October 31, 2007
All the kids headed out trick-or-treating with Fuul tonight… I thought the little ones would nap through them going, but the troop took off later than planned, and so the littles went, too! CC is a dragon, though he refuses to put up the hood! EK is a ladybug she just likes to knock on the doors and try to fish all the candy out of her bag! GC decided to be Belle this year — and she sure does look the part! DS is a Starcraft Marine, helped along by DA’s football pads. AE wanted to be Tonks — pink hair and all! — its fun watching my kids play with their hair too. JS is “A Beta-tester for Halo 3 who died of excitement!” Its soo him! And DA is an inept boy scout! (Oh, and the bearded one there… we won’t even be discussing that one… ewwwww!)
 So, while the troops are out trick-or-treating in the rather mild weather — yeah! — I’m sitting at home in a VERY quiet house, punctuated only occasionally by the sound of the doorbell. (The past two years we had three and two trick-or-treaters, respectively! This year the turnout seems much better!) Because demand is so scarce, I actually sprung for the good stuff this time around — I’d rather be eating Reeses and KitKats and 100 Grands in a month than any more smarties and dumdums! LOL
 I have a pot of Grandpa Forrest’s Chili on the stove, at this point simply keeping warm, and a whole double batch of Cranberry Orange Muffins waiting for the troops when they return from their quest. It all smells terribly yummy!
 I had thought that a really warm meal would be just the thing to lure them all home, what with the overnight freezing temps we’ve had of late, but this afternoon just threw me for a loop, and I can almost stand outside in just shirtsleeves and not even think that its cool! Go figure!
So, Happy Halloween to all!!!
Oh…And, just for fun:
C is for COLOR!!
Yes, it’s permanent! It’s been this color (re-applied once to intensify the color) for about three weeks now. Yes, it looks kind of green, even after being turquoise when it went on… but I like it that way! Where it went over the more yellow-y parts of the bleached part of my hair, its gone green, so now it looks like Seahawks colors, which is all for the good!
October 30, 2007
October 27, 2007
We are getting ready for the church Trunk-or-Treat, and we signed up for taking Chili. Well, go to pull out the recipe, and I can’t find it! *ack!*
Looked on the computer… can’t find it!
Look on my blog… can’t find it!*
Finally found a copy on my laptop** and saved multiple copies all over the place!
So, off to cook chili!
(link to the chili, for future reference!)
*did find it later, and was able to save it and print a new copy, thank goodness!
**my laptop crash has been figured out, though not completely corrected: when Fuul was backing up the harddrive after the last crash, he had reinstalled it, but had neglected to put the screws in to hold it tight in place. Seems the drive had come loose, so when I opened the case to back it up onto my other computer, I was able to push it back into place and it runs fine! I’m not using it regularly yet, because I still have to locate the missing screws to prevent another similar crash! But at least its a cheap fix!
October 24, 2007
EK had her school evaluations today; we won’t know the compiled results until next wednesday, but for the time being she qualifies for services through the school district in PT/OT, Speech, Education… something else, I think… and does not qualify in Vision Services.
Its all good things, because it means that she will start four-day-a-week preschool next month, and get all the support she needs through the schools, continuing in the vein that she’s been doing in her current preschool…
But there are days when, just for a moment, I have to stop and wish that they’d say she didn’t qualify, because not qualifying means that she doesn’t need the services, and wouldn’t that just be wonderful?
Don’t get me wrong: I’m glad its there, and that we are in a position to take advantage of it, and that she will get all the right support… but wouldn’t it be nice not to even need to think about it?
…..
October 23, 2007
That would be yesterday…
I drove Fuul out to work, after picking up JS from school (headache). Figured, since there was nothing on the calendar, I’d grab some milk and head home to do laundry and general house cleanup.
Fuul wasn’t feeling well, so he asked if we could stick around until his meeting ended. Figured that would be ok, so we ran to a store close by and bought milk, then wound up buying McDonalds for lunch, since Fuul’s meeting ran long, and he got pulled into a second one as well!
Finally got home around 1pm — so much for half of my day! — only to find the power off. Talked to the neighbors, and found out it had been off since 11:30. No laundry or vacuuming or dishes got done, needless to say.
Called the power company at 6:30; they were convinced that there was no outage. Silly people.
By 7 there was still no power, so we took the kids out to dinner at Denny’s, because, though I do have a gas stove to cook on, I didn’t want to warm the food in the fridge any by opening and closing the door repeatedly.
Back home at 8:30; still nothing. Called the power company; power would be back on by 7. (Do you see a discrepancy in the times here?)
Found the candles, and the still-working flashlights, and turned on the gas fireplace for light. DA and I did dishes by hand by candlelight, bemoaning the fact that we couldnt’ run the disposal. Kids were in bed by 10, and Fuul and I sat up and played guitar and bass by candlelight until my fingers were too sore (too long without playing) and he was too tired.
Called the power company again at 10:30; power scheduled to be back at 12:30. At 12:30, when we were still using flashlights to check on the kids, I finally gave up and just went to bed, after setting my cell phone alarm to make sure we’d get up in the morning.
At 4, all the lights in the house popped on at once — you know, kids have to ‘test’ them over and over when the power is out! I got up, turned them all off, tucked kids in, set my alarm clock, and lay down to head back to sleep.
The power went back off at 4:25.
And came back on at 4:55, this time to stay. I got up one more time and reset the alarm again, only to start the whole ‘get the kids out of bed and out the door’ routine, all the while feeling as though it was Monday, since the real Monday was a wash!
