Life On The Planet

I Am

at my Mother's. Eating her food. Watching her television. Playing with her computer.

Oh, yeah. And those funny people I live with are here, too. It's good because if they weren't here, I'd miss them. It's bad because I have to share Mom's divine chocolate chip cookies. It's always a toss up!

Tomorrow we go to the farm. You remember the farm, don't you? Aunt Sis lives there.

She makes cookies, too.

I am happy.

Twinkles, Twinkles, Little, um...Rabbit

Introducing the newest inhabitant on the Planet...

Twinkles! It's a rabbit. Dr. R. will be coming by some time this week to tell us if Twinkles is a him or a her. The CFO's grandfather gave it to us. Twinkles is really kind of cute, in a fuzzy sort of way.

We are all excited to have a new member in our family. Some of us are more excited than others.

Right, Scratchy? No, no one called you for lunch. Go away.

Speaking of rabbits, we saw this sign while we were in Louisiana. You can't see the T from the road.

Grammar, spelling and interfaith relations all trampled upon in one fell swoop.

I removed the phone number in case you were tempted.

Crawfish!

 

It's what's for dinner!

Happy Tired

Here we are in scenic Carencro, Louisiana, enjoying life and eating well. The kids and I arrived last night after an uneventful drive down. We were all pooped, as we had spent the rest of the weekend camping for Tiger's Cub Scout Graduation! We no longer have a Cub Scout. It was a bittersweet moment.

Sal helpfully packed the air mattress for us. Alas, it was the one with the hole in it.

Last week's exhaustion began Monday when Sal's Scoutmaster told me that Sal would need full Native American regalia for Saturday night's ceremony. Apparently they don't sell that at J.C. Penney. (You've got it right, I had to make it.) It was a hectic week, but the finished product was worth the effort.

I'll post photos of the cultural masterpiece a.s.a.p. 

Today was spent cleaning up for Mom, who recently had her hip replaced and isn't quite up to it, and doing odd jobs.

Shopping tomorrow with a side trip to our favorite Chinese restaurant will be fun. Later in the week we hope to make it to Old Tyme Grocery in Lafayette for po-boys. I'll feel like I'm in college again!

No school for the kids this week!

How will they ever survive?

Life is good for the planeteers in Louisiana. Exhausting, but good.

Dear God,

Thank You for a lovely Mardi Gras.

There are NO PARADES here with people throwing things to us. However, we especially appreciate NOT having a TORNADO this year.

Hunkering down in the Nave with the youth group last year, while the sirens screamed and the wind roared, was not fun. (Just in case I forgot to tell you before.)

Tomorrow we fast. Tonight we FEAST!

Amen.

P.S.

We wish we were in Louisiana!

Maybe next year?

Amen (again)

It's Almost!

It's almost the night before Christmas. A Cajun Night Before Christmas, that is.

Y'all pass a good one, you hear?

We Move North

and it SNOWS in Louisiana. It's just wrong, wrong, wrong!

Home

The trip home went well for most of us. Aussie Kim and I listened to The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life on CD. The kids mostly slept, played with their electronics and complained that we were listening to The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life on CD. Margins of safety in investments have limited appeal to the fourteen and under demographic. One highlight of the trip was paying $1.99 a gallon for gas in Jackson. $1.99! Oh, happy day.

This morning, Tiger got up and said, "What are we doing today?"

"Math," I told him, "and spelling, and Greek..."

I could be wrong, but I don't think he's happy to be back.

Blog Breaks, Louisiana, Halloween & Driver's Ed

I've been enjoying a pleasant, though unplanned, break from blogging. After Sal and my folks got back to Memphis from Korea they had a day of rest. Then we all piled into Mom and Dad's minivan and headed south to Louisiana. Home, sweet home. Does the sight of Live Oaks give you the warm fuzzies? It should.

The kids had asked to spend Halloween with my folks. They live on a dead end road, and Halloween in their neighbor hood is pretty much a giant block party. (Very kid friendly with none of the scary stuff.) Obi-Wan and Lady Liberty raked in the loot. Sal decided he is too old to trick-or-treat, but he is definitely not too old to swipe his siblings' candy. The Hayleys (of momandkidsathome fame) came over, as well as some of The C.F.O.'s relatives. They're the ones who visisted us during Gustav, so it was nice to see them during a non-hurricane related event.

Earlier in the week, we went to visit my aunt and the farm. Dana, over at Principled Discovery, had a post recently about homeschoolers and driver's ed. Sal will probably be taking driver's ed. in the spring, however this week he had an old fashioned driver's ed. course at the farm. He drove the minivan around the barnyard. I figure he's the third generation to learn to drive there. Hey, it worked for the rest of us! The good news for my parent's minivan - no more cattle in the barnyard means cleaner tires. Eww.

One last thing, yesterday was my grandmother's birthday. Now, I'm not going to tell you how old she is because, well, I value my life. HOWEVER, I will say the her next birthday is going to be a big one!!! Happpy Birthday, Grandma!

I have to get ready to hit the road. Aussie Kim is picking us up on her way back from Houston. Think Thelma and Louise with five kids. And furniture from IKEA. Woo-Hoo. Boy, do we ever know how to travel!

 

 

 

We've Been in a Low Tide

I had ambitious plans for constructive learning with the younger two while Sal was traipsing through Korea with my parents and my sister, Aunt the Major. We were going to delve into  ancient cultures, memorize the bones of the human body, catch up on Greek,... The reality of what actually happened has been quite different. Stuff just got in the way. The car had to go to the shop. We all got sick. Tiger had a birthday. (And, as I am certain you know, there is NO SCHOOL on Tiger's birthday!)

All of this, however, doesn't mean that learning didn't take place. While curled up sniffling on the couch, we watched videos of ancient American civilizations. We read books and colored in our Anatomy and Physiology coloring book. We listened to the new Mozart CD that the grandparents brought us. We looked on the internet to see exactly how Lysol works to kill cold germs, the nasty little monsters. We've just been in what one of Butterfly's favorite authors (and one of my favorite bloggers) Melissa Wiley refers to as Low Tide in our Tidal Homeschooling.

Sal and my parents are coming home today, and we have another week of Low Tide learning to look forward to while on our trip to Louisiana. After that, I'm sure the High Tide will come in. By then we'll be ready to ride the wave.