Quote by Maureen Hawkins

I saw this on another blog today and had to jot it down for posterity...

Before you were conceived I wanted you;
Before you were born I loved you;
Before you were here an hour I would die for you;
This is the miracle of life.

~ Maureen Hawkins

I love this. Makes me want to add to it and say, "Even after 20 years and beyond, I still feel the same way...

Copyright © 2008 - Paulla Estes

Passing the Torch

Here are some photos from yesterday when Andy served as a guest speaker in Samantha's Latin class:







I was so impressed. He was articulate, comfortable, interesting, and boy, does he know his stuff. He gave them a detailed history of the background of Homer's Iliad and then told how it relates to Virgil's Aeneid and the history of Rome.

I'd like to say I can take credit for that - that I taught it all to him in our homeschooling... but alas, I did not. I threw the Iliad at him (like a hot potato) when he was about 15, and he devoured it. The secret truth is that I have never read it. After he loved it so much, he begged me to read it - and I tried. Honest.

This year, I threw the Iliad at Sam and she liked it alright. She also read the Odyssey (no, I haven't read that one either, but I've seen the Armand Assante version on TV).

Anyway, I am so proud. I loved that Andy knew what he was doing - and did it so well - and that Sam soaked it all in and loves it, too.

Afterward, we went to McDonald's, and perhaps just to prove to me how little I really know, Andy decided to show me a few words in ancient Greek, which he wrote on a napkin:



I don't know what it says, but I'm sure it must be something about what a great and brilliant mom he has. ;)

Copyright © 2008 - Paulla Estes

Teenaged Opinions

Recently, Molly (age 14) told me that one of her friends thinks Johnny Depp is hot.

"Eww," she told me, "How could she like him? He's old!"

I told her Patrick Dempsey (who is from Maine, I might add, and who is equally as hot as Johnny Depp - not that *I* would care) is about the same age as Johnny Depp.

"Eww. He's an old man, too," was her response.

So I said, "Well, just because a guy is as old as your dad, doesn't mean he's not hot."

She looked at me, blankly. So I drove in for the kill.

"Your dad's hotter than both those guys," I told her.

Her response?

"Double Eww."

Ah, the vocabulary of a teenager.

Copyright © 2008 - Paulla Estes

Kitty Hospital

Here's what we have to do every other day... until further notice.





I'm just glad Samantha isn't faint-hearted about such things. She would make a great vet. Animals love her and she really knows how to calm them. The rest of the family isn't much help at times such as this - Todd is afraid of needles, Molly can't stand the idea on so many levels, and Andy isn't here. It takes two of us because the kitty likes to move.

Thankfully, this is making him feel so much better. :)

Copyright © 2008 - Paulla Estes

Our Kitty

I opted not to blog about our dog dying back at Christmas. It was hard - much harder than I'd have imagined - and I just didn't want to share it here. One of these days I'm going to put the story up, with some pics, but today isn't that day.

Today, it's kitty news. Our cat Ricky (we have Ricky and Lucy) was diagnosed with kidney disease last week. He is 12 years old. We were told he might not live out the week, and this coming just 5 weeks after losing our dog, we were devastated, to say the least.

And yes, we are very "into" our pets. It doesn't just 'feel' like they're part of the family. They ARE family.

So the vet told us we could give our kitty fluid treatments (read that, home I.V.s) and change his diet. She didn't promise it would help, but we decided to try it.

Now, a week later, Ricky is back from the dead. He is back to his old tricks, but he is also smiling again (as much as a cat can smile). Once again he's purring, talking to us, and running to me when I call him. He is very indignant about the needle going into his back every other day, but he likes his new food and doesn't complain much.

We know his days are numbered, but as of now, we've been given a reprieve.

And we are so thankful.

Copyright © 2008 - Paulla Estes

Football

My mom phoned today while I was watching the Patriots beat San Diego. And yes, let me just clarify here that I am still a Denver Bronco fan, first and foremost, but living in New England all these years has given me an honest to goodness love for the Patriots and the Red Sox - even before the Red Sox curse was broken and the Patriots became the best team in NFL history.

My mantra is that I'll root for the Patriots as long as they aren't playing the Broncos. This year the Broncos had a lousy season, but that's a whole 'nuther story.

Back to the phone call ~ my mom commented that it's sweet that I'll watch football with my husband. I quickly informed her that my husband had to work this afternoon and since I couldn't persuade my daughters to watch it with me, I was cheering all alone. Even my son doesn't enjoy football.

Where did I go wrong?

Besides, doesn't my mom remember my despair in 1977 when, at the age of 10, I watched my very first Superbowl? I was distraught for days when the Dallas Cowboys beat my beloved Broncos, 27 - 10. From then on, I was hooked. Doesn't she remember my school girl crushes? Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, and of course John Elway.

