Blue Ridge Parkway

On our return from our recent trip to Delaware, we had two days to make a nine hour drive, so we decided to take our time. When we looked at a map, we realized that the Blue Ridge Parkway ran basically parallel to I-81 (our projected route) and then, about 70 miles from home there is easy access to I-77. So, we decided to take our time and explore this scenic route. It was amazing! Yes, we had to drive much slower, and yes, the drive took us a lot longer. However, it was the most relaxing and enjoyable drive that we have taken in a long time. There were hardly any other cars (always a good thing), the day was very, slightly cloudy (so the views were still great, but not too hot), and Sebastian loved seeing everything and being able to periodically stop and get out of the car. He kept saying that he wanted to "stop and see something." The trip was definitely worth the extra time.

Power Outage

Thursday night at 10:30, while Patrick and I were lying in bed reading, it started to storm. The wind started first, very strong wind, then came the hail (and along with that the fear of a tornado), and finally, as the power went out, it started to really storm. Fortunately for my peace of mind, the storm did not last long and the worst thing that happened to us was the power outage. However, the next day, we did discover that a tornado passed right by the house that is only three houses down from us, which is also where the tree fell down that knocked out our power. We were, therefore, out of power from 10:30pm on Thursday until about 7:45pm on Friday. I am just extremely grateful that it wasn't longer than that. Friday morning I started to think about why it is difficult to have one's power go out. First of all, I realize that we think we need power more than we really do. When it came down to it, my day wasn't messed up that much as I had just been planning on cleaning the house. Well, the only thing I need electricity for, when cleaning, is vacuuming. I could still accomplish everything else and continue as originally planned. No, I could not cook in any way, shape, or form, but, in the big scheme of things, was a rather minor inconvenience. I think that the most difficult part of not having any power was not being able to open the refrigerator for water or milk, or any food. I can easily get by without the use of a telephone, the internet, television, music, or air conditioning. The one thing I really missed though, was my morning cup of coffee and a piece of toast. This has, however, made me extremely grateful for electricity, when I do have it.

Keeping Cool

As the weather has jumped from the seventies straight to the nineties, I have been trying to think of ways to keep the house cool without cranking up the AC. My first thought was, "What dinners can I make that don't require the use of the oven, or even much stove top time?" This was actually a little difficult for me to think of. It is interesting how there are different cooking mindsets based upon the Seasons. In the summer it seems that my brain completely shuts down where meal planning is concerned. I need to come up with a large list of "summertime meals." Tonight we are going to have salad with chicken (The problem here is that I always like some warm bread to go with my salad, so I'm going to make bread in the bread machine, and put the bread machine outside so that it doesn't warm up the kitchen.) Tomorrow we will bbq shish kabobs and Friday I am planning on making fish, homemade pizza on Saturday (requires the oven, but only for 20 min.) and on Sunday we will be having egg salad sandwiches. As I have just about exhausted my summertime meal ideas in one week, I need to do some research to come up with more. The next thing that I thought of that really heats
up the house is laundry, particularly the dryer. Therefore, we need a clothesline. We are planning on eventually putting up a nice
retractable, five-line clothesline in our yard, but this will require Patrick cementing in a pole or something for it to attach to, which he won't have time to do until the garden is done. So today I decided to improvise. I have always had a clothing rack, (seen standing on the ground behind the trees) but it just doesn't hold enough. I decided to tie rope between some of our trees and try hanging clothes on that, and it seems to be working thus far. Of course, the question now is, will the clothes actually dry in the humidity outside or will this have been useless?

(This picture has nothing to do with anything, it is just Sebastian "playing dead", and I found it amusing.)

