OK, so maybe cold is a relative term. I know some of you are dealing with below zero temps and nasty stuff falling from the sky, don't judge. I'm the girl that was born and raised in places like Hawaii, Southern California, Southern Arizona. Want to know how to handle life at 105 in July? I'm your girl! In fact, I LOVE the heat. Want to know how to whine and moan about it being 38 in southern Texas? I'm your girl! I would seriously FAIL at being a northerner. In fact, I once spent two winters in Dallas. YOWZA! That did me in on winter for like, the rest of my life.
On a similar note: It's time to teach the ENTIRE family about fireplace safety. In a bout of not being able to sleep last night, I got out of bed at 2am to grab a drink of water. The family room was FILLED with smoke. The fireplace flu had been closed while embers were still burning. How it is the smoke alarm hadn't gone off yet, I don't know. So, here I am trying to close the flu in the dark, running to open the doors in my pjs while it was 27 outside. Yeah, felt great I tell ya. Brrrr! I need to learn to wear socks. (It may indeed help with that whole aversion to winter thing I have going the last few years. HA!)
Another stupid weather thing...there's been a steady drizzle all morning. It's cold. I have an 8 year old. He spent a lot of time this morning staring out the window wishing it would get just a little bit colder and snow. (Frankly, I'm with him. If it's going to be cold and miserable, give us something to make it FUN!) This is also what I love about being a homeschooling mom. I had Jack take his Math test, then we had a lesson about the weather. Not the kind of lesson where it FEELS like school, but the kind of lesson where we go "Hey! Let's Google and see what we can learn about sleet, snow, and other types of winter weather." It was also the kind of lesson where I got to turn it into a Cub Scout belt loop opportunity. Two birds, one stone. I also relearned about grapple. Grapple? Yes, there really is something called grapple that falls from the sky. It's basically soft hail, or snow pellets. If you've ever had Dippin' Dots, then you know exactly what it looks like, but without all the fun colors. (The only reason I know this is because we didn't snow last year. Nope. We got GRAPPLE! Then we got ice. NOT COOL. lol)
I also want anyone out there to fess up...who else has Christmas still up? In our defense, 90% of it is down now. (Happened yesterday.) However, I still have the wreaths on the fireplace and the front door, and my deco mesh garland around my front door. It's so darned cute I don't WANT to take them down. However, my HOA may have something else to say about that. I do plan on running to Hobby Lobby here in a bit, maybe it'll be time to make something cute for Valentine's Day, or better yet, Mardi Gras. (Because I can get away with leaving the Mardi Gras wreath up a few days after VD. WOOT!)
Laissez les bon temps rouler y'all. Stay warm. It's time for this wimp to bundle up and go to the store. (They're predicting ice tonight. Yay. That means go grab the milk and bread we need NOW, because crazy people around here will panic and stock up on groceries as if we'll be frozen in for days or weeks on end.)
e-mealz!
Friday, January 9, 2015
Saturday, January 3, 2015
December 7
On December 7th, 2014, Troy and I decided to take Jackson over to Fredericksburg, TX to see the National Museum of the Pacific War. You see, Jackson is OBSESSED with WWII Naval Battles. OBSESSED. As in he spends more time watching videos of the Pacific battles most days than he does playing Minecraft. (Those of you with Minecraft addicts will understand the enormity of this. LOL)
ANYWAY, what a FABULOUS museum. It took us all day to get through it. The price of admission is for two days, and next time we go back, we will plan on that second day. I learned more in the 8 hours we were there than I learned in high school AND college history classes. (Which mainly focus on the European side of the war.) It is well worth going to see it. They have the main museum, a small one dedicated to Admiral Chester Nimitz, who was born in Fredericksburg, and then, THIS was the cool part, the Pacific Combat Zone. They have a set up like an aircraft carrier hanger deck, then a real life PT boat, then another area where they simulate a Pacific landing several times a year. It is complete with tanks and everything else boys of all ages would love. (We very much plan on taking Jackson back for at least one of these reenactments.)
MY favorite part of the day was the Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony. It was beautiful. They invite Pearl Harbor survivors to come every year. Sadly, there was only one left for the year. We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Jim Hardwick. What a WONDERFUL man. It kills me that we didn't think to ask for his address, as Jackson said after the fact, that he'd sure like to send a thank you letter and a Christmas card to him. HOW SWEET IS MY SON?!?!?! They could have easily spent hours together. It was such a heart warming thing to see, Jackson actively listening to his story, and asking questions about that horrible day. It's been a while since I've seen him so engaged with someone. This, in my opinion, is one of the BEST ways to learn about history, and sadly the men who fought these battles will soon all be gone. Jack is VERY good about spotting people with different service caps on though, and is quick to run up to them and thank them for their service. (He does to anyone in uniform, I LOVE IT! We get PLENTY of opportunities to do so in the San Antonio area.) One of these days I would like to take him to the VFW hall and allow him to talk to the guys that hang out there. They ALWAYS have great stories, and I know Jack would learn plenty about the wars and how they were fought. (Although hopefully without too much gore, because he is still an 8 year old child.)
