November 30, 2011

Outside Temp: mid 20's but it should be around 10 by the middle of the night, with more snow!

What I cooked today:
Still nothing.  But I should be home tomorrow, so I'm really looking forward to homemade food.  I'm totally tired of cafeteria food.  I even braved the snow to go out to Fuddruckers today!

Update:
We are still in the hospital, but that's not really a surprise at this point.   We've been watching the cultures all day ( I think the nurses are getting sick of me asking about them) and they are still negative. 

We have been talking with UCLA and our insurance and there is not an agreement at this point.  So, while we were going to come down to LA for a MRV (to look at his veins to make sure there are no clots), we can't do that until the financials are organized.  In the mean time, we are talking about going to Seattle Children's hospital, which also has an intestinal transplant center, and they already have a contract with Montana, so everyone gets paid. 

So, we have a few options at this point.  If the cultures grow and we need to get a new line, we will go to Seattle, and have them put in a new line.

If the cultures remain negative, we have to choose between going home and scheduling the trip to Seattle in the future, or just go to Seattle now, and have the MRV dealt with this weekend.  Part of me is leaning on going now, just to get it over with.  And the other part just wants to go home. 

If we do go to Seattle, Patrick said he will go with Ryan and I get to stay home.  The flight is only about 2 hours (which is a lot closer than LA), and Patrick should be able to go with Ryan on the plane (unless they need to use the backup plane, which doesn't have room for a passenger).  I'm trying to be positive and not nervous, although it's kind of challenging sometimes.  We should have a decision made by tomorrow.

The boys came into Great Falls today to watch the Nutcracker performed.  The school took the kids 5th-8th for the performance today.  Of course, I'm not at home to ask them, but it sounds like they had a good time.  And Connor said he wants to write an article for the school paper about it! 

The storm was about 10 hours late, but it showed up. 

Start of the storm	 About 4 hours later 
 The back of my car... about an inch of snow 	 It took me trying to change lanes to realize I can't see with a side mirror covered in snow. 

The storm blow sideways for about 4-5 hours. Around 5 pm, it tapered off and I decided to go out to dinner tonight.  A few things I learned today:

1.  Make sure the de-icer in the windshield wiper fluid is filled up.  It's really hard to de-ice your windows with just the wipers flipping back and forth, with no fluid.

2.  Knit gloves do not really help in the snow.  While trying to scrape the snow off my windows, I got snow on my gloves, which immediately turned my fingers numb, since the snow sticks to knit.  Invest in waterproof gloves, and leave them in the car for the sole purpose of scraping snow off the windows.

3.  Get a real ice scraper for the windows.  While a credit card (or in my case, a gift card to Sprouts) works fine, I'm afraid I'm going to break the card and if I ever have to use a credit card or a card I might actually use, it would stink.

4.  You know the fake snow that restaurants put on their windows to make it look like winter, it's based on exactly what snow does to real windows when there's a storm.  Who knew?

5.  I now know what is inside the storage box that is next to the door of almost every business in town... it's that stuff you put on the ground to keep people from slipping.  It looks like cat litter and while it works to keep you from slipping, it also puts a film on the bottom of your shoes, which then squeak as you walk down the hall.

November 29, 2011

Outside Temp: 38 F (snow is scheduled for tonight)

What I cooked today:
Nothing, since I switched with Patrick today, so I didn't make dinner... Totally feel like I'm neglecting my kids.

Thank you to everyone who sent me ground beef recipes.  I'm starting to organize them into categories and keep track of necessary ingredients, so I make sure I have everything I need to make whatever recipes I'm going to make for a week (since shopping is a 'once a week' event).  If anyone has more recipes that use ground beef, I'd love to hear them!

Update:
We are still in the hospital.  Our culture from Sunday grew Staph, again.  We think we may have found the cause... There was a small pinprick hole in his line, which may have been continually infecting his line.  So, we had the team here repair his line.  If we are lucky, the repair today will fix our infection issue and we can get on with our life.  If we are not lucky, the culture from this evening will grow again for Staph, and we may have to pull the line.  Pulling the line would involve a trip down to UCLA to put a new line in, assuming we can get arrangements made.   While we are not looking forward to having to fly down there, if that's what we have to do, so be it.  At least we're doing this now, rather than in 3 weeks (so it won't mess up our Christmas holiday!). 

The good part is that Ryan is doing fine.  He is not acting sick at all, and has not had a fever since Thanksgiving night (last Thursday, 5 days ago).  If anything, it's kind of annoying, since he's bouncing off the walls.  :)

Patrick had some work to do, and the Internet connection up here wouldn't let him do what he needed, so we switched today and he's home with the kids.  I'm praying that he actually wakes up in the morning to get the kids ready for school.  We'll have to see. 

Being here also means I have nothing to do.  Today, I spent about 5 hours watching back episodes of Glee on Netflix.  Now that I've finished Season 2, I need to either find another TV show, go back to reading my Vince Flynn books on Kindle, or get back to doing my Christmas Cards. 

There is a snow storm scheduled for the next 24 hours.  The snow should start by midnight tonight and last through the day tomorrow.  There are estimates that we might get as much as 4-6 inches of snow at the house, and up to 15 inches in the mountains.  I'm sure it will make for some awesome skiing by the 9th, when the slopes open.  Now I just have to start looking into getting snow gear and clothes for the kids.  If they do well, we'll probably be up there every weekend for the next couple months.  Maybe, I'll even get back up on skis, which I haven't done in years.  :)

November 28, 2011

Outside Temp: 25 F (I've heard a rumor that snow is in the forecast in the next few days... )

What I cooked today:
Goulash: I'm not sure if this is actually how you make goulash, but that's what I'm calling it.  It's ground beef, celery and onions, with a can or two of tomatoes, then macaroni and water, a little Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper and simmer until pasta is done. 

I'm starting to gather recipes for ground beef. I have lots of ground beef, and I've managed to run out of original ideas.  So, I'm going to scour the Internet (and my friends) to come up with some new recipes.  My goal is to do 50 unique recipes using ground beef, although from my initial search, I'll be happy with 10.  And if I can, I'm going to attempt to use a different recipe each time, until I've done them all.  Which means I won't be able to fall back on my old standby of burgers and mashed potatoes.  Okay, so I'll still fall back on it (or else there will be riots in my house), but I'm going to step out of my comfort zone and try something new.  Hopefully, my family will not revolt.  So, if any of you have a recipe with ground beef that you like, please pass it on.

Update:
Ryan is still in the hospital, although he's doing fine.  We took cultures again today, and hopefully, the staph infection is gone.  Once they are sure what the best antibiotic to use, they will send us home.  Yea!

Patrick is with him because this way he can play computer games all day, stay up until 4am without me nagging him and not have to wake up at 6:45am to get the kids ready for school... hey, wait a minute...

I had to run into Great Falls to get Patrick's signature on some escrow papers, so while I should have had a relaxing day with nothing much to do, I spent the morning driving and shopping.  I did manage to save a bunch at CVS (I bought about $40 worth of stuff for about $13... good couponing and sale day!), which always makes me happy.  By the time I got home, and got all the paperwork together and sent off to the Realtor, the kids were home from school.  No bon bon's for me today.

Both boys enjoyed the extra 2 hours of play time they had, with no basketball practice.  I think they were almost bored.  The good news is that there were no complaints about how little free time they had. 

