Random Dozen - Joanna

From Second Cup of Coffee

1. Tell me something about your favorite teacher.


My most memorable teacher was my 9th grade algebra teacher. He was very good at his job and made math fun. I haven’t liked math since.

2. Tell me about one pivotal moment in your life.

The day I met Del. My life hasn’t been the same since.

3. About favorite colors--a lot of people will ask you what it is, but I want to know why it is. What feeling or memory does it evoke?

Brown. It’s quiet, it’s deep and rich, it’s calm, it’s pretty. It’s safe. I am so thankful to God for filling my life with brown: brown hair, brown eyes…most specifically and especially my fabulously brown husband. Plus chocolate is brown…coffee is brown. Brown – what’s not to like?

4. What's a sure sign that you're getting older?

My knees are starting to hurt when I walk down the stairs and I’m getting lots of gray hair.

5. Please don't sermonize, but Halloween--is it a yes or no for you?

No.

6. What's your favorite musical?

I’ll be totally unpretentious and say The Sound of Music…I haven’t seen too many more and honestly I can’t figure out what the big deal is with musicals. I’d rather see a full symphony any day.

7. Are you more of a city mouse or country mouse?

Well, I’m not really a mouse, I’m a human. I’d like to be a country girl but I’m just not. I live in the city. I think I’d like to live a smaller life though. And grow some of my own food and raise some egg hens and slaughter my own cow. Okay, maybe I’m a country girl stuck in the city.

8. Did you know that it is possible, for a small fee, to name a real star after someone? (It's true! Google it!) If someone were to name a star for you, would you appreciate it for its whimsy and romance, or would you say, "Are you kidding me? For $19.95 we could have gone to the movie and actually bought popcorn."

Considering that these days you cannot go to the movies and buy popcorn for $19.95, having a star named after someone is just as much a waste of money as seeing a movie, in my humble opinion. Am I boring? I’d rather pay $20 for a couple bottles of wine or bubble bath and have some romance and whimsy that way. Hmmm, I wonder where my hubby is. Is this no longer G rated?

This question comes from Paula at His Ways Are Not Our Ways.
9. What's the craziest thing you've ever been doing and texted during it? I only thought of this b/c I was about to try to text during my walking video but I didn't. (Paula, you do know that this blog is rated G, right?)

Texting? What’s that? You know when I do text it’s almost invariably to Del and then it takes me about 10 minutes to type “love you” and figure out how to send it.

10. "It's not a party unless _______."

…there’s football involved. Okay but we do have tea parties and football doesn’t really mix in too well there. Presents? I’m not really sure what a party is anymore. I’m confused.

11. When you're stuck in traffic or a waiting room, what do you do to pass the time? PS: There are no magazines available.

I don’t like to talk to myself too much so if I know that I’m going to be stuck in a waiting room I always bring some crossword puzzles or a book. If I’m in the car I’m listening to talk radio. In fact I really don’t mind being stuck in traffic since that’s about the only time I get to listen to talk radio.

12. If you weren't yourself, would you be friends with you?

I’d like to think so. I talk too much and I interrupt and sometimes don’t let others get a word in edgewise. I don’t listen enough. But I know I have these problems and knowing is half the battle. So I figure I’d like myself since I’m willing to admit I have issues. Does this make me vain and arrogant? I think this is a weighted question. If you answer in the negative, you wonder why anyone is friends with you at all and you want to go jump off a cliff. If you answer in the positive you are an arrogant snob and want to go jump off a cliff. It’s questions like this that have people jumping off cliffs. I’m going to pretend I never read it and just be thankful that my friends put up with my not calling them and not emailing them and interrupting them and pray that God blesses them over and over for not abandoning me even though I’m such a poor friend and I’m sure they’d like to ditch me at times. Right guys? Guys??? Hello? You still reading?

Sarah's New Haircut and a Trouble Maker

I didn't like it too much at first but now I think she looks very pretty.  She likes it because her hair stays out of her face.

Yes, it was a mess, but it sure did keep her busy while we did science.

