Who needs normal!?

You Are 35% Normal

You sure do march to your own beat... But you're so weird, people wonder if it's a beat at all You think on a totally different wavelength And it's often a chore to get people to understand you

How Normal Are You?

The good, the bad ......

Life here in our household has been in a bit of a 'upheaval'...we have had everyone sick on and off for over a week now. I am the only one not to go down before the 'porcelain throne'. I pray that I stay healthy too, because I need to be able to keep working.
I have been very blessed though. A friend sponsored me to go to a womans retreat with my church this past weekend and it was a much needed break and a wonderful weekend. There were so many highlights that I cannot share them all right now.
Yeah...just need to get myself to bed cause I need to wake up and go to work in the morning. Thank you Lord for my job. And that my family is getting healthier everyday.

Time well spent

I don't really do New Year's resolutions. And besides the new year has passed, sorta. But in the light of making improvements, I have been working on one thing. Well on a few maybe but this one is the most important and lasting.
I have been trying to make a point to spend more quality time with my kids. Not just time...but the kind of time that they will remember. You know it is easier to remember the negative things and more difficult to remember all the positive. So I am making an effort to be, on the whole, spending more quality-positive time with my kids. I think this has stemmed from the fact that I am working full time now. I had gone from being a missionary mom who was sometimes not home. To a full time stay at home mom then to a full time at work mom. We have all gone through a lot of changes over the past almost year. I am trying not to raise my voice so much and praise good behavior. It is not any easy job, nobody said it would be easy. But it is so worthy and worth it. My children are so worth it.

Word of explination on the pic's...ok so that is my husband reading our 2 older kids a story, not me. But it is a picture of spending quality time. Just in case you needed an example!

My sweet little felon

Tonight as we left Walmart, the alarm went off. I realize this is nothing new because it goes off for about every other person. The catch was, we had not bought anything. I was only doing a return. I had been in the jewelry section placing an order for a wedding ring (my dear husband had lost his a few months ago). So back to the embarrassing moment...
I happened to have all 4 kids with me and when the alarm went off I turned to them and said "ok, empty you pockets!"
It turns out Little Miss A, the 3 year old had put a ring (big fake one) in the front pocket of her sweater! I asked her what happened and she said it was an accident.
Well, I had let them look at the jewelry while I was busy and I expected her older siblings to keep an 'eye' on her. I guess I was asking for it.
Sheesh, but it was still embarrassing. I did explain to her that that is called stealing. Even if she didn't realize what she had done.

No school--for some

Working for the school district+school cancelled = No work!!

Yeah I stay home today with the kids! So the only bummer is I woke up at 6:15...oh well.

But we did make a funky little leaf filled snowman the size of my 3 year old. Can you see the brown hat and the carrot? Hey, I'm from California and have been in Mexico for many years so this little snow is a big deal for us! You better not be laughing at us! The backyard looks even more white.

And 'our' school was not cancelled. Meaning, because we homeschool and becacause my husband is a diehard (I say that in a loving, endearing and affecionate way) my kids are still being schooled. Which is why I am doing my 'thing' and catching up on housework...oops..and blogging! But it sure does look pretty outside!

Honesty of a 3 year old

I don't know what it is about my 3 year old but she is always saying the darndest things.
She has a nack for being uncommonly and comicaly honest.

Little Miss A. tends to be the louddest of the bunch and I have to ask her frequently to 'bring it down a notch', to calm down and so one time I asked her to "turn her volume down"
Well she so matter of factly told me, "my volume is broken."
Well, yeah...I guess that goes without saying...never mind.

And today after she was done using the bathroom I told her to remember to wash her hands and that I could turn off the light for her. This is because the light is in a strange place in our bathroom, it is by the sink and nowhere near the door. Many times she has just climbed on the sink herself and turned it off. Well obviously I am trying to break her of that, but she informed me, "I can climb up there and turn it off mommy, I'm a monkey."
Yes my dear you are, but monkeys can still fall and bust their cute little monkey heads. No I did not say that to her, but man she can be so very honest that it cracks me up.

Family Time!

I am so very grateful that I have a job, really I am. But I am also grateful for a 4 day weekend. Martin Luther King day is on Monday. Well since we home school, we'll do a short day. My husband is the one who stays at home and does the schooling, cooking and cleaning. Yes, he is a rare breed.
But we will have a lesson about who Martin Luther King is and how he affected history. That will be the extent of our school on Monday. Sounds fair to me. If they are not going to have a full day of school and Mommy is off of work (I work for the local school district) and gets to spend time with them, then it makes sense to learn why.
I am looking forward to the extra day with the kids and hubby, of course!

