Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Greaser Babies

Some people have way too much time on their hands! But it's a lot of fun.

Watch Greaser Babies

Disappointment?

from my inbox:
Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott.

Jamie was trying out for a part in the school play. His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen.

On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement.

"Guess what, Mom," he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me.....

"I've been chosen to clap and cheer."

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Feast Friends!

The kids had a great time in Rapid City. There were plenty of other teens - some old friends and some new. They all got along wonderfully and seemed to have so much fun no matter what they were doing. They went swimming as often as possible, played "Apples to Apples" and DDR, went bowling, and just hung out together. Now that we're home from the Feast, they are using the Internet to keep in touch.

Here are a few of the young people in front of Mt. RushmorePosted by Picasa

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Note to AudioBlogger Users

Ok, I haven't really used this service much - mostly just a couple of test posts, but I'm kind of disappointed that it's no longer going to be available. :-(
Here's an email I just received:

Hello,

As of November 1, 2006, Audioblogger will no longer accept phone
calls. MP3s made with the service will continue to be hosted and
served but you will no longer be able to use Audioblogger to post
new audio.

Audioblogger is an independent product, run by Odeo, Inc., a small
startup company in San Francisco, CA. We are not affiliated with
Google or Blogger except that we operate and provide the
Audioblogger service.

Given our limited resources, we have to make tough decisions
about what projects to focus on. And we've come to the difficult
decision that Audioblogger demands too many resources, time, and
money for us to continue its operation.

However, there are several other services that offer similar
functionality. Odeo is not affiliated with any of these services,
we only suggest them only in hopes that one or the other will be
a good alternative for you.

Gabcast.com is a free service for recording by phone
Hipcast.com has a seven day free trial and lots of features
Gcast.com is another free service for phone recording

All of the phone posting services listed above are compatible
with Odeo in that they produce podcast feeds, which can be
imported to Odeo. Any audio file at Odeo can be posted on a blog
by copying and pasting some embed code.

Odeo would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has
tried Audioblogger. If you are interested in keeping up with our
other blog-friendly projects, please have a look at Twitter.com
and our customizable audio players.

Thanks,
The Odeo Team

Links:
Gabcast - http://gabcast.com
Hipcast - http://hipcast.com
Gcast - http://gcast.com
Odeo Importing - http://www.odeo.com/create/addfeed
Twitter - http://twitter.com
Players - http://odeo.com/channel/102054/embedded_player

It doesn't hurt to keep all these links. Maybe I'll try some of these other audio services. If not me, then Cory.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Why so Cruel?

ABC News Primetime ran a story on mean teens last night. I wasn't paying complete attention, though I probably should have - since I have two teenagers in high school. So I did go read the story on their web page today. Using the Internet, teens seem to be meaner than ever before. Maybe it's because they aren't actually talking to people face to face so it doesn't seem real - kind of like a computer game. Or maybe that's just me trying to figure out why. Why would anyone be so cruel to someone else? Why do perfectly nice kids suddenly turn mean and cruel? Have kids always been so mean? I honestly don't remember how it was when I was in school. Either that means things have gotten a whole lot worse - or once kids get past high school, it's not going to seem all that important. Probably some of both.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Addictive!

I started playing this game and I couldn't stop!  Try it.


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Where's the Bus Schedule?

School starts Tuesday and I just realized we don't have a bus schedule. I looked through both packets from registration and didn't find it. Either we'll get one in the mail in the next couple of days, or we'll have to assume the bus will come at the same time as in previous years. But then you never know about that. The schedule is never exactly right anyway, because the bus always comes earlier than the schedule says. Beth missed it her first day of 7th grade, poor girl. Luckily she was rescued by the mom of one of her friends, who drove her to the next stop so she could catch the bus there.

The important thing here is - school starts Tuesday!

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Milk for $1.00

Milk for $1.00
Milk for $1.00
Originally uploaded by bcmom.


