"4) Dangerous malapropisms: Say what?
A friend who's in the media business told me the awkward tale of a colleague who kept saying "antidote" in a meeting, when the word she was grasping for was anecdote.

This is a classic malapropism, when someone misuses a word by confusing it with another word that sounds similar. A number of words sound similar, but mean very different things.

Indicted and inducted form another pair of potentially embarrassing swaps. When a person is indicted, he's charged with a crime. When a person is inducted, he's been given a new job or honor (or introduced to a new idea). You'd congratulate someone who's been inducted, and offer condolences to someone who's been indicted. Otherwise, you'd be embarrassed.

Conscience and conscious are another tricky pair. But if you stay conscious of the difference, you will have no embarrassing incidents weighing on your conscience.

Want more? Take the evil word-twin quiz.

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Leftover Projects and Digital Pictures
Sorry for the "journal-type" entry today... I'm just not in the mood to do research or planning for a post. Today is the beginning of my "weekend" since Kevin is off Wednesday and Thursday instead of Saturday and Sunday like normal people... so I'm catching up on projects that we didn't finish this week. I am going to print off some photos from our field trips we have taken during our rock unit and we're going to scrapbook them (for our lapbook) and possibly finish painting the rocks (*sigh* I may never get to the solar system at this rate!). I can't to getting my pictures printed (that's the downside to having a digital camera... tons and tons of photos that you've never printed). At around nine dollars for 50 prints, it isn't a bad price... still beats my 35mm developing costs, and this way I get to pick the photos I print and delete the bad ones.

Shedding the Winter Weight
After visiting a blogger friend of mine's site and discussing loosing some pounds... (and now that we've eaten up all of the sweets and have vowed not to buy any more), I'm ready to shed those extra pounds for the spring and summer. I went and got a ticker. It's pretty cute. We are joining a gym soon. Wish me luck as I have never been a gym person. My husband goes religiously when he has a membership... but I just find it so humiliating to exercise in front of other people. I much prefer a DVD (Pilates or Denise Austin)... but there's no room in this tiny apartment (and I don't think the downstairs neighbor would like me jumping up and down on the floor). I guess I'm going to have to go sweat in public. Yick!

Another thing I am trying to give up is cokes (and fast food in the process). It isn't like we eat out often, but when we do, it is usually something greasy like Mc Donalds or Popeye's. Nothing like a "heart plug" (buttery white biscuit) with honey oozing off the sides. I know... you are probably pointing your finger in ridicule since I'm the first one to get on the soap box about health foods (see here if you don't believe me). So, please go easy on me. I'm working on letting go of these vices. The first step was to start cooking all the time (which we have done). Now that we are menu planning and such, I think giving up the junkfoods will be a bit easier (especially since we aren't traveling much anymore). Another reason I'm giving cokes up is my joint pain (my shoulders and neck). Soft drinks are not good for your joints. My husband's knee troubles are always better when he lays off the sodas.

Catblogging and Cabin Fever
It is gross and rainy here (and cold). I thought I would share a snow photo with you... of course, it's not really of snow... it is of my cat, Minga... who was looking out at the "winter mix" (snow, sleet and ice). It represents the mood the children and I have had this past week being cooped up in the house without our vehicle and during the ice storm! I can't wait to get Kevin's truck fixed and for us to get outside more this Spring.



Happy Wednesday Everyone!


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You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time. - attributed to Abraham Lincoln



My son was reading a book about the Ice Age a few days ago (Frozen Earth: Explaining the Ice Ages by R.V. Fodor) and he said to me...

"Mommy, this book is being disrespectful to the Bible."

I replied, "Oh, really Kaden? How is that?"

"Well, on page 10, it says: Because religion was an important part of the lives of many scientists, some believed that the erratic rocks were washed in from the Flood of Noah's time. But that flood theory did not satisfy everyone."

"Let me see that book", Kaden, I said. And sure enough... here's what it said:

Geologists became curious about the many smooth and polished boulders that seemed to be lying out of place, scattered throughout the meadows and forests. Their presence was puzzling because these rocks were unlike those of the closest valley walls. The scientists of the time gave the name "erratics" to these out-of-place rocks.

One of the earliest explanations for erratics was that a great flood had carried them to the Swiss meadows. Because religion was an important part of the lives of many scientists, some believed that the erratic rocks were washed in from the Flood of Noah's time.

But that flood theory did not satisfy everyone. British geologist, Charles Lyell, argued strongly that icebergs once floating over Switzerland during a big flood had dropped the boulders. Sailors who had seen icebergs at sea reported that some do in fact contain boulders, so there was reason, then, to believe Lyell's icebergs-over-Switzerland theory.

