Z squared

Chapter 5

2012-02-16T23:25:00.001-06:00

Chapter 5, which I just emailed an initial draft of to my adviser...was 18 pages. I don't know if I am done or just can't think anymore. Hopefully she will email me back soon. The deadline for getting it to my committee is rapidly approaching. I just can't forget that I have lots of little nit picky things left....like make the table of contents have all the right page numbers, wrestling with the computer to get it to spit out a reasonable reference list, and making the visual of my concepts readable (I thought it was...but apparently having some words horizontal and some vertical so you can squeeze them all in was not readable for everyone).

The reward for tonight...I get to go to be before midnight!

Very brief update...

2012-02-15T22:23:00.002-06:00

I sent my adviser chapter 4 last night...all 105 pages of it. Now I wait for her edits and comments on it while I work on chapter 5.

Help! My dissertation is eating me....

2012-02-07T13:35:00.001-06:00

So I have not posted a lot lately because I am deep in writing my dissertation.
For those not familiar with dissertation format the tradition is 5 chapters. Newer formats may vary some, but traditionally it is 5 chapters. Chapters 1-3 usually are part of the proposal. They may change some after collection of data, but the bones of them happen prior to the proposal.

Right now I am deep in chapter 4. It is the results section. Since my research was descriptive, I have lots of describing to do.
I'm making progress, but I have a deadline. I've set a date for my defense so it has to be done 2 weeks prior to the defense so that my committee has time to read it.

My poor children miss me even though I am home. Mommy and the computer are spending lots of time together.

App Happy

2012-01-26T09:28:00.003-06:00

My old cell phone was occasionally having problems and was causing me some frustration. We had an available upgrade so that I could cheaply pick up a new phone. So I went and checked into it and ended up with a smart phone....so I have discovered the world of apps.

So far all of the apps I have have been free. I'm happy to have finally linked my Google Calendar, and to have my Remember the Milk to-do-list a bit more accessible. Perhaps I can make a dent in my email with gmail mail easily coming to my phone. Fortunately for me the two places I spend the most time (home and campus) have Wi-fi so that I am not really concerned about going over my data allotment.

The kids are excited about mommy's phone having cooler games than it had before.
The funniest thing that the kids seem to like is an app called "WS Violin." I had to explain it to them...you remember when someone would whine and you would rub your thumb and pointer finger together and tell the person that it was the world's smallest violin playing just for them...well they have an app for that.

The tooth fairy has frequent flier miles to our house

2012-01-12T22:56:00.001-06:00

With both Doug and Andy being 6, we are right in the middle of lots of loose teeth. It is a good thing that the tooth fairy has a stash of coins waiting...because you never know when she will be called upon.

Last night I pulled out a tooth that had been loose and wiggly for awhile with Andy. It was one of those that you could lean it out at a right angle to the rest of the teeth. When I finally got a good enough hold on it to pull it out, there wasn't even any blood at the base of the tooth. The only reason it was still in was because the next door teeth were holding there.

Then tonight we were getting ready for bed. Doug and Andy were supposed to be getting ready to shower, and the next thing I know is that Andy is crying and saying his tooth was bleeding.
First, I did not panic...always assess the situation to find out what the real problem is. I had him wash out his mouth a bit so I could see what was actually bleeding. Yes, it was the tooth.

Suddenly I am trying to remember what you are supposed to do for a loose tooth. It was also one of his front top teeth and to the best of my knowledge (and based off size) it looks like an adult tooth. So first I determined that it was in fact wiggly.

So I called the first person I could think of.... Jim, the man with personal experience with bumps, bruises, brakes, etc.
He didn't know what to do.
So I went straight to the experts...the dentist office.

Of course is it now after 7pm and the dentist office is not open. Fortunately the have phone numbers listed for dental emergencies.
We ended up meeting one of the dentists at the office and even with me tearing Doug and Josie out of the shower and having to get all three children into shoes we managed the beat him there.
It turned out that the reason the tooth got knocked so easily was that it was actually a baby tooth and the root was dissolved.

So Andy is getting a second visit from the tooth fairy tonight.

Wow...900

2012-01-02T23:20:00.002-06:00

That is the number of posts I have on this blog since it started. (This one being number 901...)
I was trying to think of what to report on...I have not dealt with pictures from the holidays. Jim is back at school. Everyone seems to have their annual sniffling noses and coughs at the moment. We are trying to make the most of the last few days before students report back to school.
I am sort of freaking out about everything I need to get done on my dissertation. I have this tendency to see everything at once and have a hard time breaking it into pieces and assigning priorities. I'm trying to just jump in and get started. So I do not know how much I will attend to the blog...

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T22:30:00.001-06:00

Well, we made it through Christmas.
The flooring was put in the week before Christmas so we did not get our tree up until then. SO I put the tree up the week before and put the few ornaments we had been given/the kids had made on it. Then the kids (on their own) found random hangable items around the house and placed them on the tree. We were probably the only people with a belt, random plastic bracelets, Mardigras beads, and mini-flashlights handing on their tree. It looked festive and so I left it.
We left a small assortment of cookies, cheese puffs, and eggnog for Santa, and a carrot for the reindeer. We also left notes for Santa...who did write back. When we tucked Josie in, she instructed us to go to bed as soon as possible so that Santa could come.
Since Christmas was on Sunday we were those mean parents who let the kids do their stockings and Santa gift in the morning, and then we had breakfast, getting dressed, church, and then lunch prior to actually opening any of the gifts under the tree. We got lots of games and interactive toys so we have had a lot of fun playing. One of the best gifts is having Jim at home during the school break.
I will try and share pictures soon.

Just details left

2011-12-18T22:22:00.002-06:00

We had laminate and vinyl installed on Friday. We still have to finish up painting trim and baseboards and the like, but I am so glad to pretty much be done. I will not be rushing to get ready for an installer. I don't want to slack off and leave something unfinished, but at least I will not be staying up until 1am so that I can paint a ceiling prior to new flooring going in.

Will break for workman....

2011-12-12T23:56:00.001-06:00

The flooring installers will come sometime this week (not quite sure when). We got the old carpet up and out.The kids have become adept at prying up tack strip and pulling our staples. I don't know that I am going to get all of the painting done prior to the flooring going in, but I am going to get as much done as possible.
My real thing right now is that I do actually have a life outside of remodeling. Saturday Jim and I treated ourselves to massages, we went to a kid's birthday party, and we went to a holiday concert... and those things were on top of trying to get house stuff done. I don't know whether the flooring guy will come on Tuesday or Wednesday, but I will just get done what I can and go from there. Just one more coat of paint on the living room walls and then it is on to trim. If they come to work on the floors I might actually take a nap....

Functional!

2011-12-07T22:48:00.001-06:00

My goodness I have been busy! We actually had appliances installed the Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving. So here they are.
We have been working on painting the other room where we had already taken out the carpet. It was paneling too so good bye to dark wood.
We picked out a sheet vinyl for the kitchen. We had already purchased some laminate flooring for other areas of the house so we are trying to get it all ready for the installer.

I am realizing how much of major redecorating is a sort of a domino effect...we have to get the old carpet up (and paint prior to new flooring going down) so the areas have to be clear, and we have to have places to put things so we are going to use the kitchen to put the heavy furniture in (moving them short distances) which means that we cannot put the vinyl down (don't want to put a piano on new vinyl or move a piano over stairs or down a hallway).
I'm basically madly painting and packing up to clear the living room to get ready for the next step.

Looking more like a kitchen

2011-11-20T22:45:00.001-06:00

On Friday afternoon, after much sweating it out to try and get people to the house and coordinated (it's like a domino effect...one thing has to happen before the rest can happen) there was a flurry of work after 2pm. The rest of the cabinetry was installed and finished to the ceiling. The counter tops were brought in and installed. The microwave was installed (he had to work a bit because the venting didn't quite line up with the old vent, but he worked it out.

Josie was thrilled because the microwave guy had his daughter with him and she had a playmate for awhile (the boys were a bit jealous).

On Saturday we looked at flooring options (no decision yet), looked at a light for above the sink, and we bought and installed knobs on the cabinets. I got all of the cabinets vacuumed out, wiped out, and I am in the process of putting down shelf paper.

Hopefully the rest of the appliances will go in easily.

Soooooo much brighter!

2011-11-15T23:26:00.001-06:00

The above is a really old picture of the kitchen when we first moved in (none of my kids have been in high chairs for quite awhile now....)

Below is a picture of what the kitchen currently looks like.

It's not done, but this is definitely progress.

Jim took some time off (and had Veterans day) and his parents came up to help. We tore out all of the original cabinets. Took up the flooring. Threw out the old appliances. Then we sanded the walls and started painting. The Shaker saying, "Many hands make light work" is definitely true!
Monday morning the electrician came and did some work (including dealing with some things in the next room...but that is another story. Just consider if you get progressively blind as you age, that another option to adding additional light fixtures to your dark wood paneled room is to actually paint the paneling to a lighter color. The room was up to three separate and distinct light fixtures.)
Monday the guys came and put cabinets in.
Today the oven and dishwasher arrived.
We are sort of in a holding pattern until the counter tops (and a couple things that somehow did not get ordered with the cabinets) arrive.
I AM very excited because the microwave is supposed to be installed tomorrow morning. It will infinitely expand our food options because right now I am choosing between cooking with an electric skillet, an indoor grill, a toaster, and a coffee pot. There is a lot you can do with those items, but a microwave will allow so many more options until the range is installed.

Converting....