Random Dozen

I have what seems like a dozen different posts swirling around in my head right now, but no time or energy to put them all together.  But I feel like posting something, so I am taking the easy way out and doing another Random Dozen.  Interesting questions this time, so here goes!  Oh, if you want to read more, head over to Linda's blog for some others!



1. Tell me something about your favorite teacher.
I have a few favorites.  My 5th grade teacher made everything we had to do fun for us.  I remember enjoying even the most mundane of tasks, like memorizing definitions, because she would make a song or a game. 

2. Tell me about one pivotal moment in your life.
The day I had my car accident 11 years ago.  I am still not fully recovered.  It really changed who I am physically, but also spiritually because I saw God miraculously restore feeling to my hands and feet that I was beginning to wonder if it would ever return.  It was a faith building moment that was so awesome it has been worth the lasting pain.

3. About favorite colors--a lot of people will ask you what it is, but I want to know why it is. What feeling or memory does it evoke?
My favorite color is red (clearly, since I'm using blue now, right?) because it is so bold and vibrant and bright.  It's what I want to be!

4. What's a sure sign that you're getting older?
The fact that I can predict a cold front or rain with amazing accuracy simply by the amount of pain in my hips and knees.  That makes me sound really, really old.

5. Please don't sermonize, but Halloween--is it a yes or no for you?
No.  But we do participate in our chruch's alternative, with costumes and all.

6. What's your favorite musical?
I'm not sure I've really seen enough musicals to have one.  I've seen Phantom of the Opera (I know that's not a musical, folks - work with me) and I love it.  I also love The Sound of Music.  Does that count?

7. Are you more of a city mouse or country mouse?
Country mouse.  I should have been born and raised on a farm.

8. Did you know that it is possible, for a small fee, to name a real star after someone? (It's true! Google it!) If someone were to name a star for you, would you appreciate it for its whimsy and romance, or would you say, "Are you kidding me? For $19.95 we could have gone to the movie and actually bought popcorn."
I'd love to have a star named after me.  That'd be cool.

This question comes from Paula at His Ways Are Not Our Ways.

9. What's the craziest thing you've ever been doing and texted during it? I only thought of this b/c I was about to try to text during my walking video but I didn't. (Paula, you do know that this blog is rated G, right?)
Um, I am soooo last millenium.  I don't text.

10. "It's not a party unless _______."
there's good food.  That's bad, huh?

11. When you're stuck in traffic or a waiting room, what do you do to pass the time? PS: There are no magazines available.
You know I'm spying on everyone, making up some background story about them in my head and imagining what their life is like. :)

12. If you weren't yourself, would you be friends with you?
I'd like to think so, but I don't know.  I can be a little bit self-absorbed and that's a quality I don't always appreciate in others...  Maybe my wit and charm would way overpower that yucky stuff and I'd be enamored with myself... :)

Some Little Girls

Look at this cute, fat little baby.  My goodness Anna!!  Look at those fabulously chubby thighs.

My stomach sinks when the kids hurt themselves.  She fell and hit her face on the tile and my stomach flipped and flopped all over the place as I saw her mouth fill with blood and the huge gash on her lip.  Poor Lily.

Sarah is getting her hair cut by my grandma today.  I can't wait to see what she looks like.

Mini Post Monday

Here are some more of my thoughts from this past week:

• The wheels are definitely turning in Andrew's head!  I was playing with him with a football, and I repeated the word "football" several times before handing him the ball.  Once he had the ball, he looked at it and then promptly put it on his foot!

What is it about the dishwasher that no kid on earth can resist?
• I now know why shoving a piece of wood under someone's fingernail is a form of torture.  Let's just say that I have a bleeding bruise extending 1/8 inch past the quick of my nail.  I think 1/8 inch doesn't sound like much until it is measuring how far a piece of wood shoved up under my fingernail.  Then it sounds really, really long.
• I'm going to go on a fast from TV.  I watch way, way too much TV and it gets in the way of doing things that are actually important.  Marie, do you still want to do it with me?  Anyone else want to join?  I know for sure I am going to do it for a week, but I think I will actually extend it until Thanksgiving.  I just went through and deleted shows from my DVR that I knew I could do without.  I may go insane.  Hopefully I won't.
• Ethan read his first real words this week: at, am, an, and ad.  He was so happy to be able to say he actually read something!