Wow. A flood that covered all of Switzerland must have been pretty deep. Aren't there mountains in Switzerland? I think Kent Hovind's comet theory makes more sense than this nonsense. To read more, go here or here or here. If you can't afford the DVDs, Hovind has offered to let ANYONE who has them copy them as MANY times as they want and GIVE them away - so ask your favorite Creationist for a set!

So... I asked Kaden, "What do you want to do? Do you want me to read that book with you?"

"No, Mama, I think we should take it back to the library."

"OK, Kaden." I smiled at him and ran my fingers through his hair. "I'm proud of you!"



Postmodernists believe that truth is myth, and myth, truth. This equation has its roots in pop psychology. The same people also believe that emotions are a form of reality. There used to be another name for this state of mind. It used to be called psychosis. - Brad Holland


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Labels: faith, homeschool, parenting, personal, science

I thought I would share a few great links for tomorrow. May your President's Day be great.

Presidential Prayer Team for Kids - Biblical Presidents Day Lessons

Internet Field Trip by Scholastic - a bunch of Virtual Sites for President's Day

Presidents Day - Library Research Resources

Presidents Day Unit Study Material (includes poem and cherry thumbprint cookie recipe)

PBS American Experience: The Presidents Series

Kids Domain - Lots of Presidents Day Links

No Presidents Day is complete without "WhitehouseKids.gov"!

Totally cute: Hangman Presidents Game

Holiday Zone - just click the Presidents Day link on the sidebar


Technorati Tags: Homeschooling, Government, President, Links, Fun, February, Homeschool, Presidents Day, Home School, Unit Study, Teaching, Lesson Plans, School, Children, Holidays

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This poem is from a friend of mine who wrote it this week. My friend's name is Heather, too... although at her request, I am leaving her last name off of the blog. I hope you enjoy this poem as much as I did. I let my husband read it, too. My hope is that we find the time to be parents before our time is up.

"Lord Teach Us to Parent" by Heather P.

Mommy doesn't have any time to play.
The dishes and laundry all get in the way.
Sweeping and mopping, dusting and scrubbing...
So she puts off tomorrow what she should do today.
There never seems to be enough time to go outside and play.
The telephone rings, another hour goes by...
"Play with us Mommy!" her little ones cry.
Menu plans, lessons plans, too many places to be...
Yet at the end of the day she sits before her T.V.
She yearns for a time with nothing to do
but listen to her children as they whisper "I love you."

Daddy doesn't have any time to play.
Phone calls and emails all get in the way.
Driving and calling, coming and going...
So he puts off for tomorrow what he should do today.
There never seems to be enough time to go outside and play.
A meeting at the office, another hour goes by...
"Play with us Daddy!" his little ones cry.
Work plans, church plans, too many places to be...
Yet at the end of the day he sits before his T.V.
He yearns for a time with nothing to do
but listen to his children whisper "I love you."

She is so talented, is she not? She is a gifted mother with a heart for the Lord and her children. I have told her eldest a few times that he is lucky to have a mom like her. Her eldest son just smiled at me (as if he knew that already).

I am reading three things right now in-between chores, lesson plans, school work, play dates, cooking, etc. The books/pamphlets I am reading are:

• "Created to be His Help Meet" by Debi Pearl


• "No Monkey Business - Discipline Strategies for Training Children" by Renee Ellison


• "Home-Making" by J. R. Miller

Each of these books has quite a bit to say about the roles of children and parents that have been inspirational to me. In light of the recent holiday (Valentines), I thought I would remind us of a love that may have not been celebrated enough this week... the love of a parent for a child.

Here below are some excerpts from the books I am reading that I have found delightful. I hope you enjoy them as well:

"The home-life should also be made bright and full of sunshine. The courtesy of the true home is not stiff and formal but sincere, simple and natural. Children need an atmosphere of gladness. Law should not make its restraints hang like chains upon them. Sternness and coldness should have no plane in home-life or in family government. No child can ever grow up into its richest and best development in a home which is gloomy and unhappy. No more do plants need sunshine and air than children need joy and gladness. Unhappiness stunts them, so that their sweetest graces never come out." - J.R. Miller (Home-Making)

Proverbs 17:22 - "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine..."

