Percentage of men who survive testicular cancer 95
Number of guests at Dad's memorial 94
Number of years my dad lived 66 and 364 days
Number of Hours I went without sleep 45
Number of Days my Dad was ill 38
Number of Hours to drive to the hospital 12.5
Number of Days I spent with dad while he was sick 11
Percentage of men over the age of 50 who survive testicular cancer 10
Number of Days of Cemotherapy 7
Number of Doctors involved in Dad's case 6
Number of times his diagnosis changed 4
Number of times Dad was admitted to the hospital last month 3
Number of electrolytes his body couldn't assimilate after chemo 3
Number of trips I made to California 2
Number of tears he cried when he knew he wouldn't make it 1
Number of times I've cried Too many to count
I miss my Dad
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
More Bad News
My dad is in the hospital with pneumonia. Thank goodness my sister called him to say hello. He had been sick with a cold or flu, and told her he hadn't eaten in two weeks. He was having difficulty breathing and sounded confused, even delusional. My sister lives 9 hours away from him, so she called me (I'm 13 hours away), in a panic because she couldn't reach my other sister, who only lives 2 1/2 hours from Dad, to ask her to go check on him. I was able to contact Alesia, who dropped everything to drive up and visit my dad on Saturday. He had lost so much weight and was so confused and out of breath that she took him to the hospital emergency. They decided to admit him for testing, and to monitor his breathing. He's been subjected to every test imaginable, and more.
This is what we know so far. My dad has emphysema. It shouldn't be a suprise, since he is a lifelong smoker, and has had a bad cough for years. But he goes to the doctor regularly, and has never been told that before. My dad also has asbestosis. This is a big surprise. Apparently he was in contact with asbestos materials in the 25 years he worked at the winery. Both of these diseases are incurable, and result in difficulty breathing.
Dad also has a hard glassy sustance in the lymph nodes between his lungs. They don't know what it is. The possibilities mentioned are cancer, lymphoma, tuberculosis, and advance stage pneumonia. They will have to transfer him to a larger hospital. This one is too small to perform the testing procedures that will be necessary to determine what it is.
I need to go see him. But if it's only going to be a short hospital stay, it would be best to wait until he's home, so I can take a turn caring for him. Today they will do a preliminary test to determine where to send him for the testing. It's so hard to wait. It must be even harder for my sister Alesia, who left her kids home alone to come care for my dad, and brought only 1 change of clothes because she didn't know she would be staying so long. She can't really leave, because Dad is too confused to talk to the doctors about his condition and what's going to be happening.
This is what we know so far. My dad has emphysema. It shouldn't be a suprise, since he is a lifelong smoker, and has had a bad cough for years. But he goes to the doctor regularly, and has never been told that before. My dad also has asbestosis. This is a big surprise. Apparently he was in contact with asbestos materials in the 25 years he worked at the winery. Both of these diseases are incurable, and result in difficulty breathing.
Dad also has a hard glassy sustance in the lymph nodes between his lungs. They don't know what it is. The possibilities mentioned are cancer, lymphoma, tuberculosis, and advance stage pneumonia. They will have to transfer him to a larger hospital. This one is too small to perform the testing procedures that will be necessary to determine what it is.
I need to go see him. But if it's only going to be a short hospital stay, it would be best to wait until he's home, so I can take a turn caring for him. Today they will do a preliminary test to determine where to send him for the testing. It's so hard to wait. It must be even harder for my sister Alesia, who left her kids home alone to come care for my dad, and brought only 1 change of clothes because she didn't know she would be staying so long. She can't really leave, because Dad is too confused to talk to the doctors about his condition and what's going to be happening.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Bad News
Yesterday one of Clint's employess cut off his thumb. I can't stop thinking about it. I feel so horrible. I know it's not my fault, but I feel so...responsible. He was on our job, working for our company. I feel so badly for him. He's only about twenty three, and now the rest of his life will be altered.
They couldn't reattach it. Clint had to take the saw apart to get the thumb out, but the blade had damaged it too much for it to be useable. Clint was amazing. He handled the whole thing so well. While his other workers were still thinking the whole thing was a joke, Clint was doing everything he could. He determined that the thumb had been sucked up into the saw, cut the cord to the saw, grabbed the saw and Jason, and drove him to Kadlec. He kept his cool when another driver, angry that Clint had passed him illegallly, followed him on the freeway, passed him, and cut him off. He kept his cool at the hospital, where he turned Jason over to their personnel and then immediately started taking the saw apart so he could retrieve the thumb without damaging it. He kept his cool when the nurse took one look at the thumb and said "Oh that's no good; there's no point in putting it on ice." Clint insisted she put it on ice anyway until the orthopedic surgeon could make a determination. He even kept it together when the surgeon pulled him aside and examined the thumb with him in detail, showing him why it was unlikely that they would be able to reattach it.
Jason is recovering well. He's trying to adjust to the situation. He's thinking about things he loves to do that will be more difficult, like motorcyling. The only small mercy is that it was his left thumb. He's right handed.
We need to get out of this business.
They couldn't reattach it. Clint had to take the saw apart to get the thumb out, but the blade had damaged it too much for it to be useable. Clint was amazing. He handled the whole thing so well. While his other workers were still thinking the whole thing was a joke, Clint was doing everything he could. He determined that the thumb had been sucked up into the saw, cut the cord to the saw, grabbed the saw and Jason, and drove him to Kadlec. He kept his cool when another driver, angry that Clint had passed him illegallly, followed him on the freeway, passed him, and cut him off. He kept his cool at the hospital, where he turned Jason over to their personnel and then immediately started taking the saw apart so he could retrieve the thumb without damaging it. He kept his cool when the nurse took one look at the thumb and said "Oh that's no good; there's no point in putting it on ice." Clint insisted she put it on ice anyway until the orthopedic surgeon could make a determination. He even kept it together when the surgeon pulled him aside and examined the thumb with him in detail, showing him why it was unlikely that they would be able to reattach it.
Jason is recovering well. He's trying to adjust to the situation. He's thinking about things he loves to do that will be more difficult, like motorcyling. The only small mercy is that it was his left thumb. He's right handed.
We need to get out of this business.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Places to Go, People to See
I'm looking forward to having the schedule slow down, but I've only got two activity-less days until we head to Silverwood Wednesday for two days and nights.
It's the girls' much delayed Girl Scout trip, which they worked so hard to earn over three years of selling cookies.
I hope the weather will stay hot, because I hear the water park is really cool, and we missed our annual trip to Moses Lake Water Park this year!
I've realized I have no plan for my dog. I can't believe I never thought about what I would do with her while I was gone. I'm not really comfortable asking Clint's relatives to take her, and I've never left her with anyone, so now I'm pondering the solution to that dilemma.
Never a dull moment around here!
It's the girls' much delayed Girl Scout trip, which they worked so hard to earn over three years of selling cookies.
I hope the weather will stay hot, because I hear the water park is really cool, and we missed our annual trip to Moses Lake Water Park this year!
I've realized I have no plan for my dog. I can't believe I never thought about what I would do with her while I was gone. I'm not really comfortable asking Clint's relatives to take her, and I've never left her with anyone, so now I'm pondering the solution to that dilemma.
Never a dull moment around here!
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Last Day
Today is the last day of fair. Things are winding down. One of the extra special treats of these last two days has been the FREE DQ blizzard available at the Hwy 395 DQ Grill & Chill when you show them your current day's fair stamp. For us that translates into a $12.80 value...$15.45 if Clint is with us! Blizzards are a rare but much loved treat for us, so we made sure to stop by yesterday and today!
This morning we went in to feed the animals extra early (we left the house at 5:45am) because the superintendent sponsers a free breakfast in the barn, and the kids can't eat until after they've done their animal chores. It's pretty funny to be eating breakfast served in the barn right next to the big sign that warns fairgoers not to eat food in the barn! Eggs for the breakfast are courtesy of the barns feathered temporary residents. The eggs sit out on the counter all week so fairgoers can see the differences between eggs from different breeds of birds. Another fallacy exploded, that eggs need to be refrigerated. I'm sure someday someone will catch wind of the superintendent's kind culinary gesture, and the poultry breakfast tradition will be banned for health reasons(although I have to wonder how many poutry raising kids have ever had a case of salmonella poisoning...maybe we're immune due to regular exposure)!
The girls served barn duty after breakfast, making sure all the birds in the barn stay watered, doing errands for the superintendent, anwering fairgoers' questions, and holding birds to give fairgoers the opportunity to pet them.
After barn duty we did the one fun fair activity we haven't had time to do all week...we wandered. We wandered through the fine arts building (finally) and got to see an amazing array of stunning photos(among them Mary Ellen's award winning orchard shot), wandered past the very loud but impressive chainsaw carving exhibition, wandered through the horti/flori-culture exhibits, the commercial exhibits, and the vendor booths. Tamzin spent her money on face painting, which was beautiful, but I can't show you because of my camera situation. Rhiannon bought a neck cooling thing. Gillian opted to spend $2 on a snow cone and save the rest (a FIRST for her!). Shelby bought a bird at the poultry auction Friday, for which she is now in negotiations with me about whether she should pay for it, or me.
I was glad to get back to the tent to rest. After a week like this, just an hour or two of wandering and I'm very tired!
Now we're home, and it feels so great just to sit here and read my email, and blog. It's effortless.
Tonight we go back for the 4-H barn dance, to see how we fared on the herdsmanship awards, and to check on the birds one last time. We've decided to skip the Starship concert. Tomorrow we can sleep in til 7:30 or 8am, and head to the barns at 8:30 to pick up our exhibits and our chickens. The tough part is that we have to have our animals out by 10am, but purchasers (each 4-H'er could sell up to three birds at Friday's auction) don't have to pick up their birds until noon. Some purchasers let the 4-H'ers keep their birds. They are in effect donating the price of the bird towards the 4H'ers' animal project. My kids want to keep their birds if the purchasers don't take them, so we will have to wait until we know whether they are being taken. So it could be a long morning. On the other hand, we have our campsite to pack up too, so that should keep us busy until noon!
This morning we went in to feed the animals extra early (we left the house at 5:45am) because the superintendent sponsers a free breakfast in the barn, and the kids can't eat until after they've done their animal chores. It's pretty funny to be eating breakfast served in the barn right next to the big sign that warns fairgoers not to eat food in the barn! Eggs for the breakfast are courtesy of the barns feathered temporary residents. The eggs sit out on the counter all week so fairgoers can see the differences between eggs from different breeds of birds. Another fallacy exploded, that eggs need to be refrigerated. I'm sure someday someone will catch wind of the superintendent's kind culinary gesture, and the poultry breakfast tradition will be banned for health reasons(although I have to wonder how many poutry raising kids have ever had a case of salmonella poisoning...maybe we're immune due to regular exposure)!
The girls served barn duty after breakfast, making sure all the birds in the barn stay watered, doing errands for the superintendent, anwering fairgoers' questions, and holding birds to give fairgoers the opportunity to pet them.
