Outside Temp: Not sure... didn't go outside again.
What I cooked today:
Nothing... boy, do I miss home cooked food.
Update:
Day 5 in Seattle:
I woke up this morning around 7:30, excited about Ryan going to the OR to get his new line. The doctors had come in last night to get signatures and stuff like that. I knew he was on the schedule for the morning, although they didn't tell me what time.
So, around 7:45, the GI resident came into our room. In a kind of simple way, he said:
"Ryan has been taken off the schedule, because the surgeon was worried about pus in his line site, so they aren't going to put in a line, but they'll talk to you about putting in a PICC line."
The worst part was that this poor kid, a first year resident, had absolutely no idea how that news would be taken, or how to handle it. As anyone who has ever seen me argue with Dr's about Ryan's medical care can attest, I got a little upset. I informed him, in no uncertain terms, that I was not happy about this turn of events. There were a few very strained terms, followed by some critical words, a little bit of undesired tears (I can't really control them when I'm upset) and a blanket comment:
"You can let the team know that I'm very upset."
The poor kid couldn't get out of the room fast enough. He apologized and made a few references to not shooting the messenger.
Around 9:30, the social worker came by. She was going to discuss our plans to go home, since I have no idea how we get from the front door of the hospital back to Great Falls. She was lucky, that my rage and frustration had started to calm down a little and I was able to talk calmly. She was very nice and, after discussing my concerns about lack of communication and frustration with the turn of events, let me know that she would work on how to get me home.
By 10:45, the team came by for rounds. I was lucky, in that I actually recognized the GI attending who is covering Ryan this week, a really nice guy who we met in clinic last month. I explained why Ryan was taken off the schedule, and my concerns about how the surgeon may have been confused and we really needed a line. The GI doctor came in and checked out Ryan, and essentially said that there was no problem and surgery must be confused.
Around 11:45, a surgeon came in to discuss the problem. He looked and Ryan, and felt around, and said that he thought there might be some infection in the location of the original line, and wasn't comfortable placing a line. At this point, I asked him, "if you think there's an infection, why was there no cultures taken, and no changes in his antibiotics". In other words, they weren't treating the infection they were using as an excuse to not place the line. The surgeon also had some criticisms about the GI doctor's assessment. I explained that I was not happy or comfortable with his analysis and could he please discuss the case with the GI doctor.
Around 1:00, the surgeon came back and said that he had talked to the GI doctor and they had come up with a compromise. They would take Ryan back to the OR, and explore the original site. If there was an active infection (i.e. pus), they would stop and wait a few more days. If there was no pus,. they would attempt to place a new line on the left side.
For the next hour, I tried to be patient, and not let my mind run away with me. Thoughts of how the surgeon would make there be pus, even if it wasn't really there, just so he could be right, floated through my head. I'd never met the surgeon, since it would be someone different than the guy I'd been talking to this morning. Of course, cooler heads prevailed (i.e., I talked to Patrick and his mom and they both told me to get over it), and I was relaxed by the time we got to pre-op.
By a little after 2, we were in pre-op, where I finally met the surgeon. He was a really nice guy, (reminded me of our surgeon at UCLA, who I really, really liked) and listened to me when I described how important the line placement was, and complications we'd had in the past, and so on.
By 2:45, they wheeled him back to the OR, and I went into the cafeteria, to eat for the first time today (yea, by this time, I had a headache and I was cranky, with no food in my tummy). I figured that, if the had any problems, I would get paged by about 3:15. 3:30 came and went, and still no word.
By 4:15, I got a page, and was sent to a consult room, where I waited until about 4:45 for the surgeon. They had no problem and the line went in on the left side. No pus, at all, and no complications.
Woo hoo!!!!!!
By 6pm, Ryan and I were back up in his room. He was still a little woozy from the sedation, but there was a brand new line in his chest! It turned out that the PIV we had been using in his arm blew during the procedure, so they had to put in a new PIV on his hand. I knew the PIV in his arm wouldn't last much longer, but boy am I glad that it waited until he was in the OR to blow!
At 8:45, I ran downstairs to get dinner and when I got back up to the room, there was blood all over his bed. Okay, it wasn't that much blood, but it looked like a really bad bloody nose. Nope, it was Ryan, pulling out the new PIV they put in his hand. I guess he knew that we didn't need it anymore, so he took it upon himself to remove it, without permission. Boy, was I glad that we had our new pretty central line!
I have no idea how tomorrow will work out, but at this point, I'm just super glad that he has a new line! Maybe, we can even start discussing the 'going home' issue... how are we getting back to Montana? I have no idea.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
July 29, 2012
Outside Temp: Somewhere in the high 70's or low 80's in Seattle... Over 90 at home. Hehehehe
What I cooked today:
Nothing, again. I miss cooking.
Update:
Day 4 in Seattle:
Ryan is doing well. Today was a lazy, boring day. We did absolutely nothing of interest. The doctors did come by and let us know that he is on the schedule for tomorrow morning to get a new line (yea!!). We'll see if everything works out the way it's planned, since we know that plans don't always work out.
Yesterday, his blood numbers were a little low, but they've managed to come back up a little... enough that they aren't really worried right now. Amazingly, his electrolytes are also stable, which makes me very happy. On top of that, we've found that he really likes cranberry juice. He drank an entire cup of juice today, along with a bag of Doritos. Woo Hoo! We really like it when he eats.
Once the line is in, we will see how I can get home. I really have no idea how this will all play out, but I'm learning about letting go of control and trusting that things will work out.
I'm really starting to miss being home with the kids. It's really boring here. Did I mention how boring it is? I'm down to watching old 80's movies on Netflix on my computer. Lame, I know. But, it's either that, or reading trashy romance novels.
What I cooked today:
Nothing, again. I miss cooking.
Update:
Day 4 in Seattle:
Ryan is doing well. Today was a lazy, boring day. We did absolutely nothing of interest. The doctors did come by and let us know that he is on the schedule for tomorrow morning to get a new line (yea!!). We'll see if everything works out the way it's planned, since we know that plans don't always work out.
Yesterday, his blood numbers were a little low, but they've managed to come back up a little... enough that they aren't really worried right now. Amazingly, his electrolytes are also stable, which makes me very happy. On top of that, we've found that he really likes cranberry juice. He drank an entire cup of juice today, along with a bag of Doritos. Woo Hoo! We really like it when he eats.
Once the line is in, we will see how I can get home. I really have no idea how this will all play out, but I'm learning about letting go of control and trusting that things will work out.
I'm really starting to miss being home with the kids. It's really boring here. Did I mention how boring it is? I'm down to watching old 80's movies on Netflix on my computer. Lame, I know. But, it's either that, or reading trashy romance novels.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
July 28, 2012
Outside Temp: In Seattle, it was in the 70-80's. At home, it was in the 90's... perhaps there's a reason we're in Seattle... Hmmm.
What I cooked today:
Nothing... Since there's no kitchen here.
Update:
Day 3 in Seattle
Today was a better day. We got our line out (yea!) and had no problems with the surgery or the anesthesia.
Our IV (that we placed on Thursday) is still in place and is still working (which is amazing in it's own right). Ryan still hates having the line accessed, but since we are running fluids really slow continuously, he doesn't seem to mind too much.
I was able to get a shower, a walk, a nice pizza dinner in town and my laundry done. Perhaps you have to do the multiple days in the hospital with an 8 year old, to appreciate how awesome each of those items are on their own. But together? On the same day? Just plain awesome.
Tomorrow, we will hopefully just have a nice, relaxing day. We are having a small problem with low blood numbers, and his electrolytes might have a problem, but I figure they can handle stuff like that.
At home, we got some great news.
What I cooked today:
Nothing... Since there's no kitchen here.
Update:
Day 3 in Seattle
Today was a better day. We got our line out (yea!) and had no problems with the surgery or the anesthesia.
Our IV (that we placed on Thursday) is still in place and is still working (which is amazing in it's own right). Ryan still hates having the line accessed, but since we are running fluids really slow continuously, he doesn't seem to mind too much.
I was able to get a shower, a walk, a nice pizza dinner in town and my laundry done. Perhaps you have to do the multiple days in the hospital with an 8 year old, to appreciate how awesome each of those items are on their own. But together? On the same day? Just plain awesome.
Tomorrow, we will hopefully just have a nice, relaxing day. We are having a small problem with low blood numbers, and his electrolytes might have a problem, but I figure they can handle stuff like that.
At home, we got some great news.
Our First Egg!!
Katie went to the chicken coop today, and looked around and found this beauty! It's a great size and it means that we will soon be having fresh eggs! Woo hoo!
I'm just sad that I missed it.
Friday, July 27, 2012
July 27, 2012
Outside Temp: Unknown... I haven't stepped outside today.
What I cooked today:
Nothing... again, no kitchen.
Update:
Day 2 in Seattle Children's Hospital.
So, we were supposed to have our central line removed today, but, since Ryan is doing so well, he was bumped off the schedule until tomorrow. One of the catch 22's of medical care.
We were an 'Ad-On' for the surgery schedule all day, but things happen and they weren't able to get us in. The side effect of that is that he was not able to eat or drink all day, which is kind of annoying. Around 7pm, we were able to find out that he had been re-scheduled for tomorrow, so he finally got something to eat. But, by then, he was just tired and cranky and went to sleep.
The hospital here is nice, very large and kind of reminds me of Horton Plaza in San Diego. The hospital is separated into areas (which are named after children's toys), and there are 5 floors, but the areas are not in any obvious order and you kind of walk from one into the next and into the next. I'm sure that if I am here any extended period of time, it will make sense. For now, it just means that I have to go up a floor, and walk about a mile to find the cafeteria.
I am fortunate, since they have a fold out bed in the room, and a really nice 'parent's area', with a laundry. It's amazing how useful a laundry can be! Especially in this case, since I didn't bring that many clothes with me.
Hopefully, tomorrow, we will get our line removed. And then we are one step closer to getting our new line, and getting home.
What I cooked today:
Nothing... again, no kitchen.
Update:
Day 2 in Seattle Children's Hospital.
So, we were supposed to have our central line removed today, but, since Ryan is doing so well, he was bumped off the schedule until tomorrow. One of the catch 22's of medical care.
We were an 'Ad-On' for the surgery schedule all day, but things happen and they weren't able to get us in. The side effect of that is that he was not able to eat or drink all day, which is kind of annoying. Around 7pm, we were able to find out that he had been re-scheduled for tomorrow, so he finally got something to eat. But, by then, he was just tired and cranky and went to sleep.
The hospital here is nice, very large and kind of reminds me of Horton Plaza in San Diego. The hospital is separated into areas (which are named after children's toys), and there are 5 floors, but the areas are not in any obvious order and you kind of walk from one into the next and into the next. I'm sure that if I am here any extended period of time, it will make sense. For now, it just means that I have to go up a floor, and walk about a mile to find the cafeteria.
I am fortunate, since they have a fold out bed in the room, and a really nice 'parent's area', with a laundry. It's amazing how useful a laundry can be! Especially in this case, since I didn't bring that many clothes with me.
Hopefully, tomorrow, we will get our line removed. And then we are one step closer to getting our new line, and getting home.
July 26, 2012
Outside Temp: Not sure
What I cooked today:
Nothing
Update:
So, as I mentioned yesterday, Ryan was admitted to Benefis for a line infection yesterday.
His fever was in the 104s most of the morning, even with the additional 2 antibiotics and fluid boluses. Our doctor was getting a little nervous, and we added an anti-fungal, just in case.
We spent a lot of time discussing why and how we got another infection so quickly. And, the decision we came to is that our line is shot. It's time to replace it with a new line.
So, since we were still pretty sick, we could justify a 'Life Flight' out to Seattle.
Neither Ryan or I have ever been on a Life Flight. The team was awesome and they took really good care of us. Of course, since Ryan is sick, and the plane is a little small, and there were thunderstorms outside of Great Falls, he was throwing up (either from the turbulence or the illness) for the first part of the flight. Ahh, the joys of motion sickness! But the team handled it really well, and I was fortunate enough that the turbulence didn't really bother me.
It was a 2 hour flight out to Seattle, which was quite uneventful. The seats could have been a little more comfortable, but I wasn't about to complain. We got into Seattle airport, where the Ambulance was waiting for us. Ah, such service.
