Monday, December 16, 2013

Busy Monday, December 16


Today's 'To-Do' List

  • Menu
  • Shopping
  • Laundry
  • Lunch with Peter
  • Survive Work
  • Brielle's Orchestra Fundraiser Concert
  • Pick up supplies for STEM project (due Wednesday)


Menu
  • Monday & Tuesday - Eat Out
  • Wednesday - Spaghetti w/Meatballs
  • Other days - ????

This Week's 'To-Do' List
Well this week we have an Orchestra concert today that was scheduled for last week but due to the weather they moved it so we have to have Brie down to the high school by 5:30. 
Another concert is tomorrow and I'm not even sure on the time and location! I'm so disorganized around here! Also on Tuesday is the After School Christmas party so we aren't 100% on how we are going to handle that. 
Wednesday is the 4-H STEM club meeting and I volunteered to bring  the snacks for that so I need to make sure to pick something up when I go shopping today. We also have a project for STEM I meant to have the girls do over the weekend but that didn't happen so some how we have to fit that into today and tomorrow! EEP!! I told you I was disorganized. Wednesday Katherine also has a big science test at school so we have to fit in studying. 
Thursday is the kids last day of school before the break and after words I will take Brielle down to Christmas Wish to volunteer. I'm sad she hasn't been able to the last few days but school schedule has made that impossible. So that will go on that night and probably a good part of Friday so she can at minimum get her volunteer hours for  Honor's Society. -- Oh and it's work's Holiday Party so I need to get a desert for that. 

Last Week

Last week was a lot of running around because of Brielle's volunteering but also the girls had 4-H Project Club on Wednesday. They made Trivits ... not sure what that is? Basically a floor tile with paper/pictures/etc glued on.



Friday Brielle had a dance we didn't know she was going to the dance until Thursday! Needless to say we had to scramble!
What happens when you have to scramble? Well first you end up at Walmart at 9pm with your daughter and marvel at how there are no dressy clothes for juniors and thank your lucky stars there is such thing as 14/16 clothing.
You buy shoes a quarter size too big because you remember at the last dance your child was between shoe sizes also  and got blisters and the shoes because not even a full 1 time use item.
You walk the aisles over looking for stuff that apparently hasn't been invented... like Christmas hairpieces!

Day of the dance I tried to paint my daughters nails I saw this cute pin on pinterest of snowflake nails. Yeah I'm really not any good at painting nails!
We put her hair up into a bun and then it just needed something so I pulled out the bag of dollar store items I bought for the girls to make a wreath later and pinned one to her head!

She did at least have fun at the dance and while she didn't have an uber fancy dress for the formal she got another lesson in being frugal that for the cost of 1 dress over at Macy's which is where she had wanted to go we got a dress, jewelry, a hair bun thing (which actually other than a few things over all they work well for the main shape), shoes, nylons, heel pads and candy canes!



Well that's all the important stuff I guess I can cover for now. Life is moving on for me. I'm still not on all my meds I'm holding off a little longer before I start the next item and am trying to offset things enough to have a better go around than the last time. It's been very hard to remember all my pills so sometimes I am a little late but I've been keeping up even though it does keep me feeling very ill along with other details I'll be nice and not share out. My plan is to get out Christmas shopping this week. I've been running around or so ill that going out isn't a big option to the point I didn't even go to the grocery store last week and sent my husband out to buy odds and ends. Anyways one way or another just pushing ahead! EEP and now I'm running late for work! Bye!

Friday, December 13, 2013

The War on Yule


I've been watching the news and reading a lot of blogs hearing the phrase, "The War on Christmas" and it really just has started to get under my skin. If Christianity thinks there is a war on Christmas how do you think the rest of us feel? I don't begrudge anyone their faith or lack of it. I have friends who are Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Pagan, Agnostic, Satanist and Atheist. What bothers me is if someone shoves that faith down others' throats or cries foul when another faith would like to have the same courtesy of recognition shown to it.

