Outside Temp: 56 F (it was warm and beautiful today. Threats of a little rain)
What I cooked today:
Nothing: It was one of those days, where I didn't get around to actually making anything for anyone. I had leftover pancakes for breakfast, which means everyone else had cereal. And then Allen made pasta for everyone for dinner, so I was off the hook! Woo hoo!
Update:
Patrick and I headed into town today to get some errands run... returning library books, get Ryan's TPN, Wholesale meats for more ground beef, shopping, home depot, etc. We would have gone to the dump, but it was closed today... we'll have to wait until Saturday to get rid of my garbage.
While in town, we decided to have a 'date' and see a movie. We watched Men in Black 3. The problem with this movie is that it kind of forgot that the first two movies occurred. And, I think that all the interactions between K and J were already done in the first two. This one was kind of cool, since it did that whole 'time travel' thing... you know, the kind that the movies can NEVER get right? It wasn't bad. It just wasn't great. I think I would have preferred to see Avengers, again. Oh well, it was the bargain matinee, and we didn't even get popcorn, so it was only $11 for the two of us. And we got a date, which is always an awesome thing.
By the time we got home, we were confronted with a huge problem. No, all the kids were fine. But the Internet was out! Oh my!! How do we survive without the Internet? I mean, no Facebook? No Internet games? No news? I thought we would all die, but somehow, we managed to live through it. Allen had a game that didn't need the Internet. Katie had a movie. Ryan and Connor had some games. I had a book. Oh wow, we survived for the 3-4 hours without the Internet. Amazing.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
May 30, 2012
Outside Temp: 50 F (a little overcast and, at times, a little chilly. But beautiful just the same. )
What I cooked today:
Chinese Chicken: I can't honestly call it Walnut Chicken anymore, since there are no walnuts and it's different. I don't have any walnuts, or snow peas, or mushrooms. I make the chicken similar, and toss in some frozen veggies with the sauce. It works out well. This time I made 3 cups of rice (instead of my normal 2 cups), and it was still all eaten up!
Update:
The neighborhood kids showed up around 10am, asking for Allen (who was still fast asleep, after finally going to bed around 3:30am... I know, I know, but it's summer vacation, and I really don't care.). So, once he got up and had breakfast, he was out the door. Around 11am, Connor and Kathryn headed over to the neighbor's as well.
Patrick and I had some things to do in Geyser, so the kids were on their own for a while (except Ryan, who came with us). Not that they minded (my only rule was no kids in the house while we weren't there.) We were gone for hours, and for some reason, I wasn't even slightly concerned.
At Geyser, Patrick was able to download a ton of things, and acted like a kid in a candy store at how fast the Internet connection was. He also hung out with our Superintendent, and they chatted about stuff. While he dealt with some website bugs, and chatted, I helped our Special Ed teacher pack up her U-Haul. She's moving today, which makes me sad (she worked wonders with Ryan this year). But, I hope she will be happy in her new job and new home, so that makes me happy.
Once we got home, we looked over the chickens and decided that they weren't fat enough. I know, they are huge, but the 'book' says that their breast needs to be creamy and yellow, not blue. And their chests are kind of blue, so it claims they need more fat. We switched out their food for a few days, but one way or another, we will have to kill them soon and put them out of their misery. They are soooooo fat.
The other chickens are doing fine outside. We are kind of surprised how well they are doing. It was in the 30's with snow and hail and rain, and they seem to have survived just fine. They are starting to 'roost', which means they are sitting on the branches in their pen. We went out there, and about 9 chickens were all sitting, next to each other, on the same branch. Of course, us showing up startled them and a few jumped off. But they are getting so old!
What I cooked today:
Chinese Chicken: I can't honestly call it Walnut Chicken anymore, since there are no walnuts and it's different. I don't have any walnuts, or snow peas, or mushrooms. I make the chicken similar, and toss in some frozen veggies with the sauce. It works out well. This time I made 3 cups of rice (instead of my normal 2 cups), and it was still all eaten up!
Update:
The neighborhood kids showed up around 10am, asking for Allen (who was still fast asleep, after finally going to bed around 3:30am... I know, I know, but it's summer vacation, and I really don't care.). So, once he got up and had breakfast, he was out the door. Around 11am, Connor and Kathryn headed over to the neighbor's as well.
Patrick and I had some things to do in Geyser, so the kids were on their own for a while (except Ryan, who came with us). Not that they minded (my only rule was no kids in the house while we weren't there.) We were gone for hours, and for some reason, I wasn't even slightly concerned.
At Geyser, Patrick was able to download a ton of things, and acted like a kid in a candy store at how fast the Internet connection was. He also hung out with our Superintendent, and they chatted about stuff. While he dealt with some website bugs, and chatted, I helped our Special Ed teacher pack up her U-Haul. She's moving today, which makes me sad (she worked wonders with Ryan this year). But, I hope she will be happy in her new job and new home, so that makes me happy.
Once we got home, we looked over the chickens and decided that they weren't fat enough. I know, they are huge, but the 'book' says that their breast needs to be creamy and yellow, not blue. And their chests are kind of blue, so it claims they need more fat. We switched out their food for a few days, but one way or another, we will have to kill them soon and put them out of their misery. They are soooooo fat.
Patrick and I spent some time out in the backyard, fixing the lawn mower. Apparently, when Allen was using it last week, he 'pushed' it, when he wasn't supposed to (the engine was still engaged, or something). And, it pushed one of the chains off of the gear. So, we ended up taking apart the bottom of the lawn mower and fixing the chain. And while we were out there, we took a picture of Ryan. Oh my goodness, he doesn't look evil! :)
The other chickens are doing fine outside. We are kind of surprised how well they are doing. It was in the 30's with snow and hail and rain, and they seem to have survived just fine. They are starting to 'roost', which means they are sitting on the branches in their pen. We went out there, and about 9 chickens were all sitting, next to each other, on the same branch. Of course, us showing up startled them and a few jumped off. But they are getting so old!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
May 29, 2012
Outside Temp: 49 F (a little overcast... a little rain... a little hail... a little thunder and lightning. And a beautiful sunset.)
What I cooked today:
Chili and Cornbread: I'm running low on ground beef, again, so I wanted something that only used 1lb for the entire family. Chili works out well. Although, I seem to remember the cornbread tasting better. It was a little rubbery. Which I like better than falling apart, but still not perfect.
Chocolate Chip Cookies: I was having a sugar craving this afternoon, so I decided to make cookie dough. Of course, the entire family told me NOT to actually make cookies, but to leave it as dough so they could munch for the rest of the day. But I wanted cookies! So, I made 7 cookies (one cookie sheet) for myself, and told the rest of them they could have the dough. I know, I don't NEED 7 cookies, but I knew that the kids would all want one, once they were cooked. And I was right. I ended up with 2. (and that's because I ate them while the kids weren't looking!)
Update:
I actually did work today. I know, shocking, but true! And I'll probably have to do work tomorrow, too! Oh, this working thing is overrated. But, it makes me happy, so I guess it's okay.
For those of you who read the last few posts, we did NOT slaughter the chickens today. We were going to, but Patrick worked late last night, and had to work again this afternoon, and we just didn't want to. However, the chickens are getting to the point where they don't even stand up anymore. They can't stretch their legs standing up, because they will fall over. We really, really need to put them out of their misery. Of course we both have things we need to do tomorrow, but we might just have to decide to do it.
The kids were bored today, which is a few days sooner than I expected, but not entirely unexpected either. There was more than once that I just sent them outside. I didn't care what they did, just get out of the house. With the weather a little chilly, and rainy, and snowy, for the last few days, they really needed to get out.
Around 7:30pm, they overheard a few kids a block away playing. So, the three of them (Ryan was entranced in his Avengers movie and didn't want to leave), just headed out, hoping to find someone to play with. We explained to them that they might want to be back home by dark.
So, for the next 2 hours, the kids were playing somewhere. I have an idea of where they were, but I really wasn't concerned. As the sun set, and the street lights (all 1 of them) turned on, I thought back to my childhood, where we used to play until dark. Who knew that places still existed where kids could play until dark?
Around 9:30, I threw on my sweats and wandered over in that direction. The kids had already headed back home, so we met half way (which is about 200 ft from our house). Yes, the sun was down, but the sunset was still on the horizon. And there were no concerns or worries. I LOVE it here!
What I cooked today:
Chili and Cornbread: I'm running low on ground beef, again, so I wanted something that only used 1lb for the entire family. Chili works out well. Although, I seem to remember the cornbread tasting better. It was a little rubbery. Which I like better than falling apart, but still not perfect.
Chocolate Chip Cookies: I was having a sugar craving this afternoon, so I decided to make cookie dough. Of course, the entire family told me NOT to actually make cookies, but to leave it as dough so they could munch for the rest of the day. But I wanted cookies! So, I made 7 cookies (one cookie sheet) for myself, and told the rest of them they could have the dough. I know, I don't NEED 7 cookies, but I knew that the kids would all want one, once they were cooked. And I was right. I ended up with 2. (and that's because I ate them while the kids weren't looking!)
Update:
I actually did work today. I know, shocking, but true! And I'll probably have to do work tomorrow, too! Oh, this working thing is overrated. But, it makes me happy, so I guess it's okay.
For those of you who read the last few posts, we did NOT slaughter the chickens today. We were going to, but Patrick worked late last night, and had to work again this afternoon, and we just didn't want to. However, the chickens are getting to the point where they don't even stand up anymore. They can't stretch their legs standing up, because they will fall over. We really, really need to put them out of their misery. Of course we both have things we need to do tomorrow, but we might just have to decide to do it.
The kids were bored today, which is a few days sooner than I expected, but not entirely unexpected either. There was more than once that I just sent them outside. I didn't care what they did, just get out of the house. With the weather a little chilly, and rainy, and snowy, for the last few days, they really needed to get out.
Around 7:30pm, they overheard a few kids a block away playing. So, the three of them (Ryan was entranced in his Avengers movie and didn't want to leave), just headed out, hoping to find someone to play with. We explained to them that they might want to be back home by dark.
So, for the next 2 hours, the kids were playing somewhere. I have an idea of where they were, but I really wasn't concerned. As the sun set, and the street lights (all 1 of them) turned on, I thought back to my childhood, where we used to play until dark. Who knew that places still existed where kids could play until dark?
Around 9:30, I threw on my sweats and wandered over in that direction. The kids had already headed back home, so we met half way (which is about 200 ft from our house). Yes, the sun was down, but the sunset was still on the horizon. And there were no concerns or worries. I LOVE it here!
Monday, May 28, 2012
May 27, 2012
Outside Temp: 34 F (it finally stopped snowing today... which means that the snow melted and the grass is green again. I love how the weather changes so quickly!)
What I cooked today:
Mini Quiches: Turned out terrible. I will never again try to make quiche in my mini muffin pan. I tried two recipes; one is a Mexican quiche that I used to make for Sunday brunch. But, I didn't have all the ingredients anyway, and it turned out terrible. So, I tried another recipe. It called for a piece of bread at the bottom, then onions and cheese, then eggs and milk. They weren't as terrible, but they sure weren't great. I ended up having leftover pizza for breakfast!
Burgers and Pasta: I know, I know, the old standby. Somehow, it got to be 7:30, and I hadn't thought about food yet. So, I went with something quick and easy. I think I'll start thinking about dinner around noon tomorrow, just so something gets made!
Update:
By the time we woke up this morning, the snow had already started melting. Patrick and I are getting ourselves psyched up to slaughter the two Cornish chickens tomorrow. He's sharpened the ax and everything. I'm still not sure how I'm going to handle this, but I'm going to try to be brave and stoic. Of course, I'm sure some screaming will occur. But, I'll hopefully be able to laugh about it later.
We spent a few hours cleaning up the house today. It's been a while since we did a full blown cleaning session (which, in our house, means about 2 hours of cleaning. I know, we're totally spoiled). I did get about 5 loads of laundry done, the kitchen was swept and counters were scrubbed. And the carpet was vacuumed (even under the couches). I still need to attack the bedrooms, but I did get all the kids to help, so I couldn't push them too hard (okay, yes, I could have, but I didn't want to clean anymore).
So, with the addition of Patrick's and my new computers, we currently have 5 computers that work pretty well (and 2 that work okay and 2 XBoxes). Which means that Patrick and I can both be working, Connor can write his story, Katie can look at YouTube videos, Allen can play MineCraft (or Robolox or whatever he's playing these days) and Ryan can play XBox games. So, for about 2 hours today, no one complained or argued or whined or begged or anything. Ahhh, I think we have found a nice balance of technological advancement.
The best part was that after about 2 hours, the kids all ended up outside playing in the yard with 'swords' and shields. They played 'cops and robbers' and 'knights' and other games that involved running around and playing with each other. I admit I was a little concerned that if we gave them the option, they would spend all day inside, playing computer games. It's nice to know that they choose to go outside and play instead of being inside all day!
We discussed our plans for the summer tonight. We are going to start scouting out hiking trails up in the Highwoods, tourist traps in Virginia City, camping trips down to Yellowstone and fishing, out our back gate. We have a little less than 3 full months left, so it comes down to about 11 weeks. I'm sure we can have an awesome summer in 11 weeks!
What I cooked today:
Mini Quiches: Turned out terrible. I will never again try to make quiche in my mini muffin pan. I tried two recipes; one is a Mexican quiche that I used to make for Sunday brunch. But, I didn't have all the ingredients anyway, and it turned out terrible. So, I tried another recipe. It called for a piece of bread at the bottom, then onions and cheese, then eggs and milk. They weren't as terrible, but they sure weren't great. I ended up having leftover pizza for breakfast!
Burgers and Pasta: I know, I know, the old standby. Somehow, it got to be 7:30, and I hadn't thought about food yet. So, I went with something quick and easy. I think I'll start thinking about dinner around noon tomorrow, just so something gets made!
Update:
By the time we woke up this morning, the snow had already started melting. Patrick and I are getting ourselves psyched up to slaughter the two Cornish chickens tomorrow. He's sharpened the ax and everything. I'm still not sure how I'm going to handle this, but I'm going to try to be brave and stoic. Of course, I'm sure some screaming will occur. But, I'll hopefully be able to laugh about it later.
We spent a few hours cleaning up the house today. It's been a while since we did a full blown cleaning session (which, in our house, means about 2 hours of cleaning. I know, we're totally spoiled). I did get about 5 loads of laundry done, the kitchen was swept and counters were scrubbed. And the carpet was vacuumed (even under the couches). I still need to attack the bedrooms, but I did get all the kids to help, so I couldn't push them too hard (okay, yes, I could have, but I didn't want to clean anymore).
