Perplexing Math

My dear daughter had been re-working her math page to correct a few problems. Finally, she said to me, "Mom, this answer has to be right! I've re-worked it twice and it has to be right." Just to make sure, I watched her re-work the problem once more and she was right; the answer was correct.

So, I went to check the teacher manual, because there are sometimes printing mistakes. The TM was correct. As it turns out, she was re-working a problem that was NOT marked incorrect.

Just a friendly reminder to children ... make sure the problem NEEDS to be corrected before you start re-working it!

Nice surprise

Yesterday, my hubby came home with a bouquet of Gerbera daisies and my favorite candy bar.

Gerbera's are one of my favorites, but I admit to having many favorite flowers! Since Gerbera's do so well in containers, they'll most likely be some of the first flowers I buy this year. Not a whole lot of ground around our home that I can actually 'plant' because we have a lot of dirt work to do yet. And, since yesterday was a dreary, cloudy, rainy day, hubby thought we could both use some color and a treat.

I have a feeling he ate his treat on the way home from town!

Last night at dinner....

... an interesting conversation between parents and almost 3yo boy-child after he burps at the table:

Dad: "You need to say 'Excuse me,' Graham."

Graham: "No, I don't."

Dad: "You burped; you need to say 'Excuse me'."

Mom, while thinking maybe he just doesn't understand what a burp 'is': "The sound that came out of your mouth was a burp, and you need to say 'Excuse me'."

Graham: "No, I don't."

Mom, attempting once more: "Yes, you do need to say 'Excuse Me'."

Graham: "Well, I burped, but then I put it back in."

This was said clear as a bell, and obviously if 'it' goes back in,

it doesn't need to be excused ... in his mind!

Picture stifled snickering as hubby and I try to finish our meal. What more is there to say?? What can you say to an almost 3yo?? Better luck later, I guess.

Wordless Wednesday

If you didn't catch that...

... the answer is, YES, we are expecting.

It's part of the reason I took a blog break. This pregnancy has been a little different. I usually cannot tell I'm pregnant until the 4th/5th month and do not experience any signs of morning sickness/tiredness, but this little one made his/her presence felt much earlier. I'm not able to see my doctor until mid-June, which is later than I would have preferred; but as this is not my first, I'm confident that all will be good until then.

The newest Lahlum will arrive sometime in mid to late November. I'm a little cynical about due dates as my children tend to come on their own time -- usually quite a few days after their predicted due date.

Crazy Eights Meme

Jamie tagged me for this meme.

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. A NEW BABY IN NOVEMBER 2009
2. My daughter's Confirmation and First Eucharist at the end of May
3. Starting my vegetable garden
4. Landscaping our yard - that includes grass!
5. Having sidewalks and a patio installed
6. The start of a more relaxed summer 'learning' period
7. The birth of my sister's first baby in May
8. Summer and it's beautiful display of color

8 Things I did yesterday...
1. Drove to Jamie's with Sarah & kids
2. Stayed up until midnight talking
3. Purchased a supplemental Cooking Light magazine
4. Played piano
5. Slept in a sleeping bag
6. Made chicken salad sandwiches on Ciabatta bread and croissants
7. Did a bit of laundry
8. Watched "Meet the Robinson's"

8 Things I wish I could do:
1. Move our farm/home 30 minutes closer to Fargo
2. Have a weekly hour of adoration again
3. Find time to read more from my stack of 'books I want to read'
4. Push an 'easy' button to create an instant lawn in our yard
5. Travel to Maine again
6. Go on a cruise with my husband
7. Keep our home clean for more than half a day
8. Sew & quilt more - I'd like to sew more clothes, but would also appreciate more quilting time

8 Shows I watch:
1. LOST
2. CSI
3. The Eleventh Hour - if I'm home that night
4. The Biggest Loser - if I'm home that night
5. Law & Order - if I'm home that night
6. Without a Trace
7. The Mentalist - not often
8. I cannot think of another that I watch more regularly

8 People I tag:
Caroline
Kimberly
Sally
Laura

**UPDATE**
I'm also tagging Margaret!

If any of my other reads havn't been tagged, consider it done & have fun.

Vacation of Sorts

I'll be away from home - pretty much the rest of the week. I'm taking a mini-vacation with my friend, Sarah, to visit (and hopefully help - not hinder) Jamie! We'd planned to do this a long time ago, but were kept away by the flooding Red River. Anyway, no blogging for me. Although, maybe we'll be able to give Jamie time to update her blog, if she's up to it.

My kiddos are headed for a visit at Grandma & Grandpa Golden Acres farm while I'm away. I sure hope they don't wear out Grandma with their antics! Seems like Spring, mud, rubber boots, water and automatic shop towel dispensers bring out the creativity in 6yo and 2.5yo boys. What one doesn't think of ... the other will. Sorry no pics, hubby caught them in the act and took care of the mess - you'll have to use your creative imagination to conjure up images. Just make sure you use up ALL the shop towels in your image and you'll be pretty close to accurate.