I don't step out and wave my hands and announce is my faith or my husband's. My children have been raised learning about a wide variety of faiths and know that what is most important to my husband and I is that they are happy.

Now I will say this my husband and I were both raised Roman Catholic and went to Catholic schools. We both have stepped away from the church and have learned to blend into the community. People from non-mainstream faiths often live their lives in the shadows fearful of another witch burning starting in the U.S. and in some countries some people still are murdered for claims of witchcraft.  (To Note: Witchcraft and Witches I'm using as a very generalized term/example this is to encompass all different faiths.)

Before you scream, "There's a War on Christmas" because a company puts "Seasons Greetings" or "Happy Holidays" do some research on how many holidays are around this time of year. The 25th of December is one day so what happened to the other 30 days in December?

Let us show holiday cheer, try to help our fellow man, and be gracious and giving in all things which includes our tolerance, our understanding and our love.

Blessed Be!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Busy Monday, December 9th - Late Edition


Today's 'To-Do' List
  • Make Menu
  • Watch Friend's kiddo
  • Pick up around the house


Menu

Well it's on my 'To-Do' list for a reason. I figure we'll have meatloaf today. Maybe chicken with stir fry veggies and rice this week too. Of course Pizza one day and spaghetti would be easy enough. Hamburger helper? I'll figure it out.

This Week's 'To-Do' List

  • Update Blog Look (even though I've fallen off the face of the Earth I need to try and do this)
  • Orchestra Christmas Concert (rescheduled to next Monday)
  • 4-H Project Club (Thursday)
  • Pick-up Brielle after school to take to volunteering (all week) 
  • Grocery Shopping - Get baking supplies for the weekend
  • Finish Christmas presents for ladies at work
  • Do STEM club project

Last Week

Well Friday I went into work and my husband stayed home since school was called. We got quite a bit of ice and snow and when I left work and walked over to the other offices I found out they were all locked up apparently everyone else had already gone home.
Thursday I was so nervous about the words 'ice storm' that I went out and bought a generator. It's actually still sitting in the back of my van. I'm on the fence if I want to return it or keep it because I got a good price on it and every year I complain about not having one and being fearful of losing power though over the years the lines have gotten better so we don't lose power near as often as we used to.
Sunday I threw up my hands and said heck with it and started pulling in Christmas decorations. Never mind the fact I never got 100% of fall put away. We managed to get a few things and found out Hulu+ has a fireplace video.

















Monday I stayed home with my kids and a friends kiddo. We watched movies, drank hot cocoa and the kids went to the neighbors yard and went sledding down their iced up dirt hills. This is Katherine and my friend's daughter.


Pretty much that is it other than on Sunday Peter decided we should start cleaning up the shed. Oh and last week I had to make a late night run to buy an auger for it only not to work so we had to call in a plumber. They had to go 115' in our main line to get to the problem which is roots. So yeah our 50' one just wasn't going to cut it. That was our fun last week along with some personal stuff.

With some sort of luck maybe I can get back into my blogging habits. It's just one step at a time. I've also decided to try starting my hormone pills once winter break starts and I go on vacation so I don't have to worry about that. I'm very worried about this but I'm trying to just step up my meds which is okay with my doctor unlike what the nurse practitioner had me do. So if I start getting really down, depressing, the world is coming to an end here in a couple weeks you know why. I'd really try to avoid that but I can't afford avoiding my medication forever and until we find the correct meds for me you can expect a bit of a roller coaster so I ask forgiveness up front. 