So, with the addition of Patrick's and my new computers, we currently have 5 computers that work pretty well (and 2 that work okay and 2 XBoxes). Which means that Patrick and I can both be working, Connor can write his story, Katie can look at YouTube videos, Allen can play MineCraft (or Robolox or whatever he's playing these days) and Ryan can play XBox games. So, for about 2 hours today, no one complained or argued or whined or begged or anything. Ahhh, I think we have found a nice balance of technological advancement.
The best part was that after about 2 hours, the kids all ended up outside playing in the yard with 'swords' and shields. They played 'cops and robbers' and 'knights' and other games that involved running around and playing with each other. I admit I was a little concerned that if we gave them the option, they would spend all day inside, playing computer games. It's nice to know that they choose to go outside and play instead of being inside all day!
We discussed our plans for the summer tonight. We are going to start scouting out hiking trails up in the Highwoods, tourist traps in Virginia City, camping trips down to Yellowstone and fishing, out our back gate. We have a little less than 3 full months left, so it comes down to about 11 weeks. I'm sure we can have an awesome summer in 11 weeks!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
May 27, 2012
Outside Temp: 33 F (and snowing!!)
What I cooked today:
Pancakes: I love being able to make breakfast for the family. I'm amazing how much I missed it while the kids were in school. But, for now, I get to make pancakes, which is awesome.
Papa Murphy's Pizza: We picked up bake at home pizzas while in town, so I guess that counts as 'cooking', right?
Update:
Yes, it snowed... all day. Which is totally awesome. The chickens survived the night, although I think the would have preferred a nice warm coop. But, until then, they get to stay outside, in the cold wet snow. Except the two Cornish Roasters, which spent the night inside in the old chick's area.
We got a few inches of snow, although it switched to rain a few times, so I'm sure the snow will all be gone in a day or two. But, until then, it's stinking awesome. I love the idea that it's snowing when the kids are on summer vacation!
Patrick and I headed into town today, since he needed a new keyboard. However, we forgot that most of Great Falls is closed around 7pm on Sunday nights. We mistakenly stopped for dinner first, which means when we finally got around to shopping, both Staples and Office Max were closed. Lame... Oh well, we still needed some groceries, and we got a nice dinner out of the deal, so it wasn't a total loss.
What I cooked today:
Pancakes: I love being able to make breakfast for the family. I'm amazing how much I missed it while the kids were in school. But, for now, I get to make pancakes, which is awesome.
Papa Murphy's Pizza: We picked up bake at home pizzas while in town, so I guess that counts as 'cooking', right?
Update:
Yes, it snowed... all day. Which is totally awesome. The chickens survived the night, although I think the would have preferred a nice warm coop. But, until then, they get to stay outside, in the cold wet snow. Except the two Cornish Roasters, which spent the night inside in the old chick's area.
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We got a few inches of snow, although it switched to rain a few times, so I'm sure the snow will all be gone in a day or two. But, until then, it's stinking awesome. I love the idea that it's snowing when the kids are on summer vacation!
Patrick and I headed into town today, since he needed a new keyboard. However, we forgot that most of Great Falls is closed around 7pm on Sunday nights. We mistakenly stopped for dinner first, which means when we finally got around to shopping, both Staples and Office Max were closed. Lame... Oh well, we still needed some groceries, and we got a nice dinner out of the deal, so it wasn't a total loss.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
May 26, 2012
Outside Temp: 32 F (Snowing and raining all day... )
What I cooked today:
Scrambled Eggs and Bacon: I actually enjoy making breakfast for the family. Since the kids had breakfast at school, I never made it on school days. And then, weekends, we've all got up at random times, so breakfast was never really reasonable. But this morning, everyone was up by 10, so I could made something they would all enjoy. And everything is better with Bacon!!
Chicken: We had dinner late tonight, but since I still had to feed them something, chicken was an easy option. And it wasn't burgers...
Update:
So, as I mentioned above, I made bacon for breakfast. And, amazingly, we actually had some bacon left when everyone was finished, so we decided that BLT's sounded really good for lunch. Now, we have the bacon. I have lettuce in the fridge, but we didn't have any tomatoes. That's OK, since we needed to check the grandparents' house anyway, and we can steal some tomatoes from their plants.
But, being the awful parents that we are, we thought we'd tease Allen a little. So, we told him he had to go up there and get tomatoes for us... Of course, his only options for transportation would be running or his bike. And it's uphill the whole 2 1/2 miles. Oh, and it's snowing.
Needless to say, he was not happy with us. And no, we didn't actually make him go. But it was funny for a few minutes, watching his face as he begged us not to make him! Hehehehe.
Katie went out to check on the chickens during the snow storm this afternoon, and found that the two remaining Cornish Roasters had been pecked on. They were both bleeding from the ears, and we realized that it's probably time to slaughter them. But, since we weren't about to do it during the snow storm, we had to find someplace safe for them until next week. So, they are both inside, in the cardboard box where we had them as chicks. Of course, they are both so stinking fat, they couldn't fly out anyway. They can barely walk.
The other chicks seemed stupid enough to hang out in the cardboard boxes that are falling in. So, we decided to remove the boxes completely, and force them to go into the dog igloo. We pulled the two boxes out of their area, and they were all smart enough to go into the igloo. It's really too small for 24 chickens, but with the temp below freezing, hopefully it will keep them warm. Their water and food are both outside, so they will have to go out to eat. But, they should stay alive for the next day or two, until the weather warms back up.
I got the kids grades from school today in the mail. I have to have a talk with my oldest son, who disappointed me with 2 B+'s instead of all A's. I understand his B+ in shop, since he ticked off his shop teacher. But the B+ in English is just not cool. (yea, I know, I'm demanding). Of course, Katie and Connor got all A's but they are in Elementary school... I mean, how hard can that be?
What I cooked today:
Scrambled Eggs and Bacon: I actually enjoy making breakfast for the family. Since the kids had breakfast at school, I never made it on school days. And then, weekends, we've all got up at random times, so breakfast was never really reasonable. But this morning, everyone was up by 10, so I could made something they would all enjoy. And everything is better with Bacon!!
Chicken: We had dinner late tonight, but since I still had to feed them something, chicken was an easy option. And it wasn't burgers...
Update:
So, as I mentioned above, I made bacon for breakfast. And, amazingly, we actually had some bacon left when everyone was finished, so we decided that BLT's sounded really good for lunch. Now, we have the bacon. I have lettuce in the fridge, but we didn't have any tomatoes. That's OK, since we needed to check the grandparents' house anyway, and we can steal some tomatoes from their plants.
But, being the awful parents that we are, we thought we'd tease Allen a little. So, we told him he had to go up there and get tomatoes for us... Of course, his only options for transportation would be running or his bike. And it's uphill the whole 2 1/2 miles. Oh, and it's snowing.
Needless to say, he was not happy with us. And no, we didn't actually make him go. But it was funny for a few minutes, watching his face as he begged us not to make him! Hehehehe.
Katie went out to check on the chickens during the snow storm this afternoon, and found that the two remaining Cornish Roasters had been pecked on. They were both bleeding from the ears, and we realized that it's probably time to slaughter them. But, since we weren't about to do it during the snow storm, we had to find someplace safe for them until next week. So, they are both inside, in the cardboard box where we had them as chicks. Of course, they are both so stinking fat, they couldn't fly out anyway. They can barely walk.
The other chicks seemed stupid enough to hang out in the cardboard boxes that are falling in. So, we decided to remove the boxes completely, and force them to go into the dog igloo. We pulled the two boxes out of their area, and they were all smart enough to go into the igloo. It's really too small for 24 chickens, but with the temp below freezing, hopefully it will keep them warm. Their water and food are both outside, so they will have to go out to eat. But, they should stay alive for the next day or two, until the weather warms back up.
I got the kids grades from school today in the mail. I have to have a talk with my oldest son, who disappointed me with 2 B+'s instead of all A's. I understand his B+ in shop, since he ticked off his shop teacher. But the B+ in English is just not cool. (yea, I know, I'm demanding). Of course, Katie and Connor got all A's but they are in Elementary school... I mean, how hard can that be?
Friday, May 25, 2012
May 25, 2012
Outside Temp: 39 F (Fun weather day today... a little chilly, and threatening most of the day. The ground is so green!!)
What I cooked today:
Pancakes and Bacon: I love NOT having to wake up early and being able to spend an hour making a great breakfast! I think everyone in the family loves bacon, so that's always a good idea. And I got buttermilk the other day at the store, and my pancakes are so much better with buttermilk.
Vegetable Beef Soup: With it being a little chilly, soup is a good idea. This one is just ground beef, onions, frozen veggies, potatoes and tomatoes. Today, I added Greek seasoning (which is stinking awesome) and a little Red Wine vinegar. It was yummy!
Update:
Patrick ordered us new laptops this week, and they came in today. You should have seen us at around noon today, waiting with baited breath, watching out the window for the UPS guy. Of course, this time, instead of showing up at 11:45, he was here at about 1:00. Which means that we sat there for about an hour and a half, watching out the window, jumping at every possible car on the road.
Our new machines are pretty cool (albeit really heavy!). They are both the same, so (as Patrick tells me) I can't complain that he has a better computer than me. I don't think I've ever actually complained, but it's still pretty cool that we both have the same machine.
So, now comes the bad part. We have to re-load all the software and programs on the new computers. Ugh, I absolutely hate this part! So, right now, we both have our old laptops sitting next to our new laptops, trying to copy documents and code and programs across.
As luck would have it, we didn't have some of our development software installer files available, so we had to download them from Microsoft's site. And these files are not small. The Visual Studio file is about 2.5GB (which is kind of big). And our Internet is pretty slow. We tried to download a few things and it was taking forever. So, we decided to go somewhere where we could download a little faster.
Which means that anyone who drove past the school in Geyser, between 6-8pm, and saw our car parked out front (with the windows fogged up), yes, we were downloading our software using the school's Internet. Why, what did you think we were doing? (and yes, we asked permission from the superintendent).
We decided to head back home after our development software was downloaded, since we didn't want to spend all night out in front of the school. We still have a few more things to download, but they might wait until Tuesday, when we can go into the school and connect to the hard line (and download even faster!)
So, now, at 11pm, I finally have my development software in place, and hopefully, only a few more installations and my new laptop will be up and running. Again, it's pretty big and heavy, but it is faster and prettier and runs faster. I guess I can get used to it.
What I cooked today:
Pancakes and Bacon: I love NOT having to wake up early and being able to spend an hour making a great breakfast! I think everyone in the family loves bacon, so that's always a good idea. And I got buttermilk the other day at the store, and my pancakes are so much better with buttermilk.
Vegetable Beef Soup: With it being a little chilly, soup is a good idea. This one is just ground beef, onions, frozen veggies, potatoes and tomatoes. Today, I added Greek seasoning (which is stinking awesome) and a little Red Wine vinegar. It was yummy!
Update:
Patrick ordered us new laptops this week, and they came in today. You should have seen us at around noon today, waiting with baited breath, watching out the window for the UPS guy. Of course, this time, instead of showing up at 11:45, he was here at about 1:00. Which means that we sat there for about an hour and a half, watching out the window, jumping at every possible car on the road.
Our new machines are pretty cool (albeit really heavy!). They are both the same, so (as Patrick tells me) I can't complain that he has a better computer than me. I don't think I've ever actually complained, but it's still pretty cool that we both have the same machine.
So, now comes the bad part. We have to re-load all the software and programs on the new computers. Ugh, I absolutely hate this part! So, right now, we both have our old laptops sitting next to our new laptops, trying to copy documents and code and programs across.
As luck would have it, we didn't have some of our development software installer files available, so we had to download them from Microsoft's site. And these files are not small. The Visual Studio file is about 2.5GB (which is kind of big). And our Internet is pretty slow. We tried to download a few things and it was taking forever. So, we decided to go somewhere where we could download a little faster.
Which means that anyone who drove past the school in Geyser, between 6-8pm, and saw our car parked out front (with the windows fogged up), yes, we were downloading our software using the school's Internet. Why, what did you think we were doing? (and yes, we asked permission from the superintendent).
We decided to head back home after our development software was downloaded, since we didn't want to spend all night out in front of the school. We still have a few more things to download, but they might wait until Tuesday, when we can go into the school and connect to the hard line (and download even faster!)
So, now, at 11pm, I finally have my development software in place, and hopefully, only a few more installations and my new laptop will be up and running. Again, it's pretty big and heavy, but it is faster and prettier and runs faster. I guess I can get used to it.
May 24, 2012
Outside Temp: 38 F (I heard there is a snow warning for tonight... in MAY! I love it!)
What I cooked today:
Nothing: everyone was on their own for food...
Update:
So, I worked late last night... like really late. I got to sleep sometime around 3:30 and was up at 8 to demo the web site at the school. Amazingly, I was wide awake and ready to go! Although there were a few bumps, I think it went really well and in a few months, we'll have a great site.
Of course, by the time I got home (around 2:30pm), I fell into bed and slept.. for about 5 hours. I guess that would be catching up on lost sleep!
There is a 'winter' snow warning for tonight. Apparently, it's going to get cold and we should get some snow. This picture was from Showdown, which is the ski area at the top of the mountain. I'm just loving the idea of snow, at the end of May. Of course, the plants probably won't like it!
What I cooked today:
Nothing: everyone was on their own for food...
Update:
So, I worked late last night... like really late. I got to sleep sometime around 3:30 and was up at 8 to demo the web site at the school. Amazingly, I was wide awake and ready to go! Although there were a few bumps, I think it went really well and in a few months, we'll have a great site.
Of course, by the time I got home (around 2:30pm), I fell into bed and slept.. for about 5 hours. I guess that would be catching up on lost sleep!
There is a 'winter' snow warning for tonight. Apparently, it's going to get cold and we should get some snow. This picture was from Showdown, which is the ski area at the top of the mountain. I'm just loving the idea of snow, at the end of May. Of course, the plants probably won't like it!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
May 23, 2012
Outside Temp: 43 F (it was threatening rain most of the afternoon, but only dropped a few drops. I actually LOVE this kind of weather!)
What I cooked today:
Papa Murphy's Pizza: We brought back bake at home pizza for the kids from Great Falls. Since we didn't get back until almost 9pm, I knew that we wouldn't have time to make a 'real' dinner. The kids love pizza, so this worked just fine.
Update:
I actually think I might be more excited than the kids, since it means that I don't have to wake up at 7am every morning, and try to get 3 kids (sometimes 4) ready for the bus! And the kids can stay up as late as they want, without me telling them to go to bed (while it's still light outside!). Right now, two of them are sitting in my bed, reading their books. And it's 11:22pm. Hehehe, I love this!