After barn duty we did the one fun fair activity we haven't had time to do all week...we wandered. We wandered through the fine arts building (finally) and got to see an amazing array of stunning photos(among them Mary Ellen's award winning orchard shot), wandered past the very loud but impressive chainsaw carving exhibition, wandered through the horti/flori-culture exhibits, the commercial exhibits, and the vendor booths. Tamzin spent her money on face painting, which was beautiful, but I can't show you because of my camera situation. Rhiannon bought a neck cooling thing. Gillian opted to spend $2 on a snow cone and save the rest (a FIRST for her!). Shelby bought a bird at the poultry auction Friday, for which she is now in negotiations with me about whether she should pay for it, or me.
I was glad to get back to the tent to rest. After a week like this, just an hour or two of wandering and I'm very tired!
Now we're home, and it feels so great just to sit here and read my email, and blog. It's effortless.
Tonight we go back for the 4-H barn dance, to see how we fared on the herdsmanship awards, and to check on the birds one last time. We've decided to skip the Starship concert. Tomorrow we can sleep in til 7:30 or 8am, and head to the barns at 8:30 to pick up our exhibits and our chickens. The tough part is that we have to have our animals out by 10am, but purchasers (each 4-H'er could sell up to three birds at Friday's auction) don't have to pick up their birds until noon. Some purchasers let the 4-H'ers keep their birds. They are in effect donating the price of the bird towards the 4H'ers' animal project. My kids want to keep their birds if the purchasers don't take them, so we will have to wait until we know whether they are being taken. So it could be a long morning. On the other hand, we have our campsite to pack up too, so that should keep us busy until noon!
No Photos
Due to an unfortunate mishap while the girls were filming a short movie with my digital camera, the camera is no more.
Well, it exists as an empty shell, but the minimum repair charge as per the manufacturer is $171. So it's back to the 35 mm for a while. I think I will have to pay to have them put onto disk at the developers, because I can no longer imagine photo organization/storage without My Pictures. It's amazing how easy it is to use lots of film once you've gotten spoiled by the digital camera's massive storage space.
On the other hand, I am appreciating the 35mm's ability to take the photo exactly when I want, instead of having to anticipate a digital delay.
So I guess I'm in the market for a new digital camera, if anyone has recommendations.
Well, it exists as an empty shell, but the minimum repair charge as per the manufacturer is $171. So it's back to the 35 mm for a while. I think I will have to pay to have them put onto disk at the developers, because I can no longer imagine photo organization/storage without My Pictures. It's amazing how easy it is to use lots of film once you've gotten spoiled by the digital camera's massive storage space.
On the other hand, I am appreciating the 35mm's ability to take the photo exactly when I want, instead of having to anticipate a digital delay.
So I guess I'm in the market for a new digital camera, if anyone has recommendations.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
...And We're Off! (to the Fair)
And so it begins.
Today is the first day of the fair. For us, fair has been happening for days now, starting with Sunday when we had to drop off all our exhibits, pick up our passes, and set up a camp spot. It was busy, but definitely do-able, in a cheerful fashion. The excitement among the kids was definitely happening.
Monday was livestock day. Getting chickens, vegetables, plants, crazy critters, and flowers to the fair, and then setting up the birds' cages and the poultry display, was the order of the day. We finished by about 9 pm, and headed home to get some rest.
This morning we were up at 5:30 am (as we will be for the rest of the week) and on our way to the fair by 6:30 (well, it was more like 7, but I was running really late!). Off to the poultry barn to feed birds and clean cages, then to set up a spot for the Doobie Brothers, to our tent for a 30 minute rest, then it was off to the just opening exhibit buildings...the kids were dying to see how their entries placed.
This afternoon we have not only Poultry Fitting and Showing and Fashion Revue events, but also a family funeral to somehow squeeze in...Clint's uncle passed away and we need to pay our respects to the family. Just when I think it can't get any more challenging, it does!
The girls are nervous and excited about their upcoming performances, and can't wait for this afternoon! I'm glad though that we had a couple of hours to come home and just do nothing. They need down time.
I'd like to do nothing, but I have two hours to pay a few bills, update my checkbook, water the garden, pet the dog, and get four kids and one mom ready for a funeral, poultry judging, and a fashion revue one right after the other! Argghh!
Today is the first day of the fair. For us, fair has been happening for days now, starting with Sunday when we had to drop off all our exhibits, pick up our passes, and set up a camp spot. It was busy, but definitely do-able, in a cheerful fashion. The excitement among the kids was definitely happening.
Monday was livestock day. Getting chickens, vegetables, plants, crazy critters, and flowers to the fair, and then setting up the birds' cages and the poultry display, was the order of the day. We finished by about 9 pm, and headed home to get some rest.
This morning we were up at 5:30 am (as we will be for the rest of the week) and on our way to the fair by 6:30 (well, it was more like 7, but I was running really late!). Off to the poultry barn to feed birds and clean cages, then to set up a spot for the Doobie Brothers, to our tent for a 30 minute rest, then it was off to the just opening exhibit buildings...the kids were dying to see how their entries placed.
This afternoon we have not only Poultry Fitting and Showing and Fashion Revue events, but also a family funeral to somehow squeeze in...Clint's uncle passed away and we need to pay our respects to the family. Just when I think it can't get any more challenging, it does!
The girls are nervous and excited about their upcoming performances, and can't wait for this afternoon! I'm glad though that we had a couple of hours to come home and just do nothing. They need down time.
I'd like to do nothing, but I have two hours to pay a few bills, update my checkbook, water the garden, pet the dog, and get four kids and one mom ready for a funeral, poultry judging, and a fashion revue one right after the other! Argghh!
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Sewing Lessons
Helping someone else sew something challenging is A LOT more challenging than sewing it yourself. I am so brain weary and stressed from 9 days of helping Rhiannon and Gillian make their Fashion Revue entries. There were so many moments when I just wanted to rip the garment from their hands and do it myself! How do you explain to someone that sometimes the proper sewing method to is to just mess with it until you get it right?!
They both picked projects that were beyond their ability level, and could not be persuaded to try something simpler. They've had to really stretch and challenge themselves, and have learned a ton, and not only about sewing. Lots of life lessons were learned in the process of sewing these outfits. Time management, perseverence, setting realistic goals, financial considerations of a large project, how to cope when you've got a bigger challenge than you anticipated, and so on. Probably the hardest thing for them has been the redos. Poor Rhiannon has had to rip out and redo SO many seams. When I learned to sew, my first stuff was kind of sloppy, but it didn't matter, because it was only for me, and I was proud of my efforts, and so was my mom, who taught me. But Gillian and Rhiannon are going to be judged on their work, and so they want it to be right, which has meant fixing lots of little (and big!) errors.
And while they've done all the actual cutting, sewing, etc, I've had to be available to answer questions, explain the pattern, teach them the proper technique to complete a piece, check their work, and show them how to undo, redo or fix problems, so I've gotten nothing else done all week.
I am once again behind in my office work, my house is a wreck, my garden is drooping from lack of water, and I'm running out of time to get on top of things. My little sister (whom I haven't seen in more than a year!) is coming for a visit on Tuesday, which means I need to finish getting the girls ready for fair by Monday.
And we have stuff scheduled all weekend.
Plus Fashion Revue on Saturday.
Aaaack!!
They both picked projects that were beyond their ability level, and could not be persuaded to try something simpler. They've had to really stretch and challenge themselves, and have learned a ton, and not only about sewing. Lots of life lessons were learned in the process of sewing these outfits. Time management, perseverence, setting realistic goals, financial considerations of a large project, how to cope when you've got a bigger challenge than you anticipated, and so on. Probably the hardest thing for them has been the redos. Poor Rhiannon has had to rip out and redo SO many seams. When I learned to sew, my first stuff was kind of sloppy, but it didn't matter, because it was only for me, and I was proud of my efforts, and so was my mom, who taught me. But Gillian and Rhiannon are going to be judged on their work, and so they want it to be right, which has meant fixing lots of little (and big!) errors.
And while they've done all the actual cutting, sewing, etc, I've had to be available to answer questions, explain the pattern, teach them the proper technique to complete a piece, check their work, and show them how to undo, redo or fix problems, so I've gotten nothing else done all week.
I am once again behind in my office work, my house is a wreck, my garden is drooping from lack of water, and I'm running out of time to get on top of things. My little sister (whom I haven't seen in more than a year!) is coming for a visit on Tuesday, which means I need to finish getting the girls ready for fair by Monday.
And we have stuff scheduled all weekend.
Plus Fashion Revue on Saturday.
Aaaack!!
Friday, August 05, 2005
Normal Life
Why is is that my normal life is mostly being too busy to get everything done?
I wasn't like that in my previous life (before kids and husband). I was really mellow, preferring to spend lots of solitary time reading or just doing my own thing. I rarely felt crowded. Sometimes I worked long hours, but I would use that as an excuse to cancel activities with friends or family, so that I could give myself plenty of time to rest and recover and get my alone time.
Now, life is long stretches of racing from one thing to another. And much of it is not negotiable if I want what's best for the people for whom I am responsible. I guess the truth is that I'm a sucker for fullfilling my responsibilities, and I have managed to acquire so many, I've sentenced myself to a regularly overwhelming schedule.
This summer is a good case in point. We did not schedule any "extra" activities. No dance lessons, swimming lessons or health club; we didn't even commit to regular park days or play days. Yet the entire season has been a blur.
You can tell when I'm too busy becaue I don't blog. That's why I have this pathetic habit of not posting for weeks at a time. It's too far down on my priority list.
The good news is, I'm in one of those rare, short term moments when my paperwork is caught up, I have only a few major things looming, and can allow myself to do one of the many things I squeeze in for myself.
At times like this, my mind goes crazy thinking of all the things I would love to work on...weeding the garden, organizing my digital photos, making a menu plan...But then I remember that I only had a few minutes to spare.
I have to get back to helping the girls make their outfits for fashion revue. We have only a week left, and it's getting down to the wire.
I wasn't like that in my previous life (before kids and husband). I was really mellow, preferring to spend lots of solitary time reading or just doing my own thing. I rarely felt crowded. Sometimes I worked long hours, but I would use that as an excuse to cancel activities with friends or family, so that I could give myself plenty of time to rest and recover and get my alone time.
Now, life is long stretches of racing from one thing to another. And much of it is not negotiable if I want what's best for the people for whom I am responsible. I guess the truth is that I'm a sucker for fullfilling my responsibilities, and I have managed to acquire so many, I've sentenced myself to a regularly overwhelming schedule.
This summer is a good case in point. We did not schedule any "extra" activities. No dance lessons, swimming lessons or health club; we didn't even commit to regular park days or play days. Yet the entire season has been a blur.
You can tell when I'm too busy becaue I don't blog. That's why I have this pathetic habit of not posting for weeks at a time. It's too far down on my priority list.
The good news is, I'm in one of those rare, short term moments when my paperwork is caught up, I have only a few major things looming, and can allow myself to do one of the many things I squeeze in for myself.
