Weekend Update (the previous one - hee hee)

Aside from the usual sporting activities, we (the whole family) made a trip to a nice library in the city next to us. It's a nice, new huge one. The kids had a ball. They have a wonderful children's section with lots of computers and even a few for younger kids that are already loaded with learning programs. Even 3 yr old Emily could play some toddler games and listen to stories. There were a couple of tables with wooden puzzles that little ones like to play with. Plenty of kids DVD's, CD's, and books on tape/CD. And of course, a wonderful section of books! I would have loved this when I was a kid!

I didn't get a chance to take a peek at the adult books, but I'll get around to it when I can get away by myself. Oh yeah, and this library has self-checkout! It's very interesting how I can just lay some books on this square thingie, and through the magic of radio waves (so said the librarian), it can "read" what books I'm checking out and print out all the information on a little receipt! When I return books, I put them in a slot in the wall and a conveyor belt takes them and automatically sorts them into the proper bin for shelving. You can see the whole procedure on a computer screen. I am quite impressed!

My Emily had a tough weekend. On Saturday, she was being pulled in a wagon by Kathryn, in the kitchen no less, and started to get up while it was starting to move and fell out of it, hitting her chin on the floor. I thought she was going to have some broken teeth because all I saw was her face hitting the floor. She made it through with no broken teeth but a badly bruised chin. It got really red, but no skin was cut. Then on Sunday at church, while busily talking with Ryan, she tripped on the steps and hit her forehead on the edge of one of the steps. I could actually hear it making contact. Steve picked her up, she was crying so hard, and right away a big lump appeared right above her eye. Thank God nothing happened to her eye. We kept a real close watch on her to make sure she was acting normal, we asked her questions and she was able to answer them correctly. She was bruised, but again, no major gashes or anything like that. Then, later on that day, she's running (I guess she was feeling good) from the hallway into the living room and falls again, this time right on her tailbone, but thankfully it's only an inconvenience for a minute or two and she's OK. My word, her guardian angel has been working overtime!
I'm just glad I didn't have to make any trips to the emergency room. I would've hated to be placed under a cloud of suspicion because of all her recent injuries!
Now, she's just a little black on her eyelid and mostly has that yellow tinge that comes after some bad bruises.

I finally finished watching Gone With the Wind. I really enjoyed it. I loved the Scarlett character, even though she was so spoiled and selfish. I have the book somewhere in my bookshelf. I'll have to dust it off and read it sometime.
Now it's back to watching The Waltons. I never saw it when it was originally on TV so I've started with Season One. I haven't made up my mind yet about whether I really like it enough to rent the other seasons, but I guess I like it enough to finish this first one.

Regarding my trees, my plan is to first talk with my gardener. Maybe he has some suggestions. Maybe they need more water or some pruning. If he doesn't know, I'll ask at the nursery. Then as my last resort, I'll call the city again. Since the trees are on the parkway and that's considered city property or something like that, they're the ones that would have to do any pruning or tree care taking.

I think you are now all caught up with things going on in my household! Thanks for visiting!

Where Has The Week Gone???

Gosh, I didn't think it had been that long since I last posted! I've been caught in the hustle and bustle that I didn't intend to be in, but it seems to happen every year.



The kids started their vacation on Wednesday and Steve started his on Thursday. We've been plotting how to get shopping done while the other watches the kids. So far, we've been pretty successful. The only thing left is to get a few gift cards and do a little more wrapping. I'm hoping it will get done today so that the few remaining days can be spent a little more relaxed and reflective. Edited to Add: I did not get everything done, so I will be out Sunday after church. :(

Tonight we went out to see some beautifully decorated homes out by the waterfront. There was a lot of walking but the homes were just beautiful so it was worth it. Lots of lights, Christmas music playing and boats sailing through the canals. I wish I could have taken some pictures, but since it was night, the pictures wouldn't have come out. Most of the homes have huge windows out front with a wide open view of the inside living areas. They could be right out of magazines - just beautifully decorated.

Tomorrow after all the shopping is done, I hope to be able to relax a little and watch my favorite Christmas movie, White Christmas. I watch it every year and love all the music.

