fun

Mangoes, Heartbeats, & IV’s

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School is always in session, even when it’s not.  Take for instance last night when Elsie looked at me while drinking from a little milk container, straw stuck in her mouth while she talked:  Mom?  Am I drinking a cow’s pee?  I then had to explain the anatomy of a cow.  Fun stuff, really.

We almost managed to avoid visiting any doctors for an entire week.  My wrist has been acting up (has a lot in the past) and I thought it was finally time to get an x-ray.  At the urgent care, I was told it was nothing but a ganglion cyst.  Ganglion is one of those words I really don’t like saying.  I don’t mind the word “gang”, it’s kind of cool-sounding, really.  A lion is so strong and majestic.  Put them together, and ganglion is just plain awful.  It feels dreadful too.  Thankfully I didn’t need an x-ray, but Elsie is bummed we won’t have matching casts.  I’m amazed at how she has had zero complaints about her pink cast.  She rides her bike, jumps on the trampoline, plays on the playground, and has a personal assault weapon on her at all times.  2013-09-23 16.13.46
We had a fun time with Matthew’s family last night.  Jack learned how to use chopsticks.  He loves China, including its food.  Notice the concentration:
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This week, Matthew was able to bring Elijah to work with him one day.  He had an excellent report from the boss, and was a big help!
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Besides being good with the drill, he is also a handy taste-tester.  What’s an African girl to do when she has a few mangoes on her hands?  Make mango sauce, of course!  That, right there, is a small taste of my childhood in a bowl.  I’m always happy when I can share a piece of Africa with my kids on this side of the planet.
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Nadine’s  love tank is always full whenever she can hold a heartbeat with fur on it.
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She has also been incredibly helpful watching Betty each day for slots of time so I can write, cook, and do school with the short crowd.
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Today marks the second and last Rituxan treatment for Matthew.  Since I couldn’t be with him, I bugged him for pictures.   I know he wouldn’t post them himself… but… I would, because I love him so very much!  His voice is still weak, and sometimes he still is a bit tight, but he “feels” good.  We continue to pray for strength and healing!  I am so incredibly thankful for a man who never sits around (except if there’s an IV pumping through him!) and is never lazy.  He simply follows Jesus in his attitude, actions, and mindset.  I’m not married to a perfect man by any means, but he is a real man.  There is nothing remotely fantasy-related in his life.  He is all real-life and hard-core.  Grow old with me, my love!
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Our One Room Schoolhouse

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Our first week of school flew by at top speed.  I have barely had time to sleep, and my head is spinning with Ancient Rome history and what sound “A” makes.  We are steadily getting into a routine, and for that I am grateful.

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Here is a tour of our school room!  My mother-in-law rescued the chalk board from the school where she works, and it fits perfectly on my Life is Beautiful wall.  We use it all the time!  The desks are made from two Ikea table tops, which Matthew reinforced underneath with metal plates.  The top is screwed into the four filing cabinets.  The four oldest kids each have their own set of six drawers.  We are still getting used to having so much extra space, and we’re trying to keep one subject per drawer, then filing papers straight into our portfolios at the end of each week.  Along the window wall is an old Ikea coffee table (again, which my mother-in-law rescued).  I wondered if maybe we sawed it in half, if it would make a better window seat.  Voila!  My live-in-carpenter/handsome hubby did just that!  Betty’s puzzles, little toys, blocks, train set, etc. go in the baskets for easy access.  On the far left corner, under the red “W” is our reading corner.  You can not see the wooden library box which I keep heavily stocked with both books of their choice and along the same lines as what we’re studying in Science and History.

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The red lockers contain my school supplies (top 3 cubbies), shared school supplies (next 3 cubbies), kids’ personal lockers for their own projects or collections (next 6 cubbies) and finally the last 3 cubbies are math manipulatives and Betty’s shapes and stacker-type toys.

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We have our first morning board calendar, which everyone loves getting a turn at doing.  None of these ideas are my own original.  What a blessing the internet is sometimes!

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Finally, each child has their own school and chore chart, held together with a jump ring.  I got this idea from Homeschool Creations.  Certain children LOVE their lists, others are more forgetful.  We’re all still learning!  If it works as it is intended, each person has the ability to earn sixty cents a day.  However, if I end up having to do their chores because of ceaseless reminding or bad attitudes, they pay me.  Each day there are six (easy) chores required because they are a part of our family, and three (slightly harder) chores for which they can earn money.

