Winding down?

It's the last week of school--which means it is the busiest--in regards to parties and activities, anyway! Just in case that wasn't enough, we've tacked on a birthday party for N right after school lets out tomorrow and she's having a few girls over for a birthday sleepover tomorrow night!

The packers/movers arrive on Tuesday!

My husband checked the downspouts, etc. before the thunderstorms last night--and found the one he'd fixed was not totally fixed and another was not functioning at all! So he fixed those during the light rain, then kept checking the basement and the downspouts and sides of the house several times during the downpours during the night! (So I got a little more sleep than he did but between the lightning and checking to see if he needed help, I'm ready for a nap, too!)

Maybe I'll just let the movers pack the dirty laundry.

Sunday Soul-searching

I found an intriguing post over at SweetViolet's this morning. I enjoyed her comments and her challenge to take this religion quiz honestly, answering truthfully about what you believe rather than what you have been taught to believe.

I thought I understood her point and took the quiz. However, after I sat back and thought about the answers I'd given, I realized that there were still one or two responses I'd made out of fear or guilt. What if that isn't true?

So I went back and took the quiz a second time, honestly answering each question. Lightning did not strike and the results were interesting!

In college, the Jesuits taught us to always question everything. I think that's a good approach--even if my Belief.net score shows only a 58% rating for Roman Catholic!

1. Orthodox Quaker (100%)
2. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (97%)
3. Liberal Quakers (90%)
4. Unitarian Universalism (85%)
5. Mahayana Buddhism (81%)
6. Theravada Buddhism (77%)
7. Hinduism (75%)
8. Reform Judaism (72%)
9. Seventh Day Adventist (69%)
10. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (68%)
11. Sikhism (67%)
12. Jainism (66%)
13. Orthodox Judaism (64%)
14. Bahá'í Faith (63%)
15. Neo-Pagan (61%)
16. Eastern Orthodox (58%)
17. Roman Catholic (58%)
18. Taoism (58%)
19. Islam (57%)
20. New Age (56%)
21. New Thought (47%)
22. Secular Humanism (46%)
23. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (43%)
24. Scientology (43%)
25. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (34%)
26. Jehovah's Witness (33%)
27. Nontheist (29%)

Take the Belief-O-Matic quiz yourself!

I won't be needing Faith

I thought it would make a good baby name but that just would not be fair to a boy!

Wrong Holiday

Happy Mother's Day!

This story is about an amazing father--but it is too inspiring not to share! (And between the move in a few weeks and my fading memory, I won't remember where to find this again next month!)

I found this on Chosha's site. Take a look!

For my writing friends

Many of you have participated in NaNo in the past, so you have likely already heard about their latest offering: Script Frenzy.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about NaNo is National Novel Writing Month and takes place in November. The challenge is to write 50,000 words in a month.

Similarly, Script Frenzy is a challenge to write a script during the month of June.
I am not going to try this one this year but I thought I'd share it with you if you're interested! (I'd love to go see your life story played out on the big screen--complete with any aliens, ghosts, pterodactyls or lottery winners that might appear!)

8 Things You Probably Didn’t Need to Know About Me

[Added 5/11: Eep! I forgot to let you know that it was Rene who tagged me to do this Meme! (Stop by and read hers!)]

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.
Here we go:


1. My lucky number is 8. (That must be why I was tagged with this meme!)

2. I was born on the Fourth of July.

3. I’ve been a blonde all of my life (it was natural when I was a child).

4. I am the oldest of five children.

5. I have a habit of apologizing for things that cannot be helped. (Weather, natural disasters, the fact that you have a cold…)

6. I smoked at the age of 10.

7. I don’t purposefully wear sunscreen. (There may be some hope for me as they’ve gone and put it in my moisturizer and makeup).

8. Many days I don’t wear makeup—so there really is no hope for me.

Okay, now I have to tag 8 people: Kellie, Margaret, my brother-in-law, Laurie, Aaron, Tracy, Angela, Sarah

I must be doing something right

My daughter thinks I don't love her and just wanted her so she could be my slave.