Right now, I'm off to watch an episode of Lost that I rented from Netflix. I'm hooked on that show! I need to catch up with Season 3 before the new season starts. With the writers strike I don't know when that will be so I think I have some time.

Wednesday

I'm feeling much better now. Thanks for the well wishes. I'm still not sure whether I had a cold or flu. Sunday, I had the chills, slight fever, muscle aches, etc. But by Monday, everything was gone except for a little bit of the sniffles and a little bit of tiredness. Now I have a hacking cough. Thank God it wasn't worse than it was. I was praying that I wouldn't be too sick because we all know that mothers can't afford to get sick! Especially at this time of year when so much needs to get done. I am trying to take it easy as much as I can though so I don't get too exhausted.

We got our Christmas tree this weekend. I think we got it Saturday, but we decorated on Sunday, when I wasn't at my best. I think I put up two ornaments. Everyone else put the rest on. The little ones get so excited to see all the different ornaments and put them on the tree. If I would have been in my right mind, I would have thought to take some pictures, but I didn't. I'll try to get some pictures of the tree and post some.

Tomorrow, Ryan will be participating in the school Christmas program. It's just the Kindergarten through 3rd graders who will be performing. His class will be singing Silent Night. I can't wait to see him up there. I hope to get a good enough seat to take some pictures, but it's hard to get a good seat because we would have to get there early and that's always risky with my little Emily. Getting there too early means she won't last for the whole program. I'd be lucky if she lasted to the start of the program! Maybe I should give her more credit than that, right!?!? Well, however it goes, I'll bring my camera.

Weekend Tidbits

This will be short as I think I'm suffering from a cold, the flu, something. Yesterday, I felt a sore throat coming on, but it never got too bad. Then today, I still had a little sore throat but I almost felt like I had muscle aches, a little bit of chills, and slight temperature. For awhile, I felt bad, but not so bad like you get when you get the flu. So I don't know what I've got. Is there such a thing as touch of the flu?

I did a little bit of on-line shopping however, but I only placed items in the shopping cart before I got tired. I'm hoping to go back tomorrow and finalize my purchases. I don't like shopping lists in the back of my mind while I'm laying down not feeling too well. But I realize this shall pass eventually. I just hope the kids don't catch anything. It seems like there is always someone sick at Christmas time.

I'm trying to get the kids clothes ready for tomorrow and get their lunches together so I don't have to do any of that in the morning. I don't know how I'll be feeling then. Hopefully I'll feel good enough to go about my usual business and take the kids to school.

I missed Mass today, as I just wasn't feeling well. So, I'm off to ponder the readings that I missed.

Holiday Weekend

Thanksgiving Day went very nicely. We had Thanksgiving lunch with my brother and SIL. It went pretty smoothly considering I was worried that my kids would act up in a major way. I prepared them ahead of time and they ended up being good most of the time. We all got to chit chat for awhile after the meal so that was nice. Then the kids got a little antsy and we called it a day before things could get out of hand. My brother and SIL don't have kids so I try not to overwhelm them with the noise level that my kids can generate. But kids are kids and I don't fault them for that.

Once we got home, we let loose and relaxed. We watched some more of Charlie Brown. Steve watched some games on TV and then we drove to watch the fireworks at Disney*land.

Friday, I did not shop. I don't even have my shopping list ready. I hope to be able to do most of the shopping on-line anyway. I spent most of the day doing laundry, reading and knitting. Then we went to the park with the kids and let them play ball, run around, and play on the play apparatus.

Today, Steve is trying to get the Christmas lights up. We won't light them yet as it's too early and can be a little expensive. He just wants them up since today is a warm day and usually it's freezing when he gets around to doing it. My car is getting a tune-up so I'm waiting for the call to pick it up. Then it's off to do some errands.

And that's an almost blow by blow account of my holiday weekend so far!

The Fall sports season is over finally. Ryan had his last baseball game today along with the usual end of season Pizza party. He has a lot of fun playing and it's great to see him improve, little by little. He will start again next spring. Kathryn ended her soccer season last weekend and her team barely missed going to the playoffs. She has improved so much since she started playing ( 2 seasons ago) that her coach nominated her to tryout for the All-Stars! But, after talking it over with her, we made the decision to not tryout this time. It would entail a huge time commitment with many long practices per week. Right now, she's still getting used to the homework routine at her new school and it's a lot of work. I would hate for her schoolwork to suffer. She's doing so well. Hopefully, she can play good enough next season that her coach would nominate her again. We'll see what happens.