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Further on in their charts are the school days, with velcro tabs in each of the sixteen boxes.  I printed out many many possible school and life things to do.  These get stuck in the order which I would like them done.

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Once completed, that child can remove the square and put it in their top drawer.

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Here you see Nadine has four things done, and a few more yet to do.  We are flexible here, and constantly tweaking, but it gives them a good idea of what is expected of them.  It takes me about five minutes the night before to set it up for the next day.

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So, there is a brief show and tell of our first week of school!  I hope you have enjoyed it!  There are a lot more things going on behind the scenes.  The bright pink cast on Elsie’s arm and the very short bangs are only a slight indication of the excitement which goes on outside the doors of school.  But that is for another day.  Right now this teacher must hit the hay… which rhymes with… yay.

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Third Annual Kids’ Day

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It was a beautiful sight when the kids got home from being at Grandma’s after Matthew was released from the hospital.  It was impossible to fully capture the joy, hugs and squeals.August 20136
Two days later, we declared it to be our third annual kids day!  This is something we started three years ago, and each August we celebrate our fabulous kids with surprises and fun!  Jack and Matthew went to the store early in the morning and bought little gifts for everyone.  Next, we had waffles and ice-cream for breakfast before setting off on a bowling expedition.  The kids had never been bowling before.  It was a nice excuse to use the bumpers for us older folks who haven’t bowled since my belly looked like a bowling ball ten years ago!
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The second place we went was the dollar movie theatre, which turned out to be a great memory as well!  We ended our day with a pop-in at some friends’ and then a visit at Grandma’s to see my brother and his family.  Kids’ day was a success, and we are so thankful for our amazing children who bring us so much joy.  They challenge and inspire us and constantly keep us seeking God.

Yesterday, Elsie was wearing ALL yellow, and Betty was wearing much pink.  Elsie looked at Betty and commented: She’s so cute!  She’s so pink!  I’m so yellow!
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When I went to pick up Jack from a friend’s house, it was just about dark as we got ready to drive away.  He remembered he left his jackknife in the grass.  He ran up the driveway and started to kick the ground around a large area of grass.  Five seconds later, he ran back to the car, knife in hand.  I looked at him in awe.  This is the kid who claims he is not a good “looker” and can’t seem to find something in a well-lit room, let alone a huge lawn in the dark.  I asked him how he found it so quickly.  His reply?  My feet know where everything is.  Of course!  Next time I will ask his feet to do the finding.

On our drive home we got talking about heaven.  He thought for a bit and then said, When everyone on earth is in heaven, this world is going to be left in sadness.  Wow.

Elsie, in mother-like fashion was trying to help out an older sibling who was having a bit of rivalry with another sibling.  Her advice astounded me and reminded me that I guess they really are listening! This is what she said:
Well, maybe you should work it out.  Nope, that wasn’t an option.
Well, maybe you should apologize.  Not trying that either.
Well, maybe you should just walk away. Good girl!

I do love overhearing different conversations in the car between the back-seat dwellers.  Jack and Elijah were discussing broken bones.  He asked Elijah: Have I broken anything? 
No, Elijah said.
How do you know?
I’ve been here all your life.  Enough said.

Today they were having a “gentleman tea party”, complete with lego “newspapers”.  Elijah thinks the raw sugar we use is “camping sugar” and Jack commented about the whole experience: We’re like men.  I LOVE that my boys think drinking tea is manly.  One conversation during this gentlemanly time went like this:
Elijah:  Jack, I was thinking.  If the age of driving was about the age of seven, there would be a lot of dead people in the world…  No offense.

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Nadine was able to start horseback riding lessons again this week.  There is a very real hole in her heart that gets filled when she’s around horses.  She even jokes that her name is perfect: They call me neighhhhh-deen because I love horses!
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Betty is a little walky-talky, except for when she’s sitting in her special little chair… which she brings everywhere.  Yesterday while we were driving, she saw some geese.  She matter-of-factly said, I love birds.  Elsie loves birds.  Mommy loves birds.  When Jack got home from his friend’s house, she ran up to him, gave him a huge hug and exclaimed: I LOVE you, Jack!  She knows how much I love to hear her say, Yes ma’am, so she says it a lot.  It sounds a lot like, Yes, man.

