My family's journey down the road less traveled....

Monday, November 19, 2007

One in a million chance....

No doubt you'll be skeptical when I tell you I was sucked in by another black hole. Pesky little suckers, ODOT really should address the problem. At least throw a few orange barrels up to warn ya!! I digress. Many moons have past since my last post and the Patrick family has undergone several drastic changes, most importantly.....we bought a house!!

After months of grueling searching, looking at shack after cesspool, we found the winner. We spent the summer driving all over central Ohio looking at places. We saw homes with mold, bugs, green shag carpet, kinky torture rooms, open septic tanks, bare electrical wires and even stumbled across the carcass of a deer hanging in a garage. Needless to say, when we found our gem we pounced like well....um...something on something(I never was good at coming up with that kinda quip). Casa de Patrick is nestled on just over 2 acres in the middle of nowhere surrounded by hundreds of acres of farmland. Not paradise for many of you but we couldn't be happier.

I'd like to thank Will and his freakish boredom for the wonderful aerial shots.



I guess I should get on to the kiddies...all doing extremely well. Chloe is back homeschooling, she had enough public school to last her for a while. Currently in the 3rd grade and kicking ass!! Her recent aptitude tests scored well above grade level(again) and she's enjoying working at her own accelerated pace. She is a favorite among her fellow Girl Scouts and is a near prodigy at toilet humor!!

Grace just turned 7 and is in 1st grade. She has finally gotten over her shyness issue and blossomed into an amazingly weird kid. Her sense of humor is a nice mix of snarky and offbeat. She's growing like a weed and is only 2 inches shorter than Chloe and wearing the same size clothing. Usually dressed in all pink she can often be found in the garage pretending to haul ass in the go-kart or out climbing trees in the yard. Like I said, truly strange kid.

There's not much to be said about Elijah that the words, "exhausting little busybody" doesn't sum up! Now 4.5yrs old, he's on the go from the moment he wakes up! He's in heaven out here since tractors and trucks are always in view. He told me when he grows up he's going to be a farmer, have lots of cows and Daddy and I are going to help. Mmmm, okay...as long as I get to drive the combine!!



Mikey and I are doing well too. I've been busy juggling both girl's school work, Girl Scouts, the house and business but it has kept me out of trouble! Right now I'm spending my free time scouring design books and HGTV looking for redecorating ideas. Peg Leg is really taking off and hopefully by the first of the year we'll have a new line of products. It's been tough with the move and Michael being switched from 3rd to 2nd shift(both of which suck), to work on new designs. As I often remind myself, it comes little by little to those who have faith. I know where my faith is, I just keep losing my patience! I think it's at the bottom of my purse next to the lint covered cough drop.

Monday, May 21, 2007

When one door closes, another one opens.....



Please welcome Dagny Taggart to the family. She is a 2 yr old beagle we adopted from a local shelter. She was going by the name Bunny but since it sounded like a stripper's stage name, we changed it. And no, she doesn't know who John Galt is. The kids have taken to her and she has adapted well to the chaos we produce!!

We would also like introduce to you to Octopus the Cat. Mikey (aka the sucker) was conned into this little gal while purchasing a saw at a neighbors yard sale. I guess it could have been worse, the woman was hawking Avon, Tupperware, satelite TV service and Mary Kay!!
**We would like to acknowledge Elijah for his creative talents at naming Octopus the Cat.**

Monday, April 30, 2007

Nelson Muntz Patrick May 2006-April 29th, 2007


Nelson
Our adorable chewer of toys, licker of feet, destroyer of balls,
furry little bed warmer.
Your time with us was short but memorable.
Rest in peace buddy.
Love,
Michael, Deborah, Chloe, Grace and Elijah

Monday, April 23, 2007

Lost in a Black Hole



So there I was, walking down the street, minding my own business when I was suddenly sucked into a Black Hole!!! Imagine my surprise to realize that months had past while I was floating away trapped in that vortex of nothingness. Okay, so maybe I stretched the truth a little. You'll have to admit it's a much better excuse for not posting than "life got busy"etc... Let me catch up a bit: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Valentine's Day,Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Easter. If I forgot something.....Happy "insert holiday here". Whew!!!

