a suburban housewife

Where, oh where, has my little blog gone...

2009-11-09T16:22:00.003-05:00

Oh, wait. It's right here. I've been away for quite some time....life just takes over sometimes, yes? Things have changed in the suburban, er, urban household. We now have an 8th grader, a 5th grader, a 2nd grader, and a 1st grader. Whew! Talk about ch-ch-ch-changes! God has met us at each challenge with a mirror of our own hearts, so lots of growth has taken place around here.

I really want to share the story of how God moved us from comfortable suburbia to our own little patch of urban concrete smack in the middle of a south Georgia college town....it is not for the faint of heart!

Stay tuned...

Humility from an unexpected source...

2009-01-29T08:27:00.005-05:00

Facebook is all the rage these days. Provided it doesn't become a time vampire that sucks every available (and unavailable) minute out of your day, it is quite fun- hilarious, actually. There are so many people whom I haven't kept up with by virtue of geographical distance or just plain losing touch; but with FB, they are just a search away.

Now the "friends" part is interesting: apparently, and I don't know if this is just Urban Legend, FB has a limit of 5,000 friends per person. I doubt I'm in danger of exceeding this!! But every once in a while, I am caught completely off guard by a friend request. This happens when I read a name and think, "Why would _________ want to be my FB friend?" I either totally ignored the person because he/she wasn't "cool" enough, or I just didn't make the effort to be friends.

So I am humbled by these requests. It makes me pause and wonder, even though (thank God) I don't act quite as immaturely as I did in high school, are there people around me today whom I judge as just a little "different" or "weird" and don't pursue as friends? Shouldn't Christ's love compel me to reach out to everyone in my sphere of acquaintances? Just a thought. Or two.

Thankfulness...

2008-11-29T22:09:00.004-05:00

I've been scarce in Bloggetyville lately. Our life is very full with two children in traditional school, two whom I homeschool, Scouts (girl and boy), wrestling (Harrison, not me and Rob), church plant, learning and growing in my roles as wife and mother, etc., etc., etc. It certainly isn't that I have nothing to say, or that I don't want to blog, but I've had to make choices with my time, just as we all do.

We just celebrated Thanksgiving, and I'll let y'all in on a little secret: I like Thanksgiving better than Christmas. Really. I like Christmas- don't get me wrong; I just like Thanksgiving more. I think there's less pressure or something. At any rate, I thought it would be good for me to enumerate some reasons for thankfulness this year. The list is by no means exhaustive.

our new (to us) home
sweet fellowship of believers in the church plant
Harrison
Eli
Sophia
Kirk
Rob- you're the best, and I love you. But you get your own post on our anniversary.
friends
family
salvation
growth
debt-free living within reach in 2009
contentment

I'd love to read some of your reasons for being thankful.

Rainy Day Fun and Reminiscing...

2008-10-08T21:58:00.005-04:00

I was watching some littles on the playground today, and one little girl, Maggie, came up to me and my friend to tell us something. What she said I really don't remember, but HOW she said it- oh my! Hilarious. So that led me to thinking about the many things my kids did/do that are so funny. Rob's Nanny told me one time that I really should write those things down. I was in my early 20's when she said that, so naturally I thought, "Why would I need to do that? I'll never forget these things." Well, guess what? I have forgotten a lot of things. But a coupon for pantyliners and a forecast for a rainy day made me remember...

Once upon a time, long, long ago, we lived in the Mojave Desert in the uppermost corner of LA county. There were only four of us in those days: Rob, me, Harrison, and Eli. Our kitchen floor was that 13x13 glossy ceramic tile. You know- real uptown but hard to keep clean. Anyway. Rain in SoCal (southern CA for those who've never lived there) is not like what we folks in the good 'ole South experience. See, it doesn't rain for MONTHS there. And when it does start, like in October or November, it's a big deal.