Today was fun! Our superintendent made Philly Steak Sandwiches for the community. Of course, it gives us an excuse to chat with people around Geyser, which is always fun.
The kids got a whole mass of awards at their 'awards ceremony' today.
Allen got certificates for: Basketball, Track, National Geography Bee, Music, Regional Math Contest and (my favorite) Scholastic Challenge (I have no idea what this one is for) .
Connor got certificates for: Basketball, Music, National Geography Bee, Scholastic Challenge, Reading (for earning 372.1 AR points, which is about 25-30 books this year!), Best Listener (for willingness to listen to classmates) and (my favorite) Best Writer (for his powers with a pen).
Katie got certificates for: Music, National Geography Bee, Little Wolverine (basketball), Most AR points for the year (139.6 points), Independent Reader, Super Reader and (my favorite) Best Poet.
Granted, I think everyone in Music got one for music. For sports, they got one for participation. And the Nat. Geo was for all the participants (although Allen did win, so he got an extra one). But the others are for their actual strengths! I love it!
After school, Patrick and I headed into town, since he needed some wood to finish the chicken coop. We stopped and picked up supper, and more chicken scratch, some groceries and supplies for the coop. Then, we stopped at Office Max to look over the tablets. Let me just say, the Asus TF300 tablet is very cool! It has a docking station, that makes it behave like a regular laptop (with a keyboard, and stuff like that). But then you can detach and use it like a tablet. We've been thinking about a birthday present for Connor, and this would be perfect (if it wasn't $550). Hmmm, perhaps I can think of a business reason to buy it... I'm sure we need to develop some software for a tablet, right?
What I cooked today:
Papa Murphy's Pizza: We brought back bake at home pizza for the kids from Great Falls. Since we didn't get back until almost 9pm, I knew that we wouldn't have time to make a 'real' dinner. The kids love pizza, so this worked just fine.
Update:
THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! Woo Hoo!
I actually think I might be more excited than the kids, since it means that I don't have to wake up at 7am every morning, and try to get 3 kids (sometimes 4) ready for the bus! And the kids can stay up as late as they want, without me telling them to go to bed (while it's still light outside!). Right now, two of them are sitting in my bed, reading their books. And it's 11:22pm. Hehehe, I love this!
Today was fun! Our superintendent made Philly Steak Sandwiches for the community. Of course, it gives us an excuse to chat with people around Geyser, which is always fun.
The kids got a whole mass of awards at their 'awards ceremony' today.
Allen got certificates for: Basketball, Track, National Geography Bee, Music, Regional Math Contest and (my favorite) Scholastic Challenge (I have no idea what this one is for) .
Connor got certificates for: Basketball, Music, National Geography Bee, Scholastic Challenge, Reading (for earning 372.1 AR points, which is about 25-30 books this year!), Best Listener (for willingness to listen to classmates) and (my favorite) Best Writer (for his powers with a pen).
Katie got certificates for: Music, National Geography Bee, Little Wolverine (basketball), Most AR points for the year (139.6 points), Independent Reader, Super Reader and (my favorite) Best Poet.
Granted, I think everyone in Music got one for music. For sports, they got one for participation. And the Nat. Geo was for all the participants (although Allen did win, so he got an extra one). But the others are for their actual strengths! I love it!
After school, Patrick and I headed into town, since he needed some wood to finish the chicken coop. We stopped and picked up supper, and more chicken scratch, some groceries and supplies for the coop. Then, we stopped at Office Max to look over the tablets. Let me just say, the Asus TF300 tablet is very cool! It has a docking station, that makes it behave like a regular laptop (with a keyboard, and stuff like that). But then you can detach and use it like a tablet. We've been thinking about a birthday present for Connor, and this would be perfect (if it wasn't $550). Hmmm, perhaps I can think of a business reason to buy it... I'm sure we need to develop some software for a tablet, right?
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
May 22, 2012
Outside Temp: 50 F (Very pretty today... a little overcast)
What I cooked today:
Chicken Kiev: Patrick really wanted the chicken I made the other night. I was lazy and didn't do the bread crumbs, which would have made it awesome. As it was, it turned out just fine and everyone said it was great.
Update:
I got to go into Geyser today to pick up some chicken feed. Apparently, our chickens are actually pigs! Wow, do they eat a lot! We headed out to check their feed last night, and the 40 lb bag that we picked up two weeks ago was empty. So, rather than head into Great Falls to get chicken feed, I called over to the Geyser Mercantile. I LOVE supporting the guys here, since not only are they totally nice and convenient and fun to talk to, but their prices are awesome!
So, our chickens are still alive and doing well. And now, they have food, so one less thing to worry about. I'm still psyching myself up for next week (or perhaps the week after), when we have to slaughter the two remaining Cornish Roasters. They are getting so big and fat, they waddle around and have to sit down to eat. Most of the time, you can find them sitting with their face in the food. I figure that as soon as they are gone, we won't have to spend as much on food!
Patrick and I have both been working hard. He has two different contracts that he's been working on, and I've been working on the school's website. It should be up soon (I hope) and I'll get to show it off to the staff on Thursday. I have a bunch of features that I'm thinking about adding, to make it easier to maintain and use for the staff. At least it will give me something to work on over the summer!
Tomorrow is the last day of school, which means the kids were willing to go to bed tonight. I still got a few complaints, about going to sleep when it's still light out, but over all, they handled it well. I'm just looking forward to NOT waking up at 7am every stinking day. Woo Hoo!
What I cooked today:
Chicken Kiev: Patrick really wanted the chicken I made the other night. I was lazy and didn't do the bread crumbs, which would have made it awesome. As it was, it turned out just fine and everyone said it was great.
Update:
I got to go into Geyser today to pick up some chicken feed. Apparently, our chickens are actually pigs! Wow, do they eat a lot! We headed out to check their feed last night, and the 40 lb bag that we picked up two weeks ago was empty. So, rather than head into Great Falls to get chicken feed, I called over to the Geyser Mercantile. I LOVE supporting the guys here, since not only are they totally nice and convenient and fun to talk to, but their prices are awesome!
So, our chickens are still alive and doing well. And now, they have food, so one less thing to worry about. I'm still psyching myself up for next week (or perhaps the week after), when we have to slaughter the two remaining Cornish Roasters. They are getting so big and fat, they waddle around and have to sit down to eat. Most of the time, you can find them sitting with their face in the food. I figure that as soon as they are gone, we won't have to spend as much on food!
Patrick and I have both been working hard. He has two different contracts that he's been working on, and I've been working on the school's website. It should be up soon (I hope) and I'll get to show it off to the staff on Thursday. I have a bunch of features that I'm thinking about adding, to make it easier to maintain and use for the staff. At least it will give me something to work on over the summer!
Tomorrow is the last day of school, which means the kids were willing to go to bed tonight. I still got a few complaints, about going to sleep when it's still light out, but over all, they handled it well. I'm just looking forward to NOT waking up at 7am every stinking day. Woo Hoo!
Monday, May 21, 2012
May 21, 2012
Outside Temp: 55 F (overcast and rainy off and on all day... Which was fun with the 70+ degree weather today!)
What I cooked today:
Burgers, Corn and Tater Tots: I had some ears of corn that needed to get eaten. So, I broke down, and made burgers. I know, I know, burgers are boring, but with Connor gone at his field trip, it worked out fine for us. And the corn finally got cooked. And I have figured out how to make tater tots! All good things!
Update:
Connor went with his class to Billings. They went to the zoo (where he told me the Prairie Dogs were stalking him) and had a great time. Afterwards, they went to a hunting/fishing store called Cabala's, where they did a scavenger hunt and fed the fish. And the best part may have been stopping at Dairy Queen for Blizzards!
Katie, Ryan and I went with the K-4th grade classes into Great Falls. We toured the Coca-Cola plant, where we got to taste the syrup and learn how the cans are produced. The kids really learned a lot (like the fact that Corn is not a vegetable, it's a fruit... who knew?) and had a great time. And, of course, they got free samples! The plant was making Sprite today, so we got cans to take with us, for our lunches! We also got to taste Coke, which was awesome.
Ryan got to join the other kids on the bus for the trip between locations and apparently, he did great! I'm glad, since I'll be sending him on the bus next year, so this was a good trial ride.
Afterwards, we went to the Children's Museum. The kids went wild! They had a 'dig' site, with beans (instead of sand... smart people!) filled with dinosaur bones and other archaeological items. There was a dress up room, with all sorts of clothing items, and a lot of other areas. A favorite may have been the Lego section... I could have spent hours in that section alone!
After the museum, we headed over to the Hatchery, where we had lunch. Mother Nature decided to allow a few drops of rain during lunch, but no one seemed to mind. Lunches were provided by our awesome lunch lady, and they were great! The Sprite was an added bonus!
Our tour of the Hatchery was a lot of fun! Ryan loved watching the fish, and I just had to make sure he kept his hands out of the water. The ranger who showed us around was fun to watch! He was so animated, I thought he belonged on a Disney show or something. He was great!
We all spent sometime feeding the fish, and making sure the kids didn't fall into the pond. After that, we headed over to the Wildlife center, where there were lots of exhibits on local wildlife, such as deer, eagles, bears and such. By this time, Ryan was done (which isn't surprising, since he'd been up since 7am and it was now almost 2pm). So, he and I went outside to watch the clouds as the other kids finished up the tour.
I admit, I was exhausted by the time we got home. I'm blaming it more on a bad night sleep, since we were home by 3pm, and even though I was up before 7am, that's no excuse for as tired as I was. Oh well, only 2 more days of school... which also means only 2 more days of waking up in the morning and only 1 more night (after tonight) of making the kids get into bed while the sun is still up!
What I cooked today:
Burgers, Corn and Tater Tots: I had some ears of corn that needed to get eaten. So, I broke down, and made burgers. I know, I know, burgers are boring, but with Connor gone at his field trip, it worked out fine for us. And the corn finally got cooked. And I have figured out how to make tater tots! All good things!
Update:
Field Trip Day!
 |
| Katie and Ryan at the Fish Hatchery! |
Katie, Ryan and I went with the K-4th grade classes into Great Falls. We toured the Coca-Cola plant, where we got to taste the syrup and learn how the cans are produced. The kids really learned a lot (like the fact that Corn is not a vegetable, it's a fruit... who knew?) and had a great time. And, of course, they got free samples! The plant was making Sprite today, so we got cans to take with us, for our lunches! We also got to taste Coke, which was awesome.
 |
| The K-4th grade classes at the Coca Cola Plant |
Afterwards, we went to the Children's Museum. The kids went wild! They had a 'dig' site, with beans (instead of sand... smart people!) filled with dinosaur bones and other archaeological items. There was a dress up room, with all sorts of clothing items, and a lot of other areas. A favorite may have been the Lego section... I could have spent hours in that section alone!
After the museum, we headed over to the Hatchery, where we had lunch. Mother Nature decided to allow a few drops of rain during lunch, but no one seemed to mind. Lunches were provided by our awesome lunch lady, and they were great! The Sprite was an added bonus!
Our tour of the Hatchery was a lot of fun! Ryan loved watching the fish, and I just had to make sure he kept his hands out of the water. The ranger who showed us around was fun to watch! He was so animated, I thought he belonged on a Disney show or something. He was great!
We all spent sometime feeding the fish, and making sure the kids didn't fall into the pond. After that, we headed over to the Wildlife center, where there were lots of exhibits on local wildlife, such as deer, eagles, bears and such. By this time, Ryan was done (which isn't surprising, since he'd been up since 7am and it was now almost 2pm). So, he and I went outside to watch the clouds as the other kids finished up the tour.
I admit, I was exhausted by the time we got home. I'm blaming it more on a bad night sleep, since we were home by 3pm, and even though I was up before 7am, that's no excuse for as tired as I was. Oh well, only 2 more days of school... which also means only 2 more days of waking up in the morning and only 1 more night (after tonight) of making the kids get into bed while the sun is still up!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
May 20, 2012
Outside Temp: 58 F (the high today was 73, with a low of 35... I couldn't ask for a more beautiful day!)
What I cooked today:
Lemon Chicken: I normally bake my Lemon chicken, but I didn't want to spend the time. So, I just made up a lemon sauce, tossed the chicken with some cornstarch, olive oil and green onions, cooked it in a frying pan, added the sauce and let it simmer. I think I'll spend the time baking it next time.. It wasn't bad, but it could have been better!
Update:
And, the sole reason I had children... to have Allen do the lawn mowing so neither Patrick nor I have to mow lawns. Of course, he did a terrible job, missed spots and completely forgot an entire section of the yard. But, hey, I didn't have to do it! And I figure he'll learn as time goes on. (I hope)
So, sometime around 1pm, I got up the bright idea of going into town for shopping. I really didn't want to, since I'm going into town tomorrow anyway, but I got talked into it.
Once there, I just had to buy things. I mean, if I'm going to waste the gas going into town, I might as well get this and that and, oh, I really needed those as well!
I decided to get the split chicken breasts (with rib attached) that were on sale for $1.29/lb, instead of the boneless, skinless chicken breasts that were $2.99/lb. Once I got home, I proceeded to de-bone them and pack them in FoodSaver bags, and into the freezer. I turned 10lbs of boned breasts into 6.5 lbs of boneless breasts. Not too bad! By the 10th breast, I had gotten pretty good at knowing where to cut and how to save as much meat as possible. The bones and excess meat and fat ended up in a Ziploc bag, ready for my next stock day! If I had been really clever, I would have cut up some onion, celery and carrots and thrown them into the bag with the bones. Then, I would just have to take the entire frozen mass, and plop it into the pot to make my stock... next time...
What I cooked today:
Lemon Chicken: I normally bake my Lemon chicken, but I didn't want to spend the time. So, I just made up a lemon sauce, tossed the chicken with some cornstarch, olive oil and green onions, cooked it in a frying pan, added the sauce and let it simmer. I think I'll spend the time baking it next time.. It wasn't bad, but it could have been better!
Update:
Patrick asked Katie to collect some dandelions. He is envisioning planting the seeds and feeding dandelions to the chickens instead of chicken feed or some other plant. I'm just going to sit back and keep my mouth shut.
 |  |
And, the sole reason I had children... to have Allen do the lawn mowing so neither Patrick nor I have to mow lawns. Of course, he did a terrible job, missed spots and completely forgot an entire section of the yard. But, hey, I didn't have to do it! And I figure he'll learn as time goes on. (I hope)
So, sometime around 1pm, I got up the bright idea of going into town for shopping. I really didn't want to, since I'm going into town tomorrow anyway, but I got talked into it.