On that note, we had some bad weather here and the power went out temporarily. So we all sat down and played a game together. We do have game nights sometimes, but why is it that when the power goes out we actually spend quality time together as a family? Do you find this to be true?

Thank You!

Ladies..I cannot say enough thank you's for praying for my family!! We are up to date with the car now! There are other utilities that are outstanding but we are believing that the rest will come in.

I was talking with a friend, who has been going through even more difficult trials than I, that it is at times like this that we must choose peace. There can be so much stress and trials taking place in your life and you really don't know how to respond, or you respond purely from emotion that makes it difficult to funcion. This also affects those around you and it is a challenge when you have little onnes that depend on your care. I have to chose peace and to be at peace. I do not always do that...I am human. But I have been doing better.

I really do appreciate your prayers, please do continue to pray for us when you think of us.

Thank You!!

Prayer

I do not know how many actually read my blog daily, weekly or even at all. But I need to put a prayer request out. It is one I am sure we have all experienced at one time or another.

We have been going through a difficult time financially for a while, but things started to get a little better after I got my job. We had a recent setback and now we are back to square one. Or shall I say negative square one.

It is no fun to blog about these kind of situations but it is life and it is where we are at. A while back we were too close to being evicted and now we are too close to our car being taken (repo). There are other things as well but it is the whole financial can of worms.

I humbly ask for your prayers.
Thank you

Christmas break is over...WAaaah!

I think I have enjoyed my Christmas break too much. Being at home with my Hubby and kids has been so very nice. I work for the school district so I got about 2 weeks off from work! Wonderful!
But now I groan....uuugh.....I go to two staff develpment days and then to work again on Monday. I think I am pretty well developed, must I go?
'Sigh'... it is like the kid having to wake up and go to school and he groans...."just 5 more minutes ma!"

Yeah...I just want a few more days!!! Please!

Anguish Languish

This is something I just had to share!! We went to the library today and picked up the Children's Almanac of Words at Play by Willard R. Espy
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Lettuce Pray
When you hear the word anguish, you aren't likely to think it's English. And if you hear the word languish you aren't likely to think it is language. But if you hear someone saying "anguish language" you might think he or she is saying "English language." A man named Howard Chase discovered you can tell whole stories, and have them understood, by replacing most of the words with words that sound a little bit like them but mean something entirely different. Anguish languish was the name he gave to this kind of wordplay. Here is the Lord's Prayer in Anguish languish:

Hour Fodder wart unleavened,
Hottub beehive mane.
Tyke idiom crumb, Tie wilt bean numb,
Inert acid dizzy emblem.
Goofy dismay ordeal Libra head,
Ant reefer keeper dentist.
Leaners snot undo ten patients,
Buddy liverwurt frumpy fill,
Four thigh next seeking dumb,
Deep powwow, auntie chlorine
Fur river. Almond

-Mark Burstein

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P.S. You'll probably have to read it a few times and you actually sound like you are reading it with a transilvanian accent!

Christmas Joy

This Christmas went well, in spite of it being the first Christmas that we have not been with my family in California. It has been the most difficult on the kids. It has been almost a year since we moved to Texas and the change has been a challenge for us all. The kids still ask about going back to Mexico and see our friends and see Grandma and Grandpa in CA. Sigh...Lord willing we will see them soon. Grandpa and Grandma may be coming in the spring.

One of the most precious treasures I had this Christmas, I received Christmas night.....
We took a drive around town that night to look at all the pretty lights that were up in the neighborhood. In between the ooh and aahs, we had a very meaningful conversation with our two eldest children. It went something like this....

As we looked at the big beautiful homes with their elaborate light decorations, I thought out loud..."I wouldn't mind living there, what a beautiful home".

Well my daughter responded with, "Yeah, when I grow up I'd like to have a home like that, but, I probably will never be able to afford it".

This launched us into a conversation about education, jobs and life in general.
I realize as I share this with the blog community that some of you have children and understand that wonderfulness of a opportunity like this. We got to talking about 'what I want to be when I grow up' and 'what I enjoy doing now and how that can become my future job'. You see, what struck me the most are the ages of my two eldest. My daughter is eight and my son is six. Yet he tells me that when he is a teenager he wants to go to college and learn about math and when he gets 'taller', he wants to be a math teacher. It is true...he has a head for math, just like his Daddy. My daughter says she wants to be a designer, either clothes or interior decorating. Hmm..., when I was younger...so did I. She has an eye and nack for detail. We both do, sometimes to a fault...but thats beside the point.

