Veronica Mars pilot tomorrow. As much as I love Veronica, she is morally challenged, which should make for an interesting discussion.

7. The children did return to school on Tuesday and both of them seemed to do okay with the transition. Now I'm just trying to fit my twice-weekly PT appointments into the portions of time that they are away at school.

Bonus 8. If you missed our Christmas letter post from last week, here's that link again.

And here's Jen.

Scrambled Brain

2011-12-31T13:31:00.000-05:00

1. Since I continue to spend most of my time sitting around with my foot up (when I'm not being tormented by the Physical Therapists at Strive Physical Therapy in Marlton), I continue to play numerous games of Words with Friends on Facebook. The tally at the moment is 20 games open, 10 games finished in the last 4 days, which include 1 win, 1 tie and the other 8 losses. But I've never played Scrabble before, so I'm learning.

2. ~~We have been working hard~~ Marshall has been working hard on our Christmas letter for 2011 and you can read it right here.

3. Marshall bought a new hard drive for Borg (our DVR/server for all our video and audio data) over the weekend and was able to get it working again on Monday morning. I think Miranda watched Nick Jr., as live television (which is unusual for us) from 11 am until 7 pm. Yes, we are tv addicts. But we only watch good television, like Doctor Who and The Backyardigans. Yeah, yeah; excuses, excuses.

4. I hope to have my year end review of movies and preview of the best 2012 has to offer sometime in the next week.

5. We are making the switch to Comcast Digital television and phone on Monday, throwing Vonage and Directv by the wayside and getting a serious visual upgrade. We got a great deal from this very kind and immensely persuasive Comcast salesman who was going by, knocking on doors. If you want his name, let me know.

6. We enjoyed company for dinner on Tuesday night. The Baumann brothers 3 along with Kate White came over for roast beast, bringing with them cherry pie and lots of laughter. A good time was had by all.

7. I was able to persuade Marshall to watch Doctor Who some with me on Wednesday night, so we're finally now at the half-way point in Series 6. We might actually be caught up again before Series 7 starts in late 2012.

And here's Jen.

Technological Carnage

2011-12-23T10:03:00.000-05:00

1. So the latest crisis is that our wonderful, magnificent, does-everything-in-the-universe-home-made DVR exploded early yesterday morning (about 1 am). On the day before the children are off from school and home for vacation, we have no access to any of our videos, recordings or even live TV. Almost a terrabyte of data is inaccessible and may be completely gone. Needless to say, we are a little down about this.

We do have a lot of DVD's in the shed that can be brought inside and I'm sure I can find the DVD drive that's somewhere in the laundry room and hook it up to a laptop or two so we can watch a few movies (currently, my mother's laptop is serving as a DVD player for Miranda) but this is a little disheartening. The crises are starting to stack up on each other; we don't quite have a chance to recover from one when the next one knocks us flat.

So, on this weekend of Christmas when we're supposed to be celebrating the birth of Christ and enjoying our time with family, Marshall will be trying to resurrect Borg (the name of the server) and I will be trying to help while distracting the children. If you think of us, pray for patience and that new hardware and software will speed up the process considerably.

2. On a lighter note, I have started playing Words with Friends on Facebook. Apparently, I'm having a hard time amusing myself in the evening hours without all those television shows to watch so I have opened 12 different games, at present, looking for someone to help me pass the time and do something slightly intellectual. Of course, I'm also working my way through all the FreeCell games, starting at 1 and am now on game #530. I haven't beat all of them without help, though. Apparently, someone has the time to post all of the solutions to every single FreeCell game online. And I thought I had too much free time.

3. I picked up a great book at the library this week and read the first half on Wednesday night, Flirting with Pride & Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives on the Original Chick Lit Masterpiece, edited by Jennifer Crusie and Glenn Yeffeth. It's just scholarly enough to be interesting without being dry and boring.

4. There were a whole bunch of new movie trailers released this week, and all of them look good:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Dark Knight Rises
Wrath of the Titans (although some people are commenting on how much of the story they stole from Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief)
Prometheus
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
The Amazing Spider Man (somehow this photo gives me chills every time I look at it)
John Carter (well, it was a few weeks ago but we're still very excited to see it)

5. Somehow, in the next few weeks, I would really like to go to the movies, but with my sprained ankle, the most uncomfortable position is sitting. I need to have my leg extended and my foot up to be comfortable. I would prefer not to wait for video for all of these:

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (Jeremy Renner and Brad Bird--what's not to like?)
The Adventures of Tintin
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
The Muppets
Hugo
Arthur Christmas

No Dragon tattoos for me; I watched the Swedish movie earlier this year and that was a enough Stieg Larsson-induced trauma for my life, thank you very much.

6. If you have access to a television tonight, and the BBC America channel, you can watch the debut of my favorite Radio Show, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. I'm sure I will find a way to watch it online over the weekend, somehow.

7. I have pretty much been in a bad mood since I sprained my ankle. Even though my physical therapist told me on Wednesday that I am making good progress with my ankle, driving is still pretty painful, so I'm planning not to do that all weekend. It feels like a catastrophe avalanche on our household. So, please, pray for us and pray especially for my attitude. I've not been the best person to be around lately.

And here's Jen. Merry Christmas!

I Have No Pithy Title in Mind Except, "Ow"

2011-12-16T11:26:00.003-05:00

1. So I went to see the doctor last Saturday morning to have my ankle looked at and he very correctly diagnosed a small tear in my Achilles and sent me off for Physical Therapy. And no driving. So I have now spent most of the last 10 days lying around with my foot up, feeling silly. I mean, what kind of stay at home mother spends most of her day sitting around and not doing the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, etc. Certainly, we've had plenty of help and meals cooked by friends and such but I'm going to be in PT for 6-12 weeks, healing slowly. And driving only occasionally and carefully. This was not how I was planning to spend my winter. Especially with a husband still recovering from shoulder surgery. Whine, whine, whine!

2. At least I'm getting caught up on my reading. In the last 2 weeks, I've read The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan and am now anxiously awaiting the next books in both of his series; his cliff-hangers are just cruel. I also went to the library yesterday and picked up 4 short novels by Jennifer Cruisie (Getting Rid of Bradley, Strange Bedpersons, The Cinderella Deal and Anyone But You) and I've finished all the the last half of the last book.

3. I've also been working my way through the DVR. At the beginning of the week, I had 13 episodes of The Mentalist to watch and now I have that almost by half. I've also watched the first 3 episodes of Torchwood: Miracle Day and don't hate it enough to completely throw it away, yet, but I'm close. Rex is such an unsympathetic character; it's like the writers are trying to recreate Owen from the first season but they forgot all the clever ways they made Owen fascinating and impossible to hate. And I miss Ianto more than I thought I would. The Americanization of Torchwood has not impressed me. But it was certainly profitable for its creators.

4.I found this fascinating article on Hitfix last week, by Drew McWeeny who I loved to read on AintitCool for years. He writes about how dramatically our era's movies are influenced by the world of fan fiction.

5. I'm going to spend most of the time in the next week that I'm not reclining with the foot in the air making and parceling out fudge, which we gives to teachers, aides, church buddies and neighbors. When you count up the number of people who work with our children, it's a lot of fudge. At least 20 lbs worth. Still, it's a good way to say thank you to the many people without whose help we wouldn't survive.

6. I like my Physical Therapist and his office and staff. It's a fun kind of place. Of course, the exercises they invent for me are a lot harder than they look, but it is a pleasant place. So, if you are in need, Strive Physical Therapy in Marlton gets my seal of approval. With their help, I am determined to get better, because all this sitting around, when I don't want to, is just ridiculous!

7. All those movies I was going to see this month? Yeah, I don't expect that to happen. I can't sit anywhere comfortably without having my leg extended and my foot up, which just won't work for a movie theatre. Ah, dang.

And here's Jen.

But the Week Was Going So Well....

2011-12-09T11:13:00.001-05:00

"One woe doth tread upon another's heel, / So fast they follow" Hamlet IV.vii.180-1

1. The week was going so well, Marshall was recovering nicely, things were starting to get back to normal when I slipped on the kitchen floor on Tuesday afternoon and twisted my ankle. My right ankle, the one I need for driving! It seems to be my Achilles tendon and it feels just fine as long as it's wrapped up and I'm lying around, doing nothing. In case you're forgotten, my husband had shoulder surgery last week so he can't drive either and I have to youngish, high maintenance children and it's December! I have been Big Miss Grumpy Pants ever since. (Miranda is Little Miss Grumpy Pants, on a bad day, so it seems only fitting that I should be a bigger version.)

2. So I ditched the last session of Bible study Wednesday morning, my YMT meeting Wednesday night but made it to a MOPS DGL meeting at church this morning because my aunt drove me to and from. This is already extremely annoying. I am the kind of person who does things and runs errands and gets all kinds of things together (like the 3 million plates of fudge I need to start giving out next week to all of Alex and Miranda's numerous helpers at church and school) and I can't do any of it. It's made me really not fun to be with the last couple of days. Thankfully, Marshall is a patient person.

3. Marshall is doing tremendously better. The weekend was tough but he did start feeling better in leaps and bounds after that. Thank you for your prayers.

4. And he thinks he's found a replacement car in Passaic, NJ, which is more than an hour north of us. He went to see it yesterday and if the dealership fix a couple of problems with it, he plans to purchase it next week.

5. The children are having a tough week as well, so it's been good that my aunt's been here since Wednesday. Alex dropped the old iPhone that was serving as a game console for him on Monday morning and shattered the screen which means it's dead, permanently, and he's having a hard time coping with the consequences of his actions. We plan to replace it at Christmas, thanks to my parents, with another old iPhone, but still, disappointment and frustration and anxiety bubbled up out of him Tuesday night and he went on a rampage; it took Marshall about an hour to calm him down again. Poor woozle. Sometimes life is just hard and coping with our feelings is difficult.

Miranda's been in trouble in her class like 5 days out of 6 now so we're drawing up a new plan of incentives for her. Her teacher is just awesome and has a plan, bless her.

6. Dirty Jobs is back next week! Mike Rowe is one of those people I'd really love to invite over for dinner or to stay with us for a week. He's just cool. Really cool.

7. Our life, for 2011, has been living one crisis to the next and I really want it to end! Nice, boring, catch up time. I mean, the piles of stuff in my bedroom are getting ridiculous! I thought these were the things I'd be doing with my mom after she arrived last month, not just another crisis on top of the last 10 that we have to try not to drown in, again!. I was back to my favorite song of a couple of years ago, "Work" by Jars of Clay: "I have no fear of drowning / It's the breathing that's taking all this work."

Okay, enough whining. I need to go write Christmas cards, something I can do SITTING DOWN. Here's Jen.

When In Doubt, Quote from The Princess Bride

2011-12-02T12:52:00.001-05:00

1. This is the passage I'm thinking of:

Fezzik:     How long do we have to wait, before if we know the miracle

            works?

Inigo:      Your guess is as good as mine.

Westley:    I'll beat you two apart! I'll take you both together!

Fezzik:     I guess not very long.

Westley:    Why won't my arms move?

Fezzik:     You've been mostly dead all day.

Inigo:      We had Miracle Max make a pill to bring you back.

Westley:    Who are you? Are we enemies? Why am I on this wall? Where's

            Buttercup?

Inigo:      Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Buttercup

            is marry Humperdinck in little less than half an hour, so all we

            have to do is get in, break up the wedding, steal the princess,

            make our escape, after I kill Count Rugen.

Westley:    That doesn't leave much time for dilly-dallying.

Fezzik:     You just wiggled your finger! That's wonderful!

Westley:    I've always been a quick healer. What are our liabilities?

Inigo:      There is but one working castle gate. And it is guarded by...

            sixty men.

Westley:    And our assets?

Inigo:      Your brains, Fezzik's strength, my steel.

Westley:    That's it? Impossible. If I had a month to plan, maybe I could

            come up with something, but this...

Fezzik:     You just shook your head! That doesn't make you happy?

Westley:    My brains, your strength, and his steel against sixty men, and

            you think a little head jiggle is supposed to make me happy?

            Hmmmm? I mean, if we only had a wheelbarrow, that would be

            something.

Inigo:      Where did we put that wheelbarrow the albino had?

Fezzik:     With the albino, I think.

Westley:    Why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place?

            What I wouldn't give for a holocaust cloak.

Inigo:      There we cannot help you.

Fezzik:     Would this do?

Inigo:      Where did you get that?

Fezzik:     At Miracle Max's. It fit so nice, he said I could keep it.

Westley:    All right, all right. Come on, help me up. Now I'll need a

            sword eventually.

Inigo:      Why? You can't even lift one.

Westley:    True, but that's hardly common knowledge, is it? Thank you.

            Now, there may be problems once we're inside.

Inigo:      I'll say. Namely, how do I find the Count? Once I do, how

            do I find you again? Once I find you again, how do I escape?

Fezzik:     Don't pester him. He's had a hard day.

Inigo:      Right. Right. Sorry.

I could go on but then we'd all have to just sit down and watch the movie again. Suffice to say, it was a busy week. I will do my best to summarize sufficiently for those of my readers who haven't seen the daily updates on Facebook or haven't been otherwise informed.

2. So, the surgery to repair Marshall's shattered clavicle was on Wednesday. The orthopedic office we were referred to by the hospital was closed for Thanksgiving and the day after last week, so when we finally got in touch with them on Monday, they had to order blood work and an EKG to be done Tuesday morning so the surgery could be scheduled Wednesday.

3. On Monday, the pain medication that Marshall had been prescribed finally started making him sick, so he gave up on that and switched to over the counter stuff until the surgery, being sure that his doctor prescribed something else for afterwards. Keeping all these pills and dosages and times to take them straight has been my job. Now I know why I never went into nursing. (Well, the fact that I faint--really and truly faint--at the sight of blood doesn't help, either.)

4. God has been helping me to get things done ahead of time. I had all my Thanksgiving cards done and in the mail two days before the accident. I finished all of the December birthday cards for YG in mid-November. I raked leaves on Sunday after church, not knowing the pick-up would be two days ago (our township doesn't always notify our neighborhood of when to expect them; they just show up and start removing whatever leaves they find near the curb). And God has been reminding me of all the things that still need doing, emails to write, cards to send, clothes to wash.

5. Wednesday would not have been possible without the help of our parents. Marshall's mother accompanied me to the surgical center and waited with me, for 8 hours, until they released him. (We arrived at the office at 10 am, as instructed, and the surgery started about 1 pm; he was in recovery after 4.) She kept Marshall's father in the loop by phone and he informed other family members of our progress. My parents took charge of the kids, put Miranda on the bus and got both of them off, as well as preparing dinner for us. Then they put the kids to bed while I ran out to the pharmacy for Marshall's meds, which took forever to fill. Yeah, I know, everyone's fussy about narcotics now.

6. Since then I've been keeping Marshall fed and medicated, helped him readjust his apparatus and continued to put ice in his cryo shoulder pad cooler (I can't find an appropriate picture, sorry, but the thing eats 20 lbs of ice a day, keeping cool water continuously moving over his shoulder which reduces the swelling and speeds up the healing process). Like an infant, he gets me up twice in the middle of the night for a snack and more ice, but I've been able to go back to sleep afterwards. He hasn't slept much since the surgery, but hopefully that will change this weekend.

7. We still haven't found a replacement car for him, though. He usually takes several months to research and settle on a new (used) car and compressing the process into a much shorter amount of time is a little stressful on both of us. I'm sure I'll be test driving several cars for him next week (something he knows I hate doing, but we don't have other options) because we need it like yesterday.

Bonus 8. I know many of you have been praying for us every since his accident 10 days ago--thank you! Without your prayers, I don't think we could have coped. Please keep praying for a reduction in Marshall's pain, for finding a new car and for the kids, who, so far, are coping remarkable well. Poor Alex, though, can sense things are just wrong and he doesn't like it. Miranda understands a lot better what's happening, but Alex can just feel the stress in the air and it upset him. Having my parents here and my aunt and uncle (who are visiting for a couple of days) has helped tremendously.

About a month ago, Marshall and I were reflecting on our year and he said everyone gets a pass for 2011. Like 2006 (the year Alex was diagnosed with autism and Miranda was born), it's been one hard thing after another and we just want to see the end of it and start fresh. Now that's doubly true.

And here's Jen.

Sometimes, Life Takes A Sharp Left Turn

2011-11-25T10:13:00.001-05:00

1. If you missed all the excitement on FB or email on Tuesday, my husband was in a single-car accident about 11 am which totaled the car and sent him to the hospital with a broken left clavicle. The roads were wet, he was coming around a corner on an exit ramp he's used a thousand times and this time, it was probably a little too fast and he lost control of the car and swung around into a lamp post. My father was meeting him at the shopping center where he exited so was on scene almost immediately. Seeing the Marshall was seriously injured, my father helped my husband out of the smashed car and into my father's Rav and took him straight to the hospital.