Monday, December 2, 2013

Busy Monday, December 2

Not my traditional 'Busy Monday' post as a lot has happened to me since my diagnosis of PCOS. I was put onto MetFormin and a birth control medication to try and even out my hormones and help with my insulin levels. During the 5 days I was on it I stopped eating near completely and was in a very dark depressing place and in a lot of pain. It was very upsetting and I really did feel like the world was just no longer worth being apart of. I went off the medication last Tuesday and since then it's been a complete 180 turn and I realized how much of my life I had discounted or complained about or stressed to an unnecessary point about.
We had a good Thanksgiving and when I had expected my family of 4+2 I ended up having to last minute for 7 additional people. I took it in stride and everyone had plenty to eat. Infact we are still trying to use leftovers around here. I will be freezing stuff today.
This morning I went to my actual doctor again today instead of the nurse practitioner who gave me my diagnosis and put me on the original medications. My doctor listened to me and we are starting a new plan of attack. I start back on the MetFormin tonight and then after I start tolerating that am being put on a very low dose of estrogen about as low of a doseage as they can prescribe. I am to keep in contact with my doctor and if we need to change treatment again she's already got another medication.
She asked what our plans for children were and it was made known I like to have the option open. Infact I talked to Peter and if I still feel like I want to have more children come next fall then we may try again then. Though 34 sounds awfully old to start again with a little one I do like to know the option is there. I really do miss having a baby in my life. I need to go steal one and have a few restless nights perhaps. :)

Anyways, that is what has been going on with me in my world over the past week. I'm struggling to cope but knowing there are people in my life who have my back has been a godsend.

Today I plan to package food, get some laundry taken care of and pick up a few odds and ends at the grocery store but for the most part just take it easy and know that I don't need to be super mom right now because just being 'mom' and being happy and healthy is what would make everyone the happiest.  

Friday, November 22, 2013

My diagnosis


So yesterday was my doctors appointment. I wanted to find out why I was so tired and having bouts of amnesia. My diagnosis was Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. My sugar levels were too high so I'm now on a drug often used to work with pre and early diabetic patients called metformin. After calling my mother she informed me she knew she has the condition, my grandmother and my mother's aunt also had the condition. People if there is nothing else I've taken away from this it is get your medical history. I've asked for mine several times but my family is very hush hush and it's made things hard other than the tidbits I get about my mother's conditions. I'm not saying this would have changed the facts but perhaps I'd be better prepared for them. Finding out I've had this syndrome for awhile and it's just now getting to a worse stage does make me very thankful for my two girls because many women have a great deal of problems getting pregnant when they have this and often it's in attempts to get pregnant that they find out they have it so in that part I've been extremely blessed to have my two girls. 
I do hope it helps with my tiredness though. On a good note I took next week off of work which I'm glad I did because my doctor warned me this medication will make me ill for awhile until my body learns to tolerate it.

Is it the worst diagnosis? No. So it being hard to grapple with may sound silly on my end but who really wants to be told they will be on medication for the rest of their life? We all wish for a quick fix but sometimes there just isn't one. 
From the Mayo Clinic:

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age. The name of the condition comes from the appearance of the ovaries in most, but not all, women with the disorder — enlarged and containing numerous small cysts located along the outer edge of each ovary (polycystic appearance).
Infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods, excess hair growth, acne and obesity can all occur in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. In adolescents, infrequent or absent menstruation may signal the condition. In women past adolescence, difficulty becoming pregnant or unexplained weight gain may be the first sign.
The exact cause of polycystic ovary syndrome is unknown. Early diagnosis and treatment may reduce the risk of long-term complications, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Busy Monday, November 18


Today's 'To-Do' List

  • Coke Sale pick-up
  • Groceries
  • Make menu
  • Laundry
  • Lunch with Peter
I'm making a short list. I haven't been feeling well on top of the medical stuff I've got going on. 
Menu

(Yes, I'm being lazy and didn't feel like typing it out twice.)

This Week's 'To-Do' List

  • 4-H STEM Club
  • PTO - Science Fair (evening) 
  • Doctor's Appt - I my blood work should be in from the Mayo Clinic
  • Try to find someone to take care of the gutters and rake the leaves for me (I'm half tempted just to run everything over with the lawn mower. My husband pulled out the leaf blower last night so I guess I'll have to get that all ready to get going. It's always a bear to get started and I'm the only one that uses it. He was being stubborn last night and was going to try and start it at like 7 o'clock at night! I was not overly pleased with that idea. Thankfully it needed more fuel and I'm the only one that knows where that stuff is.)

