Namin' Names ....

40Winkzz asked a very pertinent question on a previous post.
And since we seem to share a love of denim...I'll answer her question.
I'm nice like that.

I'm also assuming a lot. She has denim on her blog back ground.
I had the same denim on my blog background when I first started.
And she has Mr. Potato Head in her side bar.
I had one -- I took him off to conserve space.
Besides, putting him back together after he sneezed just go to be a hassle.
So I'm assuming a lot.

I'm allowed.
It's my blog.

Her question was in reference to my statement about making changes in our schooling.
Now - I just assumed again that you knew immediately what I'm talking about.

(I don't normally assume so much. I'm usually wrong. )

In order to answer her question, I feel I need to tell you my story and name some names.

When we first started Homeschooling, The Professor wanted to come under the "protection" of a school. There's nothing wrong with that. So we went with ABeka Academy. We went with them for the first 2 years. (Yes, they really do teach cursive writing in Kindergarten. Just FYI.)

When G-man was about to enter Kindergarten, there were some things that I knew he couldn't handle in the Academy program. So -- we opted to use Abeka Books instead. I was always on the look out for curriculum that would be awesome and fantastic and FUN!!!

I looked at and bought an entire set of K*n*s curriculum.
Used.
I logged in to the forums to get ideas.
I tried to make it work ... and just couldn't.
I would look at the pages, get my paper out to take notes and make decisions -- and I swear the words would jumble on the pages in front of me.
And don't get me started on the forums.
This curriculum now sits on my shelf for reference.
Haven't touched it.
I felt stupid for the longest time that I couldn't get it - until a very wise mom said, "That curriculum may be for every student -- but it's not for every mom."
Aha!! Perfect phrasing!!!

We looked at SonLight.
What a GREAT Idea!
Then someone mentioned My Father's World.
I REALLY liked the look of this one.
We jumped into the America study. It really is fun. The kids really enjoyed it. I was only using the core for History and Geography. By the end of the school year, we were bored with it - and I just stopped before getting to the western states.
Luckily, I don't think the kids were bothered by this turn of events.

So This last year, we were going to go into My Father's World: Exploring Cultures and Countries.
I was excited. It was going to be fun. It involved things I liked from the Big K curriculum, with the reading as in Sonlight. Sweet deal!!

Until we got bogged down in the library system, over due fees, and my own Little kids.

Trying to read serious, worthwhile books while having demanding little kids around was actually a burden.
(I mean -- they just won't wait to have their diapers changed!!!!! Sheesh!!)
Then on top of that, Trying to find library books that fit both Mini-Me & G-man were also a challenge. Heck, Trying to find Library books that fit the subject matter was difficult.
By November - we were so far behind that I was frustrated.
I was frustrated because G-man, especially, wasn't learning much.
I knew we needed to make a change.

I needed to have an extra set of hands, and since that wasn't going to happen, I needed to quit depending on the Library to provide me with history and geography books.

I read an article written by Steven & Teri Maxwell telling how they had opted for text books. Here is one. I can't quite tell if this is the one I read...but it's close enough. It was like reading something I, myself, could have written -- except maybe more serious and professional.

I can be professional if I absolutely have to. Absolutely.
have to.

I struggled with the idea of letting my kids experience the world... having a classical education (the way I knew it) but in my season of life - it just wasn't happening.

I don't agree with everything that the Maxwells have written, I just want to say that up front. But that article opened my eyes that maybe I just wasn't alone. Many of the homeschoolers I know are not mostly text book driven, like we have become. But I realized, that maybe I was striving to achieve something that was impossible for my household.

My plan was to change up and stop using My Father's World. We were going to start using other stuff in January -- but I decided to switch up early.

It's been awesome!!! Not perfect - but awesome.
Mini-Me especially has had a great time being a semi-independent learner.
She relishes in getting her tasks done.
For her, I switched to Rod& Staff Geography and The Light and the Glory for kids series for history. We were already using Abeka for Math, Grammar and Spelling. For Reading, I let her pick out books from the library. From the stacks. She's also very interested in butterflies. So we're trying to feed that interest.

For G-man, his lessons have changed a bit. I'm now reading to him specifically from an ABeka History and a Rod & Staff Geography. He gets ABeka for Phonics, Math & Spelling.

I may not have it down to an exact science - I am, after all, still trying to break the distractible habit of being distractible -- but right now this works.

I also don't have to chase down a gigling 3 year old down the back wall of the library stacks. Yes, she would get in trouble in the van - No, she didn't care.