I have since discovered that this is not the way things are supposed to happen in NJ. If you are in any kind of accident, you are supposed to call the police first, be cared for in an ambulance, etc. By not doing things in the proper order, we have had some other problems (no police report, difficulty finding someone to take the totaled car, etc.), but I cannot fault my father for thinking of Marshall's health and well-being first. It's just so wonderful to live in New Jersey, where bureaucracy follows you everywhere with a proper procedure to follow in all emergencies!

2. Marshall had x-rays and a head CT scan at the ER in the brand new Virtua Voorhees hospital (where you can get lost in the parking lot, the new campus is so big) and the result is a left clavicle in 4 or more pieces. Apparently, the hospital doesn't deal with things as minor as this and sends you off to an orthopedic specialist for a consult and, perhaps, an out-patient repair surgery, which we anticipate having on Tuesday, November 29.

3. My mother-in-law, who I've raved about before here, is a CMA and very calm and helpful in medical environments, so she's the one I requested take me to the hospital to see my poor husband on Tuesday and who I plan to take with us for his surgery next Tuesday.

4. We do have good insurance. There's a lot of paper work and claim numbers and names and phone numbers I have scribbled down on scraps of paper in my voluminous purse (that still has 2 screw drivers and a wrench in it to make sure I could get the license plates off of the totaled car before I signed it over to the man from the salvage yard) that I keep referring to when I need to, but so far, all we've had to shell out for is our $30.00 co-pay for the orthopedist. I'm sure we will have other costs when they remind me what our deductibles might be, but I am grateful to set those worries aside as Marshall is frantically trying to find another car for him to drive himself to work, in several weeks, when he is able to go back to work.

5. Speaking of his job, please be praying that all the details concerning that will work out. He will have to go onto temporary disability and miss a yet undecided number of weeks of work, which means he will still get a paycheck, but this causes other problems. Not to mention they fact that he's not there to help with the overwhelming amount of work his group already has to do every day. It is my prayer that his co-workers will have compassion for him instead of complaining about his absence because that absence causes more work for them. Mercy for all, Lord Jesus.

6. Yes, Thanksgiving was yesterday and we hosted my parents, Marshall's parents and our good friends, the Olson's and everyone had a lovely time and the food was excellent. Marshall was able to sit with us at the table and eat and enjoy the company, before retiring back to bed to rest his shoulder. But I am sure my thankful spirit was muted by concerns for my husband.

7. The next few weeks will take us into uncharted territory. Miranda seems to have a grasp of what happened to Daddy but Alex keeps having to be reminded about why Daddy can't sit with him or put him to bed. I am functioning, kind of, as a single parent, although I have my parents and Marshall's to help, as well as many other friends.

When Marshall asked me yesterday what kind of car I wanted him to replace his daily driver with, my answer was something along the lines of an urban assault vehicle, which would protect him on all sides from all kinds of danger, supposedly. It's not practical, because we need something with good gas mileage, but that's what sounds good to me. I'm sure I'll get over it, eventually.

And here's Jen.

In the Eye of the Storm

2011-11-18T09:35:00.001-05:00

1. So my parents' move-in day was moved up to tomorrow from Monday so they are already on their way here. My mother called about 7:30 Eastern time to say they'd reached Indiana. Apparently, they couldn't sleep last night so they left Madison at 3 am local time and expect to arrive sometime today or early tomorrow morning. And I have a long list of things I should be doing in preparation for their arrival but I can't seem to focus BECAUSE THEY'RE ALMOST HERE!

2. Also, because I'm crazy happy that my parents will be here, I volunteered to host Thanksgiving for 8 adults and 4 children next week, including both sets of parents. I think we will be having 3 different kinds of vegetables, in addition to yams, just so everyone will be happy and not forced to eat something they don't want. We may be skipping the stuffing entirely, though, because so many of the guests are eating low-carb. diets. I was never a big fan of it anyway; I'd much rather expend my calories on mashed potatoes.

3. Surely I must have done something else with my week? Saturday I worked on Thanksgiving cards. Sunday was church, raking pine needles, YG and the movie. On Monday, Miranda stayed home because she was too tired to go to school (she went back to bed at 10:30 am and didn't move for 3 hours). Tuesday was MOPS, a trip to the library and then I sat down at read Jim Butcher's Side Jobs cover to cover. Wednesday was Bible study, my visit to Miranda's class while Mimi went and visited Alex's class for American Education Week and making Baylis bars for Marshall to take to work Thursday. Last night was our parent-teacher conference with Miranda's teacher, case manager and speech therapist, followed by dinner out with a friend. And now it's Friday morning. Quick week.

4. We had a great conference last night with Miranda's teaching team. We were all agreed about what continue to be her challenges in the classroom but pleased with the progress from a year ago. We also agreed that even though she's been given the label of autism, she remains incredible difficult to classify, even though the teaching plan would've remained the same, regardless of her label. Where she will be placed next year for kindergarten depends on how much she learns this year and how she does in the extensive in-house evaluations the school staff will do as a part of Kindergarten Roundup in February. I am not looking forward to the paperwork; it's quite a pile. But we feel very secure that she is in the best place possible, continuing to learn at a good pace. In some ways, we just have to wait for her brain to grow to see where we go next. Early childhood development is hardly a path you travel in a straight line, although this sometimes feels like we're stuck in a game of Frogger.

5. I am not a Twilight fan. I did manage to sit through the first movie, but gave up after that. I do still read the movie reviews, though, because they make me laugh, like this one from Drew McWeeny of Hitfix, formerly known as Moriarty of Ain't It Cool.

6. If you missed this from my FB page, I'm posting it here: an excellent interview with Joss Whedon about his Much Ado About Nothing movie that comes out next spring. I'm actually considering a plan of seeing the movie once a week, when it arrives in theatres. I haven't done that since I was 17 and the movie was Newsies. Now if I could just get a hold of a copy of David Tennant's performance in the same play from the London stage last summer, life would be complete.

7. You can still order a copy of The Circle of the Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year, written by my dear friend, Kimberlee Conway Ireton, from her web page here. And if you want a copy of my mother's book, you can ask her for it in person, sometime next week! (It might take her a few days to find the right box of books.)

And here's Jen.

A Monday Movie Update

2011-11-14T15:26:00.001-05:00

So, I decided to do a movie update this afternoon because I have a huge pile of laundry that needs folding and I've so lost my love for laundry (thank you, bed bugs). Not that I was ever very fond of the folding and putting it all away part. But I did go and see Immortals last night after Youth Group; perhaps that's my motivation. Or, at least, a better excuse.

2011 Movies

January 14
Green Hornet (I actually tried to watch this on DVD, but it was so horrible, I turned it off. I made the horrific mistake of watching the original series in its entirety first, which is decent if a little campy. Like The Avengers movie made years ago, this film seems to miss the point entirely. Ugh.)
April 1
Source Code (Marshall and I were able to go out and see this while my parents were here in April--free babysitting!--and we really liked it. Not as amazing as Moon, but still very good.)
April 29
Fast Five (So much fun! Ridiculous fun, even Rotten Tomatoes gave it an excellent rating. However, you should still listen to the people at How Did This Get Made make fun of it here.)
May 6
Thor (I enjoyed it, but mostly for the actors themselves, especially Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, and, of course, Idris Elba. I did not like Natalie Portman as Jane. I have watched all of Wallander and while he is one of the main characters, Hiddleston didn't seem like anything special in it. But in this, he was fascinating. And, after seeing Cappy and the preview for Avengers, I want to see Thor again, eventually)
June 3
X-Men: First Class (I enjoyed this, mostly because of Michael Fassbender.)
June 10
Super 8 (We were supposed to see this to celebrate Marshall's birthday, but we both got sick. Waiting for DVD.)
June 17
Green Lantern (I went to see it the weekend Harry opened. While I did like it, I think this revi ew clearly lays out all of the film's problems.)
June 24
Cars 2 (So we bought the DVD last week when it was first available and so far, only Miranda has been able to sit through the whole thing. I have seen parts of the middle and the very end several times, but never all the way through. Which just means that, somehow, regardless of how enthralling he was in the first movie, Mater just doesn't work as a primary character for an entire movie.)
July 1
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (I saw it opening weekend and while I liked it, the movie was too long!)
July 15
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (We saw it while in San Diego on vacation and it was awesome and I did cry when Harry saw his parents in the woods and cheered for Neville, because he was awesome! I also liked several parts where the film departed from the novel, like when Harry confronted Snape in the Hogwarts main hall.)
July 20
Another Earth (This just looks interesting, but it might be on my "too sad to see" list. Since my home life with special needs children is rather involving, I rarely watch serious or sad movies. I just don't have the emotional energy to spare.)
July 22
Captain America: The First Avenger (It was a fun movie and Chris Evans was awesome, as I knew he would be after seeing him in The Losers and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. But the movie was too short; I wanted more and didn't want to wait until next summer.)
July 29
Cowboys & Aliens (James Bond and Indiana Jones on horseback, fighting aliens. What's not to like?!)
August 26
Colombiana (Never managed to get out and see it; life has been rather full lately.)
August 31
The Debt (I would like to see this, but it probably falls under the "too sad to see" label, as well.)
September 16
Drive (I would still like to see this.)
September 23
Moneyball (Loved it! Then went and watched the whole Ken Burns Baseball series.)
Abduction (The reviews were pretty terrible; maybe I'll catch it next year on video.)
Killer Elite (Still interested in this, if only for the cast.)
October 7
Real Steel (I am still hoping to see this, but would rather see Jackman in person on Broadway.)
The Ides of March (Occasionally, I do watch a serious movie, although I've yet to see Michael Clayton, even though I've heard it's excellent. This also got good reviews.)
October 21
The Three Musketeers (The reviews were extra horrible, but the steam-punk twist still looks interesting.)
October 28
Anonymous (As a fan of Shakespeare--although I turned off Shakespeare in Love after half an hour because I couldn't stand it--I might see this eventually. The reviews made it sound interesting.)
November 11
Immortals (It was visually sumptuous, the costumes breathtaking, even the violence super-stylized, but the plot had a few holes. Still, very pretty.)

Still Up coming:
November 23
The Muppets (Are there any bad Muppet movies? Actually, I haven't seen them all. The Great Muppet Caper is still my favorite, though.
December 16
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (the first one was fun, so perhaps this one will be, as well, though not as good as Sherlock.)
December 21
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (directed by Brad Bird; end of story.)
December 23
The Adventures of Tintin (directed by Steven Spielberg and based on famous comics that I've never read; still, could be fun)

And that's all, folks!

What Do We Call It Now That We Can't Call It Indian Summer?

2011-11-11T10:16:00.001-05:00

1. Or, according to Wikipedia, we still can, because, in the US, there isn't a better term for it, even though it's not exactly complimentary. Still, the beginning of this week was warm and sunny and when we went to the park on Wednesday, it was like September again, warm and comfortable. Of course, on the same day in Wisconsin where my parents were madly packing, it was snowing. Since Wednesday, it's been colder and more of the leaves have fallen and are making mini-hurricanes in the wind.

Why, you might wonder, am I writing about the weather? Well, it's Day Five of being home with my children (no school this week, thank you, Mt. Laurel) and I'm certain I've lost important brain cells in the last 5 days. Hopefully, function will be restored on Monday, but there are no guarantees.

2. Alex did not cope well with the change in schedule and all the accumulated stress. (I keep forgetting that he is like my brother, a stress barometer, and even though he cannot communicate how worried he is or how he's reading the fact that Marshall and I are very stressed, he still feels it.) So he had temper tantrums every day, Sunday - Wednesday, and it was like deja vu from earlier moments in his life. Except that now, in addition to stomping and screaming, he says things like "I want to break everything" and "Nobody likes me." Talk about the best way to break a parents' heart! He would eventually calm down and apologize, but I haven't asked a lot of him this week in order to head off, if possible, any additional explosions. Which means he's played Angry Birds for hours on end. I'm sure his teachers are going to love me on Monday when they shove him back into his regular school schedule and expect him to work hard in class, like he has been. This is one of those times that feels like there is no way to win; we're just choosing the least worst outcome. Ugh.

3. We did leave the house and do a few fun things this week. We went to get hair cuts for both kids on Monday and did a little grocery shopping beforehand. Both kids were very well behaved in the store, which I was grateful for. ShopRite doesn't have the open space that Costco or even Target have and so it's harder to keep them out of trouble there. Tuesday we went to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden (our yearly pass expires at the end of the month) with a HS student who is great with my kids. Wednesday we went to Laurel Acres. Thursday we made a trip to Target, for groceries and a new pair of headphones for Alex (Miranda has managed to break 3 pairs of his headphones days after we buy them). Later today I'm taking them to Chick Fil'A to play and then Mimi will come over before dinner to help us do some clean up. And then we will have reached that wonderful thing known as the weekend!

Miranda's reward for sitting still for her haircut.

Fun at the aquarium.

4. There are two girls who live across the street that we've been playing with lately. Yesterday afternoon, Miranda spent time with them planning to re-enact the story of the 3 little pigs. Here are their representations of the straw house, the stick house, and the brick house (they creatively used pine cones to stand in for bricks):

Here they are in the brick house.

After making the houses, they came inside to make masks out of paper plates but it got dark before rehearsals could start, so they've postponed their performance until later in the week. It was amazingly adorable to watch.

5. I managed to finish Prohibition and, then, in 48 hours, get all caught up on Castle, 9 episodes in all. That really is a fun show. Of course, I haven't really cut down on the amount of video sitting on the DVR, just shifted it a little, because we are recording more every day! I have started the pilot of Grimm twice now and been interrupted twice, so I'm still only half-way through it. Considering how dark it is, I shouldn't have been surprised to see David Greenwalt's name under executive producer. I still haven't touched the backlog on at least half a dozen other shows.

6. I haven't started Pride & Prejudice and Zombies yet; just haven't had the energy. And who knows when I'll ever get back to Harry Dresden. My mother-in-law has almost finished the series, so at least someone is enjoying his adventures.

7. If you haven't yet bought a copy of my mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, don't worry, she'll be here in 1 week with copies to sell to you! And if you missed The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year, written by my dear friend Kimberlee Conway Ireton, you're in luck, because she's trying to sell off her stockpile of copies, cheap. Read about it here. I just ordered 8 for my MOPS table ladies and may order more for our church book store.

Bonus 8. I'm hoping to sneak out sometime in the next few days and see this.

And here's Jen.

Conversations with God

2011-11-04T14:12:00.000-04:00

1. Me: God, this time, really, I'm going to die. My house is a disaster. The stress Marshall is facing at work is completely off of the charts. I can't keep up with all the school stuff. I'm sure Miranda's teacher thinks I'm an idiot for all the emails I've sent her lately, apologizing for forgetting to do something important. And both children will be home all of next week (no school due to Teacher Inservice days, Election Day and the NJEA Convention). I'm just not going to make it.

God: You just need to hang in there a little bit longer. Your parents will be here in 2 more weeks. And your house cleaners will be here this afternoon. And my grace is always sufficient for you.
Me: (what I hear) Blah blah blah blah Your parents will be here in 2 more weeks blah blah blah blah grace blah blah.
Me: (what I think) Two weeks feels like forever. I am so tired. Christ, please have mercy on me, and on my family.

Note to my readers: Yes, I know my parents are not actual superheroes and I have many family and friends already here in NJ who do help us, in a great many ways. But when I'm really struggling, all I can think is, "I want my mother!"

2. So, life's been a little stressful around here lately, but we keep moving forward. I'm trying to write about thankfulness everyday on Facebook, although sometimes it's a struggle to think of something besides: "Well, I'm not dead yet" or "Marshall still has a job today" or "Miranda isn't wetting the bed every night." For my family and friends who read this blog and pray regularly for us, I am grateful for your prayers. Many days I believe that's all that's holding us upright.

3. We are trying to get a handle on Miranda's regular expressions of defiance with bribery, something we've used so successfully with Alex. She now has a chart on the refrigerator with items like "put socks and shoes away," "brushed her teeth," and "followed directions" and if she gets 10 stars, she earns a new book. There were several books she wanted on the most recent book order form from Scholastic that I wasn't willing to buy (they seemed the equivalent of cotton candy and I'd rather spend real money on worthwhile books) but we negotiated for this system so that she could earn them. She's only managed to get one star per day since we started earlier in the week, but that's still progress.

4. I did read Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams this week and really enjoyed it. Of course, it's made me a whole lot more cynical about watching the Olympics, and I will probably not look on professional sports with such naivete again. But not everyone can be doping, right?

For a change of pace, I picked up Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! from the library yesterday. It will either be wonderfully entertaining or too gross to manage. I'm hoping for the latter, but I've never been a zombie fan.

5. I'm still loving Revenge, even as it's getting murkier. I had to dump Hawaii Five-0 off the DVR this week; I'd had enough of their cruelty and rule-breaking. I tried to watch the second episode of Hart of Dixie and turned it off in annoyance, so that show may be gone, too. I still haven't caught up on Castle, or even started Terra Nova, Grimm, or Once Upon a Time. Too many Gigs, too little energy.