It is extremely satisfying to finish tasks that are on one's "To Do" list. Whenever we go out of town it seems that there are tons of things to do, even if we are only going to be gone for a night. Whenever we leave home it is my desire to: leave at the time decided upon and in a non-stressful manner, for the house to be clean, and to not have forgotten anything. Does this usually happen? Not so much. There is always stress, we are always about 15-30 min. behind, the house is Pretty clean, and I always forget something. So, this time, I striving to be more organized and actually follow the "To Do" list that I have made. Unfortunetely, I always seem to come up with things to do that don't really HAVE to be done. For example: this morning I worked on transplanting the tomatoes. This did have to be done as they were stunted in pots that were too small, and I had been meaning to do this for days. But did I stop with just transplanting to plants? OF COURSE NOT! I then looked at all of the rocks that were strewn about, due to having been removed for the placement of the garden, and I decided to put them in a pile and rake up the area around the herb garden. Now, while
this area looks much better, this was not something that had to be done today. I think it all has to do with the fact that people enjoying doing something that they don't Have to do, much more than the things that they DO Have to do. I now need to get to the tasks that do need to be done, such as ironing shirts, packing clothes, and making muffins for the car ride.
Meanwhile, while I was working outside, for the past hour and a half Sebastian has been sitting in front of the CD player in his room listening to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack. He pulled out the toy dishes that have face on them and is pretending that they are Mrs. Potts, Chip, and the others. I tried to get him to come outside with me, no, he wasn't interested. I tried to go into his room with him so that we could do something together, no, he informed me that he wanted to be alone. He listens to the songs, singing along with them I might add, which is quite cute, and then starts the CD over again once it finishes. I think that he has listened to it about ten times this morning, at least. It has been five times since I have been indoors. I attempted to take a picture of him, but he wanted to be by himself. I'm afraid that this child is taking after me, as this is the
sort of thing that I used to do when I was young.

Top Ten List of "How to Make Him Notice When You Clean"

There are two types of men in the world, tidy and untidy. I happen to be married to a very tidy man, which is something that I am very grateful for. However, the downside to being married to a man who is quite neat and clean, is that they tend to not notice all of the work that the wife puts in to keeping things clean. Here is a list of things that Might make him take notice.

1) Vacuum right before he gets home so that he can see how nice the carpets look, before anyone has walked all over them. This is especially effective if you have the type of carpet that really looks different after you vacuum.
2) Reorganize, just a bit and even if you don't have to, the books on his end table so that he KNOWS you dusted.
3) Make certain that your dresser top is always tidier than his.
4) Plan when you do your laundry based on when he is Almost, but not quite, out of socks. If he is almost out of socks, he will notice when they are replenished but he won't be able to complain that the laundry has not been done yet.
5) Make certain to alternate sheets based on color. If the blue sheets are on the bed one week, put the white ones on the next week. This way he will, hopefully, notice when you change them.
6) Keep the dirty laundry in the laundry bag pushed down so that he never thinks it is fuller than it is.
7) Make sure the house is messier when he leaves for work than when he gets home.
8) NEVER make the bed BEFORE he leaves the house. Then, when he returns, it is a much more blatant change to the room.
9) Clean with vinegar. Even if he doesn't notice visually that you cleaned, he will not be able to avoid noticing the smell.
10) Finally, when all else fails, train your child to tell him everything that you have done that day to clean the house.

NB: Mowing the lawn is a wonderful thing to do, as it always looks really nice once it has been done, and you can't help but noticing the change. It is also a nice break from housework.

35 Weeks

Today was my thirty-five week appointment. It many ways it is very satisfying to go to the doctor, have everything go well, and then know that you don't have to go again for another two weeks. I can hardly believe that I am due in only six weeks, time is certainly flying! (In this picture, Sebastian was dancing, hence the odd position.)

Taken on Mother's Day

Conversation Skills

I realized last night that good conversational skills are essential to enjoyable conversations. (You might say, "Well of course.) However, I had always assumed that as people get older, and as long as they are not completely socially inept, they will have basic conversation skills. It is true that in regard to conversation, some things need to be taught, such as, do not interrupt. Yet, while we teach that to our children, how often do we follow this rule as adults? It seems to me that people are often so eager to proffer their own ideas and opinions, that they do not listen very well to what is said by the person they are conversing with. As adults we sometimes interrupt others, but we don't seem to think anything of it. Someone says something that we want to respond to, and we jump in with our agreement or disagreement, whether or not the other person is finished speaking. As a result, people are talking over each other, and not REALLY listening to anything that anyone says. I have seen this on the news a great deal. It always drives me crazy when to "professional individuals" that are debating a topic are constantly interrupting one another rather than having a polite conversation where they respond to the statement of the other individual. Granted, there are two sides to this issue. It you are making a statement, you need to not make it a dialogue so that the other person has the opportunity to respond to what you have said.
How do we teach these skills to our children and, frankly quite often, to ourselves? I'm beginning to believe that we need to teach our children to first be kind, caring, and interested in what other people have to say, and the rest will naturally follow. If we would first listen to others, perhaps we would be less concerned with jumping in with our own opinions.