We were admitted into the hospital and tests started getting run. Fortunately, by this time, Ryan was feeling better, the fever was gone, and he was almost back to his normal self. So, the initial rush to get his line pulled was gone. The surgeons will probably pull it tomorrow, depending. Since we got into the hospital so late, I didn't get a chance to talk to them tonight, so I hope to learn more tomorrow.
Of course, this means that we are in Seattle at least through the weekend, since the soonest they could put a new line in is Monday. But, he's currently sitting up in bed, watching TV, so I can't complain. The nurses here seem nice, although I miss my small hospital.
What I cooked today:
Nothing
Update:
So, as I mentioned yesterday, Ryan was admitted to Benefis for a line infection yesterday.
His fever was in the 104s most of the morning, even with the additional 2 antibiotics and fluid boluses. Our doctor was getting a little nervous, and we added an anti-fungal, just in case.
We spent a lot of time discussing why and how we got another infection so quickly. And, the decision we came to is that our line is shot. It's time to replace it with a new line.
So, since we were still pretty sick, we could justify a 'Life Flight' out to Seattle.
Neither Ryan or I have ever been on a Life Flight. The team was awesome and they took really good care of us. Of course, since Ryan is sick, and the plane is a little small, and there were thunderstorms outside of Great Falls, he was throwing up (either from the turbulence or the illness) for the first part of the flight. Ahh, the joys of motion sickness! But the team handled it really well, and I was fortunate enough that the turbulence didn't really bother me.
It was a 2 hour flight out to Seattle, which was quite uneventful. The seats could have been a little more comfortable, but I wasn't about to complain. We got into Seattle airport, where the Ambulance was waiting for us. Ah, such service.
We were admitted into the hospital and tests started getting run. Fortunately, by this time, Ryan was feeling better, the fever was gone, and he was almost back to his normal self. So, the initial rush to get his line pulled was gone. The surgeons will probably pull it tomorrow, depending. Since we got into the hospital so late, I didn't get a chance to talk to them tonight, so I hope to learn more tomorrow.
Of course, this means that we are in Seattle at least through the weekend, since the soonest they could put a new line in is Monday. But, he's currently sitting up in bed, watching TV, so I can't complain. The nurses here seem nice, although I miss my small hospital.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
July 25, 2012
Outside Temp: Not sure... probably in the 50's. It was nice today, in the 80's and not too hot!
What I cooked today:
Nothing... We went to Chili's in town with the kids, and didn't get around to cooking our Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner.
Update:
Every time I think my life is boring, something happens to make me regret saying that.
So, we decided that we would take today to go school shopping for the kids. The all needed new gym shoes and Katie had absolutely no jeans that fit her. (I'm not sure when she decided to grow...)
We asked the Grandparents to watch Ryan (since I figured that he wouldn't be able to stand the hours and hours of shopping that we had in store for us), and we headed into town with the older 3 kids in tow. I should have known then, since Ryan wasn't acting like his normal self. But, I wrote it off to him waking up bad, or something like that.
So, the five of us (Patrick came along as well), spent the entire day in Great Falls, shopping. We got new shoes (and when I say 'we', I mean ALL of us got new shoes. I got new shoes. Patrick got new shoes. Katie got new shoes. Connor got new shoes. Allen got 2 sets of new shoes, one for gym and one for normal wear... spoiled boy). Then, we headed over to do some other shopping (I got a great deal on cereal at Kmart, but that's not important), and we finished up the shopping with me getting new shirts and bras, Patrick getting new button down shirts, socks for everyone, oh, and of course, clothes for the kids for school. Ugh, I hate, hate, hate spending money on myself, so it took a lot for me to get clothes for me.
Anyway, we headed home by 9pm, and went to pick up Ryan at the grandparents. Grandma said he was acting a little strange, being tired and a little cranky, complaining about being cold, taking naps, but we were hoping for the best.
It was not to be. About 30 minutes after we hooked up his TPN, he started shivering, throwing up, breathing hard and spiking a fever. Ugh.
So, we jumped in the car and headed back to Great Falls.
I'm currently writing from our hospital room. They've already gotten his first dose of antibiotics in him, and he's sleeping. His fever spiked at 104.4, which is kind of high. But we did the cold cloths thing, and it came down a little (I could give credit to the Tylenol, but that would be too obvious).
I'm a little nervous, since we just had an infection, and we have been doing so well between infections, a couple months at least. There is a chance that it's a fungal infection, which would mean a trip to Seattle and a new line. But, I'm praying that it resolves itself, the antibiotics do their job, and the bug goes away. And not just because if we have to go to Seattle, it will really mess up our plans for the Montana State Fair. (just kidding!)
What I cooked today:
Nothing... We went to Chili's in town with the kids, and didn't get around to cooking our Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner.
Update:
Every time I think my life is boring, something happens to make me regret saying that.
So, we decided that we would take today to go school shopping for the kids. The all needed new gym shoes and Katie had absolutely no jeans that fit her. (I'm not sure when she decided to grow...)
We asked the Grandparents to watch Ryan (since I figured that he wouldn't be able to stand the hours and hours of shopping that we had in store for us), and we headed into town with the older 3 kids in tow. I should have known then, since Ryan wasn't acting like his normal self. But, I wrote it off to him waking up bad, or something like that.
So, the five of us (Patrick came along as well), spent the entire day in Great Falls, shopping. We got new shoes (and when I say 'we', I mean ALL of us got new shoes. I got new shoes. Patrick got new shoes. Katie got new shoes. Connor got new shoes. Allen got 2 sets of new shoes, one for gym and one for normal wear... spoiled boy). Then, we headed over to do some other shopping (I got a great deal on cereal at Kmart, but that's not important), and we finished up the shopping with me getting new shirts and bras, Patrick getting new button down shirts, socks for everyone, oh, and of course, clothes for the kids for school. Ugh, I hate, hate, hate spending money on myself, so it took a lot for me to get clothes for me.
Anyway, we headed home by 9pm, and went to pick up Ryan at the grandparents. Grandma said he was acting a little strange, being tired and a little cranky, complaining about being cold, taking naps, but we were hoping for the best.
It was not to be. About 30 minutes after we hooked up his TPN, he started shivering, throwing up, breathing hard and spiking a fever. Ugh.
So, we jumped in the car and headed back to Great Falls.
I'm currently writing from our hospital room. They've already gotten his first dose of antibiotics in him, and he's sleeping. His fever spiked at 104.4, which is kind of high. But we did the cold cloths thing, and it came down a little (I could give credit to the Tylenol, but that would be too obvious).
I'm a little nervous, since we just had an infection, and we have been doing so well between infections, a couple months at least. There is a chance that it's a fungal infection, which would mean a trip to Seattle and a new line. But, I'm praying that it resolves itself, the antibiotics do their job, and the bug goes away. And not just because if we have to go to Seattle, it will really mess up our plans for the Montana State Fair. (just kidding!)
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
July 24, 2012
Outside Temp: 57 F (it was cooler today, in the mid 80's... I can handle that.)
What I cooked today:
Lasagna: I thought the meat sauce was a little sparse, so I added some extra tomato. Remember not to do that next time. It made the lasagna really watery, which is kind of annoying. But it tasted good just the same.
Update:
Ryan had summer school today with his new special ed teacher. I left the two of them alone, and she (the new teacher) handled him great! After about an hour, he took a break and played for about 15 minutes. Then, they got back to work and worked for another hour. Not too bad, since he hasn't even thought about school in the last 6 weeks!
We finally got the water pump working, so our back yard has some water. We have some soaker hoses, and we let the water run for a few hours. It just soaked back into the ground, but I think the ground really, really needed it. Hopefully, the grass will come back.
What I cooked today:
Lasagna: I thought the meat sauce was a little sparse, so I added some extra tomato. Remember not to do that next time. It made the lasagna really watery, which is kind of annoying. But it tasted good just the same.
Update:
Ryan had summer school today with his new special ed teacher. I left the two of them alone, and she (the new teacher) handled him great! After about an hour, he took a break and played for about 15 minutes. Then, they got back to work and worked for another hour. Not too bad, since he hasn't even thought about school in the last 6 weeks!
We finally got the water pump working, so our back yard has some water. We have some soaker hoses, and we let the water run for a few hours. It just soaked back into the ground, but I think the ground really, really needed it. Hopefully, the grass will come back.
July 23, 2012
Outside Temp: 53 F (it was in the 90's, again. Although I'm getting used to the concept that it cools off at night, which almost makes up for the heat.)
What I cooked today:
Chicken and Fried Rice: I held dinner for as long as I could. Patrick was helping his parents, so we didn't end up having dinner until about 9:30ish. I think I'm going to plan on dinner at 6pm, just to throw everyone off!
Update:
With no game to play, we all slept in. Well, the kids did. I was up working, and Patrick stayed up late working, and then woke up working.
Sometime around 3:30 in the afternoon, we both decided that it was too hot to work. I laid out on the bed, under the ceiling fan, reading. He took a nap.
By 6ish, the thunderstorms came in, and it cooled off. Yea!
Ryan has school tomorrow, so we are all going to bed early tonight... by 1am. Ugh, I have got to get my family back on a schedule!
What I cooked today:
Chicken and Fried Rice: I held dinner for as long as I could. Patrick was helping his parents, so we didn't end up having dinner until about 9:30ish. I think I'm going to plan on dinner at 6pm, just to throw everyone off!
Update:
With no game to play, we all slept in. Well, the kids did. I was up working, and Patrick stayed up late working, and then woke up working.
Sometime around 3:30 in the afternoon, we both decided that it was too hot to work. I laid out on the bed, under the ceiling fan, reading. He took a nap.
By 6ish, the thunderstorms came in, and it cooled off. Yea!
Ryan has school tomorrow, so we are all going to bed early tonight... by 1am. Ugh, I have got to get my family back on a schedule!
Monday, July 23, 2012
July 22, 2012
Outside Temp: 64 F (it was in the 90's again today... But we had a beautiful thunderstorm this evening, so that kind of made up for the heat.)
What I cooked today:
Burgers and Tater Tots: Patrick didn't get home until about 10pm, so I was glad that I held dinner. I can just imagine how upset I would have been, if I had gone to any semblence of effort to make dinner, and then had him not come home. But, as it was, I waited until he called to say he was on his way home. It meant we had dinner late, but it also meant that we had dinner together, which was nice.
Update:
So, our beta event for Guild Wars 2 is finally over. I'm actually kind of glad to have it done with, so we can get on with our lives. Tomorrow, I can already tell that the kids will be cleaning, and Patrick and I will be working.
Connor spent the weekend with the Grandparents, which means I haven't seen him in about 3 days (except for an hour on Saturday for church). I kind of miss having him around, and not just because he adds another dynamic to the fighting between Allen and Katie.
We had a beautiful thunderstorm this evening. It would have been better, if it had actually dropped any water. But, the (double) rainbow almost made up for that.
Patrick went into Belt today, to chat with our priest. And, as usual, that little 'Hi, how are you doing?' turned into a 4-5 hour conversation about everything ranging from politheism to politics. He had a great time, and it was good for him to get out of the house for a little bit.
What I cooked today:
Burgers and Tater Tots: Patrick didn't get home until about 10pm, so I was glad that I held dinner. I can just imagine how upset I would have been, if I had gone to any semblence of effort to make dinner, and then had him not come home. But, as it was, I waited until he called to say he was on his way home. It meant we had dinner late, but it also meant that we had dinner together, which was nice.
Update:
So, our beta event for Guild Wars 2 is finally over. I'm actually kind of glad to have it done with, so we can get on with our lives. Tomorrow, I can already tell that the kids will be cleaning, and Patrick and I will be working.
Connor spent the weekend with the Grandparents, which means I haven't seen him in about 3 days (except for an hour on Saturday for church). I kind of miss having him around, and not just because he adds another dynamic to the fighting between Allen and Katie.
We had a beautiful thunderstorm this evening. It would have been better, if it had actually dropped any water. But, the (double) rainbow almost made up for that.
Patrick went into Belt today, to chat with our priest. And, as usual, that little 'Hi, how are you doing?' turned into a 4-5 hour conversation about everything ranging from politheism to politics. He had a great time, and it was good for him to get out of the house for a little bit.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
July 21, 2012
Outside Temp: 55 F (it was in the 90's again today. Ugh. But, I can't complain too much, since it cools off each night. )
What I cooked today:
Frozen Pizza: Since we are all so entranced in our game, pizza was a good choice, since it didn't require me to think, or us to stop playing for too long. I think I'm going to require a sit down dinner... tomorrow...