6. Halloween was fun but I was so ready for November on Tuesday. With all the birthdays, costumes and parties, it was just one long month of excitement (for the children) and exhaustion (for the parents). Pictures of last weekend's festivities start here.

7. If you haven't yet bought a copy of my mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, don't worry, she'll be here in 2 weeks with copies to sell to you! And if you missed The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year, written by my dear friend Kimberlee Conway Ireton, you're in luck, because she's trying to sell off her stockpile of copies, cheap. Read about it here. I just ordered 7 for my MOPS table ladies and may order more for our church book store.

And here's Jen.

What, me thankful?

2011-10-29T16:24:00.000-04:00

1. My coping mechanism with another tough week around here has been baseball, and more Baseball. So, not much different from last week. I did finish watching the Ken Burns series and liked it; I know a lot more about baseball than before, that's for sure. My favorite episodes were the ones talking about the Black Sox Scandal, Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson. I even watched the "Tenth Inning" episode that was released last year but didn't like it as well as the original series; that may be because much of it dealt with 9/11 and the steroids scandals, and there's not a lot of happy things to be said about either of those subjects. I did decide to request from the library a book called Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. I'm a history buff; I like to know what happened. And I'll bet nowhere in their book do they mention living with autism, so it counts as escapist reading.

I expect I will watch Burns' Prohibition series next, and maybe then Jazz, which Marshall might watch with me. I know The War is supposed to be excellent, but I don't think I could handle watching real people die. I've never watched all of Band of Brothers, as good as I know it is and as much as I love Damian Lewis, because it would make me cry. There's enough to cry about around here without adding entertainment to the list.

2. Like geography tests (things to cry about, that is.) Alex was scheduled to have his first classroom test ever this morning in his neurotypical second grade class and so I sat down with him Wednesday night to try to help him study. One look at the blank map of the world (continents and oceans) I had produced and he completely fell apart and had to be put to bed immediately with hugs and soothing stories from Daddy.

Yesterday, I communicated back and forth with his teacher (of the self-contained autistic class) to check and see what might be on the test and what he would be required to do. From her answers, I decided there was nothing I should mention to him about it and he probably knew all the answers anyway.

And I thought I was an anxious student. My poor, sweet boy, who seems to be Mr. Popular in this neurotypical second grade class (a little blonde girl has a crush on him), apparently needs no interference from me about his school work. But when I discussed it later with Marshall, I wondered what "regular" parents do. I mean, if Alex seriously could not sit and take this test, he would simple be excused from it. He is "classified" and it's not worth fighting him over it when doing so would create in him more anxiety than necessary. But neurotypical kids can have anxiety over exams. What do their parents say?

******************* Oops, got busy yesterday afternoon (actually, I stopped at the library before going to Alex's Halloween parade and party and picked up Naked City and read it, practically, cover to cover, because Jim Butcher and Patricia Briggs had new short stories in it) and didn't finish this until Saturday afternoon. Sorry. ************************

3. Since it's now Saturday, I can tell you that after talking with Alex's teacher and his primary aide, Miss Kathy, I learned that he did fine on the geography test. He was allowed to cut the titles out of a list (Pacific Ocean, Asia, Antarctica, etc.) and paste them in the appropriate places on the map. Phew!

4. When exactly did zombies go mainstream? On the Bubble Guppies Halloween episode, that premiered last Monday (I looked everywhere for the video but couldn't find it, sorry), one of the characters is dressed as a zombie. And this is a pre-school show! Zombies were even referenced on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me this week. (If you want to hear it, click on "Listen to the Full Show" and after the player launches, listen to the segment "Panel Round Two.") I guess it's time to request Pride and Prejudice and Zombies from the library at last and catch up on the latest serious movement sweeping the nation.

5. And, even though it's only October 29th, a combination of rain, snow and hail has been falling since early this morning and will continue all day. It was an interesting drive to church for the Fall Festival, let me tell you. Of course, though, since there was a Moonbounce there, I couldn't miss the event. My children would never forgive me.

Miranda is confused. "It's Fall and Winter at the same time," she said as we were driving home in the slush. I agreed with her.

6. I should have planned my children's birthdays better. Both of them are in October and Miranda's is the day before Halloween, which means it's been party time for an entire month, even though the official family party was on the 15th. Tomorrow, Miranda will have a treat with her Sunday school class (we did her regular school class yesterday), we will do her Halloween parade Monday afternoon, and do a little trick or treating Monday night. We will, of course, give out candy at the door, candy which I foolishly bought on Wednesday and have already been eating myself (next year I'm really going to wait until the day before Halloween to buy candy to give out to our neighborhood children!), and rejoice on Tuesday that October is behind us for a whole other year.

The Halloween-so-far pictures are here, but I thought I'd include a few cute ones.

Miranda, the fairy princess.

Two fairy princesses! (That's the Youth Pastor's daughter).

Alex playing Angry Birds while waiting for the Moonbounce to inflate.

Moustache courtesy of Miss Susan.

7. If you have time to kill and have a fondness for dummies, let me introduce Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Really, really NSFW or children or anyone who worries about political correctness. And, even worse, Achmed sings Jingle Bombs.

And here's Jen.

Get Thankful Already! (Said to myself)

2011-10-21T13:36:00.000-04:00

1. I am having a hard time finding my thankfulness today. Miranda is home with a low-grade fever that I'm hoping a couple of days of rest will keep from growing into something more exciting. I'm tired because Alex was up late and Miranda was up early. And I really did need to go out this afternoon and run a few errands, like picking up Alex's Halloween costume and buying a present for his school friend's birthday party on Sunday. Now, I didn't want to go out, so I should be happy I have to stay in, but I'm grouchy anyway. Go figure. Although it's probably nothing a Diet Coke and some chocolate can't fix!

2. The party last Saturday was a great success, and I credit my mother for supervising a really cool craft (I hope to have pictures next week) and our wonderful friends and family whose company is a joy. But everybody in this house had a party hangover on Sunday. Last week was very full with all the usual craziness plus getting the house in shape for the party and all the house-hunting for my parents, and I think we were all overloaded, especially since the only extroverts in the building are Miranda and my mother. The rest of us just wanted to hide in a nice, quiet corner and recharge.

3. My parents did find a condo nearby to rent and all the details for their move are starting to come together. They hope to drive out the week before Thanksgiving and be settled in the place by early December. It's going to be awesome, eventually. It's just really stressful right now.

4. I have found my favorite new show is Revenge. It's everything Ringer should have been. The acting is impressive, the costuming is perfect, the mystery set up in the pilot episode is incredibly compelling, and the writing keeps me coming back for more. And, often, I am watching it in the middle of my children screaming around me and interrupting me because I can't wait until they go to bed to watch it by myself. Some critics have called it "soapy." Why do some people feel compelled to disparage a drama about relationships? Must be too "girly." Like romance novels! I refuse to read John Grisham or Nicolas Sparks novels because, one, I consider them poor writers, but mostly because if their books had been written by women, they would have made, maybe, 1/10th of the amount of money currently banked by these dudes. Sexist Pigs! Okay, I'm done. Exiting my soapbox now. But if you'd like to donate any Grisham or Sparks books for a bonfire, let me know. :)

5. The other thing I've been watching this week is Baseball and, well, baseball. Of the former, I've made it through the 5th Inning, ending in 1939, and learned a lot more about Babe Ruth than I ever expected to know. He really was bigger than life. And of the latter, well, I'm rooting for the Cardinals, I think. Both teams are incredibly appealing. Or maybe I just make a really bad fan, rooting for everyone because I hate to see anyone lose. And, well, the Phillies aren't playing.

6. I'm not ready for Halloween yet, which is 10 days away, and some of my friends have started talking about Christmas. I just want to laugh at them. Do you realize all the things I have to do before I even think about Christmas? Then there's the parents' move. And both of my sisters-in-law are pregnant, one due in January and the other in March. And Miranda is insisting we go back to Aunt Katie's house in California asap, but she'll settle for next summer sometime, if she can't manage to wheedle anything else out of me. To quote that classic from the 80's, Short Circuit, "Oh, for the sake of Pete!"

7. Some helpful links for you:

My mother's book page on Amazon.
Female comic fans tired of all female supers looking like whores: here's the article that's SFW, and here's the one that isn't.
If you haven't wasted hours on the HappyPlace site laughing at other people's creativity and foolishness, you're being too productive: Brilliant responses to signs and Absurd warning signs. And, for those of us who cannot tolerate bad grammar and spelling on FB, there's this list. I've lost track of time, howling at the silliness.

And that's all folks. Here's Jen.

Just a Small, Simple Party

2011-10-14T15:10:00.000-04:00

1. So my children both have October birthdays (Alex on the 4th and Miranda on the 30th). And my parents are here this weekend to house hunt for a place to move into next month. So I thought, let's just invite the rest of the family over for snacks and cake. But when you say "birthday party" to Miranda, she imagines it in Olivia terms. Balloons, every present she's ever wanted or dreamed of, cake and ice cream, prizes, games, crafts, moon bounce--the works. Well, thanks to my mother, there will be a craft. I have made a cake and Mimi is making a cake so there will be enough for everybody. I may pick up enough balloons for each child to take one home. (I hate, hate, hate party bags and refuse to make them.) We will have all kinds of appetizers to munch on, even healthy ones, and tea and diet soda to drink, before we fall, like ravening wolves, upon the chocolate cakes. But that's it.

Now, you mention to my mother, "We're going to be having a few people over for the party" and she wants to clean up every cluttered corner in the house and yard. Now, in her defense, all the cleaning that we've done together has been great and our place is the better for it, but I had been automatically ignoring all those piles for so long that it was a little shock to my system to look at them in the face again, as it were. There is still a pile in my bedroom and I have yet to tackle the filing of school papers that I've been avoiding for almost 6 months now, but the rest of the house looks tremendously better.

2. Since my mother is here, we qualified for free babysitting last night and so Marshall and I were able to meet our friend at the movies and see Moneyball, which we both enjoyed. Even though the Phillies lost last week and are out of the running for the World Series, I have begun watching the Ken Burns' series of Baseball and while it is a little slow and dry, it is informative. Since I've made it to 1920, I now have a much better grasp of the 8 Men Out scandal.

3. 2 new books came in the mail for me this week: Richard Castle's Heat Rises, which I read in one sitting on Tuesday night when Marshall was at a meeting at church and my mother was looking over some realty options, and Rick Riordan's Son of Neptune. I haven't read The Lost Hero yet; it's been sitting on my shelf gathering dust for six months because I hate cliffhangers. I was able to read the whole Percy Jackson series in one fell swoop and have hated waiting between books on Riordan's excellent Egyptian series, so I've decided to wait to start his new Heroes of Olympus books. Or life just got busy. Richard Castle's books are fun fluff to pick up, read, and pass along to my sister-in-law. I should be able to get it in the mail to her on Monday.

4. DVR Update: I decided to stop picking up A Gifted Man because I just didn't have the time to watch it and even though it stars 3 actors I like very much (Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Ehle and Margo Martindale), I couldn't muster interest or energy even to watch the pilot, so it went overboard. So did Ringer. I am a huge SMG fan because I am a huge Buffy fan, but her new show is all about lying to the people you care about and even with its great cast of actors, it's not keeping my interest. I'm still behind on a whole stack of shows, which is what happens when your husband builds you a DVR with almost infinite amounts of space.

5. The Avengers trailer was released this week! This might be the trailer I watch once a week until the movie comes out, like I did with Star Trek. Sigh.

6. Surely I did other useful things this week. Wrote some cards. Enjoyed my mother's company. Cleaned. That seems to be about it.

7. Bathsheba's Lament. Order it. Read it. Review it. Hooray!

And here's Jen.

A Ray of Hope

2011-10-07T11:11:00.000-04:00

1. Life hereabouts has been difficult lately. All 4 of us were sick in succession: I had a bad cold, then Miranda had croup, then Alex had strep and finally, Marshall came down with a bronchial infection last Sunday that put him in bed for 3 days. Adding this to our usual Autumn craziness have left us feeling extremely overwhelmed. But God keeps sending me back to Matthew 6:1-18, which I've been focusing on in my iGroup (Youth Group small group). Here, let me remind you of the passage:

The Message (MSG)

Matthew 6

The World Is Not a Stage

¹ "Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding. ^2-4"When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure—'playactors' I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Pray with Simplicity

⁵"And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

⁶"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

^7-13"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

   Our Father in heaven,
   Reveal who you are.
   Set the world right;
   Do what's best— as above, so below.
   Keep us alive with three square meals.
   Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
   Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
   You're in charge!
   You can do anything you want!
   You're ablaze in beauty!
      Yes. Yes. Yes.

^14-15"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.

^16-18"When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don't make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won't make you a saint. If you 'go into training' inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn't require attention-getting devices. He won't overlook what you are doing; he'll reward you well.

So, for the past few days, when life has seemed unbearable, I stop for a moment and remind myself of this passage. And pray for mercy. Mercy always works for me.

2. My canna lilies are in their glory in late summer and early autumn, blooming until the first freeze.

In fact, they overhang the front steps, leaving room for little else.

However, Miranda has noticed our neighbors' practice of buying potted chrysanthemums and decorating their front steps with them and wanted to point out to me my lack of appropriate autumnal accessories, so she helped:

Yes, that's my darling girl who has filled two containers with dirt and planted sticks in them. At least we know her imaginative play skills have really come along.

3. Alex's 8th birthday was Tuesday and he spent it at home, recovering from the strep infection, and playing lots of Angry Birds. So he missed the pumpkin picking trip his class took that was reported in the local paper. Ah, well. His lovely teacher brought him back a pumpkin of his own and we will be celebrating both Alex and Miranda's birthdays with family on the 15th, when my parents will be visiting.

4. For some strange reason, I've become a Phillies phan and spent a lot of time this week watching baseball games. My family has been very tolerant of my strange obsession. Game 5 of the NLDS is tonight and I have some actual apprehension for the team's prospects. One of our friends writes on the Phillies Nation blog and I highly recommend his articles, if you want an update.

5. Surely I did more this week than whine and complain about my sick family and watch baseball? Well, I finished Storm Front and started Grave Peril. (Yes, I know those are books 1 & 3 of the series; I read book 2 in San Diego while on vacation.) I also wrote some postcards. Man, this is a pathetic report of a sad little week.

6. The good news is that my mother arrives Sunday afternoon for a week long visit with my father joining her for the following weekend. Life is always better when they are here. And they will be looking for a place to rent after the move out here in late November. Yay!

7. Bathsheba's Lament. Order it. Read it. Review it. Hooray!

And here's Jen.

Heidi Heifer's Hoedown Hootenanny!

2011-09-30T11:29:00.001-04:00

1. And I thought last week was exciting. Miranda had a relapse of croup and for the last two days, Alex has had a fever (the boy who almost never gets sick and hasn't run a fever this long in I can't remember how long) for two days and all he wants to do is sleep. He slept yesterday from 7 am to 2 pm and then went to bed last night about 9 pm and then crawled into bed with us at 3 am and, after more Tylenol, went back to sleep until 10 am. I can't remember him ever sleeping like this. So I'll be back at the pediatrician's this afternoon, for the third time in 8 days. And I can't remember when I last had a good night's sleep. Ugh.

2. For some reason, while being sick, all Miranda wants to watch is The Upside Down Show. Since they only ever made 13 episodes, we've been watching them over and over again. And, since I can't figure out how to imbed a video, here's the link to our favorite scene, including Heidi Heifer's Hoedown Hootenanny. (Here's the beginning of that episode, in case you get confused.) And here's the one that makes my children roll on the ground laughing every time. And this has to be my second favorite scene, very interesting yoga. The show isn't available on DVD in the states but it does still play on Nick Jr's schedule every night from 11 pm to 12 am. I could not recommend it more highly.

3. And all Alex wants to watch are his favorite Pixar movies, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, The Incredibles & Finding Nemo. Although, last night he had a strange moment and requested A Bug's Life.

4. Obviously, since Miranda was sick last weekend, we didn't go see Moneyball. And, since Alex is now sick, we won't be going anywhere this weekend either. However, the Phillies made the playoffs, so I can console myself by watching baseball.

5. What with all the rain and household illness, my Seasonal Affect Disorder has really hit me bad this fall. I feel constantly distracted and have difficultly focusing on anything for longer than a few minutes. Needless to say, I haven't touched my cross stitch all week. I keep thinking, all I need is a good night's sleep, and then someone wakes up at 3 in the morning, and the cycle continues.

