Thoughts about discipline.

So Linus is a stinker. A little rabble-rouser. And, we love the snot out of him. But, we're finding ourselves saying "How do we help this boy have self-control?" a lot.

The other day at a baby shower, people were giving mothering advice and someone mentioned to use scripture when disciplining your kids. My ears perked up because, man, we need help in that area. I let the idea steep inside my head for a few days and brought it up with Alicia last week at breakfast. To which she said something like: 'I have several friends in counseling whose parents did that.'

I can only imagine that it would cause my Linus to grow up thinking that God was a grumpy old man who just cast "Dos" and "Do Nots" down from heaven if every time he took a toy from Ada he heard me say 'Thou shall not steal, Linus-- thus sayest the Lord"

(Hope it was ok to quasi-quote you, Alicia.) Thoughts, anyone??

hi, i'm penny

my heart is aglow. desmond + penny. aah.

almost 1

what's particularly humorous to me about this video is what the radio announcer says close to the end of the clip. you'll hear the music stop & then the public radio drab voice start. oh, and i think henry is real cute, too.

on the big screen

paste.com reports that the bluths may soon be back...

the gray and the blue

today my friend abigail and i attended a re-enactment of the battle of aiken, a confederate victory that took place during sherman's march. we were there early, so we got to talk to some of the re-enactors, and we heard some good stories. greg, the founder of the southeastern coalition of authentic re-enactors (known as s.c.a.r.), told my favorite story. he said he used to re-enact under the name of a confederate relative of his but he stopped once the guy's ghost started to haunt him. now THAT is living history. here are a few pictures from the day. it was quite a sight for these yankee eyes.

word for word.

it's sad when you come to the realization that you don't even need to look at the words to read a book to your kid. this is one that gets read at LEAST twice a day. usually more. it might be banned soon.

what books do you know by heart?

if learning your letters is part of your job,
meet alphabet larry and alphabet bob.
A is for archibald, look at his coat.
B is for bob and his big bamboo boat.
C is for cucumber this ones called larry, it's also for carrots with chocolate to carry.
D is for dr. and doorway and dad.
E is for engine that makes pa grape sad.

i could go on, but i'll spare you.

fyi...

yo. i followed Caron's lead and moved my blog over to Wordpress, so i'll be shutting down my blogspot site soon. same blog, different address: http://lionsunderoaks.wordpress.com. in case you're interested.

also: heard of GoodSearch? go to www.goodsearch.com (sorry, my head cold prevents my linking abilities) where you can search the web and get $$ donated to your charity of choice, just for searching! pretty cool. just enter the name of the charity you want you money to go to and search away. bye bye, Google! (well, sorta)

breakfast prayer

annabelle:

god, thanks for the people that don't have any food.  pray you help 'em to get some food.  and to get some drinks if they're thirsty.  and help them to be alive and, like, be happy.  amen.

what. in. the. world.

i love the show, but jillian michaels now has an online weight-loss site?  i guess she's a good trainer since she kicked butts all over the place & whipped those huge folks into shape...but take a look at the front page.  "bully"?  bah.

What are you wearing today?

Here is a flickr thread i've been enjoying. People simply post what they are wearing-- head to toe shots. Sorta fun.

Never hurts to ask.

Today during naps I paid off medical bills on the phone. If you ask for a discount (for no reason at all)....drumroll, please..... they give one to you! Just for asking I got %10 off. Try it!

Happy President's Day (My husband is home today!!)

Since it is president's day and all here's a quip from Linus:

Upon leaving the Barack Obama speech here in Omaha I asked Linus if he thought Obama would make a good president. After thinking for a second he said: "No, Barack Obama is not my favorite. I will vote for George Washington."

And why not? He's been tested and approved, right?

false advertising

ajw bought this little gorilla as a valentine gift for ben. we had a laugh when we took a close look at the sign that came around his neck. what a lie.

things we're all too young to know...

listening to:

"the book of love" now it's overhead

enjoying:

-a strip of bacon, an egg over-easy, an english muffin, & coffee. my valentine's treat to...me!

-watching finn, annabelle, & violet play with cars

-a gardening book & a bird-feeder book (yes, me!  i'm afraid of birds!  but i want cardinals in my backyard)

needing to:

-brush my teeth

-schedule a dentist appt.  i'm so scared to know.

