Ordinary Time

something I should never allow us to run out of. At this moment I have a nearly six year old boy, screaming, actually that would be SCREAMING, in his bed, because he didn't get to use the bathroom of his choice. Now, I'm not a doctor, nor do I play a doctor on TV. Heck, I don't even like TV shows about doctors, but I do have some pretty strong anecdotal evidence about the benefits of fish oil. TM has always had impulse control problems...acting before he thinks, getting easily frustrated, temper tantrums, and very animal-like vocalizations (a lot of growling and such). These have all become more manageable over time, but they have virtually disappeared since I began giving him regular doses of fish oil. He is calmer, more reasonable, able to think more clearly, and is more patient. In fact, his behavior was so normal I began to wonder if I really needed to be buying fish oil at all. So when we ran out, I didn't rush out to buy it. A week after I stopped giving

to the ER that is. This afternoon, right before lunch, there was a scuffle between brothers with the result that K ended up hitting his head on our DVD monitor, and sliced his forehead open above his left eye. It was fairly deep, and the kind of cut you look at and reach for your car keys. We packed some snacks for K, and loaded K and A (as an extra pair of hands) into the van. On the way to the hospital, I vaguely wondered where on earth I was going to park the van. The parking lot clearance is 6' 10" and I need at least 7' to make it. I ended up pulling up to the ER valet parking guy and explained my dilemma. He very nicely told me to park in one of the reserved emergency vehicle spots with my flashers on and that he would keep on eye on the van. I highly recommend lunchtime on a weekday for any emergency room visits you have planned. We were just about the only ones there and had to spend just a short time in the waiting area. (But it was long enough to have t

My sister-in-law passed along some hand-me-downs that a friend passed on to her. There were several pairs of jeans for the little boys and these two, cool, high-tech shirts: Also note the sporty new haircuts. J is getting a lot more haircutting practice these days. B isn't sure he wants to be a practice subject, but then his bread business supplies him with a modest income so he can spring for his own haircut. (Which I wish he would do soon. It's becoming increasingly more difficult to find his eyes under all his hair.)

I'm afraid this is going to be a continuation of my 'obsessed with [the lack of] money' theme that's been going on here the last week or so. In my effort to find tasty yet cheap recipes to feed my family, I came across the USDA 's chart of the current cost of food. According to that chart, on the frugal budget, our family of 9 should be spending ~$1068 per month on food. That's over $200 a week! Well, thankfully, we don't come close to that (and that's including cleaning supplies, diapers, bulk orders, etc.) While I'm happy that it appears I am doing a good job of keeping our monthly costs down, it also depresses me a bit. It seems that my dream of averaging just $100 per week on grocery costs may be more of a pipe dream than I had thought. It's a good thing that nearly everyone likes beans...in fact, K loves them. It's poor TM who eats them grudgingly; they are not his favorite food. Although, by the time we are out of this partic

I'm a sucker for books about homemaking. When we were at the library last week, I saw The Better Homes and Gardens book of Homemaking. It looked promising, so I added it to my pile. But, I have to say, after looking through it, it is as disappointing as most books on homemaking are. The trouble is, I believe that authors (editors, publishers?) are confusing the art of homemaking with the act of house keeping. House keeping involves the cleaning, organizing, and general running of a household. It is important, but, in my opinion, is somewhat superficial. It doesn't get to the heart of what a home is. I have been in houses that were immaculate and tastefully decorated, but they were houses, not homes. They felt sterile; as if they were missing their heart. I don't feel the need to read books on house keeping. I know how to do it...even if I don't always do what I ought...and, frankly, once one has read the tome, Home Comforts, there is very little left to say.

Not much has changed from last week: Our property taxes have still nearly doubled, with the bill due next month. It is of the variety that makes one think the assessor's office accidentally added an extra '0' on the end. Our roof still actively leaks in the rain. Trust me, rain dripping on plaster ceilings is not a pretty sight. (As an aside, I have a new circle for Dante. I had already added a circle for people who wallpaper ceilings, but now I am adding one for homeowners who put a 4th layer of roof on a house.) IL is still large family phobic. We truly believe we are called to adopt again, but the state of Illinois and many home study agencies don't hold that same belief. But, I have been blessed with a terrific sense of peace. I know that we are in God's hands and that He will take care of us. So, instead of dwelling on yuckiness, I want to dwell on my blessings. There are so many, but I will only list the top 10. 1) I am married to, arguably, the

"When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest in His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil. On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is shifting sand, All other ground is shifting sand. His oath, His covenant, His blood, Support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, He still is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is shifting sand, All other ground is shifting sand." -Fanny Crosby

The moral to this whole surgery-thing is to listen to and believe your children. Back in June, when M hurt her knee, she said it felt as though her knee cap had slid out of joint, then popped back in and that's when the pain began. In my continuing effort to win the 'worst mother of the year' award, I didn't quite believe her, gave her some ice, and told her she probably just twisted it and it would get better. Imagine my chagrin when the pediatric orthopedist was showing us the pictures he took of her knee during surgery (yes, we now have pictures of the underside of M's kneecap...I wonder how we should frame them?), and told us how she injured her knee. Yes, you guessed it, her kneecap had slid out of joint and when it popped back into to place it sheared off a 1.5 cm piece of cartilage from the end of her femur. The surgeon was able to remove the cartilage, and although she has some scarring where it was broken off, it shouldn't affect her. We are thankf