As we drove around I just basked in the wonderfulness of our conversation as we talked about ambitions and being able to do anything you want to do. As long as you set your mind and heart to it. As long as it is something you love and enjoy. And yet it will still take perseverance. There will be extremely hard times and lean times. But if you keep on, keeping on then you will arrive at the goal you aimed for. As I think about it. It is something that my husband and I and our family are working on even at this time. That evening ended with a sense of purpose for the future, for them and for me.

What I love is that we home school and they can do more if they would like or learn about something that interests them whenever they like (not to say that if you don't home school you can't do that). It is a freedom that my husband took advantage of as he asked them on Christmas morning and again the day after Christmas...."Hey, after we have breakfast we'll get ready for school, ok?"....
Without blinking or looking up from what they were doing, they both responded..."Ok".
Well, they do get a break and they are excited about it. But they did confess that they miss school, are my kids abnormal?...nah!

Answers to Holiday Song Quiz

I thought it would be good to give the answers to the Holiday songs before the end of the Holiday Season and beginning of the new year.

starting with number 2....

2...Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

3...Let it Snow

4...Joy to the World

5...Oh, Christmas Tree

6...I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

7...Silver Bells

8...I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

9.Little Drummer Boy

10...Walking in a Winter Wonderland

11...Oh Come All Ye Faithful

12...All I Want for Christmas (Is my Two Front Teeth)

Holiday Song Quiz

I thought these would be fun to try in leu of the Christmas Season. I'll do the first one and let you try at the others. I did not think them up myself, but can any of you think of any others? I have a total of 32..but I think I'll only post some of them....have fun!

What is the real name for the Christmas Song?

1. Colorless Yuletide
-White Christmas

2. Castanea seed Vesticated in a Confligration

3. Frozen Precipitation Commence

4. Delight for this Planet

5. Oh Yuletide Tall Woody Plant

6. I Witnessed Maternal Parent Osculating Bewhiskered Male in Carmine Ensemble

7. Metallic Element AG Cup-Shaped Musical Instruments

8. Hallucinating About an Ivory Yuletide in the First Person Narrative

9. Lilliputian Male Percussionist.

10. Perambulating in a Terrain of Stupefaction From 12/21 to 3/19

11. Loyal Followers Advance

12. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior-Incisors

Wordless Wednesday

Meow!

Little Lizard Tale!

This is a bit long but so very very worth reading...I received it from a friend! I needed that lift at the end of the day!

If you have raised kids (or been one), and gone through the pet syndrome including toilet flush burials for dead goldfish, the story below will have you laughing out LOUD!
Overview: I had to take my son's lizard to the vet. Here's what happened:
Just after dinner one night, my son came up to tell me there was"something wrong" with one of the two lizards he holds prisoner in his room. I put my best "lizard healer" look on my face and followed himinto his bedroom.
One of the little lizards was indeed lying on his back, looking stressed.

I immediately knew what to do."Honey", I called, "come look at this lizard!" "Oh my!" my wife diagnosed the problem after one look."She's having babies.' "What?" my son demanded. "But their names are Bert and Ernie, Mom!"
I was equally outraged. "Hey, how can that be? I thought we said we didn't want them to reproduce," I accused my wife."Well, what do you want me to do, post a sign in their cage?"she inquired. (Actually she was being sarcastic.)":No, but you were supposed to get two boys!" I reminded her, (in my most loving, calm, sweet voice, while gritting my teeth).
"Yeah, Bert and Ernie!" my son agreed."Well, it's just a little hard to tell on some guys, you know," she informed me. (Again with sarcasim)
By now the rest of the family had gathered to see what was going on. I shrugged, deciding to make the best of it.
"Kids, this is going to be a wondrous experience, I announced. "we're about to witness the miracle of birth.""Oh, gross!" they shrieked.
"Well, isn't THAT great! What are going to do with a litter of tiny little lizard babies?" my wife wanted to know.
We peered at the patient. After much struggling, what looked like a tiny foot would appear briefly, vanishing a scant second later."We don't appear to be making much progress." I noted."It's breech," my wife whispered, horrified.
"Do something, Dad!" my son urged."Okay, okay" Squeamishly, I reached and grabbed the little foot when it appeared again, giving it a gentle tug. It disappeared. I tried several times more with the same results.
"Should we call 911?" my eldest daughter wanted to know."Maybe they could talk us through the trauma."(I think I was picking up on some similar sarcasim)
"Let's get Ernie to the vet." I said grimly. We drove to the vet with my son holding the cage in his lap,"Breathe Ernie, breathe," he urged."I don't think lizards do Lamaze," his mother noted. The vet took Ernie back to the examining room and peered at the little animal through a magnifying glass.
"What do you think, Doc, a C-section?" I suggested scientifically.
"Oh, very interesting," he murmured. "Mr. and Mrs. Cameronmay I speak to you in private for a moment?"I gulped, nodding for my son to step outside.
"Is Ernie going to be okay?" my wife asked."Oh, perfectly," assured the vet. "This lizard is not in labor.In fact that isn't ever going to happen.. Ernie is a boy. You see, Ernie is a young male. And occasionally, as they come into maturity, like most male species, they um..um..have certain changes, and he was just...." He blushed, glancing at my wife.
"Well, you know what I'm trying to say, don't you Mr Cameron?"We were silent, absorbing this.
"So Ernie was just..just...excited." my wife offerred....Exactly!" the vet replied, relieved that we understood. More silence. Then my viscous, cruel wife started to giggle...And giggle, and giggle some more, and then to even laugh loudly.
"What's so funny?" I demanded, knowing, but not believing that the woman I married would commit the upcoming affront to my flawless manliness.
Tears were now running down her face. Laughing "It's just...that...I'm picturing you pulling on its..its...teeny little..."she gasped for more air to only bellow in laughter even more.
"That's enough" I warned. We thanked the Vet and hurriedly bundled little Ernie and our son back to the car. He was glad everything was going to be okay.
"I know Ernie's really thankful for what you've done, Dad." he told me.
"Oh, you have NO idea," Closed mouth, my wife agreed, then collapsing in laughter again.
2 lizards - $1401
cage - $50
Trip to the Vet - $30
Memory of your husband pulling on a lizards teeny winkie...Priceless!!
Moral of the story - finish biology class - lizards lay eggs!!