Tomorrow, we officially start school.  Our school room is ready to go, and teacher is a bit trembling in her gut, but excited.  I’m excited to see if our new approach will work smoother than last year, and I’m pumped to share how we do things, after we have settled in a bit.  Speaking of, I need to get back to planning!

Flying From The Croup

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I woke up at 9:00 this morning with a start, disproving the myth that moms can never again sleep in.  Take heart, mamas of young ones, it will happen again.  The sniffle and cough bug that’s been floating around our house took its toll on Matthew and I as well.  Since Matthew was feeling pretty sick for a few weeks now, he went to the doctor yesterday (who also happens to be our amazing brother-in-law) and he has what seems to be croup!  After a year and a half without being on prednisone, he is taking it for a week to see if it helps relieve the inflammation in his airways.  So far he is already feeling better and his regular voice is coming back.  It’s amazing how tired you can be when you aren’t breathing properly!

Roller-blades and skateboards have been the thing to do this week.  Monday they played some hockey with Daddy and yesterday they seamlessly played together like a real team.  Today has been another story, but it is encouraging to have days where the sibling glue is tight and strong and full of love.

August 2013

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As I walked away from taking pictures of them, I overheard Elijah calling a “sports meeting” to order.  He really took Elsie under his wing and they teamed up on the skateboards.  Apparently she knows all sorts of tricks now from him, and she told him how much she enjoys playing with her nine-year-old brother.  He said he felt so honored.  The Bible isn’t lying when it paints up a picture of brothers and sisters living together in unity:  How good and pleasant it is!  

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We’ve recovered from Elsie’s knocked out tooth, and she got a good report from the dentist.  The croupy cough from Betty has improved greatly, though she kindly shared it with Jack, who shared it with me.  Thankful for many things this morning, though.  Another day to live, fresh promises that never grow old, new life, and strength for today.  Especially when teamwork needs a little encouragement.

Phone Dump:

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Ushering in July

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Mommy, I love you.  Mommy, I kiss you.  Mommy, I will not be afraid.  These are just a few of the sweet things Betty said to me as I tucked her in tonight.  Her vocabulary, personality, and fine motor skills are fairly exploding.  She’s like a burst of colorful fireworks.  I don’t know how she will express herself next, but I know it’s going to be bold, bright, and beautiful.  She makes an impression on me every day and leaves her special mark on my heart that only her smile and dark brown eyes can do.

The last week has been full of strawberry picking, rain, new flowers showing their happy faces, rain, gorgeous sunsets, rain, old friends, rain, reading during quiet hour, more rain, and lots of games.

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I’ve been working on rearranging furniture and purging.  We actually got rid of about 75% of our movies.  I love how the kids were right on board with the idea of filling a laundry basket with videos and dvd’s. Out they went, along with the TV, and no one has complained once.  We can still watch movies on the computer, and each child has a preset 30 minute allotment on the computer each day.  Their account will automatically shut down after 30 minutes, which makes it easy for me and it has just about completely eliminated computer whining on their part and nagging on my part.

I also painted this reminder on the wall by our front door:

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Elsie has had an incredibly loose tooth for the past week.  Tonight I overheard this conversation between her and the boys:

Elijah: Elsie, if it falls out of your mouth while you’re sleep, you’re gonna die.
<Big pause> Then, on a lighter note, Elijah says: When you wake up and just look under your pillow, there’s a dollar.  Right, Jack?
Jack:  Mhm.
Elijah:  Yeah, it’s like a fairy.  She’s invisible.
Jack: It’s actually… an angel.
Elijah:  I could get the pliers and pull it out and there actually will be no pain at all.
This is about the time Elsie came down with a very worried look on her face, and the idea that maybe we should just use our fingers to pull it out came into play.  The tooth remains, and I certainly hope she doesn’t swallow it in her sleep.  Our kids have been known to swallow their teeth, but never while sleeping.

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So far our summer has been pretty swell.  I think this last picture captures my sentiments spot on perfectly:

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Happy July!