At times like this, my mind goes crazy thinking of all the things I would love to work on...weeding the garden, organizing my digital photos, making a menu plan...But then I remember that I only had a few minutes to spare.
I have to get back to helping the girls make their outfits for fashion revue. We have only a week left, and it's getting down to the wire.
Boat Race Weekend
We made it to the boat races this year, after my brother came through with 2 free general admission tickets. We picked up free kids tickets at the mall, sneaking Shelby in as a 12 year old. She was nervous about it, but they never even looked at her.
It was a great time. Very mellow. We found a great spot along the bank where we could swim and watch the air show and the boats. I was afraid the kids would get bored, because there's not really that much to it, but swimming in the river was all they needed to stay entertained. Rhiannon liked walking around to look at the vendors, even though it was mostly food vendors. We bought each of the girls a huge snow cone; they came with vanilla ice cream in the bottom of the cup...sounds gross, but it was delicious!
Our spot happened to be right in front of an almost deserted beer garden, so Clint and I hopped over for a quick $4 Budwiser or two. It was great because we could see the girls the whole time. In my opinion though, the beer gardens are overrated. I had a better time swimming and hanging out with the kids.
I was nervous about the whole event, because Clint has always discouraged us from going. Of course, he denies that, but his past experiences with the wild and crazy earlier years of boat races, along with his reluctance to take the girls to anything if it might be difficult or complicated(which is just about any public event that involves taking four kids), have a tendency to make him less than enthusiastic. I get nervous because if I insist on doing an activity, and it IS hard, he will be tense, and I will be frustrated, both of which make the whole event even harder.
I decided to go on this one, whether he wanted to or not. Of course, once I make the definite decision, he goes along with it, but even then, I am nervous, and almost wish I could go without him, so if things get tough I can just work it out on my own(which is a lot easier than having to also argue with him about how to handle things).
Anyway, there was nothing tough about it. The biggest challenge was the heat, but we were on top of that one. I just kept slathering the sunscreen on the girls and me (Clint didn't, and got burned), and we brought hats, sunglasses, and a beach umbrella.
We wanted to go back on Sunday, too, but felt that deserting my Dad for one day of his visit was already pushing it. So we passed our tickets along to Mary Ellen and Pat, so that they could check it out too! I hope we can finagle free tickets again next year. It makes for a fun an affordable family event!
Shelby's Birthday
For Shelby's birthday, we went to Tony Roma's for dinner(my dad's treat). Shelby had an oddly "blue" birthday. Blue towels, blue Moshi hippo, blue bedroom makeover, blue wrapping paper.
She also scored a trip to the Indy races with Christopher, and Silverwood passes for the entire family from Aunt Roxann. Boy, was that a suprise! They must have been offering them at a great discount to Battelle employees, because she did the same thing a few days later for cousin Preston's birthday.
In this picture, Shelby is showing off her other blue gift. She loves it; after all my hesitation about buying something somewhat out of my affordability range, I'm really glad I did it.
Munchkin's New Look
Munchkin had so many tangles and mats, and so much cheat grass in her fur, we had to go for the shaved dog option. Now she looks like a rat with a beard. At least she'll be cool and burr free for the rest of the summer!
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
How We Spent Sunday
My friend Stacie invited us to go boating with her family. They have a "banana boat". They pull it behind their ski boat like a tube, only it can hold 10-12 people. Very fun. A wild ride, though. We all have minor injuries, from sunburn (you know that one spot you miss with the sunscreen?!) to head bumps, to scrapes.
The kids loved it. The point of the day seemed to have been to try to shake the kids off the banana boat by driving the speed boat in so many loops and figure eights that they couldn't hold on any longer.
I fell off the banana boat once, got pushed off by my kids, got my face scraped up by the rope, and was seasick. I had a good time, but I think I might be too old for this kind of a good time...I still felt seasick a day later!
The Finished Room
Well, I didn't refinish the piano, or any furniture. I didn't repaint the stove or buy bedding or window coverings.
The paint job was SO HUGE that it took all 5 days just to get it finished. It took 5 coats of primer to cover the walls! Painting the hallway and the closet took an extra day! At least we bought the bed!
Clint, who avoided the project for the first couple of days, ended up making 4 trips to the store for me for extra paint, and bought, cut, painted and installed mouldings for the windows(an unfinished project from 6 years ago)and in other places where moulding was missing. Then he cut and reworked the closet shelves so they would be more useable. He helped move furniture into the room on the last day, and installed the curtain rods (no curtains, though!), vent covers, and outlet covers. He picked up Shelby when we discovered she was arriving 4 hours earlier than expected, and took her with him to turn in our fair forms so I would have an extra hour to get all the stuff moved into her closet! I was just doing a final vacuuming when they arrived.
Tamzin spilled the beans by saying "Shelby, I got your old room!" the minute she walked in the door. But she loves her new room all the same. It's working great to have the two older girls downstairs at bedtime. The bathrooms are less crowded for teeth brushing, and I'm finding it easier to keep Tamzin focused on getting ready for bed without the older girls there to visit with.
Shelby's new space is bright and airy. We rigged a sheet and a bead curtain as a door since the room doesn't have one, and she seems content with that, for now anyway. And she is looking forward to going bedding shopping for a new quilt.
The whole experience wore me out. On Wednesday, in a panic because I wasn't making any progress, I painted from 5:30 to 12:30 am. That's 19 hours! Thursday I put in 13 hours, and finally the room was painted and we could start moving in.
I'm still recovering. Part of me can't imagine ever painting another room again. The other part of me wants to get started on Rhiannon's room right away!
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
While You Were Out - Benton City Style
I dropped Shelby off to camp yesterday morning. She will be gone until Friday. We are going to spend the week painting our old basement rec room and redecorating it as a bedroom for her 14th birthday.
I am typing with hands covered in paint! We are going to paint the panelled walls a pale blue, that is, if we can ever finish primering them. I just ran out of the second can of primer, and have to head to the store for MORE. We’ve done 2-3 solid coats, but I can still see some bleed through on the wood and I don’t want to take any chances on the look of the final color. I had a friend who painted over paneling and it looked nice, but you could definitely tell where she skimped on primer. Her advice was, do extra coats of primer for the best result.
The kids have been really into helping, and have actually been helpful, too! Thats a new one for me. The last time I let them help me paint, Clint was really mad because there were so many dried on drips on the walls that the room was pretty much ruined. Gillian and Tamzin helped me all day yesterday, and still had the energy and enthusiasm to go at it again this morning.
I am hoping to not only paint the walls, but also buy a larger bed, repaint some of her furniture, and even strip and refinish the piano(which will be in her room), paint the stove(also a permenant fixture in the room, and I have to find high temp paint for that), and figure out cool bedding and window coverings without spending any $$$ on it.
It's been a long time since I've tackled a project this size. Of course, while I was out getting paint, I managed to sprain my thumb, slowing me down before I had even gotten started! At least it's my right thumb, so I can keep on painting. It's surprising to me how much I use my non dominant thumb, though. I'm keeping it taped becaues I'm too tempted to use it, and then it hurts!
I am typing with hands covered in paint! We are going to paint the panelled walls a pale blue, that is, if we can ever finish primering them. I just ran out of the second can of primer, and have to head to the store for MORE. We’ve done 2-3 solid coats, but I can still see some bleed through on the wood and I don’t want to take any chances on the look of the final color. I had a friend who painted over paneling and it looked nice, but you could definitely tell where she skimped on primer. Her advice was, do extra coats of primer for the best result.
The kids have been really into helping, and have actually been helpful, too! Thats a new one for me. The last time I let them help me paint, Clint was really mad because there were so many dried on drips on the walls that the room was pretty much ruined. Gillian and Tamzin helped me all day yesterday, and still had the energy and enthusiasm to go at it again this morning.
I am hoping to not only paint the walls, but also buy a larger bed, repaint some of her furniture, and even strip and refinish the piano(which will be in her room), paint the stove(also a permenant fixture in the room, and I have to find high temp paint for that), and figure out cool bedding and window coverings without spending any $$$ on it.
It's been a long time since I've tackled a project this size. Of course, while I was out getting paint, I managed to sprain my thumb, slowing me down before I had even gotten started! At least it's my right thumb, so I can keep on painting. It's surprising to me how much I use my non dominant thumb, though. I'm keeping it taped becaues I'm too tempted to use it, and then it hurts!
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Office Blues
I've been buried in office work all week.
I didn't realize how behind I had gotten over the last few months. As the girls springtime activities kept getting bigger, more numerous, and more time consuming, I guess I was just doing the minimum to keep my office work under control. I would sort mail, pay bills, update my checkbook, clean up the clutter, do payroll, and so on. But over time, I collected a massive pile of "stuff to be dealt with later" that could finally wait no longer. So this week, I took advantage of our first whole week unscheduled to catch up on things. It's amazing how long it takes to process all those random projects and bits of paper.
The upside is that once I got on a roll, I just kept on going, and now I am ahead...just a little! I've already done my monthly taxes(not due til the 15th) and my Quarterlies (not due til the 31st!)
Then, to top it off, I even did a REALLY LOW priority office project...I burned a couple of mixed CD's from my growing MP3 files to listen to while running or in my new 'burb...which has a CD player!
I didn't realize how behind I had gotten over the last few months. As the girls springtime activities kept getting bigger, more numerous, and more time consuming, I guess I was just doing the minimum to keep my office work under control. I would sort mail, pay bills, update my checkbook, clean up the clutter, do payroll, and so on. But over time, I collected a massive pile of "stuff to be dealt with later" that could finally wait no longer. So this week, I took advantage of our first whole week unscheduled to catch up on things. It's amazing how long it takes to process all those random projects and bits of paper.
The upside is that once I got on a roll, I just kept on going, and now I am ahead...just a little! I've already done my monthly taxes(not due til the 15th) and my Quarterlies (not due til the 31st!)
Then, to top it off, I even did a REALLY LOW priority office project...I burned a couple of mixed CD's from my growing MP3 files to listen to while running or in my new 'burb...which has a CD player!
Thursday, June 16, 2005
AWOL
Sorry for the absence, but I've been crazy busy! I hate it when life's like this. Sadly, I'm learning that in the ebbs and flows of my particular life, it just gets like this every so often.
I don't say much about it when life finally slows down, because I'm either (a) afraid I will jinx it, or (b) someone will hear me say I'm not too busy and will give me more #%$& to do!
So mostly, you will hear me complaining about how busy I am! Mind you, I am not complaining at this point, merely informing!
What have I been doing? Chaufeuring, and LOTS of it(to McNary, 2 dance classes, art class, and Pokemon league).
Plus...play dates with new friends, park days, orthodontist appointments, doctor appointments(Gillian had a sty), gardening(ie, digging, planting, moving, watering, weeding, mulching, moving rocks, buying and hauling soil amendments, weedwhacking, mowing, burning, shopping at plant nurseries), dance and piano recitals, recital rehearsals, payroll, taxes, bill paying, checkbook balancing, business paperwork, running, housecleaning, laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, summer shoe shopping for the kids, car shopping to replace the now unreliable van, buying and installing a new swimming pool, and prepping for and attending the used curriculum fair.
