Check out this cool family...

Hi everyone,
I thought the Eddyblouins would love this website! It's http://www.7kidsfarm.com/OrderNow.html
Melissa G. told me about it, and I immediately thought of our favorite Oregonian family. I think we should all make a pilgrimage to North Carolina and visit these guys! Gotta get some emu oil, cuz my emu's been squeakin! Love you all, Sondra

I never Claimed to be an Intellectual but. . .

I thought I'd do better than this!

TV Reviews

It must be because of the other commentators. . yeah. . right!

But Danielle Bean got JUNIOR HIGH!! Consequently we must critically examine the metaphysical source of this purient drivel such that the blatent contradiction shown will be laid bare for all to see (Smythe, Withers, Bezinski; Facing the Progressive Escatology of the Liberal Media; Harcourt; 1973).

Spunky? Moi?!

I have garnered a bold/nutty woman reputation in the homeschooling group by virtue of sending out an email with the subject "LICE!" Actually, I connected with some Moms at coffee and doughnuts thanks to lice story sharing. . .funny how what was a stressful experience brings me closer to having a friends. It all works to the good--even lice!

Jane Austin

All girlfriends must take this quiz! I have such happy memories of Jane Austin and girlfriends--marathons with Janasa. Cinema viewing with Sondra and others. . .so fun!

I'm Elizabeth Bennet. Who are you?!

Rotated By Allison!

Comments

I think I have fixed the missing comment link. . .we'll see.

Whose birthday is it anyway!?

I will be the kind of mother who calls her children the hour they were born to gush "30 years ago right now I was holding your sweet body to my chest. . . !" So far today I have indulged in kissing my boys' face all over and remembering how thrilled I was six years ago to be holding my beautiful son. We knew he was John Henry (and not Thaddeus) because he was so big a strong, with a neck like a football player. A happy baby--who only cried during diaper changes. That year for lent we made a calendar that was labeled "Walking the path to Calvary with Jesus". For every day of lent we had a little purple John Henry footprint. I saved one in his baby book. I also remember Mary Catherine (6) carrying him in her doll sling. Now he's working on reading, reciting poetry, and yearning for little league to begin (oops--gotta sign-up!). What a gift we were given with this boy!

A new parasite

As a rule the EB's only do intestinal parasites. Ask me about pin worms and round worm sometime. . .but 10 minutes ago I pulled one of these guys off Thaddeus' head. The beds are already stripped, boy hair is cut, stuffed animals in blankets, and we are heading out to get the head treatment for all of us. A new adventure! Just what I needed. In Gods great wisdom this is what I'm supposed to be dealing with now. . .that is a comfort --as is blogging about it.

Hey der, hello der from Maine, ayuh!

Greetings readers of Westward wagons ho blog,
Allison, in her spirit of wisdom and adventure, has asked me, Sondra, to be a contributor to the blog from the great Northeast! Plus, John has been slacking on the blog contributions...
So, I'll start by saying that we all miss you terribly. It's a lot quieter here in Maine (though I may have heard Thaddeaus screeching for sugar the other day, that or a fallout siren). Anyway, the girlfriends have been somewhat scattered to the winds lately too, so I'm brainstorming ways to keep the old gang together. Shannon, Kim Tolly and I have all gone bananas for needle felting, so there's been some talk of a felting circle. Any of you Mainers who might be interested should call me, and we'll get together and tell Eddyblouin stories while stabbing at wool! It's great fun, and very therapeutic! You just keep stabbing and stabbing and stabbing... and when your done you've got a gnome, or whatever. Magical! Speaking of gnomes, Shannon felted me one, whom I've named Gerome. He will be a co-contributor, if he makes it back from the Montessori show and tell in one piece. We're planning lots of adventures to blog about together. So far Gerome's first adventure involved somehow escaping from my back pack during the movie Juno at the Strand theater. He was two isles away when we found him. Naughty, naughty, gnome. Cheeky, really. Shannon obviously infused him with some sort of mischief. So, I'll send some pics of us out and about soon.
In other news, I bought a jar of Lauren Pignatello's home made yogurt the other day (from her cow, Honey), and lemme tell ya, it's like buttah. I made some honey flavored frozen yogurt with it. Real good eatin' for those late night ebay sessions. Mainers- get in on this action! Lauren's # is in the book. Just don't cut in on Alex Pinson's share, as I noticed her cuddling with her jar at church the other morning. Bought some hand dyed roving from Linda Murdock the same day, in a rainbow of pastel colors- she's got more if you've got ten bucks! Gorgeous wool for your spinning and felting needs. I decided that wool is absolutely from God, and Linda pointed out that Jesus is the Lamb!!!!! How awesome is that?! Man, God is good..
The kids are all doing well. Quinn got reading glasses recently. Nicholas is a walker now and has added "f" to his sound list. Quinn, Sam Hunter, and the Tolly girls have all taken ski lessons at the snow bowl this year, and are all becoming hot-doggers! Especially Emma, who like Gerome, is too cheeky! Linda Skiff's newest babe, William is really cute, and looks just like his papa. Have only seen photos of little 'Nelly Boothby, but I hear she's looking just like Mary. Jessica Koubek is our next meals on wheels recipiant ,as far as I know. Other than that, all's well!( Of course, I'll be closer attention, now that I'm a journalist.)
That's all for now, but will definitely post more soon. We Love you guy!!!! Love and peace to all, Sondra

