Pancakes and Company

Another blessing that came out of last year, was becoming close friends with our neighbors at the end our cul-du-sac, an older couple we now fondly refer to as GM Mary and GP Frank.  It started out with the kids helping them around the yard and Miss Mary sharing her canning/crops and the friendship just kept growing.  Our kids like to go over hang-out and talk; and  they love the company.  It was really special when they both came Thanksgiving and to Jared's play at the first of the year.  Today, they came for pancake breakfast and stayed for three hours sharing stories and talking about the times.  It's ironic in a year that's all been about destroying relationships, that we have been blessed to gain so many.

I'm BORED!!!!

The phrase "I'm BORED" uttered by me has long sent pangs of panic into my friends and loved ones; because when "bored" I entertain myself, often to the chagrin of those around me.  As a result, I have never been one to play for my kids when they got bored, rather I threatened with work, if they are so bored, or they can't find a productive way to entertain themselves.  

Consequently, creating new games is something my children have done from their youngest ages, repurposing normal everyday objects into the tools for their play.  The old foam tiles in our house Florida house used to cushion falls on the tiles; have been repurposed since we moved here into forts of all kinds, barter stands, shields; and the list goes on.  I have always encouraged time spent on these endeavors, over more traditional time requirements.  Not only does this type of play spark the imagination, it also fosters the tools needed to work together, solve problems and agree on terms/rules.  I think this type of "out-ot-the-box" thinking is what is lost in the average over scheduled, busy work education, electronic filled, no time for creativity childhood.  Frankly, I think its responsible for a lot of the stupid we've had to endure the last twelve months, but I digress.

Recently we had the S Family with their 4 boys over for a play-date.  While they were here my crew introduced them to the latest game they had created in the Bonus Room.  This game involves the ping-pong table, Keva blocks, rubber bands* and four armies of plastic army men (British, Japanese, German and American).  When our friends went home their kids quickly took out their Lego figures (since they didn't have army men), Keva blocks (they had just gotten for Christmas and thought we only for building till meeting my kids) and set up a battle of their own on their dinning room table.  Mom S sent me a photo and Dad S enjoyed the game when he got home as well.  Creative fun is contagious, in a good way.

Here is a quick glimpse at some of the kids favorite original games.

Lance:  Romans and Barbarians. This game leans more towards the barbaric for both sides but one team (myself) is supposed to be more professional and the other side (the rest of my siblings) absolutely crazy. We all have old baseball helmets and foam tile shields/clubs that we use to push the other side into submission. We have only ever broken one wall outlet (3 times) while playing this ;).

Jared: Goodnight Puppies. Don't let the name deceive you, this game has nothing to do with dogs. The name originated from what Dad said every night when he put the dogs in their cages. That was a signal to us we had to start a game, and FAST! If we didn't, the call for bed would come seconds later. So we took dodge-ball, added 400 plastic balls, foam-tile forts, pillow artillery, 5 lives, and viola! We have an intense war zone that would last just long enough to where our parents would let us finish one more game before bed.  

Titus: Rubber-band Wars.  This is the game in progress above, it started out with single rubber bands, then double rubber bands and Titus has since upped his game by building a rubber-band rifle with the scrap wood from Lance's model trains.  He did it all by himself and it works really well.  

Amber:  For a more civilized switch Amber and the boys play with her Playmobile horses and all the drama that they add, like Mr. Business that's always trying to buy the farm because of "progress".  She also likes "Good Morning Puppies", that is a variation of "Goodnight Puppies" played during the light of day.

Laying the first spikes in the train room

This is a pic of Lance's first model he created with "Grandpa".

Some of you may be wondering why we gave up our TV room so that Lance and company could turn it into a model train room.  The answer is a bit varied.  We had talked for years about turning the attic into Lance's room, we've had multiple quotes and no matter how much we try to do ourselves its just out of our budget (the entrance being in the master closet one of the biggest problems).  Lance has always had a fascination with trains (I potty trained him on the bribe of getting "James"), he has pretty much mastered Aquarium maintenance for now (he has three stable tanks with live plants); he needed a new hobby.  So he agreed to move into the smallest bedroom, give the bigger bedroom to his siblings and in return we gave him the TV room for his trains.  It's sorta that simple.  One of the few positive by-products of 2020 was that Lance formed a great friendship with our elderly neighbor who just "downsized" his train layout into one 40x20ft room.  Dil's layout has appeared in magazines over the years, before the chaos started we would see cars lined up in front of his house once a month with all his friends that would come to operate his huge layout, like so many people he lost those visitors this year.  However, Lance is learning a ton from Dil and in return he spent the fall selling a bunch of his old trains for him on Craigslist (his family has him in lockdown so he couldn't do it himself) but most importantly they've formed a friendship that they both need through these crazy times.  Putting my homeschool mom hat on there is a ton to be learned from model training; Geometry, electrical, physics, wood working, computer programing, art (in many forms; like air-brushing, sculpting and weathering), history (as he researches to make his layout as realistic visually and operationally as possible); just to name a few.

