Saturday, August 30, 2008

Saturday 8/30/08 frogs, matching clothes, liking college...

The girls cleaned out the frogs container yesterday. They put the three frogs in a different container and took another container outside to put the crickets in. They also found some baby crickets in the container.
Today we matched up uniforms for next week. Both of the girls are missing one uniform. We know that the clothes are in the house. It is very frustrating to misplace the uniforms. Some families loose one sock in the dryer, we loose whole outfits somewhere in the house.
William has said that he likes college and wants to continue on with it...instead of finishing this term and getting a job. So now he will start the financial aid search. He does look so content when he comes out of school.

Friday 8/30/08 showing the house, two scooters and seed pods...

The family that was going to see our house didn't show up. They had an emergency and didn't have our number to call us. They have re-scheduled to see our house next week. The kids were so helpful last night in getting the house ready for a showing.
Beth has been trying to ride two scooters at the same time. Her balance is good. When she gets them moving she can stay on and steer. The problem is that when she needs more speed, she doesn't like to take one foot off. Beth is still perfecting this skill.
Maggie found some seed pods on the hasta plants. I didn't know that hasta's had seeds. I thought that they only produced flowers.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Thursday 8/28/08 evening adventures...

Today started out normal enough. Everyone got up for school. School went well. When we came home, we needed to have dinner, pick up William at college at 7:00, do homework, and play. There were messages on the machine. Someone wanted to wee the house in a half hour. Oh...also, Maggie had a project to do. A poster with information and pictures which she needed the Internet for. We had dinner, it had been made last night so we heated it up, picked up the house and vacuumed it quickly and went to the library. Beth and I read magazines while Maggie looked up information. We left there and picked up William and went back to the library. The family might still have been at our house. Maggie did the written part of her report and William, Beth and I read.Then we went home. I have not heard yet if they liked the house.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wednesday 8/27/08 radio...

It was hot last weekend. It hasn't rained here for about two weeks.Everyone's grass is turning brown. We try to stay in the shade as much as possible. The girls had their bikes and scooters out. One of the kids across the street now, sometimes, brings out a radio. Sometimes they listen to the music that I grew up with. I don't think that they realize that it is from way back when. If I don't sing out loud, they don't realize that I know the words, and they leave the music on.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Tuesday 8/26/08 college and junior high...

William is enjoying college. He doesn't say much, but he looks happy. Yesterday when I picked him up after class, he got in the car and said in a cheery voice''Hi'', It was so full of..I had a great day..or, class went well...or, I made a friend...It was a happy, full, Hello. I waited for more. William looked out the window. He is a young man of few words.
The girls have started junior high. The school didn't have enough locks for their lockers, so they have brought all of their school supplies back home. They are hoping to have lockers in a few days.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Monday 8/25/08 school starts...

The girls started Junior High today.
We had everyone's clothes all laid out, and their snacks in their lunch bags, and their sandwiches made and in the freezer...but Beth had left her shoes at someones house from the weekend(she took her tennis shoes and her flip-flops, and only came back with the flip-flops). We didn't realize that the other shoes were missing until it was time to leave in the morning. We checked all of the shoes in the house for a pair that came close to her size. Maggie had a pair of high tops, Beth was able to wrap the laces around her ankles to keep them on. She said that the shoes fit pretty well. Her shoes were brought back after school.
We take a picture(or two) of the kids on the first and last day of school. When they are older I am going to put them all into a picture frame to see in pictures how they grew.
School went well. Maggie is used to changing classes from last year. It was all new to Beth. The day did go well. We got school supplies tonight.

Monday 8/25/08 birthday/Christmas list, gluing Popsicle sticks...

Last week at dinner I asked the kids to tell me the things that they wanted for their birthday's. They have birthday's late in the year. I can use the list for Christmas presents too. If the list can be made early enough, then all of the shopping can be done before the weather turns cold. I don't like to shop when it is cold out. They started out slow..."I don't know what I want''...''I only want three things''...but they soon got the hang of it. I like to have a decently long list so that there is a better chance that I will be able to find some of the things when the shopping begins. The kids rank the items when we are done so that I know what they would like to have the most.
Yesterday the girls decided to glue some of their Popsicle sticks together. Maggie has started building a house out of a cardboard box. The Popsicle sticks are going to be a shed for the yard. She is deciding if there will be one shed or two. Beth has a previous art project of colored stones glued to a piece of cardboard. She is gluing the the stones on that have fallen off. William isn't interested in gluing Popsicle sticks together any more.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Saturday 8/23/08 getting ready for school...