Once there, I just had to buy things. I mean, if I'm going to waste the gas going into town, I might as well get this and that and, oh, I really needed those as well!
I decided to get the split chicken breasts (with rib attached) that were on sale for $1.29/lb, instead of the boneless, skinless chicken breasts that were $2.99/lb. Once I got home, I proceeded to de-bone them and pack them in FoodSaver bags, and into the freezer. I turned 10lbs of boned breasts into 6.5 lbs of boneless breasts. Not too bad! By the 10th breast, I had gotten pretty good at knowing where to cut and how to save as much meat as possible. The bones and excess meat and fat ended up in a Ziploc bag, ready for my next stock day! If I had been really clever, I would have cut up some onion, celery and carrots and thrown them into the bag with the bones. Then, I would just have to take the entire frozen mass, and plop it into the pot to make my stock... next time...
Saturday, May 19, 2012
May 19, 2012
Outside Temp: 43 F (another beautiful day... no rain, just clear skies and cool weather!)
What I cooked today:
Pancakes, Sausage and Bacon: I decided to actually make breakfast. I know, crazy thought, but it was Saturday and I haven't really cooked lately, so I thought I'd spoil everyone. They couldn't decide between sausage and bacon, so we had both!
Spaghetti: I also decided to make dinner. Oh my goodness, two entire home cooked meals... in one day! It involved me spending about 3 hours straight in the kitchen cooking, but I think it was totally worth it.
Update:
It was a pretty lazy day. I think at one point, all 4 computers were taken by the 4 kids, with Patrick and I looking on, wondering how spoiled they all are. I snuggled up with my book and read for a few hours this afternoon. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.
Over dinner, we got into a major discussion on the contradictions of time travel. Kathryn is reading the 3rd Harry Potter book (Prisoner of Azkaban) and Connor was quite upset at the obvious problems with time travel.
After all, if they could use the Time Turner to go back in time, why not go back and kill Voldemort when he was a baby. Which turned into an explanation by Patrick on the butterfly effect, and how if you changed anything, simply by existing, at a time prior to your conception, you may never be born. Especially if you take into affect the number of sperm produced by men on any given day, the odds that the same sperm would fertilize the same egg is close to impossible. So, if Harry went back in time and killed Voldemort, he would have had to do it after his conception. However, by going back in time might affect whether Ginny or any other kids would be born (after all he would go back to a time before their conception).
Connor and Allen got it, but Kathryn was still a little confused. I explained with the 'tree' example, that every moment is a choice and each choice is a different branch. If you made a different choice at any moment, all original effects would not occur.
A little heavy for a dinner conversation, but this is our family. By the end, they all got it, and no one wanted to go back in time any more. Oh yea, like that was ever an option.
I guess we aren't like other families.
What I cooked today:
Pancakes, Sausage and Bacon: I decided to actually make breakfast. I know, crazy thought, but it was Saturday and I haven't really cooked lately, so I thought I'd spoil everyone. They couldn't decide between sausage and bacon, so we had both!
Spaghetti: I also decided to make dinner. Oh my goodness, two entire home cooked meals... in one day! It involved me spending about 3 hours straight in the kitchen cooking, but I think it was totally worth it.
Update:
It was a pretty lazy day. I think at one point, all 4 computers were taken by the 4 kids, with Patrick and I looking on, wondering how spoiled they all are. I snuggled up with my book and read for a few hours this afternoon. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.
Over dinner, we got into a major discussion on the contradictions of time travel. Kathryn is reading the 3rd Harry Potter book (Prisoner of Azkaban) and Connor was quite upset at the obvious problems with time travel.
After all, if they could use the Time Turner to go back in time, why not go back and kill Voldemort when he was a baby. Which turned into an explanation by Patrick on the butterfly effect, and how if you changed anything, simply by existing, at a time prior to your conception, you may never be born. Especially if you take into affect the number of sperm produced by men on any given day, the odds that the same sperm would fertilize the same egg is close to impossible. So, if Harry went back in time and killed Voldemort, he would have had to do it after his conception. However, by going back in time might affect whether Ginny or any other kids would be born (after all he would go back to a time before their conception).
Connor and Allen got it, but Kathryn was still a little confused. I explained with the 'tree' example, that every moment is a choice and each choice is a different branch. If you made a different choice at any moment, all original effects would not occur.
A little heavy for a dinner conversation, but this is our family. By the end, they all got it, and no one wanted to go back in time any more. Oh yea, like that was ever an option.
I guess we aren't like other families.
Friday, May 18, 2012
May 18, 2012
Outside Temp: 39 F (it rained and hailed and then clear then rain then clear... I love the changes in weather!)
What I cooked today:
Beef Stew: I had some steak in the freezer from December, so I thought I'd try a beef stew to use it up. I think the potatoes and carrots and onions and celery tasted great. Not so much for the steak, but who cares. It was protein and it made the rest of the stew taste good. I'm just glad it's been used up!
Biscuits: I usually make biscuits with buttermilk, but I didn't have any, so I used regular milk. Just for future reference, use buttermilk or don't make them. Not nearly as good as usual!
Update:
The chicks are still alive. I know that was a big concern, but I think the rest of the birds are okay. They all came when we brought them scratch grain and none of them looked sickly. I'm hoping that yesterday's events were a one-time thing.
I didn't have to substitute today, which means that I got to stay in my PJs for an extra few hours. heheheh.
I did get a lot of work done during the beautiful rain storm this morning. And, I got to spend an hour or so chatting at the post office (which I haven't had a chance to do in a while!)
The elementary school had a Books for Bikes contest. Each student got an entry into the raffle for each chapter they read for the semester. And, as you may know, Connor reads a lot. I'm not sure exactly the numbers involved, but the story I was told is that there were about 300-400 entries into the raffle. And, about 150 of them were Connor's. He read about 8-10 books this semester (about 3 months). So, guess who won a bike this afternoon??
After dinner, I talked Patrick into fixing the back door. If you go back to my first post (or second, but somewhere in the beginning), we got a pellet stove, and had to install a door to put the stove into (it's one of those window things, but we didn't have a window to put it in). Well, since the winter (that wasn't) is (mostly) over, I figured it was time to put the pellet stove away for the summer.
Of course, to put the old door back in place, it is necessary to find the hardware. Hmmm, I wonder where the hardware would have gone. It would have been way too easy to put the hardware in a bag and tape it to the door. Or, perhaps to put it on the shelf next to the door.
30 minutes later, I found it, in a bag, in a closet, next to some boxes that still have not been unpacked. Oh yea, that was really smart.
Having a back door is great. After it was all put on (and yes, it fit and still latched correctly and was square and all that), Patrick and I sat out on the back porch, eating ice cream (the Schwanns guy came by last night... woo hoo) and watching the sunset. Then the temperature dropped about 20 degrees as soon as the sun was down. Time to go back inside...
What I cooked today:
Beef Stew: I had some steak in the freezer from December, so I thought I'd try a beef stew to use it up. I think the potatoes and carrots and onions and celery tasted great. Not so much for the steak, but who cares. It was protein and it made the rest of the stew taste good. I'm just glad it's been used up!
Biscuits: I usually make biscuits with buttermilk, but I didn't have any, so I used regular milk. Just for future reference, use buttermilk or don't make them. Not nearly as good as usual!
Update:
The chicks are still alive. I know that was a big concern, but I think the rest of the birds are okay. They all came when we brought them scratch grain and none of them looked sickly. I'm hoping that yesterday's events were a one-time thing.
I didn't have to substitute today, which means that I got to stay in my PJs for an extra few hours. heheheh.
I did get a lot of work done during the beautiful rain storm this morning. And, I got to spend an hour or so chatting at the post office (which I haven't had a chance to do in a while!)
The elementary school had a Books for Bikes contest. Each student got an entry into the raffle for each chapter they read for the semester. And, as you may know, Connor reads a lot. I'm not sure exactly the numbers involved, but the story I was told is that there were about 300-400 entries into the raffle. And, about 150 of them were Connor's. He read about 8-10 books this semester (about 3 months). So, guess who won a bike this afternoon??
The winner got a helmet and a gift certificate for $125 to be used towards the purchase of a new bike (and any accessories). How totally awesome is that? He said he would ride up to the Grandparent's house with Allen this summer. THANK YOU SO MUCH to the Mason Lodge in Hobson!! I'm not sure when we'll head over to Lewistown to pick up his prize, but I'm sure it will be soon!
After dinner, I talked Patrick into fixing the back door. If you go back to my first post (or second, but somewhere in the beginning), we got a pellet stove, and had to install a door to put the stove into (it's one of those window things, but we didn't have a window to put it in). Well, since the winter (that wasn't) is (mostly) over, I figured it was time to put the pellet stove away for the summer.
Of course, to put the old door back in place, it is necessary to find the hardware. Hmmm, I wonder where the hardware would have gone. It would have been way too easy to put the hardware in a bag and tape it to the door. Or, perhaps to put it on the shelf next to the door.
30 minutes later, I found it, in a bag, in a closet, next to some boxes that still have not been unpacked. Oh yea, that was really smart.
Having a back door is great. After it was all put on (and yes, it fit and still latched correctly and was square and all that), Patrick and I sat out on the back porch, eating ice cream (the Schwanns guy came by last night... woo hoo) and watching the sunset. Then the temperature dropped about 20 degrees as soon as the sun was down. Time to go back inside...
Thursday, May 17, 2012
May 17, 2012
Outside Temp: 51 F (it teased us all day, pretending to rain... It started and stopped all day long. Now, it's finally raining.. )
What I cooked today:
Nothing: The kids were on their own for dinner.. I think they had sandwiches or hot dogs. Too much going on, I really didn't want to deal with food... I hope that doesn't make me too bad... I'll make something good tomorrow! (and to be perfectly honest, I just couldn't make chicken for dinner tonight... see below...)
Update:
Wow... what a day.
So, it was bound to happen sooner or later. As you know, we've had our chicks for about 7 weeks now. We lost one chick to a cat a few weeks ago. And today, we lost another one.
This time, however, it was a little different.
We went out to check on the chicks and one of the Cornish (yes, the big ones that are due to be slaughtered in a few weeks anyway) was sleeping in her box. She didn't get up and eat the scratch grains when I went in to check on them. I thought that was a little weird, but I tried not to think too much of it. We stayed out there for a while, chatting and throwing grains at the chicks. Most of them came out to join us, but this one chick just stayed in her box, looking like she was asleep. I went over and petted her (which usually causes them to get up and run away), and she lifted her head and looked at me, but didn't move.
Not normal.
About this time, Patrick came home and looked at her as well. He decided that there was something wrong. He went over and picked her up. She fluttered a little, and tried to jump out of his hands, but mostly just fell and landed on the ground. Again, not good.
There was something wrong with her. She didn't seem to be eating or drinking, so Patrick made the executive decision. He carried her over behind the shed, and (with me and a friend and Kathryn watching), proceeded to wring it's neck.
He held it in his arms, calmly petting it. It was totally relaxed (or half-dead anyway from whatever was wrong). Then he carefully put his hand around it's neck and quickly spun it around about 6-7 times (just like wringing out a wet towel). It was over quickly and it didn't make any noise. Again, that might be because it was so sick, but it was not too awful. Of course, I did scream a little and hide my eyes. I was expecting to be more prepared, but I'm kind of glad that it happened quickly without any time to think about it.
Once he'd wrung it's neck, he put it on the ground. Yes, it did twitch for another minute or two. I can imagine the image of a chicken with it's head cut off, but we really, really didn't want to deal with blood spurting. Katie actually handled it really well, considering. I asked her if she wanted to leave, but she asked to watch. I wasn't sure if she was ready for this, but apparently, she did just fine. We really should have told the other kids, so they could watch, but it happened so fast, we didn't really think about it.
After it was dead, Patrick wanted to check to make sure there wasn't worms or anything. If there were any obvious problems (assuming that he would recognize and be able to identify those problems), we wanted to know about it.
So, I grabbed a steak knife (we totally need to get a hunting knife or a bowie knife, but a steak knife was all I could find at short notice) and he proceeded to autopsy the bird. He made his lateral cut from the gizzard all the way down the front. There was no food in the gizzard or the intestines. And, it was totally dehydrated. There was NO blood. (okay, there was a very little blood in certain spots, but mostly, nothing). He checked out the liver and spleen, and the liver seemed really enlarged. Not sure what a normal liver looks like, so I'm not sure how he could tell it was enlarged, but I wasn't going to argue with the coroner. He felt around the intestines to make sure no obvious worms or anything.
We decided that since we didn't know what she was dying from, we didn't want to risk eating the meat. So, he took the bird and tossed it across the road into the field next to our house. I figure the carnivores in the neighborhood will have it gone by tomorrow morning.
On a much lighter note, the kids had a music concert tonight! They each got to perform a few times and they seemed to have a great time. Katie is such a ham! She loves being the center of attention! Connor was a little more reserved, and needs to remember to smile. Allen got to help with the A/V stuff, which made him more nervous that actually playing his instrument. I love that they are getting the experience with performing in front of a crowd so early. By the time they are in high school, they'll be so used to it, they won't be nervous!
What I cooked today:
Nothing: The kids were on their own for dinner.. I think they had sandwiches or hot dogs. Too much going on, I really didn't want to deal with food... I hope that doesn't make me too bad... I'll make something good tomorrow! (and to be perfectly honest, I just couldn't make chicken for dinner tonight... see below...)
Update:
Wow... what a day.
So, it was bound to happen sooner or later. As you know, we've had our chicks for about 7 weeks now. We lost one chick to a cat a few weeks ago. And today, we lost another one.
This time, however, it was a little different.
We went out to check on the chicks and one of the Cornish (yes, the big ones that are due to be slaughtered in a few weeks anyway) was sleeping in her box. She didn't get up and eat the scratch grains when I went in to check on them. I thought that was a little weird, but I tried not to think too much of it. We stayed out there for a while, chatting and throwing grains at the chicks. Most of them came out to join us, but this one chick just stayed in her box, looking like she was asleep. I went over and petted her (which usually causes them to get up and run away), and she lifted her head and looked at me, but didn't move.
Not normal.
About this time, Patrick came home and looked at her as well. He decided that there was something wrong. He went over and picked her up. She fluttered a little, and tried to jump out of his hands, but mostly just fell and landed on the ground. Again, not good.
There was something wrong with her. She didn't seem to be eating or drinking, so Patrick made the executive decision. He carried her over behind the shed, and (with me and a friend and Kathryn watching), proceeded to wring it's neck.
