Random Happenings

I've started several posts in my head lately, but I have never gotten around to actually typing them. And for those of you who aren't my facebook friends and assume you are missing vastly exciting things that I am only posting on there--wel, I haven't updated my status either, LOL. Sometimes it just seems like too much effort all around! So here are a few random and undeveloped thoughts of late.

1. Our big project last weekend was my desk. When my family moved to Ohio from Okinawa, my parents bought me a big antique oak teacher's desk at a sale that, if I recall correctly, was at the Springfield Mall, of all places. The desk has a huge oak top with 3 drawers on the left side, one same-sized drawer on the right, a big double-sized drawer also on the right that you can put files and folders in sideways, and a skinny drawer for pencils. When I was on college, Tram, the Vietnamese man who lived with my parents, made Amy and me both hutches to go on the back of our college desks. We use one of the hutches on the back of this big desk now. So, this desk that is over 100 years old has had a good long life--but let's just say it was not made for a military life! The only way to move the desk is to unscrew the top from it, and each time we have moved, it has become less and less stable and secure. The last straw was when we thought we were moving to Guam in Dec. 09, and we got new carpet put in our downstairs. When we put the desk back together ater that, the drawers one by one starting falling into each other and not sliding in and out. So we solved that by just stacking the drawers in various locations on the floor of the study! We knew that eventually we needed to tackle the desk and give it one more shot, and that was last weekend. We took it apart, and Bob used this nylon clamp thing to wrap around each section of the desk. He glued and nailed, and eventually the desk shaped up! I started putting the drawers back in--until I realized they didn't fit! They had also succumbed to old age and started sagging, so Bob had to get back out the clamp and wrap them up as well. So finally all elements are nice and tight again, and we are just waiting for another weekend to put it all back together! Maybe then I'll get around to taking a picture.

2. I never got the vomiting bug that the kids got, but Wednesday I did not feel well at all. I didn't throw up, but my stomach roiled around all day. So we did a minimal amount of school, and I laid around on the couch the rest of the day, reading Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein. It was an interesting book, but I wasn't too alarmed at any of her findings. My girls love princesses and dressing up, but I am not worried that they will "give up everything for a man", a la Ariel, or that they will emulate the latest "older" Disney girl, like Miley Cyrus or whoever. That's where, to be honest, it's really nice to homeschool and not watch much TV, where these things are blasted at kids. I'm definitely a "moderation" mom, so I'm not going to allow anyone to become obsessed about anything. She did have some interesting, if questionable, points. She said that babydolls were invented essentially in the early 1900s as a way to "revive the flagging maternal instinct of white girls, to remind them of their patriotic duty to conceive . . ." Really? What about all those colonial corncob dolls? Girls have always loved babies! Aso, she is definitely not one for traditional values or feminine roles, which is not too surprising considering she is definitely a liberal (always clear to point out how she hopes her daughter explores all of her sexual options, etc.).

3. Micah has been so much happier this past week! Even though he has a little cold right now, he's been sleeping well and playing so nicely, even by himself. Of course, if we don't hear little noises anywhere, that is our clue to jump up and check the stairs--he loves climbing them! Since I realized that he just hasn't gained weight since he started crawling, I have been making a concerted effort to give him tons of extra stuff. So he has been happily munching on whatever table food I can give him, plus English muffins with honey and butter, toast and jam, regular muffins, fruit, whatever. I do think that he is sensitive to milk. It's been tricky to tell because he is also sensitive to hot and cold things, and he'll get a little rash from things like little pieces of ice or rice cereal that is a little too hot. But like I gave him some cornbread (made with milk) last night that was not wam at all, and he got a hive on his cheek--there have been a few things like that lately that have made me think he is reacting to the milk. So that rules out things like yogurt and cheese. After the freedom of this past year of being able to cook whatever without worrying about subbing milk, I am not looking forward to going back! I'm definitely not even going to try peanut butter or any nuts. I need to get a jar of sun butter next time I'm out. I don't really want to start him on soy butter, like Caleb likes.

So there are a few random thoughts to get you caught up on our busy life! You can fill in the rest of the time with school, laundry, cooking, and running people around to various basketball practices and Civil Air Patrol. That's my life!