Last week we had Parent/Teacher conferences at school. Both kids are doing excellent work and their teachers are very pleased with them. Needless to say, we are proud of how both of them are doing in school.

Tomorrow is dentist day for me :( I had my cleaning last week and the dentist found some more work that he could do. Not quite cavities but what could be the start of them. He's very much into preventive work. I guess that's why I'm there a lot!

That's what's going on in my household at this moment. I wish that I could say that I'll be posting my menu tomorrow. I haven't done that in awhile, but I don't think I'll get to do that this week, again. Maybe I can do a shortened version, keeping in mind Thanksgiving and all.

The Next Thing

I've been trying to spend more time in prayer lately. And I've noticed that I am more at peace and less anxious. That's good news as all this household needs is a wife and mom who's at her wits end, running around with her head chopped off, and yelling! What a sorry sight!

In Holly Pierlot's book, A Mother's Rule of Life, she talks about incorporating prayer, devotions at intervals throughout the day. That way, your whole day has been centered around your relationship with God. So, I think that if I can try to do that, my life will be a lot more focused. I can meet the needs of my family better. Isn't that what my vocation is all about?

Are you interested in getting a personal patron saint for 2008? Angela Messenger has kindly taken on the endeavor to do just that for anyone who asks. This is the first time I've heard of something like this and I think it's a great idea. Thanks to Therese (Aussie Coffee Shop) for the heads up.

I know it's early, but we are getting ready for a 3 day weekend. Kathryn & Ryan have Friday off from school and DH Steve has Friday and Monday off. Aside from the usual soccer and baseball games, we should have a free weekend to have fun. Kathryn & Ryan each won an award from their teachers for good behavior in class. As a result, they get a free meal at a local restaurant. I can go for that.

Recycling

I think I'm jinxed. For the past two weeks I've been trying to get my cans and plastic bottles recycled. I go to the places that will give me money for doing this so we can have some chump change, plus I'm doing my part for the environment.

My first choice location is attended by a real person who pours out your recycled items, weighs them, then gives you a redemption slip to take into the grocery store for your money. The other location does not have a human attendant and is a self-serve machine. You put your recycled items on a conveyor belt then it spits out your receipt. You take it into the store for your money.

Now, I have five garbage bags (those big,green 35 gallon bags) filled to the max with plastic bottles and cans. So, beginning last week, I take them to my first choice location. The place is closed. Oh, well, next time I'm driving this way, I'll drop them off. I don't want to go to the other place because I don't want to spend all day putting them one by one on the conveyor belt.
The next time I'm driving by location #1, it's open so with the kids in the car, I pull into the parking lot. While I'm trying to find a parking space, I turn to see that there is line of people waiting for their turn! I can't go because I got the three kids, Emily, the youngest is already cranky that she wants to go home. They won't last waiting in line, in the heat. Oh well, next time!

The next time comes a couple of days later. I'm by myself this time. I can wait in line if I have to. I drive into the parking lot, thinking of how much money I can get, what can we do with it, etc, etc. Oh, man! The place is closed again! OK, I'm getting a little perturbed now. I pull up real close to see the hours. It's in tiny print. Closed Sunday and Monday. I didn't think they would be closed either of those days. Anyway, I've been driving all this time with all these bags of cans and plastic bottles and it's time to get rid of them!

Now, a couple days later. Ryan and I are doing errands. Let's see if we can finally redeem these items! First choice location has a line about 10 deep. Everyone has just about as many bags as I do. Before I stand in that line, I decide to go to the other place. With Ryan with me, maybe we can handle putting the items one by one on the conveyor belt. I drive over there, good, there's an available machine. Ryan and I lug out two of the bags. We start putting in the bottles. So far so good. Then all of a sudden the machine stops and an alarm goes off, ringing and ringing. It spits out a receipt for what we had already put in (.20 ) then says call such and such number for help. Forget it! I'm out of there!