Sebastian's latest

*Sebastian broke one of his toys and, as I was trying to fix it, he said: "I'm sad about that broken toy." He then proceeded to pull a loose string on the blanket that is on our bed (a string that shouldn't have been pulled). I told him not to pull it, as it would wreck the blanket, and he said: "I'm sad about that. I'm sad about everything, and I'm tired too. I'm sad about everything and I'm tired."

*Sebastian came out of his room, at nap time, to tell me that he needed to use the restroom. I told him to go ahead, and he replied, while holding up his fingers, "One, I can't go by myself, and two, I need your help."

A First

Sebastian just informed me that he was disobeying me because he didn't love me. Ahh, the joyous moments of parenting.

The questions they ask

This evening Patrick and Sebastian were outside working on the garden when they heard some kids playing with something that beeped.

Sebastian: What is that beeping?

Patrick: I don't know, maybe a toy.

Sebastian: What toy?

Patrick: I don't know, maybe a toy that some kids are playing with.

Sebastian: What kids?

Patrick: I don't know.

Sebastian: Do you know anything?

Happy Mother's Day

One of the great things about being a mother is that you have an additional day a year where people do special things for you. This morning, Patrick made me breakfast in bed. I often find that I don't give Patrick enough credit when it comes to doing special things for days such as my birthday or mother's day. I make sure to remind him a bit in advance that the day is coming up, but then I try not to say anything else. This year I decided to mention that I thought we should go to Panera to eat, and he said, "We aren't going to go anywhere, I'll make you something." Of course, my immediate reaction is, "The selfish beast" and then I learn a few days later that he was just pulling my leg. This year Patrick told me that he was planning to make me breakfast in bed. I knew that he was making it, but "what" the breakfast would be was a surprise. I was very excited when he walked in with a bowl of yogurt and strawberries, coffee, orange juice, and eggs Florentine that he had made from scratch. He really is pretty great. I meant to take a picture of it, but I wasn't patient enough. It was quite good!

Manners

This last Saturday night there was a BBQ that Patrick and Sebastian attended while I was stuck in bed, thanks to my injured foot. Today, while at a play-date, one of the other moms, who had also been at the BBQ, said that Sebastian had come up to her (at the BBQ) and asked: "Please ma'am, can you help me with my juice box please?" and then, after she did, he said: "Thank you". I am glad that some things that we are teaching him have begun to sink in. Now, we just need to work on his grammar.

This sweet boy did what?

Here is my sweet son, all ready to go on his first fishing trip, he even insisted on bringing a "friend". Today, however, he was not always so sweet.
After dinner, I let him play for about twenty minutes, and then I told him it was time to clean up toys to get ready for bed. He immediately started throwing a tantrum, and told me "No, I don't want to!" After getting in trouble for this, he still had to clean up his toys. As he starts cleaning, he starts hitting the couch, and he then informs me that, "I was hitting something because I was mad at you." WHERE DO THEY LEARN THESE THINGS?! He then explained this extraordinary behavior by saying, "I'm having a rough day."
We then had a talk about how even when you are having a rough day, you still need to behave as you shouldn't take your bad mood out on other people. Fortunately, the evening ended with us all (him and me) in a better mood. Oh, the things he gets up to when Patrick is not home.