Beth worked at the Wisconsin State Fair this year, selling milk and t-shirts in the Golden Guernsey booth. She had to work the last day of the fair (Sunday, 8/13/06) - so we all went and spent the entire day at the fair. That girl in the Golden Guernsey booth just wouldn't look at the camera!

She got her check in the mail and wanted to spend it all on new clothes for school. So we went shopping on Sunday. It's amazing how quickly the money goes when you want to shop at the mall! We did go to Goodwill first, and she spent about $20 on some tops and some really nice boots. Mostly she thinks it's not cool to shop at Goodwill anymore. I think it's the greatest store in the world! We all ended up getting a few new things - shirts for Jeffrey, shorts and shirts for Cory, and some tops for me. After Goodwill we headed to the mall. It just hurts me to see how much things cost there! But Beth bought several things. It was her money so she was pretty careful about what she bought and didn't buy anything that she didn't really love. The biggest expense was the bras at Victoria's Secret.

We both got measured to see what bra size we were supposed to be wearing and then tried on lots and lots of bras in that size. She found a couple that she really, really liked so she bought those. I didn't find any that fit me right - even though I was trying on the size I should be wearing according to measurements. Oh well, not like I was willing to spend that much on a bra, anyway. It is kind of irritating that certain sizes can't be found anywhere besides Victoria's Secret! It's like all the regular stores assume that if you have a big cup size you have to be big around. What about if you are a normal size and just need a bigger cup size? I did find some bras in my size at Walmart recently - so I bought some for now and some for later. I should be set for a while now. I guess Beth is too.

Now that she's spent most of her paycheck, she will have to slow down. We started giving her money every month to take care of her own expenses. I averaged costs for her clothes and toiletries for the past 3 years to figure out how much she should get a month. Of course, that average was for shopping at Goodwill and Walmart so she may have some problems if she wants to continue shopping at the mall. This should be good for her. She really needs to have some kind of understanding about what things cost, etc. Maybe then she'll be more likely to wear the stuff she buys - or won't buy stuff just for the sake of getting something. She has done that too many times in the past. When we're at the store, she really likes it and just has to have it - then she never wears it!

I think being responsible for her own expenses ought to help. She's got to learn sometime!

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Let's try this rain thing again

this is an audio post - click to play

Of course, it was raining really hard before I called the audioblogger number, and then it started raining hard all over again when I hung up. What can you do?

Raining!

this is an audio post - click to play

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Beloit College Mindset List

The annual Beloit College Mindset List is out. Each year, the Wisconsin school takes a look at the world through the eyes of college freshmen. 
Each August since 1998, as faculty prepare for the academic year, Beloit College in Wisconsin has released the Beloit College Mindset List. A creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief, it looks at the cultural touchstones that have shaped the lives of today’s first-year students.
Some items from the list:
  • The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the student union.
  • Smoking has never been permitted on U.S. airlines.
  • "Google" has always been a verb.
  • Bar codes have always been on everything, from library cards and snail mail to retail items.
  • more
You can also take a look at previous year's lists.  Very interesting.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Friday, August 11, 2006

testing after updating

test test test

I have been having problems using performancing with this blog.  I finally got that fixed, and then I updated - so I'm just checking to see if it still works.


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testing before updating

test test test

powered by performancing firefox

Thursday, August 10, 2006

School Registration

Well, I got the kids all registered for school.  It wasn't all that bad this year because I was smart enough to go during the day instead of in the evening.  I don't know what I was thinking last year!  Actually, I just read about last year, and I see what I was thinking - but luckily I learned something from the whole thing.

Cory and I went after Band Camp on Tuesday.  We got all his forms filled out, signed, and turned in, but had to bring Beth's home so she could sign them. (We stopped and dropped them off today when we went to pick Cory up - real quick in and out)  Then I got in line to pay the fees.  Two in high school this year so there would be no dilemma over what line to get into.  Not that it mattered.  There were maybe three other parents there registering their kids, so I ended up waiting maybe 5 minutes.  It's just the shock when everything is added up, and the total comes to just under $200 for registering 2 kids for high school!  And, of course, that's not the end of it.  They will constantly be needing money for this or that throughout the entire school year.  Better start saving now! 

