Nov. 23, 2009
We made it
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We made it to AZ and are currently staying at my parent's house. My sweet husband has spent the day unraveling the computer messes that have happened since we moved a year ago. He was my parent's tech support and he just wasn't able to help as much long distance. Anyway, the computers are happier, healthier and better behaved! The boys are playing Legos that Grandma bought them this morning at Target. Happy little boys! We have a new Agents robot and a Power Miners drill going together. Amanda is being hard to buy for. Grandma is willing to get something for her too, if only she would figure out what!!! So far, happy everyone! (Except that I wish I was going to see my sister while we were here. Family relationships get so complicated sometimes.) Anyway I think we are going to the zoo tomorrow. There is a Komodo dragon that we need to see and some sunshine that we need to enjoy. |
Nov. 21, 2009
Palm Desert
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Tonight we are in Palm Desert. It was a very long day, but tomorrow will be much better. We will probably get in to my parent's place sometime in the early afternoon. Good night. |
Nov. 20, 2009
Rock!
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I got a rock! For real. And I am happy about it too. I have played Neopets for a long time. I checked it out years ago to see if it was a reasonable place for Amanda to be online. It was. She is. And I kind of never stopped playing. They have been running a plot, a kind of multiplayer story for the past week or so and today I received a rock in one of the games. I received a muffin too, but somehow the rock is more exciting. Anyway, happy me. Tomorrow morning we head south to the lower part of CA and then Sunday on to AZ. I may be very late posting tomorrow or even not at all. We will see. |
Nov. 19, 2009
Talk
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Sorry for not posting yesterday, Brad had his normal Wednesday night gathering and I was on kid duty all day. That isn't abnormal, just a reason that I didn't make time to type. Today he is at work, but not working. His employer brings in folks to do talks and today he is going to one of those talks. He got up early, left early and sat and waited for the talk to begin. According to his messages he was one of the first 200 people there this morning. And that means he got a book. A free book. By Alton Brown. Yep, that's right. He is listening to a talk by Alton Brown as I type this. I think that sounds pretty cool. Maybe he will bring home some good ideas. |
Nov. 17, 2009
Recorder Class/Library/Park
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Our afternoon was spent out of the house today. First stop, the library. We dropped off all of our books in preparation for our trip to Arizona on Saturday. I don't want to worry about library books going wandering across state lines. Of course, on the way out Amanda spotted a book for me and we did take it home. I am reading it now and it is NOT going to make the trip. I have other books that are coming instead. (In case you are wondering the library book is Food, Inc. It is about how food is made and how it effects the people who eat it.) Next stop, recorder class. The boys played light sabers on the front lawn. Amanda played recorder inside. I read my new book and talked with another Mom a little. Final stop, Alvarez Park. Swings, sand, climbing, more light sabers. I read more of my book. It was good. Then the grand finale... a trip to the shuttle stop to pick up Brad so he didn't walk home in the dark. Overall a pretty normal day. |
Nov. 16, 2009
I blew it
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So my last post about trying to meet up with my sister... she read it. For all I know she will be reading this one too. I didn't know she knew this blog existed. She certainly never made a comment or sent me email. I suppose I should always remember that anything I put on this blog is public and anyone can read it. I just didn't think. So to my sister... I love you. I always have. I always will. I was looking forward to trying to get together with you over Thanksgiving. I wanted to see how you were doing and maybe get a chance to talk to you. But as much as our parents tried to get a day/time to meet, you didn't respond. I called them three times last week trying to find out how to schedule our week in Arizona. But they hadn't gotten a response. Finally I got frustrated and made the post two days ago. So here is my peace offering: I am sorry. I was frustrated. I will be in Arizona soonish and would love to see you. If you would like to meet up then please contact me and we can figure out a time/date and place. The email address attached to this blog does work. The comments section does work. The email address from our Christmas letter works. |
Nov. 14, 2009
AZ
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A week from now we will be on the road to AZ to visit my parents for Thanksgiving. We are working out the details of what we are going to do when. I know we are going to go to the Thanksgiving parade, the zoo, Zoolights and the train park. The rest is still to be worked out. I am hoping to meet up with my friends but I am waiting on a day and time to meet up with my sister first. My sister's schedule is unknown and I will probably only get one chance to see her. The last time I saw her was well over a year ago. She didn't go to Thanksgiving last year and we moved shortly after that. I really hope that she will give my Mom a day/time to meet tomorrow. Please let her figure out a day/time! I want to meet up with my friends too. I haven't seen them in a year and my sister is prone to canceling and doesn't seem to like me or my family much anyway. It is hard to tell people you want to see and want to see you that you can't visit with them because someone who doesn't much like you and doesn't really want to see you has priority. I guess that is relatives for you. (Mom, I know you read this and you won't like these comments, but that is how it looks from here. I am very much looking forward to seeing you and Dad, just not her. You like me and Brad and the kids. She... does not.) |
