Friday 10/31/08 Halloween...

The kids went trick-or-treating tonight...the girls went, and William decided to stay home. They had fun, seeing all of the kids, getting candy, looking at peoples porch decorations. The record for candy at our house is five or six gallons of candy (we store it in gallon size Ziploc bags). Tonight they got three gallons. We guess that it is lower because William didn't go with us. On our street, the neighbors said that they had two trick-or treaters, if you include my two girls. Some years we have had as many as thirty kids, usually we have about ten kids. If we all go out we leave a bowl of candy on the front porch and the lights on.

Thursday 10/30/08 carving pumpkins...

We had a busy day. The girls and I carved pumpkins after dinner and picking William up from college. Beth started carving her pumpkin and named him "Bob"...but then she realized that the pumpkin looked more like a "Joe". Maggie wanted to see the legal papers for the name change. I carved one for William. He is older now and doesn't participate in everything any more. While we carved the pumpkins, the girls played in the seeds. It was a lot of gooey fun. Tomorrow, we get Halloween candy, and have dinner and trick-or-treat. Saturday, we have a dentist appt., and William's birthday party. This has been a busy week.

Wednesday 10/29/08 church...

William didn't have school today, so he stayed home. The girls and I went to church tonight. Usually on Wednesdays they have kids choir and dinner. But tonight, they had dinner and a slimefest. They must have invited all of the town, there were a lot of families there that I didn't recognise. Maggie went as a witch and Beth was a princess. I usually take the pictures of the events, but they were short one person so I helped. I had the booth where the kids got pretzels and marshmallows and gum drops and they could make things out of them. The pretzels get pushed into the marshmallows and gum drops to build things. The kids built a lot of houses and letters..."L" and "T" were the favorite, and one child built a helicopter. In the end they can eat their creation, throw it away or take it home. We had fun.

Tuesday 10/28/08 cat slippers and runny noses...

Beth had her cat slippers on today. She found that if she pulled her pant legs over the top of the slippers, it looked like the cat had a hat on. Beth thought that this was a riot. I think that we may be making her cat slippers hats soon.
Maggie is getting over her cold. William, Beth and I are now sniffling.

Monday 10/27/08 Homework and Halloween...

William finished his paper this morning in the computer lab at school before class started...well...he said that he was only a few minutes late for class. He did a good job.
It is getting closer to Halloween, Maggie has the sniffles, Beth is starting to sniffle, William is even sniffling. They need to be healthy before Halloween. Sometimes it rains on Halloween.

Monday 10/27/08 library and college...

We spent a lot of time this weekend at the library and the college. Maggie needed more books, so we went to the library. While we were there we rented a lot of movies. William had a paper due so we went to the college so that he could type it...we are out of ink, or he could have typed it here. Beth loves to go to all of these places and see more people.
This week has a lot going on: William turns nineteen, the girls have school pictures, Halloween, the girls have a Halloween dance at school..there is probably more, but I can't think of anything else.

Friday 10/24/08 snow shovels and Christmas cards...

We bought two more snow shovels today. The last time that we got shovels was when the kids were very young. So we have small shovels. Now, when it snows, we can all use a full size shovel.
We got out this years Christmas cards. One night I will put all of the addresses on them.Another night I will put our return address on them. I like to send them out right after we finish the Thanksgiving leftovers. If there is time I will add a short note about our family to each one. I write the same note on all of the cards. It would be difficult to think of new things to say in each of the cards, so they all get the same note. Last year the cards said...William is choosing a college, Maggie loves having a locker at school and Beth loves being the youngest. I am not sure what this years note will say.

Thursday 10/23/08 trips and winter jackets...

The girl's school is talking about taking the kids on trips this year. They are talking about the sixth grade going to Washington DC and the sixth, seventh and eighth grade going somewhere else. Last year they had a meeting about the seniors going to New York City, but there weren't enough kids that signed up, so they didn't go. The girls are so excited about taking a trip with their class.
We are going to get winter jackets this weekend. We are all looking forward to it.

Wednesday 10/22/08 bike tires and ice skating...