"I have listened to the longest-faced women trying to assure me that they do indeed have the joy of the Lord, and I sat there wondering where in the world they were hiding it. The last part of the verse above says, "but a broken spirit drieth the bones." How are your bones doing? I mean your bones. The Bible is far more literal than you may think. A broken spirit and dry bones result from not having a merry heart. A merry heart is very good medicine. It is a love potion." - Debi Pearl (Created to be His Helpmeet)

I wonder if she knew that my bones in my neck have been hurting for more than two weeks? Maybe I should brush up on my Joy verses after all?! Forget all the ibuprofen! One of the suggestions she gives is to SMILE. And here is a great one that would certainly make my kids a lot happier:

"During the day, sing and play and dance as you work around the house. Your children will be delighted as you dance around the house with the broom or mop, and this lighthearted mood (visible joy is the only joy children understand) will be an encouragement to your children. The lightness of your soul will help put you in a good frame of mind for your husband when he comes home. If you have reason to be hurt or discouraged and yet you sing with thanksgiving, this is a true sacrifice of worship to God." - Debi Pearl (Created to be His Helpmeet)

"And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing" - Psalms 107:22

My bookmark for the above book is a little pink slip of Hello Kitty paper that has the words "i Love u so much mommy!" written in fat red crayola marker. My daughter has a habit of leaving love notes for me all over the place. Sometimes I even get upset with her for wasting so much paper... but this is her offering of love to me, and should never be discouraged. Her other favorite thing is to help me clean without my asking (sometimes her cleaning creates a worse mess than there was before) because she knows that I like to have help around the house. She is very intuitive and looks into others' hearts to find how she can bless them. I could learn many lessons from Morgan.... if I put down the lesson planner and dish scrubber long enough to spend some quality time searching out what makes HER happy for a change.

"It is vital to remember that your children are interpreting their childhood through their perception of what you're doing to them. They will carry these perceptions with them all of their life. You only get one shot at making memories with your children. So if you are overly harsh, demanding, and over-controlling, you'll win the battle but you'll loose their hearts. Their hearts will grow far from you. To keep yourself balanced, ask yourself, "When they grow up, will they choose to move far away from me because I've been so tight on them that they'll have to move away just to even function, or will they want to hang around me forever, because I'm the most affirming, loving person they have ever found to relate to?

There's a payday coming for our parenting. It's a sobering thought. It's not meant to paralyze us but to SEASON what it is that we're doing with our children now.

Remember that you're creating lifetime memories for your children. Your discipline fits into that picture. It's important to cross that will, yes, but it's also important to bond, to tie those heartstrings to you, to repeatedly tell your children how much you love them. You can never do too much of this!" - Renee Ellison (No Monkey Business)

Renee has such a way with words and people. I have been so inspired by the things I have bought of hers and by her awesome homeschool convention sessions. If you can't see her talk in person (which I highly recommend), you should order the tape from your local convention. She is a wiry little older lady with long, grey hair and a fullness of life and spirit like you have never seen! Her husband travels with her and they are a joy to meet.

For homeschool moms, her advice is even more precious:

"Planning your children's activities may involve some preparation on your part, either the night before or early in the morning, but you'll find that the more you prepare, the smoother your day will run.

Children get into trouble when they have nothing to do. You can just count on it. Mothers who take a shower or go run errands without first assigning activities, academics, or chores to do are setting their children up for deviant behavior and failure. "Idleness is the devil's playground." Children need something to do. To continually take things away from small children (because they are causing trouble with those objects) but not substitute something else more constructive to play with is not fair to a child. Their world of play is like your world of work. They problem-solve, experiment and role-play. They are not just going to sit and twiddle their thumbs. Letting a child use up a whole roll of clear plastic tape in the back seat of a car on a long trip, for example, might be bothersome to you, but it can't be that much trouble, and it gives the child something to DO. Re-evaluate: is the child's activity causing real trouble or is it just inconvenient to you. Say yes to all you can." - Renee Ellison (No Monkey Business)

So, with those wonderful words of wisdom in mind, and a call from the Lord for our hearts to be toward our children and for us to raise up godly offspring in love... maybe we all should buy our kids some scotch tape and sit on the floor while they tie us up in it! Ha!

Have a happy Valentines week... and remember to love those babies while you can.


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I thought I would share some of my favorite web graphics with you as an early Valentine present. If you copy them (the graphics below), please DON'T LINK TO THIS SITE (or I'll end up getting shut down for lack of bandwidth). Right Click and SAVE TO YOUR OWN COMPUTER. I visited a great site that has some neato graphics and explains the reason why you shouldn't steal someone's bandwidth. If you don't understand, click the icon below and go find out! By the way, the Big BEE is from BEV who is sooooo talented. I scanned it in many years back. Thanks BEV!!!

We spent our morning making out cards, filling out envelopes, sticking stickers and stamps, and licking them. We rushed down to the mailbox and caught the mailman just before he closed up the boxes and left. I'm hoping that the cards get where they are headed in time. With my son's birthday and my neck problems, I was totally not prepared for the date creeping up on me like that.