Give me an M!!

I have so got to get my act together. I wanted to link my Wordless Wednesday to the others. I wanted to do a Thursday Thirteen. I had things I wanted to post about but never got the chance to...cause I forgot what they were! Well I also want to loose about 30 lbs. So we'll just have to add a whole bunch of stuff to the New Year resolutions list...if I can remember....

What I could not forget to post about though was my own personal cheer squad that I have! Yesterday when I came home from work, my kids called me to the back yard. They had me cover my eyes until they were ready. When I opened them my two eldest Miss A (8yrs) and Young Mr C (6) were standing with their backs to me about 15 ft away and about 5 ft apart from each other. Then Young Mr C turns around with a jump and has a large clump of dandelion buds (white) and he yells out M-O-M-M-Y...MOMMY!! Then Miss A does the same and has the same in her hands but she yells out L-O-V-E Y-O-U....LOVE YOU!! and in comes Little Miss A (3) and she tries to spell her name, shouting all the right letters but in the wrong order!! Then following her is Little Miss B (18m) and she shouts 1-2..1-2..1-2!! Then I clapped and told them it was so great! My dear friend Michelle asked me what the ocassion was....hmm...I had to just say...MOMMY!! I was the occasion! Now how cool is that?!

Gosh even reading it does not do it justice and it touches my heart in a way that only a mommy's heart can be touched. But I think you can understand how my heart melted and bubbled with joy at the same time!

Wordless Wednesday

This is a classic case of "monkey see, monkey do". What is on their face? Well, I'll leave it up to you to figure out!

New beginnings....and ends?

Wow...it has been 2 weeks since starting my new full time job as interpreter for the local school district. I really am enjoying it!
I am learning how to balance my time between family, work, sleep and all the other little things I want or need to do.
I do have to brag though. My husband wakes up in the morning with me and while I'm getting ready he makes our breakfast and coffee. He also packs my lunch the night before. Then after I go to work he homeschools our 8 and 6 year old and 'preschools' the 3 and 1 year old. He has also kept on top of the laundry and dishes and has dinner ready when I get home. Who could ask for anything more?!

My husband and my kids keep me going and really are my light and laughter....for example...
There is just something about my 3 ear old. She is so innocent yet funny.
The other night while bathing her and her younger sister. She says.."mommy, I got a buttcrack!.....do you have a buttcrack?"....um, yes honey, everyone has a buttcrack.
What I want to know is ....where in the world is she learning buttcrack?
Hmmm, underneath all my husband's wonderfulness....is he going around saying words like 'buttcrack'?
I'll have to check!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

Time for the news!!

My husband and I have officialy swapped roles! Ok....don't go getting confused or any ideas.
I am now going to work full time as a deaf education interpreter for the local school district. He is the stay at home dad/ Mr. Mom. We are both excited about our new responsibilities.
On top of that I am also an Usborne book consultant and an Avon representative! Be watching for contests and prizes in the future on both of these! I am working on how to create buttons for both of these sites but for now...this post will have to suffice. If any one is so technologically adept, I would greatly appreciate help.
Thanks and happy browsing!
ok...the link is not working either, so for now here are the 2 links...
Usborne... www.ubah.com/H2724
Avon... www.youravon.com/kellylynch