I had a chat with one of my friends about 4H today.  Allen claimed that he was interested ( I think it was because the kid he was talking to made about $100 selling his cow at the fair this year).  Of course, I haven't a clue about 4H, but apparently, it's not only about farm animals.  I mean, there are definitely farm animals, but we don't have the yard for a cow or a pig or a goat, so I think farm animals are not in the cards for this year.  But there are other fields like robotics and cooking and sewing and stuff like that.  There is a meeting next week where the kids are making cookie plates for the senior citizens, complete with a hay ride around Geyser and hot chocolate.  I can see our plans for Sunday will involve a couple dozen of my chocolate chip cookies. 

November 27, 2011

Outside Temp: 56 F (Oh my gosh!  Where did my winter go?...)

What I cooked today:
Nothing...again... for the 3rd day in a row.  I almost made something when I got home around 8, just so I could say I cooked something... I did pick up dishes from the 3 days I was gone, so there is that.

Update:
Ryan is STILL in the hospital.  His culture from Saturday came back positive for Staph, so apparently, the culture from Thursday night was NOT a contaminant, but a real infection.  Who knew?  We changed his antibiotics to Vancomyacin, which should really kill any staph infection that may be growing.

He is totally climbing the walls and is ready to come home, but we will keep him in until the cultures start coming back negative, instead of positive.


In the mean time, I've come up with my top 5 things I like about my hospital.  I could start with things like, I love the nurses, but I loved the nurses at UCLA too, so I figured I'd come up with things I like that are unique to Benefis.

Top 5 Favorite Things at Benefis Hospital

5.  They have a lo-jack on Ryan's wrist.  All kids under 8 (or maybe 10) are required to have a sensor on the wrist or ankle, which will cause an alarm to go off if the kids gets within 3 feet of the door.  This sensor can be disabled, if the kid needs to leave the floor (or just wants to play somewhere else), but it's a great safety precaution.  Ryan actually set off the alarms today, which are reall y loud and obnoxious and they had to call security, just like when you set off the alarm on your house. 

4.  There is a Washer and Dryer in the Parent's Refreshment Room.  I will probably not have any need for it, since I'm only 45 minutes from home, but it's a great, great idea!  I can't even count the amount of times that Ryan threw up (or worse) on his green blanket and we had no way to clean it.  We would wash it in the bathtub and hang it to dry (really good on a handmade knit blanket).  A washer really would have come in handy... There is also coffee, tea, hot and ice water, a microwave and a fridge (for those leftovers!)

3.  The XBox in every room.  Ryan is totally into his XBox games.  In fact, when he started feeling sick, he asked to go to the hospital so he could play the Lego Indiana Jones game.  That silly machine has kept him totally occupied, from the time he wakes up until about midnight, when I make him shut it off.  Regular TV only gets you so far these days, and having the XBox is just awesome.

2.  A TV for me.  There is a second television next to the parents bed area, just for me.  He can play his silly games and I can watch Food Network, or movies or (in today's case) the marathon of Sister Wives.  I could address my cards yesterday, while watching Pride and Prejudice, and Ryan didn't have to stop playing his games.

And the number 1 reason I love my hospital:
1.  Parking is FREE!!    Yes, FREE!  At UCLA, parking is $11, a day.  Every day.  When every admission is about a week, and clinic visits every other Friday, and sometimes bad things happen and hospital visits last multiple months, I can't even count the amount of money I spent on Parking Fees at the hospital.  Here, there is a big parking lot, that is never full, and parking is totally free. 

November 26, 2011

Outside Temp: Not sure, probably in the 30's somewhere.


What I cooked today:
Again, nothing... But the cafeteria here is great, and it's kind of nice to not have to do any dishes.


Update:
We are still in-patient, but Ryan is doing really well. We haven't had any more issues and he is climbing the walls. All day long, he has been asking me to help him play his XBox games!
Assuming we get through the night with no fevers, and no cultures suddenly turn positive, and he continues not having any retching or throwing up, and all his electrolytes are good in the morning, then we might discuss discharge. Until then, I'm just trying to stay away from the vending machine that has candy bars that are just calling my name!

On the good side, I had plenty of time today to start addressing my Christmas cards. I haven't done Christmas cards in about 4 years. I figure, there are plenty of family and friends that don't have my new address, so what better way to let them know then to send them a card first?! Of course, that would imply that I had addresses for all my family and friends, which I don't, so I also spent a large amount of time online on whitepages.com, looking up addresses for my family (which is kind of lame, since most of them are in the same house they have been in for the last 10-20 years).

The kids had pictures taken at school last week, so it will be about 2-3 weeks before I get those pictures back. I was going to include the kids school pictures in some of my cards, but since that would mean that I wouldn't be mailing the cards until the week of Christmas, a backup plan is in order.

I'm hoping that once we get home, I can have the parents take a family picture of us, so I can include a picture in my cards. But that would entail not only taking the picture, but actually having it printed up. I'm not sure if 2 whole steps might be too much for me, but I have every intention of doing it... Do I get credit for intentions?

November 25, 2011

Outside Temp: Not sure, maybe around 30?

What I cooked today:
Nothing...

Update:
So, Ryan decided to spike a temp last night, which meant a trip to the hospital.  Patrick was kind enough to take the first night, so I could stay home and get some rest (and do laundry and dishes... ).  I switched with him this afternoon, so I'll be here for the next few days.

Ryan's fever was gone by 3am (which may have had something to do with the Tylenol and something to do with the antibiotics).  The docs think he may have a mild case of C-diff, which is a gut bug, and his cultures have only come back with Staph, which is usually a contaminant. 

His electrolytes were a little off, which may have contributed to his fever.  It turns out that he may have had a simple flu, which affected his electrolytes.  I can't even imagine him having something as simple as a flu, but that's what it's looking like.  We'll keep looking at cultures, just to keep an eye on it.

I guess Ryan didn't feel like it would be a normal Thanksgiving without a visit to the hospital.  It was really funny last night.  Patrick had to wait in the ER for a full hour and a half (which is about 20 hours less than UCLA), and that was because there were no patients on the pediatric floor and they had to call a nurse in on Thanksgiving to take him.  For most of the day, Ryan was the only patient on the peds floor, although a few other kids showed up later today. 

Allen, Connor and Katie had a great time with the grandparents for Thanksgiving, and even got to go swimming in the hotel pool.  I've been told they behaved themselves, which I'm going to choose to believe.  I'm bummed that I missed seeing all the family, but I'm hoping that things will be stable for Christmas and we'll get to see everyone then.  Grandpa said that they woke up this morning, in Missoula, to a blizzard.  They were concerned that they would have to take off early, to get home safe But they were lucky because after about 30 minutes (and 3 inches of snow), the blizzard ended and they had clear roads the rest of the day.

Hopefully, everything will go well in the next 24 hours, and we can get on with our lives!  Until then, I'm grateful that the food in the cafeteria is pretty good!  :)

November 24, 2011

Outside Temp: 33 F (a little chilly, but still clear and pretty... and dark... it's really dark around here at night)

What I cooked today:
More Pumpkin Bread: Patrick wanted extra bread to eat for the next few days.  Of course, I forgot to check the temperature of the oven 10 minutes in, and it was already up to 410.  So, I turned it down to 300, and it stayed at 400.  So,  I turned it down to 250, and opened the oven for a few minutes to cool it down.  Needless to say, the bread was a little burned on the bottom and the top, but still good... You just had to scrape off any burned parts.

Chili: I know, not exactly the traditional Thanksgiving feast, but it's warm and good and I only needed to feed 2 of us, so I wasn't about to cook something big and fancy.