2011-11-08T20:03:00.002-06:00

When we moved into the house about 4 years ago, we swapped out a mostly not working electric stove-top for a gas stove-top. Now with the kitchen remodel, we are ditching the sketchy double wall ovens for an entirely gas range (and don't give me a hard time about going from two ovens to one...once, when I spent 13 hours cooking every single piece of meat in our freezer after accidentally leaving it ajar for a 3-day weekend did I use both ovens- so I can easily get by with just one oven).
Since the gas was plumbed straight through the built-in cabinet, we decided it was time to have it placed in the wall. I talked to the guy at 7am this morning. I thought they might come and look at the job and then come back to do the job...

First he double checked that all cabinetry was disappearing and then he started knocking shelves out of the way and sawing out the front so he could get at the wall. Several times the slightly smaller helper was actually in the cupboard.
He double checked several times about whether we had any other things powered by gas (no) and turned off the gas at the meter.
He briefly asked what I was going to cook on (electric skillet, microwave, crockpot, toaster, etc.).

...and in about 90 minutes (including them running out to get materials) we had a pipe in the wall (and Jim has wall repair to do....)

Almost everything...including the kitchen sink!

2011-11-06T23:05:00.002-06:00

Progress this weekend includes...

mostly clearing the kitchen

most of the dining room is sanded (my arms may fall off....I will finish it up on Monday)

between the husband, the kids, and a bunch of screwdrivers all handles (which I wanted to save) are off and the drawers and cabinet fronts are on the curb waiting for trash day

we have ordered appliances

we have a kitchen sink and a faucet purchased and in boxes in the house

I am progressing on and trying to remind myself to take it one step at a time.

We survived....

2011-10-30T22:26:00.002-05:00

I have to start this with a little story about the first time that Jim and I went tent camping. It was at a place that was very appropriately named "Cape Foul Weather." It rained the entire time we were there except for about 5 minutes in the middle, and then for the amount of time it took us to pack up and leave. We later found out that it was the location where the Coast Guard does their high seas training....

So flashforward to this weekend and the first time we went tent camping with the kids.
The tents and cots were provided because we were at a boy scout camp. This was the fall campout for the cub scouts. It had been running to about 80 degrees during the day and only dipping into the upper 40s at night. However, there was a cold snap in the Southeast and the low point happened to coincide with this weekend...

I was worried about the temperture and I did go get the coldest weather sleeping bags I could find for the kids.....

It wasn't too bad in the evening, but with all of the activities the council planned by the time we got back to the tents we had loopy tired cub scouts. The tents were on platforms and had raised cots. I am sure that they are delightful in the summer, but in the winter that is a lot of cold air coming up from the bottom.
We could only have up to three cots in a tent so for our family we had Daddy's tent and Mommy's tent.
Josie and Doug decided to be in Daddy's tent. Doug snuggled down in his bag and only had a little bit of chilliness in the middle of the night. Jim threw a couple of towels over him and he was then fine. Josie got chilly but Jim pulled out every trick he knew and she made it through the night. He had his big coat on top of her. He gave her a heat strip in her bag. He put something under her to help.

In mommy's tent for all but about 2 hours I had Andy in my sleeping bag with me. We unzipped his bag and threw it over the top of us with our heads underneath. I didn't sleep much, but I was very glad when I saw that it was light out and time to get up.

After the morning activities and check out we headed home for warm showers and a nap.

Fortunately someone found that during the night in a nearby town there was recorded a temperature of 32 degrees so that means that every boy who slept outside (no going into the cars) during the campout gets their Polar Bear badge. It is small consolation for such a chilly night and I now REALLY appreciate my warm house and especially my electric blanket.

Halloween Costumes

2011-10-27T10:21:00.003-05:00

Our Halloween costumes take a bit of

explaining... We are (thanks to Everquest) a barbarian shaman, a fairy princess, and a drakkin paladin.

Finally! Pictures

2011-10-27T10:16:00.004-05:00

I finally got around to getting some of the pictures off the camera (which happened because I needed to make room for more pictures due to Halloween costumes....)

It really will happen!

2011-10-20T21:47:00.002-05:00

The tear-out and remodeling of the kitchen is scheduled to happen mainly in November; however, today I found out that a 40 ft. semi really can make it around the corner and up our hill. We had cabinets delivered because Jim finalized the plans (and they shipped them) for the cabinets.

I am feeling a little cramped around the house because we have one room that is basically empty (and sealed off for sanding). That furniture is in the living room (which got rearranged in that the TV is on a different wall now to reorient the room). I have boxes of flooring and underlayment stacked up. There is an area where I have a huge 5 gallon bucket of paint and various painting tools out. Now there are also cabinets. They are mainly in boxes waiting to be assembled. At least some of them are wrapped and on a pallet and sitting in our carport (as far away from an openings as I could get them. This weekend Jim and I will decide if that is where they stay.

Making progress

2011-10-17T21:42:00.003-05:00

I am super busy! I am trying to take pictures....but I have not gotten them off the camera to here yet.
Here is what has been going on:
Dissertation

Finished my last interviews
Scheduled more observations
I'm trying to proofread (but of course this is not my favorite part....)

House

painted the hallway
painted the stairwell
we removed the banister and Jim and kids cleaned 40+ years of grime off it
sanded one wall of paneling (I have miles to go, but it is a start)
repaired the ceiling (this was mainly a Jim thing) where the beams were taken out
Andy removed a few cabinet doors
Jim made the arrangements for the cabinets and such...so we actually have a bit of a timeline now

It's a God thing

2011-10-10T22:30:00.002-05:00

We went to Lowes to buy the stuff for me to start working on sanding the paneling (many, many square feet of paneling....) and happened to walk past an end cap with flooring on sale. It was the best price we had seen so we went home and measured. We knew we at least needed to do the room where the gold carpet had been, but we hoped to be able to do the living room and the hallway too.

So I went back today and the price worked out to be within what we were expecting... in fact it was $0.70 under what we were hoping for (how's THAT for planning). Not only that, but after I pulled off the package to go talk to the flooring guy with there were exactly the right number of packages on the pallet in the special display. So they just used the forklift to take it all up front and load up the back of the truck.
It was kind of cool to watch him lift in as far as he could (so as not to hit the camper shell) and then use the prongs of the forklift to push it in.

It feels like progress. It will be a bit before the flooring gets put in because we will do the walls (and ceiling...this is the room we pulled fake beams out of a long time ago) first. Then we will do the other areas when we can clear the furniture back into the dining room.

The Echo Room

2011-10-09T23:18:00.002-05:00

We have started some major home projects (some that were already in the works). We got the hallway painted (it makes me happy every time I walk down it). We got some other wall prepped for painting.

We also....took out the gold carpet!
I'm sure that it was very nice, very vogue at some point. Now it is on the curb to make way for updating. Before we put in new flooring we are going to do some other work in the room. (Woohoo me and a sander for days and days and days attacking the paneling. I'll keep you posted).

Now that the carpet is gone the room has nothing to absorb the sound and it has a lovely echo to it.

The kids LOVE it.
Josie has christened it the "echo room" and so far there have been battles, dance parties, singing practice, etc. occurring in the room (It's been slightly more than 24 hours since we tore it out).

I'll be interested to see how they feel about it when I tape plastic over the doorways so that sawdust doesn't get everywhere.

Using my resources

2011-10-05T10:26:00.003-05:00

I am very glad that as a grad student at a university with a College of Education I have access to kits, books, and other materials in a curriculum library.

That way when your six year old is lobbying to build a physics lab in the backyard with a zip line running between the second story deck and the lab, you can appease him with simple machine kits you have checked out from the curriculum library.

My other six year old requested a grappling hook so that he could swing from room to room in the house...I am not quite sure how I am going to deal with that one.

My roller coaster

2011-09-28T20:36:00.003-05:00

Life is kind a roller coaster at the moment.

The kids are basically good, but we are fighting colds. Hopefully we are settled into the school schedule...it's only been almost two months already.

I am working to keep up with a class I am taking. I am also trying to collect data for my dissertation. I have made progress with the data, but I am sort of at the mercy of the participants and their schedules. I also had hired someone to transcribe my interviews and his cell phone keeps going to busy. So I am dealing and dealing, and trying not to freak out...too much.

New to us car!

2011-09-12T21:50:00.002-05:00

Thanks to the power of the Internet (and having connections in the right places) we have traded the Silver Honda Odyssey minivan for a few years newer Gold Honda Odyssey! Because it's a newer model it has power doors and another seat belt and more room.

Tiger Cubs

2011-09-12T21:40:00.002-05:00

Doug and Andy are Tiger Cubs this year. They are both very excited about getting to wear the uniforms and they REALLY want to go camping.

We have had a couple of den meetings, but tonight was our first pack meeting. They got their Bobcat badge, which is the first patch any cub scout has to earn regardless of when they enter cub scouts. They had to learn and understand 8 things, including the Cub Scout promise and the Laws of the Pack.

Various packs have different ways of honor scouts who level up in some way...and the Bobcat is considered a leveling up. In our pack the kids get to "paint" the faces of the parents and the patch is pinned on upside-down until the parent sees the Cub Scout do a good deed.

Well, with Jim working in another city (and having two meetings today) mom was the one who got her face painted. The "paint" was a washable marker. Andy ended up with green. Let's just say I looked "lovely" at the end of it and that at least he only had one minute to make his masterpiece.
Doug, opting not to help his brother do my face and not to paint his little sister's face, found a random parent in the audience and did her face. She was a good sport and I thanked her later. Ironically, her son was in a wolf den and was new to scouting... he opted to do his little sister's face.

At the end of the meeting I was talking to the Pack Leader. Doug, on his own, helped clean up folding chairs. I was very proud of him and told him so by flipping his patch right-side-up. His little chest swelled and he had to run tell the Pack Leader (and then he was extremely helpful after that).
Andy helped Josie with some things after we got home, so I guess I need to sew on some patches now.