Anyway, if you're within a reasonable drive time to Fredericksburg someday, I HIGHLY suggest you go see one of the best kept secrets in Texas.
So We ALL know I am not good about keeping up with this blog...
However, It's only been a month, RIGHT? LOL. We're still on Christmas break from homeschool, so there's not a lot in that respect to talk about other than THIS:
Jackson heard me talking about Latin Mass and how I'd love to go someday, but I would have VERY LITTLE clue as to what was being said. He had a REALLY COOL suggestion. "Why don't we learn to speak Latin Mama?" This was right after I published my previous post. He was on me for a few weeks. Well, I posted on Facebook about it, hoping one of my talented linguistic friends would chime in. My very dear cousin Danny, who's a MASTER of languages and a devout Catholic indeed spoke up and was a great help to me. I ended up ordering a Latin curriculum through Seton, as he was not the only one who suggested we learn the ecclesiatical pronunciation of the language. YAY!!! So both Jackson and I will soon be learning Latin. Who knew? Too bad my old Russian courses won't help me a bit in it. HA!
Troy and I have also made the decision to finally start pursuing adoption through DFPS here in Texas. It's a bit of a scary step, but one we feel is right for our little family. Besides, Jackson is always asking when are we going to buy him a baby brother. He's at the point now where he'll even take a sister. (No, don't sweat, we don't want a BABY, just someone close in age to Jackson, but a little younger.) To make matters even more interesting, at least to us, is this saint name generator. I said a quick, meaningful prayer before choosing our family saint for the year. St. Clotilde is who popped up. Divine providence was at work here, as she is the patron saint of...drum roll please...adopted children and parenthood. We will be learning about her all throughout 2015. (Don't be surprised if I talk about her here, as we are striving to be better Catholics and getting our rear ends to mass more than 5 or 6 times a year.)
I would like to sincerely wish you all a Happy New Year and MERRY CHRISTMAS! Yes, it is STILL Christmas. The Christmas season does not end until the Epiphany, which is traditionally January 6th. (12 Days of Christmas.) Many parishes celebrate the Christmas season until the Presentation of the Lord, which is 40 days AFTER December 25th, which happens to be February 2nd. (Some end it a few days earlier than the Epiphany, which is January 4th, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.) Admit it, you're learning more about Catholicism than you wanted to today, didn't you? :) That's OK. It's FUN to learn new things! Trust me, I'm addicted to schooling, which is probably my favorite thing about being a homeschooling mother.
If you would like to use the Saint Generator yourself, head over to Jennifer Fulweiler's blog ConversionDiary.com and use it! She has a great site. (For some reason the link is not posting....)
Jackson heard me talking about Latin Mass and how I'd love to go someday, but I would have VERY LITTLE clue as to what was being said. He had a REALLY COOL suggestion. "Why don't we learn to speak Latin Mama?" This was right after I published my previous post. He was on me for a few weeks. Well, I posted on Facebook about it, hoping one of my talented linguistic friends would chime in. My very dear cousin Danny, who's a MASTER of languages and a devout Catholic indeed spoke up and was a great help to me. I ended up ordering a Latin curriculum through Seton, as he was not the only one who suggested we learn the ecclesiatical pronunciation of the language. YAY!!! So both Jackson and I will soon be learning Latin. Who knew? Too bad my old Russian courses won't help me a bit in it. HA!
Troy and I have also made the decision to finally start pursuing adoption through DFPS here in Texas. It's a bit of a scary step, but one we feel is right for our little family. Besides, Jackson is always asking when are we going to buy him a baby brother. He's at the point now where he'll even take a sister. (No, don't sweat, we don't want a BABY, just someone close in age to Jackson, but a little younger.) To make matters even more interesting, at least to us, is this saint name generator. I said a quick, meaningful prayer before choosing our family saint for the year. St. Clotilde is who popped up. Divine providence was at work here, as she is the patron saint of...drum roll please...adopted children and parenthood. We will be learning about her all throughout 2015. (Don't be surprised if I talk about her here, as we are striving to be better Catholics and getting our rear ends to mass more than 5 or 6 times a year.)
I would like to sincerely wish you all a Happy New Year and MERRY CHRISTMAS! Yes, it is STILL Christmas. The Christmas season does not end until the Epiphany, which is traditionally January 6th. (12 Days of Christmas.) Many parishes celebrate the Christmas season until the Presentation of the Lord, which is 40 days AFTER December 25th, which happens to be February 2nd. (Some end it a few days earlier than the Epiphany, which is January 4th, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.) Admit it, you're learning more about Catholicism than you wanted to today, didn't you? :) That's OK. It's FUN to learn new things! Trust me, I'm addicted to schooling, which is probably my favorite thing about being a homeschooling mother.
If you would like to use the Saint Generator yourself, head over to Jennifer Fulweiler's blog ConversionDiary.com and use it! She has a great site. (For some reason the link is not posting....)
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