Update:
I got up early this morning and headed into Belt for our Bountiful Baskets. I understand that they need to do it early, since it's fresh fruits and veggies, and it gets warm and the longer the food sits in a hot truck, the worse it gets. Still, getting up at 7am on a Saturday is just mean.
That being said, I got some great fruits and veggies. I especially liked the raspberries, which I would never actually purchase for my family, but both Patrick and Katie went crazy over. Perhaps, next time I see them in the store, I'll get those instead of Oreos.
Connor is staying up at the Grandparents house, because there are not enough computers, (with good enough graphics cards) in our house, for the kids to all play Guild Wars at the same time. So he offered (ahhh, my sacrificial lamb) to stay at the Grandparents house last night, so he could use their computer and not have to fight. Isn't he so sweet? Instead, he gets his own computer and no one to fight with. Smart kid.
So, Allen stayed up playing until dawn playing, which means that he slept in until after noon, which allowed Katie to play without fighting.
In one way, I'm actually looking forward to the beta weekend being over, because then we can get back to our normal life.
We did stop for an hour and half to go to church. See, we're not that addicted. We can stop anytime...
What I cooked today:
Frozen Pizza: Since we are all so entranced in our game, pizza was a good choice, since it didn't require me to think, or us to stop playing for too long. I think I'm going to require a sit down dinner... tomorrow...
Update:
I got up early this morning and headed into Belt for our Bountiful Baskets. I understand that they need to do it early, since it's fresh fruits and veggies, and it gets warm and the longer the food sits in a hot truck, the worse it gets. Still, getting up at 7am on a Saturday is just mean.
That being said, I got some great fruits and veggies. I especially liked the raspberries, which I would never actually purchase for my family, but both Patrick and Katie went crazy over. Perhaps, next time I see them in the store, I'll get those instead of Oreos.
Connor is staying up at the Grandparents house, because there are not enough computers, (with good enough graphics cards) in our house, for the kids to all play Guild Wars at the same time. So he offered (ahhh, my sacrificial lamb) to stay at the Grandparents house last night, so he could use their computer and not have to fight. Isn't he so sweet? Instead, he gets his own computer and no one to fight with. Smart kid.
So, Allen stayed up playing until dawn playing, which means that he slept in until after noon, which allowed Katie to play without fighting.
In one way, I'm actually looking forward to the beta weekend being over, because then we can get back to our normal life.
We did stop for an hour and half to go to church. See, we're not that addicted. We can stop anytime...
Saturday, July 21, 2012
July 20, 2012
Outside Temp: 67F (it was cooler today, only up to about 90. And it was overcast and cooler this morning, which was wonderful!)
What I cooked today:
Nothing: Grandma made some spaghetti sauce for lunch, so we just munched for dinner... hot dogs and yogurt and quesadillas and popcorn.
Update:
We had lunch with our priest today, which was really fun. He came by to see the Grandparent's house and Grandma made a wonderful spaghetti lunch. It was kind of neat to be able to sit and chat with Father, in a relaxed setting. Not that church isn't relaxed, but this was much more casual. He also got to chat with the kids, which is something that he normally doesn't get a chance to do.
He also has 2 Labrador retrievers, which both Katie and Ryan fell in love with. When he left, with his dogs, Ryan was heartbroken.
"My dogs are gone." he said, with a crestfallen expression.
Then he recovered and watched "The Jetsons" on Netflix, so I guess he wasn't too upset.
Our family has been waiting for the release of Guild Wars 2, and there is a Beta test this weekend. Which means that after our lunch was over, we were all scrambling to get to a computer to play our game.
Fortunately, it's up all weekend, so I have no problem going to sleep at a reasonable hour (like midnight) and being able to play tomorrow. Now, I have to decide if I want to put my kids to bed, or let them stay up. Maybe, I'll let Patrick decide...
What I cooked today:
Nothing: Grandma made some spaghetti sauce for lunch, so we just munched for dinner... hot dogs and yogurt and quesadillas and popcorn.
Update:
We had lunch with our priest today, which was really fun. He came by to see the Grandparent's house and Grandma made a wonderful spaghetti lunch. It was kind of neat to be able to sit and chat with Father, in a relaxed setting. Not that church isn't relaxed, but this was much more casual. He also got to chat with the kids, which is something that he normally doesn't get a chance to do.
He also has 2 Labrador retrievers, which both Katie and Ryan fell in love with. When he left, with his dogs, Ryan was heartbroken.
"My dogs are gone." he said, with a crestfallen expression.
Then he recovered and watched "The Jetsons" on Netflix, so I guess he wasn't too upset.
Our family has been waiting for the release of Guild Wars 2, and there is a Beta test this weekend. Which means that after our lunch was over, we were all scrambling to get to a computer to play our game.
Fortunately, it's up all weekend, so I have no problem going to sleep at a reasonable hour (like midnight) and being able to play tomorrow. Now, I have to decide if I want to put my kids to bed, or let them stay up. Maybe, I'll let Patrick decide...
Thursday, July 19, 2012
July 19, 2012
Outside Temp: 63F (it was 97 degrees at the house today! Ugh. )
What I cooked today:
Mexican Lasagna: Patrick asked for this one, so I was more than willing to oblige! It's so easy and I already had some fresh salsa made up. The kids were worried, since if I use pre-made salsa, it's usually too hot. But, since I made the salsa from scratch, it was really, really mild and the kids loved it!
Update:
I decided that, since we had stuff to do this weekend, I would use today to get my shopping done.
With school starting in a few weeks, the 'Back to School' sales are in full swing. I made my list based on what I think is the best price for certain items. Hopefully, if I do this every week, for the next 3 weeks, I won't have to spend too much extra for anything. I really hope that we get 'supply lists' for the school, but I have last year's lists, so I'm going off that. I was most excited about the 8GB flash drive for $5.99. Awesome.
The only problem with today, was that it was in the high 90's today. I had about 9 stops today, so, I found that the car would be cool when I stopped at a store. Then I would go into the store, make my purchases, and come back out to the car. Of course, the car would be about 120 degrees, so I would open the windows and blast the AC for about 4 miles. I would get to my next location just as the car was cooling down. I would get out, go into the store, make my purchases, and come back out and the car would be 120 degrees, again. Over and over and over. By my 7th stop, I actually considered leaving the car running, with the AC going, as I ran into the store. But no, common sense won out and I shut off the car, and just accepted the annoyance of re-cooling the car again.
I did reward myself with a Blizzard on the drive home, so it wasn't all annoying!
This evening, Patrick went to a meeting for our Volunteer Fire Department. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, we don't have a formal fire department. Ours is entirely staffed by volunteers, which is kind of awesome in it's own way.
Of course, most of the guys knew who he was, but hadn't really ever seen him. They knew me, of course, but hadn't really met him. He doesn't get out as much as I do. So, it was a great opportunity for him to get to know the guys around here. I'm not sure how much he will actually be doing, but it seems only right for him to be a part of the team. After all, since he works from home, he's here... all the time.
So, we held dinner for him, until I decided not to wait any longer, and I went over to the fire hall to 'hurry him up'. Of course, he's sitting there, hanging out with the guys, talking... for the last 3 hours. Typical. Next time, I'll remember that guys sometimes need to sit around and BS, just like women do!
What I cooked today:
Mexican Lasagna: Patrick asked for this one, so I was more than willing to oblige! It's so easy and I already had some fresh salsa made up. The kids were worried, since if I use pre-made salsa, it's usually too hot. But, since I made the salsa from scratch, it was really, really mild and the kids loved it!
Update:
I decided that, since we had stuff to do this weekend, I would use today to get my shopping done.
With school starting in a few weeks, the 'Back to School' sales are in full swing. I made my list based on what I think is the best price for certain items. Hopefully, if I do this every week, for the next 3 weeks, I won't have to spend too much extra for anything. I really hope that we get 'supply lists' for the school, but I have last year's lists, so I'm going off that. I was most excited about the 8GB flash drive for $5.99. Awesome.
The only problem with today, was that it was in the high 90's today. I had about 9 stops today, so, I found that the car would be cool when I stopped at a store. Then I would go into the store, make my purchases, and come back out to the car. Of course, the car would be about 120 degrees, so I would open the windows and blast the AC for about 4 miles. I would get to my next location just as the car was cooling down. I would get out, go into the store, make my purchases, and come back out and the car would be 120 degrees, again. Over and over and over. By my 7th stop, I actually considered leaving the car running, with the AC going, as I ran into the store. But no, common sense won out and I shut off the car, and just accepted the annoyance of re-cooling the car again.
I did reward myself with a Blizzard on the drive home, so it wasn't all annoying!
This evening, Patrick went to a meeting for our Volunteer Fire Department. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, we don't have a formal fire department. Ours is entirely staffed by volunteers, which is kind of awesome in it's own way.
Of course, most of the guys knew who he was, but hadn't really ever seen him. They knew me, of course, but hadn't really met him. He doesn't get out as much as I do. So, it was a great opportunity for him to get to know the guys around here. I'm not sure how much he will actually be doing, but it seems only right for him to be a part of the team. After all, since he works from home, he's here... all the time.
So, we held dinner for him, until I decided not to wait any longer, and I went over to the fire hall to 'hurry him up'. Of course, he's sitting there, hanging out with the guys, talking... for the last 3 hours. Typical. Next time, I'll remember that guys sometimes need to sit around and BS, just like women do!
July 18, 2012
Outside Temp: 66 F (we had a high of 97 today, totally ugh. We managed to keep the house in the mid 80's but it still was annoying.)
What I cooked today:
Chinese Chicken: I must really love my family, because I managed to make both chicken and fried rice for dinner. The phrase 'slaving over a hot stove' came to mind. I'm going to break down and get a BBQ.
Update:
I really hate the heat. Just in case I hadn't mentioned that before.
To try to help keep the house a little cooler, Patrick rigged up a 'swamp cooler'. He took our box fan, attached some filter material to the front. Set the bottom of the filter material in a boot tray and poured water over the filter material. With the fan going, it would blow through the water and the air would be a little cooler. It did drop the house temperature by a few degrees, so I couldn't complain.
Of course, the boot tray had a hole in it, which means that when the water drained down the filter into the boot tray, it then drained onto the floor. But, we figured it out after about 15 minutes, when the water seemed to mysteriously disappear.
Once the temperature cooled off a little, we dismantled out 'swamp cooler', because we needed the box fan for the window. I'm expecting to rebuild it tomorrow. This heat wave is expected to last a few days, at least!
This evening, we took the kids over to Stanford to go swimming. It seems a little silly to drive 30 minutes over to Stanford, when the Belt pool is only 15 minutes away, but the Stanford pool has a diving board, and those are just plain cool. We only stayed for about an hour (ish), but the kids had a great time. Connor and Katie are getting comfortable in the deep end, and, although their swimming skills are not stellar, they can hold their own in the 10ft deep section.
They are all diving off the board, although Katie still needs to learn to dive, like hands first, instead of jump, feet first. She did a few great belly flops today, but by the end, she was almost there. Even Ryan wanted to jump off the diving board. He had a floaty ring, and, with me treading water below the board, he just jumped right off. The kid has no fear.
Once we got home, I realized that I had forgotten to take Ryan to summer school today. Oh my goodness! Apparently, when we set up Wednesday and Friday for summer school, I had forgotten to put it on my calendar. And if the calendar doesn't remind me, I'm lost. So, I'll call his teacher tomorrow and apologize profusely. Hopefully, she will still let me bring him in on Friday, if I promise not to forget!
What I cooked today:
Chinese Chicken: I must really love my family, because I managed to make both chicken and fried rice for dinner. The phrase 'slaving over a hot stove' came to mind. I'm going to break down and get a BBQ.
Update:
I really hate the heat. Just in case I hadn't mentioned that before.
To try to help keep the house a little cooler, Patrick rigged up a 'swamp cooler'. He took our box fan, attached some filter material to the front. Set the bottom of the filter material in a boot tray and poured water over the filter material. With the fan going, it would blow through the water and the air would be a little cooler. It did drop the house temperature by a few degrees, so I couldn't complain.
Of course, the boot tray had a hole in it, which means that when the water drained down the filter into the boot tray, it then drained onto the floor. But, we figured it out after about 15 minutes, when the water seemed to mysteriously disappear.