He held it in his arms, calmly petting it. It was totally relaxed (or half-dead anyway from whatever was wrong). Then he carefully put his hand around it's neck and quickly spun it around about 6-7 times (just like wringing out a wet towel). It was over quickly and it didn't make any noise. Again, that might be because it was so sick, but it was not too awful. Of course, I did scream a little and hide my eyes. I was expecting to be more prepared, but I'm kind of glad that it happened quickly without any time to think about it.
Once he'd wrung it's neck, he put it on the ground. Yes, it did twitch for another minute or two. I can imagine the image of a chicken with it's head cut off, but we really, really didn't want to deal with blood spurting. Katie actually handled it really well, considering. I asked her if she wanted to leave, but she asked to watch. I wasn't sure if she was ready for this, but apparently, she did just fine. We really should have told the other kids, so they could watch, but it happened so fast, we didn't really think about it.
After it was dead, Patrick wanted to check to make sure there wasn't worms or anything. If there were any obvious problems (assuming that he would recognize and be able to identify those problems), we wanted to know about it.
So, I grabbed a steak knife (we totally need to get a hunting knife or a bowie knife, but a steak knife was all I could find at short notice) and he proceeded to autopsy the bird. He made his lateral cut from the gizzard all the way down the front. There was no food in the gizzard or the intestines. And, it was totally dehydrated. There was NO blood. (okay, there was a very little blood in certain spots, but mostly, nothing). He checked out the liver and spleen, and the liver seemed really enlarged. Not sure what a normal liver looks like, so I'm not sure how he could tell it was enlarged, but I wasn't going to argue with the coroner. He felt around the intestines to make sure no obvious worms or anything.
 |  |
We decided that since we didn't know what she was dying from, we didn't want to risk eating the meat. So, he took the bird and tossed it across the road into the field next to our house. I figure the carnivores in the neighborhood will have it gone by tomorrow morning.
On a much lighter note, the kids had a music concert tonight! They each got to perform a few times and they seemed to have a great time. Katie is such a ham! She loves being the center of attention! Connor was a little more reserved, and needs to remember to smile. Allen got to help with the A/V stuff, which made him more nervous that actually playing his instrument. I love that they are getting the experience with performing in front of a crowd so early. By the time they are in high school, they'll be so used to it, they won't be nervous!
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Wednesday, May 16, 2012
May 16, 2012
Outside Temp: 61 F (it was in the 80's again. It should start cooling down by Friday.. I hope)
What I cooked today:
Chicken Kiev (sort of): I decided to try something new today. I been hearing (you know who you are) that I need to cook something other than burgers. So, I grabbed my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and looked at the chicken section. Their 'Chicken Kiev' used parsley and garlic, but I thought I'd try my Greek seasoning. You pound the chicken (which is totally fun!), then sprinkle the seasoning, place a chunk of butter in the middle and roll it up. Then (after chilling in the fridge for a little bit), you fry it up to brown the outside, and bake for 20 minutes. Of course, I didn't get to eat it right out of the oven, but I heard it went over really well. I had some when I got home, heated up in the microwave, and it was pretty good. So, I made something that wasn't burgers... Guess what we're having tomorrow...
Update:
I substituted for the high school math teacher today. And I have to admit, I let one of the kids get the better of me. My fourth period class (right before lunch) was a little distracted and difficult to keep on task. When one of them finished with his work early (about 15 minutes early), they all told me that the regular teacher always lets them leave for lunch early if they are finished with their work. I was skeptical, but since they all agreed, I let the one student who was finished leave. He was out the door and down the stairs in about 2 seconds. By the time the other students realized I'd let him go, they all started howling in protest... We didn't mean it! Not fair! Can we go to?
Needless to say, I totally should NOT have let him leave. And you can bet that the next time the students say that their teacher always does something, I will be sure to verify with a responsible adult. I have totally learned my lesson!
I get to sub tomorrow for English, so when I have the same students, I will be sure to keep them in line!
We had a school board meeting tonight, so I made up the chicken and had it brought up to the grandparents' house for dinner. Grandma finished baking it up there, so it would be hot and ready for them when they finished their work (they're building a chicken coop up there for our chickens!). Our board meeting lasted a little long, so I didn't get home until about 9:30. Patrick had all the kids in bed and all I had to do was kiss them goodnight. Totally awesome!
What I cooked today:
Chicken Kiev (sort of): I decided to try something new today. I been hearing (you know who you are) that I need to cook something other than burgers. So, I grabbed my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and looked at the chicken section. Their 'Chicken Kiev' used parsley and garlic, but I thought I'd try my Greek seasoning. You pound the chicken (which is totally fun!), then sprinkle the seasoning, place a chunk of butter in the middle and roll it up. Then (after chilling in the fridge for a little bit), you fry it up to brown the outside, and bake for 20 minutes. Of course, I didn't get to eat it right out of the oven, but I heard it went over really well. I had some when I got home, heated up in the microwave, and it was pretty good. So, I made something that wasn't burgers... Guess what we're having tomorrow...
Update:
I substituted for the high school math teacher today. And I have to admit, I let one of the kids get the better of me. My fourth period class (right before lunch) was a little distracted and difficult to keep on task. When one of them finished with his work early (about 15 minutes early), they all told me that the regular teacher always lets them leave for lunch early if they are finished with their work. I was skeptical, but since they all agreed, I let the one student who was finished leave. He was out the door and down the stairs in about 2 seconds. By the time the other students realized I'd let him go, they all started howling in protest... We didn't mean it! Not fair! Can we go to?
Needless to say, I totally should NOT have let him leave. And you can bet that the next time the students say that their teacher always does something, I will be sure to verify with a responsible adult. I have totally learned my lesson!
I get to sub tomorrow for English, so when I have the same students, I will be sure to keep them in line!
We had a school board meeting tonight, so I made up the chicken and had it brought up to the grandparents' house for dinner. Grandma finished baking it up there, so it would be hot and ready for them when they finished their work (they're building a chicken coop up there for our chickens!). Our board meeting lasted a little long, so I didn't get home until about 9:30. Patrick had all the kids in bed and all I had to do was kiss them goodnight. Totally awesome!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
May 15, 2012
Outside Temp: 62 F (it was in the high 80's today... ugh, I really miss the snow. But the good news is that it should cool back down to the 60's by Friday... )
What I cooked today:
Nothing: We had dinner up at the Grandparents' house, so I didn't have to cook... which is awesome since it means that I didn't have to heat up my house by using the oven!
Update:
Ugh, I really, really don't like it when it's warm. I know, mid 80's isn't that hot, but I still don't like it. I felt all tired and cranky all day long.
I went into town today. Ryan needed his meds and I figured I'd do some shopping while I was there. And, while there, I did something totally unusual for me. Now, those who know me well, know that I hate shopping. Even more, I hate shopping for clothes. And even more than that, I've never seen the use of having more than one or two pairs of shoes. I usually wear my shoes out until they break, or have holes in them, or are simply falling apart. Then, I proceed to buy the same stinking shoes and use them up. You can usually expect me to own one pair of tennis shoes and one pair of semi-nice shoes that I can wear with a dress or skirt.
Well, since being up here, I can't find my dress shoes, so it was only my tennis shoes for the first few months. Then, the snows hit, so I bought a pair of boots. Sometime around February, I decided that I didn't want to wear my snow boots to church, with a skirt, so I broke down and bought a pair of nice boots. I'm not commenting on the current state of my snow boots, which are not useless (yet) but probably need new laces.
Today (in the heat), I was wearing my tennis shoes to town. But I was hot and wearing socks in the heat just sucks. So, I stopped by Wal-mart (yes, I'm one of those). And I actually went to the shoe section to look for something for my feet. Mostly, I wanted to get some flats to wear with my dresses. I found some simple slip on flats that work, so I picked those up. But that wasn't enough.
I looked through all the options (there were about 6 that made any sense) of sandals. The ones I liked were a little more expensive (like $25 instead of $10). Hmmm, spend $25 on sandals? That's a lot for me. But, hey, I got paid today, so I decided to spoil myself. (I can see so many people laughing right now, at the concept of a $25 pair of Wal-Mart sandals being spoiling, but you have to understand, I don't buy things for myself, and I really don't buy shoes).
As I was walking out of the shoe section, with my new sandals in hand, I saw a pair of black Keds (okay, for those not raised in the 80's, I guess they're not called Keds anymore, but they're the slip on shoes, usually white, with absolutely no support). I decided, since I was over budget anyway, why not get a set of slip-on's that weren't sandals, and weren't dressy.
Oh my goodness, me... buying 3 pairs of shoes? At one time? I think I've been taken over by aliens.
As soon as I got out to the car, I pulled off my tennis shoes and socks, and put on my new sandals. I figured by the end of the day, I would have blisters or I would regret them. Nope. I walked around all day in my new sandals, and my feet felt nice and cool. Okay, not exactly cool, it was still in the 80's. But, I felt good. Hmmm, maybe this is why women spend so much money on new shoes?
What I cooked today:
Nothing: We had dinner up at the Grandparents' house, so I didn't have to cook... which is awesome since it means that I didn't have to heat up my house by using the oven!
Update:
Ugh, I really, really don't like it when it's warm. I know, mid 80's isn't that hot, but I still don't like it. I felt all tired and cranky all day long.
I went into town today. Ryan needed his meds and I figured I'd do some shopping while I was there. And, while there, I did something totally unusual for me. Now, those who know me well, know that I hate shopping. Even more, I hate shopping for clothes. And even more than that, I've never seen the use of having more than one or two pairs of shoes. I usually wear my shoes out until they break, or have holes in them, or are simply falling apart. Then, I proceed to buy the same stinking shoes and use them up. You can usually expect me to own one pair of tennis shoes and one pair of semi-nice shoes that I can wear with a dress or skirt.
Well, since being up here, I can't find my dress shoes, so it was only my tennis shoes for the first few months. Then, the snows hit, so I bought a pair of boots. Sometime around February, I decided that I didn't want to wear my snow boots to church, with a skirt, so I broke down and bought a pair of nice boots. I'm not commenting on the current state of my snow boots, which are not useless (yet) but probably need new laces.
Today (in the heat), I was wearing my tennis shoes to town. But I was hot and wearing socks in the heat just sucks. So, I stopped by Wal-mart (yes, I'm one of those). And I actually went to the shoe section to look for something for my feet. Mostly, I wanted to get some flats to wear with my dresses. I found some simple slip on flats that work, so I picked those up. But that wasn't enough.
I looked through all the options (there were about 6 that made any sense) of sandals. The ones I liked were a little more expensive (like $25 instead of $10). Hmmm, spend $25 on sandals? That's a lot for me. But, hey, I got paid today, so I decided to spoil myself. (I can see so many people laughing right now, at the concept of a $25 pair of Wal-Mart sandals being spoiling, but you have to understand, I don't buy things for myself, and I really don't buy shoes).
As I was walking out of the shoe section, with my new sandals in hand, I saw a pair of black Keds (okay, for those not raised in the 80's, I guess they're not called Keds anymore, but they're the slip on shoes, usually white, with absolutely no support). I decided, since I was over budget anyway, why not get a set of slip-on's that weren't sandals, and weren't dressy.
Oh my goodness, me... buying 3 pairs of shoes? At one time? I think I've been taken over by aliens.
As soon as I got out to the car, I pulled off my tennis shoes and socks, and put on my new sandals. I figured by the end of the day, I would have blisters or I would regret them. Nope. I walked around all day in my new sandals, and my feet felt nice and cool. Okay, not exactly cool, it was still in the 80's. But, I felt good. Hmmm, maybe this is why women spend so much money on new shoes?
Monday, May 14, 2012
May 14, 2012
Outside Temp: 53 F (My outside thermometer today had a high of 92.. but it's in the sun, so that might be a little high. All I know is that I miss the snow. )
What I cooked today:
Chicken with Fried Rice: I was hearing some complaints that I need to cook more than just burgers and pasta and soup (although my soup can be quite unique at times). 'They' were right... I've been pretty lazy lately, not making a list, not preparing, and just choosing the easy way out. So, since school is almost out, and I should have some more free time, I'm getting back into cooking. Tonight, it was chicken with broccoli (Patrick doesn't let me mix them together, so I steam the broccoli and cook the chicken with some sherry and soy sauce). I even made up some fried rice to go with the regular white rice. I've come to realize that 2 cups of rice is never enough for my family any more. I think I'll go with 3 cups next time. And the 3 chicken breasts wasn't enough either. But perhaps it was more about the good food.
Update:
So, yesterday I worked on the web site, and had a rough time. By the time I sat down to do my blog, I had a massive headache and I just wanted to crawl under my covers and pass out. Which is pretty much what I did. But before passing out, I asked my totally awesome husband to solve my programming problem for me. I'm not even sure if I explained anything to him, I just said, "Honey... please fix it.". And then I fell asleep.
This morning, at 6:58am (2 minutes before my alarm goes off), he woke me up and said, "Okay, honey. It works.".
He stayed up all night, and I must say, it works perfectly. I am always amazed at him. He is so stinking good at what he does.
So, I was able to get up and get the kids ready for school, while he fell asleep.
Of course, he woke up by 11:45, since his new game (Guild Wars 2, if you were interested) had a Beta Event this afternoon from noon to 7pm. Oh my goodness, you'd never have guessed that he only had 4 hours of sleep.
I was able to show the web site today, and so far, the reviews have been good. Hopefully, it will be 'live' in a few more days. I'm a little nervous about actually showing it to people, since all I can see is how it doesn't look exactly as I pictured it in my mind. But, since they don't have anything right now, I guess something is better than nothing, right? And I still have plenty of time to fix it up and make it better.
Also, Allen made a birdhouse and donated it to the auction last week. Of course, Grandma had to bid on it (because she's just that awesome). I think it turned out great, so I've asked Allen to make me one next year...
What I cooked today:
Chicken with Fried Rice: I was hearing some complaints that I need to cook more than just burgers and pasta and soup (although my soup can be quite unique at times). 'They' were right... I've been pretty lazy lately, not making a list, not preparing, and just choosing the easy way out. So, since school is almost out, and I should have some more free time, I'm getting back into cooking. Tonight, it was chicken with broccoli (Patrick doesn't let me mix them together, so I steam the broccoli and cook the chicken with some sherry and soy sauce). I even made up some fried rice to go with the regular white rice. I've come to realize that 2 cups of rice is never enough for my family any more. I think I'll go with 3 cups next time. And the 3 chicken breasts wasn't enough either. But perhaps it was more about the good food.