The girls start school on Monday. They are very excited. We assembled their clothes for next week. This year they are wearing uniforms, so this is much easier...there are fewer decisions. They get all of their clothes lay ed out for the week. They put their pants down first and put the other clothes on top of them. When the pants are folded up it makes a nice neat packet of clothes. I keep the packets in my room and we get one packet out each day. Also, we make our sandwiches for the week and put them in the freezer. Most things can be frozen, like peanut butter and jelly and bologna and cheese. The only things that I know that can't be frozen are tomatoes and lettis and mayonnaise. The sandwiches are still OK on Friday. I also prepack the snacks into sandwich bags. The kids can choose what they want each night and put them into their lunch bags, and I put the sandwiches in in the morning. This frees up our evenings for homework and play.
If I have a chance I will plan the dinners for the week. We are almost ready to go outside and play.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Friday 8/22/08 William starts college...

William signed up for college last weekend. He is going full time at the Community College, and has finished his application to the college that he wants to go away to. William is a quiet, steady person. He never states the obvious, like that the weather is nice, because he says that people can look outside and see that for themselves. After we signed him up for classes, when we got home, he said ''I'm going to college'' in an excited voice. The happiness kept getting larger. He said that he was pleased, and on Sunday William told me that he was starting college the next day. After school on Monday, we waited for him to tell us how it went. Nothing. No information. We're girls, we like information and talking. William didn't say anything. So...I asked how it went. He said ''Fine.'' We spent a year on this, toured around five colleges and fretted about William and it is ''Fine.''. He has said that he has found the library and seen a friend from high school. William looks very happy. He was ready for college.
We had the sprinkler on today. Maggie likes to ride her bike through it and Beth likes to stand in it.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Thursday 8/21/08 no chicken pox, Maggie's birthday plans, sports...

The child across the street does not have chicken pox!!! I am very happy. The doctor said that she was having an allergic reaction to something. It would be difficult to have the kids pulled out of school even before school had started.
Maggie's birthday is coming up. She wants Transformers and/or a harmonica (with directions). I need to get them this weekend so that I am ready. We can get the cake and ice cream later, but I like to have the presents ahead.
When school starts I want to put the kids into a sport. They were in basketball last year and they really enjoyed it. I think that it would be a great sport for this year too.
Beth has been drawing on the sidewalk. She has a few pictures. She likes to write all of the names of her friends and then color around them.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Wednesday 8/20/08 chicken pox???...

One of the neighbor kids across the street has something that looks like chicken pox. Her mom came over and showed it to me. She said that most of her kids, including this one, had already had chicken pox. Can people get it twice?My kids had it years ago. Can they get it again? It was very uncomfortable for them, they itched a lot. When they find out what it is, they will come back and tell us.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tuesday 8/19/08 bike riding with the folding bike, alarm clocks...

We went bike riding last weekend. The folding bike was good and not so good. It was so nice to not have to put four bikes on a three bike bike rack. But, the folding bike has easy close levers to hold the handle bars and seat in place after the rider adjusts them to the correct height...the levers slip. The handlebars weren't so bad because not much weight is put on them, but if I bumped them when I got off of the bike, they turned and were not at the correct angle to the tires. The seat also kept lowering. I am going to contact the company and see if they have a solution. It was so nice to be able to put the bike into the trunk and not to have to wrestle with the bike rack, that we will find a way to make this work.
My alarm clock still reads that it is January, but on the up side, the clock does say Saturday.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Monday 8/18/08 cooler weather, planting garlic, orange moons and atomic clocks...

It was cooler last night. Soon we will need to get the blankets out of storage. I am not ready for Fall yet. The kids are having so much fun bike riding and wearing sandals and doing all of the summer activities. I miss the flowers when winter comes. This year we will have some mums that bloom in the fall, and some snowdrops that bloom in January or February, right through the snow.
If we are still in the house when the ground is about to freeze, we are going to plant garlic. It grows over the winter...or maybe it just sits there and grows in the spring. In the spring the green shoots come up out of the planted garlic and when they die and turn yellow, the garlic is done.
I went outside tonight, the moon was out and it was orange. I don't know if I have ever seen an orange moon before. I was outside with my new atomic clock. I have one atomic clock...an atomic clock sends a signal to the national clock somewhere in the west and brings back the correct time. The clock is always set correctly, even during time changes (as long as the batteries are good)...but I needed a second clock in case I didn't hear the first one. I am not sure that it is healthy to have the clocks waves going out by my head every night every two minutes. I hope that it doesn't cause brain damage...but I am guessing that it is OK and have purchased a second clock. The second one hasn't sent out a signal yet. We have had it for about two weeks. I set the time, and thought that it would set the date. It hasn't. The directions said that if the clock didn't send out a signal, take it outside at night, that is when it would get the best reception, and leave the clock outside for two minutes. The clock and I were outside for four minutes. The date still says January. I did feel silly on the front porch with my clock...but the moon was pretty. I don't really need the date on this clock, my other clock has the date...so...I am not going to set it. I may set the clock outside another night.