 

 

In My Head

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Yesterday, Elsie came down to the kitchen with a coonskin hat on her head, and a silky pink polka-dot cape around her neck.  In a very serious voice she asked me what I too have been wondering lately:  Mom, is it going to rain every day?  We’ve been caught in so many deluges the past two weeks!  I’ve hung up clothes, only for them to be washed a dozen times in the rain before finally bringing them inside to the spin cycle and clothes dryer, because I really needed that shirt.  I’ve gotten showered while running to move the car.  Finally, today I was able to bond with the dirt once again and discovered my first daisy!  Zucchini growing, flowers planted from seed, now blooming.  It does my soul good.

On Wednesday we made out with a huge bin of K’nex for $5 from a used sale.  Elijah has been skipping breakfast for the past two days in order to build this amazing contraption.

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He often leaves me notes on my phone, can fix bikes, and loves anything electronic.

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He also loves apricot jelly.  When he was making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for himself he saw me about to say something and interjected: I know, I know.  No more jelly.  That’s what you always say when there’s an inch of jelly on my bread.

I have a knack at going grocery shopping either dangerously close to lunch time, or at midnight.  This particular time it was right around noon.  Everyone was hungry.  As Elsie remarked, her tummy felt backwards. To make up for it, I let the kids pick out a few special items to eat, and we had a spontaneous picnic at the splash park.  As we sat on the grass, eating, Elijah looked at me with his orange fingers and said, The one thing that makes me think I’m dreaming is that you would never say yes to Doritos.  He grinned and licked his fingers.

Matthew’s youngest brother just graduated from highschool.  I’ve known him since he was three years old, which makes me feel very old.  What a wonderful young man Jacob has become.

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The other day Elsie asked me: Does God hear you when you talk in your head?  It’s a wonderful thing that He does, because most of my talking to Him is done that way!  While wrestling wet babies out of the kiddie pool.  While putting certain children on time-out steps and wondering what on earth to do next.  While wiping tables, bottoms, and countertops.  While slicing onions and running through a few recipes in my head.  While picking up again and again and again.  While driving with the background noise at a deafening level.  While running a few city blocks in silence.  While peeking in on sleeping cherubs in their beds.  While doubting, fearing, rejoicing, and giving thanks.  He hears our silent prayers.

The past week it seems like our kids have fallen asleep in the weirdest places.  While watching a movie, the boys fell asleep like this:

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The other night Elsie fell out of bed and kept right on sleeping.  I couldn’t lift her back onto her bed, and thought Matthew would before we went to bed.  He forgot, and the next morning Elsie informed me that she slept on the floor all night.  I felt bad, but it didn’t seem to bother her!  Then, one night Jack was determined to wait up until Matthew and I came in from the front porch where we were talking.  When I came inside to get something, I almost tripped over his sleeping body.
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Both Elijah and Jack had the privilege of going to work with their Daddy one day the past week.  Jack created a few things out of scrap wood.  Here he is, holding his “Goliath Sword”.DSC_1271-001
Besides all of the usual keep-the-house-clean-feed-the-bellies-do-laundry-pull-weeds-kind-of-days, I’ve been burning the midnight oil and writing papers to finish up my doula recertification.  I am one credit away from mailing in all my paperwork that I’ve been working on for the past three years.  I am so excited to check it off my list and delve into school planning for next year.  I sold all of my books which we used the past two years, and am excited for our new ones to arrive next week!  I am hoping to plan out the bulk of the year before truly relaxing for a couple of months.    Matthew has been an incredible support for me as I have pursued my dreams and goals.  We are enjoying doing cross-fit together and eating 100% paleo!  More on that another time!  I do just want to say how incredible Matthew’s health has been since zeroing in on his diet.  I have finally come alongside him in eating a disciplined diet and it’s such a blessing to be united in this area.  God is teaching us many things as we wait on Him and trust Him with our unknowns.  When He says, This is the way, walk in it… we have no choice but to obey.  It might just mean eating more vegetables.  It might mean how we do school.  It might mean staying put.  It might mean moving forward.
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Shore House Weekend

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Memorial Day weekend found us down near the shore and in our favorite shoebox full of memories.  Every year the bikes are the same.  The flags are the same.  The picnic table is the same.  Yet every year everyone has changed.