Some elaboration

2011-08-29T09:18:00.002-05:00

We have had a few rough weeks here.... thankfully everyone is basically okay and there have been good things.

I'll start with the bad and then list the good so we are left with the happy thoughts.

Jim had a week with high blood pressure. He got checked out and everything (heart, etc.) seems fine...he just needs to watch the salt and the stress levels.
The mini-van got rear ended. The insurance is totaling it. So Jim is currently in a rental car awaiting their offer so that we can figure out a new (to us) car).
Andy has had some rough days in school, mostly due to him not wanting to focus. I met with his teacher and hopefully things will improve.
Doug is currently running a fever (doesn't seem really sick, so hopefully this thing will be short lived).
Josie managed to get a huge splinter in her hand, but it is healing
We went to a birthday party and Josie fainted/passed out. We went to the ER and it appears that perhaps she was choking (she had just bit into a chicken nugget) and it might have caused her heart to race or to skip a beat or something. They did a full brain scan (she got to go in the "doughnut") and said everything looks okay. It was just a bit scary because she fell over completely backwards on to a tile floor.

The good things are

We have been working out how to redo our kitchen
We got to go to some fun activities on campus
The boys are now Cub Scouts and this last weekend we got to go fishing

Is it over yet?

2011-08-25T23:52:00.002-05:00

Let's just say August has been rough....

Frat boy

2011-08-09T23:40:00.002-05:00

Doug has this nick-name...we call him "frat boy"

He likes to joke and play. He says that dad taught him to be silly.

He has a little social butterfly. He is so people oriented that he will find a friend anywhere we go. It does not matter if the child is older or younger...he will play or interact with him or her in some way.

He also seems to sense that he is cute. He likes interacting with college age girls. If we are entering a building on campus, he will run back and hold the door for college girls.

I figure that some day, down the line, he will have valuable social networking skills for some job.... but for now he has the nickname "frat boy."

Ah, the joys of twins....

2011-08-08T22:17:00.001-05:00

S we went to open house at the boys' school AND...

There was some confusion about which child was in which classroom. It sounded like something got switched in the computer.

I'll be interested to see where they are at the end of the first day.

I'm impressed

2011-08-07T21:02:00.003-05:00

School starts this week (do you hear mommy cheering!).
I think the boys are ready...for the most part. Doug is mostly saying that he is ready to go back.

So at dinner tonight I asked all three kids if they would name three goals they wanted to accomplish this year.
Andy impressed me the most with his goals. Here are his goals:

To work on being more focused this year
To get better with his handwriting
To get better at Reading and Math

I like that he is reflecting on how last year went, that he knows what he needs to work on most, and that he is specific with at least two of his goals.
I can hardly believe that we will meet teachers at Open House and school starts this week.

Romantic at heart

2011-08-03T22:23:00.003-05:00

Josie is for the most part a little tom-girl; however, she can be girly-girly too. She loves to wear dresses (and a hat) to church.

Recently, Jim and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. Jim and I actually went out on a date. If Josie had had her way then daddy would be in "Sunday best" with a bow-tie, and mommy would be in a dress, with make-up, and "those heels I've been saving" (Josie's words...not mine). We did dress up, but opted for a little more moderate then heels and bow tie wear.

So a week later, when Jim came home with a cake from a new bakery in town, Josie decided on her own that the cake was for mommy and daddy's anniversary.

God sometimes forces me to clean out!

2011-07-27T20:38:00.002-05:00

Sometimes in my life (like Noah and his flood) God has forced me to prioritize and clean things out.

In the past I have had some incidents with water (a leaky storage unit, water from a cracked humidifier, etc.), but this time is it something more pleasant. A student who is leaving to do student teaching in a foreign country in the Spring, was looking for housing in the Fall. She is a student I happen to know from previous opportunities I have had on campus. So we have cleaned and moved things around and we will have an undergraduate living in what was our guest room. It promises to be an interesting Fall semester!

Rev Jim

2011-07-24T20:04:00.002-05:00

Our minister was on a trip today...so Jim preached. His verse from the lectionary was about the mustard seed. So Jim talked about the necessary conditions for our faith to grow. His "soil" was being in the word, such as spending time in a devotional each day. His "water" was small accountability groups, such as a Sunday School class. His "light" was the Holy Spirit/Jesus.

He through the children's message to me....I brought a balloon and likened a balloon to our faith. It may start out small but when we let God work within us, our faith grows.

Fig!

2011-07-17T22:22:00.002-05:00

It is fig season here. We took probably about 20 pounds off the tree in one picking. Josie loves eating them straight off the tree. I dipped a bunch in chocolate and we took them to two different potluck dinners we had. We got lots of positive comments on them.

Summer...It's flying by

2011-07-11T22:03:00.002-05:00

I compose blog posts in my head...but obviously they do not usually make it to the blog these days.
I have been uber busy.

We (Doug, Andy, and I) were involved with a summer enrichment camp (Doug & Andy attended while I supervised teachers).
We have been enrolled in swim lessons.
We have gone swimming on our own.
We have visited friends and relatives.
We have tried to keep the house a little cleaner than what I manage during the school year.
I have done a little data collection for my dissertation.
Doug and Andy are learning to ride their bikes without training wheels (we need fine tuning but basically have it).
I am also that mean mom who is forcing the children to do some school related work during the summer so that we are not losing what we learned.

Strike!

2011-06-05T15:16:00.002-05:00

You know that you are bowling with small children if...

you hear a big whump every time the children toss the ball out into the lane.
the ball is rolling so slowly it gets stopped by the pins.
the ball is rolling so slowly it starts rolling back towards you.
the child gets a spare because the ball bounces off one pin and hits the second pin that is part of the split.
The ball gets stuck in the gutter between the edge and the "buddy bumper."

Two weeks of partying!

2011-05-21T15:52:00.002-05:00

Josie's birthday is four days before Doug & Andy's birthday.
The past couple of years we have had a "unified" party.

This year things sort of crept up on us and I suddenly realized we needed to make some sort of decision.

So Josie had a party at our house last weekend. I wish I could say that I have lots of pictures, but I completely forgot the camera at all.
Her party was on the eclectic side. She had cupcakes in ice cream cones and then also ice cream cones with ice cream. She had "pin the ear on the bunny" (That is what she wanted... not the tail, just the ears). She picked out the blue T-Rex pinata because she said it looked like Godzilla. We planted flowers in pots the kids had painted because it seemed like a nice take home party favor. We also decorated crowns. I did discover that many 3-4 year olds are not used to be being blindfolded.

Doug and Andy, to accommodate their diverse interests, are having a "Time Adventure" themed party. So we have two giant boxes (from an appliance store) that has a dial on it to make it a time machine. We have six time periods to visit.

We will assemble dinosaur bones in the prehistoric period.
We will pin the nose on the Sphinx in Ancient Egypt.
We will use catapults to knock down a tower during the time of the knights.
We will battle with balloon swords and axes (I'm hoping I can pull this off) for the time of the Vikings.
We will have a treasure hunt and find a pirate pinata during the time of the pirates.
We will shoot off balloon rockets in the future.

I'm looking forward to it. Andy is having a pyramid cake that I am assembling. Doug has a castle cake because I happen to have a bundt cake mold.

Charity, volunteering, donations, etc.

2011-05-05T23:33:00.003-05:00

With everything that is going on locally I have to keep reminding myself that it is not all up to me. Through this experience and the experiences that I have had being a graduate student on a budget, I feel that I have learned some important lessons about donations, volunteering, etc.

1. When people are aware of a need they pull together. Many of the people and schools who lost things probably could have used the help prior to the storm, and yet now that it is plainly evident that help is needed other people offer an overwhelming amount of support.

2. The Shakers were right that "many hands make light work." I have to constantly remind myself that it is not all about me and that I do not have to single hand-idly save the world (thank goodness).
I may hear of a need but that does not mean that for every need I should run out and respond. I need to give other people the chance to respond and then I can help where I feel most called. There is a lovely Max Lucado quote that goes "Say no to the important so that you can say yes to the crucial" or something like that.

3. Sometimes you have to be the receiver. People can be generous and they want to help. Sometimes you might find that people want to help you and it can feel strange if you are used to being on the giving end of things. Some people do not want to accept "charity." However, you are allowing an opportunity for someone else to act like Christ.

We went out to eat to celebrate something and met a student with whom we had a passing acquaintance. She lost everything (car, apartment, etc). We offered some help. She was hesitant to take it. When I explained that it would not be charity but just her allowing us to help, she was more receptive. In our materialistic and competitive society we do not always teach people how to graciously accept help.

Well, I've definitely had better weeks

2011-04-30T21:14:00.002-05:00

It has been a trying week to say the least, but not all bad.

So the bad stuff first:

1. Doug has been home running a fever all week.

2. There's nothing like being stuck in a basement while tornadoes rip through the area while a child is running a 103 degree temp and is maxed out on meds he can have.

3. While Doug did not officially get diagnosed with strep (I think the doc did not want to swab his throat a second time after the puke two days earlier), Andy was diagnosed with it and I (for the first time in my life) was diagnosed with strep.

The goodish news:
1. We seem to be improving health-wise and we are some of the fortunate who have both power and adequate water. (My favorite thing to do when a child hits 104.8 degrees is to throw them in a shower...that requires power and water).

2. My professor whose house was in the direct path of the tornado is fine and at least one of her housemates is fine (have not officially heard about the other one). If you want a testament to a miracle, the only house left standing one their street is their house...and they are nuns.

3. We have seen people banding together for the greater good, and that is refreshing. I know that some areas of the country may have moved on to happier news (such as royal weddings), but there are many people in need after the severe storms. We are counting ourselves blessed and have been doing what we can.
It is true that they need everything...and I do mean everything. Right now the needs are food, water, shelter, blood donation, etc. But next they will need household items, clothing, books, toys. There is also need for school supplies. At least two schools are damaged beyond repair and one will not be able to reopen before the next school year. So even school supplies are needed.

