Are We There Yet?

Yep, we are moving to a new house.

But the point of this post is to let all of you that read this blog, which I post to very infrequently, that I am trying to consolidate my blogs.

I am moving everything (albeit slowly) to one place.

The Daily Goon

Rob took Camille out to Medieval Times for her birthday dinner (exactly two months after her birthday). Chloe came up with a big list of things that she wanted to do while Camille was out of the house (way). First she wanted to paint. Then she wanted to play "Scrambled States of America" with me. And finally she wanted to watch a movie of her choosing. She felt that these were perfect to do when Camille wasn't here (to boss her around).

Let the madness begin. After we got home and unpacked, the girls pulled out the Christmas decorations and went right to work.

What's more fun than big rocks? The girls love this spot in the river. They have lots of fun jumping from one rock to another as the river goes surging past. I'm very happy that the weather this weekend has been such that we were able to spend a lot of time outside. We'll have time for more fun tomorrow before heading back to the city. I hope we'll get back out to the woods again soon.

Much as I try, I'm just not a fan of Thanksgiving dinner. I prefer something a bit simpler. The walks in the woods after dinner are what I most enjoy. But here is one member of the family who tremendously enjoyed the gluttony of the day.

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On our walk in the woods today, the girls headed to their favorite stream. They played by if for a very long time. At one point, they decide to go fishing. They discussed what was the best method for catching a fish ("Wait until you see a fish and then put the stick in and the fish will bite it."). Chloe insisted that once they caught one, they would put it right back into the water since it couldn't swim on land (I'm thinking of some SteveSongs lyrics now).

Okay, so they are city kids. They tried, and they had a great time. Chloe collected pieces of moss and sticks. Camille did Camille things, singing her songs and making up stories. It was a nice afternoon

Today didn't go much better than yesterday. My code wouldn't compile, the dishwasher broke (so I had to wash a full load of dishes with baked on food by hand), the fridge continued to act strange (sometimes when the compressor starts up the fridge clicks and ALL the lights in the house flicker), the new clothes from Lands' End didn't come.

The high points were that my mom arrived safely, and Chloe went off with her for lunch at IKEA and holiday grocery shopping. Camille and I ran around "like chickens with our heads cut off" trying to get out the door. We stopped at the post office which was remarkably empty. I asked the postal worker if she was savoring her last moments of peace.

The highway was a nightmare. A trip that normally takes two hours took three. Actually, nightmare might be the wrong word. Everyone on the road was so respectful and drove so well that I was sure that I was not in Atlanta. I really was amazed at how many people slowed down to let others in and how few people were playing a racing game...there was no dodging in and out. A very pleasant, albeit slow, trip.

We are now safely here at the cabin. The girls are looking forward to the influx of relatives over the next few days. The added bonus is that Aunt Suze is bringing her dog....hope he's a good air traveler.

Camille is spending her time this evening with "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?" I think it is a little strange that she is reading the books whereas when I was a kid, I played the computer game. I'm working to get a little ahead at work so that the rest of the week might go a little smoother than today did. The cat was trouble, the girls were trouble, the computer was trouble, the hair paint was trouble, the coffee was trouble. The only things that went as they should were the blueberry pancakes that Chloe and I made for breakfast. I'm not a pancake fan, but these came out very nicely.

Oh well (as ScribbleMonster says). Tomorrow is another day.

We went to see Milkshake, Farmer Jason, Buck Howdy and Lazytown perform today at the Roxy Theater.

The camera phone doesn't take the best photos, but it is very handy. And the girls love to try out the different frames that are part of the camera.

Rob's got an even better toy now, though. His computer has a built in web cam that has lots of special effects. The girls giggled themselves silly playing with it this morning.

I'm sure most of you already listen, but if you don't, you need to listen to all the great music and fun converstation over at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child.

Today the girls and I had the chance to meet Spare the Rock co-host Bill. The girls felt like they'd known him a long time, since he's in our house each week via the podcast. When I spoke to him on the phone before we met up, I told him it was a but strange. I knew his voice quite well, but he didn't know mine. Okay, I know, it is obvious, but it was a strange feeling!

Thanks Bill for going out of your way to meet us!

How do you come into your hobbies? I sort of fell into children's music...I cannot claim that I was/am a music afficiando. When we started our children's music station this summer, I did not imagine where it would take us! The girls love to sample new music and tell me what they like and don't like about the CDs. Their favorites come and go, but there are some artists and tracks that are always around. "Candy for Breakfast" is a popular one around here. And anything by our friend Ralph of course. It has been a strange trip, but very enjoyable, and I hope that we are assisting artists everywhere in working to see their dreams come true.

It was a rainy, rainy day. We went out for a quick trip to the library. Well, it was supposed to be quick, but Camille kept picking more and more books to checkout. We had only brought in one canvas bag; how silly was I to think that would be enough? She's already read quite a few of the books ... and baked a Swedish Apple Cake all by herself.