Next year, we're just going to start out with ABeka as our majory curriculum of choice. We've already gotten our boxes. In a few years, if this ceases to work for us, then we'll change again. I am not a person that says "This is the only way"...because how distractible and random would I be then??

And I'm not so stodgy that we only use text books. We use sidewalk chalk on the street. Blocks and magnet men -- and hide and seek -- and I'm thinking of using the Hi-Ho Cheerio game for J-man's math. Mini-Me has gotten quite the love of reading and I don't worry that she's not reading for school during her off time - which was what needed to happen previously.

Her favorites are Cam Jansen and The Box Car Children, should you want to know.

Right now this works. It's given me hope that I'm not hopeless.

Oh - An unexpected Perk!!! Now that we're using Text Books -- The professor has offered to step in and substitute teach!!! So when I'm gone, or we need to have Saturday School - I have a substitute teacher.

Another perk!!! -- They like my teaching better!!!

It's become a win-win situation.

Movie Night ---

I'm slightly concerned about reviewing any movie. You might read my review and decide that the movie is worth seeing, see it and decide that I'm nuts. I've done that with a review - once. I went to see "Minority Report". To say I didn't like it would be an understatement.

What would cause my reservation in talking about a movie would be one of the movies I've talked about in the past. The movie, by name, would be "Jumper". I remember walking out of the theater, thinking that it would make a tremendous TV show. A TV Show along the same line as "Highlander".

And then I read the book.

The book of "Jumper" had nothing to do with bad guys on a religious vendetta against "jumpers". It was a book about a kid who was abused in every way by his dad, who was nearly raped by a gang of truckers who preyed on runaways and who, in the midst of the terror of the moment - Jumps to another location.

I had to force myself to finish the book - it really had no redeeming plot line. I guess if the author had taken the character to a sequel, we might see him over come his abuse. But as the book ends, he's still perpetually the victim. I wanted to strangle the book! The book was an overwhelming case study on people trying to "overcome" on their own. It was depressing. RARELY, is a book worse than the movie. I can count on one hand those instances where the movie was better. Jumper would be one of them.

So it is with some trepidation that I tell you about tonight's movie night.
Uncle Kicks-butt and I took mom out - she needed a night out. She'd been taking care of my kids while I was having the odd knee therapy and taking care of my grandparents, who are just odd.

The movie I saw tonight was "The International". IMDB actually had someone submit the entire plot line here. Here is the cast and crew information.

The movie starts off great!!

We are instantly dropped off in the middle of a clandestine meeting in a car between two men. One who is "more comfortable being tense" and another who dies in 5 minutes. We are then introduced to Clive Owen's character, Salinger, who is an agent with Interpol.

And he gets bonked in the head by the mirror of an oncoming bus.

Great! We're right in the middle of it!!

Uncle Kicks-butt said, as we were leaving, "It didn't have a lot of action - but it had a lot of intense talking." and that's pretty much the crux of it.

It's really a drama. And not an action movie.

It's a bout a big bank - IBBC - that is creating it's business in the selling and distributing of small weaponry. We find out that it's really not about controlling the war, it's about controlling the debt.

(I'm totally sure that Dave Ramsey could make a lesson out of this theory. It would make a good study on indebtedness, I'm sure. )

This IBBC is run by, presumably 4 or 5 people, with one main boss - Skarssen - running the whole show. Everyone that has ever spoken against IBBC had died or disappeared. So Agent Salinger is feeling pressed to get to the answers. He's working with a Eleanor Whitman, who is also feeling the press to find answers after her partner was killed in the first 5 minutes of the movie.

The cast is pretty solid in the movie. A lot of character actors fill in the movie nicely. The only serious action (GUN FIGHT!!) takes place in the Guggenheim, of all places. The movie is quite complex and we're never sure if Salinger is going to get to the bottom (or top) of the banking issue.

They have finally "caught" a lead. The IBBC hierarchy had a consultant by Name of Wexler. Wexler had hired a "Consultant" -- who was never named - but was a competent assassin. When the assassin is gunned down at the museum, Wexler is held for questioning. It was really just a lucky set of circumstances.

This is the telling moment in the movie, actually.
One thing Wexler said really jumped out at me -- "Character is more easily kept, than reclaimed". He wasn't sure he could redeem himself after he had "Sold out" his ideals. Salinger convinces him to try. But to do this, Wexler explains, they have to go outside of the "Justice system" to take down this dragon of an organization. Because everyone is involved.