My son was very upset this morning because I would not let him skip a day of school. (He is in kindergarten).

I'm not the best mom in the world but with sentiments like these, once in a while, I feel like I'm on the right track! ;)

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Disclaimers
I don't enlist my children in slavery. My daughter was cleaning her room and filled her trash can. She asked me to empty it and I asked her to do it. The next day, she had more trash and asked me again to empty her trash can. I explained that I empty all of the other trash cans in the house and she can empty hers. This was met with the constant complaint that she has to do everything and I treat her like a slave.

My son is smart and has lots of friends in school but was very tired this morning. He tried to tell me it's too hard because he always "gets his papers wrong." I reminded him that he comes home with papers with smiley faces and nice comments on the top. Then he explained that they are working on "clocks" this week and he keeps getting them wrong.
My poor children do live in a house full of digital clocks. The one antique pendulum clock is not always wound but when it is, he knows what time it is by how many "gongs" he hears.
It seems we need to practice telling time when he gets home from school today!

The state we live in--Part Two

We live in the state of Kansas. While many people's perceptions of Kansas as a large prairie constantly threatened by tornadoes comes from L. Frank Baum, reality can be more threatening than fiction at times.

Last night, a tornado lifted not just one house but many. The entire town of Greensburg, Kansas was almost lifted after a monster tornado raged through last night.

We are just to the right of the purple covering the middle of Kansas. I am not overly concerned about our safety; we have a basement and a few cases of fresh water down there along with plenty of toys, coloring books and games. In light of recent events however, I have moved some candles down there as well and am paying a little more attention to weather forecasts today.
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UPDATE: We're still fine but the rains were heavy again last night. The basement is flooded. No posts today--I'm going to finish bailing water...

The state we live in--Part One

If we pay to much attention to the headlines, we could live in a constant state of fear. More and more random violence seems to be occuring in or around schools, with no specific age groups or types of communities excluded. It is unsettling but so far, has not been too close to home.

This week, my children's school was in "lockdown." No student had presented a threat. Rather, a man in a neighboring town stabbed two people and has not been apprehended. From internet and newspaper reports, and the "reports" that my 3rd grader brings home each day, I have gathered that the alleged perpetrator(an ex-con) is going through a divorce. His wife had a restraining order against him but he broke into her home on Tuesday and stabbed her and the man with her. By all accounts, this seems to be a domestic issue. However, in light of recent events in our nation--combined with the fact that he has a relative that works at my children's school--the school is on heightened security, locking all doors, escorting children to recess and Mass, etc. The school has offered that we may keep our children home but has not canceled school. I went ahead and sent my kids to school but of course, ran through "what if" scenarios a few times in my mind!

In light of events such as Virginia Tech, I realize that they have to take all scenarios into account and they have said that if this man is not apprehended by Monday, the school will be in lockdown again.

Sending my children to a small, Catholic school in a small, midwestern town does not guarantee their safety. I do not believe this particular individual is an immediate threat to my children. In light of events such as Virgina Tech however, perhaps the school--all schools--should follow more of these security measures on regular basis.
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UPDATE: They arrested the man on Sunday morning! The kids are thrilled (and I feel better, too)!

Book "binge" results

Not much of a binge, I'm afraid!

(Keeping in mind that though I did bring a book with us when we went house hunting, we were stressed, exhausted or discussing merits of various houses so I never cracked the book. So that's almost a week that I did not read a thing. Sad. Very, very sad. I got much more read last month when I was still boycotting television--go figure!)

Finished:
The Last Days of Dogtown, Anita Diamant (Posted a short review here)

The March, E.L. Doctorow. His style is different from anything I've read lately but it was a welcome change. I recommend.

In Progress:
Shepherding a Child's Heart, Tedd Tripp (Actually, I'm on page117/210) This one is tough. Not tough to read or understand, just convicting to read. I'm taking it little by little.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith. I am on page 1.