Why make it complicated

2011-03-31T22:37:00.004-05:00

Josie and I were watching something on the Disney channel today. She saw and advertisement for dressing like a Disney Princess.

Josie: Mommy I want to do that.
Me: Where are they doing that (I wasn't watching the TV that much).
Josie: At the Disney store so it is at Disney World.
Me: That is pretty far away from us.
Josie: No problem, we just take a plane.

Detail oriented

2011-03-30T10:18:00.002-05:00

I find it so interesting to see my children's personalities expressed in their actions.

Early on I saw tendencies in Doug towards him being particular, detail oriented and....well, some might say anal retentive about things.

He is particular about lining up his little green army guys and creating bases for his Lego Storm Troopers. He used to line up his Hot Wheels in a long straight line and he would even "park" them.

He also has this tendency to be able to find coins when we go out somewhere.

Put these two tendencies together (detail oriented and finding money) and it resulted in this.

Doug, with no coins anywhere in sight, turned to me the other day and proceeded to tell me which coins have bumpy edges and which are smooth.

I was a bit impressed.

Good Fortune

2011-03-25T21:48:00.002-05:00

We went out for Chinese food at our favorite Chinese restaurant. The kids love getting their fortunes. I do not remember what Jim had, but Josie had something about developing a new relationship in the next month. Doug and Andy each had something about celebrating good news (different fortunes but very similar messages).

My fortune said that my feet would touch many soils in my lifetime.

Andy, who was sitting in my lap while I read it, looked at me and said,

"I guess you're going to see a lot of dirt, mom."

Spring has Sprung

2011-03-24T19:04:00.002-05:00

Sure signs that it is Spring in the South

Colorful flowers on stalks, bushes, and trees.
Every car is a yellow car...all the same shade of pollen yellow.
Every week there is some sort of thunder storm with possible tornadoes
The ants don't build hills...they construct mountains overnight.

I do like it here...but while I love the fruits and vegetables that come into season and the fact that it is a comfortable temperature here (not as damp cold as Winter and not so hot that you do not want to be outside like in Summer), Spring is not actually my favorite season here.

Spring Break

2011-03-20T23:05:00.002-05:00

Well, Spring Break has come and gone for us here. Tomorrow it is back to reality.
Did I do everything I wanted to? No...of course not.

I did get to spend some quality time with my family.
We visited the local model railroad club. We went swimming. We picnicked in a park. We treated ourselves a bit. We had friends over to play. We went to the library. We visited Nana and Pop where we hunted pirate treasure, fished, bounced in bouncies, climbed trees (well...the kids did the last two things), and played. We slept in a bit and occasionally stayed up a little bit late.

In general we had a good time. So despite the fact that I am now playing catch-up on laundry (as usual...so I suppose it is not technically catch-up), cleaning, and getting ready to face the week... it was a good break and I am thankful for my husband and my children.

I'm feeling overdressed

2011-03-10T17:01:00.002-06:00

Somehow my children love to run around half naked....

Hopefully I am not the only one with born strippers.

We can mess with their minds!

2011-03-05T20:44:00.002-06:00

We have, for some reason or other, accumulated several pairs of fake glasses. I usually leave them with the dress-up box and occasionally the kids will find them and put one on.

Tonight Doug found a pair and Jim started calling him "Harry Potter." So yes, it was amusing that every time Doug would put them on Jim would ask where Doug was and when Doug would take them off Jim would ask where Harry was (Doug thought this was hilarious).

However, I think that it is even funnier that when Doug, with his glasses on, came up behind Jim he grinned at me and then pulled the glasses down to make sure that I realized that it was really him and not someone else.

Cravings

2011-03-02T23:35:00.002-06:00

Josie seems to get sort of stuck on one or two foods. She adores chocolate and would eat fruit until she exploded, but she will not eat much when it comes to sweet breakfasts (a third of a donut, one small pancake, not big on poptarts, etc.).

First it was corndogs.
Next meatballs, she wanted them for both breakfast and lunch.
Then string cheese and/or pizza.
She went through a chili stage where she wanted chili on hotdogs or on chips.
At the moment she is stuck on grill cheese sandwiches with ham in them. She usually wants them for both breakfast and lunch. I did talk her in to a quesadilla the other day. It's basically equivalent to a grill cheese sandwich. I must say that I have turned out some beautiful grill cheese sandwiches recently.... I guess that's what I get for getting so much practice due to her craving.

Funny what they figure out

2011-02-23T22:36:00.002-06:00

I was tucking the boys in to bed. We were discussing what tomorrow holds for them.

They have dental appointments (which my kids like the dentist so no worries there).
They have a field trip
Doug pipes up and adds, "we only have to practice our sight words for homework."

Three days out of the week we have a homework sheet to review and usually on one day (or more depending on how long it is) we have some sort of hand-writing sheet to complete. However, by Thursday we have completed all the specific homework pages and I only make them practice their sight words. I guess Doug had noticed that this coincides with it being Thursday.

I might be confused...

2011-02-21T21:39:00.003-06:00

One of the "rewards" the kids can purchase with their play money is to swap beds. It is $20 a piece...So tonight Doug was willing to pay for himself and Andy. Andy discovered he had enough money and then Josie wanted in on it. I do not know if Josie actually had the cash, but Doug was so excited about it he shelled out the play money for her too.

So it started out that Doug was going to be in Josie's bed, Andy in Doug's bed, and Josie in Andy's bed.

Then, Josie couldn't sleep so I let her move to my bed.
Apparently she changed her mind because next thing I know, Doug appears and Josie has reclaimed her own bed.

So in the end Andy is in Doug's bed, Doug is in my bed because he didn't want to go to Andy's bed, and Josie is in her own bed.... this is almost like her swapping a bed anyway since she usually migrates to my bed during the night.

Out of the mouths of babes 2

2011-02-15T22:47:00.001-06:00

We went to a Mexican restaurant after church on Sunday.
Doug said, "I want the burned beans."

Translation: Re-fried beans.

Out of the mouths of babes

2011-02-15T22:44:00.002-06:00

On Saturday morning (4ish) Andy joined Jim and me in bed due to a bad dream.
Then around 6am Josie came waltzing in to climb in bed. It was a tad crowded so Josie and I went to her room and promptly fell back asleep.

At around 7:30 am everyone started waking up.
Jim woke up to find that he was no longer in bed with his wife but with Andy.
Andy woke up and told daddy....

I came to get in bed with you because otherwise it would be just you and God.

Play money

2011-02-06T22:48:00.002-06:00

The play money system is working well. The kids get really motivated (or at least Doug and Andy do) when they get low on money so I am getting more active participation in chores. As long as I remember to pay them right away, I do pretty well with keeping up with the system.

It has also been interesting to see how my children spend their money.
Doug- he has a little trouble keeping up with his "wallet" (mostly because he sets it down where ever he is standing). He mostly spends his money on computer or TV time. He likes to pay for eating in front of the TV when I will allow it. He doesn't think to ask his brother or sister to help out with paying for something like eating in front of the TV.

Andy- he is a little better about saving up. My "quantity" boy likes the idea of having a lot of money in his wallet, but still gets enticed in to spending. He is probably the most motivated about earning money, but he has been the most interested in "work" all along. He really likes having "20s" in his wallet (right now a 20 is the biggest denomination).

Josie- she likes the money and she will spend it on things. She has a bit of an advantage because I do not make her pay for TV or computer time while her brothers are still at school.

This weekend we pulled out my tent. It is still in good shape....and for $75 in play money they kids got to sleep in it downstairs on Saturday night....well, sort of. They did okay at first, but sometime after midnight Josie woke up and freaked out and started crying. This woke up Doug and Andy and got them upset. So everyone ended up in their own beds.

Roller falling

2011-02-03T22:25:00.002-06:00

Andy went to a birthday party at a roller skating rink last weekend. The little boy whose party is was skated well enough to own his own skates. For Andy it was the first time ever having wheels on his feet....

To his credit he grinned every time he went down and he got up and tried again. The rink had a coned off area for people learning and they allowed parents with soft shoes to be on the rink (Which was good because unlike the rink where I grew up there was not bar along the wall).

I was very glad that I only had Andy to deal with, because by the end my shoulders and arms were sore from helping him. I was actually sore for two or three days afterward....

Andy would have liked to stay longer, but eventually the music got to him. For as loud as he is, he does not like loud noise.

Play money

2011-01-18T21:18:00.002-06:00

It all started when I was driving back home with the kids. Andy said, "We should make some play money."

So I asked, "What would you buy with it?"

We had a small discussion about how you could not really spend it in a store, but then we decided that it could be currency around the house.
So we started talking about a list of what you could do to earn money and what you could spend it on.

Now each child has a small "wallet" made from construction paper. The "Bank of Mom" has printed out $1, $5, $10, and $20 dollar bills on colorful cardstock. We have a list with suggested tasks to earn money (everything from making your bed, unloading the dishwasher, brushing your own teeth, to doing your homework quickly). We also have a list of things you could buy with the money (TV or computer time, dinner choices, sleeping in your sleeping bag, etc.). I may need to adjust amounts some depending on how much they earn daily and how easy I want it to be for them to earn certain things, but so far they are really excited.
I was never really good with keeping up with the chore chart, but perhaps this will put more responsibility on them and make it more exciting.

Snow days

2011-01-11T21:10:00.002-06:00

Some how snow days are quite a different deal when you are the parent and not the child.

We have had two..... I am looking forward to them being back in school tomorrow.

And yes, I was that mean parent who made them do at least a little bit of school-type work on their snow day.