We got Maggie's bike back last week. The back tire had been bent when she went around a corner and hit a pothole. Maggie was OK but the bike tire was bent so that when she rode it the bike wobbled up and down like a clown's bike. The bike place was able to bend it back into place. I hope that we can go bike riding again soon.
When it gets too cold to go bike riding, we will go back to ice skating. There is an ice skating rink by us. We need to have the kids check their skates and see who has outgrown theirs.

Tuesday 10/21/08 Bringing things home from storage...

We went to the storage unit to bring home the winter blankets and my winter clothes. We had hoped that the house would sell by now and we could unpack at the next house, but that hasn't happened yet. We had kept the kids winter clothes at this house, only mine had gone to storage.
I took the blankets to the laundromat to wash them. They are too large for my machine at home.We don't need more blankets yet, but it will be good to have them when it gets colder.
We brought the witch decoration home from storage too. It is one of those witches that looks like it ran into the house. It doesn't seam like Halloween to me without the witch on the porch.We need to get some Halloween candy soon.

Monday 10/20/08 cutting the plants back for winter...

It is almost time to cut back all of the plants before winter. I don't want to cut them back too soon, if it gets warm again, they will all try to re-grow. I really don't want to cut them back twice.Because we have the house up for sale, we kept a lot of our bigger plants cut back this summer. This really made our yard look bigger. When we do cut all of the plants back, there won't be as much to do.
The rose bush clippings that we planted are doing OK. We planted seven cuttings: one sprouted, five are still green, but haven't sent out any shoots, and one died. I hope that they make it through the winter.

Monday 10/20/08 Brakes for my car...

My car's brakes started making noise last week. There are always so many questions that need answered when the car needs repaired. Will it be done in time to pick up the kids, or will it be done that day, how much will it cost, can all of the other things that needed to be done that day get done? I dropped the kids off at school and went to the car repair place. I had decided that if it was going to take too long, I could call my mom. I would rather be independent, but having to walk home or to call a cab didn't seam like a good idea. I started praying that the car would be done fast and for a low price. The mechanic looked at the car and said that it would be about $200.00 and would take an hour. I was so glad to have it done and have a safe car again.

Saturday 10/18/08 bird seed and waterdishes...

The birds have eaten all of the suet (bird food). They can eat a block of suet in less than two days. We try to put out more every week or two. One former place where we lived, we had an electric water dish. It plugged in and the water didn't freeze in the winter. We had it in the backyard . The birds and the other animals have a place to get a drink in the winter. At that time we lived in the middle of a neighborhood, so we had visits from birds and a rabbit.
I would love to have the water dish out here, but we live sort of close to a small amount of woods. I am concerned that all of the animals would come over to get a drink. I really don't want the ground hogs in our yard.

Friday 10/17/08 Shovels and perrenial flowers...

The weather is starting to get cooler. We need more shovels. We have one that is for an adult, one that can go into a car trunk and two for little kids. We need three more adult size shovels.
My friends and I were talking the other day about which flowers will grow in their yards. They both have a lot of sun, so much that their hastes don't survive. They want to plant perennials next year so that they won't need to replant each year. I told them about our Snow Drops that bloom in January or February right through the snow. We water them all summer...well we water the ground where the bulb is, and then in the winter when we are ready for spring, they sprout. I am going to take them some bulbs for their yard.

Thursday 10/16/08 New goals, leaves, and car wax...

Beth has a new goal. She wants to learn to cook. She says that there isn't anything in particular that she wanted to learn. She just wants to learn to cook. So far she can make Rice Crispy Treats. Beth says that she is happy with that, but she wants to learn more. Maggie's goal is to read more.
Maggie and Beth were in the backyard today playing. They have ''adopted'' a leaf and named it ''Leafy''.
I waxed my car the other day and missed wiping off some of the wax. I went around the car today and wiped those spots. I hope that it is all gone now.

Wednesday 10/15/08 school conferences...

We went to conferences at the girl's school today. They are in junior high, so we don't have a set time to see each teacher. There is a open block of time, and we go to teachers as we see that they aren't talking with any other parents. The teachers at this school are young, and full of energy. The girls are doing well in school.

William didn't have any school today so he stayed home. He really enjoys Wednesdays.

Tuesday 10/14/08 raking leaves...