Last Week

Well last week I did in fact get the car tags though not on Monday as I had planned to with my husband but we both forgot that the courthouse would be closed. We then spent the rest of the day trying to hook up TV antennas to try and pick up some local stations. we had some luck with an inside pair of huge rabbit ears but it required taking over my desk of nicknacks and I like my desk of nicknacks it makes this space 'mine'. We then proceeded to try an outdoor one before it got too late but noticed the old cable line was spliced and we didn't want to drill through the house siding to insert a new one so now we have to figure out how to put a new end on the old cable without the proper tool.

Most of last week is a blur. I know work was exceptionally easy since no one had anything hot to put on my desk and I had already been told to stop field checking things because I'm too far ahead. I may grab an old drawing this week and take it out to just double check things because maintenance doesn't like to give me an MoC form (Management of Change) when they do work out there and some of these drawings have been up for review for 6 years now (Yes, the engineers are VERY behind on their end.) So I pretty much spent most of the week organizing files, purging old sketches and trying to get my work area a bit more organized. I inherited several boxes of files so I came into this job behind on organization so every little break I can get that's what I use it on. Other than Friday friday I had to dig through 50 year old prints to try and find a foundation drawing for a dike. Yeah, talk about some grand ol' fun. 

The good thing about Friday is due to having to put in extra time here and there and just how things fell and getting to work so stupid early that one of the engineers that is normally there very early about fell out of his chair when he saw me is that I got out of work at 11am! Seriously! That's stupid early so I took my tired though motivated self down to Hobby Lobby. 

For S&G's I tried to make a wreath. I didn't buy enough deco mesh so it came out very funny looking. Also, by this time I was so exhausted my whole body felt like it was going to fall to pieces so I'm going to take the wreath apart sometime later and buy another roll of deco mesh and see if I can fix this disaster. Of course my girls liked it and my youngest daughter said to me, "Don't call it bad! I think it's really good! You did a good job so don't call it bad." I about broke down in tears it was the sweetest thing I've heard in awhile. 



Yesterday I melted down some wax a friend of mine gave me about 20 old candle jars some filled to the top with wax others near the bottom all various sizes and scents. I've been in the slow process of trying to process the wax and get it into a manageable size. I got two jars of wax done yesterday. 

I've still been excessively tired but did manage to vacuum which was much needed. The vacuum felt like a 60 lb weight! Being tired all the time has made me a wimp! 

I also poured some more wax and found out what happens when you overheat soap too quickly (my experiment with leftover soap).








(Makes awkward beeping sounds)

Back it up a little this week we also had 4-H and in the mist of 3 days of craziness I decided to pour my first trial with soap. I tried for orange I got ... yeah whatever that color is. I found blending colors just doesn't work well with soap coloring. 

Did I mention 4-H week was crazy? The first day the kids sanded, nailed together and painted reindeer and wood burned little disks that were suppose to be keychains but the 4-H folks didn't buy enough keychain like wood pieces. Needless to say I was nervous about the kids using wood burners but they did good. Sadly no pictures I can get to easily of that.

The second day the kids made gifts in a jar which was coloring a coffee mug, mixing cake mix so a person could pour it in and cook their cake in their mug and making little baggies of cocoa.

The third day was candies and cookies. We did these CUTE mice. 

We also made 'Holiday Candy Munch Mix' (popcorn, white chocolate, andies candies and M&Ms yum!)
The girls cut out shapes in sugar cookie dough though the recipe they used liked to spread out thin so it was more like blobs bit the kids had fun with it.

And then Holiday wreath candy which think rice krispy treat just with corn flakes instead. They had us use red hots for the candy but I think if we make these at home (which there is a good chance) that we will use M&M's instead. 















**Additional** Also, earlier this week one of the engineers at work was cleaning things out at home and gave me a very nice juicer and a fairly large George Foreman grill. The girls right away had me juicing fruits we had around the house which I didn't mind because the fruit needed to be used.  