It had been raining off and on for about a week that fall. I had taken the boys to the library and the park already that week, so I decided they could have some indoor fun at home. I put some toys out in the living room and some music in the CD player and told the boys I would be folding laundry in my room. Eli was around 14 months old, and Harrison was 4 (almost 5). As I was folding the second load of laundry, I began to hear hysterical giggling- the kind that gives kids hiccups because they can't catch their breath. I remember thinking to myself, "What's so funny about Legos and 'The Wheels on the Bus'?" I walked into the living room, but the boys weren't there. I went on into the kitchen where I beheld my offspring having the time of their short lives. "Momma! We're skating!" Harrison told me. "But y'all don't have on socks," was my last thought before Harrison demonstrated what he found. "Look, Momma! Skates that stick to your feet." Sure enough, he had found a box of pantyliners, peeled off the backing, and stuck them to the bottoms of his feet. And since he was nothing if not a helpful brother, he rigged Eli- who couldn't walk yet- by sticking them to the palms of his hands and his knees.

So now it's written.

And so it begins...

2008-10-02T21:20:00.006-04:00

The weather here in south GA was wonderful today: sunny, breezy, and warm. This morning I told the kids we would go to their favorite park later in the afternoon, after homework. (This, by the way, is a great motivator) I so enjoy watching my four play and interact with other children. Initially they all stay together, then "fan out" after 10 minutes or so.

I was sitting on a nearby bench when I looked up to see Kirk perched on top of the monkey bars. He was casually telling a group of three girls, "Yeah. I can pretty much do a backflip off these monkey bars." The girls, of course, were suitably impressed. With a 6-year-old. Unfortunately for him, the girlies wanted to see some action. I thought Kirk would start backpedaling, but it was not to be. "Well, y'all have to see that some other time. It makes mommies nervous when I do stuff like that."

Impressing the ladies. Holla.

WFMW: Repair wood scratches...

2008-09-24T10:46:00.003-04:00

Got kids or pets? Then you "got" scratches on your wood furniture- I don't care who you are. The wood crayons have never really worked for me; I don't know if I had the wrong color or what. But here's what to do. Take an oily nut (filbert, Brazil nut, macadamia) and bit it in half. Eat the half that is in your mouth. Take the other half and rub with the grain of the wood across the scratch(es) on the furniture. The natural oils in the nut will fill in the cracks. No kidding! Want more great ideas? Then go see what works for everyone else!

And now for Part II: the spawn and a rat....

2008-09-23T16:59:00.005-04:00

Remember our Roachityville Horror? My guess is that y'all are dying to know the continuing saga...and so I shall indulge you. To be honest, we haven't seen the first big live cockroach in our home since that dreaded Monday night two weeks ago. Did you catch the big and the live part? Carrying on...See, turns out that roach poison doesn't kill roach eggs (apparently), so now we have little cockroach spawn. The good news is they can't fly- yet. The bad news is WE STILL SEE ROACHES. My friend Susan called them, let's see if I can get this just right, "sad little orphans." Excuse me?!

Moving along.

The mouse problem I mentioned? As luck would have it, there was not a mouse. There was a rat. Two of them. The good news is they are both dead (and were before I ever laid eyes on them). The bad news is that when I did lay eyes on them they were a maggot-infested stench. Ahem.

We still love our house. Really, we do. It's quaint and quirky, complete with some crooked inside windows. And not a wall or doorway is square, level, plumb- whatever. It's ours, and it's affordable (less than affordable, actually). It just happens to carry extra tenants- temporarily.

He loves me...

2008-09-19T13:21:00.004-04:00

So here's the man- complete with headphones and towel on the bridge over Tallulah Gorge! Fun times!

WFMW: Scrubbing Bubbles Gel Stamp Toilet Cleaner

2008-09-17T21:43:00.004-04:00

This is GOOD, girls, so listen up! You must go buy this incredibly wonderful product as soon as possible. I cannot stress enough how this will revolutionize your bathroom cleaning. Really, you just press the tool against the inside of your toilet bowl until it clicks; it releases a "stamp" of gel cleaner that lasts (approximately) a week. Y'all, I have three boys, and my toilets smell nice now. 'Nuff said.

Check out all the other great ideas this week.

Creepy...

