HERE is a page you might want to check out, Lois. It has some really pretty vinyl decals.

I can't wait until my iris are blooming. I need to get out there and pull the weeds away from them or I won't even know when they start blooming. Last year I was out long before this with the weed killer and had the grass under control but it seems like it was warmer, earlier and I was able to work out there before they got this big. Some of the iris leaves are a foot high already.

Sofia is still holding out on me. I thought she was going to have them puppies last night when it was storming so bad. She doesn't do storms very well and she was really stressed out. I stayed up until 2am to keep an eye on her but she finally calmed down when it quit raining so I went to bed.

I fixed a yellow cake after supper tonight and we had strawberries and cake for dessert. Thanks Rachel, she brought them back from Georgia on her last trip there. I could founder myself on them strawberries and I think I may have!

Here they are!

We have 5. She did great, no problems. Took about 3-4 hours in all. We have 3 girls and 2 boys. They are little bitty buggers, Sis can fit 2 in her hands and her hands are not very big!

Here is Sofia, she is next but I think she has about another week. Poor baby, I don't know how she gets around. Look at that big belly!

We have puppies!

I know this is not a real good picture but she was busy and didn't have time to pose for the camera. We were gone to town earlier and when we came home she had 2 already. She had another just when I got to her and now it is 6 pm and we have 4. That could possibly be all but we wont know for a couple more hours. I'll get back with you later this evening with some more pictures.

Well, Hildie ate a good supper tonight so I am not expecting any puppies for at least the next 12 hours. They usually go off their feed when birth is eminent. I will be home tomorrow if she decides to start then. Most likely she will wait until Sunday when I have other places to be.

Wasn't this a beautiful day today? I love it! Tonight is the first night that we haven't needed a fire in the stove. Sis and I lay in the hammock for a little while this morning then she wanted me to play badminton with her. She had planted the net under some trees so that didn't work real good. We went to the shop and I worked on ebay for a little while. I ran out of stuff to put on so we took the rest of the day off and went to see Lois and Timmy. Timmy was sick, had a fever and wasn't very active but he was happy to see Sis. Thanks, Lois for the good lunch. Tell Kenny it was good. Terry enjoyed his tonight too.

We left there at 4:30 and went to the Leavenworth library. This was family movie night and they were showing Zathura. We didn't have a chance to see it when it was in the theaters so we thought we would check it out. There were only about 6 or 7 of us there but that was all right. They served popcorn and water to drink. It was a good movie, I liked it.

I don't have a lot to say tonight but was browsing some of my favorite Home School blogs and came across something I found interesting. When I decided to home school Sis back in the first grade there were some objections of course. From what I thought were unlikely sources, Family(In-Laws) and church. At that time I did not know how to respond to get my point across about how and why I choose this route. This homeschool blogger what I always wanted to say in words. Go Here to read it. It is kinda long but she has a lot to say, just skip around and get to the good parts.

We are on puppy watch this week. I have the girls separated from the 'pack' and set up in their 'nursery'. I am hoping for some news by Friday at least. Hildie should be first, then Sofia about a week later. Although Sofia looks a lot bigger then Hildie. This is always a stressfull time. Especially when they choose to have the puppies on the weekend when the Vet is not standing by. We always seem to get through it, with a lot of prayer.

Sis done went and did it this time! She actually cooked supper all by herself tonight. I am so proud of her! It was just spaghetti of course, but she did not complain at all. All I did to help was poured the boiling water off the spaghetti for her. She doesn't eat garlic bread with hers so she didn't remember to put that in the oven early enough so I had to wait on that but it was all good. Did I mention that I was proud of her? Now that she has accomplished that, it is time to try something else, like meat loaf or something.

Well, we finally have the house to our selves again. Chelsea stayed here for 4 nights! Don't these kid's parents ever worry about where their kids are and what they are up too? Don't the parents ever miss their kids? I know it is different if it were a family member, you know pretty much what is happening with your kid and don't have to worry but most of these kids are not family. I know Timmy said he wants to stay 5 days and Lois probably needs the break. Just give me a couple days off and we'll be open for business again. Maybe that is the same reason everybody ends up over here, Mommy needs a break?