Cory got to check out his locker and make sure he could open it.  He's happy because it's in the hallway outside the band room.  The kids get assigned a locker their freshman year and then keep that same locker throughout their high school career.  That's different than when I was in school.  I remember having a different locker each year - different halls belonged to different classes, etc.  This is probably actually a good idea.  The kids in all grade levels are mixed throughout the school so you don't have some "Senior Hallway" or some such where underclassmen aren't welcome.  Cory is already friends with quite a few of the high school kids through band, and he has two senior girls calling him "my freshman."  I think he'll do ok.

We did have to get his class schedule corrected slightly.  He meant to sign up for Jazz Band, but somehow didn't get it on his schedule.  So we got that added.  Of course that means that someone will have to get him to school by 7:15am on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Hopefully we can find someone to share rides - since there's no bus that early!

School starts the day after Labor Day.

Monday, August 07, 2006

For Beth


Brown Eyed Girl
Originally uploaded by bcmom.
Let her find you, God, please. Meet her where she is and let her know you're real. Nothing I can say or do will ever bring her close to you. But you, God - you can reach her. I know it.
-Landon's prayer for Ashley in Remember by Karen Kingsbury with Gary Smalley

Friday, August 04, 2006

Busy Day / Busy Week

Today we went separate directions both at the beginning and the end of the day. I realize for plenty of families this is normal, but not so much for us. Jeffrey left a little before 7am, taking Beth and going to pick up her friend Cristina. As they pulled out of the driveway, Cory and I climbed into the van and headed in the other direction.

Cory has been attending Band Camp all week from 10am-5pm -- marching in the hot sun, learning to play the music and learning the drills. Because they worked so hard for the first 4 days of the week, the hottest weather we've had all summer, by the way, they got to go to Noah's Ark and play all day today. Cory had to be in the band room by 7:15, and the bus was leaving at 7:30. I went with them last year as a chaperone, but didn't volunteer this year. They're a great group of kids and don't need all that much chaperoning anyway. Basically, the band director, 'W', lets them loose in the park with a few rules like - stay together with at least one other person - meet back here at such and such a time for lunch - and we're leaving at such and such a time, be here! Then they scatter and enjoy the day.

Beth started work at the Wisconsin State Fair yesterday. She's working in the Golden Guernsey booth selling t-shirts and "Grip It, Sip Its." This is her first 'real' job - yes, it's only 6 days of work, but she had to get a job permit and fill out paperwork with Kelly Services and everything. Her best friend Cristina is working, too. So Jeffrey is taking them to work with him on the days they work and then running them down to the fairgrounds when it is time for work. It must be tough - being teenagers and all, and they have to get up before noon. So far Beth has worked 2 days, and it sounds like she's doing a good job and keeping busy. The girls have had a little time to explore the fairground, too.

I had to house all to myself yesterday and today. Of course, there is always plenty to do around here - cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, cooking - does it ever stop? Then, about the time Jeffrey and the girls got back to Eagle, I had to run over to the school in Palmyra to pick Cory up. The band was supposed to arrive back at the school at 6pm - but of course they were late. It wasn't too bad waiting, though. I rolled the windows on the van down, and the breeze was really nice - and I took my book and had plenty of time to read. The bus finally rolled in at 6:43, and excited but exhausted kids all piled off. It sounds like they had a wonderful time - Cory hung out with 3 girls all day and got just a little sunburned.

I still had to actually cook dinner when we finally got home - chicken stir fry - which Beth did not eat because she doesn't eat chicken anymore. I told her some story about the chickens flopping around with their heads cut off, and she decided that she wasn't going to eat chicken anymore. Of course she forgot when I bought her chicken nuggets for lunches - Silly girl! But the rest of us enjoyed the stir fry. I wonder if there's a video out there somewhere of chickens flopping around with their heads cut off? I'll have to look.

