A Box Full of Maggots

A box full of maggots.

Yes.

That is what you get when your child blatantly disobeys you and brings a pencil box full of acorns in your house and hides them in the closet for two weeks.

Then said child sneaks them back out and pops open the box in the back yard and you hear the most terrified screaming imaginable issue forth.

But that is nothing compared to the screaming that commences when said child is forced to clean up the mess in the yard and check her closet to ensure there are no escapees.

Hah. She wants to move into the bathroom now.

Poetic justice for disobedience. God IS good.

And that was the text I sent several if my friends. One of which I have never texted on her phone. So she checked with me to ensure it was me. At that time she thanked me because HER daughter had just collected a box which was on the shelf next to her bed.

Crisis averted.

But it gets better.

My friend then posted a blurb about it on FB. It was just a summary so it ended up sounding like the maggots were discovered in my house instead of outside.

And one of her friends then mentioned that there must be more in there than just acorns because maggots go for meat.

So now it's sounding even more gross and I'm sounding like a very nasty skank.

But Heather redeemed me by googling it and informing us all that they weren't maggots after all. They are acorn weevils.

I feel so much better now.


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Glass Half Empty

The title is a warning. Don't read this.

We all have our magic numbers that make us comfortable or uncomfortable in our bank accounts.  As responsible adults and citizens we did not run up massive debts and we watched our numbers.

We denied ourselves when everyone around us drove two new cars and had nice homes.  Our kids had a quarter of the toys and activities of the other kids. Our clothes lasted years instead of seasons.

And we looked to the future and how to take care of ourselves when we were no longer young enough to work.

Then there was no job.

And the last 10 months we've been conservative. Not scary conservative....more like a confident conservative.

We should have been scared.

So now here it is September and the bank has hit the half empty number.  The number I am not comfortable with. The number that makes me grouchy.  The number that makes me downright hate life. The number that makes me want to stay in bed all day every day.

Of course we just got the notice in the mail telling us how much our free insurance is going up. I won't be able to pay it. So we will be bumped down to the other free insurance. The one you pay a percentage of the allowable but no yearly. Except none of the good doctors here will take that insurance. And is getting $8 back on a $120 bill worth the 6 months it will take me to get it paid by filing myself? I will spend that in postage and phone calls. So, this family with free insurance will not see any doctors unless its in an ER and we feel its life and death. Because we can't pay. But hey, we won't be taxed since technically we will have insurance.....whether we can afford to use it or not. At least we will dodge that lovely healthcare tax. And I feel for those that won't.

We are looking again for ways to cut expenses. We do have some fluff we can work with. Not much but some. How I wish we had never bought a new car two years ago. That is literally enough money to cover groceries and a portion of gas needs for the car. Plus insurance would be cheaper. We need to cut the housing cost. We need to do it by Christmas. How I hate the thought of moving into an unsafe area but its got to be done.

Because I've got to tell you, pissing away our retirement money is painful. It was painful to save and now its painful to spend. On groceries and gas and the necessities.  Totally sucks.

I think I'm done spewing for now. If you were crazy enough to actually read this (I did warn you) you will know better next time. LOL!  

After Labor Day Camping

We aren't big fans of crowds.  Especially when camping. 

We love a quiet campground. Where small amounts of people walk around being friendly because everyone has plenty of space.  Where there are three empty spots for every filled one. Where there are more live-ins than "couple of days" campers. 

I love homeschooling at the campgrounds. Space dictates you go outside alot. The pace is more laid back because there is not a schedule to keep up with and a list of household chores. After all, the reason you are camping is to get away from that. 

The beach is empty. There is no line for the shower. The hot water doesn't run out. The floor doesn't flood. The bathrooms do not run out of paper. 

There is no drunk feast going on in the site next to you every night. Or loud music late into the night. 

The dogs don't have near as much to bark at. 

No rude/unparented kids running through our site at all hours of the day and night. No wolf whistles at the girls.

Mouse got to ride her bike all over as there were so few cars pulling through.

We took advantage of the days after Labor Day to camp this week. And it's glorious. Loving every minute of it. Well except for the zit that popped up on my chin. That hurts. And has nothing to do with anything. Just checking to see if you are still awake.

It's been great!