6. Of the new tv series that started this week or last, surprisingly to me, the one I really like is Hart of Dixie, mostly because I'm interested in what Scott Porter might do next. I am still watch Ringer, as a huge Buffy fan, but I really don't like it; I'm mostly just watching for Ioan Gruffudd. Person of Interest and Unforgettable are nice procedurals with a twist that pass the time. Revenge's pilot was intriguing in a guilty pleasure sort of way and Terra Nova is still sitting on the DVR, waiting to be watched. Along with 300 gigs of other videos. A big drive for our DVR is a good thing, sometimes, and sometimes, it's just a place for me to collect things I'll get around to watching, someday.

7. My mother is coming to visit in 9 days and I wish it were sooner. I'm so glad she'll be living nearby soon, because I need help. Or a nap. Or something. Actually, Marshall's mother did my grocery shopping on Tuesday, which was a huge help!

And here's Jen.

It's going to be a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2011-09-23T10:40:00.000-04:00

1. I have never actually read this book, but the title seemed appropriate. The day started at 12:30 am when Miranda woke up crying because she couldn't breathe. She had her seasonal flumist yesterday and, apparently, experienced a bad reaction. But this is why we keep a nebulizer and steroids in the closet, right? I am waiting for the call back from our doctor because I'm sure we will be seeing him again, today.

2. It's raining, again. In fact, there is a flood watch in place for our area. I am so sorry, Texas, that New Jersey keeps getting your rain. I would send it your way instantly, if I could.

3. I spent several hours on Tuesday night moving my sewing stand and light back to the living room, reminding myself where I'd hid the actual project (at the top of my closet), and even did a few stitches. Here is what it looked like before I started:

Here is what the final project is supposed to look like:

After finishing the few stitches I was able to do, I remembered why I had put the project down in the first place (extreme level of difficulty!). But it's so pretty! Maybe I'll actually get to work on it this week since all it's going to do is rain.

This is a gift for my husband, who very patiently let me set it aside to do White Lilies on Red for my sister-in-law.

4. Since all I want to do is complain about how horrible my life feels right now but don't want to alienate all my readers with incessant whining, I think the best way to finish this update is with a series of funny links or videos, like this fascinating survey of good movies or this article about super heroes I meant to share earlier in the summer.

5. I found this on EW's site this morning, and even though I don't watch any of the shows Elmo and Cookie Monster are re-enacting, it's still hilarious.

6. And, speaking of Muppets, if you haven't seen this yet, you must. It's even funnier.

7. I have not managed to see Columbiana. I think it will just have to wait until DVD. But, we do have plans to see Moneyball tomorrow night with our baseball-fanatic friend. And Thor just came out and I need to decide that if I'm going to watch it more than once, I should just buy a copy. And I think I'm going to buy Tangled for Alex for his birthday since he liked the movie and Miranda did not. And the Phillies just lost their last 6 games, even though they won the pennant race. Too weird. And, this is really cool, too.

And here's Jen.

I Can Adjust to Change. Really, I Can.

2011-09-16T12:26:00.000-04:00

1. This must be an amazingly strong cold virus, because while I haven't become worse since last weekend, I am only somewhat better. I am grateful to have strong, over-the-counter cold medicines to keep me up and functioning during the day and sleeping at night (although my dreams are a lot more vivid and weirder than my usual weird dreams) but I'm so ready to be done with this bug. Ah, well; this is why I buy expensive tissues, because I've already used up one whole box worth. I am also thankful that no one else in the house seems to be sharing my germs. But the virus has really put a dent in my abilities to keep up with the flow hereabouts, and certainly curtailed my ability to make adjustments to my regular schedule. Or what was regular last year.

2. Wednesday night was Back to School Night for Alex's school and since Marshall doesn't often have the opportunity to be on site with Larchmont School staff, I usually send him as our family representative. And, since none of the other parents showed up, Marshall had a wonderfully long and informative session with Alex's teacher and case manager. Alex's prognosis for the year is wonderfully positive. Over the summer, he seems to have made the next developmental leap and so his conversation skills are improving weekly. He has started mainstreaming in a regular 2nd grade class first thing in the morning and then transitioning back to his self-contained class later in the day. We couldn't be happier. Many of you, my readers, have been praying for this little boy for more than 5 years since his diagnosis and not a one of them in vain. God is good.

3. Miranda is continuing to do well back with our preferred teacher in a larger class with more requirements to sit still and pay attention. So far, so good. Although both she and I are struggling with this school in the afternoon instead of the morning thing. It means I've been dragging her along with me everywhere I usually go in the mornings. On my MOPS mornings (usually, two Tuesdays a month), it should be fine because she will be in a class with her peers doing age-appropriate activities. But Wednesday mornings I have my beloved Bible study and she is in the nursery with mostly younger kids. I am waiting to see how this is going to work and hoping for the best.

4. All my activities are kicking back into high gear. Bible Study started this week, MOPS starts next week, Youth Group had its 6th/9th grade Kickoff last Sunday and starts back with everyone this Sunday night. The great thing about the specific study chosen for this fall by my Wednesday morning group is that it's light on homework, which is good because I've taken on new responsibilities for both MOPS (I'm a DGL, which just means I will be leading a table) and YG (more data collection, my own access to the database and developing a new process for birthday and welcome cards). I usually love keeping busy with my groups but it's been an effort to keep up this week while simultaneously fighting a cold. I plan to spend a lot of time next week in the afternoons working on cards for YG so I can have the process down before the drop dead date of October 1st, when my supply from the old process runs out and I have to make good on my promises for "new and improved."

5. I feel almost untethered not to have a current cross stitch project. I wander around in the evenings, reading books and watching Phillies baseball games. I was honestly, seriously disappointed to sit down last night and realize the game being played across the river was not being broadcast on network television. Anyone who knows me knows this is a very strange thing. I blame the rabid Phillies fans at church for infecting me. Hopefully, this week, I will be able to dig out Celestial Dragon and get her all set up again for regular stitching.

6. I have exhausted my supply of Patricia Briggs novels written in the urban fantasy world, including all her short stories but one (I'm on the waiting list for it at the library). I now have to wait for her to write something new. Whine, whine. I am still working through Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden books, though, so it's not the end of the world, yet. And the new Richard Castle novel will be out soon, anyway. :)

7. Our prayers have been answered and my parents have been approved by my father's employer to relocate to Southern New Jersey, to be close to us. My father's job already requires a great deal of travel, which will be easier to do from Philadelphia, rather than Madison, WI. And after last winter, they really didn't want to spend another snowy season in Wisconsin. They hope to move out later this fall, but there are a lot of details that need to come together before we can actually start doing all our grocery shopping together. Or go to church together. Or go to school together. Ah, the fun times are coming!

And here's Jen.

7 Grumpy Takes

2011-09-09T11:48:00.001-04:00

1. I have a cold. It's not the flu, it's not going to kill me, it's just really annoying. I had forgot that a week's worth of not sleeping through the night = a cold for me. It's made me really grumpy to be around. Actually, today is better than yesterday. Yesterday was my Pierre day: I didn't care that the house was trashed, I didn't care about making myself a real dinner (Marshall had a meeting at church so he went straight there from work) so I had a hot fudge sundae, I was going to sit in my room and watch slightly-trashy television on Hulu. Today I am feeling a little better and have the house half-cleaned and after I drop Miranda at school, I am meeting my mother-in-law for lunch at Panera's. The sun is shining, which helps.

2. My copy of River Marked came in the mail on Wednesday and I read it all the way through in one sitting, even while cooking dinner for the children. Eventually, I'm going to run out of Patricia Briggs books to read.

3. I also started Storm Front on audio book and continue to be impressed by Jim Butcher's writing. The slightly-trashy TV programs I was watching last night were the first 5 episodes of The Dresden Files. The problem with the show, which is loosely based on the novels, is that they filed off all the sharp edges from Butcher's characters, so they're not very interesting. And everyone's too pretty. And Bob is a person instead of just a skull. Still, it passes the time.

4. I finished The Armada on Friday night and read another hundred pages in Von Braun over the weekend. But I am starting to get the itch to start stitching again. Maybe I'll get it all set up again in the living room next week, stand and everything.

5. Miranda's soccer season starts tomorrow morning, if it's not raining. She's pretty excited. Chance of rain looks 50/50, though.

6. I think the whole saga with the bed bugs this summer finally broke my love affair with laundry. I just don't have the desire to wash everything in sight right this moment like I used to. Stupid bugs.

7. So, if you haven't read my mother's book yet, Bathsheba's Lament for any of you not paying attention for the last year, won't you tell me why? Everyone needs to be challenged to be reexamine how they feel about forgiveness. Even me.

Bonus 8. Sorry, for those who didn't get the news via FB, Miranda was transferred back to her original school on Tuesday afternoon, so all is going well there. We could have made it work at our sending school, but I feel so much more comfortable having Miranda where she is now. But I'm sure the stress of the situation contributed to my insomnia which in turn led to the cold. Ugh.

And here's Jen.

To Review (Again): 2011 films

2011-09-03T20:46:00.003-04:00

I was discussing movies with a friend today and decided it was high time to update my 2011 film to watch list:

January 14
Green Hornet (I actually tried to watch this on DVD, but it was so horrible, I turned it off. I made the horrific mistake of watching the original series in its entirety first, which is decent if a little campy. Like The Avengers movie made years ago, this film seems to miss the point entirely. Ugh.)
April 1
Source Code (Marshall and I were able to go out and see this while my parents were here in April--free babysitting!--and we really liked it. Not as amazing as Moon, but still very good.)
April 29
Fast Five (So much fun! Ridiculous fun, even Rotten Tomatoes gave it an excellent rating. However, you should still listen to the people at How Did This Get Made make fun of it here.)
May 6
Thor (I enjoyed it, but mostly for the actors themselves, especially Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, and, of course, Idris Elba. I did not like Natalie Portman as Jane. I have watched all of Wallander and while he is one of the main characters, Hiddleston didn't seem like anything special in it. But in this, he was fascinating. And, after seeing Cappy and the preview for Avengers, I want to see Thor again. Coming to DVD on September 13!)
June 3
X-Men: First Class (I enjoyed this, mostly because of Michael Fassbender.)
June 10
Super 8 (We were supposed to see this to celebrate Marshall's birthday, but we both got sick. Waiting for DVD.)
June 17
Green Lantern (I went to see it the weekend Harry opened. While I did like it, I think this revi ew clearly lays out all of the film's problems.)
June 24
Cars 2 (I still have not managed to see it. Sigh. Another for DVD. We considered taking the children to this film as their first film in the theatre experience, but the reviews said the plot was more complicated than the original film, so we decided to wait.)
July 1
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (I saw it opening weekend and while I liked it, the movie was too long!)
July 15
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (We saw it while in San Diego on vacation and it was awesome and I did cry when Harry saw his parents in the woods and cheered for Neville, because he was awesome! I also liked several parts where the film departed from the novel, like when Harry confronted Snape in the Hogwarts main hall.)
July 20
Another Earth (This just looks interesting, but it might be on my "too sad to see" list. Since my home life with special needs children is rather involving, I rarely watch serious or sad movies. I just don't have the emotional energy to spare.)
July 22
Captain America: The First Avenger (It was a fun movie and Chris Evans was awesome, as I knew he would be after seeing him in The Losers and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. But the movie was too short; I wanted more and didn't want to wait until next summer.)
July 29
Cowboys & Aliens (James Bond and Indiana Jones on horseback, fighting aliens. What's not to like?!)

Still Up coming:
August 26
Colombiana (I am planning to see it this weekend.)
August 31
The Debt (I would like to see this, but it probably falls under the "too sad to see" label, as well.)
September 16
Drive (Maybe. It looks interesting. I'll wait for the reviews.)
September 23
Moneyball (We are planning to see it with our baseball-crazed friend.)
Abduction (This looks fun and brainless, just my cup of tea.)
Killer Elite (Ditto.)
October 7
Real Steel (Maybe. I am a Jackman fan.)
The Ides of March (Occasionally, I do watch a serious movie, although I've yet to see Michael Clayton, even though I've heard it's excellent.)
October 21
The Three Musketeers (I know the story's been done to death, but this one looks rather steam punk, which would be an interesting twist to go along with the cool cast.)
October 28
Anonymous (As a fan of Shakespeare, although I turned off Shakespeare in Love after half an hour because I couldn't stand it, I might see this, if it's good enough.)
November 11
Immortals (Fun for fans of Greek Mythology everywhere!)
November 23
The Muppets (Are there any bad Muppet movies? Actually, I haven't seen them all. The Great Muppet Caper is still my favorite, though.
December 16
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (the first one was fun, so perhaps this one will be, as well, though not as good as Sherlock.)
December 21
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (directed by Brad Bird; end of story.)
December 23
The Adventures of Tintin (directed by Steven Spielberg and based on famous comics that I've never read; still, could be fun)

And that's all, folks!

Can the Next Crisis Please Take a Number?!

2011-09-02T11:36:00.000-04:00

1. ~~This summer~~, no, this year has felt like one crisis after another and reminded me this morning of the lines from Hamlet when Gertrude says "One woe doth tread upon another’s heel, / So fast they follow" (IV.vii.159-60); she then proceeds to tell Laertes that his sister, Ophelia, has in her madness, drowned. No, there have been no untimely deaths here; the only dead things have been bed bugs and their deaths are never untimely, just over due. But I am having a very difficult time keeping my chin up and my grateful attitude abounding. (And the bed bugs did not magically starve to death while we were in California, so the spraying of toxic chemicals will continue until morale improves.)

2. Yes, we returned home safely and without incident, although the flights were a little bumpy. If you don't already, fly Southwest. They made traveling with special needs children as painless as possible in this nervous climate and we are very thankful to have been so well cared for by 4 different cabin crews. Even the TSA people were courteous so I didn't mind their extra caution with all my juice boxes and medicines. I still hate flying, but we made it without serious injury or seriously annoying the people sitting around us, the latter of which has to be a miracle unto itself. And Alex and Miranda now know how to do the whole airplane travel process.

3. Yes, it was a lovely vacation in San Diego and the best part was being with family who graciously and enthusiastically helped keep Alex and Miranda fed and entertained. If you haven't seen the pictures, here's another chance.

Oh, alright, I'll post some here.

Having fun at the zoo.

Post-swimming sunning with Daddy.

Best bud Ballou.

Basketball with Mason, cousin Aaron's best friend.

Snuggling and playing with Uncle Brandon.

Snuggling and playing with Uncle Jonathan.

Swimming with Grandma.

Swimming with Grandpa.

You know, I have really adorable children. :) I'm so glad there are only 2 of them.

4. So, on Wednesday, after getting all my thank you's into the mail, I heard through the grapevine that Miranda had been moved from the school she's been attending for the past 2 years back to our sending school. Naturally, this provoked a great deal of upset. Our mail was never delivered upon our return, for no apparent reason; I did go pick it up yesterday morning and all I got in answer to my queries from the Post Office was a dumb look. So the formal notice of the change, which was postmarked Aug. 18, was not formally received until yesterday. I was able to talk to her case manager and Marshall and I quickly wrote a polite but detailed appeal to have her moved back to the classroom where she's been so happily ensconced for the previous 2 years. And since the school administrative offices are closed today and Monday and school starts Tuesday, it was a bit of a rush job and we'll have to wait until next week to discover the result. The programs at either school are equivalent so the CST was well within its right to move her, and if we'd discovered this on Aug. 20th instead of the 31st, I think I could have approached it with more equanimity. But as it is now, it is the source of a great deal of stress. This was so not the way I wanted to return to NJ.

5. I don't quite know what to do with my evenings now that I'm not cross stitching like mad. Well, I could read a book!

Summer Vacation Reading List:

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs - 336 pages
Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs - 352 pages
Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs - 304 pages
Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs - 304 pages
Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs - 304 pages (I am now waiting for book 6 to come in the mail)
Dead Beat by Jim Butcher - 528 pages
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher - 352 pages (yes, I realize I started in the wrong order; I plan to start the complete Dresden Files from the beginning, next week)

I'm also part-way through several other books:

Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War by Michael J. Neufeld - 88 pages (Marshall and I are especially space-mad so this is right up our alley)
Ruined by Reading: A Life in Books by Lynne Sharon Schwartz - 61 pages
Naked in Baghdad: The Iraq War as seen by NPR's Correspondent Anne Garrels - 48 pages (I've wanted to read this since listening to her reports in 2002. Now if we can just persuade Sylvia Poggioli to write a book about her time in Kosovo in the late 90's....)
Russia Against Napoleon: The True Story of the Campaigns of War & Peace by Dominic Lieven - 173 pages (I've never read War & Peace, which is a travesty, I know, but since I spent my California vacation last summer reading about the war from the French perspective, I thought it would be interesting to read it from the Russian perspective. And it is!)
The Armada by Garrett Mattingly - 251 pages (I know I'm cheating a little here because I started it in the spring, but I picked it up again on the trip)
Much Ado About Nothing & The Tempest by William Shakespeare - call them 100 pages each (I re-read the plays before seeing the performances at The Old Globe Theatre)

Grand Total: 3,301 pages

Quite satisfactory. Now if I can only finish what I've started....

What I really wanted to find in all those books stores was a copy of Pride & Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. Can anyone loan me a copy?

