A friend came over this morning for a guitar lesson - we hadn't gotten together for quite awhile as she was really busy with other things. Paxton slept through it which made it really nice. After lunch, Rory went for his nap and now I've just got Paxton wandering about (well crawling still). He never sits still for a minute so I won't be too long today.

Later Ladger and I are going to town for an appointment with a financial advisor re: the farm finances. The boys will be going to Grandma's. It'll be interesting to see what he has to say. Then hopefully I can get enough done to avoid going to town later this week.

Rory has been cracking us up - we've been talking about bones and blood and kidneys lately. Yesterday, I was showing him some pictures to explain what the kidneys do and there was a picture of a machine to help kids understand how things work. Well he was determined that we were going to make that machine for him to 'pee' in. And then he got all wound up thinking that was similar to the seed cleaner that Ladger is working with these days. Trying to explain that the 'kidney machine' was actually inside him was quite a job. Sometimes it's hard to tell what he truly understands - lots of funny things come out of him these days.

Last night I went to Wymark to our Splurge Club and last night was my turn to 'win' the $300. And I get to host the next meeting - April 22. We started out talking quite a bit about the Mel Gibson movie re: the Passion of Christ. Only one of our group had gone to see it yet and she said she cried for a good hour afterwards. Many of us want to see it because we want to be deeply moved by what Jesus has done for us. But it's definitely not a movie one goes to see lightly.
Anyway, we enjoyed a really nice evening together!

Last night Rory told Ladger he wanted to do 'school' so Ladger hauled out the materials and worked through some of it with him - would have enjoyed seeing that I had a great time at school yesterday myself - I really do like giving music lessons - I work with an awesome bunch of kids! But today my house is showing signs of serious neglect so y'all know what I'll be doing today! I can dream can't I?

Ladger and his folks are on their way to Watrous this morning to look at a truck to replace the old one we have that they use for hauling water to the fields (spraying). This one is old too but it's an automatic diesel with power steering and those three things make it a definite upgrade. So when Ladger left I phoned our neighbor who has two little girls to set up a play date for later this afternoon. I told Rory that the girls were coming after 'naptime' so off he went to bed. I had to go get him and explain that having his naptime in the morning wouldn't bring the girls any earlier. He can be a real hoot sometimes. 'School' is going well. We're having fun reading and learning together. Paxton is teething (I'm pretty sure) so he's rather miserable - runny nose, feverish, etc.

We had our MOPS group this morning (Mothers of Preschoolers). There is more and more talk about discontent with our local elementary school. There are a lot of problems with some of the teachers on staff and parents are concerned with how these things are affecting their children. People are starting to talk about homeschooling where that was never even considered before. I talked with one Mom who said she was definitely considering it. Most parents now are still trying to work through the school system to see changes made. But lots are dealing with the issue of education in one way or another. I think it would be incredible if other families besides ourselves started homeschooling in this area.

I love Monday mornings and if I have a good one, my house will get put back in order and I'll be ready to face the week. Rory is starting 'school' today. We're doing some exercises on being able to 'tell the difference' , shape and color recognition. We may be starting numbers soon too. He is really excited about our new pile of books. I spent a bit of time yesterday getting familiar with the materials and working out a bit of a lesson plan for this week. Well I hear Paxton crying and Ladger is looking after the 'situation' but I'd better run anyway.

Ladger is in the shop working on getting the sprayer ready to go - he's adding a second boom so he can spot spray for wild oats - much better than spraying the entire field with chemical unnecessarily. The weather is dreary and blah and I didn't sleep well but I feel good anyway.
I got up and vacuumed and carpet cleaned first thing (before I ate breakfast). Now I'm finishing up some laundry. Then I have to clean up the kitchen and get dinner and then I'm hoping to drop off in a dead sleep if both boys can settle down for a nap at the same time *fingers crossed* And then at 4 pm, a teacher from Calgary is coming to bring us materials for the preschool education program we're joining. I can't wait to get into it.

And yesterday, I finally figured out how my music software works with my new soundcard and I tried converting my midi files to wave successfully. Now I'm all set to produce my own CD's. - Wow! Tons to learn about the whole process though.