Nov. 13, 2009
Art and Piano
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Today we got art done. We went in the backyard and found some nature stuff and used colored pencils to draw in our sketch books. The idea was to draw the picture and not the idea of the thing. So instead of drawing a brown line for a stick, Peter used three different colors to make his stick. Michael used many different colors to make his rock and Amanda smudged and rubbed to make her flower look realistic. I used a whole bunch of greens to make my twig with leaves. I will try to download the pictures tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow we will work on some of the cool science stuff that we haven't done yet.... Hmmmm. |
Nov. 12, 2009
No swimming
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We have tried to go swimming on Thursday afternoons since we got the membership at the Y. We didn't make it today. It was 63 degrees outside and I am still dealing with the annoying cough from having the flu a week ago. So we stayed home. The kids got out a whole bunch of blankets and made a space for Grandma and Grandpa to sleep when they come. The problem is... I have no idea when Grandma and Grandpa will be coming! We will go see them in a couple weeks for Thanksgiving. I hope that is good enough. I think the kids miss the times just hanging out at my parent's house. We used to visit once a month or so and my Dad would come and visit us weekly. It was very very nice to know that they were nearby. We are still working on making real good friends here. It seems that the people I know either have preteen girls or little boys but not both. It is really hard to set up play dates when you KNOW that someone is going to be bored and unhappy. I hope you had a good day. We are doing better and my stomach has definitely settled from last night. |
Nov. 11, 2009
Pizza is a no go
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I think we have determined that I am sensitive to dairy. I have been careful to avoid any obvious dairy for a few months. No mac and cheese, no pizza, no ice cream. Well tonight Brad's pals came for dinner and we bought pizza. And I didn't think. And I ate some of the pizza. And I am currently paying for it. My stomach is a mess. No more pizza for me. |
Nov. 10, 2009
Library and Recorder
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Today we went to the library and to Amanda's recorder class. It was nicely calm and we came home with a whole bunch of new books. I think our biggest find was Anatole by Eve Titus. It is a book that my Dad read to me a very very long time ago. It is about a mouse who gets a job in a cheese factory as a cheese taster. Anatole has adventures with a cat and a piano and a trip to Paris. The kids thought it was kind of neat that we found a book that I read when I was little. Maybe we will get a copy of Anatole from amazon.... Christmas is coming. |
Nov. 9, 2009
Park DAY!
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We finally got to the park today and it was wonderful. We played and talked and played and talked. I got to hang out with the Moms. Amanda played with the girls. Michael played with the big boys. Peter played with the little ones. It was amazing. I missed it so much while we were sick. In other news... I don't like treadmills. The basketball court was full of basketball players today so I couldn't walk around the gym like I usually do. So I tried out the treadmill. I don't want to do that again. I will find a way to walk ON THE GROUND! I am not sure how we are going to make this work, but we will figure it out somehow. |
Nov. 7, 2009
Pecked to Death by Chickens
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I feel like I am being pecked to death by chickens. It isn't any one thing. Or even two or three. It is the great multitude of little things that build up and up and up. "Mom, can I have breakfast?" "Mom, can I eat candy?" "Mom, what's for dinner?" "Mom, is this problem right?" "Mom, do I have to do all these problems?" "Mom, do I have to clean up ALL the Legos?" "Mom, can I play on the computer?" "Mom, can I play video games?" "Mom, can we watch a movie?" "Mom, will you make me lunch?" "Mom" "Mom" "Mom" ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGG! Yes, you can have breakfast. No, you can't have candy. Look at the schedule for dinner. Look at the solution manual for the problem. Yes, you must do all ten problems. Yes, you do need to clean up all the Legos. No, you can't play on the computer or the video games or watch a movie. You can make your own lunch. "Mom" "Mom" "Mom" This Mom is tired. Tired of dealing with the incessant questions of daily life. Tired of trying to make sure that everyone is adequately challenged. Tired of dealing with kids who have never dealt with being challenged. Tired of dealing with tears from kids who "got it wrong." Tired of dealing with teaching the need to practice. Tired of explaining what studying means. Tired of explaining that practice means THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND NOT MINDLESSLY RECOPYING THE PROBLEM! Tired of being the taskmaster. Tired of being the bad guy. All the time. Everyday. Tired of being the person who makes sure that the important things happen. Tired of checking the calendar. Tired of being the organizer. Tired of making sure we leave on time. Tired of making sure all the shoes are tied, the water bottles collected, the jackets in the car, the people are fed, necessary supplies for the outing collected, the