Monday, November 11, 2013

Busy Monday, November 11


Today's 'To-Do' List

Peter took the day off from work and we were going to take care of the car tags and his drivers license but we forgot all the courthouses would be closed on Veteran's Day so we will have to work this in later. 
We got his car dropped off at Walmart for an oil change and then we went home and he messed with a TV antenna we are trying to get local stations so when the cable internet gets knocked out during bad weather (which happens a lot because everything in this town is drop lined into houses) we can at least know what is going on as long as the power hasn't gone too. 
We went out to eat which would have been nice but we waited for his work buddies and they didn't realize I had an appointment so they showed up to lunch 40 minutes late which was annoying also because we had to sit there the whole time. I ate much too fast and really didn't get to enjoy my meal because of the time restraints. 
Why was my time short? Well I had to go back down to the new doctors office and I found out my thyroid is okay but they aren't sure what is wrong with me. Believe it or not I've been extremely tired for awhile now and falling asleep at work, finding myself slapping myself on the 15 minute drive home from work because I start falling asleep. I get short spurts of PUSH and then it's downhill again. I barely got through Fall cleaning and it's all fallen apart again because I'm just too tired to the point every muscle aches near constantly screaming for me to go back to bed. I go back in 10 days they took a ton of blood and are testing for a huge list of things. 
I got through the grocery shopping feeling very woosy after giving my lifes blood and then got Katherine and then got home in time to take Brielle to her Orthodontist appointment. Brielle will need to have her pallette spacer in for 2 more weeks. 
Pete made dinner and I laid down. 
It's been a long day especially since Katherine got wrote up today. A boy was screaming in her face so she shoved him away so she got wrote up for 'Reactive Behavior'. Sounds bloody stupid to me for a kid not to be able to defined themselves when a teacher won't stop the other child. I guess it's been like that for a long time now where the kids that get bullied get punished more severely than the kids that start it. There was a comments section and I was very tempted to put some very nasty comments. I didn't but boy do I want to. 
I pray for the stress to stop soon. I'm starting to find my memory failing me again in mid-sentences and find it increasingly hard to hold a train of thought. 
Anyways I don't want to vent to much on my blog but that's where life has been recently and I'm too tired to sugar coat it.  
Menu

  • Sliced Turkey, mashed potatoes & peas Thankfully husband cooked
  • Sloppy Joes & Chips - (Pork was on last legs so we grilled that out last week so this is a hold over)
  • Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup (Another hold over)
  • Hamburger Helper w/veggies
  • Chili Dogs & Chips
  • Pizza
  • Chicken Nuggets & French Fries
This Week's 'To-Do' List
  • Get car tags
  • 4-H Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
  • Rake leaves
  • Survive work
  • Tackle laundry
  • Catch up dishes

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Busy Monday, November 4 (The Late Edition)

Yes, I know this is being posted on 'Tuesday' and I'm sorry about that. I had every intention of writing it yesterday but it didn't happen.

Today's 'To-Do' List

Yesterday, Katherine was asking me about a sticker I had which went into a conversation about sarcasm as I tried to explain to her what that was. This of course was happening at 6:35am so when I looked at the clock at 6:42 I realized we missed the bus by 2 minutes. It wasn't a big deal we were in a conversation so my bad. I'm horrible at keeping time in the morning. After I drove Katherine into school I figured I'd just go get groceries since I was out anyways. I splurged and bought some fall glasses and goblets though then I had to bug my husband when we went out for lunch about him building me a new shelf  for glasses. I really dislike how little storage I have around my house.
I've been blacking out since I don't know sometime last week. I say Thursday or Friday but the truth is that I've had little lapses for longer then that I just got seriously worried when I was driving and found myself some place else with no clue how I got there. I was often doing this in the home to an excessive point. Well it's stress induced. My spine alignment has been out so I've been sleeping poorly on top of little time to sleep on top of trying to get so much done. I spent a good part of my day down at the Chiropractor and I have felt much more clear headed today.
I also roasted pumpkin seeds yesterday before those went bad. I should have taken pictures.
I also had some old banana peppers the last of the season that started to go on my counter so I seeded them and am drying those to plant for next year.
I ended up throwing away some chicken. I may have to throw away 2 lbs of pork. I forgot it was in the fridge last week. I'm serious my brain was at zero functionality! I just found the pork in the fridge so I rinsed it and I'll let my husband make the call I don't judge meat very well. I hate that it may get wasted and that'll teach me to really address memory problems earlier.

