Seeing the Flowers for the Weeds

There is one blog I frequent that has given me some very good food for thought. Elizabeth and her daughters were having a day focused on dandelions complete with a recipe for dandelion syrup and pictures of the girls picking and measuring the blossoms for their creation. But it was what her daughter said when being tucked into bed that got me thinking:

"Some people call dandelions weeds.

Don't they see the flowers?

Everyone should have a girl to show her the flowers

when all they see are the weeds."

In a world, or mind, that strives for unreachable perfection, how many times do we discard the beauty or joy in the simple because it was not our ideal or goal? Or do we write it off as a complete failure because of an out of place or missing detail. Oh we need to remember what life was like through the eyes of a child; to blow the dandelion puffs instead of cringing at the ruined lawn to come. Life is already complicated enough without trying to place unattainable expectations on the situation. When we do, we loose the joy of the moment for the fussiness of the picture that is already airbrushed in the child's eyes.

Another Week of too much!

It has been another busy week this past week. Monday started with me slicing my thumb because I was thinking of all the things I needed to do instead of watching the recently sharpened butcher knife chop a slippery onion for a pot roast served Beef Burgundy style via crock pot. All the activities came to a screeching halt as I let out a stop your children dead in their tracks "Aaagghhh". I am not good with blood to begin with, why Lori is the nurse and not me, but at least I was thinking clearly enough to not drive anywhere until I got the blood to stop. With a bruised pride, and heavily wrapped thumb, we raced out the door to gymnastics, soccer, etc. On Wednesday came another fever, but by Friday I was planting the remaining seven orchard trees which had arrived two days prior. Karl has been very busy this week getting a boat certified for sea making his evening arrivals close to evening activities or bed time!

Saturday morning I awoke to find Karl still at home. He decided to skip his men's study group to get a few extra hours of sleep. After a big pancake breakfast with the kiddos, we set off for the boys to get their hair cuts, kiddos soccer games, and the trash run. Both teams had good games but I missed Isabella's since it again fell at the same time as Anton's game. Isabella played goalie for the first half and she beamed with her exclamation that she stopped all the balls from scoring except the one the girl kicked out of her hands which is an illegal kick, so the goal did not count. Anton's team was more heavily loaded with skill and talent than the other, so we pulled the "let's keep it fun" plan. By putting our defenders in as forwards, warnings of being pulled if they ran the score too high and promises of Caravel if they could complete 10 passes in a row before loosing the ball kept it fun without ruining the morale of the other team. After the games, we were able to rest for a short time before heading off to a Birthday Party for one of Karl's classmates at the Academy. On the way, we made a detour to a local winery to pick up a couple bottles for a gift. As luck would have it, it was wine tasting time, so we ended up with a few extra for ourselves.

By the time Sunday morning came, Karl and I were not too awake. We opted for the later church service following our CCD time verses the earlier one we usually attend. After mass, I had to regretfully step out of the plans for the Cub Scout April Surprise. I needed sleep! The extra energy I exerted from having to pick axe through a couple inches of gravel for the trees was catching up to me. Karl took the kiddos to the Olympic style event. They had fun!

But now it is another week and we are trying to just stick with our usual routine of schooling, gymnastics, soccer, horseback riding, choir, piano, and prayer group. Oh, since Anton's team has a buy this week, Karl is taking his scouts camping. I guess there will be something extra. One day I will do nothing, when is still to be determined.

The Latest News Here!

It has been a long couple of weeks here! Sorry about the late blogging!

Our camera is not working very well, Karl is promising to get it fixed. It is taking forever to load pictures and reset to take a new one. It is also taking them very dark or very light and I have to spend time fixing them. So no pictures for awhile!

We have been fighting sickness here off and on for weeks. One day after riding lessons, the kiddos and I stopped by the library to pick up our reserved books. I had a few more errand to run, but began to feel very heavy and tired all of a sudden. A couple hours later, Isabella and I were running fevers and I had a large pot simmering home made chicken noodle soup with lots of garlic. Since I knew I was getting sicker, I did not trust myself to know when I had enough spices/seasonings. I asked my garlic loving son to tell me if it smelled right. It was good but we all smelled like garlic the next day! After a few days, we were back to normal. Another week it was Anton who had a sudden urge to sleep all day and was totally fine the next day.

