Will I be trick or treating in my costume? No, but I expect to reap without raising my sickle. Why? The children have been instructed to tithe on their chocolate! They seem to instinctively do this anyway. :D This morning, some very cool neighbor secretly left a small bucket of candy and a note saying that we had been "Boo-ed." It said, "Boo! To our good friends on our street: Our homes' locations made us meet. You now have been boo'd, but who could we be? We'll never tell, it's a secret you see. We placed these goodies for you and yours then we ran fast after knocking the door. Happy Halloween! Place this boo on your front door and make sure you boo two neighbors of yours!" Isn't that cute?! Kinda like a Halloween May basket thing. I was touched. It's not often that you experience random acts of fun kindness. It was hand colored with cute pictures on it. Oh, and without being told, my well-trained Zoe pulled out the 2 chocolate bars in there and matter-of-factly put them on the nightstand! Yay!!

Our cat has kind of been given a nickname of "Helping Verb." I was helping Zach with his grammar. We've been going over subjects and verbs, helping verbs, etc.. He was supposed to copy from his book the verb phrase in a sentence, such as, "had been hoping," but he kept leaving the helping verbs off. So, I told him to stop leaving the helping verbs out in the cold, scratching at the door and meowing to come in. He burst out laughing, and for the rest of the day, I'd hear the kids say, "The helping verb wants to come in!" or "Is that helping verb I see curled up over there?" It's interesting in teaching, what you can come up with spur of the moment to help make a point. In explaining simple subject vs. complete subject, I would say that complete subject is the simple subject with all its jewelry. For example, "Fluffy white clouds" is the complete subject. I explained that "fluffy" and "white" were like the cloud's earrings and necklace, and that if you took them away, you were left with a simple subject. You wouldn't believe how much of this stuff I was rusty on. It feels good for a word nerd like myself to brush up on this stuff in the process of teaching! I am very impressed with Rod and Staff, by the way. CHALLENGING AND COMPREHENSIVE!!

Q: Did you hear about the new breed in pet shops?A: They crossed a pit bull with a collie; it bites your leg off and goes for help.

I am going to be a hippy for Halloween. I got my whole costume at a thrift store. You'll have to wait till next week to see pics. My long, flowing dress and long, flowing hair and platform patchwork leather boots are really quite something! And don't forget accessories!!

Today was unseasonably warm--upper 60s. We were all in Heaven!

New English books came for Zach and Jess yesterday--Rod and Staff. We've been limping along, but now we have some real meaty and complete language arts! Yay! Got some preschool stuff for Will, too.

Interviewed in Seattle today to do independent contractor housecleaning work--my area, my choice of days and hours. It was through a housecleaning referral agency. Money good. Have to jump through some more hoops and do a second interview before I can start making dough.

We went to the punkin patch with Byma (Grandma) today. The weather was quite nice, and the kids had no school. At Scholz farm, you can see donkeys, chickens, goats, pigs, and sheep! There is a corn maze, and Zoe is playing miniature golf with a club made out of a stick and a child's boot!!! We got punkins and apples, and later, most of my family and quite a few neighbor kids threw the football around in the yard. It was unexpected and really fun.

Easy dinner ideas I implemented this week:

Boil some top ramen and broccoli together in water till cooked. Drain, add seasoning packets, and stir in 3 stirred eggs, and some scallions. Give it a bit of soy sauce. Kid friendly, cheap, tasty. You could also put in diced ham or chicken or skip the egg.

The other one which was easy and delicious and heartier (with a fabulous gravy) was to take a 4-6 lb chuck roast, put it in a foil lined 13 x 9 pan. Mix a package of onion soup mix and a can of mushroom soup together and smear over meat. Fold foil over and seal. Bake 4-6 hours. (I had a 6 pounder and cooked it for 6 hrs, and it was good). Serve with Costco's delicious, time saving instant mashed potatoes, and fancy green beans. Don't forget to make a gravy out of all the drippings. I poured and scraped all the drippings into a 2 cup measuring cup. I filled with water up to the 2 cup line. Placed in saucepan, brought to boil, added 2 T cornstarch mixed with maybe 1/4 or 1/3 cup water and some salt. Muy delicioso!!!

On my homepage, among top news is listed: "Ohio student gunman had mental problems. OH REAAALLLYYYY?!?

On a sign near my house, "Heck is where the people go who don't believe in Gosh"!! That is the first sign to make me laugh in many months at that place.

I took the kiddos to Dash Point Sunday, but it was pouring rain, and the tide was ALL THE WAY IN, so we didn't stay too long. Twas fun while it lasted.

This morning, first thing I did after getting up was to make William cocoa, as usual. I should have had my coffee first, because I literally started dumping cocoa into a cup of juice on the counter instead of the cup I had got for him. When he discovered this FELONY he definitely SQUAWKED! That had been HIS JUICE.

Fresh drivel

Deep thoughts: Whether a Mom works outside the home (or not), homeschools(or not), it seems we find ways of getting ourselves in up to our eyeballs in responsibility, toil, chores, children, errands, life. Am I wrong? Can I get an Amen? I know y'all are kicking it up a notch now that September is here. Thanks for coming up for air for a second to post. That's what I'm doing now, too...with my corndog. my quarter of a leftover burger, and my fatigue, at 1:50 AM.

Today was a very productive homeschool day, although I did have to take a wee crying/praying break, and there was some yelling. This is not extremely untypical. (Your eyebrows are up, and my hair is down--what there is of it). But it was still productive. We're trying to get into a groove, take on all of our subjects gradually. We congregate in the living room with the gas fireplace. We spread our papers and books out and often only get as far as stacking them when done. (As opposed to bringing them back downstairs into the file cabinet). Someone usually sits in front of the fireplace with it on if they're cold. And it certainly is getting darker earlier and cooler. All of a sudden. The extra stress has been congregating in my neck, back, and shoulders, but a piping hot bath last night really cut the discomfort in half.

Dinner tonight was:

Brown pork chops in oil. When mostly done, remove from pan, and add chopped shallots or onion, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes. Add 1 cup of stock (I made beef bouillion from the powder) and a tablespoon tomato paste or a few cut up Roma tomatoes. It will foam up. Turn down and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add some green beans to this and cook till 3/4 done. ( I thawed the frozen ones). Return chops onto the top of beans and cover till beans are done. I served it with Costco instant mashed potatoes, but what I really wanted was corn bread stuffing. Fragrant, simple, tasty. The sauce reduces with the 10 minutes of cooking, and if you bring the skillet to the table as is, it is an attractive presentation. I got this from a book by an Italian immigrant who was an enthusiastic gardener and very interesting man.

Nums from my kitchen to yours

Eek!!! Zach is now 5' 7 1/2" tall!!!!! Only an inch and a half to go till he catches up with me. So, by tomorrow, I'm guessing.

A basic, but tasty and economical meal you can make in the crockpot or stovetop:

Chuckwagon Beef

1 lb ground beef
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
cooked riced--1 1/2 cups or more (1/2 cup or more RAW if using crockpot)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp basil
dash pepper
Crockpot--Place all ingredients in crockpot; stir thoroughly. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. (Usually I end up starting these things late and have to do them on high for less time) If on stovetop, brown ground beef and onion. Don't drain. :) Meanwhile, cook rice. When beef is just about done, add pepper, tomatoes, and spices. When rice is done, add to mixture, stir, and let simmer for awhile, maybe 15 minutes or so, so flavors can meld, but you're not overcooking the pepper.