Coming Clean about my Cleaning Quirks

So the time has come for us to head out. It's 2:36 A.M. and I'm ready to go (though our flight doesn't leave for a few more hours).


One peculiar thing about me that irritates my people to no end is my obsessive need to undertake some big project right before a major event. All will be well and I will suddenly bite off way more than I can chew. For example, before hosting a large pre-Thanksgiving gathering last year, I spontaneously decided to repaint every room on the lower floor of my house.

Taking a trip somewhere is no different. It's a major event that inspires some major craziness on my part, and here at Casa de Amanda, craziness equals cleanliness. Instead of resting, instead of savoring those last pre-trip hours days, I scurry about cleaning and recleaning things that really didn't need to be cleaned at all. Those who travel with me know this about me and either pitch in to help or stay completely out of the way.

In preparation for our Hawaiian vacation, Gracie's closet was totally reorganized. Each of our wardrobes got a quick purge and bags of clothes have been donated or freecycled. And yesterday, instead of packing, I spent the better part of the evening sorting and reorganizing our surplus toiletries and the under sink cabinets in our bathroom. I've scrubbed all the surfaces, polished all the mirrors, and will likely vacuum my way out the door.

So, once again I'll begin a trip a little sleep deprived but relieved to know that if I plunge to a fiery death, there won't be any skeletons dustbunnies found in my closet -- or in my surplus toiletry bins.

photo credit: yahoo travel

Sweet Baby Rae

I'm the aunt of a brand new baby niece. Rae Lynn made her entrance into the world this evening at 7:50 P.M. She weighs 5 lbs. 1 oz. and is 17 inches long. She's expected to have a stay in the NICU because of her prematurity, but she was breathing and crying at birth and is doing very well.

Funny story -- I've been friends with my friend Marcie and her husband Tobey since we were all teenagers, and Tobey is now a physician. He's been working on some matters of career advancement lately, so he's been calling a lot to visit with James. As a result, it was not unusual for him to call today. It was unusual for him to want to talk to me instead of James, and I first thought of Marcie, hoping she was okay.

The call, though, had nothing to do with Marcie. Tobey called to tell me he was working in the hospital today and had just been sent up to check on an OB patient whose doctor wasn't yet at the hospital. That patient happened to be Amanda. Not only that, but he'd seen Amanda in the clinic four or five times over the course of her pregnancy. Because Amanda kept her maiden name and frequently came to her OB appointments alone, he'd not made the connection that she was "the other Amanda," my sister-in-law.

He said he came into the room today, head down, looking at her chart. He greeted her while still reading, and as he spoke, he heard my mom say, "Tobey?" When he looked up, he saw her and my brother and it all came together. He said Amanda looked familiar to him every time he saw her, but he thought she was just a familiar sort of person. What a hilarious connection!

photo credit: flagplace.com

When waiting comes to an end...

Giving birth
is like taking your lower lip
and forcing it over your head.
-- Carol Burnett

Several weeks ago I mentioned my sister-in-law, the other Amanda, is pregnant with my new little niece Rae Lynn. After a struggle with sketchy blood pressures and today's 36-week appointment that revealed low amniotic fluid, Amanda is now in the hospital being induced. They've settled in for the night, and delivery is anticipated sometime tomorrow.

Dustin called me around lunchtime to share news of the appointment and the plans of the day. I then tracked down my mom while he made arrangements for their older daughter and helped Amanda gather her things. My mom shuffled personal plans and work obligations (since she didn't anticipate being back in Oklahoma before the middle of October) and quickly hit the road. I tried and tried to figure out a way to tag along. Unfortunately, I can't be a part of their big day since our travel plans are just around the corner -- there's just not enough time. Fortunately, they're all so understanding.

I've been on the phone with my brother and my mother several times today, and their excitement level is through the roof. I wish in so many ways that I could share their joy...


photo credit: billaday

Cast your [cookie] cares on Him...

I recently posted about God showing up in the smallest of matters, revealing his care of us through things we may not even think to pray about. Mary at Owlhaven repeated the theme today by writing about how God showed up with a cookie.

"Give all your worries and cares to God,
for He cares about you."

-- I Peter 5:7

photo credit: territu

On Proper Nouns and Progression

One of the things I've found I love about homeschooling is the fact that it feels so natural and normal. I was concerned that we'd have a major struggle with it feeling forced and artificial, that we'd feel like pretenders. So far, to our delight, that has not been the case.

We've been studying the difference between common nouns and proper nouns. We've covered the common nouns of family members (mother, father, aunt, uncle) and their proper names (Amanda, James, Christy, Russell). That discussion turned into the diagramming of our family tree and a long discussion about various family members, which turned into a discussion about those family member who are no longer living, which turned into what the Bible says happens after we die.

After that, we discussed more environmental common nouns (city, state, park, river) and their proper names (insert the name of our city here [or not -- hello stalkers!], Texas, LaFortune Park, the Mississippi River). That topic turned into magnifying glasses searching the atlas and the globe, followed by a discussion about geography and historical events.


I'm happy to say that while we've had some family challenges of late [alluded to here], homeschooling has not been a part of that. It's taking off far better than I ever expected, and while I had a feeling I would enjoy it, I had no idea just how much.