Monday, June 30, 2008

Monday 6/30/08 Bike riding...

We need to take our bikes into the bike shop. Our bike pump stopped working last year and we all have flat tires. On Maggie's bike the seat is tilted back and none of us are strong enough to fix it.
Last year we took our bikes to a trail to ride. William rides ahead, and comes back every now and then to let us know that he is OK. Maggie and Beth ride with me. We take bottles of water with us. I remember on one ride the girls spotted a frog by the side of the trail. They jumped off of their bikes to catch it, the girls ran one way, the frog went another, the bikes fell over, and the water bottles bounced onto the ground. When the girls decided that they couldn't catch the frog, they retrieved their bikes and we rode off. A few miles later we realized that we had lost the water bottles

Monday 6/30/08 berries...

We have a mulberry tree that hangs over our back yard. Our backyard is full of berries. The kids love to climb up on the play area and eat the berries. A lot of berries are too high for the kids to reach, so this year the kids have taken yarn and tied the branches together so that they can reach more berries. It is startling to go up to the tree and see the brightly colored yarn in the branches.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Sunday 6/29/08 computer programs and homework...

We finally have William's computer hooked up in his room. The computer program C++ is on the computer...we think it is on the computer correctly. He tried to run a program from his class, but the program was written so that it had to go to other, previously written pieces of program...and those other programs aren't there because the class is over. We need to have William write a program from his C++ book, that doesn't need any other lines of programming except for what he puts in now. Then we can see if it is set up.
Maggie and Beth have decided to start their summer homework. They were sitting on the couch with their books deciding where to start last week. In all of the past years, I have kept the books and given one page of homework each day. The page has homework on both sides. I have them do half of one side each day. I only want the homework to help them to get back into school easier, not to have them do homework all day. We don't finish the whole book in the summer, but that doesn't bother me.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Saturday 6/28/08 food on car trips...

When we take a day trip we take bagels and cream cheese, cold pizza, orange slices and frozen juice boxes. The juice boxes are frozen on the trip there, but on the way home, they have melted. We keep everything in a cooler in the trunk while we are out of the car...the food is chilly, but not frozen when we go home.
When I was young, we always had bologna and mustard sandwiches on each trip. To this day, when I eat a bologna and mustard sandwich, I think of our family vacations.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Friday 6/27/08 see you tomorrow...

See you tomorrow (or write to you tomorrow).

Friday 6/27/08 School tour tomorrow...

Tomorrow we are going to take a tour of a college. This college has not sent us a letter with directions or an e-mail or anything. I called the school today to confirm and to see where we should start the tour. This is the first school that didn't send anything.

Friday 6/27/08 rain tonight?...

I think that it will rain tonight.

Friday 6/27/08 Dinner...

We have finished dinner.

Friday 6/27/08 It's Friday...

It's Friday!!!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Wednesday 6/25/08

I will try to write again tomorrow.

Wednesday 6/25/08 visiting a college...

We are going to visit a college this weekend. I am excited. We haven't visited one in a while. Now we are looking at medium large colleges.

Wednesday 6/25/08 rain...

I like the rain...as long as it's not destructive. I like to watch it come down, and clean the roads and the grass. It is like having all things new and clean again...no matter how dirty something is...like if it is the end of winter and all of the dirt from the snow had been every where...one good rain can wash it all away.

Wednesday 6/25/08 after dinner...

We have had dinner. This is my time with the kids. It's not rushed, and we can talk and read and relax.

Wednesday 6/25/08 it is raining...

It is raining.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Tuesday 6/24/08 interest in the house...

We were outside playing today and a man drove by and asked the price of my house. When I told him, he said ok and drove away. It was exciting to have someone show some interest, but it would have been nice if he had showed more interest...like wanting to know the number of bedrooms or bathrooms. I want us to move before school starts.

Tuesday 6/24/08 the kids...

This is our first full day with the kids back from their dad's. Today went well. We played outside, cut the grass and talked a lot.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Monday 6/23/08 tomorrow...

Tomorrow we will be going outside to play.

Monday 6/23/08 The kids are back home...

The kids are back home. I have really missed them. We all told about what we had done in the last week, and settled back into being together again. I love my kids, I am so excited that they are back!!!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Sunday 6/22/08 lunches are done...

The lunches are done.

Sunday 6/22/08 Lunches...

I am going to make the lunches now.

Sunday 6/22/08 Lunches...

I need to make the lunches now.

Sunday 6/22/08 house...

I hope that someone comes to see the house next week.

Sunday 6/22/08 weekend update...

The laundry is done, the clothes are matched. I still need to make lunches for next week. I will wait until the news is over.

Sunday 6/22/08 rain...

It is dinner time. The rain has stopped and the sun is trying to come back out. The weatherman is saying that it it going to rain all next week.

Sunday 6/22/08 weekend...

It has been a good weekend, I feel very rested.

Sunday 6/22/08 laundry etc...