-wash our mountain of dirty laundry.

what you doing?

blue valentine

here's my annual "gritch and moan about winter" post. if one more snow flake falls on our twelve-inch pile, i'll do something desperate. if one more arctic blast assaults us (damn you, canada!) i don't know what i might be forced to do.

on the upside, ben got this cool tam in the mail today from a friend in atlanta. he's also gotten a bunch of valentines and a pack of valentine bibs. so that's the silver lining.

Recital

Darci Gamerl, oboe Vincent Osborn, double bass Julie Johnson, flute, Stacy Haneline, piano

February 19, 2008
St. Paul United Methodist Church
5410 Corby Street
7:30 p.m.


Featuring solo & Chamber works by Ginastera, Proto, Rubin & Goplerud.





Admission Free

muse-sick

we're sitting at the table, working through some workbooks & listening to camera obscura. coincidentally, i happen to be the musician that comes after that band. so we're sitting here doing school stuff & i hear this recording that adam weaver & i worked on one evening two years ago yesterday. i had a really bad sinus infection [like i think i'm getting right now]. the recording sounds SO NASALLY!! so i'm sitting here kind of laughing at how bad it sounds...and violet is clapping & excited because the song we're listening to is one of her favorite hymns--"when the roll is called up yonder." haha.

i miss the old omaha days. 2 years later and it isn't much easier. 'spose i oughta get used to the ache.

chest size for the u.s.a?

there were some other cool things there, too. but i want this one!

i bet we've been together for a million years

There is a reunion of the "Family Ties" cast on the Today show this morning. That show was on air over 20 years ago. It dawned on me that Reese has no idea who the Keatons were! I suddenly feel very old.

DON'T MISS THIS!!

thursday, february 7th
omaha, ne
bright eyes, m. ward, jim ward of sparta, & secret life of sparrows.

it's a barak obama rally....and i don't know that last two outfits...but to see bright eyes & m. ward together would be great. so, if anything....GO FOR ME!!!

Boo to all the ugly Valentines Day jewelry ads.

There are so many of them. I've also noticed an increase in K-Y ads, too. Valentines Day-- what a funny time. Comments anyone?

sweet press

my friend, laura bramon good, recently had a short story published with a small publisher called featherproof press. they have a sweet approach -- print some books but make others available - free! - online as "mini books". its very diy...downloading, printing, folding and stapling your own little book.

the story is really good. there's a line about a husband and wife's silence not being a surprise, just a hm, welp you'll have to read it your self. i can't remember and i gave my copy to darby yesterday, so i cant reference it. i'll just have to go back to it! speaking of darb, i finally met that little munchkin ben, and he is certainly as cute as the pics say.

here's a link from laura's blog.

uh. well, i just realized the above link is to something else she recently had published for Image Journal, which is as cool or cooler than featherproof press. You can find the mini-book at Featherproof's website: www.featherproof.com . On the left-hand column menu bar, click either Blog or Free Mini-Books. Then look for the mini-book titled, "Anniversary."

poet rodent

well, my friends. today is groundhog's day, which is, i think, one of the weirdest things i've ever heard of. on the official website of Punxsutawney Phil, i learned that since 1887, the first official groundhog's day, that guy has only predicted early spring 15 times!! why do you build me up, buttercup, just to let me down? he is a great poet though, for a rodent. here's his forecast for this year, and let me encourage you. if you find the prospect of six more weeks of winter discouraging, take comfort in his lovely verse:

"As I look around me,
a bright sky I see,
and a shadow beside me.
Six more weeks of winter it will be!"

winter-storm baby

they say maternity wards get over-crowded 9 months after a big snowstorm--cabin fever drove them to it! and though this is no pregnancy announcement, i can say that cabin fever does exist & manifest itself in many forms, not just romance.

we did a lot of winter activities. went outside, built a snow fort, came & had some hot cocoa. then we started watching "pollyanna" & enjoy some wrestle time when henry woke up. but it was only 11:15am!!! by 1pm i was bleery-eyed & found myself sitting on our bathroom floor cutting henry's hair. it all happened so fast...wrapped up in my boredom passion i saw his shaggy hair & decided to give it a go. a winter-storm baby haircut.

(and it looks cute, minus this one vanilla ice-ish mark that will be blended in once i have another adult around to keep those 10-month old arms from knocking the clippers away)