The Patrick household has been in a constant state of motion since the last post. We all had a great Christmas and New Year, got lots of goodies(Yay Santa!!) Chloe turned 8 in January and Elijah turned 4 in the beginning of April. Grace(still 6) is the best darned Girl Scout EVER!! Her school and speech therapy is coming along wonderfully. Chloe was able to be in the Highland High School's production of Oliver as an orphan in the workhouse. We always knew she was a drama queen, now we have proof!!

Michael finally started cutting up the Bug. He's decided to go with a Roadster look and has proceeded to COMPLETELY disassemble the car!!! With the Larry's bug show in a mere 7 weeks I am beginning to have my doubts that it'll make it. On a good note, Peg Leg Metalwerks has been productive. March has been our best grossing month to date, selling over a dozen extenders!!

I promise not to go MIA for so long again!! I'll do my best to avoid Black Holes, alien abductions, space-time continuums, the Bermuda Triangle, mugger bunnies with knives and wrinkles in time(oh, wait the last one was a book!!)
~Deborah

Friday, December 15, 2006

Chopper update



The girls (with a little assistance) were able to remove all of the "ugly". Here we have a before shot of the bare frame and a picture of the proposed style. Knowing Michael it'll change several times before he makes a final decision!!!

Friday, November 24, 2006

My Little Chopper Girls


Michael got a new "fixer-upper"-a 1977 Yahama 360. The bike has transformed my darling little princesses into Paulie and Senior from American Chopper(minus the f-bomb). Seen here they are stripping off the ugly.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Sorry, but I have to do this...

Recently Chloe's teacher requested that she be tested for the gifted program. I got the results today and had to share. Please allow me a moment of snarky triumph..HA HA HA!! I have had many people doubt my ability to homeschool and the idea of homeschooling itself. They said that I wasn't a qualified teacher and didn't know how to teach. I was told that I would socially retard my children and that they wouldn't be as productive or intelligent as their public schooled counterparts. Again, HA HA HA. Whew...I'm done being snarky now. According to the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement her Broad Reading score is 8.1 and her Broad Written score is 6.6. For those of you not familiar with the scoring, 8.1 works out to that of an 8th grader in their 1st month of school, 6.6-6th grader in their 6th month of school. Given that Chloe is in her 3rd month of her 2nd grade year(2.3), I am impressed. I always knew she was a very intelligent girl it's just nice to have a standardized organization verify it. Being a mom and homeschooling is a very thankless, often unrecognized job. This is my "atta girl" pat on the back for a job well done.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

October 2006 part 2




The kids reluctantly posed for a few shots. Please forgive my complete lack of photography skills!!

October 2006


The kids and I spent the day at Innis Woods Botanical Gardens with Pops. Wanted to spend a little extra time with him before he moves to Mississippi at the end of the month. The fall colors were spectacular. I just wish the kids had been in more of a mood to pose for pictures!!!

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

September update




The reunion and first days of school mark the unofficial end to summer in my book. It was great seeing everyone at the reunion. A special thanks to Uncle Greg for the plane rides(even if his first landing only scored him an 8 out of 10!!) Next year I will be making at least 2 cheesecake for hungry raffle participants. I enjoy making them and I hope Grandma and Grandpa enjoy eating it!!
Here are pics of the kids on their first day of school. This is Chloe's first year in public school(2nd grade) and Grace's Kindergarten year. Elijah wanted in on the action too(he just had to pose in front of the guitar amp)

Friday, July 21, 2006

Oops...my bad!!!



Chloe and Grace ever so gently reminded me that they have changed since that picture was taken. Chloe is now wearing glasses and Grace has lost her first baby tooth. Well now, my bad!!!

News, updates and the like...

This has been a crazy year for the Patrick household. We finally ditched city living and are blissfully happy out in the country. There are almost 10 empty acres behind us and 3 horses to the left of us(they're very quiet neighbors!!). The kids are healthy and happy(most of the time). I'm still homeschooling Chloe and will start with Grace in kindergarten this fall. The girls are looking forward to Girl Scouts this year and I have somehow been roped into being a Daisy Scout leader on top of running the Morrow County Homeschooler's group!!! Elijah is a crazy three year old. He never sits still and has taken up playing air guitar!!! Michael's business Peg Leg Metalwerks has really taken off thanks to an ad in Hot VW magazine. It's been a struggle for me to keep up wth all of the administrative work and the kids and the house!!! But I'm not complaining, we've been blessed and it keeps getting better.

All three kids


I'm a bad mommy, as this picture is almost a year old. In my defense...the kids really haven't changed all that much!!!