This Week in Random

I've been a little m.i.a. these days and I know it. It's not that there's anything specific going on to keep me away from the blogs, it's more that there are other things consuming my thoughts and hands.

If I had a nickle for every time I've been in one of the vans chauffering children these past two weeks. I think I would take the money a go vacation some place warm :o).

On Thursday morning, I sat in the mudroom keeping an eye on the little girls who insisted on playing outside in our two cm of snow that we got overnight. Have the adjusted to their new climate? Most definitely! They love the snow! They BEG to go outside and will generally play outside for an hour or so whenever the weather is acceptable for them to be out there.

I'm always a little nervous letting them play outside with me not out there, so in the end, I often park myself by a window and keep an eye on them. It's a good time for me to read, or knit. If Maverick is out there with them, I'm a little more comfortable doing things and checking on them frequently because he'll bark if anything is amiss. He was being a wimp though and watching them out the side light window, so he could be two feet away from me.

Bub had his oral French exam on Wednesday and he got 80%. Very good, considering he wasn't passing French at all at the beginning of the semester. He's torn. He'd love to continue on in French but seeing as he struggled so much with it this year, he feels he shouldn't push it, as it only gets more difficult every year. He has a tough time memorizing the verb tenses and when to use them.

I practiced with him for his exam on Tuesday night and was surprised at how much I remember, but also at how much I've forgotten. I love languages and really wish I was able to continue to use my French regularly, but when you don't need it, you tend not to use it, and of course begin to forget it.

I've been developing some new methods to help me keep the house clean. I am not a natural cleany. I don't focus well on things I don't enjoy. I can ignore messes until they really get out of hand and then it drives me crazy. My mom who is the clean queen, sometimes has to rap me over the head for things that are so logical to her  to sink in to my brain. This week is one of those weeks where something finally sank in. She told me how she always, picks everything up, sweeps/vacuums, wipes downs floors and other dirty locations as soon as she's able to every day, so this week, as soon as I have all the children at school and am home again (have had to drive them much of the week this week), I  go around like a whirlwind, picking up, vacuuming, wiping, and scrubbing. I work on this until noon (with a break in between when the little ones are outside for awhile) and then feed them lunch. After lunch, they watch a DVD and I work on something creative. When the DVD is done, they'll play and I'll start tidying up (again). Before I know, kids are arriving home and it's time to make supper.

Our community and church community is mourning the loss of a special man. Today is the funeral. We go knowing that it will be a celebration of his life and that he is in heaven celebrating with those who have gone before him. At age 76, it was still too soon and too sudden. He will be missed and remembered fondly by many!