Then, in my SPARE time, I went to the Secret Garden tour, read Ben Franklin, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, and Same Difference, went to book group twice, and saw Star Wars with Clint and Chris.
I'm thinking positive, though. I'm just sure things are going to slow down soon! Classes are ending this week, after all, so that should count for something.
I don't say much about it when life finally slows down, because I'm either (a) afraid I will jinx it, or (b) someone will hear me say I'm not too busy and will give me more #%$& to do!
So mostly, you will hear me complaining about how busy I am! Mind you, I am not complaining at this point, merely informing!
What have I been doing? Chaufeuring, and LOTS of it(to McNary, 2 dance classes, art class, and Pokemon league).
Plus...play dates with new friends, park days, orthodontist appointments, doctor appointments(Gillian had a sty), gardening(ie, digging, planting, moving, watering, weeding, mulching, moving rocks, buying and hauling soil amendments, weedwhacking, mowing, burning, shopping at plant nurseries), dance and piano recitals, recital rehearsals, payroll, taxes, bill paying, checkbook balancing, business paperwork, running, housecleaning, laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, summer shoe shopping for the kids, car shopping to replace the now unreliable van, buying and installing a new swimming pool, and prepping for and attending the used curriculum fair.
Then, in my SPARE time, I went to the Secret Garden tour, read Ben Franklin, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, and Same Difference, went to book group twice, and saw Star Wars with Clint and Chris.
I'm thinking positive, though. I'm just sure things are going to slow down soon! Classes are ending this week, after all, so that should count for something.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Katie's Quail
I offered to take care of Katie's quail this weekend. She had to go to California for a few days and was worried about how he would do at home. We had had several conversations about caring for the chick, and were eager to do what we could to help.
When Katie brought him, she was concerned about him. He was not doing as well as he had been in the beginning. He was listless and his eyes were closed. She said the first day he had been active, hopping about all over his cage. She was worried that he had gotten cold in the car on the trip from her house.
We put a light bulb on him right away, and started giving him sugar water with an eyedropper every hour. He had improved significantly by noon, so we decided to see if we could get him to drink on his own. We put chick starter feed and a jar lid of water in his cage, and showed him how to drink. Shelby and I were so excited when he pecked at the feed!
We noticed he had trouble walking, and decided to cover the wood shavings with newspapers, something we do with baby chicks. It helped a lot, and by late afternoon he was active and alert, hopping all over the place and pecking at his feed.
At bedtime I became concerned because he was still so active. He was even cheeping quite a bit, something he hadn't done at all earlier. He had run into the glass of his cage a number of times, and didn't seem at all inclined to sleep. I was worried that he might hurt himself in the night. I tried rigging an infrared light over his cage. That's what we use for heat with our chicks. But the light was so strong I was afraid it would melt the outsides of the cage (a mistake we have made before). I was also afraid it would get the chick too hot and he would die (something that has also happened before). Katie had been using a 60 watt bulb to keep him warm. We were using a 100 watt bulb and it was working great, but the infrared is 250 watts. It seemed like too much heat for such a little cage. If I put the light farther from the cage, it didn't seem like it was directing the heat enough to the inside of the cage. That's when I thought of the loft.
Our loft is like an oven. I've stubbornly refused to turn on the air conditioning, and the downstairs has been a tolerable 83 degrees. But the loft is at least 10 degrees warmer. After comparing the temperature in the lighted cage to the loft, I decided it was probably warmer in the loft anyway, so I took the chick up to the loft without the light. He quieted down soon after, and seemed to be adapting well to the change.
He died in the night. I found him with his head in the jar lid of water. There was only about a tablespoon of water in it, so I don't think he drowned, but I think he may have gotten wet, and then chilled. It hadn't occurred to me to remove the food and water lids. Earlier that day he had been hopping in and out of them. It was funny because he would hop into the water, then into the food, and then he would peck at the feed that stuck to his wet toes. We normally leave the feed and water with our baby chicks, so I didn't think to remove it.
I feel so bad. I wish I had woken Shelby up to get a second opinion on removing the light bulb. I had a bad experience with baby chicks and a standard light bulb, so I was afraid to leave it on all night. The loft was still very warm when I got up at 6 am to check on him. But if he'd had the light on, he would not have gotten chilled, even if he had gotten wet. I think I would feel just as bad if I'd left the light on and had found him dead in the morning. Then I would have felt bad for leaving him is a situation I had doubts about.
I didn't think I would be so attached to this little guy making it. His chances seemed small. But after his dramatic improvement over the course of the day, we were so hopeful. He was showing so much personality, too. He was alert and active and precocious, and it seemed like things were tilting in his favor. I know I did the best I could, but its hard knowing I may have made the wrong decision.
When Katie brought him, she was concerned about him. He was not doing as well as he had been in the beginning. He was listless and his eyes were closed. She said the first day he had been active, hopping about all over his cage. She was worried that he had gotten cold in the car on the trip from her house.
We put a light bulb on him right away, and started giving him sugar water with an eyedropper every hour. He had improved significantly by noon, so we decided to see if we could get him to drink on his own. We put chick starter feed and a jar lid of water in his cage, and showed him how to drink. Shelby and I were so excited when he pecked at the feed!
We noticed he had trouble walking, and decided to cover the wood shavings with newspapers, something we do with baby chicks. It helped a lot, and by late afternoon he was active and alert, hopping all over the place and pecking at his feed.
At bedtime I became concerned because he was still so active. He was even cheeping quite a bit, something he hadn't done at all earlier. He had run into the glass of his cage a number of times, and didn't seem at all inclined to sleep. I was worried that he might hurt himself in the night. I tried rigging an infrared light over his cage. That's what we use for heat with our chicks. But the light was so strong I was afraid it would melt the outsides of the cage (a mistake we have made before). I was also afraid it would get the chick too hot and he would die (something that has also happened before). Katie had been using a 60 watt bulb to keep him warm. We were using a 100 watt bulb and it was working great, but the infrared is 250 watts. It seemed like too much heat for such a little cage. If I put the light farther from the cage, it didn't seem like it was directing the heat enough to the inside of the cage. That's when I thought of the loft.
Our loft is like an oven. I've stubbornly refused to turn on the air conditioning, and the downstairs has been a tolerable 83 degrees. But the loft is at least 10 degrees warmer. After comparing the temperature in the lighted cage to the loft, I decided it was probably warmer in the loft anyway, so I took the chick up to the loft without the light. He quieted down soon after, and seemed to be adapting well to the change.
He died in the night. I found him with his head in the jar lid of water. There was only about a tablespoon of water in it, so I don't think he drowned, but I think he may have gotten wet, and then chilled. It hadn't occurred to me to remove the food and water lids. Earlier that day he had been hopping in and out of them. It was funny because he would hop into the water, then into the food, and then he would peck at the feed that stuck to his wet toes. We normally leave the feed and water with our baby chicks, so I didn't think to remove it.
I feel so bad. I wish I had woken Shelby up to get a second opinion on removing the light bulb. I had a bad experience with baby chicks and a standard light bulb, so I was afraid to leave it on all night. The loft was still very warm when I got up at 6 am to check on him. But if he'd had the light on, he would not have gotten chilled, even if he had gotten wet. I think I would feel just as bad if I'd left the light on and had found him dead in the morning. Then I would have felt bad for leaving him is a situation I had doubts about.
I didn't think I would be so attached to this little guy making it. His chances seemed small. But after his dramatic improvement over the course of the day, we were so hopeful. He was showing so much personality, too. He was alert and active and precocious, and it seemed like things were tilting in his favor. I know I did the best I could, but its hard knowing I may have made the wrong decision.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Unmotivated
My hubby left Friday afternoon for a tournament in California. He'll be gone 9 days.
I feel unmotivated to do anything. Is it because he's gone, or am I just recovering from yesterday's haircut from hell?
In spite of feeling unmotivated, I made "appointments" with each of the girls today to help them work on their sleep pants. The frustrating thing about working at Linda's shop is that, while it's fun for the girls to work with other kids, it's hard for me to help four kids at one time, so there's a ton of waiting, and sometimes they get frustrated. Tamzin didn't even have a project, since I wasn't planning to have her do sleep pants, so she was wanting me to help her create something, too, and bored and sad that I couldn't help her.
The girls got a little done Saturday, but I decided for my own sanity that I needed to work with them one at a time, at home. So I made myself available this afternoon. I didn't even have to do that much, just be there to explain each step and show them what to do. But it worked much better to work with them one at a time! Shelby, Rhiannon and Gillian got their sleep pants finished except for the hem, so they all got to try them on and wear them around for a bit. They are so excited! Even Tamzin is happy. We cut a rectangle of some leftover flannel and I let her sew it with my help on the machine, and she made it into a pillow. She stuffed it with fabric scraps and sewed up the stuffing hole all by herself! Now she says she would like to make an outfit! She is very proud of herself for sewing on the big machine!
I cooked a nice dinner, something I do sparingly when Clint is out of town. I went running this morning, too. And I did some weeding in my garden. And I sent my mom some photos via email. And I made a cool CD slideshow (to music) out of some photos we took this spring (something I've been meaning to do for ages)! Now that I'm writing it all down, it sounds like I've done a lot for someone who feels as unmotivated as I do right now. Hmmm.
I feel unmotivated to do anything. Is it because he's gone, or am I just recovering from yesterday's haircut from hell?
In spite of feeling unmotivated, I made "appointments" with each of the girls today to help them work on their sleep pants. The frustrating thing about working at Linda's shop is that, while it's fun for the girls to work with other kids, it's hard for me to help four kids at one time, so there's a ton of waiting, and sometimes they get frustrated. Tamzin didn't even have a project, since I wasn't planning to have her do sleep pants, so she was wanting me to help her create something, too, and bored and sad that I couldn't help her.
The girls got a little done Saturday, but I decided for my own sanity that I needed to work with them one at a time, at home. So I made myself available this afternoon. I didn't even have to do that much, just be there to explain each step and show them what to do. But it worked much better to work with them one at a time! Shelby, Rhiannon and Gillian got their sleep pants finished except for the hem, so they all got to try them on and wear them around for a bit. They are so excited! Even Tamzin is happy. We cut a rectangle of some leftover flannel and I let her sew it with my help on the machine, and she made it into a pillow. She stuffed it with fabric scraps and sewed up the stuffing hole all by herself! Now she says she would like to make an outfit! She is very proud of herself for sewing on the big machine!
I cooked a nice dinner, something I do sparingly when Clint is out of town. I went running this morning, too. And I did some weeding in my garden. And I sent my mom some photos via email. And I made a cool CD slideshow (to music) out of some photos we took this spring (something I've been meaning to do for ages)! Now that I'm writing it all down, it sounds like I've done a lot for someone who feels as unmotivated as I do right now. Hmmm.
