Sunday, November 30, 2008

Sunday 11/30/08 blogging, TV and moving...

OK...I have not been blogging consistently. I am going to try to blog earlier in the day. I have been waiting to blog until I get everything else done, then I am too tired. I will move it up on my list and see if I can regain the consistency.
I watched Kenneth Copeland on TV this morning. He is always good at recharging me.
I lowered the price of the house yesterday. It would be great to be moved before the end of the year. I would like to get the girls in a new school at the beginning of the new quarter. I hope that this works.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Saturday 11/29/08 shopping...

I went shopping yesterday. I think that this is my first ''Black Friday" shopping trip. The parking lot was really full. I have never seen the parking lot so full. I was worried about how long the lines would be. There were two carts in the cart area. There were enough people there that I had to go slowly down the isles, but the crowds weren't huge. Everyone was filling their carts and some people had arm-loads of items. The checkout lines were long, but the wait was only about ten minutes. From what I have heard from my friends, this wasn't normal. But it was fun.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thursday 11/27/08 Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving!!! We had a lot of fun today. The kids helped to prepare the meal. I always want to try to make a new dish, but I don't get out any new recipes. Maybe next week I will get out the cook book.
We have a white piece of cloth that we write what we are thankful for on each Thanksgiving. We use permanent marker. (If you do this, put some newspaper under the material. The ink can go through to the table underneath). We write our names and the date by what we wrote. Then years from now, we can see what we had thought about in the past.
The kids helped to put the left-overs away. It is always fun to see how they will work together. When they were young, the girls looked up to William. He would ask them to get him a lid for a container or put something away, and they would do it. Now, they all think that they are in charge. One will say to the other, "I need a lid for this container", and the other will say, "yes you do". They were all putting a left-over away and didn't want to leave their spot.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Wednesday 11/26/08 Thanksgiving break...

William has been on Thanksgiving break this week. Yesterday he walked to the mall and stopped off at a store on the way. He said that he walked for four hours. He enjoys walking and doesn't want to get his drivers license. If he rides his bike, then he needs to get off of it at each intersection and walk it across. He is careful about this because he was hit by a pick-up truck a few years ago. His leg was broken. Now he is more careful. William says that it is faster to walk than to get off of the bike at each corner. Also, I don't think that there are any bike racks at the mall. William wanted to buy a new computer game during this break.
The girls have off Thursday and Friday.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Tuesday 11/25/08 Thanksgiving and game night...

OK, its one day until Thanksgiving...mom has brought over the turkey for me to cook...she is bringing the pies and green bean casserole and rolls with her on Thanksgiving day...we are making the mashed potatoes and stuffing and sweet potatoes. It is not too late to buy the ingredients. We can get them tomorrow...peal the potatoes together tomorrow night (we always peal the potatoes as a family...it is our tradition) and put the potatoes in water in the fridge overnight. and make the rest of the food in the morning...we should be OK. I won't panic yet...
Tonight we had game night, we played Blokus.Then I put plastic on some of the windows. The rooms always feel so much better after the plastic is up.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Monday 11/24/08 windows and houses...

The bathroom window now has plastic on it. The upstairs is now done!!! If we weren't going to move, next I would have gotten a new screen door for William's room and replaced the bathroom window and the girl's closet windows. It would be nice not to have to put plastic on anything on that floor.
I am going to lower the price of the house after Thanksgiving. I am hoping to move before Christmas. Can a sale be completed that fast? I am tired of having half of our things in storage.

Monday 11/24/08 raking leaves...

I'm sorry that I didn't post on Saturday, the electricity went out on our street that night. It came back on in the night, but too late to post. I need one of those phones that connects to the Internet so that if the power does go out, I am still connected.
We raked the back yard this weekend. The kids and I raked all of the leaves to the front curb. The kids are so much older now and were very helpful. Maggie and Beth like to be in front and rake the first parts of the pile to the curb. William likes the end so that he can do the detail work of getting the last leaves into the pile. The yard is green again.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Friday 11/21/08 library movies and house cleaning...

We went to the library to get movies today. They had a lot fewer VHS movies. I asked them if a lot of people were checking out movies today. They said that they are phasing out the VHS movies, and selling them. They will be replaced with DVD's.
When we got home, the kids and I started to clean the house. They vacuumed the rooms, and I washed the bathrooms and mopped the floors. The work is easier when a lot of people are helping and there are movies at the end.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Thursday 11/20/08 neighbors and Thanksgiving...