OK, I am so much fun, I am now folding laundry...the dish washer is going...and after the laundry is put away the outfits can be matched. I will feel so relaxed when this is done. If I can plan out the meals for the week, my family will be set for smooth sailing.

Sunday 6/22/08 playing on Sundays...

I Like Sundays. After church, we play. Sometimes we play in the neighborhood, sometimes we go somewhere. It is nice to know, and look forward to all week, that day off.

Sunday 6/22/08 housework...

I need to do one load of laundry and one load of dishes. I should get my clothes ready for next week. It always makes the week go easier if I have my clothes already together.

Sunday 6/22/08 movies...

I hope to finish watching the movies tomorrow.

Sunday 6/22/08 movies...

I rented three movies to watch this weekend.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Saturday 6/21/08 going to the movies...

I went to see a movie. "Get Smart" was good. I laughed out loud many times.

Saturday 6/21/08 C++...

I was going to rest today. Rent some movies from the library, and if I had any energy, start to paint the ceiling above the stairs going to the basement. I have spent the day trying to get Microsoft's C++ onto William's computer. He wants to see if he can program on his computer upstairs. He can program on mine, but he really cares about seeing if he can program on his own computer. I have given up and have taken the tower to the computer store for them to load the program. I hope that they can get it to work.

Saturday 6/21/08 Summer has started...

I have been gone a while. After the last blog we moved my computer to another room. Whenever we move it, the Internet will not come back up. William took his ACT tests, he says that they went well. Now he wants to take the SATs. They are not being given until October, but I signed him up. Maggie is still waiting to start her summer homework. She has figured how many days it will take her so that she finishes just before school starts. She doesn't want to start too soon. Beth's best friend has gone on vacation for two weeks. We have been spending a lot of time together to get Beth to think about other things while her friend is gone.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Tuesday 6/10/08 I have two books to read...

I have two books to read. Usually I have a lot. We go to the used book store and buy books. The kids usually get two or three books each, and I get one or two. The difference is that the kids read their books, and I usually don't. I have piles of books that I would love to read, but haven't gotten to yet. Sometimes I will start a book, and after one page, will loose interest. I keep the book and say that I may come back to it. Last month I packed my room...and all of my books. Then we went to the book store. I got two books...one by F Scott Fitzgerald and one with three comedies by Shakespeare. I started with the F. Scott Fitzgerald book. The beginning wasn't really what I was looking for, but I thought that reading a Shakespeare book would take more concentration and work...or the last choice was to not have a book at all. I decided to keep reading the current book. The book has gotten better. Or maybe it was good all along and I had just gotten used to jumping around.

Tuesday 6/10/08 rain and more water...

The ground is wet outside from the rain today. The dehumidifier is running because there is a lot of moisture in the air. But...since the ground is wet, there is no place to water that needs water. So...I water anyway, I hate to pour the water down the drain.

Tuesday 6/10/08 school today...

The girls had school today. They go to school until the end of the week. I think that they are making up for snow days.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Monday 6/9/08 It rained today...

It rained a lot today. It was only for a short period of time, but the rain was heavy.
I run the dehumidifier in the basement and use that water to water the plants. I will need to dump the bucket of water out. I already have the watering can full from yesterday.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Sunday 6/8/08 flowers...

We planted flowers in the planters in the front yard. They are purple and white. The purple ones went around the outside and the white ones are in the middle. They looked ok the first day, they had flowers on them and were standing up. Now, about three days later, the plants are ok, but the flowers on them have died and they aren't standing up straight any more. I have been watering them each day, and they have had some plant food today. Also, it has rained a few times since they were planted. I am hoping that by next week, they will have settled in and will start to form more flowers.

Sunday 6/8/08 ACT test...

We need to get the study books for William for the ACT test from the library. He takes the test next week.

Sunday 6/8/08 Maggie's Christmas list.

Maggie has made out her Christmas list. It is quite long, about twenty items. She doesn't talk about Christmas a lot, she just wants to be sure that she gets her wants out to everyone who might shop early.

Sunday 6/8/08 painting...

It rained for about ten minutes today. This week I need to paint the ceiling in the hallway going to the basement.

Sunday 6/8/08 Beth's doll...

Beth and I were talking about some of her favorite toys. She had had a doll that she was attached to years ago. The doll was about a foot long and it had a cloth body and a plastic face, hands and feet. At night Beth remembers singing the doll to sleep. She said that she sang to the doll even though when the doll laid down its eyes closed so it was already asleep, but Beth said that she would sing to it anyway.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Saturday 6/7/08 tomorrow...

The weather is hot tonight.
Tomorrow is graduation Sunday at Church, then William's graduation party.
Next weekend is the ACT test.
etc.
etc.
etc.

Saturday 6/7/08 William has graduated from high school...