Monday 8/18/08 reading, essay's, weather and showing the house...

Maggie likes to stay up at night and read. Sometimes she reads two books at a time...one book one day and one book the next. Beth finished a book this summer.
William has been working on his essay. He hopes to have it done soon.
The weather is starting to turn cooler each morning. I like the summer.
Someone came to look at the house last week. We haven't heard yet what they thought about it.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Saturday 8/16/08 grass seed and sprinklers...

We planted more grass seed last week in the front yard where the tree was taken down. Some grass had sprouted from the last planting. If someone is two houses down from ours, that area looks like it has grass. But...when someone is right by it, there are a lot of bare spots. We have put more grass seed in and bought a sprinkler. This is the first time that we have ever watered the yard. It has not rained for at least two weeks. We watered two days straight. Then it started raining again, about every other day. I have put the sprinkler away.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Friday 8/15/08 goals and ponytailes...

On Friday's I like to look back at my week and see if I accomplished any...or all...of that weeks goals. Even if my goal was to play one week, I like to look back and see if I did it.I like to make goals for the weekend too. Then I can check on Monday and see if they were done. It is important to me to see that I am always making progress.
Beth had her hair in two ponytails today. Then later she changed to one. When the girls were young they used to have me do their hair...now they like to do their own hair. Kids grow up so fast.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Thursday 8/14/08 college classes and junior high...

William worked on his college application last Friday. He filled in all of the rest of the questions. At the end there was an essay. On Saturday we went to the library for him to get some books for the paper. He is so close to being finished with this step.
William needs to call the Community College and set up a meeting to get signed up for classes, I don't know when classes start.
Maggie has been counting down the days until school starts. She is very excited. Beth is a little concerned. Beth starts junior high this year and will be switching classes. I have talked to her and explained that everything will be OK. I think that after the first day, Beth will be OK.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Wednesday 8/13/08 showing the house...

The Realtor called tonight, the house is being shown tomorrow. I have a good feeling about this showing. We may sell the house at the same time that William starts college. We did a quick clean-up around the house. We vacuumed and pulled weeds outside. I will be glad when we have moved and we can begin to settle in to the new house.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Tuesday 8/12/08 bikes...

Maggie's bike was done last Friday. When we picked it they said that my bike was put together, but it needed a tune-up.All of the bolts were loose and it needed adjusted before it was safe to ride. They scheduled to start the tune-up on Wednesday and be done Saturday. I did want the bike back, but we rested last weekend and can ride next weekend.I will be glad when we can get it back and ride again.
I went to Goodwill to get two large towels to sew together to make a bag for the bike. This is to keep the bike from getting scratched in the trunk. There weren't any large towels, so I got a lap blanket instead. I can fold it in half and sew up the sides to make a protective bag.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Monday 8/11/08 bird feeders and solar ovens...

We put a bird feeder in the backyard last week. It is the kind that holds a block of suet. We are hoping that if we had some birds in the yard they would eat the mosquitoes.
The birds can eat a block of suet in three days. Oh my...The mosquitoes are gone, but they are gone on the whole street. So, is this the end of the season for mosquitoes? I don't think that one bird feeder could clear a whole street.
We are going to make a solar oven. We have some plywood in the garage for the base. Today I got a large inner tube...the size that you would go inner tubing with...it goes on the plywood. We still need a black pan with a black lid to go in the center and a piece of Plexiglases to go on top. The directions said to use glass on top, but I think that this would be too dangerous with the kids.
The sunlight goes through the Plexiglases and gets trapped between it and the inner tube and the plywood. The black pan absorbs the heat and cooks the food. We may put a few large rocks on top to hold the Plexiglases on. I hope that it works.

Monday 8/11/08 the new bike...