Sis had a friend over today and it is so hard for them to keep entertained all day at the shop so I spent the morning here cleaning my kitchen, straightening the living room and vacuuming floors. Headed out about 2 pm. Sis wanted to rent some more movies to watch in her new DVD player so we picked out 2. I went to the shop and packed this weeks sales for shipping tomorrow. Got home just before DH and managed to actually cook some supper. Well, the turkey and stuffing casserole did come out of a box and the biscuits came out of a can and the green beans came out of a can but I did fry the bacon to go in the green beans. Does that count for cooking? It will have to in my house, that is about all you are going to get.

Well, we have a house full tonight Sis had her birthday party and she is having 3 for a sleepover. Jess came for a couple hours but didn't get to stay tonight. Rachel came and brought Greg and she went to Mom's work to sleep. They've had a lot of fun, had pizza rolls, chips, fruit cups for supper with a piece of brownie cake and and some ice cream for dessert. Sis had a pinita for them to bust and she got a Twister game from Rachel. We got her a DVD player so they have been busy. It is past my bed time so I think I will call it a day.

We were sitting here watching tv tonight and noticed a commotion upstairs in Sis's bedroom. She was down here and so were all the dog. It was too much noise to one cat so I went to check it out. The cat was up there but he was stalking something. I looked around and saw a Starling sitting on a picture frame! Sis insisted that it was the Starling we had raised from a baby a few years back but I don't believe it. Her bed room is under the eaves and connects with the attic of the porch. There is a small piece of board missing in her wall and you can look out and see inside the attic of the porch. I am assuming that is where it came from. We had to chase it down a while until it flew by Sis and she caught it in mid air. Of course she ask to keep it but that is out of the question. She took it outside and let it go. It is much happier now.

I feel so sorry for Jess, she didn't get to stay the week with Sarah Beth. Mom and Dad apparently had a big fight last night and he has finally had enough. He came by the shop to tell Jess the he was divorcing her Mom. Actually it's her grandma, her real mom and dad go a divorce when she was little and she was adopted and is being raised by her grandma. How devastating is that to a 13 year old? It has to be the worst thing you could ever want to hear! She cried then fell asleep on the couch. Tonight when we came home her mother called her to say hello and I guess he hadn't told her yet because she seemed suprised to hear it. She insisted that Jess come home and that is the last place Jess wanted to be. There was nothing we could do to help her and she was heartbroken. I would not wish that situation on any child. Just makes me hug my kid a little harder and tell her I love her.

I know there were a lot of he's and her's in there but I didn't want to put any names. I hope you can figure it out. It is just a sad situation.

Well how was that for the first day of spring? We had a skiff of snow, just enough to look pretty but it didn't stick to the roads. I like that part. I hope it is winter's last gasp effort to stay alive and that it is all over now. I am looking forward to some warm weather.

Terry said he could live with this hair do, I just don't know if I can. I don't like the blond but the style will work.

Pssst, it aint real! did I fool you?

This hair is even thicker then mine, What do you guys think? Can I pull it off? Will my hair cooperate? I like the fact that Terry said he could live with it. Not the blond part, though.

Yes Yvonne, I have thought about going shorter. Just grazing the shoulders. I have even thought about a boy cut or a pixie cut but I didn't hold that thought very long, just when I am really mad at my hair! I think I would like it parted on the side with almost chin length, swept back bangs. I don't know if I am explaining it right, I'll have to find a picture. At the Isaacs concert last night, one of the singers had just what I wanted and I mentioned it to Dear Husband tonight at the supper table. Well, you can imagine how that was received. Not too good. When I mention that I want to cut it is the only time I ever hear him say anything about my hair. Otherwise it's like he doesn't even know I have hair. I can even ask him questions like, How does this look? or Do you like it like this and his response is, "Huh?" or "Whatever". But mention cutting it and THEN I get a response! Well...... Now that I got that off my chest, let's talk about something else.


Lois, where have you been? You fussed at me when I skipped a few days. Now it's my turn to fuss at you!


Yes Yvonne, someday we will have to meet. How far are you from Indianapolis? Would love to give you a hug, you feel like family already.


I found a picture of the lady I was talking about, Sonia Isaacs. Last night her hair and bangs were a little longer but this is basically talking about.