Today is an office day - the kids are over with Grandma for the day and I'm going to enjoy today big time. The last couple of days have been hair-pulling days as Rory seems determined to make a disaster zone out of the house. He spilled a container of tiny glass beads all over the carpet. While I was cleaning that one up and still trying to get the lasagna put together for dinner, Paxton pooped (and whoops I hadn't gotten to putting a diaper on him yet). So I haul out the carpet cleaner. Meanwhile Rory hauls out his puzzle books (each one has four jigsaw puzzles in it) and dumped out the pieces in a pile...and on and on...

Doing the tax is looking like a holiday for me right now!

I've just applied to a program for preschoolers for both Rory and Paxton. If Ladger and I are accepted, we will be receiving a pile of books for them and will be starting the program next week. Studies are finding out more and more how important those early years are in the formation of the brain. This program is called 'Project Headstart' and introduces preschoolers to math, phonetics, history, science, music, etc. I'm really looking forward to this, especially as I've been researching homeschooling lately. This will give me a great start in that direction.

I downloaded a demo of a music software that I'm planning to purchase and ,wow, do I have lots to learn! I can't wait until I've got a grasp of the program and what I can do with it.

Yesterday, we had some friends come over for a visit. I give voice lessons to their little girl. The mom told me yesterday that those lessons were worth every penny because her daughter is having a hard time in school (I'm not sure why - she's a real bright kid) and that she came home bubbling over with enthusiasm after her voice lesson that day. How special it is to know that I can have a positive effect in the lives of these kids!

Just got home from teaching guitar and voice at the elementary school. It's been quite a few weeks since I've had some of these students due to days off, sick days, school ski trip, etc. So today felt good to be back at it. Paxton is still sleeping over at Grandma's house and Rory came home with me and is napping now too. But before we came home, he HAD to see the seed cleaner at work. He gets so excited by this kinda stuff. Ladger is busy cleaning wheat so it'll be ready to seed in a few weeks. He has peas and lentils to do yet.


Ladger and I have been going to a few meetings and sessions on business management and farm relief programs.
I love that kind of stuff. Our income tax is completed for the farm and now it's time for me to get busy with our personal books - a bigger job for me because I'm not on top of it all year like the farm books.
Someday...

The other day I ordered a new sound card and software for producing music on CD. I have the software and keyboards for creating music but not the technology to make a decent recording. So I will be watching the mail closely 'cause I can't wait to try out my new gear.

Rory and Paxton are definitely back to 'normal'. Rory made some jello earlier and every few minutes is asking if it is ready. And he is constantly asking for bacon bits. It's his favorite snack these days! Meanwhile Paxton is quiet but into making messes all the time. I vacuumed this morning and didn't put it all away - good thing because I had to do some of the living room all over again. It's a wonder I get anything accomplished (including taking a few minutes to write this little blurb)

I just got back from the school - it was oratory and two of my voice students were singing special numbers while the judges were out deliberating. They both did pretty well considering the acoustics were awful (and the microphone doesn't really sound great either!) It is a good reminder that the year is coming to an end and so it's time to start picking recital pieces for all my students. Tomorrow is my day at the school for music lessons.

This morning I went to MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers) and had a really good visit with some friends. We're going through the book "Boundaries" and finding lots of stuff to talk about and deal with. Paxton was as squirmy as ever - tired but refusing to just relax and drift away.... And just when Paxton was ready to finally sleep, Rory needed to go to the washroom. So I handed Paxton to someone else because Rory going to the bathroom is a big drama.
He's totally potty trained but he has the idea that if he needs to go (#2) then he needs to take every stitch of clothing off so they won't get dirty. So it becomes a lot of work because he won't put them back on himself (even though he can) and I really don't want him streakin' about in public.


But it was all worth it, our group is getting closer and sharing deeper all the time. We're getting real honest about things like our anger getting out of control (rage) or feeling the need to be in control (even when realizing that we are simply not able to control everything and that in fact very little is in our control except our own behaviour, thoughts and attitudes). And everywhere I go, there seems to be a renewed hunger for prayer.

Hurray!!! Both boys slept through the night and I'm feeling sooooooooo much better myself. So today I've have an enormous amount of laundry to do - guess thats what happens when we're all changing clothes 2-3 times a day (or more) plus bedding, couch covers, etc. But I don't care how much work I have to do as long as I feel good and the kids are doing well!

It's snowing again and is supposed to keep snowing all week. At the risk of sounding like I'm complaining, "When will winter ever end?"