The Haircut From Hell
The girls and I were out of the house early Saturday for our 4H sleep pants project meeting. We spent a couple of hours at Linda's mom's shop sewing.
Then we went and got Gillian the haircut from hell.
I don't know why I keep trying. I get so frustrated with hair stylists. They always act like they don't know what I am talking about when I attempt to describe a hairstyle. Dang it, they're the professionals, they should be able to figure it out. Gillian wanted a blunt cut with the front longer than the back. Seems simple enough. But the stylist found lots of reasons not to be able to do what Gillian wanted, and kept layering, and layering, and layering, until now Gillian's hair is way too short, way too layered, and not even close to what she wanted. When the stylist first said she might need to layer it a bit in the back because of the thickness of Gillian's hair, I said OK. It made sense to me. But still, we had asked for a BLUNT cut, not a layered cut. Her hair is now very layered in the back, somewhat layered at the sides, and long in the front.
The cut took more than an hour the first time around, plus 15 minutes to wait for our turn. When she finished, it didn't look great, but we were all tired and wanted to go. We left to do some shopping. But then I got a better look at the cut, which the stylist had tucked behind Gillian's ears. When it came untucked, I realized they had her hair going from short, to long, to short again. It stuck out on the sides like a little kid had cut it. I wanted to cry, because I knew I had to take her back to have it fixed, which would mean more waiting.
Of course, we had to wait 30 minutes for the same stylist to be available when we returned. Then she was totally obtuse about what was wrong with the cut. Then she went on to blame Gillian, saying that Gillian kept asking her to cut it shorter. Well, maybe she did, but I'm quite sure she didn't aske her to LAYER it! I managed to be polite the entire time, but I was very frustrated. In total, three hours of our afternoon were spent at the hairdressers. With the other girls waiting the entire time! I ended up paying double the cost of a haircut, because I tipped her a second time to foster goodwill. After all, she didn't get angry or nasty about it. But she was deliberately dense and unhelpful, in my opinion. She refused to give any suggestions about how to fix the problem, just acted perplexed by my concerns.
Rhiannon and Tamzin walked over to Bed Bath and Beyond to shop, while I waited with Shelby. Then Shelby and Rhiannon went over to Target to shop, and I waited with Tamzin. Tamzin was a saint. I cannot believe how patient she was. It was so frustrating!!! Even now, Gillian's hair is not quite right. There are parts in the back that are not even. I admit, her hair is hard to cut because it's so thick. That's why I don't cut it! But if the stylist is not capable of cutting her hair evenly, I wish they would just say so, and let me go to a different stylist!
The whole point of the haircut was so Gillian could go to camp and not have to worry about having an unruly mop to deal with. Now her hair is so short, she can't tuck it behind her ears, so it's in her face! I can't decide if I should take her to Maeleena and ask if she can fix it, or if I'm just being too picky and should forget about the whole thing. The only way I can think of to fix it is to layer the front to match the layering in the back. Then it won't be in her face. But it also will be even less of what she wanted.
Tamzin begged for a haircut too, something I didn't want to do, since we just cut it not that long ago, and cutting it again would mean it couldn't go into a braid, my favorite non-tangling hairstyle. But she was so patient at the salon, I decided to give her a haircut when I got home. She is so happy! She loves it! I'm sad, because I liked her hair longer, but I'm happy that she's happy!
Then we went and got Gillian the haircut from hell.
I don't know why I keep trying. I get so frustrated with hair stylists. They always act like they don't know what I am talking about when I attempt to describe a hairstyle. Dang it, they're the professionals, they should be able to figure it out. Gillian wanted a blunt cut with the front longer than the back. Seems simple enough. But the stylist found lots of reasons not to be able to do what Gillian wanted, and kept layering, and layering, and layering, until now Gillian's hair is way too short, way too layered, and not even close to what she wanted. When the stylist first said she might need to layer it a bit in the back because of the thickness of Gillian's hair, I said OK. It made sense to me. But still, we had asked for a BLUNT cut, not a layered cut. Her hair is now very layered in the back, somewhat layered at the sides, and long in the front.
The cut took more than an hour the first time around, plus 15 minutes to wait for our turn. When she finished, it didn't look great, but we were all tired and wanted to go. We left to do some shopping. But then I got a better look at the cut, which the stylist had tucked behind Gillian's ears. When it came untucked, I realized they had her hair going from short, to long, to short again. It stuck out on the sides like a little kid had cut it. I wanted to cry, because I knew I had to take her back to have it fixed, which would mean more waiting.
Of course, we had to wait 30 minutes for the same stylist to be available when we returned. Then she was totally obtuse about what was wrong with the cut. Then she went on to blame Gillian, saying that Gillian kept asking her to cut it shorter. Well, maybe she did, but I'm quite sure she didn't aske her to LAYER it! I managed to be polite the entire time, but I was very frustrated. In total, three hours of our afternoon were spent at the hairdressers. With the other girls waiting the entire time! I ended up paying double the cost of a haircut, because I tipped her a second time to foster goodwill. After all, she didn't get angry or nasty about it. But she was deliberately dense and unhelpful, in my opinion. She refused to give any suggestions about how to fix the problem, just acted perplexed by my concerns.
Rhiannon and Tamzin walked over to Bed Bath and Beyond to shop, while I waited with Shelby. Then Shelby and Rhiannon went over to Target to shop, and I waited with Tamzin. Tamzin was a saint. I cannot believe how patient she was. It was so frustrating!!! Even now, Gillian's hair is not quite right. There are parts in the back that are not even. I admit, her hair is hard to cut because it's so thick. That's why I don't cut it! But if the stylist is not capable of cutting her hair evenly, I wish they would just say so, and let me go to a different stylist!
The whole point of the haircut was so Gillian could go to camp and not have to worry about having an unruly mop to deal with. Now her hair is so short, she can't tuck it behind her ears, so it's in her face! I can't decide if I should take her to Maeleena and ask if she can fix it, or if I'm just being too picky and should forget about the whole thing. The only way I can think of to fix it is to layer the front to match the layering in the back. Then it won't be in her face. But it also will be even less of what she wanted.
Tamzin begged for a haircut too, something I didn't want to do, since we just cut it not that long ago, and cutting it again would mean it couldn't go into a braid, my favorite non-tangling hairstyle. But she was so patient at the salon, I decided to give her a haircut when I got home. She is so happy! She loves it! I'm sad, because I liked her hair longer, but I'm happy that she's happy!
Monday, May 16, 2005
Kayaks & Asparagus Dogs
There's something so awesome about sharing a meal... or an afternoon... with good friends.
I was ambivilant about attending Saturday's homeschool BBQ. I get so wrapped up in projects at home that it's hard to break away, and time with Clint is so limited, I hate to "use" up his time unless it's a top priority. But the kids had friends they wanted to see at the BBQ, so we went, and I am SO glad we did! We kept picnic preparations simple by picking up Fred Meyer fried chicken and bringing a simple dip with bread to share.
We decided to bring the kayaks, thinking we might be able to combine a fun family activity with the potluck at the park. It worked out great. Both kids and adults had a fantastic time paddling back and forth from island to shore, and up and down the bank. The river was a delight to the senses, and paddling is hard work, but fun! After accompanying the older girls several times, we felt confident letting them traverse the route alone. Rhiannon and Lisa loved the tandem kayak, and went back and forth over and over, laughing and giggling.
We stayed for hours later than we had planned, along with Mary Ellen, Lisa and Jackie. We visited and watched the kids play. It was great fun, and wonderfully relaxing.
Pat and Mary Ellen invited us over for Asparagus Dogs on Sunday. I spent a glorious and exhausting 6 hours digging in the garden while Clint worked inside installing the baseboards. Then we showered off the sweat of our projects, made a couple of side dishes, and headed over to Mary Ellen's for dinner.
True to his word, Pat's Asparagus Dogs were a gourmet feast! We spent an enjoyable evening visting on the deck and watching the rain showers, playing Yahtzee with the kids, and squeezing though fences for a little neighborhood exploration! Mary Ellen treated us all to exotic espresso drinks in charming little demitasse cups as an after dinner treat. I got the lowest Yahtzee score, but I had a winner of a weekend!
I was ambivilant about attending Saturday's homeschool BBQ. I get so wrapped up in projects at home that it's hard to break away, and time with Clint is so limited, I hate to "use" up his time unless it's a top priority. But the kids had friends they wanted to see at the BBQ, so we went, and I am SO glad we did! We kept picnic preparations simple by picking up Fred Meyer fried chicken and bringing a simple dip with bread to share.
We decided to bring the kayaks, thinking we might be able to combine a fun family activity with the potluck at the park. It worked out great. Both kids and adults had a fantastic time paddling back and forth from island to shore, and up and down the bank. The river was a delight to the senses, and paddling is hard work, but fun! After accompanying the older girls several times, we felt confident letting them traverse the route alone. Rhiannon and Lisa loved the tandem kayak, and went back and forth over and over, laughing and giggling.
We stayed for hours later than we had planned, along with Mary Ellen, Lisa and Jackie. We visited and watched the kids play. It was great fun, and wonderfully relaxing.
Pat and Mary Ellen invited us over for Asparagus Dogs on Sunday. I spent a glorious and exhausting 6 hours digging in the garden while Clint worked inside installing the baseboards. Then we showered off the sweat of our projects, made a couple of side dishes, and headed over to Mary Ellen's for dinner.
True to his word, Pat's Asparagus Dogs were a gourmet feast! We spent an enjoyable evening visting on the deck and watching the rain showers, playing Yahtzee with the kids, and squeezing though fences for a little neighborhood exploration! Mary Ellen treated us all to exotic espresso drinks in charming little demitasse cups as an after dinner treat. I got the lowest Yahtzee score, but I had a winner of a weekend!
Spring Blog Cleaning
I got on Blogger (finally) to see about fixing the comments, and deicded it was time for a change...a template change, that is. It was an easy way to solve the comment problem, since some of the newer templates have comments already set. The bad news is I have lost the old comments, but it didn't look like Comment This was coming back online any time soon anyway.
Changing to a new template motivated me to redo my sidebar, too. I feel so ...updated!
Changing to a new template motivated me to redo my sidebar, too. I feel so ...updated!
Monday, April 25, 2005
Remodeling, or Recap Part 2
We are in full swing on remodeling projects again. Clint installed the door and window trim, and will start on the baseboards as soon as they come in. It looks so nice!
We finally chose our cabinet hardware, so Clint is in the process of installing knobs and pulls. I think there are about 50 altogether for the kitchen and bath alone. We decided on a simple style matte black knob and handle that I found at Home Depot, and a copper knob for the bathroom. They were in the mid range as far as price, $2.50 for the knobs, and $5 for the handles. It was still shocking to see the cost though; it really added up, with all those pieces. The cabinets were becoming damaged because of the lack of handles. They aren't designed to be knob-less, although they look nice that way. They don't have any place to grab them, so fingernails bubm and dent the wood. We are still getting used to grabbing them by the knobs. Even half done, they look so much better!
