Outside Temp: 27 F (and falling... can't wait to see the snow tomorrow!)
What I cooked today:
Nothing: Grandma made a roast, so I didn't have to cook! Woo hoo!
Update:
So, the woman who did the school photography came by the school today for re-takes. I stopped by and asked her if she could take a group photo of all 4 of my kids (since she did such a great job with their individuals). She said, "no problem!".
She got the kids all arranged, including fixing Katie's hair and making sure her pant legs were covering her socks. She probably took 20-30 pictures of the kids! Ryan has a hard time getting a good picture, but I'm pretty sure at least one of them were good. She said that she could superimpose all the 'good' faces of the kids together, to make one picture where they all look good. I can't wait to see it!
In my web design class, all 3 of my students got their projects uploaded this afternoon, which makes me proud! It means that we are caught up and on time, and can still do our test tomorrow or Friday (depending on how the weather behaves).
Which leads me to the weather. We have a blizzard on it's way. It's supposed to drop between 2-5 feet of snow by Saturday afternoon, which will be interesting. We've been discussing the alternative options in case the kids can't go to school, or can't get home from school. Apparently, winter has arrived. And I still have to get my snow tires back on my car! I should have some good pictures tomorrow!
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
November 6, 2012
Outside Temp: 57 F (a little windy, but more of just a reminder that we are getting a blizzard in 2 days...)
What I cooked today:
BBQ Chicken: I need more ground beef, so I thought I'd use up some of my chicken. I still think it's too dry, but the kids ate it right up.. perhaps they were just hungry.
Update:
Busy day of driving back and forth today. It's Tuesday, so we had allergy shots in Great Fall for the boys. When I got home, I started picking up my house (vacuum, dust, etc), since the Realtor was bringing the second person by today to look at it. (the house was still pretty clean from picking it up for last Friday's visit)
Then it was back to school to get Ryan, back home to clean some more, back to school for class, back home after school, then back to get Allen after practice. Only 2 more weeks of basketball, and then I only get to go back and forth to school twice a day!
I feel like I should post something about the election, but in all honesty, I'm not surprised at the results, and (for those who know me) I tend to believe that all politicians are evil. The best news of the day is that the annoying ads on the radio are finally done (unless some evil politician wants to annoy us more with 'thank you' ads!).
I have attempted to refrain from commenting in any way about the election. I think the last presidential election that I was a little too vocal, and I may have offended some people with my extreme views. As such, I have decided to not comment at all throughout the last few months. I try to believe that my friends and family are smart enough to make up their own minds, without my suggestions.
That being said, I must make the comment that I am so glad, so very glad, that we have moved up to Montana.
What I cooked today:
BBQ Chicken: I need more ground beef, so I thought I'd use up some of my chicken. I still think it's too dry, but the kids ate it right up.. perhaps they were just hungry.
Update:
Busy day of driving back and forth today. It's Tuesday, so we had allergy shots in Great Fall for the boys. When I got home, I started picking up my house (vacuum, dust, etc), since the Realtor was bringing the second person by today to look at it. (the house was still pretty clean from picking it up for last Friday's visit)
Then it was back to school to get Ryan, back home to clean some more, back to school for class, back home after school, then back to get Allen after practice. Only 2 more weeks of basketball, and then I only get to go back and forth to school twice a day!
I feel like I should post something about the election, but in all honesty, I'm not surprised at the results, and (for those who know me) I tend to believe that all politicians are evil. The best news of the day is that the annoying ads on the radio are finally done (unless some evil politician wants to annoy us more with 'thank you' ads!).
I have attempted to refrain from commenting in any way about the election. I think the last presidential election that I was a little too vocal, and I may have offended some people with my extreme views. As such, I have decided to not comment at all throughout the last few months. I try to believe that my friends and family are smart enough to make up their own minds, without my suggestions.
That being said, I must make the comment that I am so glad, so very glad, that we have moved up to Montana.
Monday, November 5, 2012
November 5, 2012
Outside Temp: 51 F (very windy today, but beautiful! Apparently, a storm is on it's way in...)