That all didn't bother me - I was still trying to get into the movie as a spy flick.
I was holding out and hoping for some James Bond kind of retribution. Sadly, it never came.

I was disappointed with what did come.
The ending killed the movie for me.
We're cheering on Salinger - who is trying to get justice!!
He's face to face with the bad guy, Skarssen and demands Justice!
Skarssen scoffs at him - If you kill me, another banker will take my place!!

Salinger holds the gun at him and ....


**** SPOILER ****
Someone else shoots Skarssen.

The credits roll with Salinger just standing there looking at the dead body.
There were five of us in the theater last night, and we chuckled at the way Skarssen died. (You don't mess with the Italians.) But Salinger is just standing there with a "now what?" look on his face. Newspaper clips roll across the screen showing us that Skarssen was right, someone else got his job.

I really don't like movies that fail to give me a good solid end.
Salinger should have gotten resolution. He'd pushed himself through the entire movie just for ... nothing.

The movie sort of reminds me of "Shooter", which was a total knock off of the Bourne Series.
The comparison comes in the form of the big "organization" that runs everything
...and the one guy that sees the problem but is helpless to do anything about it.

I really wished James Bond would come along and blow something up.

The International was well acted.
I believed Clive Owen to be the driven character he was portraying.
It had bright moments... mainly with the stellar supporting cast.

It had no nudity, no torture, some blood oozing or gushing out of bullet wounds - mostly in the Guggenheim (odd place, certainly) and only a few "f" words.

If the Professor wants to see it, I'll rent it for him when it becomes available.
If you want to see it, I suggest you do the same.
Or go watch Bourne or Bond.
They always get the bad guy.

Geography...

Mini-Me JUST finished a short study about Australia. Her favorite critter is the Echidna and the platypus.

This song was brought to my memory by someone that has the same penchant I have for odd songs coming to her head...

Perfect wrap up for a study of Australia, I think.



Of Course, It could just be me.

All together now ....

School....

I thought, since I homeschool and it is my blog, that I would share with you how school is going.

The best way to share with you - is this picture.

It's going pretty well, don't you think??

I made a shift in school techniques for this next season. I decided to start in January. My goal was to shift for the end of this school year.

I shifted in early because my old system wasn't working.

I love the flexibility of homeschooling.

I love that, as a homeschooler, if a change needs to be made we make it.

And we balance books on our head.
What could be more fun???

The Watchment Worldview

I'm sure you've heard the hubbub. Well, I'm assuming there's hubbub. I know there's a hubbub among fans.

The Watchmen.
Yes, I went to see it.

I had not read the books, but I'm always game to go see a good action hero movie. I love good characterizations. I enjoy a good plot.

I got 1 out of 3.

The opening credits are fascinating 3-d pictures that show the history of "The Watchmen". The Watchmen is a group of masked avengers. They are supposedly ordinary people who dress up in masks to protect their city. The first group started after WWII. Time passes as we watch the pictures. Cold War. Richard Nixon is elected President for his 3rd, 4th and 5th (??) term!

Right there -we're clued into that this is not history as we know it.

Our Story takes place in 1985.
The second group of Watchmen have disbanded.
They had taken on the costumes and identities of their predecessors and now, we see through picture flashbacks, that the city they had protected hates them.
They've gone undercover, except for a few who had come out from behind their masks, or given up altogether.

The first thing that introduces us to the world of the watchmen is the death of one of their own. "The Comedian" is brutally murdered in his apartment. Well, actually, he's thrown out of his apartment. He doesn't die until he hits the ground a bazillion stories down.

It is through the death of the Comedian that we meet the rest of the motley crew that were the second generation Watchmen.

We meet Rorschach first. He's the narrator for most of the movie. He really is the best character and the one given the most depth.
His mask is a constant moving ink blot.
He has a very bleak out look on life. We see why, through a series of flashbacks that show us what he'd seen and gone through from childhood to young super-hero-dom.

He is convinced that someone is out to kill the Watchmen. He seeks out Nite Owl II, otherwise known as Dan. Dan is, well, he's a nerd. He truly is convincing in his mild, mannered alter-ego. It's hard to see him as a any kind of super hero. He is fearful and looks more like an insurance salesman.