Update:
Ryan has a little bit of a flu, and we didn't want him to infect anyone at the Thanksgiving party, so Patrick and I stayed home with him, while Grandma and Grandpa took the other 3 kids to Aunt Catherine's for dinner.  Ryan was a little warm, but not really hot, and we debated for about 3 hours taking him into the hospital.  In the end, he was getting better, not worse, and nothing really changed with taking him off his TPN (if the infection was in the line, turning off the IV would have stopped the bug from being pushed into his blood stream, and he would 'appear' to get better).  He spent most of the day resting and just sort of complaining about being tired and a little achy.  Right now, he's in his room, watching TV and his temp is pretty normal.  I'm just praying that when we hook him up to his TPN tonight, that he stays nice and cool.  Otherwise, we'll be heading into the hospital.  (the bag is packed, just in case).

After the kids left around 10:30 this morning, Patrick and I kind of looked at each other and went, 'hmmm, what do we do now?'.  He played a game on the computer and I spent about 2 hours looking at Black Friday deals.  By the way, there's a 60" Toshiba LCD Flat Screen TV at Wal-Mart for less than $1000!  Of course, I'd have no where to put a 60" TV, nor could I justify spending that kind of money on a TV, but I'm sure there are some people out there who would be able to spend that kind of money on entertainment without the guilt factor. 

A few quotes from friends on Facebook today:

Don't you think it's ironic that American's spend the most money on new things the day after they say their grateful for what they already have. 

I'm thankful that I rented the first Twilight movie several years ago, and was able to turn it off 10 minutes in.


(and my favorite)
THERE IS SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR! Even when we complain....it's usually about things by which we are blessed. (for example....laundry again! look at all the clothes we have.....snow again, I just got done shoveling the walk.....we have a walk) :) I pray that we will truly enjoy all of our blessing and share them willingly with others! HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL YOU......I AM SO BLESSED TO HAVE YOU IN MY LIFE!


So, today as with most days, I am thankful for many things!  I'm thankful for my family and friends, but that's the obvious answer.  There are a few other things that are not so obvious.

I am thankful for TPN, which is keeping my son alive, even though it means frequent line infections and lots of days in the hospital. 

I'm thankful for my medical bills, which only occur because someone treated my son in a hospital and I didn't have to write a check or hand over a credit card before getting medical attention. 

I'm thankful for my oven that drives me crazy, because I only know it sucks because I can use it to cook food to feed my family. 

I'm thankful for my old computer, which allows me to keep in touch with friends that I would be too busy (or too lazy) to keep in touch with if I had to actually write something down, and mail it. 

I'm thankful I can nag my husband to get the work done for the company that he consults for, even though it means that he stays up late at night working. 
I'm thankful every time I spend $80 to fill up my gas tank, because it means I have a car with no car payments.

I'm thankful when my kids disagree with me, because it means that they have a mind of their own, and are comfortable and secure enough in their relationship with me to be honest.

I'm thankful that someone is buying my house in California for tens of thousands less than I paid for it, because it means I won't have to pay HOA or insurance or taxes anymore.

But mostly, I'm thankful that Patrick's mom burned her pumpkin pies this morning and left them behind, because it means Patrick and I get to have pumpkin pie for dessert.  (I even 'borrowed' her whipped cream which she forgot in the fridge!)

Happy Thanksgiving! 

November 23, 2011

Outside Temp: 51 F (where did my winter go?)

What I cooked today:
BBQ Pork Ribs: I got some ribs on sale today, so I took the easy way out and just tossed some BBQ sauce on them, and threw them in the oven.  Katie really wanted Sweet and Sour Pork, so I guess I'll have to make that next week. 

Pumpkin Bread: I'm bringing my pumpkin bread to Aunt Catherine's for Thanksgiving, so I had to make up some.  I ended up with a bundt and a loaf.  And of course, the kids dug into the loaf, so it's already gone.  Patrick wants me to make another batch, which I may just end up doing, just because. 

Update:
I noticed today, my page view count (i.e. the number of pages that have been seen by someone) hit 1000.  I still can't believe that anyone would be interested in anything I have to say, but with my total posts hitting 34, I've been doing this for a month.  And on average, each page has been viewed about 30 times.  That's amazing!  Thank you all for reading!

Ryan was feeling a little punky today, so we're watching him like a hawk.  It would be fitting if he got sick on Thanksgiving... there was a time that we couldn't get through a single holiday without a visit to the hospital.  He doesn't have a fever, just tired, which is similar to how I felt a few days ago.  If we're lucky, he may just have a touch of a flu.  We are debating bringing him down to Aunt Catherine's, since I'd hate to get anyone sick.  We'll decide tomorrow morning, but I figure that if we make it through the night (being hooked up to his TPN) and don't have to bring him into the hospital, that would be a good sign.




The Highwood Mountains, on the drive back home from Great Falls

 I made my weekly trek into Great Falls for groceries today.  I didn't end up getting much, and I'm getting more used to the drive.  You know how it gets when you do a certain 30-40 minute drive often enough, that you begin to recognize turns and trees and when there's room to pass and when you have a blind hill.  Oh wait, you may not since I've never been in a position like that!  The main highway is a 2 lane road, where you have to actually cross into oncoming traffic to pass.  And there are A LOT of trucks that travel that road.  So, I'm learning where the passing lanes are, when it's safe to pass, and when, if possible, you should pass because it will be another 8 miles before it will be safe again. 

The road is also really windy.  I'm not sure if that's a 'right now' type of thing, or if it's always that windy, but I was struggling to keep the car on the road.  I think the new tires are helping, a lot, but it's still hard.  Especially when a truck going the opposite way passes you. 

On the drive back, there was a car that had been blown off the road, and hit something (probably a mail box or a ditch).  The driver was fine and was walking towards town.  I almost stopped and offered him a ride, but I had to get back home to drop off escrow papers.  I know, the concept of stopping for a stranded driver is pretty foreign to me, but it was also about 10 miles into Armington, and I'd hate to be the one walking that far. 

The ski slopes are scheduled to be opened on December 9th, but they had a warning to people who would hike up to the slopes and try to ski down.  Not exactly that they couldn't ski down, just that they should avoid the steep runs.  Apparently, that's a pretty common occurrence, especially over Thanksgiving break... the kids hiking up there to ski since they're out of school anyway.  They only have about 22 inches of snow right now.  And there's something about the snow has to pack down between storms to keep it from sliding.  Either way, I can't wait to see the kids on the slopes!

The kids wanted to watch 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' tonight.  If you've never seen it, it's a totally cute old movie.  Singing and dancing, which is always a requisite for those types of movies.  The kids were dancing around the living room, and singing along with the songs.  Of course, we all agree that the husband, Adam, is just an idiot.  :)

November 22, 2011

Outside Temp: 48 F (and very windy!)

What I cooked today:
Nothing.  We had a game and we decided to eat out after the game, so I cooked absolutely nothing.  :)

Update:
So, we finished the season at 10 wins, 2 losses.  Yea!  The game tonight was a little challenging, but we prevailed and did great!  The boys have both learned so much and are really starting to enjoy playing.  Of course, that's when the season ends, but I figure that they will have some time to play in the next 10 months and be ready for next season!

We travelled to Moore today for the game.  The players we were playing against (especially the 8th graders playing the Junior High Game) were HUGE!  I think 3 of them were almost 6 feet tall.  The JH game was almost sad, with their big guys just running over our guys.  I figure it's all that red meat and lifting hay bales.  Who knew?  I guess the boys need to find some hay bales to lift.