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The boys can ride the big bikes now and ride to 711 for a donut.
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The other day, Elijah and I were watching something pretty nasty (I thought) about nature and some guy touching snakes and whatnot.  Elijah said to me, I think it’s amazing how ladies can get so grossed out.  Mom, this is you: “Eeeeew!  Aaaah!  This guy is so whacked out!”  He likes to impersonate me and scare me on purpose.  I like to give him the I-really-think-you’re-funny-but-I’m-not-going-to-show-it glare.DSC_0356-001
Betty was all about Daddy feeding her at supper.
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Steaming corn on the cob around the full table.
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Yes, even roasted marshmallows on the potty.
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A walk to the bay.
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The love of my life.  We still make out, eleven years later.
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Iced tea, watermelon and my camera.  A few of my favorite things.  Thankful for much.

May Highlights

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May went so fast that when June came around, it took me until the evening to realize it.  It was full of a weekend hiking trip with friends, imaginative creations, monopoly games, parks, picnics, doctor visits, grocery trips, reading, bacon, walks and more.  Here is a condensed collage from my phone pictures from May:

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I have a lot of words, but they’re all stuck in my brain.  Our hike was amazing, despite the rain that started about a mile from our camp site.

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If you were perhaps feeling sleepy right now, you might want to curl up in bed after seeing these:

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The older two pretty much sleep in one of two positions every night, all night long.

 

Just A Spoonful Of Sugar

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The other day I was gardening with the short crowd and went inside for one minute.  When I came back, they were covered in mud.  I took a deep inhale of special Stay Cool air (it’s available wherever oxygen is) and let them have some fun.  A few smears later, the boys seemed to smell the mud and came running outside.  Then it became this:

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The cold shower they got was in hopes they would not be enticed to do it again for a very long time.  There are only so many mud baths this mama can take.

Have you ever given a pig a pancake?  Well, if you have, then you will recognize that today’s events unfolded a lot like that book.

If you give this mommy a hot cup of tea, I will only be able to sit down a drink half of it before remembering I  must do a load of laundry.   Sticking my warm mug of tea on the window sill until I’m finished, I leave it there, forgotten.  Off I go and clean the carpets, because I’ve been wanting to do that for a few weeks now, and I’m tired of leaving that task unchecked.  An hour later, I finish the job.  Surveying the clean living room, I notice where someone pulled down the curtain and it’s been hanging lopsided for two days.  Instead of just fixing it, I decide to pull down all the curtains and wash them.  Into the washing machine they go, and I turn around to see my mug sitting nice and cold on the window sill.  I grab it and put it into the microwave.  Then I notice how grimy the turntable is from a few spills this week.  I put it in anyway, but take the turntable out and fill up my sink with soapy water.  May as well wash the lunch dishes from three hours ago.  In the middle of that, a herd of small elephants thunders down the stairs to tell me something.  I’m not sure if it’s exciting, tragic or upsetting, so they each get a turn to talk.  I send Elijah up to the attic to photograph the crime scene and bring me some evidence.  My feet hurt, my back hurts, and I’m tired.  The word tea floats in and then out of my head.  Down he comes with the phone, and I talk to my wonderful husband who just happened to call right then.  SO, after hanging up, I take a look at the photographic evidence.  I sigh inwardly.  This is not the first grand scale mess of my week.  After much begging for me to “see it in person”, I trudge upstairs.  I admit there is an “element of cool” to the gigantic spider web, woven across the entire attic.

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Nadine wasn’t convinced by my reaction.  See, guys?  I told you she’d have a fit.  I told her to please notice how calm I was being.  She then perceptively countered, Well, I bet you’re having a fit on the inside!  To this I had to clap my hand over my mouth and laugh.

Back downstairs the wind is blowing through the open windows so the carpets can dry.  It’s not a picturesque day to spring clean.  I had put out a notice to Mary Poppins but she bailed again.  Something about taking too long to get here from another continent.  I had to find my own supercalifragilisticexpealidotious and special bag of tricks.  It’s mostly called, in layman’s terms:  just doing it.  My favorite trick to getting a job done is a reward.  On this cold and rainy day, it is a spoonful of sugar with a cup of hot tea to go with it.