Then we meet "Dr. Manhattan" who -- well, he's pretty much naked through the whole movie -- and he's blue. From head to foot. He was a scientist who suffered a terrible accident and pretty much, dematerialized. Only somehow, managed to rematerialize. He now has, to quote the Genie from Aladdin, "Giant Cosmic Powers". He can grow, he can shrink, he can teleport, he doesn't need air, he can kill others by - well - pretty much exploding them -- he's lost touch with his humanity. Because he's loosing touch with his humanity, he's loosing any compassion for them.

We're introduced to Dr. Manhattan's girlfriend, Silk Spectre II (daughter of the original Silk Spectre). She is not really well played and you're not really given a reason to feel any connection with her.

Finally we meet Ozymandias. The only other super hero, Dr. Manhattan being the first, that has a super power. He is fast. In this after-hero-life that he has, he has built an empire and we see that he is super smart.

Now for the plot.
There is still a cold war.
There are nukes in the hands of the Russians. Nukes in the hands of Americans.
and complete annihilation is imminent.

The hubbub I have heard pertains to Dr. Manhattan's nakedness. the violence, and a sex scene.
It's very violent. VERY violent.
I heard someone use the phrase, "appalled at what Hollywood calls entertainment".

While Christians should be on the look out to support excellent movies - being "Appalled" isn't exactly the way to change things. Unless you're going to put your words into actions.

What Christians should pay attention to in this movie is the worldview that they present.
It's completely HOPELESS!!! Even the characters have no hope.

During a flashback, we see Night Owl II and The Comedian trying to break up a riot. We learn that there are police strikes going on -- but the people are rioting against the "Masks" and crying out for the vigilantes to be banned. Ironic, really.

The Comedian realizes that they're not going to listen, disperse or become peaceful and he goes into action. With a shot gun. He starts shooting into the crowd. We dont' know if he's using real bullets or not, to be honest. There's oddly an absence of blood in this scene. The crowd immediately runs and few stay to fight, and the Comedian welcomes the challenge. He shoots. and shoots.

Nite Owl II catches up to him -- and after a brief dialogue asks, "Whatever happened to the American dream?"
The comedian looks around and chuckles - "This is it." and he starts shooting again and walks off. Leaving Nite Owl II and the viewer totally disillusioned.

I don't want to compare Batman to anything - but Batman is a dark setting. The Watchmen triples the dark level. In Batman, there is an over all element of good. There is the over all element of Good conquering evil.

Not so in the Watchmen.
At the end, nuclear war is averted by Ozymandias, using Dr. Manhattan's power (The good blue doctor is on Mars at the time) to kill an entire city of people. All to stop the war. He says that he's going to mourn the dead..but really it was a good plan, because war was stopped.

The skewed morality of this bugs me still today. Because the others, except Rorshach, see that they are helpless to counter this logic. Because he's right. Rorshach takes a stand, "No compromise even in the midst of armageddon" and Dr. Manhattan kills him.

What Christians need to see in this movie - is not the nudity or violence -- but the HOPELESSness of the worldview. That evil dominates every aspect of Every part of life. There are no good people anywhere. And that if there is a God, He doesn't care or quit caring.

Instead of being Appalled -- we should be concerned.

Because we have the Hope of the World in our lives!
We have a hope that can not be stopped!!
A hope that is not dependent on the government.
A hope that is not dependent on the opinions of others.
Our Hope conquered DEATH!!!
We have a Hope that can overcome those cruel things in our past (unlike what happened in the movie).

It is a movie that I will not see again.
I'm not regretful that I saw it.

I'm very glad that My God is very interested in what is going on in my life..
and that He Gives me Hope. That is really the only counter we can make to this movie.

Me in Mosaic

Okay, I realize I'm easily amused. I'm the first person to say so. I'm also the second. With several reminders. Today, since I had nothing better to do, I made this:

Isn't it pretty?? I really, really like it.

It's actually a meme that answers these questions:
1. What is your name? Amelia
2. What is your favorite food? Chocolate
3. What is your hometown? I won't tell you here -- but I will say they had to go way high to get a picture that good of the man made lake.
4. What is your favorite color? I don't have one. and this picture was perfect for it.
5. What is your favorite movie? Hunt for Red October
6. What is your favorite drink? -- such a sweet picture, too.
7. What is your dream vacation? - I've always wanted to go to New Zealand. While I'm there - I'll have to cross the continent to visit AppleLeaf.
8. What is your favorite dessert? Coconut Cream Pie
9. What is one word to describe yourself? Optimistic - get it?? Glass half full??
10. How are you feeling right now? Sunshine-y.
11. What do you love most in the world? Worshipping Jesus.
12. What do you want to be when you grow up? Worship leader. LOVED this picture.