Just sitting here waiting for the girls to get ready to go to the shop so I thought I would write a few lines. Looks like we will have Jess all week, seems to have been some "trouble" at home. I am just glad to be here for her to come to.

They dismissed church last night so everybody could go to hear the Isaacs sing at Hillview Church. It was a nice crowd, about 600 or more maybe. They are a very popular Bluegrass Gospel group, a family of Mom, 2 girls, a boy and a son-in-law. It was good, they can play and sing.

We had a good day on ebay Sunday, If you haven't noticed go to my ebay page and look in the yellow box on the left. Put a check on the box for 'Completed Items' then just under that click on 'Show Items'. You'll see what a good day it was. It just makes up for last week. We went to an auction and left almost $900.00 poorer but Terry must know what he is doing, it paid off this week!

Anybody know of a sawmill where we can get some firewood? :) Terry will be cutting fire wood today, I hear that a snow is coming and we are out of wood!

I have fought with my hair ever since I was out of pig tails! It is very fine, very straight,wont hold a curl more then about 30 minutes, 2 minutes if the weather is humid, and it is thin. It lays flat to my head and I struggle not to look like a drowned rat. Well, I don't struggle too hard, I just let it look like a drowned rat most of the time. When I was going to the beauty salons, about 20 years ago, I would get a perm and it would have a little height to it and hold a curl for couple months but since I got married I got lazy and have worn it French braided for about 15 years. Hubby likes it that way so it has been too easy to get complacent and not take the effort. I am ready for a change, but don't know what to do. I love the old fashioned hairdos, like when the ladies had long hair and wore it up with something nice to frame the face. No can do. Not enough hair or the right kind. It is long enough, to my waist but too thin.

Does any one ever get perms these days? I was listening to the radio today and they were talking about how this is the 100th anniversary of the perm. They said that back in the 80's perms were really popular and it sounded like now, nobody gets perms. They said that if you go in to a salon they will do it because it is a big money maker but from the way they talked, it has gone out of style. I was not aware of that, but you have to remember, I have not been in a salon in 15 years either. Am I out of touch now? I was even thinking of getting a perm but I guess I can't now, I would be out of style.

Is the picture in the previous post showing on your computer? I used a different server for that picture and it is now showing on my computer, I can't figure out why.

Beautiful photos of the flower gardens, Sharon. You can tell they have not suffered through about 6 weeks of 90 degree weather and no rain. Then tell me what they would look like.

The birds are setting on at least 2 eggs again. I am not sure these will hatch either. I moved them to their new digs, gave them a bigger nest box and am trying to keep the area a little more moist but I moved the birds and eggs in the middle of trying to set and they didn't sit on the eggs for about 2 days, until they got used to the new place. It was early in the process so it may not make a difference. I know that they will lay several eggs sometimes before setting so that they will all hatch at about the same time so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I don't know how long we'll have to wait either, I didn't pay any attention to when they started all this.

I have 2 very pregnant dogs and I was hoping the 3rd was pregnant too but it is a little too early to tell about her. I didn't especially want them all to be popping at the same time but I didn't have any say in that department. When these other girls all came in heat at the same time Tabby wanted in on the action too and decided to join the group (can she do that?). She had a 3 month old pup that was still nursing at the time but she did come in heat too. I tried my best to keep her separated from Blade but he is a very persistent boy. Tabby is very fat now, weighs 20 lbs, but I am not sure yet if she is pregnant or just fat. I had planned to get her fixed about now but I'll have to wait a couple weeks now to make sure.

I am ready to go to Flat Gap any time now, if any body wants to volunteer to chauffeur me. I can pay for the gas and wear and tear on the vehicle. I just don't trust my car to go that far. She won't have a puppy for me for a while so I guess we'll have to make two trips. I don't really want to hang on to this puppy much longer, especially with 2 or maybe even 4 litters of puppies coming.

Oh Lois, I forgot to say thank you for the loaf of homemade bread too. I had to have a piece as soon as I got home and one for breakfast this morning. Terry had a piece of it toasted for breakfast too. I'll just have to blame those extra pounds on you, I guess.

I think I like this profile picture better. She suits me.

How is it?