Cream Puffs @ the FairNext week it starts all over again - except Band Camp is only 10am-2pm every day, and Friday is a pizza party at the school. Beth works 3 days during the week and then next Sunday. So we're going to go to the fair on Sunday, too. We always enjoy that - cream puffs and horse pulls! (and don't forget - all that whipped cream comes from Golden Guernsey Dairy)

Friday, July 28, 2006

Dinner by Beth

onion ringsCory and I went to the beach Tuesday. Beth declared that she wasn't going and she never wants to swim again - so she stayed home. It really irritated me - here I was taking time out of my life to do something fun with my kids, and she didn't even appreciate that. By the time Cory and I got to the beach, I realized this could be a good thing. So I called Beth and told her that since she was home and I wasn't, she got to make dinner. Amazingly, she didn't even complain!? So, after a fun afternoon at the beach, Cory and I arrived home, about the same time as Jeffrey did, to find Beth working on dinner. She had made onion rings - burning herself a little and melting a plastic plate in the process, but she's ok. And she was browning the hamburger with onions and garlic to make tacos. After Cory got out of the shower, he helped her finish up by grating cheese and other details. It was all really good. I knew she could handle it!

But I still want her to come to the beach and play with me.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Does she look like anybody?


Does she look like anybody?
Originally uploaded by bcmom.
People are always coming up to Beth and telling her that she looks like Julia Roberts - but she could never see it. I'm not entirely sure I could ever see it either. We've never gotten the two of them side by side, after all. Cory took this picture the other day, and Beth thought she could see the resemblance for the first time. I'm looking at it trying to see - but she just looks like my Beth. I posted the picture on Flickr to see if anyone might see it and guess who I was referring to when I asked "Does she look like anybody?" Cory jumped right in and said Julia Roberts - but I deleted the comment because that just defeated the purpose. So far no other comments.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Summer Project


Upload photos at Bolt.

I just uploaded pictures of Jeffrey's summer project to my Bolt account. Though I'm not particularly impressed with Bolt, they do offer plenty of FREE storage for photos, videos and such - and this slideshow is cool.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Illlusion

Cory just sent me this. Try it. It's really neat.

Castle Illusion

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Always trust old ladies

..... they know what they are doing!
The doctor that had been seeing an 80-year-old woman for most of her life
finally retired. At her next checkup, the new doctor told her to bring a
list of all the medicines that had been prescribed for her. As the young
doctor was looking through these, his eyes grew wide as he realized she had
a prescription for birth control pills. "Mrs. Smith, do you realize these
are BIRTH CONTROL pills?

"Yes, they help me sleep at night."

"Mrs. Smith, I assure you there is absolutely NOTHING in these that could
possibly help you sleep!"

She reached out and patted the young Doctor's knee. "Yes, dear, I know
that. But every morning, I grind one up and mix it in the glass of orange
juice that my 16 year old granddaughter drinks...And believe me, it helps me
sleep at night."

You gotta like Grandmas

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Can you raed tihs?

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs tnhak a techaer.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

NO Whining!

Grasp of Truth
If you have
Enough breath
To complain
About anything,
You have more than
Enough reason
To give thanks
About something.

Mattie J.T. Stepanek - Reflections of a Peacemaker

While reading this book, I am amazed over and over again. Even as a very young kid, Mattie understood some things that most of the rest of us never seem to grasp. This particular poem really struck me. Here was a kid who could have had plenty to complain about, but he chose to enjoy the life he had and try to make a difference in other people's lives, too.

I'm going to have to start quoting Mattie around here because it seems all we hear is complaining. Is it just a teenage thing? Or are my kids spoiled? I think sometimes when you have everything you could possibly need it's harder to be thankful - because you end up taking everything for granted. Maybe if we take some things away from them, they'll be more thankful for the things they have? It's worth a try anyway. Actually, what I want is to start keeping track of everything they complain about. Then I will expect them to list the same number of things they have to be thankful about. Either they will get tired of it and stop complaining so much, or they will actually realize how much they have to be thankful for.