2008-09-15T22:14:00.006-04:00

Remember we bought a new house and moved to another city? Well, technically the house is only "new" in the sense that it is "new to us." In every other aspect this home is 45+ years old. Uh huh, go ahead and let all those stereotypes filter on through, because they're probably pretty accurate.

So the house had been unoccupied for over a year. Apparently other people enjoyed having such a nice, empty backyard in which to hang. I can only surmise this from the silent testimony of broken beer bottles and ground out cigarette butts (can I say butts on a family-friendly blog?), er, cigarette hineys that littered our backyard. But there were also non-people thingies that enjoyed the uninhabited state of our home/yard. Thingies like mice and roaches (Rob says I'm only fooling myself to call them Palmetto bugs). And since our "new" house was built by "old" standards, we can't seem to find a pest control company that will service our 16" crawl space (now it has to be 18").

Anyway.

We found a company to come service the exterior of our home and the whole of our yard. I'm not really into the whole spray-bug-poison-inside-my-house treatment. The gentleman explained we should see a dramatic decrease within two weeks (not sooner, since I wouldn't let him spray inside). Fine. We've dealt with it for a month, so what's two more weeks, right?

That was a week ago Monday. On that same night, at precisely 9:00 PM, all cockroach h*ll broke loose in our home. These things were literally crawling out of the woodwork in a staggering, poisoned-to-death sort of way. It never occured to me that they would try to come inside the house to escape the chemicals outside. What followed can only be described as a comedy of errors as all six of us scurried around with a flip-flop on each hand, or a flyswatter- sometimes both. Basically Rob and I were on stun/kill duty, and Harrison and Eli were on the pick-it-up-with-toilet-paper-and-flush-down-the-toilet patrol. Sophia and Kirk just ran around screaming, "Here's another one!" When the count got to 35, Eli started declaring, "That's it! We're going to the Ramanda (Ramada)." I told him, "Don't be ridicul- HOLY SMOKES! Is that one FLYING?!?! Get your clothes together, we're going to the Ramada!!"

As it turned out, the death toll only rose to 48. Yeah, I know. We didn't go to the Ramanda, or anywhere else, but sleep was a looooong time coming that night. I think in (many) years to come this will be hilarious. For now, I'm just thankful it wasn't the mice (however many there are) that came pouring into the house. Although, I have noticed a rather unsavory odor when I step out the front door...

My flower girl just had a baby...

2008-09-14T16:37:00.002-04:00

Oh dear...excuse me while I go buy some Geritol...

WFMW: Help! Mice!

2008-09-03T11:55:00.006-04:00

So this week is a "Backward" edition, and it works like this: instead of giving a tip, I want (hope) to get tips from y'all.

In a nutshell- we have a mouse. Let me interject here and say I fervently hope it is a mouse (singular) and not a RAT. At any rate, this guy is good- a little too good, if you know what I mean. He eats my tomatoes sunning on my windowsill; he eats my bananas hanging on the banana tree; he eats the mozzarella cheese RIGHT OUT OF THE TRAPS (3 of them).

Can someone pleeeeeease help? Leave a comment here with your suggestions, and then go see who else you can help today!

Frugal Friday: Last bit of jam...

2008-08-29T16:58:00.004-04:00

So it's a good thing my children don't read my blog, because I've been getting away with something for a while now, and I really don't want them to know about it!

When I buy jam, I only buy the "all fruit" varieties, so it is a bit more pricey than regular jam. When the jar is almost empty, I add some plain or vanilla yogurt and a bit of milk. Then I cap the jar and give it a good shake. This mix goes into popsicle molds and Presto! My kids think I've slaved bigtime!

You could also throw the mixture into a smoothie concoction. At any rate, check out the other great frugal tips!

WFMW: Diaper wipes stash

2008-08-27T10:19:00.005-04:00

After 10 1/2 years of changing diapers and having to buy diapers and wipes, you can bet your bottom dollar (pun intended) I was singing "Hallelujah!" to be able to sail right past that aisle in the grocery store. Until I remembered that panicky feeling I would get when I would reach into the diaper bag only to discover I was out of wipes. Nooooooo!