6. Our house seemed to weather Hurricane Irene without much trouble. Marshall's mother came by to make sure all the hatches were battened down (or, at least, put the garbage cans in the garage so they couldn't blow away) so all that we noticed when we got home were a few branches down in the back yard. Our neighbors were looking out for us, so if anything had gone terribly wrong, I'm sure they would have called.

7. Okay, people, if you haven't yet purchased a copy of my mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, what is the matter with you? Get with the program! Amazon delivers overnight and so do I. Call me. Email me. Click your way through on Amazon's helpful website. I want to hear those pages turning all over the country! Today, people, Today! :)

And here's Jen.

Is it Really Friday Again?

2011-08-26T20:39:00.000-04:00

1. My dear husband and I left my aunt's house Tuesday at about 11 am and returned last night about 8 pm, spending 2 nights at a B&B called The Keating House near downtown San Diego. It was lovely to be away from our children for almost 3 full days, although Alex got his revenge by getting up for the day at 2:30 this morning. Which explains why I'm still rather wifty and only writing this blog post at 5 pm local time. And missed out on the trip to the beach this morning, because I went back to bed at 7 am, after sharing shifts with Marshall in the wee small hours of the morning. God bless grandparents and aunts and cousins who love my children. They are the reason we have a real vacation.

2. While we were away, the children had a great time at the zoo, the beach and Grandma Helen's pool. Oldest philosophy in the book: keep the children active and they won't have time to whine that Momma is not here.

If you want to see some of the fun we've been having, here are the pictures. There are extensive pictures of the B&B and its plants for those who are interested. The other pictures show the family together, having a good time.

3. If you haven't heard (HA!), there's a hurricane headed up the East coast. It's very strange to be seeing all the activity from a distance of 3,000 miles. I am very glad to be here and miss all the fuss. We don't usually experience flooding in our neighborhood, so we're really not concerned about our own place. And not sad to miss out on any power outages. Everything should be clear for flying home Tuesday. Should.

4. We saw Cowboys & Aliens yesterday and I think it deserved a much better review than Rotten Tomatoes gave it. I enjoyed it. James Bond and Han Solo fighting ugly aliens on horseback--what's not to like?

5. Marshall and I spent a lot of our time away at used bookstores and bought lots more books. So many we may have to ship a box home. I will tally up the titles and number of pages next week, like I did last summer.

6. We didn't get any Doctor Who watched at the B&B (had too much fun reading and seeing The Tempest), but we did watch Space Battleship Yamato with English subtitles. I enjoyed it, although I only have a passing acquaintance of Star Blazers. Marshall was a big fan, growing up.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

If you've read the book and enjoyed it, won't you please consider writing a review on Amazon for her? Click here.

And here's Jen, who is very funny today. Don't miss it!

Update from San Diego

2011-08-22T22:02:00.000-04:00

A few updates from vacation in place of my usual Friday list:

1. Cross stitch was turned over to Stephanie, as planned. I washed it and ironed it and Jonathan packed it in between towels and cardboard to take home to Thousand Oaks to be framed at their convenience.

2. As you can see from the photo above, we had a wonderfully full weekend of visiting with family. So much so, Alex and Miranda were decidedly low-key today. When Alex doesn't want to go swimming, you know he's tired.

3. For my birthday, Marshall took me to see my favorite play, Much Ado About Nothing, at The Old Globe here in San Diego at Balboa Park. It was awesome. It wasn't a perfect production, but Benedick was amazing and I loved the staging and music. What a birthday gift! And we're going to see The Tempest on Wednesday night. Never pass up an opportunity to see Shakespeare.

4. Tomorrow morning Marshall and I leave for 3 days away from everyone else. We're going to take the time to catch up on Doctor Who, Series 6.

5. My cousin Aaron introduced me to a wonderful new book series in a genre I wouldn't usually read, but the protagonist is so compelling, I didn't mind all the vampires and werewolves. Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, and Bone Crossed. I am now looking for books 5 and 6, Silver Borne and River Marked. Ignore the covers; they are as bad as some romance novels. Good writing is worth reading.

6. The children did not adapt to the Western Time Zone as quickly as we had hoped, but we are all 4 of sleeping in one large room, so some disturbances are understandable. The good thing is, there are lots of adults to trade off shifts with, so it isn't always just me at 6 or 7 am.

7. We did see Harry on Saturday and enjoyed it. We hope to see Cowboys and Aliens next Saturday. And I'm wondering about Fright Night. It might be fun to see David Tennant as a vampire slayer.

I think that's all. I may try to update again on Saturday.

If you missed it, Jen was really funny last Friday.

Happy Dance?

2011-08-15T08:21:00.000-04:00

Here it is, all finished! I think I would be more pleased if I wasn't so sleep deprived. Alex didn't sleep well Thursday or Saturday night and Miranda woke up at 5 am this morning so I can't remember the last good night of sleep I've had. It's a good thing we're leaving soon for vacation where there will be other people to entertain my children in the early hours of the morning, so I can sleep.

Of course, what with all the bleary eyed days and nights, I haven't started packing yet. But I still have two full days. And my cleaning lady is coming tomorrow afternoon so I will leave a clean house here (and come home to one, too).

The suitcases have just been set up in the garage for me (a bed bug free space) which would be great, if it wasn't raining, or going to rain all day today and tomorrow, like it did yesterday. Did I mention our garage is not attached?

Ah, well. At least White Lilies on Red is finished, which is no small accomplishment. As I was putting everything from this project away last night and retrieving all the supplies for Celestial Dragon, which I put down two years ago to work on the lilies, it was remarkable how much the bright greens and aquas contrasted with the sedate but beautiful colors of the lilies. I promised Marshall I would take a break from stitching after the gung-ho effort of the last few months to make the deadline. September sounds like a good time to pick it up again. I just have to remember where I stashed it.

Before I forget, a big thank you to my father-in-law for scanning, enlarging and re-printing all the pattern pages of White Lilies on Red. Otherwise, I never could have seen enough of the pattern to stitch.

Only 5 More Days

2011-08-12T11:39:00.000-04:00

1. The first thought through my head this morning was "Oh, God, I'm going to die!" because it was 3 in the morning and Alex still hadn't fallen asleep. He finally fell asleep on the couch about 3:30 am, at which point Miranda woke up because her pull-up had leaked and I don't think she went back to sleep until after 5 am. And both children were up and happy and hungry by 8 am. I don't know how to count how many hours of sleep I got or didn't get, but was really not enough. Now, Alex has bad nights like this now and again as a result of his medication, so I don't worry about him, but the result for Marshall and I, trying to doze while keeping tabs on where he is in the house, is usually pretty ugly. Now I'm glad I didn't promise to take the children to the beach today. That really would have killed me. We are meeting friends at the pool later, where I can lounge about and watch them swim. That seems possible, with caffeine.

2. 5 more days until we leave for San Diego and the pieces are falling into place. My main job this weekend is to pack, which, thanks to the bed bugs, is a little more complicated than usual. Every piece of fabric we take with us needs to make a full trip through the dryer on high before moving out to the garage (where we actually store the suitcases, which is good, because we don't have to worry about them being contaminated out there) and into a suitcase. I'm planning to take about 5 days worth of clothes for everyone, since we are staying at my aunt's house where there is a full washer and dryer. Of course, Miranda usually wears about 3 outfits a day with new pajamas every night, so she may have to cut back a little on her changes. I think we will be leaving all the princess dresses at home but bringing the tutus. Miranda gets to bring her blankets with her but I ordered a new one for Alex that is waiting for him in San Diego; he's my cocoon boy and usually sleeps all wrapped up in his brown blanket. The hard decisions are what to bring with us and what to buy there. I am making a grocery list for my parents (my mother travels today and my father on Monday) so that all our special foods can be there waiting for us and Alex won't have to survive on cheese stix and wheat thins (which would probably be his preference, but isn't the best idea) and trying to decide whether to add things like shampoo and lotion to it. Man, I hate packing for an army.

3. I have called Southwest's customer service (if you didn't know, Southwest Airlines is the friendliest, in the continental US, to special needs' families) and now know how to get a special boarding pass and inform the cabin crew of our special challenges. I'm trying to figure out what to do about the TSA. Is it worth calling their customer service or should I just wear a sign on my chest saying "These kids have autism; please give us a break?" I'm not sure which step would be more worthwhile. I was never able to sell Marshall on wearing special Autism t-shirts on the plane, but you can't blame the guy for wanting to at least try to pass for normal. Autism advertising is a mixed blessing. Some people will cut you a break and others will want to talk your ear off. The people who give you dirty looks and just want you to "control" your children won't be mollified by anything, so it's best to ignore them completely.

4. Almost done:

Since I only have a few more days to stitch, I'd better be almost done. Actually, I watched the entire Ellery Queen series this week while stitching, which was perfect. Engaging but not real distracting.

5. I took both children to the dentist, separately, on Wednesday and we all survived. Everyone got tranquilizers, of course, because I'm not stupid, but they are both fine and the only bad news was that our favorite, wonderful dental hygienist is retiring. She is amazing with the kids. Dang. It is a great office, though, so hopefully we'll be able to break in someone new.

6. Yesterday was one of those days when nothing would make Miranda happy for more than 5 minutes at a time and by the time afternoon came around, I didn't want to be around her anymore. I mean, there was one time when she was being so defiant I had to pull her into the house for a time out and she bit me. Not hard enough to leave a mark, but she hasn't done that in more than a year. It was shocking. I think we need a vacation.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

If you've read the book and enjoyed it, won't you please consider writing a review on Amazon for her? Click here.

And here's Jen. If you don't read her regularly, you should click on it and skip to #7; it's hilarious! You should also read Simcha for another laugh.

12 Days & Counting

2011-08-05T10:58:00.000-04:00

1. We've had a rather full week, which would explain why Marshall is home sick and I haven't seen my brain in a few days.

So, Friday, right after we finished dinner, this scary storm came through our neighborhood, and I mean scary! I looked at the tree outside our bedroom window and I would have sworn it was the Whomping Willow from Harry Potter. It didn't last long but it did considerable damage.

This branch was lying on our driveway, behind the cars, after the storm had stopped. Which was odd because the cars were parked under the tree. It felt like an angel directed the branch to fall where it wouldn't do any damage.

But even more fun than falling branches, the storm knocked out the power for almost 24 hours. The children, power-dependent creatures that they are, were not amused.

We tried pancakes from McDonald's for breakfast, which they refused. And by early afternoon, they were both overheated and grumpy, that we begged Marshall's mother to come crash at her house for dinner so we could recharge the laptops and cell phone batteries and feed the children, since we couldn't figure out what to feed them that didn't require electricity. So they bounced their way around Mimi and Pop-Pop's house for 2 hours until I couldn't bear it anymore and I dragged them home again, to find that the power was back on, earlier than expected. Bless those hard working electricians at PSE&G!

We didn't lose any groceries, thankfully, because our clever neighbor across the street recommended we make a trip to the ice shop for some dry ice to slip into the fridge and deep freezer to keep everything cool, which was very effective.

It was certainly an adventure, one I would prefer to avoid next time around. Yes, I have high-maintenance children. But I knew that.

2. On the bed bug front, we have managed to eradicate them from Miranda's room, but we did so by throwing out her entire bed (keeping the plastic-enclosed mattress) and getting a new one. This is not what I want to do in my room or Alex's, where we are still being annoyed by them. Nevertheless, here's her new "princess" bed:

3. What with all the excitement last weekend (we spent Sunday afternoon swimming and visiting with good friends at their home), the lawns didn't get mowed until Wednesday. Now, what with one thing and another, we hadn't mowed in weeks and weeks, not since my mother did it when she was here in early July. So, while I was able to get the front all done, in the back, I only made a few inroads into the jungle:

Yes, life is rather full.

4. On a happy note, the end of White Lilies on Red gets closer and closer:

I expect to finish it, just in time for...

5. Our trip to San Diego on Aug. 17. My excitement outweighs my terror but the multitude of details to be sussed out before we go is starting to bug me, like counting up everyone's medication or packing Alex's special pancake mix, etc. Or deciding if I'm going to try to write postcards to my HS students while I'm away, or give myself a break. Speaking (writing) of which, my mother cleaned out her massive postcard collection and sent me a huge pile to send to all my Youth Ministry friends, from places like London and Hawaii and everywhere in between, so I'm having a great time sending crazy postcards.

6. While stitching incessantly this week, I watched an excellent new series, Scott & Bailey. It even gripped Marshall's attention. We were thankful to discover it's been picked up again next year with 8 new episodes. And, I discovered that New Tricks had started begun its 8th series in early July, so I am enjoying this again. But the second series of Sherlock was supposed to air in October and has now been pushed off until next year. Dang.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

If you've read the book and enjoyed it, won't you please consider writing a review on Amazon for her? Click here.

And here's Jen. And you should really read Simcha today, as well.

Wait, where did July go?

2011-07-29T17:11:00.000-04:00

1. We spent today at the beach in Surf City so I am beat but it was a lovely day to spend at the shore. There was a whole lot more sand than last year (NJ has a beach replenishment program, or so I am told) so it was a longer hike from the car to the water, but a friend from church kindly let us use her shower before we left for home, so we brought a whole lot less sand than usual back to Mt. Laurel.

The waves were just about perfect for Alex, lots of crashing and fun, but the tide kept pulling him farther and farther away from where we'd parked our towels and chairs, so every so often, I would walk down the beach, drag him out of the water, and pull him along to back where he started. Miranda started out with her flotation device but got braver as the afternoon wore on and played pretty confidently up to her waist. It didn't hurt that Daddy got her a boogie board of her own.

We are happy beach people.

2. Alex decided to print out pictures of the planets this week and hang them up in the tent above his bed, and Miranda helped him do it. It turned out just beautifully.

I don't think they are in the right order, but who cares? It was his idea, he did the printing, the cutting and the hanging, with Miranda as his cheerleader. Way cool.

3. I am still slowly making progress. I plan to stitch all day tomorrow, more or less, to try to get caught up. I would really like to be done with page 19, which I'm going to start tonight, by the end of the week.

4. Marshall and I did see Cappy on Sunday night and we enjoyed it. The movie felt a little too short, though. There was an action-filled montage in the middle of the film that I would have preferred be expanded, but Chris Evans, as usual, was very appealing. Just right for the First Avenger. Of course, it made me want to see Thor again, which is all done in theatres. It does come out on video in September, though. We're saving Harry and Cowboys & Aliens for San Diego viewing.

5. Speaking of which, we're down to 2.5 weeks until our departure date, which is Aug. 17. I'm trying not to panic. Lots to do before then. I did get all the mulch spread, though. Now we just have to cut down the jungle growing in the yard. And get hair cuts. And, and, and, and....

6. If you missed it, my birthday was on Wednesday. It was actually a lovely day. I kinda floated through the day, ignoring my To Do list, stitching for a while in between supervising the children and then went to the Youth Group backyard tour event in the evening. We're having a big party in San Diego to celebrate 4 family birthdays, including mine, so festivities are just postponed.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

If you've read the book and enjoyed it, won't you please consider writing a review on Amazon for her? Click here.

And here's Jen.

Dog Days

2011-07-22T10:20:00.000-04:00

1. If you didn't know the origination of that phrase, here you go. Oppressive Heat is another apt phrase. It's been so hot this week that even Alex, who previously seemed impervious to heat, is lying around inside instead of playing outside. Of course, my friends in Texas have been experiencing this for weeks. Now, ladies, I feel your pain.

2. My life is bonkers; this is a well known fact. So, in keeping with that, I picked the hottest week of the year to finally get around to ordering the mulch I needed for the front flower bed and my ailing dogwood that I'm trying to save. I even spent time yesterday (early in the morning and early in the evening) spreading it so that it's about half done. Maybe it's just me that's bonkers.

3. No, my kids are bonkers, too. So to keep them from doing something completely destructive today because they are so bored because they can't go outside because it's TOO DARN HOT, we're going to the Aquarium with a friend. For the most part, the animal exhibitions are air conditioned. And so is the car. I love air conditioning.

4. My stitching is going slower than I'd like because, well, my life is bonkers, and I'm starting to worry that I won't make my deadline. Maybe for my birthday (which is next week), my husband will give me a whole day to stitch. Here's the progress:

MUST GET IT DONE!

5. The bug fight goes on. There are less of them, yes, but still enough to annoy us. A new supply of poison should come in the mail tomorrow. Yeah! I like nothing so well as seeing the dead corpses of bed bugs being sucked up into my vacuum.

6. One of our favorite babysitters has agreed to come Sunday night so Marshall and I can go to the movies. Since our house isn't completely bug free yet, I've been hesitant to ask anyone over. It's unlikely he would take any bugs home with him, but still, it feels like having the plague. Anyway, I sweetened the deal by promising a nice roast beef dinner for us all together before Marshall and I leave for Captain America: The First Avenger. Yes, I know we haven't seen Harry yet, but we figure it will still be playing in San Diego when we get there next month and we can talk grandparents and auntie into babysitting for free.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

If you've read the book and enjoyed it, won't you please consider writing a review on Amazon for her? Click here.