What they want to do when they grow up

2011-01-05T23:26:00.003-06:00

It is interesting to hear what my children want to do:
Josie- she informed me the other day that she wanted to be a girl builder (I think she means construction worker), a cheerleader, or a girl police officer. I think she settled on police officer, but within the last few days she fine tuned it to a girl ninja police officer.
She also vacillates between telling me that she will never marry and will always live with daddy and me, and informing me who she is going to marry. I am not quite sure why she is concerned about this at age three.

Doug- He first wants to be a football player for the university I attend. (He has also informed me several times that when I finish my program and am looking for a new job that onr job I could consider is being a cheerleader there.) He used to want to drive trains after that, but due to his current favorite online game (Lego Mars Mission) he wants to be an astronaut (the kind that is in charge and gets to drive...not necessarily a scientist).

Andy- He really has two ideas. He wants to be the first astronaut artist.
Then, you know the Coke Zero commercial that asks why there are not time machines? Andy seems to think that this is an important point and he intends to right this wrong. He is going to invent the time machine.
On his own he decided that after he invents the time machine the first "time" he is going to take it to will be the starting date of World War II and he is going to bring along a lot of fire power so that he ends the war before it starts. I am not quite sure where he got this idea, but he has been quizzing me about World War II whenever he thinks about it. We have also been having conversations about how changing the past might change the future...it might be time to watch the movie Back to the Future.

It's been a bit- so happy 2011!

2011-01-02T16:23:00.003-06:00

I have been busy....Christmas has come and gone. We survived.
I did not get out a Christmas letter. I did do a bunch of baking (and my waist shows it). I semi-decorated the house and now have to put stuff away.
I did a bit of work on my dissertation but I seriously need to do more.
I spent a bunch of time enjoying having Jim home for two weeks and I spent some time just being with my children.

We had a few mad Nerf gun battles, I build countless Lego kits (I suppose I could count them but I would probably regret it...had to empty out some bins to make more Lego storage), have played a bunch of games with the kids (since we got a lot of games appropriate for Doug & Andy).

I have hopes for the New Year. I am not going to make resolutions as I like the idea that if you need to change something you should do it right away. I do have a few ongoing missions that continue into the new year.

Lighten my load (I want to get rid of things I do not need and that just clutter up the house)
Finish my dissertation (it is the gateway to many things)
Continue to grow spiritually (God put some serious messages in my life during 2010 so I need to not just pay attention but also take some action)

Have a happy and blessed 2011.

It's off!

2010-12-14T14:22:00.002-06:00

I went this morning and got the band taken off the back of my teeth from when Andy head-butted me. The dentist seemed to think that it had firmed up pretty well. It is still a bit sensitive and since they have taken off the band it actually hurts a bit more to bite into things. He did a test with a cold swab to see if it was still alive and they also took xrays.

The good news is that the xrays did not show anything.
The bad news is that it has a really delayed reaction to feeling cold.

He said we are at about a 50/50 chance of it living or dieing.
When I go back for my regular cleaning we will check it again. If it is still not clearly alive then he will send me down to some guy who will send a jolt of electricity through the teeth to check. Oh, joy. ..let's hope it does not come to that.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...

2010-12-13T13:47:00.002-06:00

I didn't know that it was even loose, but as we were getting in the car after a trip to the grocery store Andy says "My tooth just fell out."

I asked him if he had it.... no.
I asked him if he swallowed it.... no, he saw it fall.

Fortunately I was pretty sure that he was all the way in the car and that the tooth was somewhere in the car. I really did not want to have to compose another letter to the Toothfairy. Of course though, we are talking about a tiny front baby tooth... in a car with crumbs and floor mats and under the seat... who knows where it could be.

So by a miracle of God I managed to find the tooth. Andy finally got to put an actual tooth under his pillow.

So far nothing is budging in Doug's mouth. As a baby he was always exactly a week behind Andy in getting his teeth, but not now. He insists that he will not loose a tooth until he is six.

Score (at least) one for mommy!

2010-12-11T22:56:00.002-06:00

I had to drag Doug and Andy complaining to the table to make "candy cane" cookies with Josie and me.

After the first one they kept asking for more lumps of dough to make the cookies and would have kept going except that we ran out of dough to work with.

Of course, on the flip side of my children enthusiastically making these cookies is that we had exactly one that was in a candy cane shape... and that one was made by mommy.
We were already non-traditional from the start in that Josie wanted white and green dough....

The title for the day

2010-12-02T14:32:00.003-06:00

I am hoping that the title for yesterday in the chapters of my life is "A penny saved is a penny earned" rather than "A fool and her money are soon parted...."

No better way to refocus the living...

2010-11-29T21:55:00.002-06:00

I think I had posted some time before that one of my professors was battling cancer. She passes away the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. She was only 54 and left behind a husband and three daughters, the youngest of whom is a senior in high school.

I went to her memorial service today. It was a wonderful two hour celebration of her, her life, her spirit, and a worship service. She was the daughter of a minister, the wife of a missionary/preacher, and a very strong woman. I only sort of knew about how she got involved in academia, but today I learned more.

She was a strong woman. A woman who was a great host. She had a gracious spirit. Even when she was in the hospital she was the one who was comforting me and not the other way around.
One of the comments in the service today was that there is no better way to refocus the living then to have someone die. The person who was talking was talking about bringing people to Christ. However, ever since I really let it sink in that she was dieing I have really been thinking about priorities.

She only had less than five years from the time she finished her doctorate until she passed away. She had this whole other life prior to when she began teaching. She brought the same zest and humor to all areas of her life.
My heart is sad for her passing, joyful that she is free from the pain and weariness of the cancer, and trusting that I can remember the lessons I learned from her.

Wall o' Sweets

2010-11-28T23:41:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving was great. We had a very good time at Nana and Pop's house. The kids had fun because Nana wanted to get a jump on holiday baking and wanted to try out some things with them.
We made cake balls (make a cake, crumble it, mix in frosting, form it into balls, freeze, dip in chocolate). The kids got to mold chocolates, frost cookies, and more. Andy, my king of quantity and variety, really went to town on molding chocolate. Where Doug and Josie each had one small container...Andy has two large containers.

So when we got home I managed to clear off some more counter space (woohoo!) from various coupons and papers that had collected and we stacked up all of the goodies. I called it the "wall of sweets" and now Andy has picked up on the name. He is my boy who, when given the option of making a wish, will wish for "something sugary." So he has made it his mission to eat down the wall of sweets.

I just keep reminding him that we have plenty of time. There is no rush. Most of the goodies will keep until Christmas and we can eat them slowly so that we do not get tummy aches.

Andy's tooth

2010-11-21T17:02:00.002-06:00

Andy lost his tooth at dinner on Friday night. Unfortunately, I didn't think to warn him so he took a bite of meat, realized it was gone, and of course...he'd swallowed it.

So after some discussion and a "call" to Aunt Ann (who has children older than mine and who would know about children losing teeth) I convinced him that the toothfairy has strong enough magic that she could summon the tooth.

Andy wrote a letter explaining the situation. He left the letter under his pillow.
Andy's letter said,
Dear Toothfairy,
I swallowed my tooth. I love you. It's yours. Love, Andy

It was a lot of letters for a little boy, who does not particularly like writing, to write. However, it was worth it.

The next morning the letter was gone and a dollar coin was in it's place.

He came out with shining eyes and just glowing with excitement.

Something I care passionately about

2010-11-17T14:09:00.002-06:00

I watch politics. I keep somewhat abreast of what is going on. I care about it...but I am not often moved to become vocal about politics.
One of the students in the gifted education class I am teaching posted a link to the documentary Race to Nowhere. I have not seen the documentary, but I did watch the trailer for it. Between that, things that I heard at the recent conference I went to, and just my general feelings as I have learned more working on my doctorate I was moved to use the White House website to send a letter. I do not know if it will make a difference, but at least I have sent it.
Here is the text of what I sent. I would have said more, but you are limited in the number of characters you can submit through the website.

It is on my heart to write to you about our education system. We need to stop ignoring differences and treating children as if they are widgets. We cannot do “X” with a child and always get “Y;” as you would with a computer or a machine.

Teachers are not the only reason that children fall behind. Research has shown that not all children reach developmental milestones at the same time. Parents impact their children… when will parents be held accountable? Will parents have their children removed from them because the child is not performing at grade level? Politicians are willing to tell school systems and teachers what to do…but if children are not performing as expected will politicians’ pay suffer?

If we are truly going to make a difference, then we need to fundamentally change our antiquated education system. Stop using tests that were meant to measure whether a child was performing at his or her potential as measures of teacher success. Why must our education system still place children in a grade level based on age and not readiness? Why must we count credits for graduation when some children demonstrate proficiency well before their senior year and others would not reach it until well into their twenties?

I realize that society demands a minimum mastery standard for each student to reach. However, we are creating a society where convergent answers are what is expected. I do not personally know of anyone who makes his or her living from taking multiple choice tests.

I also hope that everyone, including my doctor, my lawyer, my plumber, my mechanic, and my child’s teacher, can problem solve and innovate within their field of knowledge. We are losing the creative productivity that helped to make this nation great…and which has a greater relationship to success as an adult then scores on a standardized test.

I also wonder if some of our financial woes might have been due to a decrease in emphasis on teaching responsible citizenship. If the leaders of our big businesses are more worried about their bottom line then about whether their employees are making a living wage or whether their product is killing people, then why would an intelligent society choose them as leaders?

I am both a teacher and a parent. I care deeply about our education system. Frankly, I wonder why anyone would go in to education at this point in history, and I am scared that my children will lose their creativity and imagination as they progress through public education.