So that's the meme - here are the directions for how to - I ignored the "tagging" part ---

DIRECTIONS:
- Go to Google image search.
- Type in your answer to each question below.
- Choose a picture from the first three pages.
- Save the URL links for all your images. You'll need these.
- Use this website (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php) to make your collage.
- Save the image for use in this note
- Post and tag 10 people plus me.

So -- essentially I made a picture and am hanging it on my fridge blog.
Now I'll stand back and look.

Follow-Up Question

Okay. So I didn't notice until Cristina pointed it out.
If you'll look at the first interview - there was supposed to be a #21.
I didn't see that because I paid no attention to the numbers. Honestly, I am rather fond of the household Dad. So I didn't leave the question out of the interview on purpose.

I think the question must have gotten eaten on Facebook.

So I did the next best thing -
I went to her brilliant interview and copied #21.
I asked the follow up question this morning.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?

Mini-Me: Everything. Most of the time.
G-Man: Everything. Well, I don't really know. Let me think about it. Because.....(interrupted by J-man)
J-man: He's funny and he likes to play video games and Kissing.

The interview returns back to G-man:
G-man: .......I forgot. Oh, yeah -- Because he's funny.

I'm saying nothing.

An interview with my kids....

I saw this interview over at Juggling Paynes' hangout. The answers her kids gave made me literally LOL. Then it started popping up on Facebook and I interrupted my school day to interview the kids.

It only made sense, really. I sent Mini-Me off to finish her Geography in the other room, hoping to get some unbiased answers. It didn't quite work out the way I'd hoped. But we got some evident personalities, anyway.

The task at hand: "Ask your children these questions and tell them not to hesitate and to give the answer that comes to the top of their head. Make sure to delete my answers."

Who are you giving the survey to name/age/gender:
in the order of questioning:
G-man - 8.5
Mini-Me 10.5
J-man - 4.5 (5 in April)
mini-E - Newly minted Age 3 - was sleeping. But here's a picture of her just in case you wanted to see it. Just 'cause I love ya.

1.What is something mom always says to you?
G = I love you
M = I love you
J = I super love you, I love you more

2. What makes mom happy?
G = Do not be disobedient
M = When I surprise her by doing her chores when she's putting Erica down for a nap
J = silly faces

3. What makes your mom sad?
G = When we hit her, and that's not very often (i'm really glad he included that in there)
M = When my brother's fight and hurt each other - it also makes her grumpy
J = Keep hitting my brother and not letting him fight boxing on the wii.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
G = jokes
M = I don't know ... wait ... hold it... when she makes funny faces
J = tickles!!

5. What was your mom like as a child?
G = I don't know.
M - I don't know. My grandmother knows that stuff, not me.
J = She was like G-man (This made me laugh -- I made sure the Professor saw it, too.)

6. How old is your mom?
G = 35
M = 35
J = 35 - (but he had help from G. I was hoping for a 10 or 21 or something.)

7. How tall is your mom?
G = I. don't. know.
M = Short
J = 35

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
G = Do school work and play on the web
M -= Read
J = play a video game!

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
G = plays video games, or the web or talks to my dad
M = I don't know - I'm not around.
J = play a game

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
G = Trusting God
M = Singing
J = Playing the web

11. What is your mom really good at?
G = playing the web, reading books, muppets party cruise, doing school work
M = Laundry (she also said crocheting, but I'm not and made her change her answer.)
J = Typing and playing video games ( can you tell he has a one -track mind?) and playing with Daddy on the TV.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
G = Not getting calories - when she doesn't know what they have
M = Engineering. (She now has the giggles!!!)
J = Boxing

13. What does your mom do for her job?
G = Do Schoolwork
M = Housework. School work, too.
J = School work!

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
G = I have never really asked her
M = Goulash. but I don't like it.
J = A big salad!!
(I CAN'T believe they didn't say CHOCOLATE!!!!)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
G = When she beats daddy at Muppets
M = Because I love her
J = Playing by myself with toys - and not hitting anybody and being like You. That makes my mom happy.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
G = Gonzo on Muppets
M = Hobbes from Calvin & Hobbes
J = Gonzo!
(I can't believe they didn't say Kung Fu Panda!)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
G = School work and ride bikes
M = School work, snuggle on the couch, ride bikes
J = Play video games

18. How are you and your mom the same?
G = Our hair color
M = We both have a dislike of when the boys argue.
J = When you grow up

19. How are you and your mom different?
G = I have different eyes than her
M = She's Older
J = 'cause I am shorter

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
G = She says it all the time
M = I just know.
J = She tucks me in. (this made me melt. Awwwww)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
G = Sonic
M = Panera
J = Same thing Melody said.