Oh Thalia!

"Mom, can you sing this song with me so it'll be more. . . aggressive?"

"In 1965 Lee surrendered at Mathematics."

Imagine the song "Edelweiss" (Sound of Music). In Falsetto. Getting kind of jazzy, kind of Neville Brothers. For 15 min straight.

"Form a circle!" Little boys come running to the living room to hold hands and dance in a circle with Thalia.

" I got 3 new members for the Coming Club!" (or the dinosaur club, or raise money for the poor club, or the store club, or the craft club)

Cool Resource. . .

for you my dear Catholic friends: St. Blog's Parish. I havn't had a lot of time to surf around but it looks fun!

Long Lost baby Photo

I'm under 2. It's my Aunt and Uncle's wedding in Montreal. Those are Uncle Pierre's sister and mother. Looks like I'm gonna take a sip of champagne! I think I can see my babies in me. Especially Tadeu's eyebrows!

Holiday?!

Has anyone else been foiled by this holiday?

Let's get that important homeschooling book from the downtown library. . .but first sit in traffic to watch the peace march go by. . .only to find out it's CLOSED--MLK Day.

Check the mail honey. Nothing? Oh YEAH! MLK day.

Please mail this package while you're out dear. (over the cell) Can't do it?! RIGHT--MLK Day.

Geesh--you'd think we'd learn! At least the doctors office was open and scheduling appointments!

I Was Laughing Out Loud!

This is too funny for the comments page! Thanks Sondra!

"Nothing Compares 2 You" (sung to the tune of the same name by Sinead O'connor)

It's been two months and several days

Since you drove your bus away

I pig out every night and sew all day

Since you drove your bus away

Since you been gone I can whine whenever I want

I can nurse whenever I choose

I can eat my dinner at McDonald's restaurant

But nothing...I said nothing can take away these blues

'Cause nothing compares

Nothing compares to you

It's been so lonely without you here

Like a beach without a thong

Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling

Tell me baby, why's my sourdough wrong?

I could put my arms around every friend I see

But they'd only remind me of you

Went to my husband and guess what he told me

Guess what he told me?

He said girl you better try to cook dinner and fold the clothes

But what's he know?

'Cause nothing compares

Nothing compares to you...

All the 'creatures that your kids caught

In the back yard

All lived when you went away

I know that birthing with you baby was not too hard

So I'm willing to give another try

'Cause nothing compares... Nothing compares to you

Love, Sondra

The Final Push!

When I talked to John from Spearfish (love that name) Wyoming on Friday morning , he said I was only 1200 miles away. Also, that Paul (Bro-in-law) was willing to drive him up to Spokane to meet us on Saturday. This was too much for me to bear. SO CLOSE. The planned detour to Mount Rushmore became untenable to me. I parted ways with the Bakers, heading to the mountains alone. They were kind enough to shout for me to stop since I was leaving the trailer door open in my haste. . .that would have been a story!

I was on the road by 10, and nestled into a Best Western in Livingston, Montana by 7:30 pm. The last hour or so was very hard. The cross winds were terrible, and I could see old ice on the highway. My nerves were frazzled by the time we stopped.