So now I keep a tub or two on hand for my friends who still change diapers. Their relief is almost a tangible thing. It is such a small thing, really, to serve others in this way. Be sure to check out what else works.

Can you believe...

2008-08-22T15:30:00.004-04:00

That something like this could cause so much excitement? We had 4 windows replaced in the front of our home yesterday. One window is a huge 9 foot wide picture window. The old one was uuuuuuuuugly; but the new one is simply beautiful. We also got a new front door. It will be painted red next week! Yay!

Homeschooling: Raw and Uncut...

2008-08-20T10:37:00.005-04:00

One part of change in our family is that I am homeschooling two of our children this year. For various reasons, Rob and I chose to keep Harrison (oldest) and Kirk (youngest) at home for me to teach. I have read lots of "homeschool" blogs and honestly, I get irritated/frustrated with the ones that come off as homeschool-is-perfect-and-nothing-ever-goes-wrong-and-we-finish-by-noon-at-the-latest.

Let me tell you: my 7th grader has picked up on this mentality, and we have had some significant conversations on why it isn't practical to expect that he will be done with his work everyday by noon. Moreover, we have had to deal with his feelings of how unfair it is that his brother, who is in kindergarten, does finish by noon everyday!

Some of my friends have asked me, "Isn't it easier to homeschool when you have taught school before?" I think the answer is "NO!" The explanation is simple, really. When I taught at a day school, my class periods were definitive: 45 minutes from bell to bell. There was no phone ringing, no potty help required of me, no FedEx man at the door...you get the idea. In addition to that, I could wax philosophical and assign work. End of story, homework due next day. Homeschooling my own children is a lesson in daily dependence on the Lord. Not that I didn't have to depend on the Lord when I taught for pay, but now my attitude must be "Help me not be frustrated at the interruptions. Let me enjoy this time at home and take advantage of the ond-on-one time with my children."

*any encouragement/advice will be much appreciated!!

I love this pic...

2008-08-18T16:03:00.004-04:00

I was browsing through some old family pics when I came across this one of Sophia's birthday in January (note my turtleneck and her sleeveless summer dress). She had told me not 30 minutes before that she hoped someone got her a baby doll for one of her gifts! Surprise!

Frugal Friday: Saving Broccoli

2008-08-15T13:29:00.004-04:00

Ummmm....yeah. So how does one save broccoli? Well in our house, my kids actually like broccoli- the tops, that is. They claim that it reminds them of little green bushes. Fine. Whatever they want to think. But then I'm left with the woody stem parts. Now what? Well, I julienne them and toss them in a big salad. I suppose you could also eat it crudite style on a platter with other raw veggies as well.

What are you waiting for? Go save some broccoli!

Head this way for more Frugal Friday tips.

Back...

2008-08-14T23:24:00.007-04:00

in the saddle again. I hope. So much has happened in what I used to call Suburbia. I think, technically, I am just "urbia" now, but I'll have to look it up to make sure.

So we moved, but that wasn't really a surprise though. We are in a small, southeast Georgia college town (emphasis on small and south), and we came here to work with a church plant. Beginning last September, Rob and I (kids too) came down every other weekend to work with a small group of 12 or so who wanted to be a church plant. This group has steadily, by God's grace, grown to average between 40-50, and they asked us around the first of the year if we would consider moving down so Rob could pastor them.

Wow.

There really is more to the story, such as how God changed my heart and my children's hearts as well. There's also the one about how God, in His sovereignty, decided my heart needed a major renovation. Or maybe a demolition.

But it's late, and morning comes pretty early around these parts. I sincerely hope to write more regularly (I could be sarcastic and say, "I regularly write when I get around to it...") and share just what has been going on here with The Suburban/Urban/Whatever I am Housewife if for nothing else but to reflect a little glimmer of God's glory.

WFMW: Rawberry pie...