What I cooked today:
Burgers and Fries and Onion Rings: I ended up going with burgers. I'm tired and I didn't want to cook. Oh well.
Update:
Busy day!
I headed off to the school early to talk with our superintendent, and ended up staying the day to substitute for another teacher. I really wished that I slept better last night, as I was exhausted by the end of the day.
We have someone else coming by to look at our house tomorrow, which is sending me into a mild panic. I can't imagine that someone might actually buy this place, or that they could get a loan on it, or that they might have the cash and would actually buy it, but it's still nerve racking. Apparently, the people who looked at it the other day were interested, which doesn't mean they can buy it, but they would be interested.
Which puts us in an interesting position. This house, flawed as it may be, has grown on me. It fits the family (each of the kids has their own room) and I really, really don't want to move. Given that, I have no idea where we might move to, if we had to leave. There isn't exactly a bustling rental market in the area, and I'm not really interested in buying something.
So, I'm going to attempt to relax, and see how things go. We knew going into this, that the house was for sale, and that the owner wanted to sell it. We were just glad the owner let us rent it. And, we probably should have been making contingency plans all along. But, we got complacent and comfortable. Perhaps, if these people decide not to buy it, we will have time to make other plans now, before it's an emergency.
What I cooked today:
Burgers and Fries and Onion Rings: I ended up going with burgers. I'm tired and I didn't want to cook. Oh well.
Update:
Busy day!
I headed off to the school early to talk with our superintendent, and ended up staying the day to substitute for another teacher. I really wished that I slept better last night, as I was exhausted by the end of the day.
We have someone else coming by to look at our house tomorrow, which is sending me into a mild panic. I can't imagine that someone might actually buy this place, or that they could get a loan on it, or that they might have the cash and would actually buy it, but it's still nerve racking. Apparently, the people who looked at it the other day were interested, which doesn't mean they can buy it, but they would be interested.
Which puts us in an interesting position. This house, flawed as it may be, has grown on me. It fits the family (each of the kids has their own room) and I really, really don't want to move. Given that, I have no idea where we might move to, if we had to leave. There isn't exactly a bustling rental market in the area, and I'm not really interested in buying something.
So, I'm going to attempt to relax, and see how things go. We knew going into this, that the house was for sale, and that the owner wanted to sell it. We were just glad the owner let us rent it. And, we probably should have been making contingency plans all along. But, we got complacent and comfortable. Perhaps, if these people decide not to buy it, we will have time to make other plans now, before it's an emergency.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
November 4, 2012
Outside Temp: 52 F (beautiful day, again. A little breezy and chilly at times, but perfect for getting projects done before the snow!)
What I cooked today:
Greek Chicken Soup with Orzo: Patrick loves this soup and with it being a little chilly, and him working so hard outside, I thought I'd spoil him with soup. Ahhh, it seems that winter is starting to think about showing up.
Update:
My husband and his father are totally awesome!
First, they installed the dishwasher that has been sitting in my front room for almost 2 weeks. Of course, it was missing a part, but everything else is hooked up and it seems to run (or will as soon as we hook up the water). Now, the kids have a new box to play in!
Second, they fixed the plumbing in my second bathroom, again. They looked around under the house about a month ago, trying to get it to work. Today, they brought down the laser level and shimmied up the plumbing line, so that the water in that bathroom actually drains correctly! Woo hoo! A second toilet! You have no idea how annoying it is with a family of 6 and one toilet.
Then, they put on the skirt to the house. About a month ago, when they were working on the plumbing, they removed the skirt in the front of the house. We found that it was the original plywood, and had no (and I mean no) insulation. So, they picked up some insulation, and new plywood boards. Today, after completing the other 2 projects, they put the skirt back up. It actually looks much better and hopefully, the insulation will make a difference when the snows hit.
Woo hoo! The big housing projects are done! And, I managed to get another 5 loads of laundry done. It just wouldn't be a Sunday unless there were multiple loads of laundry to complete.