Wiggly teeth

2010-11-15T10:51:00.003-06:00

I went to the dentist this morning. He said it was still a bit wiggly but that he was just going to keep watching it. He did a check with something that was cold. The main tooth that was moved had a delayed reaction to feeling the cold. So it is definitely not quite what it should be but is still alive.

In other teeth news, I was helping Andy brush his teeth last night and discovered that he has a loose tooth. It is the first loose tooth in our house. It does not surprise me because it is actually one he bumped last spring. The dentist had told us that the root was already dissolving and that usually kids start loosing teeth around ages 5-6. So at 5 and a half we are right on schedule. It also does not surprise me that it is Andy, because whenever the boys would get new teeth in as babies Andy would go first and then Doug would follow about a week afterward.

It could be better....it could be worse

2010-11-02T11:00:00.002-05:00

So the other major thing I had yesterday was my proposal "pitch" for my dissertation.
In the bad news department- they decided to call it a prospectus (the step before a proposal...not all departments require one). The significantly made changes to my research plan and I have a lot of rewriting to do. It puts me one semester back from where I thought I was. However, the more realistic finish date (as opposed to the ideal one) is the same.

In the good news department- the study was deemed too ambitious for a dissertation and they scaled back what I am to do. No more looking at 36 3 hour observations, 12 interviews, etc. Now it will be much smaller.

I keep reminding myself that this is a process and I am learning still. I also keep reminding myself that you do not earn a PhD....you take it. So right now I am just trying to remind myself to keep on truckin' on.

Motherhood should come with a warning- your body will never be the same

2010-11-01T09:48:00.002-05:00

I have a numb upper lip. He pushed my teeth back into place. Then sent me down the street and an orthodontist put a band across the back to support the tooth while it heals. I go back for a recheck on the nerve to see if it is still looking okay in two weeks. I get the band off in 4-6 weeks. Then for a minimum of 6 months (and possibly longer) I get to watch the tooth to see if it shows signs of dieing.
If it does die then I get a root canal... oh, joy.

Things I just really didn't want to know

2010-10-30T22:00:00.002-05:00

If I ever wondered how long it would take to cook all the meat in our freezer...now I know. A couple weeks ago we traveled. When we came back I discovered that I had not gotten the freezer door all the way closed (it was mostly closed...just not all the way). I had to throw out a bunch of stuff, but most of the meat was still refrigerator cold. So I was able to cook it and refreeze it (fruit is re-freezable, vegetables have to be thrown out).

The answer it that it took me 13 hours with four oven racks (we have double ovens) and an electric skillet.

The other thing I just really didn't want to know but now do know is what it feels like to be punched in the mouth.
I was tucking the boys in and they were being silly. Andy was hiding under his cover. As I bent down he came up full force. He's fine.... I am not sure about me.
No teeth came out, but I am not sure they are quite where they used to be. No answer from either of the emergency numbers at the dental office, but looking online I think I am able to wait until Monday morning.

I'm just hoping that there are no more lessons like that for me to learn.

Send good thoughts my way

2010-10-28T21:34:00.002-05:00

This coming Monday I have my dissertation proposal defense.

It is one thing to turn in a paper to a professor for a class. It is a whole other thing to turn in something that you have lived, breathed, thought about, obsessed with for ten months or more.

My committee already has my first three chapters and will have read it (all almost 80 pages if you count references and the appendix). We meet on Monday for me to formally present it, for them to discuss it, and for them to decide if it is worthy and in good enough shape for me to proceed.

As much as I would like to have it over with early in the day...I was able to find a single 90 minute chunk of time in which 5 busy professors could get together. So it is at 2:30 in the afternoon.

If you are the praying sort... please send up prayers, not that it will be perfect, but that it will be good enough. Pray that I will not worry and fuss the morning away. That I will be calm and collected. That there will be few methodological changes necessary (if any), and that they will have positive suggestions for any other portions of the first three chapters.

If you are not the praying sort. Well, please at least send good thoughts my way.

Pumpkins are carved!

2010-10-28T21:27:00.002-05:00

We carved the pumpkins today and it was... well, interesting.

Doug and Andy were unwilling to actually put their hands into the pumpkins. Josie cleaned out her pumpkin pretty much all on her own (which was good because she had a super small pumpkin and I do not think that I could have really gotten my hand down in there). Andy opted for drawing with a sharpie because his pumpkin was small and he didn't want to deal with pumpkin goo.

Doug's pumpkin must have been on its side in the field. It's bottom was entirely rounded. I ended up carving it upside-down because it couldn't sit on its bottom and he didn't want it to sit on its side. Initially he didn't understand the having to cut out a chunk so that light could shine through. I had him draw his face on a piece of paper and he was very upset for the first half of the carving because he thought his straight line meant a single cut and I was making skinny rectangles. Eventually he understood and was much happier. His pumpkin was supposed to be scary so it has mad eyes and horns.

For Josie I carved the smallest pumpkin I have ever carved. Her's is happy and might barely fit a tea candle inside. She even wanted laugh lines at the corners of the mouth... I did my best. She was pretty traditional with diamond eyes, a narrow triangle nose, and a big toothless grin.

A delight from my childhood

2010-10-25T23:35:00.002-05:00

It has off and on been driving me crazy. There is a book series about a little witch and I could not remember the name. I remember her fondly from my childhood.

So last week I posted on a social network a short description ...and like that, in a matter of minutes, friends had found the title and were remembering it fondly also.

The series is by Patricia Coombs. It is the Dorrie the Little Witch series.
My public library was not much help. They had two books listed, but one was listed without any shelving information and the other was listed as being there but I could not find it (and did not have time to query the librarian).
HOWEVER! The curriculum library on campus has six of the books! WOOOHOO

I checked out three and the kids and I have been enjoying them.
Sadly, the stamps at the front of the book show that the last time anyone has checked out the books are in 2003 and 2004.
I know good new books are being written. But I am strangely traditional and sentimental about picture books. I am absolutely delighted to have introduced my own children to Dorrie.

I've had better....

2010-10-25T23:29:00.003-05:00

My birthday reminded me of a certain Christmas that started out badly. Yep, I puked.
I suppose it was only a matter of time before I caught what the kids had. I guess I can be grateful that it was on a weekend so Jim was home. He really took care of everything because I spent almost the entire day in bed or laying somewhere.
The kids and I finally dug in to my cake tonight at dinner.

Hopefully this yuck has finally run through everyone. I think Josie had it (it is a little unclear...). Doug was mostly sick over the weekend and then some recovery today. Andy is definitely clear of it. Hopefully Jim either had it last weekend when Andy had it...or he wasn't around enough to catch it.
So hopefully I have not grossed anyone out too much.

Sick children

2010-10-21T10:33:00.002-05:00

I hate illnesses with mixed symptoms. Vomiting without a fever....vomiting 2 hours after eating (there goes the...If you keep this down for 20 minutes we'll let you have a little more).
Andy has been sick. He has not been acting like he is sick except for the vomiting. I even tried to make him stay in bed and rest (which worked for all of about 20 minutes). I set up the baby-monitor so that he could let me know if he needed anything. He thought that was really cool. What was the first thing I heard come across the baby monitor....

(In a small little voice)- Mommy...I'm lonely.

More from the girl....

2010-10-13T21:42:00.002-05:00

If you ask Josie how old she is....she can't tell you. I do not know if it is a lack of confidence in her answer or if she just doesn't know.
However, sometimes I have to wonder where she hears certain phrases.
We went through a period where if she did something and you thanked her she would say, "It was my pleasure."

Last night the kids were getting ready for bed and she held out her toothbrush for me to put the toothpaste on. She said, "You may do the honors."

The girl with the huge vocabulary

2010-10-06T14:14:00.002-05:00

I think Josie has a pretty big vocabulary for a three year old...however sometimes things don't come out quite right. For some reason she over substitutes the "re-" prefix.
Examples include that she "retacks" something instead of attacks. I just asked her how preschool was today and she said, "I didn't go as well as I respected it to."

New haircut

2010-10-03T22:30:00.003-05:00

Andy has been growing his hair for a little bit in hopes of getting a flattop. I can handle basic things with the razor but a flattop is not in my skill set so we went to a barber on Friday afternoon and got it done.
I was so used to his hair being super short I had not realized just how thick it was until we had grown it out some. I also realized as I watched the barber work on it, that it would be me styling his hair. I don't know if we will "do" it every day...but I did get it reasonably styled on Sunday morning. Hopefully with practice I'll get better and perhaps he will be able to start styling it too.

Now it just remains to be seen what Doug will do...he was originally the one who wanted a flattop (to look like a Star Wars clone trooper) but his hair was not long enough yet and he is going back and forth about a flattop versus virtually bald (to look like one of the clone commanders).

Pumpkin....

2010-09-28T21:35:00.003-05:00

Last year when Libby was having shortages of canned pumpkin I hit an abundance.
I have a couple of favorite pumpkin recipes but have always used canned pumpkin in the past. I had even purchased a can with the intention of doing something with it and it is currently still sitting in my cupboard.

Enter Andrew....fan of quantity.
Last October we went to a fall festival that Jim's brother and his wife annually host. Andy decorated not one, not two, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 or 6 pumpkins. Josie and Doug each did one.
.
.
We also had three pumpkins for carving that were picked up from the church's visit to the local pumpkin patch as well as a few pumpkins that the kids painted during the church Fall Carnival.

I was about ready to open my own pumpkin patch when I realized that I could actually make my own pumpkin puree. So as many pumpkins as I could I roasted in the oven until fork tender, scrapped out the innards, and sent it through our food processor (which is impressive considering my food processor is a hand-me-down from my grandmother and only holds a total of 1-2 cups). The puree came out beautifully but since I started with so many pumpkins I ended up with a lot of it.
Unfortunately I did not think about freezing it in reasonable quantities until the last of it was done. I also sort of ran out of time to do anything with it and just dumped it all in the freezer.