And here's Jen.

Less Plagued, Still Tuckered Out

2011-07-15T18:12:00.000-04:00

1. Took the children to the shore today so am feeling a little baked and plenty tired, so this will be a short post. We tried a new beach on LBI called Harvey Cedars Bay Beach and it was lovely. There was a fenced in area to swim and play so Alex wouldn't swim for Spain and Miranda wouldn't sneak down along the shoreline until she was lost from sight. I spent most of the 3.5 hours there in the chair, relaxing. Blessings on my sister- and brother-in-law who went with us and helped us have a great time. I should have reapplied some sunscreen, though. Alex has bright red cheeks and I have some red stripes on my thighs. I did take a long-sleeved shirt with me for when I was out of the water and wore it to protect me from the sun. And I still think a burkini is a good idea, even if it isn't socially acceptable. Dang.

2. Harry Potter opened last night, so I went to see Green Lantern. It wasn't the greatest superhero movie ever, but I enjoyed it. Ryan Reynolds is very appealing. We hope to see Harry next week.

3. There are fewer bed bugs on the premises. Just enough to be annoying. But we are starting to feel like we might see the end of this particular plague.

4. Not a lot of stitching progress this week; my hands and arms have been sore. Here's a picture, nonetheless:

5. Two dear friends welcomed baby boys out of their bellies and into the wide world this week and everyone is safe and well. Very good news.

6. I spent a lot of time this week on Facebook and playing Angry Birds Rio. Not a real productive week. Too tired and brainless.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

If you've read the book and enjoyed it, won't you please consider writing a review on Amazon for her? Click here.

And here's Jen.

Plague, Pestilence and Plumb Tuckered Out

2011-07-08T09:30:00.000-04:00

1. Bed bugs are really pesky in that they are difficult to kill. And, apparently, finding Miranda's location more difficult to access, what with all the cleaning and spraying and dusting, they went in search of other food sources, like Alex's bed. And ours. Seriously gross.

So, on Monday, I noticed Alex had these really strange splotches on his shoulder and ankles. So we checked his bed and found signs of bed bugs. So we cleaned and washed and sprayed and flipped his bed back to the upright position, so as to make him less accessible. And we haven't found any new bites on him and the number of bugs in Miranda's bed continues to fall. However, when Marshall and I were looking at our own mattress later that day, just in case, we saw a live bug scurry off the mattress pad into the shadows between the bed frame and the wall. And we looked at each other and tried not to run screaming. But at least we know what to do: more cleaning, spraying, and wrapping the mattress and pillows in zippered plastic. All our throw pillows had a turn in the dryer on high and I did all of Alex's stuffed animals again, just in case. But I am weary of this battle.

The advantage of having young children that I can lie to is neither Alex nor Miranda know when they go to bed every night, a bug might bite them in their sleep. However, Marshall and I have had difficultly sleeping since Monday because we can "feel" the bugs crawling on us, a rather normal reaction like formication, because we know there are still a few bugs around. And I had a couple of fresh bites this morning. Ewwwww.

Since both my mother and Marshall are still checking Miranda's bed every night, after she falls asleep, for bugs to squash, I joked to him last night that I should set our alarm for 3 am to wake us up so we can check our own bed for bugs, unless they would hear the alarm and scatter. Somehow, my husband did not find this amusing.

The good news is that Miranda's body is recovering from the constant assault of we're not sure how long (we still can't figure out how they arrived in the house) and the numbers of bugs, dead or alive, that we're finding in her room are dropping. She just doesn't have a standard presentation and it really fooled everyone.

2. Alex went back to school Tuesday morning, thanks to ESY, the extended school year, courtesy of Mt. Laurel Schools. His regular teacher takes the summer off to be with her family, so he has a different teacher for the summer, but he seems to like her and is very cheerful when he gets on the bus at 8 am. And, amazingly, we did not get a lame summer bus driver like every summer previous to this, but a woman I know already as she had subbed for us during the school year, and she's wonderful. It just means that Alex and I are getting up at 6:30 so that he has time for a leisurely breakfast before heading out at 8; he is almost impossible to rush and it's just not worth trying, if you can help it. It's only 3 hours a day, 4 days a week, but it still helps tremendously.

Miranda, poor lamb, still doesn't understand why he gets to go to school in the summer and she doesn't. There's always a possibility that with her change of diagnosis that she might qualify next summer, so we'll wait and see. I have been watching her at the pool where she treats everyone she sees as if they are already her friend and every toy they have is hers to play with, too. She's been rebuffed quite a few times but it doesn't seem to discourage her. I'm not sure if this is a lack of maturity or simple the ASD showing itself more clearly. Or, perhaps, like me, she just doesn't get out much. And the events that we do take her to include a select group of people, most of whom are already prepared to help her out.

Regardless, joining the community pool is doing the things we wanted, exposing both of them to new situations that require social skills to navigate and giving them a chance to swim in a large pool that satisfies them sensory-wise. On the unfortunate side, it means I have to be in the water with them the whole time, in direct sun. I'm starting to think one of these would be a good idea. Of course, if I thought I was getting strange looks before just from the behaviors of my children, this would probably get me ostracized. But I wouldn't be sunburnt!

3. Although it has been lovely to have my mother here, and I'm not sure we would have survived all the excitement without her help, she came down with a cold over the weekend and I caught it, too, so we're both working at less than our usual levels of energy. However, we have been able to return to a habit we enjoyed of old, watching British dramas to pass the time while we rest and hope to feel better soon. Instead of the usual Lord Peter Wimsey, though, we've been watching Lewis and Poirot. Of the former, we've watched "The Dead of Winter," "The Gift of Promise" and "Whom the Gods Would Destroy." Of the latter, we've watched Death in the Clouds, Evil Under the Sun and After the Funeral (which has Michael Fassbender). Up for today are Appointment with Death and Hallowe'en Party. I watched a bunch of the David Suchet serials last year, so I am sharing with her some of my favorites as well as watching new ones.

4. Stitching progress has been slow this week, what with my cold and the not wanting to sit and stitch on my bed where my sewing light is because of the creepy, crawly feeling on my skin. Still, it's progress:

5. I did see the new Transformers movie on Saturday night, by myself, and it was alright. Bombastic and visually overwhelming, but Shia continues to be appealing. My mother came with me to the theatre and saw Cars 2, which she enjoyed. Marshall and I were supposed to go see it together on Monday night, but we were distracted by the pests. We'll have to schedule a babysitter for that sometime later.

6. True to our form of corrupting the young, we induced another of our babysitters to watch Doctor Who. And now he's addicted. This also happened last summer and that babysitter lost 17 days, as I recall, as she watched 5 seasons worth. And now this young man is in the same boat. :)

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

If you've read the book and enjoyed it, won't you please consider writing a review on Amazon for her? Click here.

Bonus 8. How, you might be wondering, do we insure my mother does not take any bed bugs home with her? By operating in a state of total paranoia. Heat up all her luggage in the hot sun outside and in the hot car, run all of her clothes through the dryer, re-wash everything when she gets home (including what she wore on the plane) and pray really, really hard. Oh, Lord, have mercy on us.

And here's Jen.

God is Wild About You!

2011-07-01T17:30:00.000-04:00

1. So we just finished 5 mornings at church, participating in Hope's VBS for the first time, and the program this year was Pandamania. And it was awesome! If you are friends with me on FB, you can look at a bunch of pictures my kind friends took of my darling children, since I never managed to walk in the building with my camera.

Seriously, though, my heart is overflowing with gratitude. Miranda really thrived in the environment, as we expected her to, as she is fairly easy to keep in line with a structured schedule of games, snack, crafts and learning activities. Alex was more of a challenge, as expected, but he had a wonderful buddy who helped to keep him on track and two teenage boys who were more than willing to corral him during the large group sessions when he'd rather be running in circles around the room.

The high points for me were seeing both of them standing on the steps in the front of the sanctuary, dancing and praising God, and hearing Alex talk about God listening to him and staying with him. Miranda has been absorbing the curriculum of her Sunday school class all year so it's not surprising to hear her say that God loves her or that God made the world. But Alex's brain is wired to see the world very literally and so a metaphysical concept, like Jesus loving him when Jesus is not someone he can physically touch, is a lot harder for him to grasp. Still, this kind of immersive experience was a great way to bring him to the next step of talking about God as well as help him work on those pesky social skills! God has certainly been very good to us this week at VBS!

2. Yes, we are still fighting the bed bugs in Miranda's room, although we are cutting their numbers down daily. Marshall poisoned her bed frame several days ago (see below), which killed at least 50, so was helpful, if gross. Yes, he still hovers over her with a flashlight after she falls asleep to kill some more (awesome Dad that he is since I can only face them in daylight) but I feel like we are going to beat them, eventually. But the laundry still continues....

3. 3 of the 5 mornings this week I was able to hang out at the church while both kids were learning about God's good gifts, and how He always loves us, no matter what. It was a wonderfully and unexpected peaceful time for me and I used it wisely, writing lots of post cards to the young women I mentor in the Youth Group. At least, for this week, they are getting more from me than my usual stream-of-consciousness writing about how my kids are driving me crazy and O, Lord, Have Mercy On Me! And it felt very satisfying to use this time to minister to others like this.

4. Stitching progress was slow this week due to general exhaustion, but I still made it to the bottom of the pattern last night. See:

I have about 5 weeks to finish it. But once I finish the stems, the changing colors every 15 stitches pain will stop and it will go faster. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

5. I did a movie update a few days ago but had difficulties with the links. I still need to go back and fix that. I am planning to see Transformers: Dark of the Moon, by myself, either tomorrow night or Sunday. I'd go tonight if I thought I could stay awake that long. Alex was up late last night and Miranda was up early, and we had an exciting afternoon what with my mother's return, dropping off her rental car, and a trip to the doctor's for Alex, so I'm tired.

6. My mother has returned safely from her retreat in VA and is spending the next week with us. Thank you, God!

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

If you've read the book and enjoyed it, won't you please consider writing a review on Amazon for her? Click here.

And here's Jen.

Addendum

2011-06-28T18:21:00.000-04:00

Whenever we make great strides against the bug infestation, I rejoice and remark upon our victory. My husband, ever the realist, qualifies each step with a reminder about what still remains to be done in our battle. For example, he sprayed the bed frame with bug killer this morning and this afternoon I vacuumed up several dozen corpses. I told him how much I was encouraged by this and he reminded me that we will need to do this again in 2 weeks' time.

Then I reminded him of one of my favorite quotes from Buffy:

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lie to Me (#2.7)" (1997)
[last lines]
Buffy: Does it ever get easy?
Giles: You mean life?
Buffy: Yeah, does it get easy?
Giles: What do you want me to say?
Buffy: Lie to me.
Giles: Yes. It's terribly simple. The good guys are always stalwart and true. The bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and, uh, we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies and... everybody lives happily ever after.
Buffy: Liar.

To Review

2011-06-28T17:11:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, before my mother left for her retreat, I made an announcement to the general public (meaning, all the adults present, which only included my mother and my husband). I was going to see the new Transformers movie this weekend. It's exactly the kind of happy-action, brain-dead movie that cheers me up; I am like my father this way, although I have more tolerance for massive CGI-wonderfests than he does. So, it is encouraging me to see that it is receiving better than usual reviews, so far.

Because of all the excitement around here for the last few weeks, we are woefully behind in our movie-watching. Marshall and I are hoping to take a couple of days to spend away from the rest of the clan while we are in San Diego in August, and I would like to spend them at a hotel within walking distance of a movie theatre.

But, since I, apparently, have nothing better to do this afternoon, I thought I would update my move list for 2011:

January 14
Green Hornet (I actually tried to watch this, but it was so horrible, I turned it off. I made the horrific mistake of watching the original series in its entirety first, which is decent if a little campy. The movie seems to miss the point entirely. Ugh.)
April 1
Source Code (Marshall and I were able to go out and see this while my parents were here and we really liked it. Not as amazing Moon, but still very good.)
April 29
Fast Five (So much fun! Ridiculous fun, even. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an excellent rating
May 6
Thor (I enjoyed it, but mostly for the actors themselves, especially Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, and, of course, Idris Elba. I did not like Natalie Portman as Jane.)
June 3
X-Men: First Class (I enjoyed this, mostly because of Michael Fassbender.)

June 10
Super 8 (We were supposed to see this to celebrate Marshall's birthday, but we both got sick)
June 17
Green Lantern (still want to see it despite the poor reviews)
June 24
Cars 2 (ditto)
July 1
Transformers: Dark of the Moon(I am going this weekend!)
July 15
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (the new trailer is out and looks awesome!)
July 20
Another Earth (this just looks interesting)
July 22
Captain America: The First Avenger (the trailer looks like a lot of fun)
July 29
Cowboys & Aliens (Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in a western with aliens and all the early buzz is good!)
November 11
Immortals (second trailer out this week; still looks interesting)
December 16
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (directed by Brad Bird; end of story.)
December 16
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (the first one was fun, so perhaps this one will be, as well, though not as good as Sherlock.)
December 23
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (directed by Steven Spielberg and based on famous comics that I've never read; still, could be fun)

Okay, so what was supposed to be a 20 minute post turned into 2 hours because I don't really know how to edit html and my background color went funky so then I removed all the hyperlinks. I'll try to put them back in later. I should really go feed the children, like, now.

Notes from the Front

2011-06-27T15:57:00.000-04:00

(Yes, I stole the image straight from Amazon!)

So, there is this great book that I loved as a child and my children love as well (we've loved our way through 3 different copies, so far) called Henry's Awful Mistake by Robert Quakenbush. It tells the story about how Henry the duck found an ant in his kitchen while he was cooking dinner for his friend Clara and in the process of trying to kill the ant, he destroys his entire house. (And he never actually kills the ant!) It's starting to feel like that around here.

So we ripped out Miranda's carpet and baseboard, threw out nearly half the contents of her closet, enclosed her mattress and pillow in plastic, and are washing her bedding every morning, only to discover, thanks to my mother, that the most effective way to kill the bedbugs is to wait until Miranda goes to sleep, then lurk over her with a flashlight and a kleenex and smash them one by one when they come out to eat.

Yes, we are still going to poison her bed frame with the chemicals that arrived this afternoon, which should further cut down on the population, but this is what my stalwart mother and husband do in the evening before they go to sleep. I, myself can't seem to face the bugs in the dark. In the light of day I have no problem smashing them, but after the sun goes down, I twitch and shudder and run the other direction. The give me the creeping horrors. Ugh.

Fuzzy Friday

2011-06-24T15:58:00.000-04:00

1. I am just fuzzy. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune have been coming so fast and furious around here that I don't quite know how to process them yet. So I'm just kinda dazed, moving forward in an automatic fashion.

2. My mother is here and helping tremendously by cleaning a house that hadn't been cleaned in too long (I've had to put off the cleaning lady for several weeks in a row, what with one thing and another) and had no energy to keep up with the mess. She's actually outside, now, mowing the lawn. God bless her. She's wonderful.

3. You know how last week we thought Miranda's rash was caused by scabies? Well, it wasn't getting better, so we investigated further and found bed bugs in her room. For all my West Coast readers, this is a pretty serious problem that will take weeks to resolve. For all my local readers, I won't take it personally if you never want to come to my house again. Seriously.

So, on Saturday we purchased and installed plastic covers for her mattress and pillow. And then, on Sunday, which as you will recall, was Father's Day, Marshall worked from 10 am to 7 pm to rip out the carpet and padding in Miranda's room, tear out all the baseboard and pull up all the carpet tacking. Then he dosed all the cracks at the edge of the room. We have seen a decrease in bug activity, but we still plan to spray all the furniture in the room with pesticide as soon as the mailman delivers it.

This would also explain why I have become the perpetual laundry machine because every morning, after Miranda gets out of bed, I look over her bedding carefully for any live bugs (and squash them) and then put all of her bedding through the washer and dryer, running both as hot as possible. I have been checking Alex's sheets carefully as well, but we don't have any sign of bugs outside of Miranda's room and we want to keep it that way. Of course, this means we have to keep letting them bite her every night until we've killed all of them. Not a happy situation for a parent.

She's had this "rash" on her body for weeks. Two trips to the pediatrician, school nurse, nobody identified it until we found a live bug. Apparently, her bites don't look like all the ones on Wikipedia and such. She's special, but we knew that.

4. But that's not the kicker. This morning, I took her into the city (read: Philadelphia) for a regular visit with our pediatric neurologist who had previously diagnosed her with a Sensory Integration Disorder but today decided a more accurate diagnosis would be to put her on the Autism Spectrum, like her brother.