What I cooked today:
Greek Chicken Soup with Orzo: Patrick loves this soup and with it being a little chilly, and him working so hard outside, I thought I'd spoil him with soup. Ahhh, it seems that winter is starting to think about showing up.
Update:
My husband and his father are totally awesome!
First, they installed the dishwasher that has been sitting in my front room for almost 2 weeks. Of course, it was missing a part, but everything else is hooked up and it seems to run (or will as soon as we hook up the water). Now, the kids have a new box to play in!
Second, they fixed the plumbing in my second bathroom, again. They looked around under the house about a month ago, trying to get it to work. Today, they brought down the laser level and shimmied up the plumbing line, so that the water in that bathroom actually drains correctly! Woo hoo! A second toilet! You have no idea how annoying it is with a family of 6 and one toilet.
Then, they put on the skirt to the house. About a month ago, when they were working on the plumbing, they removed the skirt in the front of the house. We found that it was the original plywood, and had no (and I mean no) insulation. So, they picked up some insulation, and new plywood boards. Today, after completing the other 2 projects, they put the skirt back up. It actually looks much better and hopefully, the insulation will make a difference when the snows hit.
Woo hoo! The big housing projects are done! And, I managed to get another 5 loads of laundry done. It just wouldn't be a Sunday unless there were multiple loads of laundry to complete.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
November 3, 2012
Outside Temp: 52 F (beautiful day!!)
What I cooked today:
Pasta: I really, really didn't want to make dinner today. I pretty much said, "make yourself a hot dog or a sandwich... I'm not making dinner." So, the kids (totally awesome kids that they are) said they would make pasta. Of course, they got distracted, so I ended up making it. But they tried, and that's all that matters!
Update:
Totally lazy day.
Okay, so my day consisted of spending about 4 hours folding laundry and socks (about 3 hours of it was socks... I hate socks).
This morning, I headed into town to get some groceries, then made it back in time for church. After church, I just watched movies, while folding laundry. Patrick went up to the Grandparent's place to help with the greenhouse (it's coming along!) this afternoon with Ryan, so the house was quiet (with the other 3 kids playing games or reading).
I love that we had no games today. Does that make me a bad mother?
What I cooked today:
Pasta: I really, really didn't want to make dinner today. I pretty much said, "make yourself a hot dog or a sandwich... I'm not making dinner." So, the kids (totally awesome kids that they are) said they would make pasta. Of course, they got distracted, so I ended up making it. But they tried, and that's all that matters!
Update:
Totally lazy day.
Okay, so my day consisted of spending about 4 hours folding laundry and socks (about 3 hours of it was socks... I hate socks).
This morning, I headed into town to get some groceries, then made it back in time for church. After church, I just watched movies, while folding laundry. Patrick went up to the Grandparent's place to help with the greenhouse (it's coming along!) this afternoon with Ryan, so the house was quiet (with the other 3 kids playing games or reading).
I love that we had no games today. Does that make me a bad mother?
Friday, November 2, 2012
November 2, 2012
Outside Temp: 34 F (beautiful day today! I actually opened the windows and let some fresh air in.. it was a little chilly, but crisp and clean.)
What I cooked today:
Frozen Pizza: I really, really didn't want to cook today, so I subjected the kids to frozen pizza. I think Katie ended up with a PB&J.
Update:
We got a call yesterday from the Realtor who is trying to sell our house, letting us know that she would be by today to show the house to someone. Which means that this morning, I was scrambling around the house, trying to clean up.
I had a pile of laundry in the TV room, sitting on the couch. That ended up piled up in a closet. I really hope they didn't open the closet doors.
I had it in my head that I could clean until 2pm, when I need to leave for my web design class. As I was in the car around 2:15, I realized that today is Friday. On Fridays, we have an early out at 2:30, which means that my class started at 1:45. I got to school at 2:30, to find that no one was there, class was over.