Ethan displaying the page in our reading book that he read for me.  Don't you love that look of accomplishment on his face?  Now that's why I homeschool.
• This past Thursday, we marked one full year since our dossier was logged in at the CCAA (China's Central Adoption Agency).  It seems that we are no closer to actually getting our baby girl than we were a year ago.  Our immigration approval expires in December and we are just going to let it lapse because we need a new home study since we had another baby since our last one and there just isn't time.  We'll renew again when we're closer to actually getting our baby.  Right now, our best estimate is another two years, but there is no way to truly know.  I try not to think about it, because honestly, thinking about how far away that is makes me want to cry sometimes.

One of the things that keeps me from crying when I think about the long wait for Hannah, and what keeps me praying for those people who are adopting as their only means of growing their families.  May your wait be shorter than short.
• I found a great recipe for chocolate icing this week.  I'm serious when I tell you that this icing will make you roll your eyes into the back of you head while whispering the words, "Oh, mama!"  It may also cause you to eat large quantities of icing right out of a bowl, for which I will claim no responsibility!  Oh, and it's really cool that this recipe doesn't use powdered sugar for those times that you are out of powdered sugar and for the fact that powdered sugar has cornstarch added and we are allergic to corn.

Okay, so this picture has nothing to do with the posts above or below it, but really, who doesn't want to see a picture of a six year old in a playpen?
• Wanna take a guess at what I'm doing right now while adding the finishing touches to this post?  Nope.  Nuh-uh.  Ooh, you in the back - did you just say making pancakes?  You're right!  I'm making my pancakes for tomorrow morning's breakfast now, at 9:23 PM so that I can go to the gym tomorrow morning rather than stand over a griddle and still have breakfast on the table by 6:45 AM.  You heard it here first, folks.

A Book

I just (like 2 minutes ago) finished reading Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford.

As a person very interested in the WHY of food, it was an interesting read.  Very enlightening in that it includes some history of and "real life" Mario Batali (he always seems so nice on Molto Mario and Iron Chef, who knew he was a big jerk?) and what life is like in a professional kitchen - Batali's famous restaurant, Babbo.  My biggest beef (no pun intended) is the swearing.  I didn't count but he used "the F word" at least three dozen times.  I don't mind reading books with swearing in it but these guys use that word in place of words like "things" and "stuff".  I mean every other word out of their mouths is "the F word".  For the love of Pearl, GET A THESAURUS.

Mini Post Monday

I think Mini Post Monday may become a regular feature for me.  I've been saving up these little nuggets of information for you all week, so enjoy this collection of mini posts!

• I saw a recipe for Apricot Chocolate Bars today. Why ruin perfectly good chocolate with apricots, of all things?
• Andrew started to walk a couple weeks ago - a full four months earlier than either of his brothers. Now he is a walking fiend!

Andrew walking with his other new passion - trucks.

• Andrew waves at Jerry every time he walks into a room. It is really cute to see him start to identify more with Daddy, even if it is a little bit sad to know that his whole world no longer revolves around loving Mommy. 

Andrew and his Daddy.
• It seems that no matter how often I sweep my kitchen/eating area floor, it is covered in crumbs. What is the trick??
• Aaron likes taking pictures, and he is getting better at it! At age six, I don't think I had ever even held a camera. I certainly didn't know how to zoom and center my subjects in the frame.

A shot Aaron took of me and Andrew first thing in the morning.  So ignore the lack of make up and the pj's, okay?

• Pancakes are the ultimate allergy friendly food, because amazingly they turn out well without many ingredients that seem to be necessary to pancakes (like eggs and milk) and work with almost any type of flour at all. But really? When I get up at 6:00 and stand in front of a hot griddle from 6:10 AM to 6:45 AM and only get one meal worth of pancakes out of it, I feel a little bit cheated. Why is it that boys eat so much?