The leaves in our neighborhood have started falling. The trees are partly green and partly a rainbow of color. The tree in our front yard has been cut down, so we don't have any leaves. The colors of the leaves on our lawn would be pretty, but I don't mind that we won't need to rake the front yard. In our back yard the neighbor's leaves fall into our yard, so we can rake them.
Before we decided to move, we had a compost pile in the backyard and we raked all of our leaves back there. We also raked all of our neighbor's leaves onto our compost pile. All of the kids in the neighborhood would come and help. No one had enough rakes for all of the kids, about twelve kids in all...so we used shovels and wagons too. We ended up with leaves everywhere, but we had a great time.

Monday 10/13/08 around campus and slow motion tag...

William is looking around the campus more. All of his classes are in one building. This building also has the cafeteria and computer room. He hasn't needed to go to any other building. He has found the library in another building, and the engineering building.
The girls played tag in slow motion tonight. Sometimes on bikes, sometimes on foot. It was very interesting to watch.

Monday 10/13/08 small pans ans apple festival...

We have been looking for a small black pan with a black lid to finish up our solar oven. We haven't been able to find one. All of the ones that I am seeing have long handles.
We went to an apple festival this weekend. It was so much fun to go somewhere new. They had old tractors, made apple cider (the tractors didn't make the cider, people did), and had re-enactments with Civil War soldiers. There were a lot of booths showing old skills, like candle making, tatting (it sort of looks like lace), bow and arrow making, etc. We were only there for a few hours, but we were all pretty tired when it was done. We liked the demonstrations the best. There is a general store in town that we did not get to see, and we wanted to rent a canoe, but they were closing when we got there. We need to go back to this town again soon and see these things.

Saturday 10/11/08 Halloween planning...

We bought Halloween costumes for the girls today. Maggie didn't know what she wanted to be and Beth wanted to be a witch. They like to get costumes that can be warn over their winter jackets. Also, I don't allow any masks that could cover their eyes or any scary costumes. We are a PG rated, Walt Disney family. Maggie found a black cape, a wig and a really big purple hat. She is a funky witch. Beth found the same cape and a wig, but she didn't want the same costume as Maggie. Beth ended up deciding that because Maggie had a hat, their costumes are different. Neither of them wanted any more pieces for their costume, since the jacket would probably cover it up.
We also bought pumpkins. We got one for William too. He probably won't carve it, but we like William to know that we are still thinking about him.

Friday 10/10/08 this weekend...

We have not found the third frog yet...OK we didn't look. He is probably in the container. If he got out, he hasn't come out into the open yet. We can look tomorrow. We don't need to go to the library tomorrow. Instead, we should take Maggie's bike in to get fixed, and we need to get Halloween costumes and pumpkins. The weather is going to be so nice, I hope to play outside a lot this weekend.

Thursday 10/9/08 frogs...

The lid to the frog's container was left open last night. We have one frog that jumps around a lot in the night and it got out. He (she?) was found on the kitchen floor. William put him back into his container. He hopped right into the water container. Tonight Maggie checked the cage to make sure that the other frogs were still there. She found a second frog, but not the third. He (she?) may be in the cage, but hiding...we don't know. We haven't found it around the house. I hope that the third frog is OK.

Wednesday 10/8/08 day off and Halloween...

William had the day off from school so he went to the library to do homework. The weather has turned nice again, so it was a pleasant walk.
We need to get the Halloween decorations out. It is getting late, and soon it will be too late. We need to get the girls Halloween costumes too. We should get them this weekend. We can get the candy too and put it into the freezer.

Tuesday 10/7/08 school and cold weather...

Maggie didn't feel good at school today, so I picked her up early. She is feeling better now, and will go back to school tomorrow.
The weather is still cold...to us...not to our neighbors, who are still wearing shorts. It is going to get warmer tomorrow, then we can go back to our spring jackets.