We went outside to play today. The neighbors were out raking their yard. It was so nice to see them. We are a close neighborhood. In the summer we are all outside a lot. It is difficult in the winter when we don't see our friends as much. We took the neighbor girl with us to pick William up from school. It was a night that he had a test, so he was late coming out. We had her call home to say that she was OK and we were waiting for William.
We need to get ready for Thanksgiving this weekend. I still need to finish the Christmas cards...I would really like to send them out just after Thanksgiving. You know...if I spent as much time addressing them as I do writing about addressing them, they would be done. I should buy the stamps tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Wednesday 11/19/08 screen doors and choir...

In William's room he has an outside door with a screen door. Today William and I put plastic around the screen door. It is an old screen door that doesn't keep out much of the cold. The door is on the second floor in the back of the house, so very few people will see it. I will try to put plastic on the rest of the windows this weekend.
The girls had choir tonight. They like to sing. It is very casual, they get a lot done, but it is not tense, the kids have fun. I think that they enjoy seeing their friends as much as they like singing.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Tuesday 11/18/08 crickets...

We got more crickets for the frogs to eat today. We buy fifty crickets at a time, then we don't need to go back as often. We feed the crickets carrot shavings. In the summer we also feed them grass.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Monday 11/17/08 flu shots, homework and plastic on windows...

We got our flu shots today. Maggie had a lot of homework to do tonight, we have a new educational computer game that Beth played since she didn't have any homework.
It has turned colder. I need to put plastic onto the windows. I called the real estate lady and she said that it would be OK. Then people would see that they would need plastic on these windows too. She didn't think that it would hurt the sale of the house. I wonder...as soon as the plastic goes up, will we start top get people coming over to see the house again?

Monday 11/17/08

It has been snowing here for three days. The snow is not sticking, but it has been snowing. The kids get flu shots today.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sunday 11/16/08 signing up for classes and "Bratz" dolls...

We signed William up for his next terms classes yesterday. It was a lot easier this time, since we have signed him up one other time. Then we went to get him a winter jacket. We went to the mall. I don't think that there is a recession in my town. The mall parking lot was full. It took a long time to find a parking spot. Also, everyone that we saw coming out of the mall was caring a package. Usually when there are rough economic times, no one has bought anything, they are all just looking. Yesterday, they were buying.
We literally went into every store in the mall that sells men's clothes to look for a winter jacket with a hood that does not come off (no zippers or buttons) and does not have any fur around the hat. William does not like the fur, he thinks that it looks like a girls jacket. We couldn't find a winter jacket. Last week when we went to look, we went to four stores. We were all tired after looking at the mall, and still didn't have a jacket. Beth had received some money for her birthday, so she wanted to go to another store to spend it. She had seen an MP3 player...is that the one that music can be loaded onto?...so we went to look. It was a store that we had gone to last week for winter jackets, but since we were there, we looked again...you never know, more jackets may have come in. We found a winter jacket for William. Cheer and clap... Beth decided that she didn't want the MP3 player. so she bought some "Bratz" dolls.
Have you seen the "Bratz" dolls? They are the ones that the feet come off and you can put different feet on them. Then the child doesn't have to slip the shoes on and off, they just put on different feet, that already permanently have shoes on them. It is really freaky to go around the house and see these stray feet laying around, or to see these dolls without feet. The new dolls have legs and feet that come off. The doll then had from its stomach up attached. The one that Beth got has three sets of legs. So we have two sets laying around without a body. This is even freakier. Maggie had the two sets of legs dancing, one set had ballerina feet and the other were regular with every day shoes on. Beth likes them. They come with lots of clothes.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Saturday 11/15/08 birthdays, Christmas cards and busy weekends...

We had Beth's birthday party last night. She is twelve years old now. Beth has grown about two and a half inches in the last year. She is as tall as William was at eleven. Right now she is my most petite child...I don't know if she well end up that way.
I started the Christmas cards last night. They all have our return address on them. I have written the note that I want to put into all of the cards, but it still needs written into each card. I decided that this could wait for another day. Maybe I will put all of the stamps on next.
Today we need to get William registered for the next term in college, get William a winter jacket, and get haircuts. The weather is turning chillier and it is raining.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Thursday 11/13/08 this weekend...

The weather was spring-like today. It started off chilly, and turned out to be beautiful. We will need to go to the library soon. The kids are almost done with their books. We don't have much planned for this weekend. It may be nice to rest.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Wednesday 11/12/08 pictures...

I like to change the family pictures around the house now and then. We have a lot of pictures, but they are in photo albums. To get some of them seen, they are rotated in the picture frames in the house. I was hoping that the kids would look at the pictures and recognise that they are different, but they don't. So after the pictures are changed, I take them around and point out the new ones, and answer any questions that they have about who is in the pictures or where we were. It is like having a rotating picture show.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Monday 11/10/08 decorations and weather...

We still have our Halloween decorations up. We need to take them down. Maybe tomorrow. The kids had a good day, they were warm in their winter jackets. The weather turned cold so fast. I am ready for spring.