The kids are glad to be out of school for the next 5 days, even though 2 of those days will be spent travelling.  I'm just glad to not have to wake up at 6:45am.  I don't do mornings.

Tomorrow will be my baking day.  I promised to bring some things for Thanksgiving, and it's just easier to do the baking the day before.

November 21, 2011

Outside Temp: 38 F

What I cooked today:
Beef Stew: I was feeling a little crappy today, so I love making this.  It's so easy and after about 10 minutes of prep, start the crock pot and 6 hours later, dinner is served. 

Update:
So, the boys played against Belt tonight, and while they lost, it wasn't as bad as last time.  If they win tomorrow, their record will be 10-2, which isn't too bad, considering that Belt has a really, really good team.  Apparently, they have enough kids, that they only let you play if you are good (as opposed to our school, which is just grateful for a warm body on the court). 

We picked up the Aveo, with it's brand new snow tires.  Patrick drove it home and said it was awesome!  We'll eventually get snow tires on the van, but I think we'll wait until the next paycheck.  After all, it's scheduled to be in the 50's tomorrow, and it should be above freezing (at least during the day) for the next 10 days or so.  :)

The kids are excited about tomorrow being the last day of school, for the next 5 days! They may not realize that we have a lot of driving to do for Thanksgiving.  We're heading to Helena to see Aunt Catherine on Thursday, and then to Missoula on Friday to see Uncle Charles.  Of course, it's only about an hour and half to Helena, and about 2 hours to Missoula.  No biggie.

We're working with our escrow company and will hopefully close escrow on the California house sometime next week (finger's crossed).  I actually just want to get out of paying for December's HOA fees.  :)

November 20, 2011

Outside Temp: 19 F (it's been in the 30's all day)

What I cooked today:
Take home pizza: Patrick was in town with the parents, and he brought home a premade pizza.  It was nice to not have to actually make anything, just toss in the oven and voila, dinner is served.

Update:
Today was our lazy day.  The boys played computer games most of the day.  And Katie and I had a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon.  I own all the movies (from when we were rich), so we got through most of Season 2 today.  Of course, we had to stop for 2 hours when Patrick got home, because he wanted to watch the pilot of Miami Vice (which we also own).  Ahh, the hairstyles alone make it worth watching!

I had every intention of cleaning the house today, but I just couldn't work up the energy.  Oh well, I can always clean tomorrow.

The boys are playing Belt tomorrow night, which is the only game they've lost this season.  It makes to be an interesting night!

November 19, 2011

Outside Temp: 1 F (last night, the low was -6)

What I cooked today:
Pancakes: Since we had a guest last night, I thought I'd make pancakes for the kids.  :)

Spiced Apple Cider: I love this on a cold day.  I just toss some apple juice in a pot with a stick of cinnimon, a couple cloves and a little bit of whole allspice.  Not only is the house all yummy smelly, but the taste is great and I can sip it all day.  (I guess it's kind of like coffee, if I ever drank coffee).

Meatloaf: I wanted to do something different, just to see if I could.  I should have added more bread crumbs, or less milk.  It was a little thin, so I had to actually use a loaf pan, which meant that it wasn't crusty enough on the outside.  But everyone ate and it worked out fine. 

Update:
Okay, so one annoying thing about snow; when people walk around the house in their shoes, with snow on them, they leave snow, which melts, and when you walk over the same spot in your socks, they get wet.

And I know you were all wondering... the University of Montana Grizzlies beat Montana State Bobcats 36-10.  I only caught the last 10 minutes via the Internet (which isn't really fast enough for video streaming, so it was a little choppy), but since I really don't care yet who wins, it was a fun last 10 minutes to watch.  One of the players ran off the field into a spectator, who turned out to be a bus driver for one of the teams, who was down for about 5 minutes.  Those football players can hit hard!

The boys played up at the grandparents for a few hours, sledding around.  But my husband, who was supposed to take pictures, decided to join in the fun and forgot to take any.  I can only hope that we'll have another time with snow where we can take pictures... :)

I had to feel really bad, because our guest, Kenneth, has contacts, so he took them out last night and left them in the bathroom.  I wasn't thinking or I would have had him put them out by the fireplace.  Needless to say, they were frozen into the solution last night, which meant that my bathroom was below freezing, and he ripped them trying to get them out this morning.  Arghh, who knew?  Fortunately, he had his glasses, or else the entire day would have really stunk.  We have a small space heater (it was in the house when we got here), so we've set it up in the bathroom, which is by far the coldest room in the house.  I hope it takes the chill off, especially for those middle of the night bathroom trips...

The house is getting cold.  It's been in the 60's inside all day, and now is hovering right at about 58.  I'm thinking about breaking down and turning on the heater, although I'm hating the cost of the propane.  We are all pretty bundled up in clothes and blankets, and no one is complaining, but I'm thinking about turning it on anyway.  Maybe just for a couple hours?  To take off the chill?  I know I said I liked the cold, which I do.  Will you all think less of me for giving in to the cold and turning on the heat?  I can claim that I'm doing it for the kids, and if it were just me, I would gladly leave it until at least the 40's.  :)

November 18, 2011

Outside Temp: 4 F (yes, 4... it should be below 0 by midnight)

What I cooked today:
Burgers and Pasta (with leftover sauce):  I had only defrosted about a pound of meat, and we ended up with an extra guest, so Patrick and I had pasta and the kids had burgers.  It worked out great!

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Just to cement my 'awesome mom' status, I had to make cookies tonight.  Is there anything better?

Spiced Apple Cider: It got pretty cold today, and hot cider is totally awesome. 

Update:
Our tires didn't show up today, so we have to wait until Monday to get our car back.  That's fine, since I really have no desire to go anywhere until the snow stops. 

It's actually quite beautiful, if you're inside a warm house, drinking hot apple cider.

But you have to be careful while driving, or else:


This big rig got blown over from the winds!





The boys had a friend, Kenneth, stay over tonight.  He's on the team, so we just brought him home with us after the game.  He said my house was cool, which I think is because of the 4 computers in the living room.  I hope he wasn't too bored, playing computer games with the boys.  Tomorrow should be fun, since we'll probably head up to the parents place to play in the snow. 

And Katie missed the bus after school.  Apparently, on Fridays, they play games for the last 15-20 minutes of class.  And she got so caught up in the game, that she forgot about the bus.  No problems, though.  One of the teachers just took her home and we picked her up on the way to the game.  I love my school.

The boys won their game, again.  And the boys both got to play.  They had their last practice of the season yesterday, and Connor was actually upset.  I think he finally started to like basketball, so it's kind of sad that it's over.  We have a game next Monday and Tuesday, and then we're done.  It's been a great (short) season!  The boys had pictures taken today, so I'll post them as soon as I get them. 





November 17, 2011

Outside Temp: 24 F (and getting colder)



What I cooked today:
Angel Hair Pasta: So lazy today.  I offered 'leftovers' to the kids, either spaghetti sauce or chili.  They asked for spaghetti, without the sauce.  I know, no protein, no dairy, nothing of much use, but it was easy and cheap and they were happy. 

Update:
So, we dropped off the car to get snow tires today.  This has been a long, drawn out discussion on 'All Season' vs. 'Snow Tires', and the snow tires won out.  Then we had the long, drawn out discussion between the van and the Aveo.  The Aveo won out.  I think it won because it get's better gas milage and it's lighter, and the tires were about 30% cheaper.  Of course, we can't fit our entire family in the Aveo, but who cares about little things like that. 