Monday 10/6/08 fixing glasses, new assignments and bike tires

Maggie and Beth both needed their glasses fixed. Maggie's nose pieces had both fallen off, and Beth's nose pieces were both bent. We went in today to get their glasses adjusted. It is nice now to see the girls with their glasses sitting in the correct spot on their noses. After we were done we had about an hour before we could pick up William, so we went to a park with a playground. It was a playground that had a large climbing area. Sort of a combination slide, with walkways and a fireman's pole and ladders etc. The girls had fun. They played tag a lot. We did go to the swings too.
Next we picked up William and went home. He said that he may not need the Forbes magazine article for his class any more. The class may be going onto another project.
This evening we went for a bike ride. Maggie went around a corner too fast and fell off of the bike. She is OK. The back tire on the bike isn't round anymore. The bike wobbles now. We will need to get a new bike tire.

Monday 10/06/08 crickets and rose cuttings...

We got more crickets on Saturday. This is a noisy group. They sing all night. When they stop singing in the morning, the birds outside are singing. I love hearing their songs. Our yellow mums by the front stairs have come in beautifully.
A few weeks ago, we took cuttings from my grandmothers rose bush and planted them. One has sprouted, and the rest are still alive...still green. I did a few things differently this time. After they were planted, they were given plant food. They were planted in an area that gets some sun and some shade, and they are watered with water that is not straight from the faucet. I heard that that water is too cold, and needs to set in the cup for a while to get to the temperature outside before it is given to the plants. Then the water isn't such a shock. I did water them every day for about the first three days, then I got busy with other things and they are now watered about once a week. It has rained some. I am so happy that one has sprouted.

Sunday 10/5/08 SAT test and errands...

I'm sorry, I tried to post last night, but was just too tired. William took the SAT test yesterday. He may need it for scholarships. While he was taking it the girls and I did some errands. We went to the library so that Maggie could get more books. She now has four books. She started reading one yesterday, and she seemed pretty interested in it. Beth also ended up with four books. Beth was only looking for one book, but it took Maggie a while to decide on her books and to have me OK them, so Beth spent a lot of time standing by the books with nothing to do. So she looked at books and chose some more. Also...we have now moved to the teen section in the library. They think that these books are so interesting.
When we were done with the library, we started looking for winter jackets. Some of the stores didn't have the jackets out yet, but they were having great sales on summer clothes. The rest of the stores had a few jackets out, but they didn't have attached hoods. We didn't get jackets yesterday. Then we bought some crickets for the frogs to eat, and went and picked up William. He said that the test had gone well.

Friday 10/03/08 Spanish, watches and memory...

Beth is teaching us Spanish. She really likes her Spanish class. It is amazing how many words that she can remember. She tells us the word and we repeat it. She looks so pleased that she is able to teach other people.
Maggie has a new watch. She is now our time teller. Sometimes she gives us the time once a day, sometimes every twenty seconds. Maggie gets really excited when the minutes change and she can give us a new time.
William has gotten a book on memory, how to remember more. One of his professors at school has told the class that someone has memorized a lot of the numbers in pi. So William wants to improve his memory too.

Thursday 10/2/08 cold weather and books...

It was chilly today. We were glad that our winter jackets still fit. The weather should get warmer next week. I will be glad to have warm weather again. The mums in our front yard are blooming. It is so nice to see the yellow flowers. It makes me feel warmer to look at them. OK...I'm a sissy. I like warm weather...70 deg. or 80 deg. is nice. It has been 50 or 60 deg. and I am cold.
Maggie has four books to read. She says that only one is interesting, but she is almost finished with it. When it is done, she will read the boring books. Maggie can't wait until Saturday when we can go to the library to get her more books.

Wednesday 10/1/08 dictionary and Halloween...

We bought a dictionary tonight. We know that we have one (or two), but we can't find it (or them). Maybe it has been packed. The one that we got is a combination dictionary and thesaurus. The kids have a lot of homework this year that they need it for.
We need to put up the Halloween decorations this week. William has decided to not go trick-or-treating this year. Maggie wants to go, but doesn't know what she wants to be. Beth wants to be a witch. She just wants a hat...one big enough to go over a winter hat, so that she can wear it if it gets cold. When the kids were little we used to make their costumes. We used wrapping paper, and tape, and boxes, and aluminum foil. Their favorite was to be a present. We cut a hole in the top of the box for their head, and holes for their arms. Then we would wrap the box in wrapping paper. It was so cute. If you do this , get a box that isn't too big or too small. If a big box is used, and the child trips and falls over, they can't get up. If the box is too small, then it is difficult to get the box on over their winter jacket.