everything where it is supposed to be. Tired of being the only one who cares even a little bit about a clean house. Just plain worn out. Someone will say, just let it go. Let everyone suffer the consequences of not having Mom remember everything. But how does that work when there are multiple people involved. Do we not go to Michael's piano lesson because Amanda would rather not go at all? What about the jackets? Do we leave the park early and disappoint everyone who did remember a jacket and was prepared or do we stay and I suffer through the whining that someone is cold? And the water bottles... Who sacrifices their water bottle to the person who didn't want to carry theirs but now is thirsty? Or listens to the whining about being thirsty? I tried waiting out the clean house issues. Unfortunately the laundry could pile up for a looooong time before anyone would decide that it was possible for them to turn on the washer or dryer. Even my five year old knows how the washer/dryer works but no one else ever does laundry. Or vacuums. Or cleans a toilet. Or cleans out the car. I have made lists for people to do. Unless I remind people to check their lists and do their jobs, they don't get done. It is almost as bad as having to do it myself. What is the use of having a list when I have to remind people a million times to look at the LIST. And then watch them do the job. And repeat again and again for three kids and each of their jobs. YUCK! Tired Mommy here. |
Nov. 6, 2009
All Better Again
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We are finally healthy again! We went to piano lessons/music class and that was good. We got rained on a little on the way down, but the rain went away before we went to the park. The park was dark and a little cold so we didn't stay long. I hope next week is drier and calmer! Hopefully a better update tomorrow. |
Nov. 5, 2009
Still Sick
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I suppose this could be a cut and paste from yesterday. Brad is still sick. Still slowly recovering. The fever broke and then came back and has now broke again. Mostly he is very tired and slowish. We are all hoping he feels better soon. So far, the cough is still not getting any worse. |
Nov. 4, 2009
Fever BROKE!
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The last fever broke overnight! I think we are really going to survive the swine flu. The cough is still alive and well, but we are definitely getting better. I like this! |
Nov. 3, 2009
Just moving along
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We are still waiting and seeing on our flu. So far it isn't getting any worse. It isn't any better either, but I can deal with just moving along in slow motion. It would be fantastic if Brad dealt with the flu like Michael did... he just kept on going. Amanda went to recorder class today and there were only two kids there. The girls weren't there at all and the other boy had a sore throat and a fever (also known as Flu-like illness). I think this is just everywhere right now. I hope wherever you are you are doing well and either have had this or don't get it at all. |
Nov. 2, 2009
Flu update
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I am much much better. No more fever. No more sore throat. No more runny nose. Still a cough but it is getting better with the sudafed. I think sudafed is the solution for this version of the flu. So if you are trying to get over the flu and have the sore throat, runny nose, cough going on... try sudafed. It really really helped me. Well, the five cups of peppermint tea helped some too. The other news is we think Brad is starting to come down with this too and this is NOT good. While none of the kids or I had any risk factors for problems, he does. And he is extremely reluctant to admit it. So now we wait to see if he really does get the flu and how hard it hits him. Thinking healthy thoughts! |
Nov. 2, 2009
Not making Park Day, and it's all MY fault
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It is 12:00 on a Monday, the kids are all healthy, it is 82 degrees outside and beautiful, and we are not packing up to go to Park Day. Why? Because I am sick. Mostly likely with swine flu, the same stuff the kids had last week. I don't think anyone is happy with this. The kids are climbing the walls. (Actually, Amanda is climbing the tree!) They want to go play. They want to go run around with their friends. I want to talk to my friends. We would likely have spent the entire afternoon at the park, getting home tonight when the sun went down. It would have been great. And none of it is happening. Because Mom got sick. Not much school is happening either. When 100% of your teaching staff is out with the flu, not much teaching is going on. Recorder and one piano practice got done because my big kids can do that on their own. I hope to get Peter to do some piano later. So today I am sitting on the couch with my blankie and the the kids are mostly outside here at home and hopefully I will get better soon. The fever is already down. We are waiting on the cough and the exhaustion to ease. And maybe for the idea of food to sound good. Peppermint tea is great stuff but it isn't exactly a complete source of nutrition. |
Nov. 1, 2009
The Flu is back
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The kids are fine. Amanda had a great time at her sleep over. However, Mom is not immune to viruses and has now caught the same flu-like illness that the kids had last week. Brad is back to being at home until our home is once again fever free for 24 hours. Hopefully he won't catch this and will be back to work later this week. (Flu-like illness is the official name for the flu that hasn't been tested in a hospital. They are not testing for HINI unless you get admitted. Too many sick folks. I probably do have HINI but we will likely never know officially.) |