Update:
So, yesterday I worked on the web site, and had a rough time. By the time I sat down to do my blog, I had a massive headache and I just wanted to crawl under my covers and pass out. Which is pretty much what I did. But before passing out, I asked my totally awesome husband to solve my programming problem for me. I'm not even sure if I explained anything to him, I just said, "Honey... please fix it.". And then I fell asleep.
This morning, at 6:58am (2 minutes before my alarm goes off), he woke me up and said, "Okay, honey. It works.".
He stayed up all night, and I must say, it works perfectly. I am always amazed at him. He is so stinking good at what he does.
So, I was able to get up and get the kids ready for school, while he fell asleep.
Of course, he woke up by 11:45, since his new game (Guild Wars 2, if you were interested) had a Beta Event this afternoon from noon to 7pm. Oh my goodness, you'd never have guessed that he only had 4 hours of sleep.
I was able to show the web site today, and so far, the reviews have been good. Hopefully, it will be 'live' in a few more days. I'm a little nervous about actually showing it to people, since all I can see is how it doesn't look exactly as I pictured it in my mind. But, since they don't have anything right now, I guess something is better than nothing, right? And I still have plenty of time to fix it up and make it better.
Also, Allen made a birdhouse and donated it to the auction last week. Of course, Grandma had to bid on it (because she's just that awesome). I think it turned out great, so I've asked Allen to make me one next year...
 |  |
Sunday, May 13, 2012
May 13, 2012
Outside Temp: 46 F (up into the 70's again. I opened all the windows and let the beautiful breeze clear out the smell of all the smelly boys in my house)
What I cooked today:
Chocolate Chip Cookies: I brought cookies to the meeting tonight, so I made up a batch. The hard part was keeping them away from the kids for the hours before the meeting!
Update:
Happy Mother's Day!
Okay, now that being said, I wish that I could schedule Mother's Day around my schedule, instead of some generic schedule. I've been working on this web site for the school and I really, really wanted to get it up for them by tomorrow morning. But, I've been beating my head against the keyboard trying to get it to behave.
The kids did their best to keep the peace, and keep Ryan entertained, so I could work. I felt a little bad, working my way through the day, instead of spending it with the family, being grateful for my kids and my life and all that. Perhaps, I'll pick a day next week to be my 'make-up' mother's day?
What I cooked today:
Chocolate Chip Cookies: I brought cookies to the meeting tonight, so I made up a batch. The hard part was keeping them away from the kids for the hours before the meeting!
Update:
Happy Mother's Day!
Okay, now that being said, I wish that I could schedule Mother's Day around my schedule, instead of some generic schedule. I've been working on this web site for the school and I really, really wanted to get it up for them by tomorrow morning. But, I've been beating my head against the keyboard trying to get it to behave.
The kids did their best to keep the peace, and keep Ryan entertained, so I could work. I felt a little bad, working my way through the day, instead of spending it with the family, being grateful for my kids and my life and all that. Perhaps, I'll pick a day next week to be my 'make-up' mother's day?
Saturday, May 12, 2012
May 12, 2012
Outside Temp: 45 F (It was in the 70's today... beautiful!!)
What I cooked today:
Eggs for breakfast: I was good this morning and offered to make breakfast... no cold cereal for at least one of my kids. Allen actually ate 7 scrambled eggs for breakfast. Which left none for me or anyone else. Oh well, I guess cold cereal isn't that bad.
No dinner: I admit, I was a lazy mom. Patrick and I munched on cheese and crackers and I just didn't feel like making dinner. So, the family was on their own. Sandwiches or hot dogs or more cold cereal. I think they survived.
Update:
We saw the Avengers today... woo hoo! Yes, the place was packed and I think it was the only movie that anyone actually saw today. I have no idea what other movies there were playing.
It was great! I really enjoyed it. We went with Grandma and Grandpa, which meant that we had to split up (oh yea, like we could get 8 seats... together?) I admit, I don't know much about the Marvel universe, although I have seen Iron Man, Thor and Captain America (I missed the Hulk). Ahhh, Thor... He's nice.
Anyway, I thought it was great. I mean, it was a standard super hero movie, but there was some thought and emotion thrown into all the completely unrealistic battle sequences. I loved all the one-liners. In fact, Ryan is currently in his room, repeating a few of them (You have an Army... We have a Hulk!). And I'm glad we got to see it.
Afterwards, we went shopping, then made it back for church. The homily tonight was great... all about love and goodness and looking for the goodness in others as a sign of love. And, by looking for the good in others, you help them to be good. So, perhaps I'm not just naive about other people... maybe I've been doing it right all this time. Who knew?
After church, Patrick and I sat on our back porch and watched the sunset, with Ryan running around the yard, picking dandelions and blowing them across the yard. For us, everything is right with the world.
What I cooked today:
Eggs for breakfast: I was good this morning and offered to make breakfast... no cold cereal for at least one of my kids. Allen actually ate 7 scrambled eggs for breakfast. Which left none for me or anyone else. Oh well, I guess cold cereal isn't that bad.
No dinner: I admit, I was a lazy mom. Patrick and I munched on cheese and crackers and I just didn't feel like making dinner. So, the family was on their own. Sandwiches or hot dogs or more cold cereal. I think they survived.
Update:
We saw the Avengers today... woo hoo! Yes, the place was packed and I think it was the only movie that anyone actually saw today. I have no idea what other movies there were playing.
It was great! I really enjoyed it. We went with Grandma and Grandpa, which meant that we had to split up (oh yea, like we could get 8 seats... together?) I admit, I don't know much about the Marvel universe, although I have seen Iron Man, Thor and Captain America (I missed the Hulk). Ahhh, Thor... He's nice.
Anyway, I thought it was great. I mean, it was a standard super hero movie, but there was some thought and emotion thrown into all the completely unrealistic battle sequences. I loved all the one-liners. In fact, Ryan is currently in his room, repeating a few of them (You have an Army... We have a Hulk!). And I'm glad we got to see it.
Afterwards, we went shopping, then made it back for church. The homily tonight was great... all about love and goodness and looking for the goodness in others as a sign of love. And, by looking for the good in others, you help them to be good. So, perhaps I'm not just naive about other people... maybe I've been doing it right all this time. Who knew?
After church, Patrick and I sat on our back porch and watched the sunset, with Ryan running around the yard, picking dandelions and blowing them across the yard. For us, everything is right with the world.
Friday, May 11, 2012
May 11, 2012
Outside Temp: 35 F (it was warm again today, but not hot. Although it was around 25 F this morning when we got up, it warmed up into the high 50's/low 60's by mid day...)
What I cooked today:
Brownies: which I proceeded to burn. I have a stone 8x8 baking dish for brownies, which I usually use. But, I haven't made brownies for a while, so I didn't remember, until I poured the batter into my glass 9x13 casserole dish. Ugh, the mix barely made it to the edges. But, silly me, still baked it at 350 (which really means about 400 in my oven) for the entire 28 minutes. Needless to say, they were not good. In fact, they were so bad, I would have been ashamed to bring them to the fundraiser tonight. They sat on my counter, and even the kids wouldn't eat them.
Chocolate Cookies: So, having less than an hour until the fundraiser, and having nothing to bring, I found a recipe for chocolate cookies that didn't need to be refrigerated for 2 hours (like my regular chocolate chip cookies). It's a brownie mix that you only use 1 Tbsp of water and 1/4 cup oil. I was pretty sure I was doing it wrong, when I couldn't even wet all the baking mix! But, after about 4-5 minutes of constant stirring, I figured that they were wet enough to bake. They only took about 12 minutes to bake and they weren't bad. Apparently, they were okay, since there were none left when the fundraiser was over!
Update:
We had a fundraiser tonight for a wonderful lady in our community, who has recently been diagnosed with Cancer. Oh my goodness, we have an amazing community! There was both a silent auction and a live auction for some awesome items that were donated. There was some local artwork, some handmade jewelry, a beautiful handmade wooden bench and even a weekend vacation at someones marina condo!
Our school Shop class has been making bird houses. And the students decided to donate their birdhouses to the auction, over 10 of them! Two of them were selected for the live auction, and they brought in over $100 each! Grandma won the birdhouse that Allen made (I meant to get a picture, but since it's at Grandma's house now, I can get it tomorrow!).
It was an amazing night, and just goes to show how a small community comes together when someone is in need. I will continue to pray for her, and her family.
Also today, our school had a district track meet for the high school. Allen got to go, to help out, since our school was the host. He had a great time and the superintendent made a point of telling me how well he worked. I love it when someone compliments me on my kids!
What I cooked today:
Brownies: which I proceeded to burn. I have a stone 8x8 baking dish for brownies, which I usually use. But, I haven't made brownies for a while, so I didn't remember, until I poured the batter into my glass 9x13 casserole dish. Ugh, the mix barely made it to the edges. But, silly me, still baked it at 350 (which really means about 400 in my oven) for the entire 28 minutes. Needless to say, they were not good. In fact, they were so bad, I would have been ashamed to bring them to the fundraiser tonight. They sat on my counter, and even the kids wouldn't eat them.
Chocolate Cookies: So, having less than an hour until the fundraiser, and having nothing to bring, I found a recipe for chocolate cookies that didn't need to be refrigerated for 2 hours (like my regular chocolate chip cookies). It's a brownie mix that you only use 1 Tbsp of water and 1/4 cup oil. I was pretty sure I was doing it wrong, when I couldn't even wet all the baking mix! But, after about 4-5 minutes of constant stirring, I figured that they were wet enough to bake. They only took about 12 minutes to bake and they weren't bad. Apparently, they were okay, since there were none left when the fundraiser was over!
Update:
We had a fundraiser tonight for a wonderful lady in our community, who has recently been diagnosed with Cancer. Oh my goodness, we have an amazing community! There was both a silent auction and a live auction for some awesome items that were donated. There was some local artwork, some handmade jewelry, a beautiful handmade wooden bench and even a weekend vacation at someones marina condo!
Our school Shop class has been making bird houses. And the students decided to donate their birdhouses to the auction, over 10 of them! Two of them were selected for the live auction, and they brought in over $100 each! Grandma won the birdhouse that Allen made (I meant to get a picture, but since it's at Grandma's house now, I can get it tomorrow!).
It was an amazing night, and just goes to show how a small community comes together when someone is in need. I will continue to pray for her, and her family.
Also today, our school had a district track meet for the high school. Allen got to go, to help out, since our school was the host. He had a great time and the superintendent made a point of telling me how well he worked. I love it when someone compliments me on my kids!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
May 10, 2012
Outside Temp: 33 F (It actually rained this morning, which was beautiful! Connor said it reminded him of Ireland... like he's actually been there... )
What I cooked today:
Vegetable Beef Soup: Soup is a great dinner on a cold evening, which this was. I added some red wine vinegar, and the kids all loved it! They actually asked for more vinegar to be drizzled on the top... only my kids would ask for a vinaigrette drizzle on the top of their soup!
Update:
So, I was supposed to substitute today, but the Track meet in Lewistown was cancelled because of the rain, so I got all dressed and didn't have to actually do anything! There were no complaints, though, since it meant that I got to go back home and go back to bed.
I woke up with a stuffy nose, and I figured it was allergies or change in weather or something. So (silly me), I asked my husband (who is brilliant, by the way) what I should do about my stuffy nose. He immediately gave me 2 Sudafed and 1 Benadryl. I asked if the Benadryl would make me drowsy, since I was supposed to be working and I couldn't fall asleep. He said, no problem. I'd be fine.
Oh yea.. sure. By the time I got back home, I fell into bed and slept for about 3 hours. No more Benadryl in the morning... The good side is that my stuffy nose was gone!
Patrick decided that it was time to mow the lawn, again. After last week's 8 hour mowing marathon, I figured it would be weeks before I got him to do it again. But, he got up on his riding lawn mower around 6pm this evening and started mowing. I felt really bad at 7:30, when I told him dinner was on the table. He said he would try to finish tomorrow... he finished a little over 1/2 of the yard. I think he likes spending time, outside, with no children or wife to bug him. The ear plugs don't hurt, either.
What I cooked today:
Vegetable Beef Soup: Soup is a great dinner on a cold evening, which this was. I added some red wine vinegar, and the kids all loved it! They actually asked for more vinegar to be drizzled on the top... only my kids would ask for a vinaigrette drizzle on the top of their soup!
Update:
So, I was supposed to substitute today, but the Track meet in Lewistown was cancelled because of the rain, so I got all dressed and didn't have to actually do anything! There were no complaints, though, since it meant that I got to go back home and go back to bed.
I woke up with a stuffy nose, and I figured it was allergies or change in weather or something. So (silly me), I asked my husband (who is brilliant, by the way) what I should do about my stuffy nose. He immediately gave me 2 Sudafed and 1 Benadryl. I asked if the Benadryl would make me drowsy, since I was supposed to be working and I couldn't fall asleep. He said, no problem. I'd be fine.
Oh yea.. sure. By the time I got back home, I fell into bed and slept for about 3 hours. No more Benadryl in the morning... The good side is that my stuffy nose was gone!
Patrick decided that it was time to mow the lawn, again. After last week's 8 hour mowing marathon, I figured it would be weeks before I got him to do it again. But, he got up on his riding lawn mower around 6pm this evening and started mowing. I felt really bad at 7:30, when I told him dinner was on the table. He said he would try to finish tomorrow... he finished a little over 1/2 of the yard. I think he likes spending time, outside, with no children or wife to bug him. The ear plugs don't hurt, either.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
May 9, 2012
Outside Temp: 57 F (it was almost 80 again today... I miss the snow...)
What I cooked today:
nothing... no time!
Update:
Allen, Connor and Kathryn are now fully Confirmed in the Catholic Church! Yea! As I explained when one of them asked, "Now, when you get married, you can get married in the Catholic Church!"... I felt like that mother from My Big Fat Greek Wedding...
The service was beautiful and the Bishop came out from Great Falls to preside over the mass. Allen was asked to do a reading (which he did really well!) and I was asked to be one of the Eucharistic Ministers, which I found to be a great honor.
The kids were asked to select Patron Saints, and they each spent some time in the last few weeks making their selections. Kathryn chose St. Catherine of Alexandria, (as she says) because she was really smart. Connor chose St. Thomas Aquinas, because he was a great writer. And Allen chose St. John Chrysostom, because he was a great speaker and teacher. Leave it to my kids not to choose the obvious choices!
After the mass, there was a reception, where we got to eat and chat (which is always awesome). Patrick's mom's brothers were there (I still can't believe one of them drove all the way over from Missoula just for our Confirmation!), along with Aunts and Uncles. It was so great to have an excuse to see the family!