I guess I am done fiddling with this page, for a little while at least. How does it strike you? It it a little too cheesy? If you don't like you probably wont have to wait very long before it will change again. Now that I figured out how to change the html codes and fix it how I like it, it is too much fun to just fix it one way and leave it.

I am posting this blog through my Flicker website so I am not sure how it will look when I post.

Thank you Lois for the good bbq venison for supper. It was good. And the macaroni and cheese but I had to insist that Timmy eat it, he said he didn't like it with corn in it. I had a dish made that I had mixed a little whole kernel corn in and I like it but I guess Timmy didn't. He is always wanting ice cream when he is over here so Sarah B. fixed him a bowl but it was strawberry swirl so he decided he didn't want that either. These kids have strange tastes sometimes.

Lois got on to me for not blogger for a while so here it is. I guess sometimes you just have to be in the mood to do this but once you get started it isn't so bad.

I was just browsing some of my favorite blogs and came across this on Ernest's page and I had to share it. I love it! Check out his blog, it is an interesting read.

Been playing with my template a little bit. Please forgive the mess and just step around it when you come to visit. I will get it straightened out again pretty soon.I will probably change the look and style of my title box and also change the picture. At least i have something in there to hold my place in the template page until I can get a more appropriate picture.

Another day off today, you gotta love them days off! I sat in front of this computer until noon then rushed around cleaning and sweeping. Still need to clean in the bedroom.

Wasn't that some storm last night? Our power went off about 10:30 last night so we went to bed. It was only off for about an hour though. Just long enough for you to get to sleep and then everything comes on again and wakes you up. I tried to turn everything off before I went to bed but I missed the TV and one light.

She's at it again! Designer,creator, Miss Sarah Beth K. has designed a new line of clothing for the pre-teens of this world. With the look of blue jeans but the feel of a skirt, any girl would be in style wearing this latest creation of this celebrity designer. You just take and old pair of your favorite jeans that have shrunk in the dryer(ya, right) and cut them up the inseam then have your mom sew a peice of your favorite material in the opening to create this one of a kind piece of fashion designed and created by Sarah Beth K.

Sarah Beth was being a little lazy with her school work today and I had to give her the lecture that if she is not more diligent and putting more effort into learning then she may not pass the test and I might get into trouble with the authorities if she is not learning properly. I said that if she does not learn what she should and somebody comes by someday to check on her work that she might get sent to public school. That did it! she started crying, she said she would rather go to jail then go to public school! I think she got the message.
She likes that fact that she can sleep later, eat when she wants, be done by noon if she wants and to be able to go places during the day if she is through. Public school would cramp her style.

Here is Timmy's birthday serenade.

Happy Birthday, Timmy!

Here is a present for you, click on the word and wait for it to load then have fun!

Lois, hope you had a Happy Birthday!

Lunch at Mom's

Nobody called me to invite me to lunch so I invited myself. I took garlic bread to go with the lasagna and a gallon of ice cream to go with the dinosaur cake. They had those candles that re-light themselves on Timmy's cake so he was a little frustrated because he couldn't open his presents until he blew out the candles. We finally had to extinguish them with a wet paper towel. They put up the pretty border before lunch and I left after they got the counter top in so I don't know what else they did after I left. Mom was real excited to get the counter top finally. Lois made the cute birthday cake. It was good too, apple cake with creme cheese icing. I bought Blue Bunny ice cream and it wasn't the cheapest there but it sure tasted cheap. Maybe I should have gotten the 5 bucks a gallon stuff?

Sharon sent me this information below in email and I thought this might be the best place to share it with you, Lois. Thanks Sharon for sharing it. She said, "Here is something I ran across in the John Lyons discussion board. (He is horse trainer, and a born again Christian) this computer program they are talking about near the bottom of the message sounds interesting. Might help Lois out."