Menu

  • Crispy Chicken Helper & Peas - I got this amazingly cheap or free I forget which. The kids really liked the chicken helper my husband thought it was okay I thought it was extremely bland but it was different.
  • Sloppy Joes & Chips - (Or if pork is good then cooked pork cooked some how)
  • Lasagna 
  • Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
  • Hamburger Helper w/veggies
  • Pizza
  • ??
This Week's 'To-Do' List
  • Get car tags
  • Sign up for 4-H Holiday Extravaganza
  • Help daughter finish science fair project. 
  • Dr. Appt for me 
  • Survive work
  • Tackle laundry ... it's all clean but it's now over the top of my head piled up. 
I'm probably forgetting something. 


Last Week

I talked a little about what happened through last week so I'm going to post some pictures up. 

Brielle and Katherine in their Minecraft Costumes. 

This year's pumpkins.

Remember my green vase I decorate over and over well here is this year's fall themed paint job. 

I defused some rosemary from the yard and added cinnamon to make a new candle. I just really felt like making a candle.

Well I better get off to work it's getting later than I would have hoped already. 

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

What happened to Busy Monday?

So as you know every Monday I run through my plans of insanity for the week and of last week well I didn't get a chance to do that yesterday.
The family has been running on insanity mode. Between 2 Orthodontist appointments for Brielle, the Parent/Teacher conference for Katherine (I opted not to go to Brielle's was too busy), the meeting with the school district that went until 8:30 am (yes I had some tired kids), 2 4-H meetings and god knows what else I forget now.

Then this past weekend I'm glad we opted not to go to our friends' wedding which sounds awful but I just don't really like weddings but I wish so much happiness in their life together.
Why am I glad we didn't go? Because Katherine had to make a book report movie poster due Monday and Brielle had to make a shadow box due Monday. We were working on homework continuously.

Sunday I suddenly got the itch to go through the kids stuff probably because I wanted to see what they had for winter clothing and instead I came up with a huge donation pile.
So yeah other than the dehumidifier this all went out there's actually another bag behind one of those bags of just backpacks! But clothes, clothes and more clothes! That whole box there is from infant to 5T that some how has never left my house until now.
So I ran that all around town dropping off stuff to one lady picking up stuff from her taking it all over to another lady. I was very much shuttling clothing.

So Monday... Monday, Monday, Monday....
So I had made appointment with the mechanic for 8 am on Monday so I get down there and since that is my only mode of transportation I sit. Now I normally don't go to my mechanic for my oil changed and my tires rotated because they take a long time but my brakes were squeaking and there was a strange metallic sound when I'd pull forward or back and truthfully because my car felt jumpy I was afraid of the transmission going out because Dodge is horrible about that. So I told them to check my axle due to the sound though I forgot to mention the transmission but I was like eh I'll check the fluids and stuff first when I get home.
So I sit there at about 11 o'clock (3 hrs of sitting later) someone finally offers me a ride on Facebook so I go up to ask how much longer it is going to be because I don't want to leave only to have it get done 30 min later. They call back to the mechanics to find out and the mechanic walks up and says, "I was waiting for the parts to get here so I could give her a price." A price for what? Well it turns out one of my motor mounts was broke not completely broken but enough broken. So then I call my husband to tell him and the price and of course we say "Okay fix it" and then my husband plans to get me for lunch so Facebook friend was abused later. We went out to lunch sat around talking for awhile and then I call up the shop to ask how long it is going to be because if it was going to be much longer I was going to steal Peter's car. Well it turns out that I need an axle! Well I did mention to them to check it but they had fixed the motor mount but kept hearing the sound so they dug further in and found out about the axle. Go me and my Daddy's instruction when I was younger. So we say, "Fix it." This is why we have an O SH** Fund. So I take Peter's car and drive out to the Elementary School which is out in the county to drop off some paperwork off and then I decide to go pick up my friend and socialize a little before picking up my van and doing the car shuffle to get my husband's car back to him so around 2:30 my van was done and I drive my friend back to his side of town and then I go get groceries, pick up Katherine get home start trying to have her study her states as Brie's getting ready for the Fall Orchestra concert.