I've only removed one small baggie of the pumpkin for a friend who wanted to make pumpkin soup but couldn't find any canned during the Libby pumpkin shortage.

So as October is looming right around the corner I realized that it might be good to actually get some of that pumpkin out of the freezer before the possibility of more.
This weekend it smelled like Fall in my house because I had enough pumpkin in one of the containers to do two sheets of my mom's pumpkin spice bars and two pumpkin pies.

Fortunately my children like the pumpkin spice bars and the pies turned out to be the best I've ever made (I had a piece for breakfast this morning). I still have at least one big container that I will need to deal with at some point, but at least I made a dent.

Could things be looking up?

2010-09-21T20:41:00.002-05:00

I'm almost afraid to say anything for fear of jinxing myself.
1. I got a new cell phone. I called to check on something on our bill last week and it turns out that Jim's line has had insurance on it from the beginning and somehow mine has not. I tried to talk to someone in the wireless division to see if I could get more functionality out of the replacement phone I had and she took pity on me and talked to her manager. So they worked out some deal where I was able to pay a price and get what I had before. Fortunately I am within the time that I should be able to return my replacement phone and it should cover what I had to pay for the new phone that is like what I had before. I may have to call back and give positive feedback for my customer service rep because she was fabulous!

2. The dealer has the part and it is uncracked and hopefully (fingers crossed) I should get the car back soon. I pray they do not find anything else and that it all goes smoothly.

3. I might have hit my stride with our afternoon routine. The past two days I have been able to get lunches packed for the next day while I am working on dinner or in between when the boys finish homework and I need to do dinner. That means that when the kids go to bed I have a bit more time to get some other things done.

4. Andy was fabulous today! Yesterday was the first time that he came home with something besides a good job stamp on his behavior sheet. The teacher note said he was unfocused and was not getting his work done. So today he had good behavior and he actually finished his writing work in his room on his own without me nagging him (normally we work at the kitchen table and I constantly have to remind him to get back to work). He also knew 18 out of the 21 sight words that we are working on (this includes ones from August) and it was actually more than what Doug knew. I am hoping the trend continues.

5. I also felt like I got a ton of work done while Josie was in preschool. Not anything big but a lot of little things that just needed to be done.

It was a good day.

Offsetting my emissions....

2010-09-20T15:10:00.002-05:00

You know how big companies can pay to offset their environmental emissions?
That is how it is with me and the truck right now.
The dealer still has the truck and we are nearing on three weeks. I got away with not having a car for awhile because my in-laws and Jim were in town for Josie's surgery and the weekend, but I had to go get a rental car again this morning. They did get the transmission in last week but it wasn't running right. So they found something else related to the transmission that needed to be ordered. Once again it did not show up the next day so that was another day. Then when they got it apparently it was cracked and they had to reorder it.

So I am paying to have a more fuel efficient car.

Preventative medicine

2010-09-17T10:01:00.003-05:00

There is nothing like taking a child who appears healthy and happy and doing some preventative surgery so that she is miserable for a few days....
However I think in the long run taking out Josie's tonsils (and adenoids...and getting the last of the ear wax out) was the right thing to do.
The doctor walked in after the surgery and said that her tonsils were very scarred and that it was like tonsils you might see in an adult. So that tells me that we did the right thing.
She is recovering....slowly she is talking more and eating a bit more and being a little less Velcroed to me. Our post-op appointment went well. She is starting to act more like normal.

We did get a picture of the tonsils from the doctor but I will spare you the details because I do not want to gross anyone out too much. So I guess it is something for her scrapbook?

Yeah, this about sums up my afternoon

2010-09-14T00:06:00.002-05:00

I won't go in to detail here....
But sometimes you have to wonder what a 5 year old was thinking. I can't decide whether I am glad that Doug admitted it to me or not....

...And how come you listen to a song one time (or in this case Jim put it on) and your 5 year old picks up on the ONE line in the chorus that is catchy but inappropriate for a 5 year old to be singing. Nothing like Andy sitting there doing his homework singing "You throw back a bottle of beer..." over and over and over again.

On Overload

2010-09-13T14:24:00.002-05:00

Things are just incredibly busy and lots of stuff going on....however, I am getting lots of messages in my life right now about keeping things in perspective. How can I complain about not having my truck back when at least I am not in the hospital with cancer? How can I worry about trying to get everything done when at least I have work to do?

One of my very dear professors is currently battling cancer. I do not really know how she is doing because I try not to be too nosy so I get filtered messages here and there. She is out of the hospital now, but just over a week ago I went to visit her while she was in the hospital. She gave me the information I needed to keep her class going while she could not keep up with it....and then, she ministered to me. She read me a devotional and said a prayer for me. I don't know if I was able to do anything to comfort her...but she comforted me.

Andy's Family Picture

2010-09-09T11:37:00.003-05:00

Andy's family picture is quite different from Doug's.
On the left you see a tall ladder with Andy and Josie at the top. They are holding tools. The thing in the middle is a camera....I guess we are on TV? I am next holding a tool. I could not quite get out of him if we are building anything specific. Then Doug is smaller in the corner with no tool (Andy was very specific about that). Daddy is not pictured because he was 2 hours away where he works and spends most of the week.

Am I jinxed?

2010-09-08T10:15:00.002-05:00

So here is my list lately....

Lost my phone only to have it stolen by someone....have a new phone that is workable but noticeably not what I had before.
Transmission went out on the car...it is still under warranty but the place that did the work last time never registered the transmission and is now undergoing bankruptcy. The district manager did get involved and get it straightened out but they may only cover the transmission and not the rental car.
My computer on my desk on campus is acting wonky. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't and there is no obvious reason for what it is doing.
Josie is going to have her tonsils out. It is not completely unexpected but it is the most complicated kid's surgery we have encountered so far. Doug's ear tubes were recovery in a matter of hours. Andy's tongue surgery was back to normal action by the next day and just watch it for a few days. This looks like recovery is generally 7-10 with the worst pain not occurring until days 5-7. The good news is that they will clean out her ear wax while she is asleep....

Just pray that things are a little less exciting around here for awhile.

She has logic...in her own 3 year old way

2010-08-31T21:54:00.002-05:00

This morning Josie went dressed as Super Girl to preschool. This Halloween costume has gotten lots of use.
When we walked in and her teachers commented on it she said, "I was cold in my other clothes so I had to put on my Super Girl costume."

This was news to me.

Then, later in the day, she and I were downstairs and there were toys left out. She maintained that they were out because of Doug and Andy and that I was to clean them up.
When I asked her why I should clean them up and not her, she said, "Because Doug and Andy made the mess and you are the boss of us so you should clean them up."

I think I'm in trouble if she is arguing this well at age three. I am SO not looking forward to the teenage years with this girl.

I wonder what it means....

2010-08-30T13:22:00.003-05:00

I learned long ago as a teacher to say to children "Tell me about your picture."
What comes out on the page is not necessarily all the details that are present in their heads. So this weekend Doug came home with these two pictures and I had to ask...

Apparently the green line is him racing all over. I wonder if that is how he felt about our school supply shopping trips.

I know that how a child draws their family says a lot about the family....When I heard Doug tell me about this picture I was not sure what to think.
He started by telling me that he was the first figure at the top of the page...and he has a gun to shot zombies (Oh my!...um, thanks cousins...). The next two figures (going clockwise) are mommy and daddy hugging (that's pretty good...that I'll take).
Then the next figure is a zombie attacking Josie, who is the smaller figure who comes next. Notice that the zombie has no eyes and is frowning.
The next pair of lines are zombie feet...Doug shot off the rest of him.
Andy is the final figure...and I think he is just standing there.

I'm sort of wondering if the teacher actually found out from Doug any details about the picture. He did get a "Good Job" stamp.....
We are not really a violent family. We do, however, have active imaginations.

The woe of the week

2010-08-25T14:23:00.002-05:00

Monday as I retrieved the boys from the bus stop my cell phone fell off my waistband. I didn't realize right away that I had dropped it and someone apparently picked it up. They were not an honest someone and they kept the phone. We have turned it off. I have filled a police report. There is not much more we can do at the moment. I'm not sure if I will be able to keep my number if I get a new phone or how it all works. It also means that if I am not at home it is much harder to reach me.
It has made me realize how much I used my phone. I can't send Jim a text message while he is teaching. I can't quickly check my email while I am waiting for a child or if I do not want to take time to get on the computer. My phone was my contact list so there are numbers I will have to get from people once I get a new phone.

Part of my dilemma with all of this is when I do get a new phone how I will carry it.

When I first had a small phone (I'm not counting the huge bag phone I had when they first came out) I kept it on a lanyard. Every time I would lean over to talk to a child the phone would swing out and whack them unless I grabbed it. I also did not really want to wear a lanyard at home.
Then I would keep the phone in my purse. I couldn't always hear the phone and because I had no special pocket for it I was constantly having to dig for it.
For a while I would keep it in my pocket. A few times the phone would hit the pavement when I was trying to get it out and this newer phone was pretty big for a pocket. Women's clothing does not always have pockets and there were several times I did not hear the phone ring or feel it vibrate if my clothes were looser.
I had started wearing it on my waist but it was just a clip on holder and this was the second time it had fallen off.

I'm not quite sure what to try next. I want to be able to hear it and to know that it is safe. I may look in to getting a purse with an outside cell phone pocket, but I don't carry my purse with me every where and certainly not while I am in the house. So I am thinking about what to do.

Little Miss Josie

2010-08-24T10:33:00.003-05:00

I have had a lot of posts about the boys lately so here is how Josie is doing.

