4-30-2011

The kids had their 1st soccer game today. They all did very well. Especially considering they only had 1 practice.

The weather is a sunny 65. Perfect for weeding and mowing and hanging out laundry and playing outside.

Life is good!

4-24-2011 Happy Easter

Happy Easter! We had an absolutely gorgeous Easter day here. The Easter Bunny brought the kids new bikes. They're big kid bikes. I don't think either one of the kids is particularly thrilled with them. For 1 thing, they have hand brakes. For another thing, Lily can barely touch the ground with her toes. Charlie assures me they'll both grow into them in about a month.

Lunch was ham, mashed potaoes and salad. Unfortunately, we ate a bunch of cut out sugar cookies for breakfast and through out the morning. No guests, just us.

Dad came around 1 pm and took the kids to their place. All morning the kids couldn't wait for Dad to get here. I think they have big plans for P&J's. Incidently, they took their old bikes and new bikes along with them.

So now it's just me and Charlie at home. We mowed the lawn and cleaned out the barn and cleaned out the summer kitchen. Charlie declared it the best Easter ever....apparently getting work done ranks higher than getting candy with him.

This Easter was entirely candy-free!

4-23-2011

Rained here most of the day, leading the kids to conduct a few indoor egg hunts. We also went to the library and stocked up on some new DVDs and books.

Charlie rearranged our bedroom this afternoon at my request. Evey time I move things around he says it's the worst set up he's ever seen. We'll see how he likes his own work....I like it fine.

Easter is tomorrow. No plans to have anyone over at our place. Mom is working. Dad is coming to get the kids around 2-ish since Charlie and I are both working Monday and the kids are off from school. I may make some ham since I got a good buy and bought 2 at the grocery store earlier in the week. I went to get more today and they were down to the bare bones.

4-21-2011

Last day of school before Easter break for the kids. Lily's class had a party with an egg hunt. Luke's class wasn't allowed a party, just a treat bag.

 I took Luke for sneakers once they got home. He's been wearing a pair that's too big and come off his feet during gym class. Suppose buying shoes that fit is money well spent.

There's a frost warning for tonight. We had the outdoor furnace and oil burner off during the day, but fired it up for tonight. Luckily, I don't have anything planted in the garden just yet. Truth of the matter is, I haven't even done any work in the garden yet. We've been having so much rain, it's been too wet to really dig in (pun intended). There are lots of flowers blooming around the property. Guess we'll have to see how they fair with the frost.

We may meet up with Mom and Dad tomorrow at Green Dragon Farmers' Market. They go every year on Good Friday. Sometimes we meet them there, sometimes not. The forecast is for a chance of snow or rain in the morning, so I'm leaning heavily towards stying right here at home.

4-16-2011 Party for Charlie

Mom and Dad stopped in this afternoon and brought along a chocolate cake from Wally World for Charlie's upcoming birthday. It was quite good and we all enjoyed it. They were in our neck of the woods for dad to pick up a food dehydrator at Cabela's.

It's been monsoon-like conditions all day here. Just as P&J were leaving our power went out. It came back on a few minutes later and has been on ever since. Hopefully, the river will not flood.

Perfect day for comfort foods. I made a batch of red beans and ham in the crock pot and ham and beans on the stove.

I think I prefer rainy days to sunny days a lot of the time. There's something to be said for snuggling up with a good book while the wind rattles the windows and the rain comes down in buckets. I loved being snuggled up safe and sound inside.

Teaching Kids Emotional Regulation – Step One

Teaching Kids Emotional Regulation – Step One

4-11-2011 Updates on Us

Charlie is still not back to 100% healthy. Although, really, is he ever 100% healthy? But, he's still having vertigo and lethargy and blocked ears.

Lily seems to be 95% back to baseline. She had a coughing spell last night, but I think it was because she was bundled up under too many blankets and got too hot.

Luke is fine. As am I. Knock on wood.

Both kids came home on Friday with great report cards. We celebrated with McDonald's for supper.

Today we reached a high of about 80 degrees. I thought it felt too hot. Summer is my least favorite season and today felt a lot like summer. Tomorrow we're supposed to have rain and temp's in the 50's. That's more like it.

I'm hoping to have a job interview tomorrow at St. Joe's for a patient outcome coordinator position. It's full-time day shift Monday through Friday, no weekends or holidays. I strongly believe the outcome is in God's hands. I have mixed feelings about working full-time. On the other hand, it's pretty nerve wracking knowing Charlie only has work lined up for the next week or so. And we've been living that way for the past couple of years. I feel like sooner or later that work luck is going to run out. So, I'll interview and see how it goes.

Kids' spring soccer should start this week or next. I think tomorrow will be rained out. Neither kid is really excited about starting soccer. I think that will change once they actually start playing.

Charlie and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary Saturday. Kathy kept the kids for the day and we ran around doing shopping errands. I made us fabulous hamburgers for lunch. We both agreed they were better than anything we would have had at a restaurant. We went to the library and got some good books and DVDs to enjoy.

4-2-2011 Carpenter Down....Again

Charlie has bronchitis and a severe ear infection. He went to convenient care on Friday and started a Z-pack. He feels a bit better, but is still pretty sick. And he's none too pleasant to be around either.

Lily is also sick with a cold. Two nights ago she coughed till she puked. Several times. She had her last hockey game today. P&J came down to watch. Then Dad and Luke cut and hauled wood to the outdoor furnace. Mom, Lily, and I did some shopping after having Chinese for lunch. As soon as we got back to the house and P&J left, Lily snuggled up in my bed a fell right to sleep. She looks and sounds pretty rough. Poor little thing.

Luke has been very good about keeping himself entertained. He's currently playing Wii. Earlier, he and I were outside launching clothespins from the clothesline and attempting to chop down sapling trees around the property with a sharp ax Dad left behind. i put an end to that rather quickly.

I'm praying Charlie and Lily get better quickly and Luke and I stay healthy. We completely missed playing April Fool's jokes on each other yesterday. First time we've missed it.