Today is another day. Steve is going in to work a little late. I do my morning routine. Dare I think that I can take the cans this morning? I broach the subject with Steve. Can you watch the kids while I take them? He says OK as long as I can get back in maybe half and hour. He has to get to work. Yippee! I don't think there would be a line this early in the morning. Well, you guessed it, there was a line. A shorter one than before, but at least 6 deep, with lots of cans and bottles. I wouldn't make it back within half an hour. So another attempt thwarted!

Maybe I'm not meant to do this! Maybe dear hubby is supposed to do this! Yeah, that must be it. Oh, Steeeve!

The Week So Far

This week has gone by pretty fast. Most of it has been spent doing routine housework, cleaning kitchen appliances and working in Kathryn's room to get ready for Miss Emily to move in. I don't really get as much done as I'd like because I also need to make sure all three kids are safely occupied and not pestering each other too much. I've pulled my hair out more than once with all their arguing! I'm sure they're tired of hearing me say, "Can't you all just get along!!" I'm tired of hearing myself say it! I've done a little academic work with them, but it hasn't been consistent. I'll try to do better with that.

Yesterday we took a little drive to visit Grandma. We had lunch, then the kids played around while I chit chatted with Mom. That is always fun. She has a nice patio and garden with a large yard for the kiddos to run around.

Today was lunch day with Dad. Every summer we have one day a week or every other week when we go to Steve's work, pick him up and have lunch at a park. I packed lunch for me and the kids and off we went. Today, we didn't actually go to the park this time. I had to do emergency grocery shopping and Steve kindly gave up the park so we could get the bread we really needed. If you can guess, I really, really don't like to go shopping with all three kids. So, even when we don't make it to the park, we all like to visit with Steve even if it's just for one hour during the day.

Tomorrow we head off to the library. Ryan just got a library card and he's excited to be able to check out his own books. His interest right now is insects. So, we'll probably check out some beetle or grasshopper books. I'm actually learning new things, like there really is a difference between bugs and insects. I never new that. I just used the terms interchangeably
I probably won't be able to look at books for myself. By the time everyone has their books picked out, Emily will have had enough and start getting unruly. We'll see!

Pant! Pant! Pant!

Today was one of those days. I was non-stop all day.

First, Kathryn's school had a Mother's Day tribute this morning. It was very sweet. Her class read tributes to their mothers.

Next, I picked up Ryan from preschool and took him to his new school for a Kindergarten day. He was so excited. He got to meet his teacher, see his classroom, meet his new classmates, sing some songs and play at recess. Then it was time to fit him for his uniform. He looked so handsome.

After Ryan's fitting, I had to pick up Kathryn from school and bring her to the new school and have her fitted for her uniform. All this fitting of uniforms left my checkbook much lighter (sigh).

Next stop, fast food, stop at home for Ryan to change into his baseball uniform, get all of us loaded into the car and head out for his game. Of course once at the game, I can't rest and watch the game, I need to keep Miss Emily occupied and happy. I was kind of lucky this time because she ended up playing with Kathryn and her friend. Still, I had to keep my eyes on her. She fell about 5 times while there and scraped some skin. She loves to run around this shady tree but all its roots are raised and exposed out of the ground. There is something attractive about that for her. Anyway, she's my tough cookie and she brushes herself off and keeps going.

After giving baths and tucking everyone in bed, it's time for me to relax and enjoy some reading. I'm almost finished with The Joy Luck Club. Next book will probably be a Vince Flynn book from my list.

What Happened?

How does this happen? I told Kathryn and Ryan that I would take them to the bookstore to buy ONE Reader/Chapter book each. Kathryn needs to do another book report and Ryan needs to start reading to me, period. Emily came along and I knew I'd have to get her a book, too. But that's OK, as long as they like reading books, that's what counts. I figured they could each find a cheap paperback book that's under five dollars. They're not too expensive.

How did Ryan and Emily end up with cute Spot stuffed animals? Ryan got a bug book that was above the target price range. He ended up with no Reader/Chapter book. Emily didn't get any book. Kathryn got a Chapter book (yeah!) but is more interested in her tween girl talk book that she bought with her own money. Yours truly had no will power and ended up buying a book to add to my list of 500 books to be read (hee hee - a little exaggerated).

Note to self: Break out the library cards!