Once the temperature cooled off a little, we dismantled out 'swamp cooler', because we needed the box fan for the window. I'm expecting to rebuild it tomorrow. This heat wave is expected to last a few days, at least!
This evening, we took the kids over to Stanford to go swimming. It seems a little silly to drive 30 minutes over to Stanford, when the Belt pool is only 15 minutes away, but the Stanford pool has a diving board, and those are just plain cool. We only stayed for about an hour (ish), but the kids had a great time. Connor and Katie are getting comfortable in the deep end, and, although their swimming skills are not stellar, they can hold their own in the 10ft deep section.
They are all diving off the board, although Katie still needs to learn to dive, like hands first, instead of jump, feet first. She did a few great belly flops today, but by the end, she was almost there. Even Ryan wanted to jump off the diving board. He had a floaty ring, and, with me treading water below the board, he just jumped right off. The kid has no fear.
Once we got home, I realized that I had forgotten to take Ryan to summer school today. Oh my goodness! Apparently, when we set up Wednesday and Friday for summer school, I had forgotten to put it on my calendar. And if the calendar doesn't remind me, I'm lost. So, I'll call his teacher tomorrow and apologize profusely. Hopefully, she will still let me bring him in on Friday, if I promise not to forget!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
July 17, 2012
Outside Temp: 67 F (it was a little warm and muggy today, and teasing us ALL DAY about thunderstorms, with thunder and lightening, and NO rain! Lame.)
What I cooked today:
Burgers: I had a migraine, so I had no desire to make dinner. I went with easy and simple, and there were no complaints. Even Connor asked for seconds, which I guess means I need to start getting ground beef in 2 lb packages, since 1 1/2 isn't big enough. Ugh, Why do boys eat so much?
Update:
So, sometime around 5:45am, I woke up to find my entire family STILL UP from last night. That's it, I've drawn the line. After a fair amount of cursing, they all went off to bed by 6am, and I decided that enough was enough.
School starts back up in about 5 weeks, so I'm implementing 'bedtime' on the family now. They were all in bed, lights out, by midnight tonight. Now, for most people, that may seem insane, but after them staying up until 2-3am, it's a reasonable place to start. By next week, I'll drop it back to 11pm. Then to 10pm, and, with about 2 weeks left, they will be back on a 9pm bedtime. We will not have any problems with them getting to sleep at 9am (when the sun is still out), gosh darnnit.
So, by the time the kids started moving this morning (around noon), the boys had an interesting discussion.
They are both playing a game called Minecraft, that is kind of like Lego's on a computer. You can build buildings, mine for resources, and run away or kill creatures or animals in the game. Of course, the graphics are amazingly simple (they remind me of 1980's games like Adventure or Pong), but the kids love it. They are learning design, architecture, and some programming.
So, today, both Allen and Connor have been building structures, and they were arguing between them as to which structure was 'better'. Now, we all know that 'better' is a subjective term, that depends on the perspective of the person making the determination. So, they decided to go with an 'impartial' judge, in the way of their sister.
First, the boys both picked their favorite structure. Then, they would describe it to Katie and she would determine which structure was 'better'.
Connor went first. He had built a 'hospital', complete with patient rooms (which were adorned with beds, bedside tables, sinks, etc), reception areas, and examination rooms. He worked hard on the design of the building, including placement of windows, doors, and even dormers for the roof. I think he even went to far as having signs available to direct patients to the correct location of things. His eye for detail was amazing.
Then Allen showed his building. He had built a Norse keep, with a large main room, complete with fireplace and trestle tables. He had spent a large amount of time working on the outside of the keep, with a moat, gardens, bridges, and other castle paraphernalia. As such, there was a complaint of our resident judge that his interior was quite sparse. He countered that comment by claiming that all Norse keeps were sparse, so that was quite expected.
In the end, I think that Katie got bored and went off to watch a movie. But, it was fun to watch while it was occurring. Of course, Patrick and I were both listening to the comments between the three kids, and trying not to crack up at their interactions. Our kids are awesome.
What I cooked today:
Burgers: I had a migraine, so I had no desire to make dinner. I went with easy and simple, and there were no complaints. Even Connor asked for seconds, which I guess means I need to start getting ground beef in 2 lb packages, since 1 1/2 isn't big enough. Ugh, Why do boys eat so much?
Update:
So, sometime around 5:45am, I woke up to find my entire family STILL UP from last night. That's it, I've drawn the line. After a fair amount of cursing, they all went off to bed by 6am, and I decided that enough was enough.
School starts back up in about 5 weeks, so I'm implementing 'bedtime' on the family now. They were all in bed, lights out, by midnight tonight. Now, for most people, that may seem insane, but after them staying up until 2-3am, it's a reasonable place to start. By next week, I'll drop it back to 11pm. Then to 10pm, and, with about 2 weeks left, they will be back on a 9pm bedtime. We will not have any problems with them getting to sleep at 9am (when the sun is still out), gosh darnnit.
So, by the time the kids started moving this morning (around noon), the boys had an interesting discussion.
They are both playing a game called Minecraft, that is kind of like Lego's on a computer. You can build buildings, mine for resources, and run away or kill creatures or animals in the game. Of course, the graphics are amazingly simple (they remind me of 1980's games like Adventure or Pong), but the kids love it. They are learning design, architecture, and some programming.
So, today, both Allen and Connor have been building structures, and they were arguing between them as to which structure was 'better'. Now, we all know that 'better' is a subjective term, that depends on the perspective of the person making the determination. So, they decided to go with an 'impartial' judge, in the way of their sister.
First, the boys both picked their favorite structure. Then, they would describe it to Katie and she would determine which structure was 'better'.
Connor went first. He had built a 'hospital', complete with patient rooms (which were adorned with beds, bedside tables, sinks, etc), reception areas, and examination rooms. He worked hard on the design of the building, including placement of windows, doors, and even dormers for the roof. I think he even went to far as having signs available to direct patients to the correct location of things. His eye for detail was amazing.
Then Allen showed his building. He had built a Norse keep, with a large main room, complete with fireplace and trestle tables. He had spent a large amount of time working on the outside of the keep, with a moat, gardens, bridges, and other castle paraphernalia. As such, there was a complaint of our resident judge that his interior was quite sparse. He countered that comment by claiming that all Norse keeps were sparse, so that was quite expected.
In the end, I think that Katie got bored and went off to watch a movie. But, it was fun to watch while it was occurring. Of course, Patrick and I were both listening to the comments between the three kids, and trying not to crack up at their interactions. Our kids are awesome.
Monday, July 16, 2012
July 16, 2012
Outside Temp: 61 F (It was beautiful today, little threats of thunderstorms, but no actual rain )
What I cooked today:
Papa Murphy's Pizza: I picked up pizza in town today, so we had pizza. It was great, easy, and it was eaten all up (which kind of sucks because it means no leftovers!)
Update:
We got Ryan's line repaired today. Woo Hoo!
We got up early (okay, so it was about 9am, which is early for us), and heading into town. They were waiting for us in Radiology, so we went right in. The interventional radiologist came in, with a nurse, and they got started. It was the same IR doctor who repaired it last time, so we had a great laugh at the concept of seeing each other every 6-9 months.
He got the line all repaired up nicely, and we were out the door in about an hour and half! From there, I went through and did my shopping (which is good, since we were out of milk and cheese... gasp!)
We stopped at the drug store and then picked up a pizza for dinner (and a Blizzard, since, well, Blizzards are cool!).
We were home by 2:30, with all our shopping done, his line repaired, his meds picked up and dinner already ready for tonight. Wow, what a productive day!
I got home to a little surprise... Connor had been bitten by something (either a spider or a mosquito, we're not sure). Connor is very allergic to whatever bit him. He was bit about 2-3 weeks ago on his arm, and it swelled up like crazy. Well, this time, it swelled up as well. Unfortunately, it bit him on his eyelid, right below his eyebrow. So, his entire eyelid is swelled up to about the size of a golf ball!
He was very self-conscious about how he looks, so he wouldn't let me post a picture. Needless to say, it's kind of scary.
We've been dosing him with Benedryl and his doctor suggested we add Zyrtec and a cold-pack for tonight. If it's still swollen, we'll probably bring him into town, to have his doctor look at him. But, since he can still see fine (although he can't actually open his eye, without using his fingers to pry it open), they aren't too concerned. The worst part is that it itches.
Just because she was jealous that her brother was getting all the attention, Katie also managed to get a bite on her face, right below her eye. It's not swelled up (she's not allergic to bites like he is), but it's red and itchy. That's what she gets for trying to compete with Connor!
What I cooked today:
Papa Murphy's Pizza: I picked up pizza in town today, so we had pizza. It was great, easy, and it was eaten all up (which kind of sucks because it means no leftovers!)
Update:
We got Ryan's line repaired today. Woo Hoo!
We got up early (okay, so it was about 9am, which is early for us), and heading into town. They were waiting for us in Radiology, so we went right in. The interventional radiologist came in, with a nurse, and they got started. It was the same IR doctor who repaired it last time, so we had a great laugh at the concept of seeing each other every 6-9 months.
He got the line all repaired up nicely, and we were out the door in about an hour and half! From there, I went through and did my shopping (which is good, since we were out of milk and cheese... gasp!)
We stopped at the drug store and then picked up a pizza for dinner (and a Blizzard, since, well, Blizzards are cool!).
We were home by 2:30, with all our shopping done, his line repaired, his meds picked up and dinner already ready for tonight. Wow, what a productive day!
I got home to a little surprise... Connor had been bitten by something (either a spider or a mosquito, we're not sure). Connor is very allergic to whatever bit him. He was bit about 2-3 weeks ago on his arm, and it swelled up like crazy. Well, this time, it swelled up as well. Unfortunately, it bit him on his eyelid, right below his eyebrow. So, his entire eyelid is swelled up to about the size of a golf ball!
He was very self-conscious about how he looks, so he wouldn't let me post a picture. Needless to say, it's kind of scary.
We've been dosing him with Benedryl and his doctor suggested we add Zyrtec and a cold-pack for tonight. If it's still swollen, we'll probably bring him into town, to have his doctor look at him. But, since he can still see fine (although he can't actually open his eye, without using his fingers to pry it open), they aren't too concerned. The worst part is that it itches.
Just because she was jealous that her brother was getting all the attention, Katie also managed to get a bite on her face, right below her eye. It's not swelled up (she's not allergic to bites like he is), but it's red and itchy. That's what she gets for trying to compete with Connor!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
July 15, 2012
Outside Temp: 61 F (it was beautiful today! Not too hot and very pretty!)
What I cooked today:
Meatloaf: I swore that I would NOT make burgers today. I used an Italian seasoning, which turned out pretty good. Patrick had about 12 servings, so, I guess that's a good choice!
Update:
Patrick and Greg took the garbage to the dump today, which is totally awesome, since with the heat, and garbage, well, you get the picture. There was a very distinctive smell coming from the front of our house (where the garbage barrels are), and I was feeling very guilty for inflicting our odors on our neighbors.
We also had the boys break down about 1000 boxes (okay, that's an exaggeration), so there is now some room in my garage. I'm planning on moving boxes into one of our sheds, and then there will be lots of room.
I'm also planning on getting the Miata out of the garage, cleaned up a little, and driven down the highway in our beautiful state. We haven't had the Miata out of the garage since we got here, so it really needs to be driven. Perhaps I'll talk the grandparents into a date night, and Patrick and I can be a cute couple for a few hours.
The rest of the day was a combination of work, and reading so I can escape from work. Every 2-3 hours, as I was banging my head against the keyboard, I would take a 1/2 hour or hour break, and read a little. It's amazing how refreshing it is to take a break, and then come back to a problem with new eyes.
We are going into Great Falls tomorrow to get Ryan's line fixed. I'm praying that everything goes okay, and we don't have any problems. There is a chance that they can't repair the line, and we have to fly to Seattle to have it replaced. But, I'm praying that we don't have to go down that route.
What I cooked today:
Meatloaf: I swore that I would NOT make burgers today. I used an Italian seasoning, which turned out pretty good. Patrick had about 12 servings, so, I guess that's a good choice!
Update:
Patrick and Greg took the garbage to the dump today, which is totally awesome, since with the heat, and garbage, well, you get the picture. There was a very distinctive smell coming from the front of our house (where the garbage barrels are), and I was feeling very guilty for inflicting our odors on our neighbors.