We're going to a Valentines Day party next Tuesday with friends here. We might make a craft or two from Family Fun's website if we have the supplies on hand also. Daddy's days off this week are a little different, so our days off for next week will be Sunday and Monday. If we have time, we might do crafts Monday while Daddy is home. Hop over to Family Fun and see what kind of neat Valentines Crafts they have this year. You won't be sorry!

Labels: blogging, holidays

Ever wanted to see REAL dinosaur footprints? Well, you just did! These photos were taken in Glenrose, Texas - where dinosaurs once roamed. Not only did we visit the awesome Dinosaur Valley State Park there (where some lovely dinosaur replicas from the 1964-5 World Fair are on display), but we also stopped in at the Creation Evidence Museum that is relatively close to the park. Although the museum is not much on the outside, there are interesting artifacts, a video, and display items on the inside (Creationism doesn't pay well like state-funded religious beliefs do). Here's a snip from the Creation Evidence Museum website:

"As you browse our pages you will receive educational information presenting scientific evidence for creation and design by a personal Creator. This scientifically chartered museum was established in July of 1984 for the purpose of research, excavation, and display of scientific evidence for creation. The Museum's team, led by its Founder and Director, Carl Baugh, Ph.D., has excavated eleven dinosaurs (Acrocanthosaurus, Stegosaurus, Allosaurus, etc.), 475 dinosaur tracks, 86 human footprints, 7 cat prints, and other fossil remains - all in Cretaceous limestone. Excavations were professionally documented along the Paluxy River and various other international locations."

We really enjoyed this trip and hope to go back again some time. I have many of the books that they carry at the museum, and we still enjoy looking through them. My kids have requested that we return to this park... and we hope to do so when we return to Texas. While you plan your trip, be sure to check out the bible verses below that refer to a dinosaur:

Job 40:15-24

"Look at the behemoth,
which I made along with you
and which feeds on grass like an ox.

16 What strength he has in his loins,
what power in the muscles of his belly!

17 His tail sways like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.

18 His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like rods of iron.

19 He ranks first among the works of God,
yet his Maker can approach him with his sword.

20 The hills bring him their produce,
and all the wild animals play nearby.

21 Under the lotus plants he lies,
hidden among the reeds in the marsh.

22 The lotuses conceal him in their shadow;
the poplars by the stream surround him.

23 When the river rages, he is not alarmed;
he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth.

24 Can anyone capture him by the eyes,
or trap him and pierce his nose?



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"TARANTULA HAWK WASPS" - Family POMPILIDAE
This group of wasps includes some of the largest stinging insects in the world, and reportedly some of the most painful to be stung by, mostly due to the size of the sting itself and the volume of venom injected. Normally, use of this sting is reserved for their prey, which the venom paralyzes, but if mishandled by a person, they will use it in self-defense. They can be found essentially anywhere tarantulas and trap-door spiders occur, with the greatest abundance in the desert Southwest. Most SW species are black with metallic bluish highlights and orange wings, but species with black wings occur. There are two genera, Pepsis and Hemipepsis, which are very difficult to separate (subtle features of wing venation), but almost identical in biology. These wasps commonly visit flowers, especially milkweeds, for nectar, as this is essentially all the adult wasps feed on. The males are generally more often encountered than females, and can be recognized by their longer, straighter antennae, while females have short and rather strongly curled antennae.

Info from Frequently Asked Questions About Insects.

Here's a better picture than mine... and let me tell you - these things are BIG and scary looking!!! Any wasp that would take down a fat, hairy tarantula is a force to be reckoned with!

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PUBLIC SCHOOL SOCIALIZATION

When I mention we are homeschooling our children, we are without fail asked, '...But what about socialization?'

Fortunately, we found a way our kids can receive the SAME socialization that government schools provide.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will personally corner each child in the bathroom, give them each a wedgie and take their lunch money. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I will make sure to tease our children for not being in the 'in' crowd, taking special care to poke fun at any physical abnormalities. ... Fridays will be 'Fad and Peer Pressure Day.' we will all compete to see who has the coolest toys, the most expensive clothes, and the loudest, fastest, and most dangerous car.

Every day, I will adhere to a routine of cursing, being disrespectful, swearing in the hall, and mentioning our weekend exploits with alcohol and immorality.... and we have asked (our kids) to report us to the authorities in the event we mention faith, religion, or try to bring them up with any morals or values.

- adapted from the: Kolbe Little Home Journal, Fall 2005

Labels: homeschool, humor

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Ephesians 6:10-18...

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

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