I have NEVER done that before! I feel so bad! It turned out that 2 of my 3 students weren't there anyway. The third had some trouble, for which I feel even worse. Hopefully, he can turn in his assignment on Monday.
After school (which was about 2 minutes after I got there), Katie and I headed into Stanford, where she finally opened her savings account with her $50 check she got for her writing contest in February... Yes, I have been holding on to this check for 9 months. But, now her account is all set up and she can put money in there at any time!
After Stanford, Katie and I headed into Hobson to watch Allen's basketball game. They played against Tri Cities, which is the only team they have lost against. And they won! It was a hard fought win, but a win! Allen only got to play the last 30 seconds, but he almost made a basket!
Patrick and I have been talking about me getting a teaching credential. As many of you know, I LOVE history. I love teaching. And, I love teaching history. That being said, I have a BA in Computer Science, not history. I'm not sure what the options are, or what to do next. But, I'm thinking about talking to our Superintendent to see if he has any thoughts. It may turn into nothing, but since it keeps coming up in conversation, perhaps it's time to do something about it.
What I cooked today:
Frozen Pizza: I really, really didn't want to cook today, so I subjected the kids to frozen pizza. I think Katie ended up with a PB&J.
Update:
We got a call yesterday from the Realtor who is trying to sell our house, letting us know that she would be by today to show the house to someone. Which means that this morning, I was scrambling around the house, trying to clean up.
I had a pile of laundry in the TV room, sitting on the couch. That ended up piled up in a closet. I really hope they didn't open the closet doors.
I had it in my head that I could clean until 2pm, when I need to leave for my web design class. As I was in the car around 2:15, I realized that today is Friday. On Fridays, we have an early out at 2:30, which means that my class started at 1:45. I got to school at 2:30, to find that no one was there, class was over.
I have NEVER done that before! I feel so bad! It turned out that 2 of my 3 students weren't there anyway. The third had some trouble, for which I feel even worse. Hopefully, he can turn in his assignment on Monday.
After school (which was about 2 minutes after I got there), Katie and I headed into Stanford, where she finally opened her savings account with her $50 check she got for her writing contest in February... Yes, I have been holding on to this check for 9 months. But, now her account is all set up and she can put money in there at any time!
After Stanford, Katie and I headed into Hobson to watch Allen's basketball game. They played against Tri Cities, which is the only team they have lost against. And they won! It was a hard fought win, but a win! Allen only got to play the last 30 seconds, but he almost made a basket!
Patrick and I have been talking about me getting a teaching credential. As many of you know, I LOVE history. I love teaching. And, I love teaching history. That being said, I have a BA in Computer Science, not history. I'm not sure what the options are, or what to do next. But, I'm thinking about talking to our Superintendent to see if he has any thoughts. It may turn into nothing, but since it keeps coming up in conversation, perhaps it's time to do something about it.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
November 1, 2012
Outside Temp: 37 F (still nice... threats of rain, but nothing significant)
What I cooked today:
BBQ chicken (in the oven): I need to start making chicken more often, since I have about 15 lbs of chicken in my freezer, and only about 4 lbs of ground beef... I just take the chicken, sear it a little, then toss it into the oven coated in BBQ sauce. Super easy and everyone seems to love it (even when I don't defrost the chicken enough, and it ends up cooking in it's own fluid, making it very dry)
Update:
Very interesting day today!
First off, the Honor Roll for the first quarter was published in the local newspaper today... I just had to include it here (by the way, I NEVER got a 4.0 in my life!):
So, on to our interesting news.
On my way home from picking up Ryan this afternoon, at about 11:20(ish), I noticed a cop car (probably sheriff) heading east with lights flashing, at about 80MPH through Raynesford (the speed limit is 45 through town). I didn't think much of it, and went on my merry way.
At a little after 2pm, I headed back to school for my web design class. I noticed a sheriff on the side of the road about 1/2 way to the school. I slowed, to make sure there wasn't a problem, but then continued on my way. About 2 miles later, another sheriff car was on the side of the road. Hmm, this is getting interesting. I looked around the road, didn't see anything interesting, and continued on my way.