I get to substitute again tomorrow and Friday, so I'm totally tired and can't wait to crawl into bed. It was a great day, but I'm kind of glad that it's over and done... Does that make me bad?
What I cooked today:
nothing... no time!
Update:
Allen, Connor and Kathryn are now fully Confirmed in the Catholic Church! Yea! As I explained when one of them asked, "Now, when you get married, you can get married in the Catholic Church!"... I felt like that mother from My Big Fat Greek Wedding...
The service was beautiful and the Bishop came out from Great Falls to preside over the mass. Allen was asked to do a reading (which he did really well!) and I was asked to be one of the Eucharistic Ministers, which I found to be a great honor.
The kids were asked to select Patron Saints, and they each spent some time in the last few weeks making their selections. Kathryn chose St. Catherine of Alexandria, (as she says) because she was really smart. Connor chose St. Thomas Aquinas, because he was a great writer. And Allen chose St. John Chrysostom, because he was a great speaker and teacher. Leave it to my kids not to choose the obvious choices!
After the mass, there was a reception, where we got to eat and chat (which is always awesome). Patrick's mom's brothers were there (I still can't believe one of them drove all the way over from Missoula just for our Confirmation!), along with Aunts and Uncles. It was so great to have an excuse to see the family!
I get to substitute again tomorrow and Friday, so I'm totally tired and can't wait to crawl into bed. It was a great day, but I'm kind of glad that it's over and done... Does that make me bad?
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
May 8, 2012
Outside Temp: 49 F (it was in the 80's today!! A little too hot for me, but I have no right to complain... it's less that 100, right?)
What I cooked today:
Burgers: Yes, again. I was too tired to actually think about a meal, so I just made up burgers. I did cook tater tots, which are stinking awesome, and they actually cooked right this time! So, when the package says 20-25 minutes, it actually means 50 in my oven... just for future reference...
Update:
Okay, I'm going to preface this post with: I'm an idiot. Isn't the definition of an idiot doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result? So, what is it when you keep doing something stupid, and never, ever learn from it?
Allen had a track meet in Great Falls today. So, being the dutiful mom that I am, I made a point of going. I've decided that track meets are similar to the swim meets I had in high school, except that in swimming, there is only one pool, so there is only one event at a time. In track, they have running events and field events. And these events occur simultaneously. So, you have to keep an eye on the schedule and really listen to the loud speaker, to make sure that you show up to your events.
The meet started at 9am, but Allen's first event wasn't until about 9:30, so I didn't have to rush. I was there in plenty of time, and loved watching him. He did the shot put first, then the long jump. Then the 100m dash, and back to the field for the discus. And finally, he finished with the 200m. The meet lasted until about 1:30ish.
He did great, and especially in the discus, where he came in 2nd! (granted, there were only 2 people competing, but that's not important, is it?)
Now, the stupid part. For those who know me, I have very fair skin. I don't tan, I burn. I know this. It hasn't changed since I was in high school, and would get burned at every swim meet we had. I went to college in San Diego, and never went to the beach. I get burned when I ski. I get burned when I go outside for more than 5 minutes at a time. I know this. It's not a surprise.
So, can anyone explain to me, why I spent 4 hours, in 80 degree weather, on a beautiful clear day, in full view of the sun, at 5000ft, with no sunscreen? No hat? No attempt to find shade? Just a ponytail (leaving my shoulders and next exposed) and a t-shirt (short sleeve, of course).
Sometime around 11am, I realized that I was uncomfortable in the sun. But, did I do anything about it? Maybe ask my son, who had sunscreen in his bag, to get it for me? Nah, I can handle it. It won't be that bad. Sure...
Finally, by noon, I asked Allen to get me his sunscreen. Oh yea, that will really help. Isn't that like closing the gate to the chicken coop, after the cat's eaten them all? (no, our chicks are all fine, just an analogy) Perhaps the last hour of the meet, where I did actually put sunscreen on my face and arms and neck, may have helped a little. But oh boy, I am totally burned.
I got home, and I fell into bed, probably a mixture of heat stroke and sunburn. I'm so lame. The kids took good care of me, and I'll totally survive. But, it just reminds me what an idiot I can be...
Any chance that next time, I'll use sunscreen, and wear a hat? Oh please, can I finally learn my lesson?
What I cooked today:
Burgers: Yes, again. I was too tired to actually think about a meal, so I just made up burgers. I did cook tater tots, which are stinking awesome, and they actually cooked right this time! So, when the package says 20-25 minutes, it actually means 50 in my oven... just for future reference...
Update:
Okay, I'm going to preface this post with: I'm an idiot. Isn't the definition of an idiot doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result? So, what is it when you keep doing something stupid, and never, ever learn from it?
Allen had a track meet in Great Falls today. So, being the dutiful mom that I am, I made a point of going. I've decided that track meets are similar to the swim meets I had in high school, except that in swimming, there is only one pool, so there is only one event at a time. In track, they have running events and field events. And these events occur simultaneously. So, you have to keep an eye on the schedule and really listen to the loud speaker, to make sure that you show up to your events.
The meet started at 9am, but Allen's first event wasn't until about 9:30, so I didn't have to rush. I was there in plenty of time, and loved watching him. He did the shot put first, then the long jump. Then the 100m dash, and back to the field for the discus. And finally, he finished with the 200m. The meet lasted until about 1:30ish.
He did great, and especially in the discus, where he came in 2nd! (granted, there were only 2 people competing, but that's not important, is it?)
Now, the stupid part. For those who know me, I have very fair skin. I don't tan, I burn. I know this. It hasn't changed since I was in high school, and would get burned at every swim meet we had. I went to college in San Diego, and never went to the beach. I get burned when I ski. I get burned when I go outside for more than 5 minutes at a time. I know this. It's not a surprise.
So, can anyone explain to me, why I spent 4 hours, in 80 degree weather, on a beautiful clear day, in full view of the sun, at 5000ft, with no sunscreen? No hat? No attempt to find shade? Just a ponytail (leaving my shoulders and next exposed) and a t-shirt (short sleeve, of course).
Sometime around 11am, I realized that I was uncomfortable in the sun. But, did I do anything about it? Maybe ask my son, who had sunscreen in his bag, to get it for me? Nah, I can handle it. It won't be that bad. Sure...
Finally, by noon, I asked Allen to get me his sunscreen. Oh yea, that will really help. Isn't that like closing the gate to the chicken coop, after the cat's eaten them all? (no, our chicks are all fine, just an analogy) Perhaps the last hour of the meet, where I did actually put sunscreen on my face and arms and neck, may have helped a little. But oh boy, I am totally burned.
I got home, and I fell into bed, probably a mixture of heat stroke and sunburn. I'm so lame. The kids took good care of me, and I'll totally survive. But, it just reminds me what an idiot I can be...
Any chance that next time, I'll use sunscreen, and wear a hat? Oh please, can I finally learn my lesson?
Monday, May 7, 2012
May 7, 2012
Outside Temp: 44F (it was below freezing this morning when we got up, but was in the 50's and beautiful most of the afternoon... I LOVE the weather up here!)
What I cooked today:
Burgers: Patrick and Allen were up at the Grandparents house, so I only had to make dinner for Connor, Katie, Ryan and myself. Burgers were a quick and easy solution. And everyone ate them right up!
Update:
I substituted today for the P.E. coach. I'm not sure if it was not sleeping well last night, too much stress, or if the kids were really bad. I'm figuring it was the first, since I'm too naive to believe that kids can be bad. (yes, I'm kidding).
I actually think that kids can smell exhaustion on someone, and they, in their own ways, exploit that. Needless to say, by the end of the day, I could barely drive us home. I fell into bed as I walked in the door, and slept for about 3 hours (okay, so I woke up every 10-15 minutes, to check on Ryan, but still...)
I'm a little upset that I missed the banquet at the school tonight, especially since I said that I would be there. But Patrick didn't come home (he was up helping the Grandparents) and Allen went for a bike ride, and since I was so tired, I just couldn't come up with the energy to get everyone together. I hope they'll forgive me.
I'm praying that tomorrow will be better. I'm falling back into bed as soon as I push 'publish' on this entry...
(oh crap, it hadn't even occurred to me... I really hope I'm not getting sick... )
What I cooked today:
Burgers: Patrick and Allen were up at the Grandparents house, so I only had to make dinner for Connor, Katie, Ryan and myself. Burgers were a quick and easy solution. And everyone ate them right up!
Update:
I substituted today for the P.E. coach. I'm not sure if it was not sleeping well last night, too much stress, or if the kids were really bad. I'm figuring it was the first, since I'm too naive to believe that kids can be bad. (yes, I'm kidding).
I actually think that kids can smell exhaustion on someone, and they, in their own ways, exploit that. Needless to say, by the end of the day, I could barely drive us home. I fell into bed as I walked in the door, and slept for about 3 hours (okay, so I woke up every 10-15 minutes, to check on Ryan, but still...)
I'm a little upset that I missed the banquet at the school tonight, especially since I said that I would be there. But Patrick didn't come home (he was up helping the Grandparents) and Allen went for a bike ride, and since I was so tired, I just couldn't come up with the energy to get everyone together. I hope they'll forgive me.
I'm praying that tomorrow will be better. I'm falling back into bed as soon as I push 'publish' on this entry...
(oh crap, it hadn't even occurred to me... I really hope I'm not getting sick... )
Sunday, May 6, 2012
May 6, 2012
Outside Temp: 40 F (I expected rain today... it was beautiful all day!)
What I cooked today:
Shepard's Pie: I wanted to try something new, so I found a recipe for Shepard's Pie. I thought it was fine, but apparently, my children didn't agree. They 'tollerated' it, but I can't say they were happy about it. Oh well, I guess it was time for me to make something they didn't like.
Update:
Yea! The Grandparents are back! They have been gone for the last two weeks (or was it 3?), visiting family and friends back in California. We got very spoiled by the presents they brought back: a kumquat tree and bags of lemons! Yummm.... Ryan LOVES lemons, so now I have to decide if I should freeze some, or just hope he eats them before they go bad. Any ideas?
We also went to town today to get clothes for the kids. 3 of the 4 are being Confirmed at church on Wednesday, and I would be humiliated if Katie walked up there in a old tank top and her snow boots. Connor seems to only have jeans with holes in the knees, and Allen had no shirts that did not have holes in the neck. I guess it's only fitting that I finally break down and got some nice clothes for them. Katie even ended up with new sandals!
What I cooked today:
Shepard's Pie: I wanted to try something new, so I found a recipe for Shepard's Pie. I thought it was fine, but apparently, my children didn't agree. They 'tollerated' it, but I can't say they were happy about it. Oh well, I guess it was time for me to make something they didn't like.
Update:
Yea! The Grandparents are back! They have been gone for the last two weeks (or was it 3?), visiting family and friends back in California. We got very spoiled by the presents they brought back: a kumquat tree and bags of lemons! Yummm.... Ryan LOVES lemons, so now I have to decide if I should freeze some, or just hope he eats them before they go bad. Any ideas?
We also went to town today to get clothes for the kids. 3 of the 4 are being Confirmed at church on Wednesday, and I would be humiliated if Katie walked up there in a old tank top and her snow boots. Connor seems to only have jeans with holes in the knees, and Allen had no shirts that did not have holes in the neck. I guess it's only fitting that I finally break down and got some nice clothes for them. Katie even ended up with new sandals!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
May 5, 2012
Outside Temp: 35 F (we had a freak snow storm this afternoon, while it was 48 degrees... Not quite sure I understand that one...)
What I cooked today:
Tacos (and leftover pizza!): We had pizza from last night, and since I only had a few tortilla, I just made a small amount of taco meat, and gave everyone a choice. It worked out well, since I wanted pizza, I got pizza, and I didn't really care what everyone else did. Does that make me bad?
Update:
Ryan has been asking to go see the Avengers for weeks now. We were under the impression that it started last week, so we figured the crowd would have died down. We headed into town around noon, to catch a 1:15 showing. We got there about 25 minutes early, so I stopped at picked up burgers for the kids before heading over to the theater.
Stupid move, although it may not have made a difference. By the time we got there, there was a line about 50 feet out the door. Ugh, not a good sign, but I thought, maybe it will be okay.
Nope. We got up to the window about 5 minutes before the movie started, and they were totally sold out. They were even sold out for the 4pm showing this afternoon.
So, we proceeded to get back into the car and go home... (Okay, so we took the kids out to a real lunch first). Ryan was so upset, for the next hour, all we heard was:
R: "Go Back! I want the Avengers!".
Me: "No, Ryan... They were sold out."
R: "Not sold out. Let's try again."
M: "We'll try to go next week."
R: "Not next week. Today. Let's try again."
M: "There's no more tickets left."
R: "Yes, there are more tickets. Please?"
M: "I'm sorry, but we'll have to wait."
R: "Wait. I have a plan. Let's go see Avengers now, and THEN go next week."
Ahhh, my son and his plans. We ended up stopping at Target and got an animated version of the Avengers... That helped.
It worked out for me, since I was able to get a few more hours of work time on the web site I'm designing. I have been having those fun moments of smashing my head against the keyboard, and cursing obscenities at the screen. And then those moments of: "Yes! I am a GOD!", when something works right.
I'm praying that tomorrow is a better work day. Although I probably accomplished something, it just reminds me how far I have to go!
What I cooked today:
Tacos (and leftover pizza!): We had pizza from last night, and since I only had a few tortilla, I just made a small amount of taco meat, and gave everyone a choice. It worked out well, since I wanted pizza, I got pizza, and I didn't really care what everyone else did. Does that make me bad?
Update:
Ryan has been asking to go see the Avengers for weeks now. We were under the impression that it started last week, so we figured the crowd would have died down. We headed into town around noon, to catch a 1:15 showing. We got there about 25 minutes early, so I stopped at picked up burgers for the kids before heading over to the theater.
Stupid move, although it may not have made a difference. By the time we got there, there was a line about 50 feet out the door. Ugh, not a good sign, but I thought, maybe it will be okay.
Nope. We got up to the window about 5 minutes before the movie started, and they were totally sold out. They were even sold out for the 4pm showing this afternoon.
So, we proceeded to get back into the car and go home... (Okay, so we took the kids out to a real lunch first). Ryan was so upset, for the next hour, all we heard was:
R: "Go Back! I want the Avengers!".
Me: "No, Ryan... They were sold out."
R: "Not sold out. Let's try again."
M: "We'll try to go next week."
R: "Not next week. Today. Let's try again."
M: "There's no more tickets left."
R: "Yes, there are more tickets. Please?"
M: "I'm sorry, but we'll have to wait."
R: "Wait. I have a plan. Let's go see Avengers now, and THEN go next week."