We decided to get the tires from a place in Geyser, instead of Great Falls for a few different reasons.  If I'm going to spend $500 on tires, I'd rather have the profit go to a local company rather than the 'big city'.  And the guys in Geyser were so nice and friendly and they're going to install them for us, included in the price (the Great Falls place would have charged extra for installation).  The guy at the Geyser place is also on the school board, so we'd already met, which was kind of cool.

There is a big storm scheduled for the next 2-3 days, so we figured we should drop the car off early, in case we couldn't get over to the store once the snow started falling.

I dropped Ryan off at school, and drove the 5 blocks across town to the Geyser Elevator (yes, the place that we are getting the tires from is actually in the old grain elevator).  I chatted with Bruce for a few minutes, and gave him the keys.  I almost took a picture of the cute little kittens that were running around the store.  The first one I saw was sitting on top of the internet router next to his computer.  All I could think about was the fur from the cat getting into the router, but I didn't say anything.  Bruce said he would call tomorrow if the tires show up, and he would install them right away. 

I then walked the 5 blocks back to school, which was actually kind of nice.  I got to see the entire town of Geyser, so now I know where everything in the town is.  And by everything, I mean: the post office, the cafe, the bar... hmmm, I think that's it.  The walk was great and the weather was still pretty nice, although the wind had kicked up a couple notches.  I think I was blown the last 2 blocks. 

So, now you may be asking yourself, how was I planning on getting home from school?  Why, the bus, of course! 

Now, I haven't been on a school bus since the swim team at Napa High my senior year, which is going on almost 20 years now.  And before the swim team, I had to take the bus to middle school, which scarred me for life.  So, as I climbed aboard the bus, I felt a wave of nausea, and had to remind myself that I was an adult now, and no one was going to give me nasty looks if I tried to sit next to them.

I didn't need to worry.  Katie, Ryan and I were, of course, the first ones on the bus.  I settled Ryan into a seat and tried to clamp down on my anxiety.  Then, two other kids came on board.  Then the driver, and we were off.  Yep, that's it. 

We had 2 stops to make.  The other kids lived on a ranch about 2-3 miles off the main highway, so we dropped them off first, then headed to our house.  As we were coming into Raynesford, a deer ran across the road, so we all had to comment on him.  Then the driver pulled right up to our how and we got off. 

Yea!  I survived the bus ride!  Ryan even did okay.  I think the time may come when I allow him to ride home with the other kids! 

A few hours later, it was time to pick up the boys from practice.  Fortunately, the storm hadn't really started yet, and the roads were still clear, so I could drive the van to pick them up.  We were also picking up two other boys who live a few miles east of us.  And, as we were getting loaded up, we realized that another player was trying to get ahold of his mom.  She was working, so could we drop him off?  Well of course, where do you want to go...  The bar.  So, I found myself dropping this kid off at the bar.  I neglected to ask if his mom was working at the bar, or if she was just there.  I'll ask her tomorrow, since I see her every day.

Things are a little different around here.  :)

November 16, 2011

Outside Temp: 30 F (it's like summer!)

What I cooked today:
Chili: It was pretty cold most of the day, so chili is just awesome.

Cornbread Muffins: I used the recipe on the back of the corn meal package.  I still hate it when the cornbread just falls apart and you can't even put butter on it, because it shreds as you try to spread the butter.  Anyone have any ideas on how to make cornbread that stays together?

Update:
Today was a pretty lazy day.  The kids went to school, then came home.  The boys went to practice, then came home.  I made dinner and we ate.  Now, everyone is in bed, and I can't seem to remember anything I did today that was worthy of writing about. 

Oh wait, Patrick got about 13 lbs of ground beef at Sam's Club today, so I packaged it up in my FoodSaver packs and tossed it in the freezer. 

And one of the boy's teammates has a brother who shot an elk today, so he (the teammate) skipped practice to go help dress it.

Maybe something exciting will happen tomorrow.  :)

November 15, 2011

Outside Temp: 19 F (and still snowing!)

What I cooked today:
Spaghetti Sauce:  Connor and Allen had a game in Winnett, so I asked them what they wanted for dinner... They asked for Spaghetti Sauce, so that's what I made.  Unfortunately, they stopped at McDonald's for dinner, so when they arrived home, they weren't hungry.  Oh well, it stores well in the fridge, so I guess we're getting it for lunch tomorrow!  :)

Update:
After yesterday's excitement, we decided to look into snow tires today.  We found a place locally in Geyser that will get them and install them for less than the other place was charging for just the tire!  Love it!!  Unfortunately, they won't get them in until Friday.  So, until then, Patrick's parent's may be helping us get the boys from school after practice, so we won't have to be driving on the scary roads until our car is ready. 

The current 'storm' is expected to taper off tomorrow, and then come back on Thursday and Friday (Friday is scheduled for a low of 6... degrees).  After that, it should warm back up into the teens and 20's until about Wednesday, when it will finally get above freezing.  That means the kids will probably still have snow to play in this weekend. 

And since Montana State and University of Montana are playing their 'Big Game' on Saturday, there is NOTHING scheduled for this weekend.  I wouldn't be surprised if church was postponed until after the game.  Now, if only we had cable hooked up to our TV, we could watch it.  :)   The problem I'm running into is that I haven't been here long enough to have a preference between the Bobcats and the Grizzlies.  And I'd hate to tick anyone off by rooting for the 'wrong' team.  Out here, we take our college football VERY SERIOUSLY.

The boys game was in Winnett today, which is about 2-3 hours away, depending on weather conditions.  We decided that it would be silly to go, so I am feeling very guilty about missing the boys game for the first time.  But, they managed to win anyway!  Woo Hoo!  28-23 (I think).  Allen said that the referee was a local to Winnett, and kept calling fouls and traveling for our team, while letting the local team get away with it.  Ahh, welcome to the competitive world of local Elementary and Junior High Sports.  Since I wasn't there to see it, I'll just have to take the boys' word for it!

We let Ryan out to play in the snow for a little bit this afternoon.  Of course, I forgot to have him put on the good 'snow' gloves, and he just had little knit gloves on.  As you can imagine, after about 30 minutes of snow balls and playing, his hands were just frozen (okay, not really, but they were cold).  So, we brought him in and made him put his hands in warm water to get the feeling back into them.  Which turned into another game of splashing water all over the kitchen.  No worse for wear...

Our creek has not frozen over (yet), but there was some snow on the tree, which was quite pretty.  I was thinking that the water would be really cold, but (as Patrick so obviously pointed out), the outside temperature was about 20, so the creek was probably warmer than the outside! 

The backyard isn't all snow (yet), but there was definitely some snow on the ground.  The funny part was when I went to get the snow shovel, and it was in the shed, which had snow blocking the door.  I had to push aside all the snow, so I could open the shed, to get the snow shovel.  Irony? 

Patrick and I were doing fine outside (for at least 30 minutes) with just jeans and a sweater (and gloves... loving the gloves).  However, since the weather should get down into the single digits by the end of the week, perhaps a little more layers, like say, a jacket?

We don't have another game until Friday, so the boys are excited about having at least a few minutes to play before dinner and bed.  I'm thinking that Saturday, we'll be trying to make a trek into Great Falls to get 'real' winter items, such as snow pants, snow gloves and snow boots.  Katie's boots are not really designed for real weather, although they look cute.  Her socks were drenched, so I guess that 'waterproof' label didn't mean real water.  And I'm really looking forward to those flannel lined jeans!  Oh wait, the big game is on Saturday... I wonder if any stores will be open?  (You know those signs in movies that say 'Closed for the Big Game'... I'll see if I can find any.)