Here is the front of one of his weathered Locomotive on his testing diorama.

Now I'll turn this post over to Lance to explain in his own words:

Most people when they think of a train layout picture a train going in circles and figure eights continually with no real purpose other than watching the train. But in the real world trains have a specific job to do. They have customers that want things delivered and picked up in a timely manner which requires complicated track-work and smart maneuvers to get the job done. This is what my buddy Dil and I love about the hobby, making operations that are just as complicated and stressful as the real thing. And the best part about this is that my siblings can join in! Now we won't be tempted to play on computers on rainy days, we will just grab a train and move cars. Building a layout is not as easy as I thought. All the way from DC and DCC control of the trains, to minimum curve radius and hand laying switches!

We have recently completed the bench work for the lower level and have started planning the yard (where cars are sorted by destination.) and the main line (where the trains run from point to point) and we are also planning what our railroad will move (Coal, Propane, corn, beef, lumber etc.) and what scenic elements we want to model. Once we finish track for the lower level we will start construction of the second level above the lower. this will allow us a far away destination for our freight and passenger trains and a grueling climb to the top for that heavy coal train. Its going to be an awesome ride!

Baking Day

In an attempt to keep it real I thought I'd show what my new kitchen looks like on "Baking Day".  In this photo Kombucha is being bottled and brewed, breakfast casserole** is being made for the week, weekly french toast bake* is being warmed in toaster oven, and oatmeal is on the stove cooking.  Only thing missing is Chris coming in to make the boys smoothy and me cooking the scrambled eggs.  It is so wonderful to have all this cleared off counter space on days like today.  Still loving my new kitchen and so is Titus who often treats the family with his yummy baked deserts.

*This is from left overs after the H Family came over for brunch after church.  However, A & T would like it more often so we have decided to make it a staple on M-W.  Amber stopped eating eggs so at least she will get some eggs this way and its got to be better than bagged Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal even if it is organic.

**I wish I could get the kids to eat this, its so full of nutrition but for now this is what Chris and I eat.  I mean who doesn't like ice cream for breakfast?

Secret Squirrel Training

Last Monday was was the start of our new school year and the start of "Secret Squirrel Training" Hee!  Hee!  Every time I hear that phrase it makes me laugh.  According to Chris, its a cycling term for a guy who shows up at ride and blows away the other cyclists; they say he's been doing "Secret Squirrel Training".  Its application to my home, is that Chris and Lance have started some intense training together. The goal is for one to gain weight the other to lose weight and get Lance into top notch shape before baseball season.  This pic is of the latest edition to the training... an agility ladder, to increase obviously agility and consequently speed.  Other toys/tools they use are a "slosh pipe", "medicine balls", the pull-up bar they built last spring (when the world shut down), to enhance the traditional workout activities of squats, lunges, etc.  So impressed they did it five times last week and started again this morning 

I on the other hand, did 15 minutes of yoga once last week, maybe I'll try for two this week, but I'm not a squirrel.

Our school year had a bumpy start but we worked through it.  Doing things a bit different this year (nothing new there), were trying paired teaching and to incorporate more art.

Paired teaching is just what it sounds like; the kids are paired together to learn something instead of me teaching that subject.

Lance and Titus pair up to work on "42 Electronics".  I've been looking at this electronics curricula for years and finally bought it over the break.  So far the kids are impressed and learning a lot, its equal parts mechanical electrical training and programing.  Lance leans toward the mechanical and Titus the programing, though he's equally interested in the mechanical.

Lance and Amber are doing a modified version of "Five in a Row", there first book was "Storm in the Night".  They didn't get the art project last week but hope to do that today.

Jared is teaching Amber piano.  Jared has always had issues with the traditional method of teaching piano, so he's trying to come up with his own new way to teach piano that he hopes will help Amber better understand piano.