While we had been loosely following The Well-Trained Mind, I've been meeting with more and more resistance from Camille. She was being pushed too hard, too fast. She loves learning, but she's tired of the repetetive drill. I finally reminded myself that one reason we are homeschooling is so that she will NOT be bored.

For now, we will drop some of the more rigorous work and give her time to focus on her interests. I've asked her to not read the same books over and over (though going back to an old friend can be comforting, of course). She and Rob ordered some Highlights geography and math subscriptions. This week t the library I will ask her to pick out books, fiction and nonfiction, on topics that interest her. We will continue with Story of the World, but perhaps at a more leisurely pace and with time to do more of the activities.

Chloe had a big day. She got to ride in her new "big girl car seat". It is still a 5-pt harness, but she can buckle it on her own, and it even has a cup holder! (She can't unbuckle it, unfortunately.) She had her first cavity filled (and didn't once complain). She also wrote her name in the dew on the car. Where'd my baby go?

Well, I had hoped that I would get a lot done today. Scrapbooks, a music review, leaves in the yard..these all need to be taken care of. But instead, I spent the day reading, doing a little scrapbooking, and hanging out with the kids. The girls spent the day making fairy houses out of odds and ends and wanted to show me all the ideas that they had. They came up with some fabulous creations! And my minor daily tasks will get done this week. They are not so overwhelming or importnat, and the girls' enthusiasm is certainly more interesting and important than those leaves that are not nearly done falling.

would have been nice.

Less than 24 hours after I had the yard perfectly cleared of leaves, it looks as though the yard has never been raked, ever. I just hope that this week will have another nice day that is free of activities so we can have another beautiful day of outdoor fun.

Today more than made up for yesterday. It was a gorgeous day. Apart from an early morning dentist appointment for me (easy go, no need to go back for six months), we had nothing that needed to get done...it was a holiday at my comany and we tend to not have activities on Friday to keep those weekends clear for traveling. The girls and I spent the whole day outside. I raked and swept (it already needed it even after last week's marathon yard work) and even cut the grass. We walked to the grocery store and lugged back lots of groceries including heavy stuff like milk and orange juice. Chloe had picked out the lunch recipe; we made bagel faces to eat. The girls raced tricycle and scooter around and around the pool much of the day while listening to their favorite music. All in all, a beautiful day.

Camille really did enjoy Young Sprouts today... I have no idea what this face was about. It is my face for today after most things that could go wrong did, including a live electrical wire down on the main artery from here to where we needed to go. Bah.

Camille had her final jazz class of the year today. Here's a closeup of the hairwrap that she did herself earlier. She put some in my hair too. She's also agreed to cut Rob's hair for him...

Chloe has worn out both Camille and me. I can't even string words together tonight.

Everything I say she contradicts. She has refused to help with anything and has demanded that everything be her way today. It's very tiring.

Have you heard the news? Not yet? Well, go have a look at the Fids and Kamily - Kids and Family Music Awards. The votes are due tomorrow, but we've submitted ours tonight. There were so many great albums from which to choose, that we had a really hard time picking our favorites!

I admit, I don't follow fashions. I have no clue. I wear what's comfortable and easy to buy. Cotton is prefered, usually in subbdued colors.

Chloe also follows her own style. The nurse at the pediatrician asked if Chloe could dress herself. I responded "Um, look at her, what do you think?"

No photos today. I spent the entire day holding a rake or a broom, not a camera. We did take a break from leaf moving and bathroom destructing to go to Lowe's, where I bought 6 hostas for $1 each, 3 $20 trees for $3 each, and a $25 Chinese dogwood (if I remember well, immune to the dogwood disease) for $12. We also stocked up on flower bulbs and pansies; unfortunately, those were at full price. Tomorrow will be a big planting day!!

I spent most of the day raking leaves in the backyard. I created huge mounds of leaves. The girls had a great time jumping. I would have felt great, except that looking up, I can't even tell which tree has lost any leaves. I'm in for a long fall.

Chloe's class at the botanical garden was about the desert. Chloe wanted to know who took a bite out of this plant. Later, she did get to try a taste of a prickly pear cactus (the "hip", I think, not a "pad"), and she really liked it.

It's not a great fall photo, but what can you do when you've got two kids who can't wait to get into dance class to see their friends. In the end, Chloe was disappointed because her friend (another tag-a-log) wasn't there. Camille found out that the jazz program will be putting on Annie. Not only will she continue with dance, but she'd like to try out for a speaking part....

To round out our trip to DC, we went to see Ralph's World perform at National Geographic. It was a wonderful show as always, but it was missing that added spark that Tommy provides. Poor Tom's back went out and he just couldn't make it. Get Well Soon, Tom!

Today we drove to Washington, DC to see ScribbleMonster perform live at XM Radio! The show was tons of fun, and our host Mindy was super friendly and wonderful with the kids. It was wonderful to meet ScribbleJim in person, too! Thanks all for a great show!

We went for a walk through the rainforest today at the botanical garden.