Tuesday 9/9/08 rosses, school, birthdays and dollies...

The rose clippings that we planted are still alive. They are still green. We only remember to water them every other day.
William is getting more talkative about school. Every now and then he tells me about something that he learned in class. He seems very comfortable with the new schedule and classes.He has now started to look for financial aid for next term.
Maggie is very excited about her birthday. I am not sure if she is happier about the presents or about finally being a teen. I think that she is board telling every one that she is a ''tween''.
Beth is making out her Christmas list. She really wants a doll like her favorite doll. But she says that it would be nice if the new one is a little bit bigger than the old one. I guess that the new one will be older than the current one...the old one can stay the baby forever.

Monday 9/8/08 growing up...

Life goes on each day. The normal occurrences happen. We laugh together, we have dinner, we read at night, we fold clothes and play with friends. Then one day we look up and everyone is older. They have all moved into the next group. They are ready and capable. William needed an e-mail address to sign up for scholarships. Maggie turns thirteen this week, and Beth is done with Junior Church (when the grade school kids leave the service at church and go and do a craft or hear a Bible story for kids) she will stay with us during the whole service now. There aren't any tiny kids in my house any more. There are nice things about having older kids, there are no more bottles and everyone sleeps all night. I am glad that the kids are growing up, but I do miss having little ones, who need to hold my hand, and want to be at home. It is a joy to see the kids test their abilities and do well. I will need another hobby to fill up more of my free time.

Monday 9/8/08 projects...

We need to finish some of our projects. OK...I need to get the items so that we can finish some of our projects. First we need to finish our solar oven. We have the plywood and the inner tube. We need the Plexiglas (which we are substituting for the glass) and a black pan. The inner tube goes on the plywood and the Plexiglas goes on top, holding the heat inside the center of the inner tube, and the black pan absorbs the heat. We have found a store to get the Plexiglas from, and most stores sell black pans. Our second project is the solar panel. We got stuck on the converter. It is the part that goes in between the solar panel and the radio. It converts the energy from the sun to electricity. We need to find a small, cheap one. Boaters and RVers use solar panels, so a good place to look would be boating and RV stores. It will be good to get these first two projects done, so that we can go onto something else.

Saturday 9/6/08 folding bike and rooting roses...

I have decided to return my folding bike. There are too many things wrong with it.I will buy another one from the local bike shop. When we had four bikes on the bike rack, it was too much weight on the plastic bumper. With a folding bike, one bike can go in the trunk. We love to ride our bikes, we will need to make something work so that we can continue riding.
We took some cuttings from my Great grand-mother's rose bush last weekend and planted them. I would love to have a few more of this rose bush planted around the yard. Also, if/when we move, if we only have one of this plant and it dies, well...we would have none. But if we moved a few bushes, there is a better chance that one will live. My Great grand-fathers rose bush has rooted almost every time that we have planted a cutting.

Friday 9/5/08 weeds and toys...

We have more weeds in our yard than we have grass. I don't want to use weed killer because it might be harmful to the kids. I pull the weeds, I rake the weeds, the weeds are still taking over. The weeds in this yard are green, so they look like grass. I need to go to the home improvement store and see if there are any non-toxic solutions to this problem.
We went to the store today to get William a new backpack. We ended up in the toy department. There were Legos and robots and dolls and Rubik cubes...We had a great time. William and Maggie like the building toys and Beth likes the dolls and dress-up toys. I am ready to Christmas shop now.

Thursday 9/4/08 exercising...

I need to exercise more. I decided to start with five minutes a day, just after the girls go to bed...don't laugh, it is more exercise than I am used to getting. This is a quiet time, after the family things are done, but before I start my evening cleaning, etc. It has worked well, except that I do have a TV by my exercise machine and I always end up starting right when the commercials are on. I do feel better now that I am exercising. Maybe soon I will change to ten minutes a day.

Wednesday 9/3/08 school lockers and homework...

The girls have been in school for over a week. They now have lockers and are more used to their schedules. Beth wanted a locker so that she could tape her schedule to it. Then she would know which books she needed and when each class was.
The girls do have homework this year. Last year the Junior High and High School had study hall during the last class and could get their homework done. If they had a question, there was a teacher there that could help them. This year they don't have any study halls.

Tuesday 9/2/08 moving the pine tree...

We have a pine tree planted in the back yard that we take with us every time that we move. William received it on Arbor Day from his grade school. We planted it in the yard. Soon after this we decided to move. We were outside trying to figure out which plants to take with us. William looked at his pine tree and I asked him if he wanted to take it with us. He said yes. I know that pine trees aren't usually moved, but it was still so new, so I figured that if we moved it once, at this early stage, it would be OK. We took it to the next house, and when we moved here, we dug it up again. I am guessing that we have cut the tap root so it has stayed small, about three feet tall. It is very healthy.

Monday 9/1/08 holiday goal list...

I had a goal for my free time over the Labor Day weekend. I was going to write some thoughts down for future blogs. It was a nice goal and very simple. It didn't work. On Friday night I started a list of things to do over the weekend so that we wouldn't forget anything. Writing was on the list, as well as things like...play, match outfits, make sandwiches, etc. and really big goals that I want to do like clean out my closet. We did do the necessary ones, like match the outfits and make lunches, but then we started to play and do other things that were never on the list. We did weed the backyard and fill the bird feeder. I need my list, it helps me stay directed, but sometimes I don't finish it. Maybe next weekend I can look at this list again...or maybe I will make a new one.

Monday 9/1/08 birthday presents...

Beth and her friend across the street exchanged birthday gifts last weekend. Their birthday's aren't for a couple of months, but they had their gifts for each other so they exchanged early. Beth gave posters and pictures of movie stars from a magazine and she received a statue of a bird, over a nest. The nest is open on top so that items can be put on it...the nest looks like a gourd with holes in it for the bird to go in to make a nest. I think that it is ceramic. Beth wanted help to decide what to put in the nest...not a necklace or a toy, but something that says ''I'm older now''. I suggested marbles, to look like eggs. She said no, she wanted something that said that she was growing up. We decided on a list of things that Beth wants to do when she gets older: future goals, like driving and going out with friends. This idea made her happy.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.