Jared and Titus are working a rough "Aviation" curricula, I found an outline for a middle school curricula on the FAA website.  As they both have an interest in a career in aviation, (Jared as an Air Traffic Controller and Titus as a pilot) its important they obtain a strong understanding of they subject matter ie. planes and how they work.  Last week we started slow with reading some basic books on aviation.  This week we'll increase the difficulty of the reading a bit.

Lance and Jared are going to continue their study of Spanish.  We didn't start this last week because I wasn't sure what resource to use.  The one they used last year wasn't doing the trick anymore and then this morning Dwane Thomas gave a glowing review of Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish.  The boys need a conversational focused curricula, and this looks like it might just fit that bill.  I ordered it today and should be here Wednesday, fingers crossed. 

Winter Storm....Finally!!!

Tonight it finally started snowing!!!  The kids were so bummed we didn't have a white Christmas but this makes it all better.  The flakes are the size of silver dollars and sticking.  My deer finally look like they belong (glad we didn't get them put away yet).  

It's late but we all need to enjoy a simple cheer tongiht.  Amber and Titus are running around with our neighbors and I'm sure he big boys will join in when Chris returns with them from their A Class.  Consider it all joy.... and DO eat the snowflakes and smile :-)

The New Year Came in Like a Lion!

We started the New Year off right.  After five long days of practice this week, the students of the ACTT Company performed to a full the house "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe".  Jared starred as Aslan the Lion. 

The kids joked that it should be called "The Jared, The Jules and the Backstage", as they had minimum props for this production but to me that added to the charm.  This is Jared's second ACTT production and its just amazing what the kids can do in such a short amount of time under the leadership of Emma and Esther. If you are not familiar with this book here's Jared's synopsis:

The classic story by C.S. Lewis has now been brought to the stage! The story follows 4 siblings, Susan, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy (Hope, Keaton, William, and Elaine, respectively), on their journey into the mystical land of Narnia. It is there that they learn about the evil White Witch (Julianna/Jules) and her sworn enemy Aslan (Jared) and their part in the prophecy that is to rescue Narnia from "The Queen's" tyranny. A classic tale of love, faith, hope, courage, and giving, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is an inspiring tale for the whole family!

Here's a sneak peak of some exciting scenes:

Now that I have you curious you'll need to watch the whole thing and lucky for you I have a link to do just that:  https://youtu.be/QxGliGRzxeY 

Extreme Makeover 2020

Chris took off the last two weeks of the year and we did our best to make the time productive or at least busy.  There was very little time for relaxing (oops), I think he had maybe two days to sit around relax and read a book, but a least he had those, right?  

Lance and his friend Mac worked on getting the Rock-Wool Insulation up in the attic and by the end of break they got most of it up.  What a difference that has made in keeping the second floor temperature much more constant.

Chris had a long list of things that needed fixing:  Door handles, toilets, faucets, etc.  So thankful to have a handy husband.

Now transformational work.  Unfortunately, I forgot (as usual to take before pictures, so I had to go back to pics taken after we moved in; for good or bad very little has changed in the last seven years.

We warmed up on the kids bathroom.  This room has been out of commission for about two years.  We had a mold problem, we dealt with that immediate problem and painted the walls with the recommended Lye based primer so that no mold could ever regrow and then it sat waiting for the pretty top coat.  Chris doesn't paint, he says painting is a "hostile environment".  I like painting but by myself and the offers of help made the idea of starting a little intimidating.  Then for the last year I couldn't even attempt to paint because of my back.   In the end, Lance and Titus helped me put on the top coat and I cleaned up the mess (my reach is still limited).  It worked out really well, the color was perfect and the heavy nap rollers created a wonderful stucco like texture to hide all the poor patch jobs.  Then Titus installed the new light switches and outlets (with a little help from dad but mostly by himself).  Chris also figured out the mystery of the leaky toilet (needed a longer intake line).  We still need to put the crown molding back up and paint the cabinets but its a huge improvement.  More importantly the kids can use their bathroom again instead of six people using one bathroom with only one tiny mirror.