Star Spangled Banner

Viva La Vida

So we get home, pick up dinner out, start homework and then give everyone a bit of down time before bed. It was an exhausting day of waiting. 

So what's next? Well today Katherine has to hit her states hard! She has a test over 25 States on Wednesday and she still has a lot of work to do on them since we didn't get time to study last week. It's seriously been too crazy!
We will also be trying to fit in carving pumpkins and at some point probably tomorrow the kids HAVE to finish their costumes! No it hasn't been done yet they keep putting it off and I've gotten tired of fighting with them. What does Mom know? She's only going bald trying to keep everyone on task!

Anyways I need to finish getting my last kid out the door she dragged her feet. She fought with me about bedtime and then threw her blankets over her head this morning and I didn't find out until 20 min into the morning!! Seriously anyone want a 13 year old girl? UGH!

Monday, October 21, 2013

Busy Monday, October 21


Today's 'To-Do' List

  • Menu
  • Shopping
  • Laundry
  • Lunch with Peter
  • Dishes
  • Pay Library
  • Take Brielle to Orthodontist
  • Shop for Brielle's project stuff

Menu
  • Tacos
  • Spaghetti w/Meatballs
  • Banquet Homestyle Bakes Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Biscuits
  •  Pulled Pork (or Eating Out?)
  • Hamburger Helper
  • Pizza
  • Chicken & Rice

This Week's 'To-Do' List
Tuesday - Swimming lessons (pretty easy day)
Wednesday - Brielle Orthodontist, 4-H (5 to 7!)
Thursday - Parent Teacher Conference for Brielle, 4-H, Parent Teacher Conference for Katherine, Meeting with district customer service representative for school.
Friday - Take Katherine out Shopping, MtG for Peter & Brie. 

Saturday - Pokemon for Peter & Katherine, Katherine's friend's birthday party

Sunday - Finish Halloween Costumes, Carve Pumpkins


Last Week

So last week went crazy and a lot of things came to a head. Not only was work very frustrating and it looks like it will continue to be that way but we finally had a knock out drag out with Katherine's Homeroom/Lit/Social Studies teacher. Apparently Katherine was chewing on a bracelet just a silly plastic one they got from one of the fundraisers to encourage the kids to go out and fundraiser and the teacher told her to go throw it away. I really have a problem with a teacher telling a student to throw away what is their possession no matter what the monetary value of it is. I see no difference between a free bracelet and a million dollar necklace. For me it is the principle of the matter. After my husband heard this also he got very upset and we ended up sending a pretty nasty letter to the school. We are now going to be dealing with people from the district office and it may come down to us changing which school Katherine goes to. I dislike the idea of uprooting Katherine but she's had far from a positive experience there. She's emotionally young and needs time to adjust which is a family trait but they want her to stop and go automatically. She's already had books taken away from her from school aka she's not allowed to read while at school. She's not allowed to have her journal at school either which we were trying to use to help her express what she was feeling and thinking in a more controlled manner instead of going, "Hey!" I'm also having problems with this teacher because it is a constant string of negative feed back which means Peter and I don't know when changes at home make any difference. And here's the funny thing, I got onto the webpage that lets me see grades inputted and while I'm very new at this I didn't realize I could click them and see notes so I sent the teacher a question asking why Katherine had a 0 on an in class test! Later that night Peter showed me I could click on it and the note said, "Took twice. Never turned in." Now after our nasty letter the teacher won't reply to emails but I went back on the site yesterday to find out the Science Teacher's name so I could send her an email letting her know what Katherine's science fair project is and I realize one of Katherine's C grades (Her Lit) was suddenly a B and I look and that test I asked about suddenly had a grade with it. Now I don't kick up dirt and jump on people so that my daughter can have the 'easy way' but because I need to have positive and negative feed back and someone willing to work with me so that Katherine can succeed so I'm not sure why there was a sudden grade other than Katherine has told me that this teacher has lost work before and perhaps that was the case or perhaps Katherine turned it in last month in the wrong place which makes me question why the teacher doesn't check all her papers.
In any case I'm not saying that either of my daughters is perfect but by golly I expect teachers to want to actively engage the parents in a positive manner. 
We will see how things go. For the most part I've been dealing with the stress of that.

