March 12, 2012

Outside Temp: 33 F (a little more windy today, and not as warm.  Although I can't complain, it's still above freezing!)

What I cooked today:
Lasagna: Actually, I made the lasagna about 2 months ago, and it's been sitting in my freezer, waiting for the right time to subject my family to a frozen, pre-made meal.  I knew that today would be a busy evening, so I defrosted it and tossed it in the oven (still partially frozen).  I assigned Connor to take the tin foil off the top so it could brown, and then pulled it out of the oven to cool, telling the family to eat.  Of course, they waited until I got home, and the dish was cold.  So, I put it back into the oven to re-heat.  Patrick and Connor both liked it, and Allen and Katie had to hold their noses to clear their plates.  Oh well, 2 out of 4 isn't bad!

Update:
Okay, I'm going to say it.  Officially, I think that the whole 'Daylight Savings' thing is stupid and cruel and needs to be removed.  Yesterday was fine, but it took every ounce of will power to get up this morning and get to school. 

And, just to add insult to injury, the day started with State Standardized Testing (CRT's).  Oh yea, get the kids up an hour early, then test them.  Who was the silly person who scheduled that one?

Ryan also had speech, so not only did I have to get the older 3 up, but I also had to get Ryan and myself up and dressed.  Needless to say, we were about 5 minutes late to school.  Did I mention that they did testing today?  Bad day to be late.  Apparently, it worked out fine and the kids said they did great.  We'll see when the tests comes back (in like 3 years?  I hate standardized testing.)

After Ryan's speech class, we came home and I crawled back into bed.  I'm sure there was plenty to do, but I was so tired, I couldn't stay awake.  Before I knew it, it was 1:15 and I had to get Ryan back to school for class.

Then, this evening, we had the School Board meeting.  I may have mentioned in previous posts that I was considering running for the school board.  I decided that I didn't want to jump in without knowing what I was getting myself into, but that wouldn't stop me from being a part of the board.  I can still attend the meetings and join in the conversations, without being on the board.  So, I went to the meeting tonight.

I'm didn't really have any idea what to expect, so I wasn't disappointed or surprised.  It was simply a school board, discussing normal school board items... where money was spent, how money comes in, misc. school business.  Everyone was friendly and didn't treat me like an outsider, although I'm sure a few of them were wondering what on earth I was doing there.  I'm not sure I could have explained it, but I feel compelled to be a part of the school, to help where I can, to be aware of what's going on and perhaps just to get to know everyone.  And the school board seems to be a good place to start.

After the board meeting, I had a chance to go to the Stations of the Cross at the church.  (During Lent, we can go through the 14 stages of Jesus' journey to be crucified).  I think it's a good time to reflect and think about our lives, and to consider our reactions to events, both good and bad.  And, since our church is so small, there was only 5 other people there!  Did I mention how much I love this place?

The evening ended with 30 minutes of studying for Allen's Geography Bee (on March 30th).  The funny thing is that his world geography is pretty good, but his US geography kind of stinks.  I think the Bee is mostly World Geography, but we wanted to make sure that he didn't embarrassed himself by forgetting the capital of Montana, or something like that!  I figure about 30 minutes of studying a day, and he might do okay!