November 14, 2011

Outside Temp: 24 F (and SNOWING!!)

What I cooked today:
Beef Pot Roast: I bought a large roast a few weeks ago, cut it in half and froze half... I defrosted the remaining half last night and tossed it into the crock pot with potatoes, carrots and onions.  It was awesome because we had dinner on the table 7 minutes after we walked in the door (I just had to make gravy).

Update:
First off, THANK YOU to all of you who wished me happy birthday today! 

The boys had a game in Denton today.  Denton is about 50 miles away, and on normal days, should take about 45 minutes from the school.  But today wasn't really a normal day. 

The weather had been snowy all day, but it's been mostly light and I wasn't all that concerned.  That'll teach me...

I left the school with Katie and Ryan around 3:30.  Ann and Greg were going to pick up Patrick and would meet us there.  We needed both cars anyway, since neither of us has a car that seats 8 (added to my list of things to do).  I drove the Aveo, since it gets better gas mileage and we didn't need the 7 seats in the van if the parents would be there.  Unfortunately, the Aveo had pretty bald tires.

So, about 10 minutes away from the school, I figured that this was a pretty stupid idea.  If I had a brain in my head, I would have stopped, called the parents and turned around. But no, I was going to support my boys and after all, how bad could it get?

As I was slowing to make the left turn at Stanford, my car started to fishtail.  Which wouldn't have been a problem, if the two big rigs were not in my way.  I would have been able to just slide into the left turn and keep going, but these stupid trucks were in my way and I had to actually stop... I mean, jeez, didn't they know to get out of my way?  So, I kept calm and just slid an extra 5-10 feet past my turn and finally came to a stop.  No problem, make the turn and keep going.  Idiot.

So, we got about 7-8 miles out of Stanford, going north, when I passed the snow plow, going the other way.  Hmmm, maybe someone was trying to tell me something.  Another 8 miles or so, and I came to the right turn to head towards Denton.  I saw it about a mile away, so I was able to slow down to about 5 mph and just slide to the right. 

No problem, except that the road was not exactly plowed.  Not to say it was bad, it wasn't... Just a little icy and a little bit of snow.  I was slowed to about 25-30 for the next 15 miles into Denton.  Fortunately, there was only two 'curves', so I handled it fine.  The part that I started to realize right about this point, was that I hadn't seen another car... for about 40 minutes.  Did they know something I didn't?

When I got into town, I realized that I needed to make a couple turns to get to the high school, but I couldn't read the street signs, so I didn't know which road to turn on.  I kept passing roads, saying 'oops, that one was probably it'.  I got to the far side of town and finally made a choice to turn.  Of course, that road was the back alley to the school, which was not only not plowed, but also had no previous cars driving on it.  I was driving my little yellow car in about a foot of snow. 

But I made it to the school, parked, and breathed a sigh of relief.  I got there around 4:50, with time to spare.

The boys game was great, but I kept looking at the door, waiting patiently for Patrick, Ann and Greg to come in.  The game started at 5:00, and still not there.  First quarter was over around 5:15, no sign of anyone yet.  The boys both played for a few minutes in the second quarter.  Halftime around 5:30, no one.  The third quarter ended around 5:40, and they finally made it!  Uh oh. The roads were really bad.

The game ended around 5:55, and the boys won!  Woo Hoo!  41-29!  That makes us 7 and 1.

They came out of the locker room and we decided to immediately head home.  We didn't want to wait for the Junior High team, just in case... After all, we did still have to feed the boys and I didn't know how long it would take to get home. 

Greg and Ann took Allen, Katie and Ryan in their big 4 wheel drive truck, and Patrick and I took Connor in our little yellow Front Wheel Drive car with bald tires.  We went first, so that they could save us if we fell into a ditch.

We drove out of Denton in the middle of major snow storm.  The snow was blowing horizontally across the road, covering the windshield.  With our brights on, we could see about 10 feet in front of us.  The road was covered in snow, with little groves where at least one car had gone before us.  The groves were in the center of the road, which made sense to us. 

So, we cruised at between 10-20 mph, vainly trying to see through the snow, just praying to keep going and not have to hit the breaks.  (If you hit the breaks, your car will lose traction and you will end up in the ditch).  About 30 minutes later, we had gone about 9 miles.  It was another 9 miles to the turn, then another 15 miles from there into Stanford.  We stopped to chat with Greg for a few seconds, making sure he was okay.  Apparently, he was having trouble staying on the road as well.

We made it to the turn and, just like that last 15 feet at the bottom of the ski slope where you slide back into the line to get on the lift, we slid gracefully (no, we did not stop at the stop sign) onto the road, and continued our trek.

Up until this point, we had passed exactly one car, which made life easier, since we could stay in the center of the road.  But, the new road was used by the truckers to get up to Fort Benton.  So, about 5-10 minutes of travelling down this road, the first big rig comes over the hill, hauling 2 tankers of gas (or something).  Ugh, now we had to get over to the side to let the truck pass. 

The storm was wavering between blowing us around on the road, and covering the road with white, making seeing the road impossible.  Every time we thought the storm might be getting better, it got worse.  And somewhere, in the back of our mind, was the fact that we had less than a 1/4 of a tank of gas.  Did I mention that I was missing a brain?

We made it into Stanford and crawled up to the stop sign to turn onto the main highway (where I'd slid earlier today).  Greg had us stop, since his de-icer was not working and he need to scrape off his windshield.  At this point, we didn't know if the highway would be better or worse, better since there might be less snow (more traffic) and worse because there might be more ice (and more traffic). 

There are 3-4 sizable hills, and with ice, it's challenging to keep traction going up the hills.  The biggest fear is that you would lose traction all together, and start rolling backwards.  While that didn't happen, there was a hill or two where we slowed and the tires could just not grip.  Did I mention that they were bald?  We've been talking about snow tires for a few days, but haven't made the actual move to get them... Silly, I know.

So, as we crested one of the hills, we noticed flashing blue lights ahead.  Sure enough, there was the highway patrol, pulled off of our side of the road, facing the same direction we were headed.  In front of him was a Fed-Ex truck, facing towards us, in the ditch.  I'm not sure exactly how he ended up in the ditch, going up hill, but he was in the ditch.  And I don't think he was getting out anytime soon. 

We crawled slowly past him, and continued our rapid pace of about 30 mph down the road.  We made it to Geyser, and we had caught up to a car in front of us.  The car was going about 15-20, and kept hitting his breaks.  Obviously, he had no idea how to drive in a snow storm.  Every time he pressed his breaks, we had to slow up, to not hit him.  But, of course, hitting our breaks made us slip a little.  After about 10 minutes, we were almost ready to pass him.  But he was kind enough to pull over and let us pass.

Around 8pm we finally pulled into Raynesford and could fill up the gas tank.  Another mile and we pulled into our driveway.  We stepped out of the car, into about 6 inches of snow. 

Breathing a big sigh of relief, we started laughing at how terrifying and how exciting it was it.  We knew we would have to drive in snow eventually, so it was good to get it out of the way.  And we knew that we had the parents behind us the whole way, in case we needed help. 

The best part may have been coming home to a warm house that smelled of Pot Roast...  And Allen even offered to do the dishes.

I can't imagine a better birthday! 