That night in the room I worked hard at appreciating the kids. Reading books, saying prayers, kissing sweet faces. All the while thinking "It's too bad we will all die in the mountains tomorrow." I was really on the verge of a breakdown. Only the thought of seeing John kept me going.

What a difference a good night sleep makes! We were out by 6AM. Pitch Dark. Mountain passes, cross winds, ice--the works! But I was handling it fine and so were the kids. Breakfast in Massoula (13 degrees F!), lunch in Spokane, John at the rest stop south of Spokane at 2:41 PM Pacific time, November24, 2007! YEAH!

We got a room in Kennewick for the night ! We were all SOOO happy to be together! ALIVE! PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!!!

Death watch comming soon

I'm having a busy life--so time on the computer is scarce. I'll continue the trip remembrance soon! Love to all-say hi to the snow for us!

Ecce the Farm

Today was my first day helping at the school farm. I was in charge of getting rows ready for the peas. John is trying to enclose the greenhouse. We had 10 boys from the school, and 5 Eddyblouins helping out. Lots of fun--lots got done.

Thanksgiving on the Road

From the beginning I said we would have Thanksgiving dinner at Denny's. . .and we did. It was close enough to a turkey dinner to count. Note to self: the next time we have Thanksgiving at Denny's the boys can share a dinner plate.

I don't quite know how the wait staff reacted to our entrance--12 kids and 3 adults, at 8 pm on Thanksgiving. I hope I gave a good tip! At this point I was living on adrenaline and coffee, and the will to survive. I have few clear memories. When asked, all the children were thankful for Daddy. My internal reaction was "What am I? chopped liver!? I'm the one driving you ungrateful wretches across the country. I'm keeping us alive, changing diapers, and putting
a cheerful face on this insanity!"

Yeah--I was a bit tense. . .but we did have fun, and I was Thankful for my husband and children. Still am.

Timeline of Exercise

Friday: "Thanks for the jump rope John! I'll jump for 10 min. 3x's a day, 6 days a week. Perfect!"

Saturday: 10 min jumping rope, 5 min jumping jacks.

Sunday: Sore calves.

Monday: Paralyzed. Popping ibuprofen. Grumpy and snappish to all because of leg pain.

Tuesday: Good pilates work-out. Maybe jump rope again tomorrow. . .

(I'm really in pretty good shape. I run for a hour and feel great. YOU try jumping rope--it's HARD!! No I don't have the video.)

Birthday

I'll just skip Tuesday the 20th of Nov travel day. It involves a lot of Chicago rush hour--and I'd rather no revisit it. . .

Wednesday was MC's 12th Birthday. I was trying to resign myself to telling her to just wait till Oregon to celebrate. . .but I'm not good at waiting!

At the hotel that night we all hit the pool at 9:30 pm. By 10:30 we were on our way to Walmart to pull together a birthday celebration. We bought presents ("Don't look Mary Catherine!"), a cake, and everything we needed for her chosen taco dinner. We were eating, opening presents and singing happy birthday by 12:30. (Don't point out that it wasn't her birthday anymore. . it was in Oregon!) We were ALL AWAKE--including baby.

Not surprisingly this was the only night we got a complaint from the hotel. While I was cooking in the kitchenette I failed to register that the boys were jumping from the be to the floor like ping-pong balls. Not so good for the person below us! I outlawed jumping, and the festivities continued. I hope MC remembers this birthday--I sure will!

Amish Country

On Monday Nov 19 we got to somewhere near South Bend Indianna. It was very warm, so I was happy to find a plug for the pork. There were Amish Buggies everywhere. I'd post a picture but they are the all poor-quality, sasquash-esqu, "can't you see it?", type.

We stayed at one of those water-park hotels. This was lots of fun, even for Thaddeus, my sensory-overload prone child. The water park had a farm theme. Big fiberglass barns, corn stalks, and buckets. Too funny! Most interestingly there were several Amish families swimming. The men and children swam. The women stayed dressed and supervised the toddlers. You all know that I'm totally cool with the modesty thing. But come ON! Those women surely could find an appropriate outfit to swim in! In the words of my insightful children--NO FAIR! My knowledge of the Amish comes from the movie "Witness"--so I know these must have been a more modern sect since I saw buttons on their clothes. . .