My big eaters at Multnomah Falls this summer.

• So I am loving the updated editor on Blogger, but why doesn't it have a spell check option?  Is it still there and I am just missing it?  I guess I'll need to start adding some sort of disclaimer to each post in which I say I am sorry for all the misspelled words.
• Mustard freezes solid in a few hours in the freezer, but honey doesn't change consistency at all. You can blame homeschooling for that tiny gem of information.

Ethan and Aaron with a tray of various things we tested to see if they would freeze after a few hours in the freezer.  First, we made a hypothesis about each one, and later tested it to see if we were right.  Speaking of hypothesis...

• Do you want proof that the 4 year old is learning almost as much as the 6 year old during school, even though he doesn't actively participate in everything?  Yesterday, Jerry and Ethan were talking and Ethan made a guess about something Jerry was going to do and was right.  When Jerry told him he was right, Ethan's response was, "Well, that's because I had a good hypothesis!"

Ethan being, well, Ethan.

A New Habit

Andrew has developed a new habit of late: he is walking around with something stuck in his mouth, saying "Mmmmm, mmmmm." over and over, and generally being pleased with himself and his new trick!  It is so funny, and he knows he is being funny with it!

Here he is with a napkin in his mouth.

Here he is with a crumpled up paper airplane one of his brothers carelessly left on the floor.

And now with the washcloth I used to wash him up after dinner.  I really think the shirt says it all!

Joanna's Random Dozen

1. I've always wondered why we were taught both printing and cursive. Do you prefer to print or write cursive? (Keyboard is not a choice.)

My script is a mixture of both. Straight cursive is out the window. Now that I’m teaching Ella cursive I’ve been practicing and it is NOT pretty.

2. Are you a dreamer or a realist?

realist

3. Billy Joel or Elton John?

Really? I mean if you have to pick then Billy Joel but can I just go completely off and say someone rational like Scribblepotemus.

4. What is the scariest movie you've ever seen? Not just horror flicks but also ones where the tension or suspense is killer, for example, Flightplan (2005): A bereaved woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet the child vanishes and nobody admits she was ever on that plan.

Misery was pretty darn freaky, probably because of its realism. Movies that have aliens, scary monsters, blobs and stuff like that I find completely out of the realm of reality and I don’t watch them. I can watch some sci-fi and fantasy stuff as long as it’s not meant to be a horror flick.

5. Now what is the scariest real-life moment you've had?

The day Lily was lost. We found her asleep under Ella’s bed but for many minutes we searched the house and yelled for her and she never answered. I thought she has escaped outside and was lost or dead or kidnapped or something equally horrible.

6. What word do you misspell without fail?

I’m a pretty good speller. I make mistakes like: it’s vs. its. Even though some very intelligent people have explained this dynamic to me before I still have to stop and think and often erase and re-write when it comes to its/it’s. I don’t know why I can’t get it.

7. Name something you like to do but are not really talented or good at?

Photography, piano (not good at at all)

8. Do you get your emotional/mental batteries recharged by being around people or by having alone time?

Neither. Well, maybe the first. Mainly being with Del recharges my emotional/mental batteries.

9. Have you ever been on TV?

Nope and I will die happy if I never make it on TV.

10. Apple or pumpkin pie? (Don't be greedy.)

Brownies. Seriously, if you have to eat the calories then why not make it worth it?

11. How many magazine subscriptions do you have?

One – Everyday Food

12. What lesson do you have to keep re-learning?

That absolutely nothing in this world satisfies like Jesus (No change needed here. Why can’t I learn this and keep it in my heart?)

Also, you know the whole aperture/f-stop thing in photography. Well no matter how many people explain it to me or how many books I read or how many lessons I take, when I pick up my very high speed camera to take pictures I am still at a loss for how to fix the stop to make the kind of photo I want. It’s very frustrating. I understand it totally when I read it but I can’t recall it when I’m actually taking pictures. I can't understand why I can memorize the map of any town/city and make my way around like I've lived there all my life in a matter of days, but study photography for years and still futz around like a beginner. I think if I could just understand what the learning curve or style is then I could work around it but I'm still clueless.