We veered off the remodel path and onto home maintenance to repair the upstairs bathroom tub surround, which had water leaking behind the surround, damaging the studs and creating an ugly mildew problem. We decided to replace the tub as well as the surround, after discovering the tub was rusting through at the seam. After an afternoon of tub shopping, we brought home a replacement 2 piece fiberglass tub/surround, destined to resolve the mildew problems inherent in using a separate plastic surround. We went to great lengths to ensure that the pieces would fit through the bathroom door and into the space available, only to discover when we got it home that it would not make it up the stairs and around the sharp angle from the landing to the bathroom.
I was all for putting the old tub back in and putting up a cheap new plastic tub surround, and just replacing it every 5 or 6 years. But Clint felt the old tub was not useable, so it was back to the store to assess options for plan B. This time I let Clint handle it on his own. He came home with a very nice 4 piece plastic tub and surround. Of course it was three times as much as the 50% off fiberglass one we had purchased the week before. We've decided to keep that one for the downstairs bathroom remodel, which we are planning for July. There is no tub or bath in that room at all, thus the need for the remodel.
So, while Shelby and I spent Saturday on an all day trip to Pendleton for a seminar on "Raptor Rehabillitation and Wound Management Techniques", Clint installed the new tub and surround. It totally exceeds my expectations. The tub he chose is beautiful, and BIG. I may even be able to convince some of the kids to bathe up there instead of in my tub! And it's so clean! We aregued a bit on the fixtures. He wanted to replace them with the same old clear plastic knobs style that was there before. I wanted a more modern metal lever. Same price either way. I said I would rather put the old knob back on than spend money on a newer model with the same dated look. That made him mad! I think the issue was the plumbing valve for the different style lever. He was worried that it would require a plumber to change out the valve. But in the end, after the tub came out, he found it was not difficult to change out the valve at all.
This whole process involved ripping out drywall, sometihing we hadn't planned on. I was going to paint the bathroom as soon as the surround went in. Cilnt has replaced the drywall, but we will need a professional to tape and texture it if we want it to look right. I'm voting for leaving it like it is until we do the downstairs bathroom, since we will have the same situation once we move the sink and add the tub. Then we can just have someone come out once and do both bathrooms.
Last on our remodel list are installing the stone columns on the front porch, the baseboards,the bathroom remodel, and painting the exterior of the house, which needs to happen soon or the weather will start damaging the still unpainted siding. We plan to get all four projects done this spring and summer, before Clint's fall tournament schedule, which is very busy. My dream would be to finish all this AND start to work on the yard, which needs to be completely redone, but I'm thinking it's not realistic. It's a bummer to have a scrappy yard for another year, though. But there are limits to what is humanly possible.
We finally chose our cabinet hardware, so Clint is in the process of installing knobs and pulls. I think there are about 50 altogether for the kitchen and bath alone. We decided on a simple style matte black knob and handle that I found at Home Depot, and a copper knob for the bathroom. They were in the mid range as far as price, $2.50 for the knobs, and $5 for the handles. It was still shocking to see the cost though; it really added up, with all those pieces. The cabinets were becoming damaged because of the lack of handles. They aren't designed to be knob-less, although they look nice that way. They don't have any place to grab them, so fingernails bubm and dent the wood. We are still getting used to grabbing them by the knobs. Even half done, they look so much better!
We veered off the remodel path and onto home maintenance to repair the upstairs bathroom tub surround, which had water leaking behind the surround, damaging the studs and creating an ugly mildew problem. We decided to replace the tub as well as the surround, after discovering the tub was rusting through at the seam. After an afternoon of tub shopping, we brought home a replacement 2 piece fiberglass tub/surround, destined to resolve the mildew problems inherent in using a separate plastic surround. We went to great lengths to ensure that the pieces would fit through the bathroom door and into the space available, only to discover when we got it home that it would not make it up the stairs and around the sharp angle from the landing to the bathroom.
I was all for putting the old tub back in and putting up a cheap new plastic tub surround, and just replacing it every 5 or 6 years. But Clint felt the old tub was not useable, so it was back to the store to assess options for plan B. This time I let Clint handle it on his own. He came home with a very nice 4 piece plastic tub and surround. Of course it was three times as much as the 50% off fiberglass one we had purchased the week before. We've decided to keep that one for the downstairs bathroom remodel, which we are planning for July. There is no tub or bath in that room at all, thus the need for the remodel.
So, while Shelby and I spent Saturday on an all day trip to Pendleton for a seminar on "Raptor Rehabillitation and Wound Management Techniques", Clint installed the new tub and surround. It totally exceeds my expectations. The tub he chose is beautiful, and BIG. I may even be able to convince some of the kids to bathe up there instead of in my tub! And it's so clean! We aregued a bit on the fixtures. He wanted to replace them with the same old clear plastic knobs style that was there before. I wanted a more modern metal lever. Same price either way. I said I would rather put the old knob back on than spend money on a newer model with the same dated look. That made him mad! I think the issue was the plumbing valve for the different style lever. He was worried that it would require a plumber to change out the valve. But in the end, after the tub came out, he found it was not difficult to change out the valve at all.
This whole process involved ripping out drywall, sometihing we hadn't planned on. I was going to paint the bathroom as soon as the surround went in. Cilnt has replaced the drywall, but we will need a professional to tape and texture it if we want it to look right. I'm voting for leaving it like it is until we do the downstairs bathroom, since we will have the same situation once we move the sink and add the tub. Then we can just have someone come out once and do both bathrooms.
Last on our remodel list are installing the stone columns on the front porch, the baseboards,the bathroom remodel, and painting the exterior of the house, which needs to happen soon or the weather will start damaging the still unpainted siding. We plan to get all four projects done this spring and summer, before Clint's fall tournament schedule, which is very busy. My dream would be to finish all this AND start to work on the yard, which needs to be completely redone, but I'm thinking it's not realistic. It's a bummer to have a scrappy yard for another year, though. But there are limits to what is humanly possible.
An April Recap
I knew April would be a busy month when I looked at my calendar and there were only three days on the whole month without something happening on them. Still, since a fair amount of those things were routine, like dance classes, I figured it would be fine. And we are fine, but very busy these days!
Grandma Dorothy's brain surgery kept us busy at the beginning of April. We spent an afternnon cleaning her house for her while she was at the hospital. She is doing well (the tumor was benign) and has been told she can resume her normal activities, but the experience left her feeling emotionally weakened and in need of support, so we have been visiting her to keep her spirits up.
April is a birthday month for us, so we were busy with gift shopping, party planning, party preparations, cake baking, gift wrapping...all the little things that go with birthdays. My brother celebrated his B-day with a BBQ. Clint and I played basketball with our kids and Henry and Chloe. It was a blast! For my birthday I engineered a shopping trip for the girls with Clint and made a special birthday dinner of lasagne with my favorite angel food cake with berries for dessert. I thought about spending my day doing something fun like scrapbooking, but I had too many chores to do. That's OK, it was an awesome day. The girls made me feel SO special. They bought me a new bread machine (yeah...my old one broke) and a new monitor for the old computer. Yipee! Now my computer has as awesome a screen as the girls' newer game computer. I can do all my work on the old computer now! They also bought me dangly earrings, scented candles, and a Japanese maple and columbines for my garden. They know all the things I like. I'm so lucky! A few days after my birthday was Tamzin's. We did Chuck E Cheese and a play date with two little girls one day, and then invited family over for a BBQ on her birthday. Clint's birthday was just a few days ago. We took him out to dinner one night, and then the next night we took him to Sportsman's Warehouse to choose his own birthday gift. This plan developed after a month of asking him for birthday ideas and getting NO response. I don't really care about getting him something, since I know he doesn't care, but the girls feel so disappointed when they don't have the chance to give a gift. He chose a pellet gun. He said he had always wanted one. I don't really get it, since we have a Red Ryder BB gun in the closet, but it was his choice, and he was very excited about it. He also took a day off work to go fishing for a B-day gift. The joys of self employment. And nothing bad happened on the job site while he was gone, thank goodness!
The girls started an Art Class through the Boys and Girls Clubs in Kennewick. It's an Art History class with a focus on tactile arts. Each week they will do a project related to an historical time period. They've done cave paintings and wood sculpting. Next week they will be doing Minoan period Frescos. Shelby and Rhiannon have been really enthusiastic about the class. I think it has exceeded their expectations. I'm not sure yet about Gillian. Tamzin is too young, so she and I have to find something to do for 1 1/2 hours in downtown Kennewick. We've played at McDonald's once and gone shopping at Fred Meyers once. This puts me at three days a week taking kids to classes and needing to find things to to while I wait for class to be over, and needing to be organized enough to have dinner planned and my household stuff under control so I'm not freaking out when I get home. I admit, I'm slipping. I'm not very on top of things at all right now.
Shelby has been volunteering at McNary Wildlife Refuge about 3 times a month. Driving her to and from is enjoyable, since we get time to visit without interruptions, but it does take some time. She likes helping out, and loves the Refuge.
I spent the first two weeks of the month frantically doing taxes. Not just income taxes, although that was the biggie, but also quarterly business taxes. With Clint's business in full swing again, I need to schedule in about 6-8 hours a week of office time to keep caught up, but it's tough to squeeze it in. Each task is small, but when I do them in peices I find I end up forgetting some stuff, which leads to disaster later. I had to do a California Tax Return, too, since they withheld $800 from his winnings from last year's big tournament. It was a pain in the neck, very complex. I had to call their tax board 5 times to get the full answer to one question about the method for distribution of business expenses by state, and in the end I had to look up the Ca tax code myself to be clear on the answer, since I got conflicting responses! But, it looks like I will get all the money back, so it was 5 hours well spent! I still need to file a Louisiana return, but I'm not sure it's worth the $30 they withheld. I think it will take about an hour. Hmm. Maybe it is worth it, if I can find the time.
Grandma Dorothy's brain surgery kept us busy at the beginning of April. We spent an afternnon cleaning her house for her while she was at the hospital. She is doing well (the tumor was benign) and has been told she can resume her normal activities, but the experience left her feeling emotionally weakened and in need of support, so we have been visiting her to keep her spirits up.
April is a birthday month for us, so we were busy with gift shopping, party planning, party preparations, cake baking, gift wrapping...all the little things that go with birthdays. My brother celebrated his B-day with a BBQ. Clint and I played basketball with our kids and Henry and Chloe. It was a blast! For my birthday I engineered a shopping trip for the girls with Clint and made a special birthday dinner of lasagne with my favorite angel food cake with berries for dessert. I thought about spending my day doing something fun like scrapbooking, but I had too many chores to do. That's OK, it was an awesome day. The girls made me feel SO special. They bought me a new bread machine (yeah...my old one broke) and a new monitor for the old computer. Yipee! Now my computer has as awesome a screen as the girls' newer game computer. I can do all my work on the old computer now! They also bought me dangly earrings, scented candles, and a Japanese maple and columbines for my garden. They know all the things I like. I'm so lucky! A few days after my birthday was Tamzin's. We did Chuck E Cheese and a play date with two little girls one day, and then invited family over for a BBQ on her birthday. Clint's birthday was just a few days ago. We took him out to dinner one night, and then the next night we took him to Sportsman's Warehouse to choose his own birthday gift. This plan developed after a month of asking him for birthday ideas and getting NO response. I don't really care about getting him something, since I know he doesn't care, but the girls feel so disappointed when they don't have the chance to give a gift. He chose a pellet gun. He said he had always wanted one. I don't really get it, since we have a Red Ryder BB gun in the closet, but it was his choice, and he was very excited about it. He also took a day off work to go fishing for a B-day gift. The joys of self employment. And nothing bad happened on the job site while he was gone, thank goodness!