Okay, so the homeschool laws in your state are pretty good! You don't have an attendance requirement, you don't have a requirement on how many hours a day and you don't have a subject/curriculum requirement. AWESOME. You only have to keep a portfolio of some of her work showing her progress and either get her tested or evaluated each year.Do you know the minimum score she must get for you to be able to continue homeschooling? In some states it has to be above the 13th percentile, that's it. NOT that you want your daughter to score badly, but it does take off some of the stress of us homeschooling moms since many frequently struggle with feelings of inadequacy and guilt. Many times we don't take into consideration that our homeschool curriculum is usually a year or two ahead of public school, so even if we get a little "behind" we are still fine. If you have a concern, you can get one of those test study books for her grade level and have her go through it to gauge her progress.Do you know that what takes the average public student to do during a normal school day, the average homeschool student can accomplish in 2-3 hours? You don't have homeroom, recess or lunch. You don't have the time it requires to make 20-30 kids pay attention and answer their questions. Your child doesn't have to sit there doodling while she waits for the other kids to finish their work, and when she has a question she doesn't have to wait in line. She doesn't need 2-4 hours of homework a night because you can tailor her progress to her mastery of the subject matter, and she doesn't have to do 100 problems in order for the teacher to make sure every kid gets it so the test scores improve and the school gets more funding!Your state doesn't require the structure you are talking about, but if you are really wanting structure, my best suggestion is computer curriculum and a laptop. You don't have to buy either the laptop or the curriculum new, either. Many homeschoolers make a copy of the software for the kids to use and then sell the master when they are done, so the disks are like new. Laptops are really coming down in price, and you can get a used one that has the minimum requirements for the software for maybe $200 or even less. Switched On Schoolhouse is excellent curriculum put out by Alpha Omega Publishing. It's based on their Lifepac series. I LOVE it! You plug in what you want the school calendar to be, what subjects you want, and it automatically makes up a lesson plan for you. It's set up for the child to mainly do independent study and has videos of teachers built into the curriculum to help. The best part? It's SELF-GRADING. I would slow the kids down because they would all complete the work more quickly than I could grade it. It also has spelling and vocabulary games built in to help them learn.My homeschooling sister, whatever you are doing, you are doing just fine. We've all been where you are, and we are here to support you.


I have an introductory cd to Switched On Schoolhouse that I ordered years ago. I looked at it once and thought it sounded a little complicated. I don't know if it is really, I haven't really checked it out. It seems like what I am doing is working for us so I won't mess with a good thing. I plan to test Sarah Beth this year to make sure she is up to par then we can decide to continue as we are or make some changes. When I first started Homeschooling I was so determined to make sure she kept up with the public school kids in everything but as I go along I see that sometimes it is better to wait on something until she is ready to learn that. Like for example, I had Mavis, a first grade teacher, test her during first grade and the public school first graders were writing their own stories at the time. Well Sarah Beth failed that miserably, had no idea how to do that. I was worried at first but decided to wait on that and it was in about the 4th grade that she picked that right up and took off with it. Who cares if she can write a story in the first grade. All I care is that she can do it by the time she gets out of school. The same thing happened on a few other things that she can do fine now, we just needed to take our time and work slowly.

Well I guess I better get to work, it is after 12 noon and I have been in front of this computer since about 8:30. Been looking for new pretty pictures to post with my blogs. Found some nice ones so you will see them in the future. I have a huge mound of clean clothes on the couch to fold and floors to sweep, dishes to wash and lunch to eat so I best get a move on!

I've reposted Sharon's Banana Split cake Recipe so it will be in the blog list and not in the comments. You can find it easier that way.

Terry had a piece for breakfast and he liked it. He said,"You won't have any trouble getting rid of that, that is goooood!" I figured I better make him something sweet, he bought a frozen cherry pie at the grocery store last week and paid almost 7 bucks for it. His excuse was that he heard that cherries were good for arthritis so he bought a cherry pie. Sounds like a man's reasoning, doesn't it? Reminds me of Daddy and how he always has to make sure the cake is cut straight. If it isn't cut straight across, he has to be sure and eat the piece that is sticking out so that the cake is cut straight!

BANANA SPLIT CAKE

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese,
room temperature
1 c. powdered sugar
5 tbsp. milk
1 1/2 c. graham
cracker crumbs
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 bananas
1 sm. can
crushed pineapple, drained
8 oz. Cool Whip



Mix graham cracker crumbs with butter and pat into 8 inch square dish for crust. Cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk together. Spread over crust. Slice bananas over cream cheese mixture. Put drained pineapple over bananas. Spread with Cool Whip. Refrigerate. Serve in squares and put a maraschino cherry on each one.