Over the summer we re-potty trained (I think that the schedule switch just through her off completely...but it was almost like starting from scratch).
She got her haircut in a cute little bob....she sort of looks like a pixie now but we have had lots of compliments
I think she grew a bunch. She seems much taller and can reach all sorts of things
She is as sassy as ever. Nothing like a 3 year old with a huge vocabulary. Sometimes she seems like she is 3 going on 15. I remember the boys as being sort of goofy at this age but she is much more poised
She wants to do everything the boys do. I have about decided that I should not worry about her being 3 and assigning her 3 year old type chores. I should just give her the same things as are on the boys' list because she wants to do them all anyway
She started preschool yesterday. She was excited to go. She happily played. When I peeked in to catch a friend who was dropping off her children Josie was chilling in a bean bag chair reading a book.

She is good and for the most part wants to be good. So I'll take it!

Cremelled (or kremeled...no clue how to spell it)

2010-08-23T13:40:00.002-05:00

Perhaps Doug will be the next Shakespeare. Shakespeare added thousands of words (I can't remember the exact figure) to our English language. If he couldn't find exactly the right word he just made it up....

Douglas has always had some made up words that he uses. Many of them have developed in to names for the pretend Star Wars Clone Troopers (some of the names have even been adopted as pretend friends for Josie and Andy).

However, for more then a year he has consistently used "cremelled" to mean wrinkled. For instance this dialogue happened yesterday:
Me: Doug make your bed.
Doug: Ok mom, I made it but you take care of the cremells....

Or how about this one from awhile back:
(We saw a car with a crumpled fender)
Doug: Mom, why is that car all cremelled?

Perhaps the term will catch on....then I can honestly say "That boy is giving me cremells."

Will they ever learn to trust my judgement!

2010-08-20T08:45:00.002-05:00

I borrowed "Make Mine Music" from the library and we finally watched it yesterday. When I pulled out the case the kids objected and said they didn't want to watch that.

However, they were cheering on Peter in "Peter and the Wolf" and concerned over Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet and Doug wanted to watch "Casey at the Bat" again, and again and again.

This is about the fourth movie that they have not wanted to watch but have ended up loving. Now I just need to remember which Disney musical movie has Pecos Bill...because that was one of the stories I was actually after. I think I will employ the power of the Internet....

Pink Glove Dance

2010-08-17T22:10:00.001-05:00

A few of the teachers at Jim's school have been diagnosed with cancer. When I was looking for a magnetic car tag for him I stumbled on this video.

Kindergarten homework is driving me to.....

2010-08-16T23:25:00.002-05:00

I do not believe when I was in school that I "officially" had homework until I was in the third grade...and then it was just one day a week.
Well, these times they are a changing.
Doug & Andy have homework.
I suppose it is fortunate that their teachers are side-by-side and planning to do some co-teaching so that we have some of the same assignments come home. However, not everything coming home is quite the same. So despite trying to put names on practice sheets I had one sheet today that said Doug on it but I was unsure whether I had misplaced Andy's sheet or if there was not a sheet for Andy.

We are supposed to be practicing writing our names. Andy is struggling with the fine motor skills (he's moving his whole hand) so this involves dealing with him whining and trying to find excuses.
We are supposed to practice writing in a journal so we are still establishing that routine.
I thought we were supposed to have a library book to read but apparently not today.
I thought we were supposed to have a book for them to read to me that matches their reading program...but apparently not today.
We do have a list of sight words to learn by Friday. However, it is not clear whether the teachers went over the words or not in class. It could just be that my boys were not paying attention.
We had two pages of adult guided practice (mostly about recognizing initial phonemes) that have to be done and then signed and returned.
Andy had a sheet he did not finish in class. Doug had a sheet of sentences to practice (mostly involving one of the sight words).

Tomorrow night there is a parent meeting to meet the teachers and find out expectations. Hopefully then things will be a bit clearer. I don't want to be the overbearing parent (because I have had students with parents who micromanaged their children) but I do want to know what is going on.

I suppose part of my issue is that I have two kindergartners I am trying to train into the school/homework habit.

Glad last week is over

2010-08-15T22:20:00.003-05:00

I think I am actually looking forward to Monday.
Transitions trying to get in to a routine are difficult for me so now that the first week is under my belt it should be a bit better.
It doesn't help that three days out of last week I ended up in some sort of doctor's office.

I had a dental appointment one day (boys were in school and Josie came along....she kept telling me to hold still and the hygienist was getting a kick out of Josie's comments). Fortunately things looked good so I do not have to go back.
Josie saw an ENT. They say she doesn't have sleep apnea, but she snores and stops breathing for 3-5 seconds at a time (apparently it must be for more than 30 seconds to qualify) and her tonsils are huge even though she does not seem to be sick, and she has issues with hard ear wax. So she now not only has a steroid nasal spray to reduce the snoring, but also has an antibiotic to try to get the tonsils down (they're trying to avoid taking them out), and ear drops to soften the wax so that we can go back and get the wax suctioned out.
I ended up with pink eye. Out of eight years of being in the classroom I never had pink eye and now I have had it twice in the last year. So I have eye drops and it happened that my throat hurt when I went in so the doctor looked down my throat, in my nose, etc. and gave me an antibiotic too.

Jim came home coughing so he was medicating himself also. So between Josie's twice a day antibiotic, three times a day ear drops, and once a day nasal spray and my three times a day eye drops and three times a day antibiotic I am struggling to fit it all in and remember whether every one has been dosed.
My hats off to people who have regular medicines for chronic conditions and I'm just praying that the boys do not catch anything since they are with a new group of kids at school.

The boy moves fast....

2010-08-13T12:37:00.003-05:00

Yeah, it's been less than a week and Doug already has a girlfriend. Don't ask her name because he doesn't know it. I did get to see her back this morning when I dropped him off....

It probably made for interesting reading....

2010-08-12T20:46:00.003-05:00

So one of the things that I filled out on our paperwork for the boys to take back after open house was one of those pages with not only emergency contacts and allergies (information that I know I have filled out on at least 5 other forms already), but also something about their interests, strengths, weaknesses, etc.

I just LOOOVE (insert sarcastic tone here) these questions.

Oh, I realize why they do it because I have an education background too....but somehow I struggle with what to put down. It is a little better with this one because the first day of school was right after I filled it out. With our preschool you fill out this information when you register and that is about 5 months prior to when the child actually steps into the classroom. When you are talking about a 2, 3 or even a 4 year old five months is a long time. Something that they like and what your concerns are will have changed.

I think I probably also have a slightly different perspective just because of my background in education. For instance, I put down that one of my goals for both boys was to help them learn to do their work without crushing their imagination and creativity. I put down as an area of struggle for Andy that he needs help with fine motor skills (he is still moving his whole hand to write and draws clockwise circles rather than counter-clockwise circles necessary for "correctly" writing most letters). I put that I wanted Andy to write without whining, and for Douglas to actually admit that he likes "reading" (as in having stories read to him since we are not technically reading yet).

I just always wonder what other people put.
Perhaps I over think these things.

I remember when....

2010-08-10T22:45:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I have kindergartners.
I remember when they were born! I wish I could say that I remembered every moment and all the small details...but I do not because I was exhausted.

Today Andy and Doug had their first day of kindergarten. I had to wake Andy up and Doug was a little nervous (his exact words were "my tummy is bothering me right here" and I said "are you nervous?" to which he said "how did you know?")

I ended up having to drop them off because apparently you have to notify the bus depot to add you to their route and our open house was last night so I did not find that out until last night. We'll get it worked out eventually and I am sure we will get in to a routine.

When I picked them up they both said they had had a great day. Both kept "Happy Frogs" (apparently the teachers are doing happy frogs, uh-oh frogs, sad frogs, or off the board gone frogs...if you have a happy frog on Friday you get a reward). Both ate everything I had packed in their lunch and for their snacks...and both had not bought milk as planned but just drank from their water bottles.

We ended up in separate classes but in classes where the rooms are connected by a double door and the teachers plan to co-teach. They have PE together and lunch at the same time.

It is probably a good thing (I hope) that the principal recognized us when we walked in for open house and she personally showed us to the rooms. A friend of mine also teaches in a classroom just across the hall from Doug's and Andy's classrooms so we stopped and said hi and she said she would keep an eye on them.

Hopefully tomorrow will go just as well.

If you happen to see summer....I lost it somewhere

2010-08-08T22:36:00.003-05:00

Of all the things I wanted to try and do this summer I think the two main things I actually accomplished were going to see my family and getting the kids swimming lessons so they could actually swim.

I have worked some on other things but none of them have actually reached a stage that could be called "completion."
Jim is starting school tomorrow and the boys start kindergarten on Tuesday. We have open house to meet their teacher tomorrow. Josie will have several days with me before she starts.

I have a mile long to-do list and of course a lot of it I cannot make headway on until normal business hours. The house feels like it is a mess because we went to my in-laws to shop at the factory outlets near them and when I got home I just sort of dumped everything. So I am trying to straighten, organize, get everything on the to-do list (instead of jumping around in my head), and basically get myself in a little more of a zen state from where I currently am.

This pretty much sums up how I feel about this summer....

2010-07-22T16:43:00.003-05:00

The summer is really flying....

2010-07-08T21:56:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that it is already July. Of course June was packed so it went by really quickly.
It's hard to believe that I am already thinking about school.
Today I called the school where Doug & Andy will be going to kindergarten. I was hoping they would still have a K-1 class as they did last year so that Doug & Andy could be in that class. Unfortunately they do not have the students to have that class next year, but it did give me the opportunity to talk to the principal on the phone.
She asked me about Doug & Andy and what their needs and strengths were. I definitely said that I needed a teacher who will push my kids and who understands imagination.