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I Survived Hell Week

1.	Hell Week
	Usually found around midterms & finals. It’s a widely understood fact that prior to Hell Week, professors meet & discuss ways to purposefully create schedules with 3 midterms on the same day you’ve 2 papers & a group project due, all in addition to your normal homework load & extra-curricular activities. 2. Hell Week The inagural week of all Greek organizations (fraternities) in which the new members (pledges) are rigorously abused and tortured as an endurance test. If the pledges make it through Hell Week, then they can become full-fledged fraternity members.  3. Hell Week The week of a theatrical performance during which the cast and crew practically live at school and communicate to thier families soley through notes. 4. hell week The week before final examinations in college, thus named because it is the week that -everything- is due. (ie papers, presentations, things of that nature) and yet you must still find time to do other assignments and study for your exams. 5. Hell Week Commonly used to describe a situation in which a person spends a long period of time forgoing sleep and sometimes other necessities to prepare for something. Hell Week gets its origins from the Fifth week of the First Phase of BUD/S (for those of you who don't know what it is, it is the training course that Navy SEALs go through) where for five days, they are subjected to living hell where with no sleep, they are required to perform strenuous physical activity in combat conditions at Olympic standards. Ok. So it was none of these. But I'm not so sure this shouldn't be added to the Urban Dictionary along with the other definitions. Because. Oh. My. Words. I've explained that we felt Mouse was really falling behind in school. I worked with the teacher last year to try and pin point what the problems where but even she was stumped. The kids will bomb testing but if you sit by her and ask her to do something she just does it.  Although trying to teach new concepts to her was a challenge also. And when you are ready to beat your head bloody against the wall....she picks up the pencil and just does it. Wha?!?!? Anyways, we survived our first week of school at home.  There were tears (mine!!). There was crying (because she thought home school meant no more school?!?!). There were blank stares. There were lessons that took 3 hours instead of the 1 expected. There were lots of breaks. Sadly there were a few instances of yelling and having to get a grip. There were a million emails and three phone calls/conferences with the teacher (in 5 days). There were decisions to try and make based on a snapshot of time (drop back to 2nd grade work or press on). There were classes taught by dad to verify whether it was material or the teacher that was the problem. (It wasn't the teacher.) There was the realization that it was much worse than we originally thought. And after many conferences there was the realization that this IS the right thing for right now. I'd be lying if I said it was fun right now. It has the potential to be fun when she realizes that whether its school at home or in a building with other kids, ITS STILL SCHOOL. It requires learning. It requires work. And I think we will get there slowly. I'm working harder than I had to work with the other two put together. But I do like this curriculum and having the lessons planned for you...and only needing to read and prep yourself is a true Godsend. We also are in a learning curve with getting used to switching back and forth from computer to books to virtual classrooms. Its starting to get easier just after the first week. Of course we are throwing a wrench in the works this week. We did not take Labor Day off. Instead we switched the off day to Friday as we decided to get in a last summer camping trip Tuesday through Thursday. We wanted to miss the Labor Day crowds. So we spent today hammering out all the online class materials and the stuff we were behind on. The rest of the weeks work we take with us is rather easy and portable. And Friday is the day off that we can use to catch up if we fall behind. Although we do have our school picnic that day that will take up a couple of hours with kids in the same program. I'm not sure I'll have much to blog about the next couple of months. Unless, of course, the economy miraculously improves and Hubs finds a job.  Right. Like that's going to happen. See? You don't want to hear that kind of crap anyways.  Keep us in your prayers! We need every one we can get!

Pinterest Project #10

Source: 032ad8a.netsolhost.com via Autumn on Pinterest

This is kind of funny as my friend Sandra over at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom just posted on it also. We tend to be on the same page alot and this is not the first time I was ready to make and post on something and she gets it done a day or two before me. One thing that comes to mind is the dish drying towels. Or the beef jerky. Obviously great minds think alike.

Last week she did the post In Preparation For Winter Time. She also has made some of the tea throat soother or cough syrup. She links to a different recipe/blog post than I have but its the same.

My pinterest project was linked to Medicinal Sweets or I Wish I Had a Sore Throat at Mad Made Me.

Unfortunately I am coming down with my first cold of the school year. I had hoped to miss the first week bug with Mouse being homeschooled...but no such luck.

So my fridge is sporting its own jar of the honey that shall grace my tea over the coming months.  Of course my Mamaw's little addition of bourbon will be waiting in the wings to add a little extra punch when needed before bedtime. What can I say, my Kentucky roots are showing.

One thing I will add that others don't always put in their recipe is RAW honey is a better choice. It has more medical properties than the heated/processed honey.

And never forget that you never give infants honey. Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about.

So how about you? Tried anything from pinterest lately?