We also had the boys break down about 1000 boxes (okay, that's an exaggeration), so there is now some room in my garage. I'm planning on moving boxes into one of our sheds, and then there will be lots of room.
I'm also planning on getting the Miata out of the garage, cleaned up a little, and driven down the highway in our beautiful state. We haven't had the Miata out of the garage since we got here, so it really needs to be driven. Perhaps I'll talk the grandparents into a date night, and Patrick and I can be a cute couple for a few hours.
The rest of the day was a combination of work, and reading so I can escape from work. Every 2-3 hours, as I was banging my head against the keyboard, I would take a 1/2 hour or hour break, and read a little. It's amazing how refreshing it is to take a break, and then come back to a problem with new eyes.
We are going into Great Falls tomorrow to get Ryan's line fixed. I'm praying that everything goes okay, and we don't have any problems. There is a chance that they can't repair the line, and we have to fly to Seattle to have it replaced. But, I'm praying that we don't have to go down that route.
July 14, 2012
Outside Temp: 65 F (it was not as hot today, into the 80's, but it was very humid and muggy)
What I cooked today:
Burgers and Pasta: Patrick and I are both working frantically on this project, so, I have absolutely no desire to actually make dinner.
me: "Beef or Chicken, tonight?"
him: "Chicken."
me: "What kind?"
him: "Chicken Kiev."
me: "Nope, takes too much time."
him: "Chicken Soup?"
me: "no soup. It's too hot."
him: "I don't know. Whatever you want."
me: "If you don't have a preference, we're having burgers, again."
him: "Sounds good."
So, we ended up with burgers, again. I think I'll go wild tomorrow and make a meatloaf.
Update:
The problem with working hard is that by the end of the day, you have no idea what happened. I'm sure that it's Saturday, because we forced ourselves to get cleaned up and head over to church this evening. I did manage to take 30 minutes to walk over to the post office to chat.
Other than that, I have no memory of today. I worked, and worked, and worked. Ugh, this work thing is overrated.
What I cooked today:
Burgers and Pasta: Patrick and I are both working frantically on this project, so, I have absolutely no desire to actually make dinner.
me: "Beef or Chicken, tonight?"
him: "Chicken."
me: "What kind?"
him: "Chicken Kiev."
me: "Nope, takes too much time."
him: "Chicken Soup?"
me: "no soup. It's too hot."
him: "I don't know. Whatever you want."
me: "If you don't have a preference, we're having burgers, again."
him: "Sounds good."
So, we ended up with burgers, again. I think I'll go wild tomorrow and make a meatloaf.
Update:
The problem with working hard is that by the end of the day, you have no idea what happened. I'm sure that it's Saturday, because we forced ourselves to get cleaned up and head over to church this evening. I did manage to take 30 minutes to walk over to the post office to chat.
Other than that, I have no memory of today. I worked, and worked, and worked. Ugh, this work thing is overrated.
Friday, July 13, 2012
July 13, 2012
Outside Temp: 68 F (it was a little cooler today, but you'd never notice it because it was so humid. Ugh.)
What I cooked today:
Burgers and Spinach: Patrick loves spinach. I, personally, could live without it, but he loves it. We were given a bag from a friend, from her garden, and I must say, it was delicious! And it went well with our burgers, which is always a plus. Even the kids ate it!
Update:
We met with Ryan's new Special Education teacher today. She seems really nice and very knowledgeable. She will have Ryan for about 2 hours every day, which will be a change for him. He will be getting on the bus and being in a normal 1st grade class next year. Then, the Sp.Ed. teacher will pull him into her classroom for English and Math, every day. We'll see how long he can handle it, but our current plan is to pick him up around 11am, so he'll have 3 hours a day in class.
Now, for normal students, this may sound really easy. But, for Ryan, he's never had more than 2 hours of constant schooling in his life. He gets tired pretty easily, and he can't really focus for that long. I get the impression that if we are coddling him or spoiling him, his new teacher will let us know. I would love it if he could handle a full day of school, but we will have to wait and see. I'm just grateful that the school is so understanding about his issues and they can work with him.
Patrick came with us to the school, which allowed him to plug into the school's Internet and download a bunch of stuff that he wanted to download, but couldn't with our extremely slow Internet. He hid himself up in the computer lab for about 4 hours, and was in heaven.
I was able to get my fingerprints done in Stanford for the USPS job, so hopefully, I'll be able to start training soon. Our postmistress is leaving to substitute in another office in 2 weeks, and we really wanted to get my training done before she leaves. The fingerprinting was painless, as opposed to the last time, when I kept smudging the prints. Perhaps by the next time I need fingerprinting, I'll do it with no smudges!
What I cooked today:
Burgers and Spinach: Patrick loves spinach. I, personally, could live without it, but he loves it. We were given a bag from a friend, from her garden, and I must say, it was delicious! And it went well with our burgers, which is always a plus. Even the kids ate it!
Update:
We met with Ryan's new Special Education teacher today. She seems really nice and very knowledgeable. She will have Ryan for about 2 hours every day, which will be a change for him. He will be getting on the bus and being in a normal 1st grade class next year. Then, the Sp.Ed. teacher will pull him into her classroom for English and Math, every day. We'll see how long he can handle it, but our current plan is to pick him up around 11am, so he'll have 3 hours a day in class.
Now, for normal students, this may sound really easy. But, for Ryan, he's never had more than 2 hours of constant schooling in his life. He gets tired pretty easily, and he can't really focus for that long. I get the impression that if we are coddling him or spoiling him, his new teacher will let us know. I would love it if he could handle a full day of school, but we will have to wait and see. I'm just grateful that the school is so understanding about his issues and they can work with him.
Patrick came with us to the school, which allowed him to plug into the school's Internet and download a bunch of stuff that he wanted to download, but couldn't with our extremely slow Internet. He hid himself up in the computer lab for about 4 hours, and was in heaven.
I was able to get my fingerprints done in Stanford for the USPS job, so hopefully, I'll be able to start training soon. Our postmistress is leaving to substitute in another office in 2 weeks, and we really wanted to get my training done before she leaves. The fingerprinting was painless, as opposed to the last time, when I kept smudging the prints. Perhaps by the next time I need fingerprinting, I'll do it with no smudges!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
July 12, 2012
Outside Temp: 62 F (It had a high of 97 outside today, which was fine, since we weren't home most of the day.)
What I cooked today:
Nothing: we were in town most of the day, so we ate out.
Update:
Totally busy day today!
I started the day with my 'list'. I was pretty sure we wouldn't make all the items, but I knew that if I didn't write it down, I would forget something.
We both worked for a few hours, then went into town for Ryan's lab draw. While there, we found that he had a small pinprick hole in his line. Which kind of sucks.
We called the hospital and checked in with the attending doctor. She called to UCLA, to find out the exact specifications of his line, and tried to get us set up with a repair. Of course, we've been trying to get this information for months, but it somehow fell through the cracks. It usually takes a crisis to get things worked out.
We found out the specifications, and hopefully, a repair kit is ordered and will be in soon. We hoped that if they had one in stock, we could bring him in tomorrow morning to have it repaired, but no luck. So, our doctor told us to keep an eye on it (the line) and him, to make sure he's not showing any symptoms of infection. Odds are that he has had this hole in his line for at least a few days, if not, a few weeks. And he's handling it just fine. As long as we keep the line clean and keep the pressure to a minimum.
So, our plan now, if he continues to behave and not spike a fever or anything silly, we'll go in on Monday or Tuesday for a line repair.
After all that drama, we went over to a clinic, so I could give my drug test 'donation'. Oh yea, if you call it that, people will forget that they are peeing in a cup so that they can work for you. 'I'm so generous... I've giving you a donation'. Extremely stupid term.
But, now it's done, and (assuming I pass), I will legally be able to work for the USPS. Which means that our postmistress will have another person to call when she can't make it into work because of a snow storm (or something equally annoying)..
After that, we made a few more stops (drug store, meat warehouse, bakery, another drug store, Chili's for lunch, Staples for school supplies), then went over to the theater to see Brave. Really cute movie and I enjoyed it, although, apparently I didn't read enough to understand how the bear comes into it. That kind of surprised me! And yes, I cried at the end.
We stopped for ice cream on the way home. Which is always a good thing. Ryan ate his entire cone of Wild and Reckless, which is awesome in it's own right.
The house got up to 89 degrees inside today, so you can imagine how annoyingly stuffy and hot it was when we got home. But, we just opened up the windows and let all that cool night air in, and within an hour, it was cool and comfortable. Now, if I could only do something about the bugs...
What I cooked today:
Nothing: we were in town most of the day, so we ate out.
Update:
Totally busy day today!
I started the day with my 'list'. I was pretty sure we wouldn't make all the items, but I knew that if I didn't write it down, I would forget something.
We both worked for a few hours, then went into town for Ryan's lab draw. While there, we found that he had a small pinprick hole in his line. Which kind of sucks.
We called the hospital and checked in with the attending doctor. She called to UCLA, to find out the exact specifications of his line, and tried to get us set up with a repair. Of course, we've been trying to get this information for months, but it somehow fell through the cracks. It usually takes a crisis to get things worked out.
We found out the specifications, and hopefully, a repair kit is ordered and will be in soon. We hoped that if they had one in stock, we could bring him in tomorrow morning to have it repaired, but no luck. So, our doctor told us to keep an eye on it (the line) and him, to make sure he's not showing any symptoms of infection. Odds are that he has had this hole in his line for at least a few days, if not, a few weeks. And he's handling it just fine. As long as we keep the line clean and keep the pressure to a minimum.
So, our plan now, if he continues to behave and not spike a fever or anything silly, we'll go in on Monday or Tuesday for a line repair.
After all that drama, we went over to a clinic, so I could give my drug test 'donation'. Oh yea, if you call it that, people will forget that they are peeing in a cup so that they can work for you. 'I'm so generous... I've giving you a donation'. Extremely stupid term.
But, now it's done, and (assuming I pass), I will legally be able to work for the USPS. Which means that our postmistress will have another person to call when she can't make it into work because of a snow storm (or something equally annoying)..
After that, we made a few more stops (drug store, meat warehouse, bakery, another drug store, Chili's for lunch, Staples for school supplies), then went over to the theater to see Brave. Really cute movie and I enjoyed it, although, apparently I didn't read enough to understand how the bear comes into it. That kind of surprised me! And yes, I cried at the end.
We stopped for ice cream on the way home. Which is always a good thing. Ryan ate his entire cone of Wild and Reckless, which is awesome in it's own right.
The house got up to 89 degrees inside today, so you can imagine how annoyingly stuffy and hot it was when we got home. But, we just opened up the windows and let all that cool night air in, and within an hour, it was cool and comfortable. Now, if I could only do something about the bugs...
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
July 11, 2012
Outside Temp: 65 F (It wasn't as hot today, only in the high 80's)
What I cooked today:
Burgers and Tater Tots: I actually turned on my oven and cooked something today! The family was so excited that I actually cooked!
Update:
I got the pictures from yesterday uploaded... This is the creek behind our house. I'm sure there are thousands of reasons why this is a bad idea (I'm thinking about bugs and germs and grosser things that might be in this creek), but it was so hot and it was beautiful and the water was (mostly) clear (until our wandering around kicked up the bottom).
The water was probably in the 60's, which was perfect while it was in the 90's outside. We started out slow, not sure if they really wanted to be in the creek. After about 30 minutes, they were all waist deep. And within the hour, they were swimming and playing! So much fun! Even Patrick and I got in and played with them. Ryan was up at Grandma's, so he didn't go in (which was probably for the best, with infections and all).
What I cooked today:
Burgers and Tater Tots: I actually turned on my oven and cooked something today! The family was so excited that I actually cooked!
Update:
I got the pictures from yesterday uploaded... This is the creek behind our house. I'm sure there are thousands of reasons why this is a bad idea (I'm thinking about bugs and germs and grosser things that might be in this creek), but it was so hot and it was beautiful and the water was (mostly) clear (until our wandering around kicked up the bottom).
The water was probably in the 60's, which was perfect while it was in the 90's outside. We started out slow, not sure if they really wanted to be in the creek. After about 30 minutes, they were all waist deep. And within the hour, they were swimming and playing! So much fun! Even Patrick and I got in and played with them. Ryan was up at Grandma's, so he didn't go in (which was probably for the best, with infections and all).