I'll have to keep track of my own too.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Cory's Science Experiment


Cory's Science Experiment
Originally uploaded by bcmom.
Kids are home on Spring Break this week. It doesn't feel like spring, but at least it's a break. Cory decided to take advantage of his time and conduct a science experiment. We took pictures and video so he could build a web page about his experiment, and he's planning to take all the stuff to school and do it there too. It was fun to watch, and he did it several times.
Video: My Science Experiment
by bmquix


We have a book full of neat science experiments, and that's where he found this. There are also web pages to find science experiments to try. One of these is Science experiments at home.

Sunday, March 05, 2006

The Brat Behind the Mirror


Behind the Mirror
Originally uploaded by bcmom.
She was looking so cute with her hair piled on top of her head and all those little braids. So I thought I'd just take a picture or two, but every time I pointed the camera in her direction, she hid behind the mirror. What a brat! Then the next day I found out that she had deleted the picture I liked best. She missed this one and another because there was a picture of her dad between them so I guess she just didn't go backwards on the camera after that. That really irritated me. I'm her mom, and if I want to take her picture, I will! frizzie lizzie I probably would not have uploaded the picture or done anything with it - well, maybe not - but since she went and made such a big deal out of it and deleted the picture off the camera, I uploaded this pic for everyone to see. How about that?

And just because I can, I'm including another picture from a few years ago - this is why she was braiding her hair, so it could be all frizzy the next day.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

What is Butt Dust?

These have to be original and genuine - no adult is this creative!!

JACK (age 3) was watching his Mom breast-feeding his new baby sister. After a while he asked: "Mom why have you got two? Is one for hot and one for cold milk?"

MELANIE (age 5) asked her Granny how old she was. Granny replied she was so old she didn't remember any more. Melanie said, "If you don't remember you must look in the back of your panties. Mine say five to six."

STEVEN (age 3) hugged and kissed his Mom goodnight. "I love you so much, that when you die I'm going to bury you outside my bedroom window."

BRITTANY (age 4) had an earache and wanted a painkiller. She tried in vain to take the lid off the bottle. Seeing her frustration, her Mom explained it was a childproof cap and she'd have to open it for her. Eyes wide with wonder, the little girl asked: "How does it know it's me?

SUSAN (age 4) was drinking juice when she got the hiccups. "Please don't give me this juice again," she said, "It makes my teeth cough."

D I (age 4) stepped onto the bathroom scale and asked: "How much do I cost?"

MARC (age 4) was engrossed in a young couple that were hugging and kissing in a restaurant. Without taking his eyes off them, he asked his dad: "Why is he whispering in her mouth?"

CLINTON (age 5) was in his bedroom looking worried. When his Mom asked what was troubling him, he replied, "I don't know what'll happen with this bed when I get married. How will my wife fit in?"

JAMES (age 4) was listening to a Bible story. His dad read: "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city but his wife looked back and was turned to salt." Concerned, James asked: "What happened to the flea?"

TAMMY (age 4) was with her mother when they met an elderly, rather wrinkled woman her Mom knew. Tammy looked at her for awhile and then asked, "Why doesn't your skin fit your face?

The Sermon I think this Mom will never forget.... this particular Sunday sermon..."Dear Lord," the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. "Without you, we are but dust." He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter (who was listening!) Leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little girl voice, "Mom, what is butt dust?"

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Oh So Comfy


Oh So Comfy
Originally uploaded by bcmom.
We got the new furniture last week, and we are really enjoying it. For the first time, Jeffrey has a nice comfy chair and ottoman. He has definitely claimed that for himself and makes a big deal to the kids about how they shouldn't sit in his chair - whether he's sitting in it or not. So, of course, they make an equally big deal of sitting in it every chance they get! Here's Cory lounging in the chair the moment his dad leaves the room.

The things that amuse us, huh?