November 13, 2011

Outside Temp: 34 F (and no more snow today)

What I cooked today:
Barbeque Oven Baked Pork Ribs w/ Rice:  I got these boneless pork ribs on sale a few weeks ago and I immediatly tossed them into the freezer.  I've been wondering what I would end up doing with them, so I defrosted them today and poured bbq sauce over them and threw them in the oven for a half hour.  Presto!  Dinner, without really thinking about it!  :)

Pumpkin Bread:  I got a few more loaf pans yesterday, so I was able to make 3 loafs (instead of my usual bundt and loaf pans).  Now I have 2 loafs of bread wrapped up tight, so I can munch on them for the week, without having to make more! 

Update:
Today was a do-nothing day.. well, sort of.  Patrick had to help his dad with counter tops and garbage and fun stuff like that, so he was gone most of the day.  But the rest of us had the day off.

I made the kids help me pick up the house today, and Connor was so excited that we were able to vacuum the house and pick up in less than an hour.  "I'm so glad we have a small house!" he kept telling me. 

The kids really loved the day of playing computer games and watching TV shows all day, with no homework and no where we had to go.  I almost wanted to make them do something educational, just because it seemed wrong to have nothing to do.  But, since we have a game in Denton tomorrow, and school and probably a 1000 other things, I figured, a day off isn't so bad.

November 12, 2011

Outside Temp: 31 F

What I cooked today:
Burritos/Tacos: I went shopping today, so I figured Taco meat was as easy as anything else.  Patrick and Connor both ended up making Quesadillas.  And I got to use a tomato from the parent's greenhouse... It was so sweet! 

Update:
The boys won their game against Centerville today, 36-20.  Their current standing is 6 wins/ 1 loss.  Not too bad!  We've got away games next Monday and Tuesday (over 2 hours away for both), so we'll see if that winning streak continues.  Then we only have 3 more games before the tournaments in Great Falls on the 1st.  The boys have come a long way from that first game in Belt, and I am so proud of them!

We had the beginnings of a snow storm this morning, which was totally awesome.  I am totally aware of how unexperienced I am of driving in snow.  I didn't fly all over the road, but I was very careful and drove slowly... Okay, not really slow, but slow enough that I got passed.  The snow wasn't really a problem, but there was a ton of wind, which meant that you needed to hold on to the steering wheel tightly.  No letting go and reaching across to change the radio or anything silly like that!

By the time the game was over (around 11:30) the storm was tapering off, with just a little bit of flurries.  And by the time we got home, it was almost clear.  We went up to the parent's house to throw around some snowballs.  Allen got me really good and Patrick tried to get me from the top balcony.  But I got him back, so it was okay. 

I can't wait for the next storm.  There was only about an inch of snow on the ground, so as you scraped up a handful of snow for a ball, you got down to the dirt.  I want to be able to pick up snow, and not have any dirt in it!  I know, I'm greedy!

After church, I went into Great Falls for my weekly shopping.  I managed to hit CVS, Big Lots, Sam's Club, Smiths, Target, Jo-Ann's and Albertsons in about 2 hours.  I shouldn't have to go back to town for a while, I hope.  Unfortunatly, I didn't get a picture of the Highwood Mountains on my drive in, and it was already dark when I left.  They were amazing!  Not totally covered in snow, but mostly covered.  Just beautiful! 

One of the 'different' things about it up here, there are no street lights on the highway.  As you drive out of town, once you hit the city limits, the roads are DARK.  I mean, really DARK.  If you turned off your headlights, you would not be able to see anything.  Not even the reflectors on the road.  NOTHING.  On the flip side, now I understand what 'brights' are for! 

November 11, 2011

Outside Temp: 42 F

Happy Veteran's Day!  Thank you to all those who serve.

What I cooked today:
Burgers and Mashed Potatoes: With all that was going on today, I was lucky to at least pull some ground beef out of the freezer.  So, when we got home from the game, I was able to throw together dinner pretty quick. 

Update:
The boys played Tri-Cities and WON, again... 36-20. The boys are really getting better and I really like this team. The boys who are really good don't hog the ball ... They all play as a team and everyone plays. Connor was in for more than a quarter and did an excellent job of keeping his 'opponent' occupied. When there are only 5 players, and Connor keeps one of them from getting the ball or being useful at all, he's really important. Allen is trying to figure out how to guard without fouling, but he's learning. Only one foul today! The coach thinks he might want to play Football in the fall. :)  We play Centerville tomorrow morning, so I hope we all get a good night's rest. 
The kids had a Veteran's Day 'thing' at school today.  I've already written about how awesome the school lunches are, and how the kids enjoy the fresh food.  For today, the school invited all the senior citizens (and new folks, like us) to join them for lunch.  We had baked ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, yams and pumpkin custard with real whipped cream.  Yumm!

It was really neat to have the local senior citizens come to school.  We sat next to a couple of gentlemen from town for lunch, and I am always reminded at how much information they have to share.  We talked about how we're planning for winter (since we have no clue) and they were more than happy to share their wisdom with us.  We talked about fishing and hunting and ways to heat a house and really simple things like that.  And the ladies just laughed at Ryan and his energy and laughter. 

Ryan, as one would expect from Ryan, just ran around and chased a few of the high school girls calling 'You're mine!"  and "I'm going to get you!".  The girls took in in stride and laughed it off, although Ryan is getting pretty aggressive in his tactics.  Of course, since the school is only 36 students, everyone already knows Ryan pretty well.  It's great to find a place that is willing to accept his 'uniqueness' without judgement or irritation. 

Katie and Connor's classes did a cute little 'presentation', complete with sign language.  I was going to take pictures, but I realized I would have to get the other kids in the picture, then I couldn't post them without permission and it might get ugly.  So, you'll just have to believe me when I say, it was cute.

The school is interesting, in that it reminds me of what school was about 40 years ago.  After lunch, we all went into the gym.  Once we were settled, we all stood while the pep band played the Star Spangled Banner and the flags were presented.  We then said the Pledge of Allegiance.

After the Pledge, the high school students (all 7-8 of them) took turns reading the President's Address for Veteran's Day.  I didn't know there was a Presidential Address for Veteran's Day.  Then the 1st and 2nd graders said a few words about the flag, and the 3rd - 6th grades did their little skit.

We took a few moments to ask all those in the audience who had served to stand, so we could thank them.  Then we had a member of the Air Force come by and talk about his service.  He was part of the group that does the construction of new bases in war zone.  He was their with his wife and 2 cute little girls.  When he talked about his tours of Iraq and Afghanistan and Qatar, I thought of how rough it must be for his wife and family.  While he said he wasn't part of the troops that did the fighting, I thought about how important his job was.  He was very modest, but I think his job is one of the most important.

Now, those who know me well, probably know how much I want to throw in something political about government and wars and stuff like that.  But today is not the day for that.  Today is about thanking those who choose to work and fight for our freedom.  They aren't doing it for the money or the benefits or the recognition, but for something much more important than all that.  So, to those people who have made the choice to serve in our Armed Forces, I say Thank You.

November 10, 2011

Outside Temp: 49 F ( a snow storm is 'scheduled' for this weekend, so this is the calm before the storm.  We turned off the heater for tonight... it's too warm.)


The view out my front door this evening.. The clouds were so pretty, a picture really doesn't do it justice.

Ryan was taking pictures today, and made daddy take this one of the two of us. I thought it turned out nice, so I thought I'd include it here.