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So, that was yesterday. Today, Patrick and I both worked for a few hours this morning. Then, feeling a little guilty (and having the nagging list of things that needed to be done), the kids and I went into Stanford. I tried to get my fingerprints for my relief position at the post office, but the sheriff wasn't there. I went to the bank, but I needed Katie's SSN card to open her a savings account. The kids loved the Library, returned books they've already read, and picked up new ones. Then we made it over to the Stanford Pool, where I let them play for about an hour. That guilt thing is popping back up, since I left Ryan at Grandma's house. But, I'll make sure to bring him next time! This evening, I got to go to Book Club, which was great! I was a little nervous, since I didn't really like the book. Should I say that I didn't like it? Would people get offended, in the sense that I was criticizing something they liked? In the end, I should have known better than to be worried. The women in this book club are awesome and, once I got there, I was totally comfortable being honest about my opinion. And, while some women really liked it, some others didn't. And that's okay! What a novel concept! A beautiful sunset greeted me as I drove home through one of the prettiest canyons in Montana. Life doesn't get much better. |
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July 10, 2012
Outside Temp 57 F (but it is about 2am, so that's not too bad. It was in the 90's most of the day)
What I cooked today:
Scrambled Eggs: It was still cool, so I made breakfast. Of course, Patrick and I were both too busy to actually eat breakfast, so it went to the kids. Oh well!
Update:
We worked most of the day, so around 4-5pm, when the heat of the day was at it's hottest, we finally gave in and went out into our own personal pool in the backyard. I got some really great pictures, but Blogger doesn't want to let me upload them. I'll attempt to upload them tomorrow.
This evening, Grandma was kind enough to make us dinner, which was awesome, and not the least because I didn't have to cook it.
Grandpa also got Roosting boxes in the chicken coop, so we might have eggs soon. As far as we can tell, we have 1 rooster. Out of our 24 chickens, we only ended up with 1 rooster. It's possible that there is another one, but so far, only one is obvious. However, I guess 1 is all you really need, right?
What I cooked today:
Scrambled Eggs: It was still cool, so I made breakfast. Of course, Patrick and I were both too busy to actually eat breakfast, so it went to the kids. Oh well!
Update:
We worked most of the day, so around 4-5pm, when the heat of the day was at it's hottest, we finally gave in and went out into our own personal pool in the backyard. I got some really great pictures, but Blogger doesn't want to let me upload them. I'll attempt to upload them tomorrow.
This evening, Grandma was kind enough to make us dinner, which was awesome, and not the least because I didn't have to cook it.
Grandpa also got Roosting boxes in the chicken coop, so we might have eggs soon. As far as we can tell, we have 1 rooster. Out of our 24 chickens, we only ended up with 1 rooster. It's possible that there is another one, but so far, only one is obvious. However, I guess 1 is all you really need, right?
Monday, July 9, 2012
July 9, 2012
Outside Temp: 61 F (it was in the 90's for most of the afternoon. And, even though it was still in the high 80's in the house, it didn't feel as bad as yesterday. Maybe I'm getting used to the heat. )
What I cooked today:
Grandma made dinner tonight, so I didn't have to start my oven. Yea!! We lived on sandwiches, yogurt, hot dogs (in the microwave) and cereal... all items that don't require an oven. I think I'm going to break down and get a BBQ.
Update:
Patrick and I are both working like crazy to try to get this project finished. The client hasn't given us a deadline, but it will probably be shown later this week, so we are working around the clock until it's 'ready' (although, in my mind, it's NEVER good enough, I think we might be close). Patrick was still up at 8am, when I crawled my tail out of bed. But working in the heat is never fun.
We did accomplish more today than we did yesterday, so we might be getting used to the heat.
Grandpa brought our lawn mower back down this morning, and he and Allen mowed and weed-whacked the backyard. Boy, did it need it! But, I felt bad with them out there, on the mower, in 90+ heat. Allen was wrapped up in a soaking wet towel, which he said helped with the pollen and grass that was floating around him as he mowed. I think it also helped with the heat and the sun, since he didn't end up getting burned!
The local post office had need of a 'Relief' person, to help out when the postmistress can't make it into work. So, as you can expect, I applied for the position. I know, for those who know me, and my comments on the government, you may be surprised at this move. But, the post office is kind of important in our little town, and I really wanted to help out our community.
So, today, I got in my e-mail box, my request for background check and drug test. Ahh, the joys of applying for a federal position. The paperwork for the background check went fine, but for the drug test, the 'system' couldn't find a location close to me for me to drop off my 'sample'. I called their 800 number, and the (very nice) woman in customer service asked me:
"How far away is Sioux Falls, ND?"
I laughed and said: "Pretty far. It's in another state. Probably about 8-10 hours drive."
"Oh, well, that won't work. What about Fargo, SD?"
"Uh, no."
"Hmmm, what big city are you near?"
"Great Falls."
"And what state is that in?"
(Are you kidding me?) "Montana."
"Hmmm, not there. Any other big cities near you?"
"There's Helena, but it's about 2 hours away."
"No, no clinics in Helena, that are in our network. I guess we'll have to choose an Out-Of-Network Clinic."
So, after her checking with most of the state, and a 200 mile radius of Great Falls, she decided that I would have to pick an out-of-network clinic... which is in Great Falls.
I can just imagine, if she found an 'In-Network' clinic in Butte or Missoula (about 3 hours away), I would have to go there. But, since she couldn't, I could go to Great Falls. All, just for a 'relief' position. I would use up my first 3 month's paycheck on gas alone, for the drug test.
There are a few choice comments I could make here, but, I'll just be grateful that she was nice and it will all work out.
What I cooked today:
Grandma made dinner tonight, so I didn't have to start my oven. Yea!! We lived on sandwiches, yogurt, hot dogs (in the microwave) and cereal... all items that don't require an oven. I think I'm going to break down and get a BBQ.
Update:
Patrick and I are both working like crazy to try to get this project finished. The client hasn't given us a deadline, but it will probably be shown later this week, so we are working around the clock until it's 'ready' (although, in my mind, it's NEVER good enough, I think we might be close). Patrick was still up at 8am, when I crawled my tail out of bed. But working in the heat is never fun.
We did accomplish more today than we did yesterday, so we might be getting used to the heat.
Grandpa brought our lawn mower back down this morning, and he and Allen mowed and weed-whacked the backyard. Boy, did it need it! But, I felt bad with them out there, on the mower, in 90+ heat. Allen was wrapped up in a soaking wet towel, which he said helped with the pollen and grass that was floating around him as he mowed. I think it also helped with the heat and the sun, since he didn't end up getting burned!
The local post office had need of a 'Relief' person, to help out when the postmistress can't make it into work. So, as you can expect, I applied for the position. I know, for those who know me, and my comments on the government, you may be surprised at this move. But, the post office is kind of important in our little town, and I really wanted to help out our community.
So, today, I got in my e-mail box, my request for background check and drug test. Ahh, the joys of applying for a federal position. The paperwork for the background check went fine, but for the drug test, the 'system' couldn't find a location close to me for me to drop off my 'sample'. I called their 800 number, and the (very nice) woman in customer service asked me:
"How far away is Sioux Falls, ND?"
I laughed and said: "Pretty far. It's in another state. Probably about 8-10 hours drive."
"Oh, well, that won't work. What about Fargo, SD?"
"Uh, no."
"Hmmm, what big city are you near?"
"Great Falls."
"And what state is that in?"
(Are you kidding me?) "Montana."
"Hmmm, not there. Any other big cities near you?"
"There's Helena, but it's about 2 hours away."
"No, no clinics in Helena, that are in our network. I guess we'll have to choose an Out-Of-Network Clinic."
So, after her checking with most of the state, and a 200 mile radius of Great Falls, she decided that I would have to pick an out-of-network clinic... which is in Great Falls.
I can just imagine, if she found an 'In-Network' clinic in Butte or Missoula (about 3 hours away), I would have to go there. But, since she couldn't, I could go to Great Falls. All, just for a 'relief' position. I would use up my first 3 month's paycheck on gas alone, for the drug test.
There are a few choice comments I could make here, but, I'll just be grateful that she was nice and it will all work out.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
July 8, 2012
Outside Temp: 64 F (it was in the 90's, again. But this time, I forgot to close my windows, so my house was in the high 80's... all stinking day! At least it cools off at night!)
What I cooked today:
Oh yea, like I would cook when it's sooo hot out! (to be honest, I did throw a pizza in the oven around 10pm, just to relieve my guilt complex for not feeding the kids)
Update:
I hate the heat. No, really, I really, really hate the heat. Just in case you didn't already hear me complaining from wherever you live (yes, I complain loud enough so you can hear me 1200 miles away).
This morning, I was up at 4am (which is insane), to take my mom to the airport. We had such an awesome time, I was sad to see her go. Her flight left Great Falls around 6am, so we were out of town around 4:20, and into the airport parking lot at a few minutes after 5am. Since Great Falls is so small, she was checked in, bags checked and boarding pass in hand by about 5:08. Just enough time to chat for a few more minutes, before she went through security and into parts of the airport I am not cool enough to go.
So, now it was 5:26am, and I was in Great Falls. Hmmm, I decided to get my weekly shopping done, which brought me over to the Smiths. Only to find that they didn't open until 6am. Lovely. I sat in the parking lot, with my book, for the next 15 minutes, waiting for the store to open. I can't remember a time I have ever done that.
But, it did mean that by 7:45am, I was back home, unloading my car, with all my chores for the day completed. Which means, there was nothing stopping me from crawling back into bed and going back to sleep.
Around 11:45, I realized that as cool and nice as the house had been at 8am, I forgot to close up the windows, and it was now in the mid 80's, and rising. Ugh.
The next few hours saw me whining, complaining, whimpering, begging, and pleading for some relief from the heat. And it wasn't even that hot! I was short tempered with the kids, and I was not a fun person to be around. Not that I cared.
Finally, around 8-9pm, it cooled off outside. Of course, the house is still in the low 80's, even with every window open, and fans blowing the cool outside air into the house. Oh, how I miss my central air conditioning.
I feel a small measure of guilt, complaining about my 92 degree weather, when half of the country is in the triple digits and there are fires and stuff like that. But, boy, do I hate the heat.
What I cooked today:
Oh yea, like I would cook when it's sooo hot out! (to be honest, I did throw a pizza in the oven around 10pm, just to relieve my guilt complex for not feeding the kids)
Update:
I hate the heat. No, really, I really, really hate the heat. Just in case you didn't already hear me complaining from wherever you live (yes, I complain loud enough so you can hear me 1200 miles away).
This morning, I was up at 4am (which is insane), to take my mom to the airport. We had such an awesome time, I was sad to see her go. Her flight left Great Falls around 6am, so we were out of town around 4:20, and into the airport parking lot at a few minutes after 5am. Since Great Falls is so small, she was checked in, bags checked and boarding pass in hand by about 5:08. Just enough time to chat for a few more minutes, before she went through security and into parts of the airport I am not cool enough to go.
So, now it was 5:26am, and I was in Great Falls. Hmmm, I decided to get my weekly shopping done, which brought me over to the Smiths. Only to find that they didn't open until 6am. Lovely. I sat in the parking lot, with my book, for the next 15 minutes, waiting for the store to open. I can't remember a time I have ever done that.
But, it did mean that by 7:45am, I was back home, unloading my car, with all my chores for the day completed. Which means, there was nothing stopping me from crawling back into bed and going back to sleep.
Around 11:45, I realized that as cool and nice as the house had been at 8am, I forgot to close up the windows, and it was now in the mid 80's, and rising. Ugh.
The next few hours saw me whining, complaining, whimpering, begging, and pleading for some relief from the heat. And it wasn't even that hot! I was short tempered with the kids, and I was not a fun person to be around. Not that I cared.
Finally, around 8-9pm, it cooled off outside. Of course, the house is still in the low 80's, even with every window open, and fans blowing the cool outside air into the house. Oh, how I miss my central air conditioning.
I feel a small measure of guilt, complaining about my 92 degree weather, when half of the country is in the triple digits and there are fires and stuff like that. But, boy, do I hate the heat.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
July 7, 2012
Outside Temp: 67 F (It got into the 90's today! Ugh, but no complaints considering how hot it is in other areas of the country!)