The worst part of the day was that John Henry woke up every hou from midnight till 4-ish--well, woke-up is too strong a term. He cried, and wandered around, and kept ME up. The scariest moment was when he went out to the hall. I had to detach from baby to run out and catch zombie-boy. I think from this night till 36 hours later was the peak of our stress level (not counting the pre-mountain-death-watch. . .but that comes later).

Tadeu had taken my phone and hidden it in the heater (I found it in the morning) so I couldn't call John at 1:30 am to blame him for all of my suffering . Lucky John.

Email

goodyallie@comcast.net

Write me and I'll reply with our street address.
I really do miss you all.

New Best Friend

What kind of person would leave a loving community of supportive Friends, willing babysitters, homeschooling helpers, and playmates for the children just for a measly appliance called a dishwasher?

Yeah. Me. Bye Guys. I'm lovin this! Even John is noticing that I am cooking a lot more since I have the ease of a modern kitchen.

You'll have to imagine the vacuum marks on the carpet--they don't show but they really are there. The Vacuum is #2 friend.

Lost Plastic Cards

Some plastic cards are more important than others. Filling up before hitting the road on our second day I was holding one plastic card called a "Credit Card" (this is a misnomer--it is really a "we-want -you-to-owe-us-money-for-the-rest-of your-life Card). Somewhere in the bustle of waiting for a clear spot, showing off my Amautik to the interested women in the next car, and getting Tadeu a snack I misplaced the card. If you know me, you know I am not ever very far from panic. . ."If I can't find that card we are turning around and staying in Maine forever!" I think I said that out loud! Mike put my fill-up on his card as Shelby and I continued to ask St. Anthony look for the card, which was found in one of the snack bags, where I had put it when serving Tad (that's pronounced "Taj" like Taj Mahal).

Later--at 10 pm, in Erie Pennsylvania, I left the road weary kids in the hotel room to find our lost toothbrushes. At this point there was only 18" of debris on the floor of the van. I left the room with another plastic card--a "Key Card". This one is named appropriately--I'd need it to get back in the building through the back door. After 15 minutes of anxious searching I found a few toothbrushes. I started to climb out of the van, but realized I'd lost the key card. (This was to be the first of many. . .)I had 5 babies to get back to, so I didn't waste time looking. I went to the door and prayed it wouldn't be locked. . it wasn't! Yeah! Mary Catherine kindly opened the room door for me--avoiding the bad joke "Did you hear about the nutty woman who locked herself out of her hotel room? Yeah. She was really upset because all her children were inside."

Somehow I forgot to take pictures of these memorable events.

Hello out there!

In case you don't know--it's polite to post when you visit a blog--esp if you are a long lost friend in Maine who is being missed by someone in Oregon. Just hit the "comments" and post as anonymous--sign your name in your message.

LOVE YOU ALL!

City Life

We all road the MAX today and walked along the waterfront. Portland is pretty fancy! I bet any city I go to is fancy since it's been over a decade since I've been a city-dweller.

Here are some examples:

• Walk and Don't walk signs that talk to you and count down to red.


• Indoor bike parking


• Special curbside parking for electric cars with charging stations


• "Information Men" dressed in green uniforms and there to answer your questions.

Some things that stay the same are

• Pink haired, cool accessorized people on the train you wish to be friends with.


• People on the train you don't want to be friends with.


• Homeless people begging with signs.

At the end of the excursion we had all gotten off and on trains without being separated, we found bathrooms when we needed them, and we all had a great afternoon trying to look like a city family, and failing miserably.

BAA BAA Blacksheep

One of the best gifts we have received since arriving was a lamb. Not on the hoof. In the freezer. I have learned a lot about cooking lamb. The headmaster of John's school attributes the decline of culture to the abandoning of lamb as our staple meat. . .I don't know about that--but is IS yummy!

Tonight was rack of lamb.

Back to the Beginning

On Nov 17 we had 20 people at the house to give us last hugs and kisses. Sondra spent the night with her babies and made everyone an awesome breakfast. It was hard to leave these generous people! Off we went, though! At that point I was so intent on being with John that I would have driven to Mars!!




Our traveling partners, the Bakers, met us in Topsham and, after a 3 hour delay, we hit the road. Three adults and 12 children. The children quickly settled in to some calm and quiet driving time. . .not!

(Yes, everyone was buckled while moving!)