Another 2 miles later (about a mile from the school), I noticed another sheriff on the other side of the road. Okay, there is something weird going on, if only because I think there are only 3 deputies and 1 sheriff in Judith Basin County (that's probably wrong, but I think it's close).
I got to the school, and headed up to class, completely forgetting the sheriffs.
Around 3pm, I got a call from the front office, saying the superintendent needed to talk to me. Ugh, that's never good.
I headed down to the office, and found out what was going on.
There was a fugitive who was running from the cops through the county. There was a high speed chase, which included the fugitive throwing pipe bombs at the cop cars, as he drove down the highway. They caught him, in Belt, and he's currently under arrest.
However, the cops didn't know where all the 'pipe bombs' were, and they needed to go searching for them. As a result, the highway was shut down... from Stanford to Belt (which is about 40 miles). I was called into the office to let me know that the buses couldn't get my kids home, which wasn't a problem since I was there, and I could take them home myself.
Of course, then came the question of how I was going to get home. The highway was closed, until further notice. Hmmm, what other options are there?
So, I found the back road home. I headed north out of Geyser, west through the new Spion Kop wind farms, and then down into Raynesford.
The really fun part about this drive is that I got to drive by a lot of houses that I didn't know existed. I got to see where some of the Geyser residents lived, since I've never had the chance to just drive through the back roads of Geyser. And, I got to drive right by the new windmills (which are totally huge). It was actually a lot of fun.
Then came the last 2 miles. If I understand correctly, this is a section of road that was not used very often, and was right next to private property, and somehow it got determined that the county was not going to maintain it anymore. So, it's not graded. It's not plowed. It's not even mowed. It's just 2 little track marks up and down through a field, down a hill, over a creek (yes, there was a little water in it) and back out on the normal gravel road.
When I came to the entrance to this path (I can't honestly call it a road), there was a young kid (okay, he was probably 25) behind me. I figured he was doing the same thing I was doing, so I pulled over and asked him. He said he was following his GPS and thought he knew where he was going. After telling me that he was going to continue on the road, I let him know that I was pretty sure the entrance to the road was right here, so if he found that he ended up in someones front yard (which I knew he was going to do), when he turned around, to head this direction.
Amazingly, my little yellow car did great. It went right over all those rocks and mud and grass with no problem. There was a little hesitation as we went over the creek, since the ground was muddy, and the tires really wanted to slide. But, I just held my breath, pushed the gas, and prayed that I'd make it through.
I have never been so happy to see gravel road in my life. As we crested the last hill, and I could see the end to my adventure, I breathed a sigh of relief and headed back into civilization. Then I stopped my car, to wait for the kid to make sure he made it through.
Once I got home, I looked up online to find the details of the story. They kept the road closed until about 7-8pm, once it was totally dark. I'm sure they couldn't find anything in the dark anyway. I'm not sure if they will start again when the sun comes up, which would cause nothing but trouble tomorrow. I foresee a lot of people taking the day off, if the main highway is going to be closed.
The most important part is that Allen has a basketball game in Hobson tomorrow... which would require driving on the highway. I'm sure the ATF guys will understand and make an exception for the school bus of junior high basketball players, right?
Oh, and since my house is on the highway, I figured I would just check the backyard for pipe bombs, just in case. I'm pretty sure he couldn't throw over the creek anyway, but I'm happy to say that my backyard is pipe bomb free!
What I cooked today:
BBQ chicken (in the oven): I need to start making chicken more often, since I have about 15 lbs of chicken in my freezer, and only about 4 lbs of ground beef... I just take the chicken, sear it a little, then toss it into the oven coated in BBQ sauce. Super easy and everyone seems to love it (even when I don't defrost the chicken enough, and it ends up cooking in it's own fluid, making it very dry)
Update:
Very interesting day today!
First off, the Honor Roll for the first quarter was published in the local newspaper today... I just had to include it here (by the way, I NEVER got a 4.0 in my life!):
So, on to our interesting news.