As we've moved around the country, I've found a place in my heart for some of the other teams from the towns in which we've lived: the Washington Redskins and the San Diego Chargers, in particular. It took me a bit longer to enjoy college ball, but now I find out can lounge on the couch for hours if any game is on the TV.

I find that I am quite alone in my true-blue love for football - as a woman, that is. Most of my friends don't like it, don't understand it, and have no desire to learn it. A few will suffer through games, sitting patiently while their husbands cheer. One or two really seem to like it, but I never hear about them really watching the game, unless they're with their main guy.

Anyway, I'm psyched that the Patriots beat the Chargers this afternoon, and now I'm rooting for the Packers to beat the lame NY Giants. Sorry, sports fans, but the Manning brothers are just too pretentious and whiny to suit me.

Ok, gotta go, commercial's over.

And sorry Mom, you'll just never understand.

Copyright © 2008 - Paulla Estes

A Homeschool Family

This cracked me up today. Just had to share!



Copyright © 2008 - Paulla Estes

Happy New Year ~ !

Making lots of changes and re-thinking priorities on this early New Year's Day. Always a good time to re-group and start a fresh.

Blessings to you all for a healthy, happy New Year!

Copyright © 2008 - Paulla Estes

Merry Christmas...

So much to share here, but today isn't the day.

Blessings to you all...

Copyright © 2007 - Paulla Estes

Grammar in Real Life

So who, as a child, wasn't corrected when saying, "Can me and Jenny go to the corner store?"

If the adult who answered the question was worth his or her salt, he quickly corrected you by saying, "Jenny and I..." to which you replied, "Can Jenny and I go to the corner store?"

My two youngest daughters are nearly 14 and 15 years old. They get this sentence right about half the time, in spite of many years of grammar training and correction, by me, a one-time English major.

But the big victory this year has been NOT ending a sentence with a preposition. Not only do they use this part of grammar properly, they correct one another, and even their friends (kindly, and tongue in cheek, but correcting just the same.)

In this vein, I just came across a wonderful Churchill quote that I had to share:

"From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put. "

Classic Churchill. :)

Copyright © 2007 - Paulla Estes

Make-over

This must be what being sick and being stuck at home does to me. I've decided to do a bit of redecorating here on the blog, and not only that, I've changed my name. Homeschool Ponderings just wasn't doing it for me. I felt like it was a label I kept trying to fit into, and when what I wrote didn't fit, I started to hate the name.

This new name allows more freedom. It will still be about homeschooling, since that's such a big part of our lives, but rather than trying to fit round, square, and multi-sided pegs into one triangular hole, I've just made one huge hole for them all to fit into nicely ~ My Reality.

If that doesn't open up possibilities, I don't know what will. :)

Oh, and P.S. ~ I also did some redecorating over at my Maine Blog, so pop on over for a visit if you have time.

Copyright © 2007 - Paulla Estes

Pay Now or Pay Later?

At this time of the year, just after Thanksgiving, I always wonder if we ought to just go ahead and start our Christmas break early - like RIGHT NOW.

We did that a few years ago. I was very organized and after having started school in mid-August, we had more than a month off at Christmas, which included Thanksgiving. This was great in a lot of ways - it helped with the Christmas shopping and baking, and of course we all enjoyed the extra time off. But I also found that it was that much harded to get back on task in January.

This year, I'm tempted to do it again. I've been sick for a week and 1/2 and I just NOW started antibiotics, so it will be awhile before I'm fully recovered. Add to that, I have to fly out west over next weekend (if I'm better, of course). And this comes just weeks before Christmas, and I haven't so much as begun any semblance of Christmas shopping or even planning.

Yet, we didn't start in mid-August, and none of us ever wants to continue school after the end of May. Either we pay now or we pay later.

Besides, will they remember how to do Algebra in January if we stop now?

Probably not, but oh, the temptation!

Copyright © 2007 - Paulla Estes

In Honor of Thanksgiving...

I think I'm going to do this...

I just found this site and I had to share it.

Complaint Free Bracelet

What a great idea. Even if I don't get THE actual bracelet that they offer, I rarely wear bracelets, so I'm just going to put one on that I already have - and use THAT as the reminder.

I'll check back in from time to time for updates on how it's working. I need all the help I can get. If only we all could change our habits from complaining to thanksgiving ALL year long...

Copyright © 2007 - Paulla Estes

A Neat Site

Check THIS out...

Copyright © 2007 - Paulla Estes

Letting Emotions Get the Best of Me

I had one of those moments today.

In recent years (maybe I can attribute it to turning 40) my emotions have really leveled out and rarely can things get to me like they used to 10, 15 and 20 years ago.