Graduation was great. William smiled a lot. He let everyone take his picture. After the ceremony William went around to a lot of the graduates and talked to them. He was still smiling.
When we were done, I was going to take the highway home. He asked if I could drive home the way that he normally goes. I drove slowly so that he could see everything for one last trip from high school.
Maggie had a good time at the graduation. After it was done, she went around and congratulated the graduates. I think that she knew many of them because the high school and the junior high are close together. Beth is in grade school. She is one more area away from the senior high. She didn't see a lot of people that she knew. I let her borrow one of my cameras and she took a lot of pictures.
I made it through at least ten minutes of the ceremony before I started to cry.

Saturday 6/7/08 Leaving for graduation...

We are leaving for graduation now.

Saturday 6/7/08 Solar panels...

I found solar panels for sale at the store the other day. They have two wires coming out of them with ends similar to jumper cable ends. These ends can be attached to something. I read the package and it didn't say what to attach them to. Do we need to buy something else to get the electricity to the appliance that it will power? I looked on the web, and can find companies that sell solar panels and web pages that explain what solar panels are, but not how to use them. I am still looking.

Saturday 6/7/08 William's graduation gift...

I wanted to get William one of those new radios for graduation. I don't know the name of then, they pick up lots of extra stations. I went to the store to look at them. They are sort of like Trac phones. You pay for them each month. It is about $12.00 per month. I wanted to have a gift that we didn't have to maintain. I am giving him a gift card to the book store. He will be thrilled.

Saturday 6/7/08 nice day...

This has been a nice day.

Saturday 6/7/08 moving the computer...

The weather is nice today. Last night we had a lot of wind.
We moved the computer last night to another room. After we move it, it always takes a while to get the Internet connection back. I am glad to be connected again.

Saturday 6/7/08 the bird in our backyard...

The bird in the back yard is gone. I hope that it will be ok.

Saturday 6/7/08 the bird in our backyard...

There is a bird sitting in our back yard. It isn't tiny tiny. I can't tell if it was trying to learn to fly and landed on the ground, or if it is an adult and is hurt. I hope that it is able to fly away.

Saturday 6/7/08 listing the house...

The house was listed last week. I had hoped to sell the house right away, but here, like every where else, houses are moving slowly. I will not loose faith. The realtor gave me a few things to do to help the sale...yes...like more painting...the ceiling in the hall going to the basement, and moving some of the furniture. We are now emptying all of the waste baskets every morning and fixing the pillows on the couch before we leave in the morning. Then if someone comes over during the day, the house is ready.

Saturday 6/7/08 William graduates from high school today...

William graduates from high school today. He is getting excited. After the graduation, I may take the kids out for graduation. The kids go to a charter school. There are about 15 kids in his class. Tomorrow there is a recognition ceremony at church and then his dad is having a party/picnic for him. This is William's weekend.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Tuesday 6/3/08 mulch...

Today William and Maggie did their homework while I made dinner (Beth played). Then we went outside and put the mulch in the garden areas in the yard. It looks good. William can carry the bags to where we need them and Maggie, Beth and I put the mulch where it should be. I wanted to have William cut the grass too, but it had rained today and the grass was still wet. We list the house tomorrow.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Monday 6/2/08 listing the house... ... ...

The real estate person is coming over to list the house on Wed...is it too early to panic??????? Everything is done...except for: in the house, there are a few small things in each room, either they can't fit in a box (like the old top to the frogs container) or we need them and because this house doesn't have any storage, there isn't anywhere to put them. Tonight William boxed some of the blankets that aren't needed on the beds any more, Maggie did the dishes and Beth straightened up her chair (we don't have a hall closet so each of the kids has a chair in the living room for their back packs and jackets). Tomorrow we will do the outside. We need to cut the grass...we have an older type lawn mower that when the wheels turn, the blades turn. The blades need sharpened...so as William cuts the grass, I will go around and cut the grass that was too thick for the lawn mower with the grass clippers. All of the mulch is in the garage in bags...I found a sale a few weeks ago...I hope that there is enough because they are sold out so I can't go back there to get more mulch of the same color. Before the mulch is put in, the weeds need to be pulled.
I think that I am going to go and get a bowl of ice cream.

Monday 6/2/08 the sayings on my computer...

Here are the sayings that I have on my computer:

do something

remember your plans

you determine what to do with the time that you are given

sometimes you need to give the past a decent burial and go on with your life

history is written in courage

Monday 6/2/08 Beth's book order...

Beth got her book order in today at school. She had ordered a electronic calender. It also has a phone directory, music and a few other things. She can get everything to work except for the radio. She is setting the date on it now.
The last day of school is still next Friday.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Sunday 6/1/08 walking in the woods...

Maggie, Beth and I went for a walk today. We like to go t0 the near by woods. The woods are small, but they have animals holes dug in the ground, and other wild-life. We like to see if there are any new animals digging holes. There is a tree that has a lot of vines growing off of it. The girls like to go under the vines and pretend that it is their fort. We saw a rabbit today.
In the winter we see animal tracks, and try to guess what animal made them.