Some Pictures

 Kenzie had her snow clothes on!

 And so did Christian.

Our snow angel

Day 2

Off to a rocky start this morning - still no snow and not a whole lot to do. We drove to Big Bear City; not a lot to see. But then we saw a few little flakes. Found a nice coffee place for "elevenses." Drove out to a picnic area that had some old snow, which was really ice. Christian, Mackenzie and Rosanne tried the sled, but it was really too slippery. It began snowing a little more while we had lunch. We went back to the room for a while because Christian has school work to do. Besides, there really wasn't enough snow to even play in. The kids were going crazy. But now it's snowing. The cars are covered and we drove back to the picnic area where the kids sledded, made snow balls and snow angels. We were all wet and cold, but the kids didn't want to leave. We promised we would try again tomorrow. Right now we're trying to decide whether it's worth driving out again for dinner.

Pictures will follow later!

Vacation Day 1

We made it to Big Bear without any problems. We actually managed to make the trip without video games or dvd's. Christian thought the rocky deserts were wonderful. Mackenzie just enjoyed the ride. The down side - not really any snow. There are patches of it, but nothing to be played in. We stopped at a commercial tubing hill; I would have paid twelve dollars for each of the kids, but drew the line at twelve dollars per adult to stand and watch them slide. The hotel is fairly nice and is within walking distance of the village. We walked the village this afternoon and stopped at the candy store. Then we went back to Troll's, a small restaurant in town, where we had dinner. Food was simple and good. We walked back under a beautiful moon and breathing in very cold air. There's a promise of snow tomorrow. If not, we'll have to take the kids to a commercial sliding spot, but that's okay. We're settled in tonight watching the Oscars. Christian just said, "Grandma, this is the best day ever." I guess we did okay!

At Least Today It's a Different Song

No lyrics this time, just a youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6Oi7CdBc78

I love the romance of this story. We've seen the chapel and Grace Gifford's prison cell in Kilmainham Gaol. Don't  know why I felt compelled to share this, other than the song's been stuck in my head for a day and a half. Hope you enjoy the info.

http://www.easter1916.ie/index.php/people/signatories/joseph-mary-plunkett/

Did you guess I'm ready to go back?

To Speak of Music

I've had the strangest songs going through my head all day, the same two songs, over and over. The first is one I have on a Mary Black cd. The first time I heard it, I was struck by the haunting tune. Then I listened to the lyrics, which are just as haunting:

My youngest son came home today
His friends marched with him all the way
The fife and drum beat out the time
While in his box of polished pine
Like dead meat on a butcher's tray
My youngest son same home today

The song speaks of the troubles in Northern Ireland. Mike and Scott, you would probably like Mary Black. I'm especially drawn to the "dead meat" portion of the lyrics.

The second song isn't haunting, it's irritating:

Hot dogs, Armour hot dogs
What kind of kids eat Armour Hot Dogs?
Fat kids, skinny kids, kids who climb on rocks
Tough kids, sissy kids, even kids with chicken pox
love hot dogs, Armour Dot Dogs
The dogs kids love to bite!

Would anyone care to join me in my own personal hell?

Status Check

So the goal I stated for last month was to simplify, to get the clutter cleared. And how well have I done? Not so well, I'm afraid, but I did accomplish this much:

• Two cabinets cleared out and organized
• Kitchen counter and sideboard cleared once in a major way, and pretty well maintained, day to day
• Yarn stash reduced and organized

Like I said, not so much. But I haven't given up - my goal for the next month is to get the kitchen cabinets done. Surely, I can accomplish that much.

There are times that I marvel that we get anything done around here. I keep expecting the chaos to lessen, but it's not happening. I have to stop myself once in a while to remember that to school age kids in the house means that things may not stay on track. I don't know how Mom did it; I certainly can't. It feels like we all fly from one thing to another. Homework is a major undertaking. Clutter piles up higher than we can keep up with. But there's been time for the fun stuff, too - a couple of bike rides, the long promised trip to Disneyland for Mackenzie's birthday. Life is pretty good.