Lack of Motivation

I have decided that what every housewife and mother needs is a motivation speaker or an encouragement coach of sorts. I find that one of the hardest things about sticking to the daily tasks of homemaking, is keeping up the motivation to do everything that needs to be done. I have recently attended a couple of talks for moms about the tasks of being a homemaker. The first one was primarily about housekeeping and the importance of having a schedule and keeping your house clean. I found this talk to be extremely encouraging and motivating. Afterwards, I wanted to begin my new regime immedietly, and work really hard at the mundane. And, very importantly, I was motivated to be more organized, which is something that I have always struggled with. However, the last talk was one month ago and I have found my motivation dwindling at times. One of the hardest things about being a homemaker is not the difficulty of the tasks, but the mundane routine. Things like laundry, cleaning toilets, vacuuming, dusting, etc., have to be done every week. Other tasks, such as making dinner and doing dishes, have to be done every day, sometimes multiples times a day. We may know that these are important tasks and that by doing them, we are serving others, however, it is not always easy. We get tired of the routine, we get tired of making dinners and doing the dishes. No matter how much you love to cook, there will come a day, (or week) where you just do not want to make dinner.
But, I always find that if I talk to someone about the importance of being organized and how, when we do our job well (my job right now being taking care of the home and my family) we are also serving God through our tasks, I am afterward more motivated to continue on doing what needs to be done. I, therefore, think that it is important to, at least once a month, do something, or talk to someone that will motivate you in your job. We need encouragement. We need someone to tell us, "Well done, keep up the good work." In the normal working world, people work better when they receive affirmation for what they have done. In the same way, homemakers need that affirmation. It is, therefore, important to encourage one another and to remind each other that what we do is important.

Thirty-one Weeks and Counting

Normally while pregnant, I avoid getting my picture taken. Or if there is a picture, it looks something like this, where you cannot see all of me. I mean after all, who really wants to see a picture of themselves looking like a whale? I know, I don't really look like a whale, I'm just joking. (maybe a baby whale) Now I'm not saying all pregnant women look like that, heck, I

have four lovely sisters-in-law that look like they just get little basketballs stuck under there shirts and then, poof, it turns into a baby. I on the other hand, am not like that, so I avoid preserving myself for posterity. Despite this effort on my part, I have seen some terrible pictures of me that were taken while I was pregnant. There was one taken when I was carrying Sebastian, it was taken on my due date, and I was standing next to my thin husband, and I looked TERRIBLE. But, the important thing is that the world got to see it. I think it is all just a lesson so that there is never any fear of my becoming vain. But, enough of my rambling. I decided to post some pictures for those who love me, no matter how I look. =)

I am thirty-one weeks along, and both the baby and I are doing well. Granted, I seem to have been prone to a few injuries recently, what with a strained wrist and then a hurt foot. However, while the pain was intense for a while, I seem to be healing faster than I expected. Today I have been able to walk around a bit without both the crutches. I occasionally need one, and I need to still rest, but I am healing. Sebastian has been extremely helpful while I have been injured. Yesterday he helped me straighten up my room. I would say, "Sebastian, will you please put this there" or "hang this up here" and he would do it. He loves to help, which is great. Hopefully he will keep this up after the baby is born.

Today I had a doctor's appointment and the baby's heart rate was good and everything seems fine thus far. So, the long-winded update from the Ford household is that we are doing well.

Ugg

We have had an exciting weekend. Yesterday morning we went outside to work in the yard, I was watering the herbs, flowers, and tomatoes, and Patrick was working on building our future garden. Patrick asked me to come and look at something, I walked over, fell when stepping into the garden, and very badly sprained my ankle. Being seven months pregnant, Patrick couldn't exactly carry me inside, so I almost passed out as he helped me to the couch. I have, therefore, spent my entire weekend in bed with my ankle elevated and swathed in ice (ohh so cold and uncomfortable). Patrick has gotten to spend spend the entire weekend taking care of Sebastian and myself, and as a result, has not been able to get very much done. Fortunately, when they left, the former owners of this house left a pair of crutches in the garage. I have, therefore, been able to get about a tiny bit. I'm a little curious what we are going to do this week with me not being able to walk, drive, cook, do laundry, or basically anything. I really hate being useless, so, hopefully, I shall recover quickly.