The itch to garden...

This year, I have a blank slate in which to garden. In the past, I've had a huge garden - approximately 16'x24'. I loved it and packed as much as I could into that space, often squeezing rows and plants together to get more for my time and create less room for weeds to grow. I've kept my garden plans in a binder since we started that garden in 1999 - it helped with rotation and was fun to look back at seed varieties.

However, I'm going to try something different with my blank slate. A few friends have had success with Square Foot Gardening, and I want to try my hand at it, too. I purchased this book by Mel Bartholomew and have read through it.

I've saved scraps from our home building and hope to get the soil supplies by mid-May. There have been many years where I haven't planted until June, and I've still had bumper crops. So, the time-line doesn't concern me too much.

If you want to know more about Square Foot Gardening, check this link, or check out the book at your local library. He makes a lot of sense and his ideas are easily applied to container gardening, as well.

P.S. As my SFG (Square Foot Garden) takes shape, I'll share more of the details.

Farm of 10 Sloughs (at least!)

We have plenty of water surrounding our home. In ND, we call them sloughs - as opposed to MN, where every water filled depression is a lake (and they are darn proud of it!). Hopefully most of them will dry up before Spring planting begins, but I'm not too hopeful on that idea. Some of them are huge...

The ground looks a lot drier than two days ago, and the wind will speed the process, but it's still incredibly soggy to walk on. Of course, there was not time to landscape and lay sidewalks before the freezing rain and snow started last Fall, so we have plywood and 2x6 planks. Usually, we ask visitors to call when they arrive and then we open the big garage door. I found that if I stepped on the weeds, of which there are plenty, I can stay above and keep my shoes clean.

Not, so the kids. I just made Zeke pay Dash $1 per shoe to clean his muddy tennies. They all have rubber boots - why did he wear his best tennies?? He's six, that's why.

Here are pics from around our house - starting with the view when I step out the garage door.

Above: West of our house - water is up to Grandma & Grandpa Green Acres driveway and almost surrounds the bin site.

Above picture: Just south of the bin site.

Above picture: Our lovely and very long driveway with a slough at the very end... handy for skipping rocks and such when walking out to get the mail. The driveway heads out south of the house.

Above: Another slough to the east of the driveway.

Above: Our wonderful plywood sidewalk, which leads from the garage pad to the front door. The slough to the very east of the house is barely visible against the blue sky.

Above: View of another slough to the north of our home - in the backyard.

Above picture: Another slough on the north - this one drains the northern sloughs to connect them to those by the grain site in the first picture. The ducks and geese that stop by for a rest have been fun to watch. Hopefully some will nest and we'll see babies later this Spring.

The brown isn't very exciting, but it will give way to green buds, soon enough. Right now, the blue sky is definitely a day brightner. The weather is much warmer and I'm finally believing that it's time to wash and store the winter garb!

An Almost Wordless Wednesday

Spiritual Bouquet Cards

Angelina helped Zeke make his craft yesterday. They turned out lovely. Zeke chose to send one to a friend who had a big dental appointment earlier this week.

Happy Easter!

It felt so good to sing the Alleluia this morning!

My oldest, Dash, was given this figurine set by his Godparents. Pieces were added over the years until they had given him all the accessories. My kids love to set it up and change the scene over the days of the Triduum. It is breakable, but the only piece that has broken is Jesus' thumb on the risen Christ figurine. It's tiny, as you can see ... I have actually found it twice and reattached it.

Dash, Angelina, Zeke and Graham

*I do not claim responsibility for this off-kilter picture. My nature would have erased it, but it was the best of four.

Holy Thursday - The Last Supper

The Last Supper

by Palma Vecchio

I really like art - paintings, drawings, icons, etc. It's quiet - no noise associated with it unless you have the imagination to put yourself there, in the moment (I suppose). I prefer to think of it as quiet, because I think quiet and stillness is beautiful. Many people have told me that when my home is really quiet, that I will miss the noise. I'm the type who can drive for 4 or more hours without thinking about turning on a radio. I don't think I'll miss the noise... I'll miss the kids, but not the noise.

Anyway, when I see pictures of the last supper, I always wonder what it was like to be there. Were there lively discussions occuring, and if so, what were they talking about? Or was it a solemn meal throughout? How could Judas blend in with everyone? Was it dark in the room?

Wordless Wednesday - Almost

Dash turns 12 later this month - April 24th, to be exact. This past weekend, he and three friends went together on a bowling birthday party. The moms thought it was great - it may become an annual event because of the low cost and ease in having everyone celebrate together on one day (especially when they have the same general group of firends). Dash is in the middle of the picture.

P.S. Do you like my handiwork on the cake?? I only do this to remind myself why I'm NOT a professional cake decorator ... I value dexterity in my hands!

Wordless Wednesday ... REALLY!