Random Dozen

1. I've always wondered why we were taught both printing and cursive. Do you prefer to print or write cursive? (Keyboard is not a choice.)

I probably use print more than cursive, but I enjoy cursive when I'm writing for pleasure.

2. Are you a dreamer or a realist?

dreamer

3. Billy Joel or Elton John?

Neither, really.

4. What is the scariest movie you've ever seen? Not just horror flicks but also ones where the tension or suspense is killer, for example, Flightplan (2005): A bereaved woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet the child vanishes and nobody admits she was ever on that plan.

First of all, I hate scary movies. I am a very vivid dreamer - I dream in full color, very realistic, and in series (one dream can go on for days, continuing from one night to the next). So one scary movie can set me up for days of vivid nightmares. So I avoid scary movies like the plague, but I have seen one movie that gave me nightmares - "Misery." I saw this at a neighbor's house when I was 16 or so. It was horrible.

5. Now what is the scariest real-life moment you've had?

My car accident was pretty scary in the traditional sense, but I think when I took Ethan to the doctor when he was 8 months old and he was so sick he was just laying on my chest fighting for breath wins. The doctor told me that babies decline in order: first they stop playing, then eating, then drinking, then breathing. He was no longer doing the first three, so you can imagine the fear in this mommy's heart when he said that! By the way, he had RSV, and he still has breathing problems today from it. :(

6. What word do you misspell without fail?

I am a horrible, terrible, no-good speller. Which is shameful considering I was an English teacher. The Oxford American Dictionary is my friend (and the only dictionary worth owning, by the way.) I have to constantly Google words that I cannot figure out how to spell, and see if Google will kick out a, "did you mean..." statement so that I can see the right spelling! I am so excited about actually learning proper spelling rules while teaching my kids. That might be one of the main reasons I homeschool... :)

7. Name something you like to do but are not really talented or good at?

I like puzzles, like Sodoku. I have to go through and eliminate each number possible and can never see the bigger picture/patterns, but I still like to do them.

8. Do you get your emotional/mental batteries recharged by being around people or by having alone time?

Most often being around people. Of course, everyone needs some alone time now and then.

9. Have you ever been on TV?

Yep! When I was in high school, my vocal ensemble sang at a local National Day of Prayer meeting, and the news covered it. They did a close up of me singing in their report.

10. Apple or pumpkin pie? (Don't be greedy.)

Pumpkin. Cooked fruit is so overrated.

11. How many magazine subscriptions do you have?

3 - Reader's Digest, Cook's Illustrated, and Everyday Food. Unless you count the subscriptions I've ordered for my kids - then it'd be 5.

12. What lesson do you have to keep re-learning?

That absolutely nothing in this world satisfies like Jesus.

Please Knock Me Out Now

I've been on a long trip with the family. All nine of us packed into two vans. We drove to St. Louis and back. Forgive me in advance for the picture order. I don't know what blogger did to inhibit the moving around of pictures but they did and I don't have the patience to deal with it. I'm lucky to have actually gotten all these uploaded.
One thing that I really miss about "the north" is the fall colors.

We visited the arch in St. Louis, of course. That was fun. The girls had a good time with that.

We rode the Incline railway in Chattanooga, TN. That was interesting.

We walked about 2/3 of the way across the Walnut St. Bridge over the Tennessee river in Chattanooga. You can't see it but behind us was a wall of rain heading our way and we had to turn around and get back to the vans to escape the rain before we could get all the way across.

We visited the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY. I was disappointed that I couldn't take any pictures inside the museum itself. I was also disappointed that I was not able to purchase so much as a fat quarter while in the home of quilting in America. What's with that? I tried to go into Eleanor Burns' Quilt In a Day shop. There was a sign on the door that said "will be back at 1:30." It was after 2. Darn. Oh well. I bet it's more fun during the annual quilt show anyway. The quilts inside were simply beautiful though. Del and Dad were joking about how boring it was going to be but both were impressed with the museum. And that's sayin' something.