October 19, 2007
Bass.
OK, so I’ve hardly played in the past three years, but it sits beside my bed, and I stare at in thinking that … any day now, I’ll have the time and the reserves to pick it up and play again!
Oh, but its such a pretty blue! Maybe I’ll make some fingerless gloves to wear while I play!?
(Wishful thinking, all!)
Yesterday at the doctor’s office, he suggested the following for weaning kids off bottles:
Mix water into the milk in the bottle, slowly increasing the water to milk ratio, while offering the child ‘regular’ milk in a cup. Eventually, they won’t be interested in the milk in the bottle any more, because it will be mostly water, and they will voluntarily give up the bottle just to get rid of the yucky milk!
Guess who’s going to be replacing milk with water at her house in the very near future!
October 18, 2007
Ambitious.
Yup, that’s me! Now, the downside of ambition is when you have lots and lots of big plans, and yet are plagued with difficulty in the follow-through department!
Oh, but that does not stop me from making and starting big things! Reflooring the living room and office in our last house. Hanging french doors. Building gates. Sewing large quilts. Knitting complex projects…
OK, a lot of those I did finish, but they sure took a while!
So. Ambitious. Yeah. I’ll go with that.
The flu shots, that is!*
I took CC in today for his 18 month visit (or his 15 month visit really late) and he got stuck four times — poor baby! — but other than that, it was fine! He’s overall healthy (except for that pesky speech/feeding/swallow/texture thing), and the doctor was really pleased that I’ve already got him scheduled to be seen for a speech eval at EK’s school, and for a total eval at CranioFacial Clinic. Honestly, its nice that I can quit second-guessing my having made those appointments, because I do every day. Of course, the doctor said that, depending on the results of the clinical visits, he may send us on to Genetics, as well, just to rule out a few scary options. Which I don’t need. But better to deal with them up front than to be blindsided.
Oh… and my little baby boy is measuring 28 lbs 6 oz and 33¾ inches tall… that’s 75-90th%-ile for everything! I’m not imagining that he’s a good-sized boy!
*OK, Fuul still needs one, and if he doesn’t hurry and figure out when they are doing them at work, I’m going to just run him down to the doctors office and have them stick him!
October 17, 2007
Based on a meme by Bella Dia, found via A Mile in My Shoes…
The Encyclopedia of Me Meme
Each day, a post from my life, such as it is, each day beginning with a new letter of the alphabet…
Ought to be pretty interesting! (Or not… hard to say for certain!)
must… bake…. more…….
(Mia, you might want to not be eating on this one… but they are great! LOL)
October 16, 2007
So, at 2:30, while I was looking at the calendar to schedule the kids for eye doctor appointments, I looked at today, and realized that JS ought to have been at the ophthalmologist at 1 for a 2 hour appointment to check on the cysts in his eye.
Tell me that today is about over!
October 15, 2007
This is just a friendly PSA for anyone out there who still reads:
Flu Season is upon us, and so far there is no shortage of vaccine, so get yourself to the nearest point of acquisition, and get yourself poked in the arm!
(I did this morning… DS and AE had theirs Friday… EK, GC and JS go in this afternoon… DA on Wednesday… CC on Thursday… and Fuul whenever they offer them at work!)
This will be the fifth (or is it sixth?) consecutive year our family has gotten the shots, and aside from the ranting and wailing and gnashing of teeth before the poke, its been an overall positive experience. Our winters compared to non-shot winters are much better tolerated overall…
So, what are you doing here still reading!? Go get a flu shot!!!
October 12, 2007
When we first got home from the marathon drive for vacation, I was tired. But who wouldn’t be? I’d been on my feet hours a day at Disneyland, and driven more than 3000 miles in a week… tired is the norm!
But, once we were home, and had had a few days of normal sleep and mostly normal routine, I had expected to be less tired, more my ‘normal’ self.
It hasn’t happened yet.
I wound up with a nasty canker sore on the bottom of my tongue, and on-and-off again swelling and pain in my throat, so I figured I was coming down with a cold or virus or something, and it would pass and I’d be less tired.
It hasn’t happened yet.
I fall asleep if I sit down on the couch for more than 10 minutes with nothing actively occupying my mind or my hands — email, computer research, knitting.
I go to bed earlier, and sleep in til the last possible minute to still pull off getting where I need to go in the mornings.
I’ve even taken to buying occasional vitamin waters and adding them to my day. (Heck, I’ve even eaten breakfast a couple of times, trying to fend off the ‘tireds’.)
And it hasn’t happened yet.
Its not quite noon, and I’m fighting the urge to just lay down for a few minutes, because I know it will turn into two hours if I do!
yawn!
Pass the wake-up vibes if you feel so inclined!
October 11, 2007
I was checking my email, and CC walked in from the other room, wandered around the living room a moment, then walked over to the cupboard where we keep diapers.
He pulled and pulled on the bag of diapers in the cupboard until they would come out, carried them over to the table, then worked to get a single diaper out. I thought for a moment that he was wet or uncomfortable, and looking for me to change him.
Once he had the diaper out, he walked around the far side of the table, and that’s when I realized he’d brought a naked baby doll into the room with him. He was trying so hard to figure out how to get that diaper onto that naked baby doll!
It was so sweet!
I went over and helped him get the diaper on the doll, then he looked at it, picked it up, put it down, pulled the diaper off, giggled, and ran out of the room with the naked doll in his arms!
What a cute boy!
Now he’s sitting across the room trying to put a diaper on over top of his overalls! Heehee!
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