23. What is your mom’s favorite movie?
G = Batman or Abbott and Costello
M = Psych
J = Psych (again, he copied M's answer, but wouldn't change his mind.)

24. What would be the perfect day for mom?
G = Do anything
M = Go on a date with Daddy
J = This day!

25. How does mom get money?
G = From my dad.
M = From Dad
J = Me!

26. Is there anything else you would like to say about mom?
G = She likes music
M = I love her. A lot.
J = Yes. I have a joke. How did the popcorn cross the river? With a tiny boat... and a bunch of dinosaurs that destroyed the boat and the popcorn went under water and saw a giant squid!!! ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

And that concluded my interview with the kids.
I think I'll eat popcorn before the squid gets it all.

When I Think about the Lord...

This song is pretty self explanatory.

News Update at 11

Welcome back to the TMI News Channel. We have a lot to cover but first a recap of the weather.

It's cold out there folks!! Bitter winds are sweeping down the plains. There doesn't appear to be any rain for miles - but our radar broke and the meteorologist is getting is information the old fashioned way: The back window.

Now for a news update, we go live to Ima Dork. Ima how are things progressing at the Laundry Pile?

Thank you. Yes, I am standing outside the Laundry Pile and as you said, it's bitterly cold and windy today. Yesterday was quite the interesting day following our family around. We're still trying to analyze everything. The two main stories of the day were pictures and Shaggy.

We did discover that Comfy Denim can be a non-conformist. The final decision on picture taking was to coordinate around a dress. Of course, being the Denims, 3 of the 4 children wore jeans. The non-conformity became evident when we and the photographers at the local mall studio saw the color scheme for the 4 children. Our sources within the studio tell us that they prefer subdued colors or matching clothes. Comfy Denim just laughed when the photographer asked what color had been chosen for the pictures.

The photography session did not start out well, when Mini-Me's hair alternately stood up and plastered itself to her face. The culprit?? Static electricity. The Mall salon came to the rescue by letting Comfy borrow hair spray. The problem was solved.

And then another one came. Photography is NOT supposed to be a contact sport but it nearly was. The photographer had the kids line up in a row. It was a very cute moment. Until it was noticed that Mini-Me is slightly shorter than G-man now. But not by much. Photography expert Audrey asked Mini-Me to stand up on her tiptoes. This caused Mini-Me to lose her balance and tip forward into G-man, which caused G-man to tip forward into J-man, which caused J-man to push back - which caused G-man to push back, which caused Mini-me to lose balance and the whole thing had to start over again.

It was oddly like one of those perpetual motion things you have on your desk.

Pictures were finally complete. The studio, which did not allow our cameras inside, took their sweet time presenting the photo proofs to the family. In the meantime, there were 4 potty trips and 1 minor fit thrown.

Once the photos were finally shown and the process of photo choosing begun, we began to see evidence of a very bored 3 year old. She threw such a fit that The Professor was seen trekking the children back to the van to await the return of Mrs. Denim.

We have been informed that once the van was again underway, the 3 year old known as Mini-E was promptly asleep.

We do have an update on Shaggy's condition. Our source inside the vet clinic, on condition of anonymity, told us that Shaggy walked all around the office without one bit of evidence to show a limp. However, the Vet informed The Professor that there are two unrelated issues involved with the dog.

There is possibly an injury to the hind leg which is causing the limp.

However, the stumbling and falling on his face, is a completely different issue with two possible diagnoses.
the first diagnosis would be that Shaggy has a neck injury which is causing him to stumble.
The second diagnosis is more sad as the stumbling could indicate a possible brain issue.

Comfy Denim did break her media silence and issued the following statement:
We, of course, want Shaggy to be healed. Knowing how much he loves to play, we are assuming that he has simply injured his neck. We also believe that we live in a house where everything is touched by the healing power of God and we believe that includes animals. After all, they are created by God.

This has been an interesting assignment. This reporter is tired.
We leave the Denims as they prepare for lunch and their Sunday.

This is Ima Dork for the TMI network, Good day.

Backyard Photo Journalism