Lily enjoying the view from the arch in St. Louis. That's the Mississippi river below. Just in case you didn't know that.

I took a picture similar to this one when we were in St. Louis when Ella was 8 months old. It was just Del and Ella with the arch behind them.

We went to the St. Louis Science Center. That's fun!! Here I am holding a South American hissing cockroach. I almost died!

In Chattanooga we visited the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park. It's a Civil War site. Very interesting! I really enjoy visiting history like that. Ella picked me a flower.

Here's the view from the mountain that the Union army had. That is the Tennessee river and Chattanooga below.

At the St. Louis zoo there was this cool drinking fountain. I was thoroughly impressed with the zoo. It's free to get in and you get up close to the animals. And they had a lot of really interesting animals and all were active. The worst part was that parking was $11 but you can park on the street for free. The zoo is located in Forest Park and there are tons of things to do there but we didn't have time to do anything other than the zoo.

Here's Ella snagging a red leaf at the zoo.

The whole reason we went to St. Louis was to visit Del's family. In the picture from left to right are: Aunt Brenda and Lily, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Reed, Granny, my mom and Great Aunt Vera. On the floor of course are me and Del, Anna, Rachel, Sarah, Ella and my dad. We saw a couple of cousins also but forgot to get a picture.

We also saw Del's nephew. Here is his daughter with Anna. Dariana was such a sweet girl. Her mom is expecting and she will be a great big sister!

5 O'Clock Someday

This is what Andrew will look like at 5 o'clock in 20 years or so. Isn't he cute?

Why is it that the meals they like the most are also the messiest?

Random Dozen

1. On an average, how often do you splurge and buy something for yourself?

I splurge in spurts. Sometimes I buy something little for myself four days in a row, and then I go weeks with nothing. Probably on average, I get something 3 or 4 times a month - even if it is just a gourmet coffee when I'm at the grocery store!

2. What is the last creative project you began/finished?

If this has to be began AND finished...wow, probably a set of knit baby hats before Andrew was born almost 11 months ago! But I have started some socks (knit) and I've done lots and lots of creative cooking now that I found out we are allergic to food!

3. OK, Goldie Locks, do you consider your house too big, too little or just right?

I think my house is just right! There is plenty of room and I can still keep it all clean most of the time. When our kids are older, we might want a different layout, but I don't think I'd really want anything bigger.

4. What is your favorite outdoor chore?

I'm not sure I can put "favorite" and "outdoor chore" in the same sentence. I hate all outdoor chores. Fortunately, Jerry hates all indoor chores and so we happily do what the other hates!

5. If you knew that cigarette smoking was not bad for your health but would be a weight loss tool, would you use it? Why or why not?

I'd probably be tempted, but opt not to due to the expense and odor. And I'm vain, so the discolored teeth would be a turn-off, too!

6. On a road trip, would you rather drive or ride?

Ride and knit, baby!

7. What do you consider a trivial pursuit?

My biggest trivial pursuit is keeping up with a couple reality TV shows that I like. It is quite trivial.

8. This weekend, we downloaded the movie "Duplicity" with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Within 5 minutes, I was bored and annoyed, but I kept watching 5-10 minutes at a time hoping it would get better between small chores. I finally gave up and Jorge watched it alone, and then regretted wasting that time because he disliked it intensely, too. So ... how long do you watch a movie or read a book before giving up on it?

I used to not be able to put a book down once I started it out of some weird sense of duty to the book. I'm totally over that. If I am not hooked in the first chapter (book) or 10 minutes (movie), I move on.

9. Is there a song that you really love but are embarrassed to admit because it's not cool or it's racy or because it's by Hall and Oates?

"White Trash Wedding" by the Dixie Chicks. I don't know why I love that song, and other than Jerry, no one else knew until now...

10. On a scale of 1-10 (10 = extremely) how spontaneous are you?

4

11. Are you a food and/or beverage snob?

Yes. Except when it comes to junk food. I'll eat store brand Oreos with no problem.