Then came the allergy test prep - no allergy medicines for 5 days before the test. Anton continues to have Sinus Rhinitis but could be developing Asthma. He has an inhaler to try 15 minutes before soccer practice and games to see if it helps him. Basically he has allergy reactions but not real sure what sets him off. Isabella has good and bad news! She is no longer showing a sensitivity to wheat or grass. She did have a reaction to birch and beach trees, dust mites, hamsters, and a sensitivity to feathers and mice. Oh dear, no rodent pets in this house! My test proved I need my allergy meds, have an inhaler as needed, and keep my eppi pen. Within 5 minutes of being stuck, my eyes started to itch and swell, I felt light headed and had to lie down, my nasal passages were swelling, and I was having difficulty concentrating. Apparently my histamine was so swollen, it was on the back side of my arm where I could not see, the doctor started to ice it down. However, none of my spots were showing up with huge swelling, just red. I have rhinitis also. But the eppi is for the spiders and she gave me a portable carrier to take with me. She asked me questions about other insect bites, sensitive skin, and food I have had physical reactions towards like watermelon and soy.

Horse Back Riding - the kiddos have graduated to their own mounts. Anton is now on Bob who is a bit taller and broader than Isabella's mount. Isabella remains on Scooter but solo. Anton tacks on his own except for swinging the saddle on top of Bob. Between the saddle being heavy and Bob being larger, he just needs a bit more muscle to get it in the right spot. They have been on trails and next week they start driving. After nearly a full hour of trotting their muscles are tired out.

Lego/Cooking Club - Anton has been attending a Lego Club with boys near his age where they display and explain their creations. Imaging eight very eager, very excited boys sitting patiently while listening to their friends describe their creation, what their ideas were and how it was accomplished. Then the other boys ask questions and make lots of "Oh Cool!" or "Can it Shoot?" comments. With the help of two moms who also have girls, I started a Cooking Club last fall. While the boys meet for Lego Club, I take the girls into the kitchen and we make something. Remember, the age of these girls are 4 - 8 and I have 5 of them. We have made pies, Carrot Cake, scones, cookies, and granola bars. Now when the boys are finished sharing, they come wandering into the kitchen to see what they can eat. Then the kids play and the moms chat. Before we know it, Karl is calling my cell wondering if a.) I am bringing some of the goodies home, b.) If he needs to pick up a pizza on the way home or do I have everything to make one from scratch (We always meet on Friday which is our family pizza night), and c.) will he beat me home from work. It is a lot of fun and everyone looks forward to the day. OK, maybe I am scrambling a few hours before wondering if I have enough tasks for each girl and ingredients to make several of whatever we are making for that meeting, but in the end, it turns out great.

Soccer - the season has started. Anton returns to the Lions and I as assistant coach. David is the coach, played for Penn State, and has a great attitude about teaching the boys soccer and not focusing on win, win ,win! Strangely, it works! Last season the team lost only to one team and it was really close. The boys listen, treat each other well, and are respectful to the adults. They actually beg for more practice time and get really upset when practice is cancelled for some reason, usually lightening or overly soaked fields. Anton still prefers defender, but does end up as mid fielder on occasion. Isabella rejoins the Lady Leopards with her friend Mary Claire. Her team did not do too well last season but most of it was the sudden change in field size, players on the field, and now able to drive the ball into the goal instead of stopping at the goal line and kicking. The girls started using goalie/keeper last season which was new for them. But Isabella is actually pretty good at it. She likes forward and goalie.

Schuberts - we had to let go of some thing and Isabella decided this was just too much for her right now. Last Winter season, she did amazingly well. The choral group learned to sing in 6 languages, including Latin, Hebrew, German, Spanish, and French. She is welcome to return at any time and at 8 she really does need to have some down time to just be 8.

We have also continued with their gymnastics (I want to switch to swimming but am having a hard time with a place), piano, boys nights and girls nights. Isabella is still involved with 4-H and Anton with Scouts.