What I cooked today:
Orange Chicken (with fried rice): There is a big difference between using your normal pots and pans, and using other people's pots and pans. We cooked up at the Grandparents house, and Grandma has some really nice cookware. She also had a really nice cooktop. Both of which, I have no idea how to use. So, my chicken didn't get seared, like it normally does, it just cooked, which in turn, made the chicken a little tough and it didn't take the sauce the way it normally does. Oh well, the chicken tasted fine, and everyone ate it up, so I guess it wasn't too bad. On the other side, she has this really awesome cook pot/wok, that was huge and I could make my fried rice and no rice spilled over the sides. I totally want one of those!
Update:
We went over to the Stanford Pool today. Of course, the morning consisted of me scrounging around for Katie's bathing suit, which has gone missing. Perhaps it didn't make the move with us, since this is the first time this summer that she has needed it. After about an hour, and about 20 boxes of random items (I did find Patrick's bathing suit, some old pictures I thought I lost, and my nightgowns, which would be useful now that it's warm at night and sweats just aren't necessary), I decided that I would run into town and pick her up a new one.
I know, a run into Great Falls isn't something I usually do on a whim, but she really needed a real bathing suit, so we just pushed back our 'start time', and she and I jumped in the car and raced into town.
Katie, being her mother's daughter, picked up the plain blue and purple suit, and said, "I'll take this one." I did require that she try it on first, and when it fit, she was done. We were out of there in less than 10 minutes (we did have to run over and pick up goggles... oh, and these sheets are on sale and aren't they cute?... And we totally needed a bag of Skittles.).
We were back home by 1:00, and the boys were all ready to go. We ran up to pick up my mother, and I was finally able to show her Geyser and Stanford. We drove around the school and the town of Geyser and then headed the 15 miles into Stanford. We were going to stop and the Library, but it was closed (which worked out, since we were behind schedule anyway).
The pool is awesome! It's very large, with a diving board and a couple slides. They have a young kids section, where Ryan can touch the ground. Then the middle section, which is about 4-5 feet. Then the deep section (about 9-10 feet) with a diving board. Fortunately, they also had those foam noodles, so my kids who are not strong swimmers, could still feel comfortable playing. Ryan and I spent most of the time playing around in the first two sections, since I didn't feel comfortable taking him into the deep section (I wonder why?).
We played around for a little less than 2 hours. The kids had some friends that just happen to be there, so that was fun. The only problem was that I didn't put enough sunscreen on, so I got a little burned. Of course, the kids were all fine!
After the pool, we got cleaned up and headed into Church, with my mom. After church, we went up to the Grandparents and had a great dinner.
The only sad part is that today is my mom's last day in Montana... she's heading home tomorrow. What an awesome trip for us! I only hope that we can get her up here again soon!
What I cooked today:
Orange Chicken (with fried rice): There is a big difference between using your normal pots and pans, and using other people's pots and pans. We cooked up at the Grandparents house, and Grandma has some really nice cookware. She also had a really nice cooktop. Both of which, I have no idea how to use. So, my chicken didn't get seared, like it normally does, it just cooked, which in turn, made the chicken a little tough and it didn't take the sauce the way it normally does. Oh well, the chicken tasted fine, and everyone ate it up, so I guess it wasn't too bad. On the other side, she has this really awesome cook pot/wok, that was huge and I could make my fried rice and no rice spilled over the sides. I totally want one of those!
Update:
We went over to the Stanford Pool today. Of course, the morning consisted of me scrounging around for Katie's bathing suit, which has gone missing. Perhaps it didn't make the move with us, since this is the first time this summer that she has needed it. After about an hour, and about 20 boxes of random items (I did find Patrick's bathing suit, some old pictures I thought I lost, and my nightgowns, which would be useful now that it's warm at night and sweats just aren't necessary), I decided that I would run into town and pick her up a new one.
I know, a run into Great Falls isn't something I usually do on a whim, but she really needed a real bathing suit, so we just pushed back our 'start time', and she and I jumped in the car and raced into town.
Katie, being her mother's daughter, picked up the plain blue and purple suit, and said, "I'll take this one." I did require that she try it on first, and when it fit, she was done. We were out of there in less than 10 minutes (we did have to run over and pick up goggles... oh, and these sheets are on sale and aren't they cute?... And we totally needed a bag of Skittles.).
We were back home by 1:00, and the boys were all ready to go. We ran up to pick up my mother, and I was finally able to show her Geyser and Stanford. We drove around the school and the town of Geyser and then headed the 15 miles into Stanford. We were going to stop and the Library, but it was closed (which worked out, since we were behind schedule anyway).
The pool is awesome! It's very large, with a diving board and a couple slides. They have a young kids section, where Ryan can touch the ground. Then the middle section, which is about 4-5 feet. Then the deep section (about 9-10 feet) with a diving board. Fortunately, they also had those foam noodles, so my kids who are not strong swimmers, could still feel comfortable playing. Ryan and I spent most of the time playing around in the first two sections, since I didn't feel comfortable taking him into the deep section (I wonder why?).
We played around for a little less than 2 hours. The kids had some friends that just happen to be there, so that was fun. The only problem was that I didn't put enough sunscreen on, so I got a little burned. Of course, the kids were all fine!
After the pool, we got cleaned up and headed into Church, with my mom. After church, we went up to the Grandparents and had a great dinner.
The only sad part is that today is my mom's last day in Montana... she's heading home tomorrow. What an awesome trip for us! I only hope that we can get her up here again soon!
Friday, July 6, 2012
July 6, 2012
Outside Temp: 57 F (awesome thunderstorm this evening, although I think the rain might have upset some of the farmers, since they are trying to hay)
What I cooked today:
Spaghetti Sauce: This is always a crowd pleaser! And it worked out well, since I made it before we left, and it was ready when we got home. Yummy.
Update:
We realized this morning, that we forgot to take pictures of the Anniversary couples! So, we snapped these pictures up in Monarch.
Both Grandmas joined 3 of the kids and I on our trek to White Sulphur Springs today! It's about an hour and a half drive, so we arrived right around 1pm, which was perfect for lunch. We had burgers and salads (and an awesome Gyro) at a corner deli, and then headed up to 'The Castle'.
This museum is really cool. The house was built in 1892, by a wealthy man in White Sulphur Springs. It is furnished with all period pieces and old photographs of the family, or other prominent people of the time. We had a really great time, and our 'tour guide' was a young kid (about 18) who was very polite and knowledgeable. He and Allen got along really well, as he challenged my son to trivia questions for the entire hour or two we were in there!
After the 'Castle', we went to the Hot Springs, which is a pool inside of a motel. The water is refilled each night, and was at about 100 degrees. The kids went in, while the Grandma's and I sat and watched. As the name suggests, it smelled a lot like sulphur. Lots and lots of sulphur.
After the hot springs, we headed back towards home, stopping at Memorial Falls to hike up to the waterfalls. It was a great hike, not easy but not too difficult either. We got some great pictures up there!
What I cooked today:
Spaghetti Sauce: This is always a crowd pleaser! And it worked out well, since I made it before we left, and it was ready when we got home. Yummy.
Update:
We realized this morning, that we forgot to take pictures of the Anniversary couples! So, we snapped these pictures up in Monarch.
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Both Grandmas joined 3 of the kids and I on our trek to White Sulphur Springs today! It's about an hour and a half drive, so we arrived right around 1pm, which was perfect for lunch. We had burgers and salads (and an awesome Gyro) at a corner deli, and then headed up to 'The Castle'.
This museum is really cool. The house was built in 1892, by a wealthy man in White Sulphur Springs. It is furnished with all period pieces and old photographs of the family, or other prominent people of the time. We had a really great time, and our 'tour guide' was a young kid (about 18) who was very polite and knowledgeable. He and Allen got along really well, as he challenged my son to trivia questions for the entire hour or two we were in there!
After the 'Castle', we went to the Hot Springs, which is a pool inside of a motel. The water is refilled each night, and was at about 100 degrees. The kids went in, while the Grandma's and I sat and watched. As the name suggests, it smelled a lot like sulphur. Lots and lots of sulphur.
After the hot springs, we headed back towards home, stopping at Memorial Falls to hike up to the waterfalls. It was a great hike, not easy but not too difficult either. We got some great pictures up there!
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We headed from the falls down to Monarch to meet Patrick and Grandpa and Ryan for dinner at the Lazy Doe. But, alas, the closed the kitchen at 6:30pm tonight! I'm not sure why, perhaps a private party, since the smells from the kitchen sure smelled good when we got there around 7pm. But, fortunately, I had already started Spaghetti Sauce for dinner, so we still got a great meal.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
July 5, 2012
Outside Temp: 60 F (it was in the 70's and beautiful today!)
What I cooked today:
Pancakes: The kids wanted breakfast, so I spoiled them with pancakes. Of course, I made too many, so they sat on the counter and got munched throughout the day.
Chicken Kiev (sort of): For our anniversary dinner, I made up my Chicken Kiev, with Greek seasonings, which turned out really well! I think I need to practice my pounding of the chicken a little more, since I know it wasn't really uniform. But, I heard no complaints, so I guess it worked out great! Even Grandma's brother went back for seconds, so I'm very pleased! Grandma made up some broccoli and rice to go with it, and then we had strawberry shortcake (homemade!) for dessert!
Update:
Today is Patrick and my 15th Wedding Anniversary! I know there are some of our friends that couldn't imagine that we would work out. We were too volatile, which is true. But, it works for us! We both are so happy with the dramatic turn that our lives have taken, with our choice to leap into this new life in Montana. And, neither of us could have imagined how much happier we would be up here!
On top of that, today is also Patrick's parents 41st Anniversary (yes, we got married on their anniversary, which makes it really, really easy to remember!). I am so grateful for them, not just for my wonderful husband, but for their guidance and wisdom over the years.
So, to celebrate our combined 56 years of wedded bliss, we had a wonderful dinner up at the Grandparents' house, with some family from Belt and, of course, my mother (who is out visiting). And, for the kids, we kept back some firecrackers and fireworks from last night, which just allowed us to celebrate just a little longer.
At some point this evening, my mother commented that it was a little strange that two of the honorees (Grandma and myself) were doing all the cooking. I replied that it tasted much better than if we requested that our husbands do the cooking. And, in it's own way, it was a wonderful gift that we gave to each other.
Happy Anniversary, to my beloved husband and his amazing parents!
What I cooked today:
Pancakes: The kids wanted breakfast, so I spoiled them with pancakes. Of course, I made too many, so they sat on the counter and got munched throughout the day.
Chicken Kiev (sort of): For our anniversary dinner, I made up my Chicken Kiev, with Greek seasonings, which turned out really well! I think I need to practice my pounding of the chicken a little more, since I know it wasn't really uniform. But, I heard no complaints, so I guess it worked out great! Even Grandma's brother went back for seconds, so I'm very pleased! Grandma made up some broccoli and rice to go with it, and then we had strawberry shortcake (homemade!) for dessert!
Update:
Today is Patrick and my 15th Wedding Anniversary! I know there are some of our friends that couldn't imagine that we would work out. We were too volatile, which is true. But, it works for us! We both are so happy with the dramatic turn that our lives have taken, with our choice to leap into this new life in Montana. And, neither of us could have imagined how much happier we would be up here!
On top of that, today is also Patrick's parents 41st Anniversary (yes, we got married on their anniversary, which makes it really, really easy to remember!). I am so grateful for them, not just for my wonderful husband, but for their guidance and wisdom over the years.
So, to celebrate our combined 56 years of wedded bliss, we had a wonderful dinner up at the Grandparents' house, with some family from Belt and, of course, my mother (who is out visiting). And, for the kids, we kept back some firecrackers and fireworks from last night, which just allowed us to celebrate just a little longer.
At some point this evening, my mother commented that it was a little strange that two of the honorees (Grandma and myself) were doing all the cooking. I replied that it tasted much better than if we requested that our husbands do the cooking. And, in it's own way, it was a wonderful gift that we gave to each other.
Happy Anniversary, to my beloved husband and his amazing parents!
July 4, 2012
Outside Temp: 51 (it was beautiful today, in the high 70's/low 80's. Fabulous!)
What I cooked today:
Brownies: I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies, but apparently, I used up all my chocolate chips. Oh well, brownies worked out great! (and there were leftovers, which is almost better!)