But today, I became (on the inside, anyway) one of those parents we all hate to see - the kind that gets WAY too emotionally involved with their kids' sports team.

Molly's last AAU basketball game was today. Her team was seated third in the tournament and the team they were to play first was definitely beatable. After a really good season with a few wins and a few losses, we really thought they could beat this team. And they could have. However...

The regular coach couldn't be there today because he was visiting his daughter who is playing basketball in college (we told him his priorities were out of whack, but he went anyway - can you imagine?) ;)

Consequently, one of the dads stepped in to coach the team - a very outspoken dad, I might add, who often comes to practices and interrupts the regular coach with lots of helpful advice for the team. Are you hearing my tone?

I also might add that this particular dad's daughter is the one player on the team who really doesn't seem to belong there. She won't do what the coach tells her, she can't keep up with the rest of the team, and she often gets in the way of her own players. It's sad, really, but it's a competitive league, and it is what it is.

Today, our team was ahead at the half and we were gaining momentum. After the half, one of our girls got hurt, and then another. Although we still had plenty of players, the coach/dad decided to keep his daughter in for the remainder of the game. It was utterly ludicrous. Even by-standers and parents from the other team were asking why this girl, who obviously couldn't play, was still on the court each time subs were called in or out. All the parents were so angry and we all wanted to say something, but we've had such a good season with such great relationships all around, that we chickened out.

Though I had plenty of evil thoughts of my own, I had plenty of help, listening to all the disgruntled parents around me. I was furious with this coach who seemed to be systematically destroying our shot at the tournament.

It was no surprise that we lost by 12 points. I wanted to go up and give the smiling coach (ugh) a piece of my mind, but I held it in. The rest of the girls on the team were also visibly upset and the parents were fueling their fire.

In the car on the way home, Molly and I vented to each other about the whole thing and said things we shouldn't have said, thought things we shouldn't have thought. But we did get it out of our systems.

In the end, it WAS just a game and it wasn't THAT big of a deal. People make mistakes and things happen. In the big picture, it just doesn't matter.

But... I was surprised at how quickly my emotions got away from me and I totally lost sight of that.

I guess I'm not so grown up after all.

Copyright © 2007 - Paulla Estes

Baby Love

Last night I met a friend at McDonald's for a 45-minute catch-up. This may sound silly, but we are both busy, running in different directions (from one another) and she has nine children. Need I say more?

Anyway, while her young ones were at Awana, we met at McD's and she brought her youngest, one-year-old Joshua. He is the perfect little baby - one that I can't help calling "pumpkin" each time I see him. He has big blue eyes, pudgy cheeks, a winning smile, and he is SO quiet! He hardly says a thing, he just sits there acting sweet, being good, and looking happy. Is that a perfect baby or what?

So when we met in the parking lot, my friend was getting out of her van and she handed Joshua down to me. Since we don't see one another often, he really doesn't know who I am, and his mom said he might get upset as he's beginning to go through the separation anxiety stage. But lo and behold, when I took him, he gave me a huge smile and just stared into my eyes. Oh the love!

I carried him into McDonalds and he just kept looking at me, smiling. I'm sure I made a complete fool of myself, cooing at him, smiling at him, saying idiotic things and calling him "pumpkin." I didn't care - this was too good to be true. Finally I pressed my cheek against his downy hair and he leaned his little head against me in a hug. I nearly cried. I told my friend, "Oh my gosh, he loves me!" She just laughed and shrugged. She was probably starting to think she might better get her baby back before I took off with him or something.

Ultimately, I did give him back - she made me do it when I started offering him fries, ice cream, a cheeseburger - anything for another precious baby hug.

There really is no feeling like that, you know? :)

Copyright © 2007 - Paulla Estes

1,440 Minutes

This morning I picked up an older devotional book I read from time to time. I still have the concept of hurrying/time, etc. on my mind, and I was looking for ideas on how to be quiet and savor the moment.

The story I read was, ironically, about how there are 1,440 minutes in every day. They are ours to use as we choose, but once they are gone, we won't get them back.

Yesterday I spent a long time with my daughter, scrolling through two hilarious websites about pets. She has a nasty cold and was wrapped in a blanket, drinking hot tea. She was sleep deprived and stuffy and needed a pick-me-up. When I came upon these sites, I called her over and we laughed together, sometimes unable to breathe, for well over an hour.

Was this a good use of my time or a time waster? I'm sure there are differing opinions on this, but I see it as a good use of the time. Sure, I could have been cleaning out the basement, doing the dishes, folding the laundry, or one of the other millions of un-done tasks in our home, but this was a precious, fun time. My daughter forgot her cold momentarily and we shared some healthy laughter - good for what ails anyone! We're still chuckling about it this morning.

How will you spend your 1,440 minutes today?

Copyright © 2007 - Paulla Estes