Spring Yard work has resumed here with prepping some raised beds for planting vegetables and the front beds with more perennials and herbs. With the oncoming rains, it has brought more worry with our Connecticut House. Karl had to take off to the north to repair the basement from some water damage due to the floods in the area. We count ourselves fortunate with only 2 inches of water, which came from the floor/foundation gaps and not the walls, when many have unplanned indoor swimming pools, washed out bridges, and mud slides forcing evacuations. I did stay here to take care of the house, dogs, kiddos so as not to intrude too much in our renter's privacy. We are hoping Karl can return for Easter, but it is looking doubtful.

The Dogs - Katie continues to be her bull headed self. She now must watch from the windows as we let her more behaved sister go outside off leash and fetch balls. Blossom is still battling with her fear of all loud noises. I have been working to desensitize her to these things. Like taking her for long loops down the street as our neighbor cuts his grass with a riding mower or forcing her to stay in a "relaxing down position" during a thunderstorm. She does want to please and make me happy, but those terrifying jets make her bolt for cover. If I can get her to fetch while the jets are going, I could be close. She is obsessed about her ball. She will dance for it. A Golden Retriever on her back legs hopping. It is a funny sight. Katie is doing better with her independence and she is listening better. But when I tell her to do something she does not want to do, she actually does it but snorts loudly to show her displeasure. Oh my, she is in the teenage years! Then there are times when I am typing away on the computer and she lays her head on my lap and looks up at me pleading for a scratch.

Karl has switched jobs at the Navy. He no longer runs the International Rescue Sub but now oversees all of the Virginia Class Subs coming into fleet but post construction. Just as I was starting to understand what Karl does, the Navy has to change it on me. UHHMMM! We have always said the Navy keeps us on our toes.

Until Next time!

Noises In the Garage

Just as the kiddos and I were sitting down to eat breakfast, I heard a rustling in the garage. The kiddos had just come back in from taking the dogs out to potty, so I figured a bird must have gotten trapped when they closed the garage. I opened one of the doors but, but nothing happened. Apparently this little bird needs a little more motivation. I decided to rattle the grill which was near the rustling I heard. Nothing happened and I saw no sign of the bird.


Maybe the poor thing fell into the grass catcher for the lawn mower. I gave it a little nudge and out popped a ground hog!


He ran to the back of the garage and I tried to instruct, in as calm of a voice as possible, Anton to open the front door for me to get into the house. With my heart in my throat, I started to think of my options. Mr. Ground Hog was not going to stay in my garage.


When I carefully peeked from the house door, I saw him wedged into the small space between some 5 gallon paint containers, the wall, and Karl' s tool chest.

Maybe if I throw some things at him, he might scurry out of the open garage door. I threw Isabella's rubber boots, I threw small pieces of lemons, nothing! Then Anton suggested squirting him with a water gun. He did not like this, as he showed me his teeth!

I called Karl and he told me to wait a bit, then get my truck out of the garage to give the ground hog as much space a possible to get out and not keep us from getting to the kiddos' afternoon activity. After some time, I tried to peek out again, but the kiddos were so curious, they rushed up on me when I cracked the door. In the commotion, because at that moment Mr. Ground Hog was walking across the garage floor, someone screamed, probably Isabella. Thus causing Mr. Ground Hog to dive behind the plywood leaning against the sidewall inside the garage. Great, now what!

Again I left him alone hoping he would come out. When it was time to leave for gymnastics, I had discovered a problem, my garage door would not close. The wire to the transformer had been cut. With a large pole in my hand, I manually lowered the garage and hoped he was gone.

When Karl returned home, he began searching. I noticed some things had moved after I left for gymnastics, so Mr. Ground Hog had to still be in there. Karl took my pole and began moving things around. Then I asked if he thought the ground hog would have got back into the grass catcher. Karl gingerly poked the bag remarking the bulge gave his place away. With a garden hoe in hand, Karl tugged the bag towards the outside and began to shout things like "Go On! Git on outta here!" I did not know my husband could start speaking in "Southern Slang" but maybe he thought it was the only thing Mr. Ground Hog could understand. The next 1/2 hour resulted in Karl trying to get the ground hog from going back into the garage and away from the house. When it was time for dinner, we were not sure where it had gone, but at least he was no longer in the garage or on the porch. Karl thinks he might have hid under the propane tank until dark. In the mean time, we are not to open the garage for a few days in case Mr. Ground Hog tries to sneak back into the warmer garage than out on the land.