Fruit Salad: I didn't realize how much fruit is in 1 lb of grapes, 3 apples, 2 bananas, 1 pint of blueberries and 1 mini watermelon. A lot. My container only held some, so I put the apples and bananas in their own container, with some lemon juice to keep them from going brown. It didn't really work, but that was okay, since the other fruit was in the big container, and it wasn't contaminated by the brown apples and bananas.
Hot dogs: We had hot dogs at the park, and then more hot dogs when we got home. We're pretty hot dogged out.
Update:
We had a wonderful day!
We went to Logging Creek, to have a 'picnic' with the family (like extended aunts and uncles and cousins).
It's currently haying season up here, so a lot of the family was busy. One thing I have learned up here is that when it's haying time, you hay. You only have a selected period of time to get the hay cut and processed, so you don't stop for silly things like national holidays. This evening, when we were heading home from the Grandparents house, one of our neighbors was out on his swather, cutting hay, at 12:30am.
So, some of the family was busy, but we still ended up with about 20 of us, which was great. It was at a campsite, next to a creek, so the kids played in the creek and had a blast! We had wonderful food and, with the exception of the flies, it was perfect.
Once we got home, we all crashed for a little bit, just relaxing. Then, after munching down on some more hot dogs, we headed over to the Raynesford Community Center, where we socialized until the sun went down. Then it was time for FIREWORKS! Woo hoo!
We had purchased some, and everyone else brought some, which means there were tons of fireworks. The kids were able to help out, lighting fuses and such. And, yes, there was a parent there, supervising.
After about 45 minutes of continuous fireworks, we finally ran through the pile. So, we all headed up to the grandparents house for more of the smaller, personal sized, fireworks. Which means that we didn't get home until after midnight.
What an amazing day!
What I cooked today:
Brownies: I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies, but apparently, I used up all my chocolate chips. Oh well, brownies worked out great! (and there were leftovers, which is almost better!)
Fruit Salad: I didn't realize how much fruit is in 1 lb of grapes, 3 apples, 2 bananas, 1 pint of blueberries and 1 mini watermelon. A lot. My container only held some, so I put the apples and bananas in their own container, with some lemon juice to keep them from going brown. It didn't really work, but that was okay, since the other fruit was in the big container, and it wasn't contaminated by the brown apples and bananas.
Hot dogs: We had hot dogs at the park, and then more hot dogs when we got home. We're pretty hot dogged out.
Update:
Happy 4th of July!
We had a wonderful day!
We went to Logging Creek, to have a 'picnic' with the family (like extended aunts and uncles and cousins).
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It's currently haying season up here, so a lot of the family was busy. One thing I have learned up here is that when it's haying time, you hay. You only have a selected period of time to get the hay cut and processed, so you don't stop for silly things like national holidays. This evening, when we were heading home from the Grandparents house, one of our neighbors was out on his swather, cutting hay, at 12:30am.
So, some of the family was busy, but we still ended up with about 20 of us, which was great. It was at a campsite, next to a creek, so the kids played in the creek and had a blast! We had wonderful food and, with the exception of the flies, it was perfect.
Once we got home, we all crashed for a little bit, just relaxing. Then, after munching down on some more hot dogs, we headed over to the Raynesford Community Center, where we socialized until the sun went down. Then it was time for FIREWORKS! Woo hoo!
We had purchased some, and everyone else brought some, which means there were tons of fireworks. The kids were able to help out, lighting fuses and such. And, yes, there was a parent there, supervising.
After about 45 minutes of continuous fireworks, we finally ran through the pile. So, we all headed up to the grandparents house for more of the smaller, personal sized, fireworks. Which means that we didn't get home until after midnight.
What an amazing day!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
July 3, 2012
Outside Temp: 58 F (it was not as warm today, and the evening breeze was awesome!)
What I cooked today:
Nothing: We had dinner at the Grandparents, so I didn't have to cook!
Update:
We headed up to Fort Benton today. There are a ton of museums up there, and we had a great time. We took this picture on the way back towards Great Falls. It's the Missouri river, and it was just beautiful!
The deer below was crossing the Missouri river, and we were totally surprised that it was this shallow. We didn't stay to see if he made it all the way across, but I'm sure he was fine.
After Fort Benton, we stopped at the Giant Springs park to have a bite to eat, and watch the beautiful river. It was so peaceful and calm. The temperature had dropped, and the breeze was blowing nicely.
Connor took this picture of the river, just to show off how beautiful it was! That's Grandma CC and Katie in the picture, although I'm sure neither of them knew it was being taken!
What I cooked today:
Nothing: We had dinner at the Grandparents, so I didn't have to cook!
Update:
We headed up to Fort Benton today. There are a ton of museums up there, and we had a great time. We took this picture on the way back towards Great Falls. It's the Missouri river, and it was just beautiful!
The deer below was crossing the Missouri river, and we were totally surprised that it was this shallow. We didn't stay to see if he made it all the way across, but I'm sure he was fine.
After Fort Benton, we stopped at the Giant Springs park to have a bite to eat, and watch the beautiful river. It was so peaceful and calm. The temperature had dropped, and the breeze was blowing nicely.
Connor took this picture of the river, just to show off how beautiful it was! That's Grandma CC and Katie in the picture, although I'm sure neither of them knew it was being taken!
Monday, July 2, 2012
July 2, 2012
Outside Temp: 62 F (it was pretty warm today, in the high 80's... except our little field trip, where it was probably in the high 90's... uck. I don't like the heat. At least it cooled off nicely!)
What I cooked today:
French Toast: I spoiled the kids with breakfast. Connor doesn't like eggs (oh, that is going to suck when we soon have more eggs than we can eat), and I didn't feel like making pancakes. So, we ended up with french toast, which they gobbled up.
Mexican Lasagna (with homemade salsa!): When I made this a few weeks ago, the kids complained that the store bought salsa I used was too hot and spicy. Ah, the joys of cooking for a bunch of spoiledbrats, I mean, children. So, I found a recipe for salsa and started playing around. I roasted an Aniheim chili (instead of a jalapeno) and mixed together onions, garlic, salt, a little sugar, canned tomatoes and about 1/4 of the chili. Patrick wanted me to add a little cumin, and I think it added a little something. Then, I added the lime juice and cilantro. Awesome salsa, and not hot at all! I used it in my mexican lasagna, and everyone said it was great! Woo hoo!
Update:
Today, we went out to Ulm to see the 'First People's Buffalo Jump', which I think used to be called the Pishkin. When we were kids, we heard stories about how the Native American's used to run thousands of buffalo off cliffs, and how one tribe couldn't eat it all, so it all went to waste. At least, that was the story I was told (or at least how I remember it).
So, today, we went out to where this actually occured. As the curator explained, it was a time before the horses and guns and wiskey made all the tribes lazy and spoiled. And multiple tribes would come to this location to run the buffalo off the cliff, and then they would share in the food and hides. And, he explained, it was about 150 buffalo, not thousands. The reason they would have to kill them all was not because they were wasteful, it was because if a buffalo experienced the jump and lived to 'tell about it', the other buffalo would never fall for it again. So, they had to kill all the survives, so no one would live to 'tell the tale'.
It was a great center and really informative. The butte doesn't look that steep from the ground, until you get right up on it. Yea, it's pretty steep. And the best (or worst, if you're a buffalo) part is that you can't tell there is a drop, until you are right up on it. It looks just like a normal rolling hill.
The only bad part was that it was hot. And I hate the heat. But the kids did great and didn't start getting snippy until later in the afternoon. I'm so glad we went, since I've been meaning to go up there, since we got here!
So, when we got home, Ryan ran out to check on the chicks, and came running back into the house, really upset. The chickens were gone! Oh yea, Grandpa and Allen came down while we were gone, and moved the chickens up to their new chicken coop at the Grandparents' place. They have a ton more space and a big coop. Of course, they weren't quite sure what to do with all that space, but I'm sure they'll get used to it!
What I cooked today:
French Toast: I spoiled the kids with breakfast. Connor doesn't like eggs (oh, that is going to suck when we soon have more eggs than we can eat), and I didn't feel like making pancakes. So, we ended up with french toast, which they gobbled up.
Mexican Lasagna (with homemade salsa!): When I made this a few weeks ago, the kids complained that the store bought salsa I used was too hot and spicy. Ah, the joys of cooking for a bunch of spoiled
Update:
Today, we went out to Ulm to see the 'First People's Buffalo Jump', which I think used to be called the Pishkin. When we were kids, we heard stories about how the Native American's used to run thousands of buffalo off cliffs, and how one tribe couldn't eat it all, so it all went to waste. At least, that was the story I was told (or at least how I remember it).
So, today, we went out to where this actually occured. As the curator explained, it was a time before the horses and guns and wiskey made all the tribes lazy and spoiled. And multiple tribes would come to this location to run the buffalo off the cliff, and then they would share in the food and hides. And, he explained, it was about 150 buffalo, not thousands. The reason they would have to kill them all was not because they were wasteful, it was because if a buffalo experienced the jump and lived to 'tell about it', the other buffalo would never fall for it again. So, they had to kill all the survives, so no one would live to 'tell the tale'.
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It was a great center and really informative. The butte doesn't look that steep from the ground, until you get right up on it. Yea, it's pretty steep. And the best (or worst, if you're a buffalo) part is that you can't tell there is a drop, until you are right up on it. It looks just like a normal rolling hill.
The only bad part was that it was hot. And I hate the heat. But the kids did great and didn't start getting snippy until later in the afternoon. I'm so glad we went, since I've been meaning to go up there, since we got here!
So, when we got home, Ryan ran out to check on the chicks, and came running back into the house, really upset. The chickens were gone! Oh yea, Grandpa and Allen came down while we were gone, and moved the chickens up to their new chicken coop at the Grandparents' place. They have a ton more space and a big coop. Of course, they weren't quite sure what to do with all that space, but I'm sure they'll get used to it!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
July 1, 2012
Outside Temp: 63 F (it was in the 80's, before the thunderstorm came through and cooled everything off)
What I cooked today:
Scrambled Eggs: I knew that we'd be having dinner in town, so I had to make something today... So, I scrambed up some eggs for the kids and Patrick... they would be working hard today and needed their protein!
Update:
My mom arrived today from New Mexico, which is totally awesome! She will be here for a week, so we are going to do a bunch of sight-seeing. There are a lot of things that I haven't gotten around to seeing, so I'm glad to have the excuse! Of course, she had some issues with her flights (they were delayed and they moved the gates around in Denver, and stuff like that), but she made it!
Patrick and Allen worked with Grandpa up at the grandparents' house, working on the chicken coop. It should be ready for the chickens soon, I hope.
While they were gone, Katie, Connor and I picked up the house. I've decided that my kids totally need chores. They are totally spoiled! Granted, they were great today and didn't complain about 2-3 hours of cleaning I made them do. But, if they did regular cleaning chores, it wouldn't have needed 2-3 hours to get it clean!
After we picked up my mother from the airport, we headed over to the 3D in Great Falls for dinner. I love their food! Patrick and the Grandparents brought the kids in, and we had a great family dinner! And on the way home, we had the most beautiful sunset! As usual, the picture does not do it justice (and the fact that I took it out the window as we were driving!)
What I cooked today:
Scrambled Eggs: I knew that we'd be having dinner in town, so I had to make something today... So, I scrambed up some eggs for the kids and Patrick... they would be working hard today and needed their protein!
Update:
My mom arrived today from New Mexico, which is totally awesome! She will be here for a week, so we are going to do a bunch of sight-seeing. There are a lot of things that I haven't gotten around to seeing, so I'm glad to have the excuse! Of course, she had some issues with her flights (they were delayed and they moved the gates around in Denver, and stuff like that), but she made it!
Patrick and Allen worked with Grandpa up at the grandparents' house, working on the chicken coop. It should be ready for the chickens soon, I hope.
While they were gone, Katie, Connor and I picked up the house. I've decided that my kids totally need chores. They are totally spoiled! Granted, they were great today and didn't complain about 2-3 hours of cleaning I made them do. But, if they did regular cleaning chores, it wouldn't have needed 2-3 hours to get it clean!
After we picked up my mother from the airport, we headed over to the 3D in Great Falls for dinner. I love their food! Patrick and the Grandparents brought the kids in, and we had a great family dinner! And on the way home, we had the most beautiful sunset! As usual, the picture does not do it justice (and the fact that I took it out the window as we were driving!)
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