Ahhh, my son and his plans. We ended up stopping at Target and got an animated version of the Avengers... That helped.
It worked out for me, since I was able to get a few more hours of work time on the web site I'm designing. I have been having those fun moments of smashing my head against the keyboard, and cursing obscenities at the screen. And then those moments of: "Yes! I am a GOD!", when something works right.
I'm praying that tomorrow is a better work day. Although I probably accomplished something, it just reminds me how far I have to go!
Friday, May 4, 2012
May 4, 2012
Outside Temp: 47 F (While the weatherman said there was a chance of rain, it was beautiful all day... Of course, at the end of the day, the clouds started moving in... Then a few little drops...)
What I cooked today:
Take Home Pizza: I took Allen out to dinner after his meet, so I had to make something for the rest of the family. I picked up a 'bake at home' pizza, which worked out fine... I felt absolutely no guilt.
Update:
I got to sub again today, which was great. By now, the kids all know me, and we get along great. And I've started to understand how things are done.
At the end of the day, I watched a movie with the JH kids (who were not at the meet). We all go so into the movie, that we had to stay an extra 5-10 minutes after school, to make sure we watched the end of the movie. Even though I didn't see the first 3/5 of the movie, it was still good!
After school, I raced Katie and Connor home and then raced to Allen's track meet. The meet was in Centerville, which is about 30 minutes from the house. I told him it was one of the only meets I would go to, since it was so close (I'm just a lazy mom).
I loved being able to cheer on the team. It reminded me of my days on the swim team in high school, where the best part was being able to cheer on my teammates.
I missed Allen's first few events, but I caught his running. He did the 100m, 200m AND the 400m. For the 100m, he came in second in his heat, which was a personal best. He had never done the 400m (all the way around the track), and he came in 5th in his heat, also a personal best, since he'd never done it before! For the 200m (which was after the 400m), he also made a new personal best!
I was so totally proud of him! It also gave me a chance to talk to a few other parents around the meet, which I love!
Afterwards, since he did so well, I spoiled him with dinner at the 3D (it's an awesome Mongolian Grill with unlimited food!). Of course, I had to ask permission from Patrick, who was none too happy about me going there without him. But he grudgingly agreed, as long as I brought him back pizza (which doesn't even begin to compare to the food at the 3D).
What I cooked today:
Take Home Pizza: I took Allen out to dinner after his meet, so I had to make something for the rest of the family. I picked up a 'bake at home' pizza, which worked out fine... I felt absolutely no guilt.
Update:
I got to sub again today, which was great. By now, the kids all know me, and we get along great. And I've started to understand how things are done.
At the end of the day, I watched a movie with the JH kids (who were not at the meet). We all go so into the movie, that we had to stay an extra 5-10 minutes after school, to make sure we watched the end of the movie. Even though I didn't see the first 3/5 of the movie, it was still good!
After school, I raced Katie and Connor home and then raced to Allen's track meet. The meet was in Centerville, which is about 30 minutes from the house. I told him it was one of the only meets I would go to, since it was so close (I'm just a lazy mom).
I loved being able to cheer on the team. It reminded me of my days on the swim team in high school, where the best part was being able to cheer on my teammates.
I missed Allen's first few events, but I caught his running. He did the 100m, 200m AND the 400m. For the 100m, he came in second in his heat, which was a personal best. He had never done the 400m (all the way around the track), and he came in 5th in his heat, also a personal best, since he'd never done it before! For the 200m (which was after the 400m), he also made a new personal best!
I was so totally proud of him! It also gave me a chance to talk to a few other parents around the meet, which I love!
Afterwards, since he did so well, I spoiled him with dinner at the 3D (it's an awesome Mongolian Grill with unlimited food!). Of course, I had to ask permission from Patrick, who was none too happy about me going there without him. But he grudgingly agreed, as long as I brought him back pizza (which doesn't even begin to compare to the food at the 3D).
Thursday, May 3, 2012
May 3, 2012
Outside Temp: 46 F (little sprinkles of rain, here and there. Enough to make you use the windshield wipers, but not so much that it was a problem walking in it.)
What I cooked today:
Soup: Patrick said that when it rains, he likes soup. But not the 'taco soup', that I've made the last few times. He was silly enough to say "Why don't you make a French style soup"... I told him to shove it. I made a vegetable beef soup, with some Greek seasoning (just out of spite). It actually turned out pretty good. He said I could make it again... Oh thank you, kind one.
Update:
The kids had physicals at school today. Of course, I'm not actually organized enough to have their paperwork together, so I had to run down to the school to get it filled out. Katie's physical was fine, but the boys had to have 'boy' physicals. Oh my goodness, you would have thought they had been tortured. Both boys said it was awful, although I think they must be exaggerating. I mean, how hard is it to turn your head and cough... (hehehe)
I get to sub tomorrow for the JH History, Math and then school wide music. I really like subbing for this teacher, since I get to see a wide range of students. For the younger grades, Friday's are 'Enrichment' days, which usually translates to playing games. How can you mess that up?
Patrick got some really good news on a project he has been working on for the last year or two. It might actually start 'paying', which would be just awesome. I would be happy with it just paying what we've paid out. But he thinks it might pay out a lot more than that. Perhaps patience does pay off!
This morning was in the high 20's, which is not all that unusual. But, after I got the kids ready for school, I thought I should check on the chicks. (okay, to be honest, I went back to sleep for an hour, so it was already in the low 40's when I finally checked on them). They were all out of their boxes and walking around their little caged area. I filled their food trays with no problem. Then I looked at their water. We have a gallon jug, that sits upside down and fills a plastic ring at the bottom. I realized that the chicks were not drinking, but didn't think much of it. Until I realized that the water was frozen, solid. Oh crap. I broke through the ice, and they all came rushing over for water. I'll have to keep a better eye on that when it gets below freezing.
What I cooked today:
Soup: Patrick said that when it rains, he likes soup. But not the 'taco soup', that I've made the last few times. He was silly enough to say "Why don't you make a French style soup"... I told him to shove it. I made a vegetable beef soup, with some Greek seasoning (just out of spite). It actually turned out pretty good. He said I could make it again... Oh thank you, kind one.
Update:
The kids had physicals at school today. Of course, I'm not actually organized enough to have their paperwork together, so I had to run down to the school to get it filled out. Katie's physical was fine, but the boys had to have 'boy' physicals. Oh my goodness, you would have thought they had been tortured. Both boys said it was awful, although I think they must be exaggerating. I mean, how hard is it to turn your head and cough... (hehehe)
I get to sub tomorrow for the JH History, Math and then school wide music. I really like subbing for this teacher, since I get to see a wide range of students. For the younger grades, Friday's are 'Enrichment' days, which usually translates to playing games. How can you mess that up?
Patrick got some really good news on a project he has been working on for the last year or two. It might actually start 'paying', which would be just awesome. I would be happy with it just paying what we've paid out. But he thinks it might pay out a lot more than that. Perhaps patience does pay off!
This morning was in the high 20's, which is not all that unusual. But, after I got the kids ready for school, I thought I should check on the chicks. (okay, to be honest, I went back to sleep for an hour, so it was already in the low 40's when I finally checked on them). They were all out of their boxes and walking around their little caged area. I filled their food trays with no problem. Then I looked at their water. We have a gallon jug, that sits upside down and fills a plastic ring at the bottom. I realized that the chicks were not drinking, but didn't think much of it. Until I realized that the water was frozen, solid. Oh crap. I broke through the ice, and they all came rushing over for water. I'll have to keep a better eye on that when it gets below freezing.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
May 2, 2012
Outside Temp: 36 F (another beautiful day... a little windy and a few drops of rain at times)
What I cooked today:
Frozen Pizza: Actually, Patrick made it. Since I knew I wouldn't be here, I picked up a few frozen pizzas when I was in town yesterday. I asked him to save me a slice or two, but I got home to no pizza... Really, what did I expect?
Update:
I had book club with a few of the awesome ladies from around here. It was really nice to spend an evening with women, and no kids, and no husband. As much as I adore my kids and my husband, sometimes it's nice to have a night with just 'the girls'. I think it makes me appreciate them all the more!
What I cooked today:
Frozen Pizza: Actually, Patrick made it. Since I knew I wouldn't be here, I picked up a few frozen pizzas when I was in town yesterday. I asked him to save me a slice or two, but I got home to no pizza... Really, what did I expect?
Update:
I had book club with a few of the awesome ladies from around here. It was really nice to spend an evening with women, and no kids, and no husband. As much as I adore my kids and my husband, sometimes it's nice to have a night with just 'the girls'. I think it makes me appreciate them all the more!
My wonderful husband spent about 4-5 hours today, outside (yes, outside, and for those who know Patrick, you know how amazing that is in itself), mowing our yard. He did the entire back and front yard. It looks so amazing! Of course, by the time he was done, his ears were ringing and his hands were buzzing. But it was totally worth it! Allen asked if he could do it next time, so we might have to let him. How much trouble could he get into, really? Oh, that much, eh?
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
May 1, 2012
Outside Temp: 41 F (In the 50's most of the day, but really windy. As long as you stayed out of the wind, it was beautiful!)
What I cooked today:
Burgers: I just had to use our new meat from Cascade. It was delicious! Although they packed it in 1 lb packets, instead of 1 1/2 lb. packs, which is going to be a problem. I should have repacked them in 1 1/2 lb packs before putting them in the freezer, but oh well. I'll make it work. It actually worked out great today, since Allen had dinner with his track team, so it was only the 4 of us... 1/4 burgers, anyone?
Update:
It was a bittersweet day.
The good news: Allen made his best times for both the 100m and the 200m. The last few meets, he's been coming in 7th out of 8, consistently. Today, he came in 4th and 5th out of 8... Awesome! I am so proud of how hard he is trying and how much he has improved!
Also, Patrick was able to go out and mow our lawn. Our lawn fills up most of our 1/2 ac. yard. So, even with our new riding lawn mower, he was out there for about 2 hours, and only managed to mow about 1/3 of the lawn. Granted, it hasn't been mowed since before we moved in, so he had to go back over the same spot a few times, each time lowering the blades. But still, 6 hours to mow a lawn? That's crazy.
That being said, I am totally grateful that 1/3 of the lawn is mowed. That section looks so much better! I can't wait for it all to be done.
And the bad news: Ryan went out and played with the chicks this morning, and he forgot to close the gate. We're not sure exactly what happened next, but one of the Cornish Roasters was taken (probably by a cat) and munched behind the shed. Patrick went out there when we left for school, and found that the gate was open. Then, he counted chicks and came up with one missing. He didn't immediately see the carcass, so he thought it might have been a hawk. But when Ryan and I got home from school (about 3 hours later), I found it.
Patrick then added more chicken wire around the cage, and wired closed the gates, so Ryan won't be able to open them easily.
We also decided that the rest of the chickens were ready to head outside. They were flying around the area inside, so he figured it was time. The weather has been nice, and it's only supposed to get into the high 30's tonight. Since the other chicks have been doing so well, we figured they'd probably be fine. It's been 4 weeks.
When we went back out to check on the chicks later this evening, there was an orange cat sitting next to the cage, just watching. We figure he was going back for seconds. Patrick scared him off, but I'm seriously considering getting a dog.
All the kids were upset, but mostly Katie. She said it was her favorite, although I couldn't really tell the difference between them. She has spent more time with them than anyone, so I'm not surprised that she's upset. She probably would have handled us slaughtering them better, since she could have been prepared. And we've told her that when we do it, it will be quick, with as little pain as possible. I think she was envisioning it, and it scared her. She made us check the cage again tonight, just in case.
I know this is just part of having animals. I'm more upset about the loss of the meat, but I can understand why the kids are taking it hard. They have heard friends of theirs talk about losing livestock (just yesterday, there was a mare, who didn't survive birthing her foal, and a pig). But, I think losing your first animal is hard for anyone.
What I cooked today:
Burgers: I just had to use our new meat from Cascade. It was delicious! Although they packed it in 1 lb packets, instead of 1 1/2 lb. packs, which is going to be a problem. I should have repacked them in 1 1/2 lb packs before putting them in the freezer, but oh well. I'll make it work. It actually worked out great today, since Allen had dinner with his track team, so it was only the 4 of us... 1/4 burgers, anyone?
Update:
It was a bittersweet day.
The good news: Allen made his best times for both the 100m and the 200m. The last few meets, he's been coming in 7th out of 8, consistently. Today, he came in 4th and 5th out of 8... Awesome! I am so proud of how hard he is trying and how much he has improved!
Also, Patrick was able to go out and mow our lawn. Our lawn fills up most of our 1/2 ac. yard. So, even with our new riding lawn mower, he was out there for about 2 hours, and only managed to mow about 1/3 of the lawn. Granted, it hasn't been mowed since before we moved in, so he had to go back over the same spot a few times, each time lowering the blades. But still, 6 hours to mow a lawn? That's crazy.
That being said, I am totally grateful that 1/3 of the lawn is mowed. That section looks so much better! I can't wait for it all to be done.
And the bad news: Ryan went out and played with the chicks this morning, and he forgot to close the gate. We're not sure exactly what happened next, but one of the Cornish Roasters was taken (probably by a cat) and munched behind the shed. Patrick went out there when we left for school, and found that the gate was open. Then, he counted chicks and came up with one missing. He didn't immediately see the carcass, so he thought it might have been a hawk. But when Ryan and I got home from school (about 3 hours later), I found it.
Patrick then added more chicken wire around the cage, and wired closed the gates, so Ryan won't be able to open them easily.
We also decided that the rest of the chickens were ready to head outside. They were flying around the area inside, so he figured it was time. The weather has been nice, and it's only supposed to get into the high 30's tonight. Since the other chicks have been doing so well, we figured they'd probably be fine. It's been 4 weeks.
When we went back out to check on the chicks later this evening, there was an orange cat sitting next to the cage, just watching. We figure he was going back for seconds. Patrick scared him off, but I'm seriously considering getting a dog.
All the kids were upset, but mostly Katie. She said it was her favorite, although I couldn't really tell the difference between them. She has spent more time with them than anyone, so I'm not surprised that she's upset. She probably would have handled us slaughtering them better, since she could have been prepared. And we've told her that when we do it, it will be quick, with as little pain as possible. I think she was envisioning it, and it scared her. She made us check the cage again tonight, just in case.
I know this is just part of having animals. I'm more upset about the loss of the meat, but I can understand why the kids are taking it hard. They have heard friends of theirs talk about losing livestock (just yesterday, there was a mare, who didn't survive birthing her foal, and a pig). But, I think losing your first animal is hard for anyone.
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