This is the staged photo from the previous owner of the kids bath, staged looks so much nicer than in person: 

Here's where we are in our remodel:

Speaking of the master bath; here is the staged picture from the previous owner:

Remember I mentioned it only had one mirror?  The mirror on the left fell down suddenly one day about a year after we moved in and that spot has stayed vacant ever since.  The tub in this bath is really only good for soaking clothes, so we use it more as a laundry tub, hanging clothes to dry above.  I was always envious though of the shower curtain in the photo above from the previous owners and you'll notice in my re-do photo I finally found one just like it which beautifully hides the utilitarian nature of the tub.  Shortly after we moved here I had dreams of a full-bath re-do and we picked up some cool faucets on clearance.  Seven years later Chris and Titus finally installed them, without doing the major re-do and there was the bonus of cleaning out the trap.  The walls in the bath were full of poor patch jobs just like the previous bath but we tackled this room after the kids bath and the kitchen re-do, when we were tired from painting.  I remembered we had the box of Ansel Adams photos still in the closet since we moved in and instead of painting and texturing the walls (were okay with the color) we just covered everything up.  I got two big mirrors for cheap on Amazon and we turned the light upside down to make them fit. Titus installed new light switches and outlet covers and Ta-dah!

Here's the final product which I just love, only thing left to do is someday paint the cabinets white:

I'm very upset with myself that we didn't take before photos of the kitchen.  The photos below is from after we moved in.  In the last seven years those counters got very crowed with food stores, kitchen appliances, radios, drying racks, etc.  A big part of our re-do was rearranging the cabinets to put what was on the counter up but still accessible. We added a knife rack to the inside of cabinet door and a towel rack to the inside of another so that we could get rid of the drying rack (ugly, old and starting to smell). Now we just dry everything right away and put it away, which keeps the counters so beautifully uncluttered and forces me to wash towels more which is healthier.  However, what made this a make-over is the wall colors.  We talked about color since before we moved into this house, how the kitchen needed help.  We spend most of our day here and I really wanted it to be a happy place but I just couldn't figure out how to do that on our budget.  Enter "Yukon Gold" and "Mecca Gold" and the topper a cute little wood piece that says "JOY" I painted black to personalize the space.  Now instead of dreary, this is the room that brings the sunshine into the cold rain-forest called North Carolina.

Here are the pictures from after we moved in:

Here are the awesome final pictures:

As if that wasn't enough for a two week period we had one more major project.  Converting the TV Room into Lance's new Train Room.  Lance had been working with his siblings for past couple weeks building the tables. We had to rearrange the school room and the Piano room to take the furniture and pictures from the old TV Room and we had to find cheap carpet tiles to put the train tables on to help keep them level.  We started the rearranging a few weeks ago but still had lots to do.  Chris moved a ton of pictures but we made it all fix.  Now the new thorn in my side is the nasty mint green color of the Noise Room (as the Piano room has been renamed) but that will have to wait a bit till we recover from this re-do.

Before pictures after we moved of TV Room:

After picture of the new Train Room (It's a work in progress ;-):

Before picture after we moved in of the Piano Room; this room was always under utilized accept when we needed the space for parties:

After picture of the Noise Room (very cozy):

Now we all need another two weeks to recover :-)

Christmas Light Adventure

It's tradition that a few days before Christmas we drive around looking at all the Christmas lights.  Normally I plan out a very detailed map with a loop of light locations gathered from different websites.  This year we went a bit more seat-of-the-pants.  We decided to go to see the big display (35 minutes from the house) and depending on how that went try to hit some displays on the way home.

We packed into the car with our "Reindeer Chow", drinks, neighbor/daughter and headed out. 

The first stop was awesome with a 30 minute show of lights choreographed to music.  We then walked around the quaint downtown (in a different year I'm sure we would have enjoyed some of the shops but we just needed to find a place we could use the bathroom without being masked up) and then took a cute photos at the gazebo.

Then the adventure began. We managed to make it home about four hours after we left.  This  was a new Otto record of Christmas light searching but we had so much fun singing along to our favorite Christmas songs we hardly noticed the time.

The best though were our lights put up by the kids (notice Chris and I have nothing to do with them and that's his favorite part).

Went to Pick Up Our Car....

Chris had fun posting these photos on Facebook today. All he added to the photos was the comment "Went to pick-up my car today....."

It was quite entertaining how many people thought it was our car (they don't know us very well).  Only one person thought something was wrong.  She said "Something doesn't add up here....", to which I responded "Isn't she a beauty of American Engineering?! After our mechanic/friend let Chris check out his new C8, Chris tried to swap theVette keys for the Odyssey keys, but Tim was too quick for that LOL"  You'd think a brand new Vette clearly in a mechanics shop would be a clue, even if you didn't realize we were are no where near rich enough to buy one, nor would we spend our money that way.

This all sort-of ties in with this quote Chris found in the Boyd book this week, and explains how our country got to where it is in the past year.  People really need to think and question things a bit more....