12. Who/What are you trying to control in your life?

I'm so busy trying to keep up, I don't have time to try to control anything. I'd do a rotten job at it, anyway!

In Search of the Soapscuminator

I hate cleaning showers. Now I know that "hate" is a strong word, and we really should say "dislike," but really? I hate cleaning showers. My shower is huge, which is great when one is shaving, but not so great when one is cleaning. It is marble on two sides and glass on two sides, and it is really hard to keep clean. When I cleaned it today, I found myself wondering, "Why is it that a cleaner that says it cleans soap scum really cannot get it off the glass in my shower? And why is it that a cleaner with bleach (which is needed for shower mold) cannot seem to rid my shower of soap scum?" (Not that I have shower mold or anything... *ahem* We'll just think of this as more of a hypothetical post.)



I grew up using the Scrubbing Bubbles brand cleaner. My mom is one of the people I know that actually keeps a clean house all the time. She'd tell you otherwise, but I know better. When she says she needs to clean house, there is usually a stray dead spider in a corner, and a few dead leaves that have blown in, and two spots on the tile floor. That's it. Anyway, I always figured that if this was her cleaner of choice, it must be a good one. But now that I am keeping my own house clean, I am not so sure. I guess maybe if you use it after every shower or two, it might do a good job; but let's be realistic here. I am a homeschooling mom of three littles. I am lucky to clean my shower every week.

After realizing that my shower was going to need something with more muscle, I bought this Lysol cleaner with bleach. It says it cuts shower mold and soap scum, but in real life? Not so much. I followed the directions and sure enough! Whamo, presto! My mold - er, hypothetically speaking... - was gone! But even with some scrubbing, the glass still has a nasty film of soap scum on it. And really, a cleaner with fumes that make all of my mucus membranes scream and run for the hills is just not for me.

What I need is the ultimate Soapscuminator. Does it exist? Is there actually a cleaner out there that does it all? I want a cleaner that is cheap, that kills any science projects threatening to take over, that cuts all the soap scum, and that isn't totally toxic. Is that really too much to ask? I mean, I spent the majority of my childhood in the 80's, so I learned that I can have it all! Right?

For example, I am a big fan of Comet cleaner. I get the store brand for $.50 a can and use it to scrub my kitchen sink, my counter tops, and clean the insides of my toilet. And it works great!

Hmmm...I wonder if it will cut soap scum? It says it will, so maybe I will try it. I also want to try making some cleaners that are more natural and economical. I found this page of cleaner recipes that looks interesting. Also, About.com has a page of cleaner recipes under their Frugal Living section. I also found these pages of recipes. What do you use? Have you had any better luck with shower cleaning than me?

I Dream of Vita-Mix

You are looking at a picture of my newest big-ticket wish item: the Vita-Mix Super 5200. This is not just a blender or a smoothie maker. This puppy can grind or blend anything! Wet stuff like a normal blender, or dry stuff like grains, nuts, and beans!! That is why I really dream of it. My grain mill is working well for us and I have been able to make flours out of various grains, but I cannot use it for beans or nuts, which I use almost as much as grains in my new allergy baking and cooking. Check out all the stuff this can do! It even comes in red... Other than the $550 price tag, I can think of no reason not to get one right now!

Is it wrong to dream about kitchen appliances?

A Tale of Two Sisters

I would just like to point out to those of you that take in interest in my family that my last baby is seriously chubby. And really, I'm not sure you truly understand how very chubby she is.

See this baby? She's eight and a half months old. Look how cute she is. Look at her deliciously chubby cheeks. She how she has absolutely no neck at all? I often wonder how it is that she swallows!! She weighs about 21 pounds.
See this cute little girl? She's two years old. She is 17 months older than her little sister, pictured above. When you pick this girl up, it's almost like picking up a feather. I just caught her applying her snack of blueberry yogurt to her legs as lotion. She weighs about 22 or 23 pounds.

Yes, you read that correctly. I now have to share clothes between my 8-month-old and my 2-year-old.

Weird.