The girls started an Art Class through the Boys and Girls Clubs in Kennewick. It's an Art History class with a focus on tactile arts. Each week they will do a project related to an historical time period. They've done cave paintings and wood sculpting. Next week they will be doing Minoan period Frescos. Shelby and Rhiannon have been really enthusiastic about the class. I think it has exceeded their expectations. I'm not sure yet about Gillian. Tamzin is too young, so she and I have to find something to do for 1 1/2 hours in downtown Kennewick. We've played at McDonald's once and gone shopping at Fred Meyers once. This puts me at three days a week taking kids to classes and needing to find things to to while I wait for class to be over, and needing to be organized enough to have dinner planned and my household stuff under control so I'm not freaking out when I get home. I admit, I'm slipping. I'm not very on top of things at all right now.
Shelby has been volunteering at McNary Wildlife Refuge about 3 times a month. Driving her to and from is enjoyable, since we get time to visit without interruptions, but it does take some time. She likes helping out, and loves the Refuge.
I spent the first two weeks of the month frantically doing taxes. Not just income taxes, although that was the biggie, but also quarterly business taxes. With Clint's business in full swing again, I need to schedule in about 6-8 hours a week of office time to keep caught up, but it's tough to squeeze it in. Each task is small, but when I do them in peices I find I end up forgetting some stuff, which leads to disaster later. I had to do a California Tax Return, too, since they withheld $800 from his winnings from last year's big tournament. It was a pain in the neck, very complex. I had to call their tax board 5 times to get the full answer to one question about the method for distribution of business expenses by state, and in the end I had to look up the Ca tax code myself to be clear on the answer, since I got conflicting responses! But, it looks like I will get all the money back, so it was 5 hours well spent! I still need to file a Louisiana return, but I'm not sure it's worth the $30 they withheld. I think it will take about an hour. Hmm. Maybe it is worth it, if I can find the time.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Where Have I Been?!
Aaaackkk! Where have I been? I must've dropped off into blog oblivion! I'll have to think about it and post later.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Brain Surgery
Clint's mom has a brain tumor. They discovered it Wednesday when she went in to ER with unusually high blood pressure. They took her by ambulance to Seattle's UW hospital yesterday, and she went into surgery today. Clint went over last night to be with her. The girls and I are waiting to hear how she does.
The doctor told her removing brain tumors is the only surgery he performs. He does about 200 a year, and has never lost a patient on the operating table. I guess you can't ask for more reassurance than that, under the circumstances.
Update: Dorothy is out of surgery and has regained consciousness. She is able to chat a bit, but has a headache.
The doctor told her removing brain tumors is the only surgery he performs. He does about 200 a year, and has never lost a patient on the operating table. I guess you can't ask for more reassurance than that, under the circumstances.
Update: Dorothy is out of surgery and has regained consciousness. She is able to chat a bit, but has a headache.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
The Picnic's Over
After working as a project superintendent for the last 6 months for a local general contractor, Clint has realized it doesn't pay enough to cover our expenses. So it's back to framing. He started a project ths week. That means my vacation is over. Now it's back to weekly payroll, billing, invoicing, tax payments, employee reporting, etc, etc, etc.
Just when my schedule was starting to get busy with kids' activities, too. Shelby's going to take an art class, plus she's volunteering at McNary, so it looks like I'll be running the kids to something 4 days a week, not counting play dates. Wait til Gillian and Tamzin figure out they deserve an activity, too.
Of course, after starting his project, Clint let his boss convince him that they just couldn't do without him. He agreed to stay on until things are a little more under control. It's pretty much win-win for us, since we will gain the profit from the framing project plus the weekly salary from the condo project. And, since he's going to continue the consulting under his license instead of as an hourly employee, he's going to charge more, so he'll be making what he should have been getting all along.
Only problem is, how long can a man work two intense jobs and really give it his all? It's been 10 days, and he's looking peaked. I think he's trying too hard. I wish he would just walk away from the condo project, but he feels honor bound to stay on until he drops.
All this means that I really shouldn't be asking for his help getting kids shuttled around or give him a hard time about the added burden of the business, because he has it way worse than me.
On the up side, I'm looking forward to having more than $35 in my bank account. I hope we get paid soon!
Just when my schedule was starting to get busy with kids' activities, too. Shelby's going to take an art class, plus she's volunteering at McNary, so it looks like I'll be running the kids to something 4 days a week, not counting play dates. Wait til Gillian and Tamzin figure out they deserve an activity, too.
Of course, after starting his project, Clint let his boss convince him that they just couldn't do without him. He agreed to stay on until things are a little more under control. It's pretty much win-win for us, since we will gain the profit from the framing project plus the weekly salary from the condo project. And, since he's going to continue the consulting under his license instead of as an hourly employee, he's going to charge more, so he'll be making what he should have been getting all along.
Only problem is, how long can a man work two intense jobs and really give it his all? It's been 10 days, and he's looking peaked. I think he's trying too hard. I wish he would just walk away from the condo project, but he feels honor bound to stay on until he drops.
All this means that I really shouldn't be asking for his help getting kids shuttled around or give him a hard time about the added burden of the business, because he has it way worse than me.
On the up side, I'm looking forward to having more than $35 in my bank account. I hope we get paid soon!
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Gumby
Our newest family member is Gillian's iguana, Gumby. She got him for her birthday. He eats a lot. He's a vegetarian. He likes parseley, apples, dandelions, romaine lettuce, and bananas.
On the River
In spite of sore throats and stuffy noses, the Johanson clan ventured out on the Yakima River for a four hour paddle on Sunday. Clint and Tamzin rode Clint's canoe. Shelby and Rhiannon got to test out two ancient kayaks that Clint rescued this winter from a neighbor who was going to throw them away. Clint did a little fiberglass repair on Saturday, and they were watertight and good to go!
Gillian and I took to the water in the new tandem kayak Clint decided we had to have to go along with the other two. But that's another story.
We had a blast!!! My arms were sore after about 15 minutes, and they never really stopped hurting, as we were paddling continuously. But it sure is fun!!
The wind was blowing briskly against the current the whole way, so instead of being able to just let the current take us where we wanted to go, we had to work at it! We parked one vehicle where we thought we would be able to float to, so we couldn't just stop early. Rhiannon kept mentioning that her arms were tired, but she was a trooper and made it the whole way.
It's so neat to see the landscape from this view. The sights and sounds are so calming. We saw two grey herons and lots of ducks. Clint had time to stop and fish. Tamzin caught one, but they threw it back.
And the only one who fell in the water was Munchkin!
Sunday, March 06, 2005
My Weekend
Gillian's birthday party went great. The girls made masks, opened presents, attempted somewhat unsuccessfully to play a few organized games while I cleaned up the mask project and got the cake ready, ate cake, and then played happily for 2 hours at I don't know what. The kids had a blast, I got to visit a bit with a friend, and in the end Gillian and Tamzin went home with someone else for a sleepover!
Shelby, Rhiannon and I decided to have a movie night for our unexpected evening alone together. We browsed the video store and chose two movies. Rhiannon fixed a simple dinner of baked potatoes with fixings while Shelby and I cleaned the fish tanks (In the midst of the party, my friend's 2 year old "fed" our aquarium fish with approximately 3/4 of a jar of fish food. Since fish will keep eating until they pop, we had to completely change out the water... all 45 gallons of it. He then proceeded to feed Gillian's new betta fish, so its bowl had to be changed as well.)
It was fun to stay up late watching movies with Shelby and Rhiannon . I usually don't watch movies with my kids. There's not enough couch space and too many interruptions. It makes me crazy. I would rather work. But hanging out with just the two of them was fun.
In the morning, we went back to the video store and rented more movies. Rhiannon decided she wanted to watch something suspenseful, something we could not do with the younger girls at home. So we rented Sixth Sense. We had lots of good conversation about suspenseful movies, scare scenes, and the supernatural. I'm glad we watched it in the morning, so they wouldn't have a hard time sleeping after. I think that kind of movie is best with a little time to think about it afterwards. We discussed horror movies as well. Several kids we know have expressed interest in horror movies. Shelby and Rhiannon decided they would rather not see horror films at this point, to my relief. I've just discovered that quite a few of those movies are rated PG-13, something I'm very puzzled about. How can they be so scary, but still be rated ok for teens?
Anyway, we had a lazy but fun weekend being couch potatoes.
Shelby, Rhiannon and I decided to have a movie night for our unexpected evening alone together. We browsed the video store and chose two movies. Rhiannon fixed a simple dinner of baked potatoes with fixings while Shelby and I cleaned the fish tanks (In the midst of the party, my friend's 2 year old "fed" our aquarium fish with approximately 3/4 of a jar of fish food. Since fish will keep eating until they pop, we had to completely change out the water... all 45 gallons of it. He then proceeded to feed Gillian's new betta fish, so its bowl had to be changed as well.)
It was fun to stay up late watching movies with Shelby and Rhiannon . I usually don't watch movies with my kids. There's not enough couch space and too many interruptions. It makes me crazy. I would rather work. But hanging out with just the two of them was fun.
In the morning, we went back to the video store and rented more movies. Rhiannon decided she wanted to watch something suspenseful, something we could not do with the younger girls at home. So we rented Sixth Sense. We had lots of good conversation about suspenseful movies, scare scenes, and the supernatural. I'm glad we watched it in the morning, so they wouldn't have a hard time sleeping after. I think that kind of movie is best with a little time to think about it afterwards. We discussed horror movies as well. Several kids we know have expressed interest in horror movies. Shelby and Rhiannon decided they would rather not see horror films at this point, to my relief. I've just discovered that quite a few of those movies are rated PG-13, something I'm very puzzled about. How can they be so scary, but still be rated ok for teens?
Anyway, we had a lazy but fun weekend being couch potatoes.
Tournament Time Again
Clint headed off into the wild blue yonder yesterday. More specifically, he's going to California for a tournament at Clear Lake, his first tournament this year.
It would have been easier for me if I'd had a little more advance notice. While he knew about the tournament, and knew he wanted to go, he didn't make up his mind until a day and a half prior to departure time. He doesn't seem to get how up in the air this leaves things for me.
To his credit, he hung around on Saturday morning long enough to help me pull everything together for Gillian's birthday party that afternoon. As the first guest arrived, we said goodbye, and off he went.