We're essentially in shock. This shouldn't change her IEP or plan for the Pre-School Inclusion class next Fall but labels mean a lot, and we are just reeling from this change. It's not that we necessarily disagree; I guess we had just considered that Miranda wasn't as bad off as Alex since she didn't have ASD.

5. VBS starts on Monday and I'm actually starting to dread it. Alex was game for going to Citizen's Bank Ball Park last night for a special company picnic but he threw a tantrum all the way home in the car. VBS will take place at our church, where he loves to be, but it will be structured in a new way and for a much longer stretch of time. I'm planning to sit in a corner somewhere and wait for him to explode.

6. Some stitching progress:

At least I've made it to the bottom line of the pattern.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

If you've read the book and enjoyed it, won't you please consider writing a review on Amazon for her? Click here.

Jen had her baby on Wednesday, so she's a little busy. Hallie is hosting today.

Mid-Week Freak Out

2011-06-21T11:01:00.000-04:00

So, my mother arrives tomorrow and instead of starting on the list of things that should be done, I'm lolling around with Miranda, waiting for Alex to come home from his last day of school, thinking about taking them to get their hair cut this afternoon. Why, you ask, am I so complacent?

Well, she is my mother (if you know her, you know how wonderful she is) and she will forgive me for a little bit of mess around the house. And last week, and this week have been rather exciting. I feel like Inigo in The Princess Bride:

Inigo Montoya: Let me 'splain.
[pause]
Inigo Montoya: No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

Rather unexpected remodeling of Miranda's room on Sunday (more about that on Friday) which meant Marshall spent the day ripping out the carpet, the baseboards and the carpet tack strips, and then vacuuming up everything that was underneath. Ewww.
The people we had asked to create for us a real asphalt driveway (what we have now is mostly weeds a what's left of a driveway from, like, 1984) said, "We can start on Wednesday." Okay, then.
I am still the perpetual laundry machine and, for the first time in a long time, becoming weary of it.
Miranda can create a mess in a clean room in a few seconds flat, in the time it takes you to turn around and watch Alex run by in the other direction. "Helping" her clean up is rather like pulling teeth out of a mid-size shark.
Remember, my mother arrives Wednesday, which means a trip to the airport with children in tow and then we're straight off to a birthday party for a dear friend.
Marshall has needed to spend longer hours at work to finish up important things, which is fine because we like his job and want to keep it. It just means less help for me at home. But, considering all the work he did on Sunday, which was Father's Day, I am so grateful for all he does for us every day.
Remember that sinus infection, well, it's still healing. Which means my head will still feel like it's exploding every time I bend over to pick up after Little Miss Mess-A-Lot.
And then there's the cross stitch that I should be spending every spare moment on so I can finish in time!

We're running on high anxiety here, which is only useful when it comes along with high adrenaline.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, has mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Please.

In the Land of Affliction (O, Lord, Have Mercy on Me)

2011-06-17T11:40:00.000-04:00

1. These have to be actual Quick Takes because I don't have much time to write this morning, which is why I knew I should have written this yesterday, but I was too busy trying not to die! Both Marshall and I have sinus infections and, being parents and responsible adults, we can't lie in bed for a week to recover. No, a few hours here and there, and that's all we get. Ah, to be a young adult again with nothing to do but sit and watch Lord Peter Wimsey videos all day (which is what my mother and I used to do when I was home sick).

2. There was no lying about for me this week since we finally obtained from the pediatrician a diagnosis for Miranda's strange rash: scabies. Don't look it up unless you want to be completely creeped out. So, in the midst of my exploding head, I was washing everything in Miranda's drawers (which inconveniently lie under her bed and could thus be harboring nasties), all of her bedding for the umpteenth time, every stuffed animal in the house, and all of Alex's bedding for good measure. (He shows no sign of them but I wasn't going to be too careful.) I lost track of how many loads of laundry it was after 9 or 10. I can't wait to see the water bill.

We treated Miranda's skin with the prescribed cream on Monday night and washed it off Tuesday morning, per instructions, and are now waiting for all signs of the foul creatures to disappear. Lord, have mercy.

3. In the midst of all of this, my callas are blooming, which should be rather cheering, instead of just a "That's pretty" as I rush by them. Here's a few photos, by request of my mother:

And my hydrangea, that has been swallowing a swimming pool's worth of water for the last few weeks, is finally starting to pay me back in blooms:

4. We have yet to make it to the pool yet, because of weather and parental illness, so we have hopes of trying again this weekend. Starting next week, I think they'll be open on week days. So, twice this week the kids did the sprinkler instead, so here's another mud picture for you:

He is a darling boy and cleans up quite nicely.

5. I got the final pages of my cross stitch pattern from my father-in-law this week (he's been scanning and enlarging them for me so I can actually see well enough to work) and I have more left than I thought, so I have switched from the "Of course I'm going to finish before we leave for CA" to "AAAAAGGGHHHH! I have to stitch every possible moment!" Which doesn't help when you spend your evenings feeling horrible because your head is threatening to explode, so this week not much got done. But, still, it's progress:

6. Angry Birds just got ported to Chrome, which means that Alex, Marshall and I have been playing it incessantly on 3 different laptops. Here are my children playing before school yesterday:

Miranda wants to watch so she shoves him aside in the rocking chair to make room for herself. Silly woozles.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

Bonus 8. I really should be cleaning the front room up because we have a fun wedding to attend this evening (in the midst of all this chaos and since almost all of my babysitters are in the wedding or otherwise attending, I'm breaking in a new one tonight--pray my children are good to him!) but I'm already weary from running around town this morning restocking the larder. I hate being sick because I lose a week and the To Do list is unforgiving. But Miranda is done with school Monday, Alex on Tuesday, and on Wednesday at noon my mother will arrive. Thank you, Lord, for your mercy.

And here's Jen. Who is having a baby on Wednesday. Lord, have mercy on her.

Notes from the Furnace

2011-06-10T08:48:00.000-04:00

1. I was a little alarmed earlier in the week when I heard the weather forecast for Wednesday and Thursday: "Unbearable heat." So, yes, it is a little hot outside. Not Fresno in August hot, mind you, but close. I keep pouring pitcher after pitcher of water on my hydrangea bush and it still looks wilted. I'm a little obsessed with the blue-purple of the hydrangea blooms, which is feeding my watering compulsion. I think a colony of ants have built a swimming pool underneath it and are cheering every time they see me come with more water because they are diverting all that moisture for their own devices instead of letting my poor shrub drink.

I have burnt leaves

And floppy leaves

Of course, I also have beautiful callas just opening

Memo to myself for next summer: find a new flower to fall in love with that doesn't require as much water.

2. This is another Thursday afternoon post and I'm writing it now because it's too hot to clean the kitchen (somehow, I always promise to make Miranda a new batch of chocolate chip banana mini-muffins on the hottest day of the week, and the last ones just came out of the oven) and I don't want to do any of the myriad of other chores on my list of things to do. I'm sure I will spend tomorrow morning running all over town getting enough groceries to survive the weekend (I haven't made my errand list yet, but off the top of my head, I already know I need to stop at the bank, Costco, and JoAnne's) and I need to take Miranda back to the pediatrician tomorrow afternoon to make sure her ear infection has cleared up and have them take another look at her rash, which is making a resurgence and has worried her teacher enough to comment upon it. I plan to stop at Trader Joe's on the way home from there and stock up on Miranda's cookies and Marshall's new favorite salsa. But, I am no longer dreading my life like I was last week because...

3. My mother is coming! The Lord has answered my call for help and encouragement (or, at least, he got tired of the incessant whining) and is sending me the best kind of assistance. She has been invited to attend a creativity retreat at the "Bellfry," a retreat center in the Virginia mountains. So, she is flying here on the 22nd (the FIRST day of summer vacation), will spend June 26-July 1 on retreat, and then come back here to stay until her birthday, July 8. The Lord is good to me, in spite of my bad attitude and casual parenting and action movie watching. And cross stitching when I should be playing with my children. Speaking of which...

4. I am making great progress. Depending on how difficult the last few pages are, I certainly expect to have this finished by the end of July.

Of course, I'm stitching in the afternoons as well as the evenings, but my children are being very considerate. Miranda will come and sit with me while I work, for a little while, or watch something on the bed with me, like...

5. Gnomeo and Juliet, which was a lot of fun. She enjoyed it for it's adventurousness and I liked it for the excellent (voice) actors and seeing yet another interesting adaptation of Shakespeare. Also, we did enjoy X-Men: First Class last weekend, but not as much as the rapturous critics, apparently. Although if all bad boys are like Michael Fassbender, I'm starting to see the appeal. And keeping with theme of watching the same actors in different roles, I also watched Wanted. Very violent, lots of bad language. But it is entertaining, after a fashion. And I finished Sea of Monsters and am looking forward to starting The Titan's Curse. I tried to watch this new mini-series called The Shadow Line, but I got bored enough after 3 episodes to delete the lot. Somehow, Chiwetel Ejiofor just doesn't have the charisma to hold up a story on his own, like Idris Elba (Luther) or Kenneth Branagh (Wallender). Or maybe it's just bad writing.

Together, Marshall and I made it through the first half of Inglourious Basterds (another film on Michael Fassbender's resume; I don't think I'm going to watch his Jane Eyre, though; I was never a fan of any of the Brontes) and were surprised by all the talking (in a Quentin Tarantino film). In fact, there is almost as much of the dialogue in French and German as there is in English. I'm not a big Tarantino fan (Pulp Fiction is on my list of "Movies I Hate the Most") and I tried to watch Kill Bill, Vol. 1, on Ebert's recommendation, but got bored and turned it off.

I don't know if we're going to try to see Super 8 this weekend. I may try to get a sitter for Saturday night.

6. Our old refrigerator, which has been sitting in the driveway for several weeks, should be picked up by the state's recycling program tomorrow, which will clear the way for us to schedule the paving people to come and dig us out a new driveway (no more weeding the driveway!) which will then clear the way for me to call the nursery nearby to get our regular load of mulch. The flowerbed is in desperate need. Of course, then we'll have a place for our children to ride bikes, so maybe we should buy them some.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

Bonus 8. We have yet to make it to the pool. I was hoping to go this weekend, but scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast. Ah, dang.

If we don't make it to the pool, there's always the sprinkler, which for my children, means mud:

And here's Jen.

General Malaise (or, Come Whine With Me)

2011-06-03T08:08:00.000-04:00

1. I am actually writing this post on Thursday afternoon because I had enough caffeine today that my brain is still fairly functional at almost 4 pm and the children need direct chaperonage in the living room while they're playing the Wii. Alex had a bad ride home from school because one of his schoolmates screamed all the way home (he is a sensitive dude and picks up on the emotional currents flowing around him) and Miranda is in the perfect mood to bug her brother.

While Alex likes the play the Wii, he seems to spend more time creating Mii's, so many that we have to regularly throw a bunch of his creations away, in order to make more room for new ones.

2. I have finally identified the source the of my malaise: summer vacation is imminent. Now, it doesn't officially start until June 22nd, but the number of new things we will be introducing to our regular schedule is enough to start my habitual panic. So, in order to distract myself from the incoming tsunami, I have been watching a host of brainless, action-heavy movies, which is a time-honored Boyle tradition. In fact, my favorite date activity with my father is still to watch James Bond movies. We started with The Living Daylights (in the theatre in 1987, which is probably why it's still one of my favorites), and while we haven't watched every single consecutive film together in the theatre, we did manage to see the last two together. Daniel Craig is awesome, although I am still fond of both Pierce Brosnan and Timothy Dalton.

(As an aside, if you are a Bond fan, you should also see the documentary Bond Girls Are Forever, hosted by Maryam d'Abo. It's excellent.)

On Sunday, I watched I Am Number Four (mostly for Timothy Olyphant, but the chemistry between Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron was impressive). Yesterday, I watched Centurion; unfortunately, the director learned his craft in horror films, so the gore and language is rather over the top, but I wanted to introduce myself to Michael Fassbender and it's supposed to be a good companion piece to The Eagle, which I have all cued up to watch tonight. (Yes, like my weakness for Vin Diesel, I also have a fondness for Channing Tatum.) I also have Taken to watch as well; I've been a fan of Liam Neeson since Nell. And then, on Saturday night, Marshall and I are going out to celebrate his birthday and see X-Men: First Class, which, so far, has excellent reviews.

Friday morning update: I actually watched Taken last night instead of The Eagle. Adrenaline filled, yes, but it really strained believability past the breaking point. I liked Neeson much better in The A-Team.

3. And what, pray tell, am I trying to distract myself from?

End of the school year: Alex, Miranda and I are all people who love having a regular schedule. Life is just so much happier when we know what to expect from day to day.
Joining the local pool: We need to get into the habit of getting ready and driving over there in the afternoons. I need to get Alex tested to swim in the deep end and figure out what flotation device Miranda will tolerate using this year. Since each of them had ear infections last week, I was given a momentary reprieve. But, on Saturday, I should really take them over and start getting familiar with the Ramblewood Pool system.
VBS: We've never been able to attend it at our church due to scheduling and potty training issues but this year, we are all ready to join in on the fun. Supposedly.
Alex starts summer school on July 5th, but Miranda, once again, did not qualify because she made so much progress during the school year. Last summer, Miranda was mad at me for (it seemed) the whole summer because Alex got on the bus every morning and she did not. I'm really hoping she is a happier camper this year.
And then there's our massive trip to San Diego in August. Long plane trips. Unfamiliar cars and house. Two (sweet) dogs, but Miranda is a little dog-phobic at present. Unusual sleeping arrangements. New food (well, probably not for Alex). I can't wait to spend time with my family and spend my afternoons lying around on my aunt's patio, watching my children enjoy her pool. But so many other things about our trip are uncertain.

I hate change. I hate new things. I hate uncertainty. I hate being the responsible adult. I would rather spend my summer reading, sleeping, and stitching.

Of course, when I told Alex and Miranda's teachers my plans for the summer, they applauded me. I'm doing all the right Mommy things for my children. Opportunities for therapy and learning life skills.

Hopefully, my attitude will improve. Or I'll just grit my teeth and move forward, regardless of my feelings. And watch lots of action movies.

4. I finished listening to The Lightning Thief and have moved onto Sea of Monsters. I'm still not crazy about the narrator, but I will endure him to enjoy, once again, the adventures of Percy Jackson. I haven't gone back to Harry Potter, though, even though I really enjoyed listening to the first two books. The details of those novels seem to be burned into the pathways of my brain so well that even though it's been years since I read them and only read them all once, I don't seem to have forgotten much. So I should be fairly well prepared for the new movie in July, even if I haven't finished my survey.

And, Julia Quinn's new book came out on Tuesday, Just Like Heaven. I am off to Borders tomorrow morning to pick up my copy!

5. My DVR is rather full and I've only myself to blame. As I mentioned here, I have difficulty finishing things. Since I've been distressed about upcoming events, I haven't felt up to watching any of the following:

the season finale of Castle, even though I know what happens since I haven't been able to completely avoid spoilers;
the last 2 episodes of Hawaii-Five-0, which I was enjoying in a rather brainless fashion;
the last 2 episodes of Lie To Me, still, which has been canceled. To be fair, this last season was rather all over the place. When compared to something like Justified, which had an amazingly well-planned arc over all 13 episodes this year, Lie To Me was terribly uneven;
the season finale of NCIS: LA, which I know is going to end in a cliff-hanger, and I hate cliff-hangers;
the last 6 episodes of Nikita, which I'm sure is also going to end in a cliff-hanger;
30 episodes of Stargate: Universe. I liked the first 10 but then had to wait for the next ones and never got back to watching it;
the last 3 episodes of The Chicago Code, which was also canceled. And Jason Clarke is amazing in this. Oh, well;
the last 4 episodes of The Mentalist. Yes, I know what happens at the end; it's just going to be painful to watch.
and, finally, all of the new season of Doctor Who except for the opening episode, which, after Saturday night, will be 6 episodes. Part of the problem is finding a time when Marshall and I can watch these together. It may wait until vacation, like it did last year. And the year before.

Perhaps a DVR with hundred of gigs of storage isn't the best thing for me. My hoarding impulses take over.

6. I didn't get as much stitching done this week as I wanted, but here is the progress picture, nonetheless:

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

And here's Jen.

7 Plagues

2011-05-27T09:40:00.000-04:00

1. I am in a foul mood because I'm currently in a contest of wills with Miranda who is refusing to chew and swallow the antibiotics prescribed by our pediatrician yesterday for her nasty ear infection. For her first dose before bed last night, she also refused, so we tried crushing it in applesauce and feeding it to her. She refused to swallow it. She kept it in her mouth for more than 10 minutes and finally spit it into a towel. Needless to say, she went to bed crying and I went to bed angry. This morning, I made the offer calmly, allowed her to have a cup of milk, and then forbade any other activities or food until she eats the medicine. Eventually, she'll get hungry or bored enough to eat the medicine. I am the original Strong Willed Child. I can outlast her.

Let's call this the plague of pestilence.