What I cooked today:
Pumpkin Bread: The boys really love this bread, so I thought I'd bake some up today.  Patrick and I already devoured 1/2 of the bundt cake, which left the other half for Allen to inhale after practice.  I'm not sure why we all like it so much (maybe it's the 4 cups of sugar...)

Steak and Mashed Potatoes:  I thought I'd try steaks again tonight since: a) I have them in the freezer and they have to get eaten sometime.  and b) I can't quit just because I screwed up royally last time. 

The steaks turned out great!  I counted the minutes and kept checking my oven temperature gauge to make sure it stayed at 450-500.  The last steak was a little more rare than I usually like, so I just tossed it back in for an extra minute or two.  Connor was so excited about being able to mix his 'blood' with his mashed potatoes!


Update:
So, I was warned today that I need to be careful about my blog because 3 things might happen: 

1.  My friends and family wouldn't have to talk to me anymore, because everything new in my life they already would know from reading the blog, so I wouldn't have anything new to say.  I figure, I'm 'communicating' more with my friends and family than I ever did when we all lived next to each other.  And this way, I don't have to pay for expensive long distance phone calls.

2.  No one would talk to me anymore, since I would spill all their secrets on my blog.  I figure that my life is an open book, and I really don't have anything juicy or exciting to tell anyway.  Now, when I find out about something REALLY secret that I shouldn't share, I'll be sure to put it in bold.

3.  I'm making Montana sound so good, that people would want to come here and invade our state.  This one really made me laugh, since I'm sure that most of the people who are reading the blog will take note of the daily temperature and stay put.  Some of the people who are reading would notice that the nearest restaurant is 30 minutes away and I have to drive 45 minutes just to go to a grocery store.  And a few of the people, who are not afraid of the cold, and the distance, would not consider moving here because there really aren't that many jobs here.  Most people need to actually work to support themselves, and jobs are usually required for that to occur.  

That all being said, if you are not afraid of the cold, and the distance, and if you have a job you can do from home, and you're a nice person who can get along with other people, feel free to come on up.  Just be sure to stay at least a few miles away... We wouldn't want to get crowded.

The wind was blowing extra hard today, so even though it was warm, we couldn't really play outside after school.  Of course, that didn't stop Ryan from wanting to play outside.  I just loved the ghosts riding the swing set!  The video I really wanted to get was us walking from the play area to the car... we could barely stand upright!

November 9, 2011

Outside Temp: 37 F  (I know, positively summer... )




I took this yesterday, 11/8/11, on the way to school... It snowed flurries about an hour later.  :)

 

What I cooked today:
Burgers and Mashed Potatoes: I love this one because I can do it when I haven't prepared anything.  We're up to 10 potatoes, and the pot was STILL scraped clean.  I guess I'll go up to 12 next time... Fortunately, 10 lb bags of potatoes are on sale this week... I foresee at least 2 bags...

Cornbread (from a box): I should have known better, but I had a box of cornbread and wanted to make something to go with the burgers.  I used muffin liners, which actually worked out really well.  But the muffins were the kind that fall apart when you try to butter them... I need to find a way to make cornbread that doesn't crumble... any ideas?

Update:
We went into Great Falls today, for a quick shopping trip.  We were out of milk and a few other staples, but I wanted to wait until Friday for my big trip (since I could be sure that money was available by then). 

We stopped at Wal-Mart, because some really awesome reader had told me that they had flannel lined jeans.  They're only $22 for the men's section, and they are totally awesome!  I didn't get any today, but I will definitely get some next time I'm in town.  They also have them in the boys section, so I see getting at least one pair for each boy.  I didn't ask if they had them for me (knowing my luck, they don't), but worst case, I can use Men's jeans. 

The weather was warm today, such that I was just fine with my t-shirt and sweatshirt, without a jacket.  But I know the day will come when I need to have a real winter jacket.  My hoodie won't work much longer.  But for today, it was great. 

Ryan got to 'play' with the 1st and 2nd graders who were playing basketball after school.  He chased them around the court and they tolerated him.  It was actually kind of funny.  I don't think the boy he was 'guarding' understood a word he said, but he smiled and kept playing. 

Ryan also got to take a 'Star' test today, online.  It was kind of a joke, since they told him to 'press 1, 2 or 3 for the correct answer' and he kept trying to move the mouse to the right answer.  His 'score' put him right on the cutoff between 'Early Emergent Reader' and 'Late Emergent Reader'.  I have no idea what an 'Emergent Reader' is, but since he actually got to the end of the test, I was quite proud.  He struggled with the concept of a number associated with the answer, especially when the answer was a number itself.   I think we'll keep taking tests throughout the year, and hopefully, he will get a little better at test-taking.  :)

November 8, 2011

Outside Temp: 30 F

What I cooked today:
Beef Stew:  I've made it plenty of times, so it's kind of second nature.  But this time, I figured I'd be a little frugal and only use one little 8 oz. steak instead of my usual 2 lbs of beef.  While I got no complaints, each person ended up with only about 2-3 little pieces of beef in their beef stew.  I guess I should rename it 'potato and carrot stew, with a little bit of beef'.  Oh well, it was cheaper this way!

Honey Wheat bread: I thought I'd try a new recipe in my bread maker.  Next time, I'll make sure the recipe calls for a bread maker, instead of a loaf pan.  I halved the recipe, and it was STILL too big.  I came home from school to find the bread had spilled out of the bread maker loaf pan, and the top was still 'sticky'.  Once I got it extracted from the bread maker, and I cut the top off, it tasted fine.  It was very, very soft; almost too soft to cut.  I probably won't use that recipe again.  Next time, I'll pick a 'bread maker' honey wheat recipe! 

Update:
We got a few little flurries of snow today during the day.  It was kind of neat to be in class with Ryan and see snow flying horizontal across the windows.  The teacher probably thought I was nuts, but I got so excited I had to jump up and run to the windows to watch.  She laughed and said I'll get used to it by the end of the winter.

When I went outside with Ryan to play, the snow had stopped, but the wind was still there, biting my nose and ears.  I'm beginning to understand the concept of 'long underwear'.  I was wearing jeans, and it just blew straight through them, like they weren't even there.  I figure if I layer better, it probably won't bug me as much.  Of course, I don't think Ryan even noticed.  He was running and playing and having a blast!  Of course, he had a big winter jacket on, and I had a hoodie.  I think I need to invest in a jacket, and ear muffs, and good gloves, and a few other things.  Either that, or hide out inside while he's outside playing.  :)

The boys had practice tonight, and for the next few nights.  The next game is on Friday, so they have a few days to practice.   And Patrick thought he would help me out, by washing the boys game jerseys last night after I'd gone to bed.  The school colors are Red and White.  And he washed them in hot water.  Needless to say, I went to do the laundry this morning and pulled out the jerseys that were a little pink.  They weren't bad and COULD have been much worse.  But I still had to chastise him.  You NEVER wash red clothes in hot water.  He responded, 'I didn't even look at the water temp (or the load size)... I just turned the knob to start and turned it on.'.  Oh lovely.  At least he put soap in it...

Also, we are NOT going to be going to LA next week... We're having some issues getting the financials arranged (getting our insurance up here to talk to their billing system down there).  That's probably for the best, since we have a storm coming in this weekend, that's supposed to last from Saturday through Monday.  Which would have meant Patrick and Ryan, flying out in a little Cessna, in the middle of a snow storm.  Of course, it's only going to get worse as the winter comes on, so maybe we can schedule it next time around the weather.  Or wait until spring.  :)