Another positive note is that he will be staying with my dad, who lives in Clear Lake. Not only is this good because it will be cheaper, but my dad can use the company. He's lonely in general these days, and this week will be especially so, as the 2nd anniversary of his wife's death falls on the 12th. I'm very glad Clint will be there to keep my dad's spirits up.
It would have been easier for me if I'd had a little more advance notice. While he knew about the tournament, and knew he wanted to go, he didn't make up his mind until a day and a half prior to departure time. He doesn't seem to get how up in the air this leaves things for me.
To his credit, he hung around on Saturday morning long enough to help me pull everything together for Gillian's birthday party that afternoon. As the first guest arrived, we said goodbye, and off he went.
Another positive note is that he will be staying with my dad, who lives in Clear Lake. Not only is this good because it will be cheaper, but my dad can use the company. He's lonely in general these days, and this week will be especially so, as the 2nd anniversary of his wife's death falls on the 12th. I'm very glad Clint will be there to keep my dad's spirits up.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
School's Out For...Ever!!!
I think Tamzin's done with Kindergarten! (Read...Stephanie jumping wildly up and down for joy because she's sick and tired of getting up at 6:15 in the morning to get Tamzin off to the bus!).
Tamzin has regularly skipped a day of school every few weeks since starting last fall. Some days she just didn't want to go, and I was ok with that. The school didn't seem to care. I got no nasty notes when she missed 9 or 10 days the first quarter.
On Valentine's Day I think I permanently tipped the scales. I bought the girls a new GameCube game. Tamzin was adament that she wanted to play the game first thing the next morning, which resulted in her missing kindergarten. She ended up missing the whole week.
I thought she might change her mind once she realized the older girls and I read for a few hours together 3 mornings or so a week. I figured she would find life at home boring with no one available to play. But she's been keeping busy. She plays GameCube or computer, or watches cartoons, or colors. She doesn't stick around to listen, but she's happy, which is all I'm interested in.
She and I had some great times alone together in the early mornings getting ready for the bus, and on the way home from school. From these moments I realized I was not focusing enough of myself on her, and she has not been as close to me as the other girls were/are. It is so easy to be so busy that you miss out on spending time with your children individually. At least, it is with four.
So now I'm working on that, thinking about what little things I can do just with Tamzin. We made paper hearts together. Made soup and Jello together. She's asked me to help her "practice reading" (she likes working on letter sounds). Today she asked me to play GameCube with her. It's the first time she's ever chosen me...usually she asks a sister. I'm doing lots more tickling and piggyback riding. I want her to know she's made the right choice. Home is better... lot's better.
Tamzin has regularly skipped a day of school every few weeks since starting last fall. Some days she just didn't want to go, and I was ok with that. The school didn't seem to care. I got no nasty notes when she missed 9 or 10 days the first quarter.
On Valentine's Day I think I permanently tipped the scales. I bought the girls a new GameCube game. Tamzin was adament that she wanted to play the game first thing the next morning, which resulted in her missing kindergarten. She ended up missing the whole week.
I thought she might change her mind once she realized the older girls and I read for a few hours together 3 mornings or so a week. I figured she would find life at home boring with no one available to play. But she's been keeping busy. She plays GameCube or computer, or watches cartoons, or colors. She doesn't stick around to listen, but she's happy, which is all I'm interested in.
She and I had some great times alone together in the early mornings getting ready for the bus, and on the way home from school. From these moments I realized I was not focusing enough of myself on her, and she has not been as close to me as the other girls were/are. It is so easy to be so busy that you miss out on spending time with your children individually. At least, it is with four.
So now I'm working on that, thinking about what little things I can do just with Tamzin. We made paper hearts together. Made soup and Jello together. She's asked me to help her "practice reading" (she likes working on letter sounds). Today she asked me to play GameCube with her. It's the first time she's ever chosen me...usually she asks a sister. I'm doing lots more tickling and piggyback riding. I want her to know she's made the right choice. Home is better... lot's better.
Friday, February 18, 2005
God Is Too Big To Fit Inside One Religion
Bumper sticker on the back of an SUV at Tamzin's school. I love it. It's my favorite bumper sticker ever!
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
On Time
"Try to think about time not as a finite resource that is always draining away, or as a bully to be feared or conquered, but as the benign element we live in."
from In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore'
"The whole struggle of life is to some extent a struggle about how slowly or how quickly to do each thing."
from The Discovery of Slowness by Sten Nadolny
"Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it."
Soren Kierkegaardd
"Rescuing the next generation from the cult of speed means reinventing our whole philosophy of childhood...More freedom and fluidity in education, more emphasis on learning as a pleasure, more room for unstructured play, less obsession with making every second count, less pressure to mimic adult mores."
from In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore'
from In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore'
"The whole struggle of life is to some extent a struggle about how slowly or how quickly to do each thing."
from The Discovery of Slowness by Sten Nadolny
"Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it."
Soren Kierkegaardd
"Rescuing the next generation from the cult of speed means reinventing our whole philosophy of childhood...More freedom and fluidity in education, more emphasis on learning as a pleasure, more room for unstructured play, less obsession with making every second count, less pressure to mimic adult mores."
from In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore'
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
What a Headache
I had the worst migrane headache all day yesterday. After forcing myself through my normal morning tasks, I finally went to bed in the early afternoon. My objective was to get rid of the headache so I could go to Book Group. It didn't happen.
I tried everything; Ibuprofen, lots of water, a good meal, a nap, resting in the dark, destressing with a book, decongestant. Nothing helped. I felt very sorry for myself that I was missing book group, but my head hurt so bad I couldn't even focus.
This morning I am cautiously optimistic. The headache is mostly gone, but it's like my head still aches with the memory of the hurting yesterday. Or maybe I'm just paranoid. I'm trying not to make any fast moves, because I'm afraid it will come back.
And I'm feeling sorry for myself because I've lost a whole day, and I had things I wanted to do!
I tried everything; Ibuprofen, lots of water, a good meal, a nap, resting in the dark, destressing with a book, decongestant. Nothing helped. I felt very sorry for myself that I was missing book group, but my head hurt so bad I couldn't even focus.
This morning I am cautiously optimistic. The headache is mostly gone, but it's like my head still aches with the memory of the hurting yesterday. Or maybe I'm just paranoid. I'm trying not to make any fast moves, because I'm afraid it will come back.
And I'm feeling sorry for myself because I've lost a whole day, and I had things I wanted to do!
Saturday, January 22, 2005
To Do List Blues
I've made myself a new To Do list, because I couldn't remember what I was wanting to accomplish from before Christmas. Immediately I felt stressed out, even though nothing on the list was a big emergency. It's twisted.
I've decided I am addicted to accomplishment.
Update: I found this post in my "drafts". Have no idea what else I'd planned to say, or why I saved it there.
I've decided I am addicted to accomplishment.
Update: I found this post in my "drafts". Have no idea what else I'd planned to say, or why I saved it there.
No News
My life hasn't contained anything blog worthy!
Life has been pretty slow. That's been nice.
We started keeping a regular homeschool schedule again last week. That's been a little tougher. Scheduling "homeschool" time has been the best way to make sure we find time to read aloud together. But, after more than a month of doing other things, no one is as excited about reading aloud as they are about playing the GameCube. Everyone says they want to read, but then they're all too busy. It doesn't help that with Tamzin out of school we go to bed much later, get up much later, and don't get around to reading until mid afternoon. By then everyone wants to be off doing their own thing.
We finished Great Expectations (finally). They all liked it, but I think it was too long. We're reading a short one called Pandora of Athens now.
Tamzin refuses to let me read to her at all, unless it's a stall to avoid bedtime. Even then, she will sometimes opt for a few minutes on her Gameboy over time with me.
We were all sick last week. The ailment varied depending by family member, but included sore throats, coughs, fever, and lots of stuffy runny noses. I stayed pretty busy fetching and carrying and catering to sick ones, so they would know I was taking them seriously. Often I am not so nurturing, being sidetracked with other things. So I'm proud of that. Mostly we're better now. A little stuffiness here and there, but subsiding every day.
I've been inputting recipes into Publisher in my spare time. I guess that's my big accomplishment for the week. Now I just need to start cooking!
Life has been pretty slow. That's been nice.
We started keeping a regular homeschool schedule again last week. That's been a little tougher. Scheduling "homeschool" time has been the best way to make sure we find time to read aloud together. But, after more than a month of doing other things, no one is as excited about reading aloud as they are about playing the GameCube. Everyone says they want to read, but then they're all too busy. It doesn't help that with Tamzin out of school we go to bed much later, get up much later, and don't get around to reading until mid afternoon. By then everyone wants to be off doing their own thing.
We finished Great Expectations (finally). They all liked it, but I think it was too long. We're reading a short one called Pandora of Athens now.
Tamzin refuses to let me read to her at all, unless it's a stall to avoid bedtime. Even then, she will sometimes opt for a few minutes on her Gameboy over time with me.
We were all sick last week. The ailment varied depending by family member, but included sore throats, coughs, fever, and lots of stuffy runny noses. I stayed pretty busy fetching and carrying and catering to sick ones, so they would know I was taking them seriously. Often I am not so nurturing, being sidetracked with other things. So I'm proud of that. Mostly we're better now. A little stuffiness here and there, but subsiding every day.
I've been inputting recipes into Publisher in my spare time. I guess that's my big accomplishment for the week. Now I just need to start cooking!
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
GameCube Addiction
I'm obsessed with Animal Crossing. I've played it every day since the day after Christmas. I have to force myself to stop so the kids can take a turn.
I'm lucky Clint is so laid back. He's been very supportive of my current trend toward being completely useless and unproductive.
I'm lucky Clint is so laid back. He's been very supportive of my current trend toward being completely useless and unproductive.
Happy New Year
We're back from our trip to the cabin. It was very relaxing. I got to spend 5 days doing anything I wanted. I'm still reeling from the freedom of it all.
There was only a dusting of snow when we arrived, but they next day it snowed continuously, and so there was plenty for sledding and snowboarding (on Gillian's new snowboard!). We had to wait another day before there was enough snow for snowmobiling, but we did get in several rides, including one on New Year's Day.
We toasted in the New Year with Martinelli's Spakling Cider. There have been four bottle of it sitting in the pantry up there for as long as I've been going up there. We finally opened one up when we were there last New Year's, so we figured we'd continue the tradition this year. It was still good, and the girls like drinking out of wine glasses, and toasting.
There was only a dusting of snow when we arrived, but they next day it snowed continuously, and so there was plenty for sledding and snowboarding (on Gillian's new snowboard!). We had to wait another day before there was enough snow for snowmobiling, but we did get in several rides, including one on New Year's Day.
We toasted in the New Year with Martinelli's Spakling Cider. There have been four bottle of it sitting in the pantry up there for as long as I've been going up there. We finally opened one up when we were there last New Year's, so we figured we'd continue the tradition this year. It was still good, and the girls like drinking out of wine glasses, and toasting.
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