I am still wondering how long he had been in the garage. It had to be longer than the morning, as the garage door as only opened for a few minutes that morning, not enough time for the ground hog to make a bolt into the garage, especially with the dogs coming in and out. Maybe, I should have gotten a hold of Doug, one of Karl's other suggestions earlier in the day. I was worried Doug might miss and put a few holes in the garage wall. Karl said very definitively, "He won't miss! Just give you a blood puddle on the floor." For those wondering why not poison him, well, it is illegal to poison them because the Red Tail Hawks, Bald Eagles, and Turkey Vultures eat the ground hogs. Those birds of prey are federally protected and poisoning their food chain is the same as poisoning the birds. But you can shoot or trap the ground hogs.

When you get close to fulfilling dreams!

One of the barns, about 30 minutes away, decided to offer greatly reduced Horse Back Riding Lessons to Home Schoolers. This deal includes tacking (grooming, saddle with blanket, bridle, and girth belts), one hour ride time, un-tacking and return horse/pony to pasture. Isabella was up well before me the first day of lessons, bouncing with excitement.

Their first lesson in tacking took a long time, and I almost got kicked out of the barn. I went to help the instructor as three of the girls where so excited they could barely stand together. The point of this barn's program is to teach the children to do everything independently. I must admit being this close to these beauties got me a little excited too and I started to help the children too much.

Safety is very important, so Ms. Doria reminds them to check their girth belts for tightness. The children all wear helmets and remember the three T's - "Teeth, Toes, and Tushie". Basically don't stick your fingers near their mouths, watch your toes, and avoid the horse's back side where they might kick if startled.

Isabella and Anton's Momma's blood kicked in fast as they both started to sail through the lessons. At first, Isabella boasted to her Daddy about having Scooter, the 16-17 hands high horse as her mount while Anton got Spirit, a larger pony. Anton was paired with a little girl in order to handle the pony more independently. Spirit also has some handling issues, not wanting to listen to the less dominant riders. But now, both kiddos are on Scooter.


When Anton got his new mount, even though he had to share with Isabella, he just beamed from ear to ear. I am also glad to see this barn starts with English Saddle so as to not pick up lazy habits from Western Saddles. They have begun three point trot and next week the whole class might get their own mounts, instead of being in pairs. If the weather is nice, they might venture out of the arena and onto the trails.

Another Frequent Visitor

I was able to snap a picture of our Barred Owls perching on the trampoline bars.

This rather large guy, 17-20 inches tall with a wing span of about 40 inches.

I guess it is good the field provides enough mice and snakes for this twilight feeder.

The most interesting thing about these guys is their ability to nearly turn their head completely around. Their calls sound like "Who, Who cooks for you!"

I am fine with their pest hunting but it is a big reminder to get our upcoming chickens or ducks sheltered during twilight.

Finding the Good!

First, I do like having the snow, especially when Karl is here with us. The world is shut out and we snuggle together with family time. Usually a mixture of movies with popcorn or board games/puzzles with hot chocolate or hot tea. But when I have important things coming up, Karl is not home, and I am trapped, I start to get down.

So what do I have to be Thankful for:

-Shelter - the winds continued throughout the night moving more of the drifts from yesterday.

-Health - We are all healthy at the moment. One of my girlfriends has three in her house vomiting.

-Food - I was able to get to the store, we could survive comfortably for a week or more.

-Electricity/Propane - We have heat, hot water, and the ability to cook.

-Love - Karl sent me messages from his computer throughout the day to tell me he wished he was with us. Friends and family called to check up on us.

- Happy Children - those two are the silliest of kids!
Isabella pranced around with a long blanket around her shoulders saying a very dramatic voice, "I am the queen!" Anton corrected her with "Your the princess. Mommy is the queen!" I in a mopey tone said, "Oh my, I seem to have lost my crown." Isabella reappeared with a tiara on her head and a crown a top a pillow for me. I had to laugh.

Alright, no point in feeling sorry for myself.

It is just snow. I need a new perspective!

I rearranged the living room!