Alex was out of school 3 days last week for a nasty ear infection, and now she has done the same.

2. Miranda also has a nasty rash of red dots all over her body that look like tiny, broken blood vessels that disturbed our doctor enough to order a blood test for this afternoon. Taking my children for blood work is one of my favorite things in the world to do, NOT. From their perspective, I am holding them down so other people can torture them with needles. Fun, fun, fun.

Let's call this the plague of blood.

I was planning to follow the trip from the blood-draw with a trip to Friendly's, but not if she hasn't taken her antibiotics by then. Or may I'll go and get ice cream for just myself. And eat it in front of her.

3. The sale of the Super Beetle went smoothly on Saturday, thank God. Marshall spent 3 hours with the buyer, making sure he explained everything, turned over all the manuals, they took a long, celebratory drive together, the works. However, while this was happening, our refrigerator failed.

Let's call this the plague of darkness.

By the time he was done with the buyer, the children were in bed and I was completely spent. So, my darling husband tipped everything that could be frozen into the outside freezer, filled our cooler with ice and put all the milk products in that, and unplugged the fridge. He hoped, perhaps, it had iced over in some crucial places and a rapid defrost would solve the problem. Alas, no such luck.

So Sunday night, he went to Best Buy and ordered a new fridge to be delivered Wednesday. And we lived in the cooler until then.

The new fridge is beautiful and spacious and exactly what I wanted. And it fits aesthetically in the color scheme of the kitchen, which is what Marshall wanted. The children, however, are still adjusting to having the fridge compartment on top and the freezer on the bottom. We may have to move the string cheese to a lower shelf.

As soon as the delivery guys had moved it into place, Miranda "replaced" all the magnets. It doesn't usually look so cluttered.

4. In the midst of all the aforementioned excitement this week, I've been trying to plan for end of the school year gifts for all of the staff who work with my children, both at school and at church. And get all the end of the year stuff done for Youth Ministry. And help plan a double baby shower for two of the Youth Ministry Leaders. And Marshall's birthday is on the 7th, and I'm usually too busy to do anything nice so this year I wanted to do something nice so we have sitters coming tonight to play with the kids so we can go out and enjoy each other's company and a nice dinner together.

Let's call this the plague of flies.

I have too much to do without having Miranda underfoot for 3 days when she is supposed to be at school instead of fighting me about taking her medicine! (She came out of her room a few minutes ago, claiming she was ready to eat it. Nope. She was then ushered back to her room.) At least I managed to clean the house on Sunday and Monday, before all the new excitement started.

5. To comfort myself and try to keep my anxiety levels from hitting 11, I re-read The Red Pyramid and read for the first time The Throne of Fire and while I've been stitching in the evenings, I'm listening to The Lightning Thief. Nothing like juvenile fiction from Rick Riordan to take my mind off of my troubles. At least, for a little while.

Made some good progress on the cross stitch, so I'm not sure if this counts as another plague.

All finished, through page 14.

6. Okay, so maybe we haven't been struck by the 10 Plagues of Egypt, or even 7 of them, but the four I listed above have been seriously wearing me down. And I know my bad attitude is not helping matters at all. And I miss talking to my mother who is enjoying her long holiday in Ireland with my father and her sister. My mother is one of those people who can make things better even from a distance. Lord, have mercy on us.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

And here's Jen.

Soggy Friday

2011-05-20T12:41:00.000-04:00

1. It has not been the most fun week ever. It really has rained every day for the last 7 days. My plants outside are green and verdant but I feel all moldy and grungy. Both Alex and I spent most of the week feeling ill (he had a nasty ear infection that kept him out of school Monday-Wednesday and not sleeping well for the rest of it, which I am sure contributed to my general malaise). The house looks trashed and not like it was spotless and clean a week ago, so much so that I spent yesterday afternoon outside weeding, between rainstorms, just so I could be doing something useful without having to cope with the mess inside. I was all set to tackle it this morning when Alex woke up about 3 am and never went back to sleep, which meant I spent the morning while both children were at school trying to catch up on sleep instead of cleaning. Some days, it seems pointless to make plans when my circumstances and just going to swoop in and spoil everything. Whine, whine, whine, whine, whine, whine, whine!

2. The good thing about feeling generally blah but not awful is that you get a lot of stitching done:

3. My parents are enjoying an early 40th anniversary trip in Ireland and having a wonderful time, according to the few texts and Facebook posts they've sent. Of course, earlier in the week, when they were in Dublin, so was Queen Elizabeth II and they all wanted to go the same places at the same time. And she had more staff so she got right of way. Now they are driving leisurely about the countryside, stopping when something looks interesting. Waterford, Kilkenny and Cork so far. :)

4. So I was surfing around CafePress yesterday after doing some graduation gift shopping and found they have a huge collection of shirts for Autism families. These are some of my favorites:

Can you just see the four of us approaching the security checkpoint at the Philadelphia Airport (in August for our trip to San Diego) wearing 4 of these shirts (I get the first one, Miranda the 4th, Marshall the 5th and the last one for Alex) all together? I expect we would scare off any but the most confident observers. Although any other parents of special needs kids would get a good laugh.

5. The new printer arrived this week, all fancy and beautiful. It faxes and scans as well, and works with our wifi network so it doesn't have to sit connected to the computer in Alex's room like the old one. Since we have spent most of our marriage making do with dinky or trash-picked or free printers, this is an unexpected luxury. It means I have left-over toner from the old one, though. If anyone needs HP cartridges #92 or 93, let me know.

6. Our beautiful 1972 VW Super Beetle is set to be sold on Sunday afternoon. Marshall assured me last night that since he began the grieving process 18 months ago, when he decided to sell it, he shouldn't be too grief-stricken at the actual event. He will wash and vacuum it tomorrow (the rain is supposed to be finally done by then, which is good because Miranda has her last soccer practice) and then sign over the title after church on Sunday. I'm just praying everything goes smoothly.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

And here's Jen.

Hazy Friday

2011-05-13T13:33:00.001-04:00

1. Last weekend was so full of activities that I feel like I've gone through this week in a daze, my brain never quite waking up, no matter how much caffeine or sleep I feed it. Or maybe the scent of all my blooming irises wafting through the air are acting like a drug. They are seriously gorgeous:

You can see more of their beauty here. Also, so many of them have had more than 3 buds per stalk that I've had to cut them and bring them inside to keep them from falling over. A good problem to have, yes. I love my tulips, I love my callas, but these irises (new to the house in the last two years) are really moving up in my affections.

2. We did our back-to-back IEP meetings on Wednesday, and they went well, but I was wiped out for the rest of the day. Both children have excellent teachers and teams built around them (9 people each if you include all the aides and therapists and such) and made good progress this year. Both children are keeping their teachers for next year (Woohoo!), although Miranda will be in the afternoon class instead of the morning one, which will turn my schedule upside down, but I'm sure we can adjust. And the plans for next year look awesome and full of great new challenges.

It is an incredible blessing to have my children so well cared for in our school system. But it is still a grief that we carry that we expect to have yearly IEP meetings for the foreseeable future. I love my children but it is so hard to see them struggle in ways neurotypical children do not. Parenting is not for the faint of heart.

3. When I wasn't moping about being a special needs parent this week, I was stitching feverishly, which is how I finished page 13 and started 14, which should go quickly. I love getting to this point in the project when I can see the end and can't wait to get there!

I really love how the shadows on the vase are turning out; they're just a pain to stich.

4. Thor was a lot of fun! Although I liked Chris Hemsworth as our hero, I was more impressed by Tom Hiddleston (who I recognize from Wallander). His Loki was interesting and easy to be fascinated by. And Branagh did a great job, which I'm sure comes as a relief to him after working on a production as large as the population of some small countries.

After seeing the trailers before the movie started, Marshall wants to add Super 8 to our list. Man, it's going to be a busy summer!

5. Part of the reason for my haziness this week is that when he was out for a drive last Saturday in his beautiful 1972 VW SuperBeetle, Marshall encountered someone who had a friend who wanted to buy a car like ours. Now, we've been planning to sell it for a year and Marshall has been working on it in preparation for that event. This encounter, however, threw him into a flurry of activity so as to be ready to show the car to the prospective buyer last night. The meeting went well and if they can agree on a price, we will probably sell it in the next few days.

Here's our beauty:

However, this also meant the only time I really saw him this week was when he was with me in our IEP meetings Wednesday morning. I hate being husband-less. It really throws off my groove.

6. My parents leave tomorrow to spend almost two weeks in Ireland to celebrate (a little early) their 40th wedding anniversary. I hope they have an amazing time and take lots of cool pictures. And bring home a Guinness shirt for my husband. :)

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

Bonus 8. The woman who cleans my house came yesterday, so everything is wonderfully, sparkly clean. That's the way to start the weekend right!

And here's Jen.

Happy Mother's Day to Me! (or, My Husband is Wonderful!)

2011-05-07T14:05:00.001-04:00

This is what the bookshelves looked like at noon today:

And then Miranda and I spent about an hour moving books from the piles in the front room onto the shelves and now they look like this:

Don't they look fabulous?!

Now, this is only about half of the books we own (and by "we" I mean Marshall and I; this does not include the piles of children's books located in Alex's and Miranda's rooms), so there are still 3 bins full in the corner in the living room as well as a few smaller piles in our bedroom. Which, of course, is why he's building a matching set of shelves on the other side of the room.

The books aren't in any fixed order, although I did manage to put all the Milton together and my Norton Anthologies, and Laura Ingalls Wilder is next to L.M. Montgomery and Janette Oke, as they should be, but everything else is shoved in according to size and space. Some of the most amusing titles hanging out together are these:

And these:

Percy Jackson next to Still Harping on Daughters is almost as amusing as St. Augustine next to Heinlein's Number of the Beast. We have wide tastes, as you can tell.

Compliment my husband the next time you see him. These shelves are gorgeous!

The Friday before Mother's Day, and I am living it up!

2011-05-06T10:07:00.000-04:00

1. For example, I took a long, luxurious bath last night before the children were asleep! Or even really in bed! Miranda was officially ready for bed but had begun her regular half hour of whining before she falls asleep and I just left her in my husband's capable care.

2. I have been reading real books this week.

On Sunday night, (with a stack of Borders' coupons) I bought myself a copy of The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh, who is continuing to write Lord Peter Wimsey stories, with the blessing of Dorothy Sayers' estate. And I stayed up until 1 am reading the whole thing!
The new Rick Riordan book Throne of Fire arrived yesterday (because I'm a Borders' Rewards program member, they offered it to me on pre-order for more than 50% off, which is too hard to resist, especially when my library isn't able to buy new books like they used to) but I need to reread The Red Pyramid first so I'm not too confused. I did fine with the Percy Jackson books (which are awesome, by the way) because I am familiar with Greek mythology. Egyptian legends are a different matter and I'm going to need a refresher before I dive into the new book.
I read another amazing book review by Walter Russel Mead about The Armada by Garrett Mattingly and had to order myself a copy. It came on Wednesday and I'm already 150 pages in. Mead is the one who turned me onto that massive tome on the Napoleaonic Wars I read last summer, War of Wars by Robert Harvey. Perhaps, if my life had gone in a different direction, I might have been a professional historian, because I find these kinds of books so much fun to read. Scary, I know.

3. I have been working outside a great deal, weeding and mowing and planning new plantings. In fact, when I told Miranda she couldn't help me in the garden on Monday because she didn't have gloves, she helpfully stole Alex's Halloween costume gloves and got "ready" to "help," wearing my hat, no less:

4. All of this explains why I am terribly behind on household chores and I think we've had one real dinner this week. Ah, well, I'll get all caught up by next week when my cleaning lady is scheduled to come through again, especially since....

5. Marshall is making so much progress on the bookshelves that I am planning to actually start shelving this weekend. Which would be wonderful since we have dispensed with all 6 of the bookshelves we are replacing with the built-in bookshelves to their new residences so my front room, instead of being crowded by furniture, now has stacks and stacks of books and photos and dvd's all over the floor. Nice, orderly stacks, but books need real shelves to live on and be rearranged on and be appreciated and drooled over. We love our books!

6. I finally made it to an easier portion of the cross stitch pattern this week so made some decent progress:

I'm starting to wonder, if I can keep up this pace, if I might have it finished in time to take with us on our California vacation in mid-August to present it in person to my sister-in-law, for whom I am stitching, and take it with her to the framer's so she can pick out the mattes and frame. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. Still, it would be very convenient.

7. I did go to see Fast Five on Saturday night and it was a lot of fun! Happy, brainless movie with Vin and the Rock, and it made enough money last weekend that they are going to make another sequel. Woohoo! Also, our sitter is coming tomorrow at 5:30 so we can go see Thor, which is also opening to good reviews. I love the summer movie season!

Bonus 8. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

Extra Bonus 9. A few fun links I felt like sharing:

May the Fourth Be With You which has posters of Star Wars puns. Very funny.
Existential Star Wars in French, from Jen Fulwiler's blog (see below).
This is the shirt I want to buy (just not in pink!) to wear on the airplane when we travel to San Diego in August, all four of us together. We have not been on an airplane with both children since Miranda was 14 months old, for good reasons. But we miss our California family and decided to be brave this year. And take Valium. And pray, a lot.

And here's Jen.

Sleepy Friday

2011-04-29T10:52:00.000-04:00

1. Three out of the last five nights/mornings, Miranda has been up at 4 am, hungry or crying or something, so it should not have surprised me that she woke up with a fever today. Poor little woozle. I have a call into the pediatrician's office, so I'm sure if there's anything seriously wrong with her, we will discover it.

Update: Dr. says that since all she has is a low-grade fever and no other symptoms, to keep an eye on her, treat with Tylenol per usual, and call back if she gets worse. Unlike Alex, who at the first sign of fever we rush to the doctor because it means he is really sick, Miranda can run fevers like this for a passing virus and be fine two days later.

2. It's been a get back to normal week. My parents returned home on Easter Sunday, after a lovely but informal lunch hosted by my sister-in-law, so I've been re-adapting myself to household maintenance as an army of one. (Keeping up with mess generated by my children is so much easier when my mother shares the load!) Alex, Miranda and I joined friends at the park on Monday (being that it was Easter Monday, there was no school) and then both children returned to school on Tuesday and have received good reports from their teachers all week. I guess a week with their grandparents did them good; it was certainly a blessing to me!

3. I pushed doggedly forwards on my cross stitch this week, trying to make it past this complicated first half of page 13, although I have the feeling the bottom half of the page is going to be just as much fun (I haven't glanced at it yet). I did make enough progress in the last few evenings that I can see what it's supposed to look like and should be able to finish this section soon. Here's your progress picture:

The way the pattern creates the shimmer and outline of the vase is seriously not fun to stitch (I feel like I'm changing thread colors every 5 stitches), but the effect is quite stunning.

4. Movie Update:

January 14

Green Hornet (never managed to see before it left theatres; dang.)

April 1

Source Code (Marshall and I were able to go out and see this while my parents were here and we really liked it. Not as amazing as Moon, but still very good.)

April 29
Fast Five (I am going by myself to see this tomorrow night; can't wait! Rotten Tomatoes has even given it an excellent rating.)

May 6
Thor (I have booked the babysitter--we are going next Saturday night! Early reviews are good so I am excited to see how Kenneth Branagh does a superhero movie.)

Anyway, here's my hopeful list for other upcoming films:

June 3
X-Men: First Class (It could be good, like X-2 was)
June 17
Green Lantern (Ryan Reynolds was very compelling in The Proposal so I want to give him a chance)
June 24
Cars 2 (Cars is my favorite Pixar Film so I have high hopes for the next one; it also may be the first movie our kids actually see in the theatre)
July 1
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (also has a new trailer out this week)
July 15
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (the new trailer is out and looks awesome!)
July 22
Captain America: The First Avenger (the trailer looks like a lot of fun)
July 29
Cowboys & Aliens (Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in a western with aliens and all the early buzz is good!)

November 11

Immortals (first trailer came out this week; starting to look interesting)

5. We recently got a hold of the audio versions of all of the Harry Potter books and are trying to make our way through them before the new movie comes out in July. I finished the first one last night while stitching and was surprised, once again, by how much I liked it and how suspenseful it was. I was also impressed by how well J.K. started to set up her story arcs from the very beginning. That is a woman who knows how to plan!

6. Doctor Who opened up Series 6 with a bang last Saturday night and left us hanging on several terrifying cliff-hangers, earning Steven Moffat the same reputation with me that his predecessor (Russel T Davies) had which leaves me muttering curses on them directly after the episode finishes. Often, they are good writers for this show, but the emotional directions they push the audience sometimes verges on manipulation, which I despise. And I hate it when they make me cry.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

Bonus 8. If you were unaware, I am a long-time fan of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I was even a contestant once (I dare you to find the audio clip!). I discovered this week that there is a guy who keeps a statistical page for this show. It's awesome, but, wow, that's an interesting hobby.

And here's Jen.