Tuesday 11/11/08 board games and Christmas cards...

We had game night tonight. We played "Blokus". It is a board game where each person has pieces that they take turns adding to the board to see who can find a place to put all of their pieces. Beth had a plan this time on how and which pieces to use next...Maggie made lawnmower noises. Have you guessed yet that Maggie is the class clown? It was fun.
Tonight I am going to start filling out the Christmas cards. I found a new saying to put on my computer. It is ''You choose what to do with the time that you are given" It is from "Lord of the Rings". Making all of the lists in the world won't help me if I don't choose to get anything done.

Monday 11/10/08 winter jackets...

We found winter jackets for the girls this weekend. William couldn't find one that he liked that had an attached hood, so we will keep looking. We also now have hats and gloves for everyone. They have last years jackets, but they will be too small soon.
We went to my mom's house to see my Uncle and Aunt for a short while yesterday. We couldn't stay long, the kids go to school today. They are leaving today (Monday), it was so fun to see them.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Saturday 11/8/08 busy weekend...

We had a busy day. My Uncle and Aunt came into town last evening. They are staying with my mom. We went to see them today after lunch. We went to the park and then went and had ice cream, then went to mom's house for an hour, then went out to dinner, then went back to mom's house to talk and relax. It was fun, but full. It would be nice if all of the relatives lived closer. They are leaving on Monday morning after breakfast. We are going to give them some of our snowdrop bulbs to take back home.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Friday 11/7/08 frogs and flower bulbs...

We cleaned out the frogs container today. It was chilly out so we sat on the kitchen floor with newspapers under the container to clean it. The hardest part is catching the crickets. They must be put into a separate container before the big container can be cleaned out.
We also dug up all of our snowdrop flower bulbs. They are the ones that bloom in January or February. When they originally came, they were planted about a foot apart. Now each one has multiplied so that each one is a clump of about ten bulbs. The bulbs need to be dug up and carefully separated. Then they can be replanted. In another five years, all of them will be about ten bulbs. It is better to separate them each year...but we didn't. It will be nice this winter to see so many flowers.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Thursday 11/6/08 pictures, papers and decorations...

The girls had school pictures today. They were very excited. William has had to write a lot of papers for college recently. He does most or all of his writing at school. He has been very busy with college. He looks pleased with the challenge. We haven't heard back from his "first choice" college yet on if he was accepted ...so he will register here at the Community College for next term.
We need to take the Halloween decorations down. It is time to get ready for Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Tuesday 11/4/08 tag and decorations...

The weather was great today. I had my winter jacket off.The girls played tag today. Today they are running down one side of the street and crossing to the other side and running down it, playing tag as they go. It looks more like they are running track.
We need to put the Halloween decorations away, Thanksgiving will be here soon.
Maggie and Beth switched jobs today. Maggie will now put dinner away and Beth will feed the crickets...that feed the frogs. This is a permanent switch. They are both sure that their new job will be easier than their old one.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Monday 11/3/08 Christmas cards...

I have found my Christmas cards for this year. The next step is to start addressing them. OK...actually...I found them about two weeks ago. Now each day I stare at them. If they aren't addressed soon, they won't be ready to be mailed right after Thanksgiving. Maybe this week.
Beth's Birthday is in November. Her present is now in my room. It needs to be near me so that it can be wrapped without the kids seeing where they are kept.
We have birthday's in September, October and November, also the holidays Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The end of the year is very full for us.

Monday 11/3/08 crochet and dinner...

I have started to crochet again. It is nice to have a warm Hobie in the winter. I like making the blankets. Since I can't match colors, picking yarn is frustrating, but after that, making the blankets is fun.To pick yarn, I either have all white boarders, or ask someone in the store to help me.
We eat dinner together. It is great to see the kids, to hear about their day. We talk about what is coming up that we need to plan for or things that happened that day. We are together at other times of the day, but only at meals are we all seated facing each other. The day's interruptions (friends, phones, homework...) are all gone, and we can talk.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Saturday 11/01/08 Birthday party...

We had William's birthday party today. My mom came over, she is the only one in the family that lives in town. William likes pie instead of cake, so we had apple pie and Recesses Cup ice cream. The pie had nineteen candles on it. This pie had the lattice top (crissed crossed top, not a full crust covering), which was easier to put nineteen candles into. Last year we had a pie with a full crust...when we put eighteen candles in it, there wasn't anything left of the top crust. After the pie and ice cream, we measured William on our measuring stick. We use a separate piece of wood, not a door frame. Then if we move, we can take it with us. William hasn't grown in the last year, but he does look taller. I think that it is because he is more mature now. We always have the presents last, then they can play with them without having to stop to have"Happy Birthday" sung to them or to be measured.