The folding bike arrived Thursday. We were all so happy. It came in good condition. We opened the box and all of us tried to put it together. We couldn't do it. The handlebars didn't fit in their spot, the seat would go up, but wouldn't stay in place, the chain was off and it looked twisted to us and...I think that we did get the pedals on OK. At first we thought that there was a problem with the bike, maybe we got the one in a million bad one...but as the problems continued, I thought that maybe we just needed help to assemble it. Maybe some of the problems just need one adjustment that we just don't know how to do or what to look for.
We were taking Maggie's bike in to get the flat tire fixed...so we took the new bike in too. The guys looked at the bike like they could fix it without a problem.They said that it could be picked up on Friday. I hoped that everything works out and we can use it this last weekend.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Saturday 8/9/08 College, watermelon and styling hair...

William was accepted to the Community College!!!!!!! We need to finish the application for the other college. We also need to set up an appointment with an advisor at the Comm. College so that William can choose classes.
We took the watermelon outside for the kids to eat. Some of the neighborhood kids were out so they came over too. We did eat on the lawn this time.
The girls had their dolls head with all of the hair that they can style outside today. They styled the dolls hair and each others hair also. The doll has had about four hair styles so far.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Friday 8/8/08 ice cream, praying maniis, and school clothes...

One of the neighbors took her kids and mine to the store for ice cream cones. They came back with chocolate, vanilla, sprinkles, and some candy toppings.
We saw a praying mantis today. I haven't seen one of those since I was in grade school.
We have bought some school clothes for the kids. The girl's school has a uniform policy. The stores are just starting to put the uniforms out. We got the clothes a little big. I hope that they will still fit when school starts.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Thursday 8/7/08 postcards...

The kids love to get mail. Every time the mail is brought in they ask ''Is there any mail for me?'' They are always so excited. The kids don't send out any letters so they don't get any letters back. For a while I was having them send out postcards to their cousins. Some of their cousins started writing back to them. I liked the post cards for the kids better than having them write a letter because there was less space for them to fill up. Also the constant practice was good for their hand writing. They knew that someone would be trying to read it...it wasn't just for their journal...which made a difference to them. When summer started we quit writing. Beth is writing to a cousin tonight. We can mail it tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Wednesday 8/6/08 bike riding...

We went for a bike ride last weekend. The bikes were loaded very easily onto the bike rack. William and I put the bikes onto the rack, and Maggie and Beth bring us the bikes. We went for a ride after dinner Saturday. We usually go on morning rides. In the morning we have more time. We don't feel like we need to race back to the car before it gets dark.
The back tire on Maggie's bike went flat. We will need to get it fixed right away so that we can ride again next weekend. But...if my folding bike shows up, then Maggie can ride my bike.
We have only been riding on this trail a few times. I wonder when the kids will get bored with it. The next time that we go to the bike shop we need to ask where there are more trails to ride on.There are bike areas on the sides of some of the roads, but I don't think that this would be safe for the kids.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Tuesday 8/5/08 watermelon...

We now have two watermelons for the kids to eat. I will cut them up into a big bowl and take them outside so that my kids and the neighborhood kids can eat them. We did that one other day this summer and it was so much fun. We had watermelon juice all over. Last time everyone ate on the front porch...this time we may have everyone eat out in the grass. Then all of the juice can land out there.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Monday 8/4/08 College and the library...

William is going to print the applications for the colleges. He has decided to start at the community college until he hears back from his first choice college.
He would love to start with programming classes, but he realizes that he must start with the basic math and English classes first.
Today William went to the library and returned a few books and check out a few movies. He is enjoying summer.

Monday 8/4/08 recycling...

We have started recycling, and have been having fun with it.When we empty something in the kitchen, we check the list to be if it can be recycled. We started with two recycling containers, but we ended up needing three. Now we are also only taking out one garbage can each week, instead of two cans.
We need to get the kids school clothes. There is about a month before school starts. If we wait too long, there won't be anything available in their sizes.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Saturday 8/2/08 the house next door...

The house next door to ours is for rent. There is a family coming to look at it. We met them this last week. They were nice. I hope that this family rents the house. I have been praying for nice neighbors...and if the ''for rent'' sign comes down, it will make our ''for sale'' sign look better. The family that is looking at the house has two boys. I think that they are both in grade school. My kids will be thrilled to have more friends.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Friday 8/1/08 a college is chosen!!! playing outside...

William has chosen a college!!!!!!! We are not sure yet if he can get in this fall. After he finds out, he may decide to go to another school, like the local community college, until he can get into his first choice. I am so relieved that William has made a choice, now he can apply and start working on financial aid. William looked pleased that he had made a decision.
When we went out to play yesterday some of the neighborhood kids were out. It always makes it more fun when other kids are out. Beth likes her scooter. The neighbor girls prefer bikes and Maggie likes to run.