On my way home from picking up Ryan this afternoon, at about 11:20(ish), I noticed a cop car (probably sheriff) heading east with lights flashing, at about 80MPH through Raynesford (the speed limit is 45 through town). I didn't think much of it, and went on my merry way.
At a little after 2pm, I headed back to school for my web design class. I noticed a sheriff on the side of the road about 1/2 way to the school. I slowed, to make sure there wasn't a problem, but then continued on my way. About 2 miles later, another sheriff car was on the side of the road. Hmm, this is getting interesting. I looked around the road, didn't see anything interesting, and continued on my way.
Another 2 miles later (about a mile from the school), I noticed another sheriff on the other side of the road. Okay, there is something weird going on, if only because I think there are only 3 deputies and 1 sheriff in Judith Basin County (that's probably wrong, but I think it's close).
I got to the school, and headed up to class, completely forgetting the sheriffs.
Around 3pm, I got a call from the front office, saying the superintendent needed to talk to me. Ugh, that's never good.
I headed down to the office, and found out what was going on.
There was a fugitive who was running from the cops through the county. There was a high speed chase, which included the fugitive throwing pipe bombs at the cop cars, as he drove down the highway. They caught him, in Belt, and he's currently under arrest.
However, the cops didn't know where all the 'pipe bombs' were, and they needed to go searching for them. As a result, the highway was shut down... from Stanford to Belt (which is about 40 miles). I was called into the office to let me know that the buses couldn't get my kids home, which wasn't a problem since I was there, and I could take them home myself.
Of course, then came the question of how I was going to get home. The highway was closed, until further notice. Hmmm, what other options are there?
So, I found the back road home. I headed north out of Geyser, west through the new Spion Kop wind farms, and then down into Raynesford.
The really fun part about this drive is that I got to drive by a lot of houses that I didn't know existed. I got to see where some of the Geyser residents lived, since I've never had the chance to just drive through the back roads of Geyser. And, I got to drive right by the new windmills (which are totally huge). It was actually a lot of fun.
Then came the last 2 miles. If I understand correctly, this is a section of road that was not used very often, and was right next to private property, and somehow it got determined that the county was not going to maintain it anymore. So, it's not graded. It's not plowed. It's not even mowed. It's just 2 little track marks up and down through a field, down a hill, over a creek (yes, there was a little water in it) and back out on the normal gravel road.
When I came to the entrance to this path (I can't honestly call it a road), there was a young kid (okay, he was probably 25) behind me. I figured he was doing the same thing I was doing, so I pulled over and asked him. He said he was following his GPS and thought he knew where he was going. After telling me that he was going to continue on the road, I let him know that I was pretty sure the entrance to the road was right here, so if he found that he ended up in someones front yard (which I knew he was going to do), when he turned around, to head this direction.
Amazingly, my little yellow car did great. It went right over all those rocks and mud and grass with no problem. There was a little hesitation as we went over the creek, since the ground was muddy, and the tires really wanted to slide. But, I just held my breath, pushed the gas, and prayed that I'd make it through.
I have never been so happy to see gravel road in my life. As we crested the last hill, and I could see the end to my adventure, I breathed a sigh of relief and headed back into civilization. Then I stopped my car, to wait for the kid to make sure he made it through.
Once I got home, I looked up online to find the details of the story. They kept the road closed until about 7-8pm, once it was totally dark. I'm sure they couldn't find anything in the dark anyway. I'm not sure if they will start again when the sun comes up, which would cause nothing but trouble tomorrow. I foresee a lot of people taking the day off, if the main highway is going to be closed.
The most important part is that Allen has a basketball game in Hobson tomorrow... which would require driving on the highway. I'm sure the ATF guys will understand and make an exception for the school bus of junior high basketball players, right?
Oh, and since my house is on the highway, I figured I would just check the backyard for pipe bombs, just in case. I'm pretty sure he couldn't throw over the creek anyway, but I'm happy to say that my backyard is pipe bomb free!
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