2008-07-02T10:01:00.005-04:00

So, five ingredients, huh? Well, this one is easy-peazy-lemon-squeezy. Really. And although you could easily say "strawberry," the truth is you could use whatver berry suits your fancy! Another beauty of this recipe is that you don't have to cook anything! Here goes:

Ingredients

Walnuts (or nut of choice)
Butter
Strawberries
Sugar
Whipping Cream

Finely chop 1 C nuts in food processor (but not so finely that you end up with nut butter). Melt 4 T butter and mix with ground nuts. Press into pie plate (not deepdish). Slice strawberries and layer over crust, as much as you like. Whip cream with 1/3 C sugar periodically sprinkled during mixing. Spoon gorgeous mounds of white, fluffy yumminess over (and over) the strawberries. If you can make it to this point without serving right away, chill for one hour. Enjoy!

There many more "Five or fewer" recipes here, so go have a look.

One of the first things...

2008-06-19T09:33:00.003-04:00

we want to do when we move is install a new front door- a red one. I know I've read somewhere that a red door means welcome, and we definitely want to be a welcoming presence in our new neighborhood. The only problem we foresee is that our home is white with black trim. A red door would most assuredly add to the Georgia bulldog look, which wouldn't be so bad, except we will be living in a different university town- one whose mascot is NOT compatible with a bulldog!

Moving...

2008-06-17T13:25:00.005-04:00

So we're moving in a few weeks....Ha! No really, there were times in our housing search that I told Rob I wished we could just physically move our home to the new location instead of trying to find a different one.

I'm almost ready to share all that God has done for, with, and to us in the last year, but here's a hint: I might change the name of this blog to An Urban Housewife....

WFMW: I'm bored!!

2008-06-04T08:41:00.005-04:00

"Mom, I'm bored!" Oh, don't get me started. But it's inevitable, right? Most kids are used to the structure of every day school, whether homeschool or dayschool, so when vacation rolls around, it's easy to become bored with the lack of activity.

So here's what works for me: I plan certain activities for certain days. A week or so before school is out, I go the the local library and check out their scheduled events for the summer. Ours offers several things a week, but I choose the ones that all four of my kids can enjoy. For instance, yesterday we went to see a magician- hilarious! I also know that one of our local theaters offers $1 movies in the summer on Tuesday and Thursday, so the kids choose which movie they want to see, and we plan for that particular day.

I don't book up every day of the week, but this is helpful in scheduling certain chores too. If the kids know we are leaving on Tuesday at 10:00 am, then they also know they must get up and straighten their rooms and put away toys before we leave. See? It's a win/win situation!

Guess what we made...

2008-06-02T18:08:00.005-04:00

So, school's out, and what do I want to do? COOK!!! Ironic, huh? I know the weather is hot, humid, and hazy here in Suburbia, but I've been cooped up in a classroom for the better part of 9 and 1/2 months. When the kids got up this morning, I told them we were meeting another family at the strawberry farm (which will be the blueberry farm in two weeks) to pick some berries. They asked, "Are we making jam?" And even though I have never, in the history of my culinary experience, made jam, I responded with a confident, "YES!"

Then we got home with the berries, hulled and washed them, and I looked up the recipe: FOUR CUPS OF SUGAR?!?!?!?! You've got to be kidding me. There must be a better way, I told myself. So I called Taylor, and she calmly assured me that I could substitute that garbage for two cups of Sucanat with honey (just Google it; I don't have a link).

So we did, and now I have sparkling jars of jam on my kitchen counter and WAAAAAAY too many berries left over, even after we have all been popping them all day long. Now I'm thinking strawberry/blueberry jam for tomorrow. Yeah, blueberries are on sale at Publix this week, but I'm sure we'll be out there in two weeks, picking again. Ooh! I have a great blueberry-pear bread recipe to share with y'all. Stay tuned....

Finally...

2008-05-23T13:44:00.004-04:00

First things first: that is not me. I know, shocking. But it so obviously isn't me, because my hair is much darker. Aside from that...let's move on, shall we?

The 07-08 school year is over! A few days of post-planning is all that is left. The end of the schoolyear is always bitter-sweet for me. I am glad to be done with planning and grading for a while; however, I really do enjoy my students and miss seeing them on a day-to-day basis.

BUT. Better things await for the Suburban household, and although I can't quite give away everything, I can say that it looks a lot like "not going back to teach next fall." There. Was I too obvious?