Saturday was the big Kid's Halloween Party that my friend Sarah and I started talking about last year. It seemed to be a blast and I wish I had more time to make things for it. I made spiders with googly eyes though. (no pictures sadly because they were cute)
I started peeling grapes and putting raisins in there to look like eyeballs but peeling grapes is horrifically tedious and I soon gave that up and only did a handful of grapes and put them in with the rest of the grapes. 
I also made cups.
My better picture isn't realistic because I made a second attempt at them because the first time I did it I just swirled the rims in and it tripped on the inside and outside and then I thought about all those sticky fingers! The next attempt I used the Corn Syrup & Food coloring (red and a drop of blue) and put it on a baby spoon I had around and swirled the inside. I had to freeze the glasses though because the corn syrup wanted to completely drip all the way down to the base. They were still need looking though.

I then made witch's hat cookies. These were the gluten free ones for our friends that can't have gluten for medical reasons. I took a package of sandwich cookies and dipped them in chocolate then used frosting and a Hershey's kiss.


These were my shortbread cookie ones which are much simpler you just flip the cookie over. 

Everyone thought they were really cute and they got ate fast. 

Well that is my week at a glance.

I'm hoping this week goes a little better.

Fall Cleaning Challenge: Wrap Up


Hey folks sorry I missed day 4 & 5. Pretty much it was going to be just cleaning more floors in the home. Straight forward but it's something I didn't get to. I didn't even get to my blog as there has been a lot going on.
The weather has turned cold enough for the heater to be turned on so I started my challenge at the right time but I'm still going to be challenging myself to finish up the parts that haven't gotten done yet. I encourage you to do the same and Happy Fall.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Fall Cleaning Challenge: W4/D3


Well it's Wednesday. I know things are cleaner around my house but with how hectic things have been they look dirtier! Oy I need more time to tackle clutter.
Well today is pretty straight forward for floors & I'm in a bit of a rush if I'm going to keep up. Bathrooms & Laundry area if you have one. If you have tile (you lucky folks that do) then scrub the grout and find out what the original color actually was suppose to be. If you have carpeting (believe it or not not unheard of in some much older houses) then shampoo it. If you have linoleum give it a good scrub/mopping. Try to move washers & dryers out of the way to the best of your ability and any other items you might have on the floor go ahead and move them. Oh and I forgot some people put stands behind their toilet to hold stuff (I've considered getting one a few times myself) go ahead and move that out too because around the feet of those stands ick can build up where it is hard to see and our task isn't so much 'appearance' as it is for general health and use. Nothing worse than the changing of the seasons and the high possibility of sick folks and then having yuck built up around your house. It'd be like a road trip with someone that forgot to put on deodorant. At first no one notices but by the end of the trip all the windows are open and you're gagging saying, "Can....'t .... brea...th...."
With any luck should be a pretty easy/quick day.

Happy Wednesday! 

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Fall Cleaning Challenge: W4/D2


I was thinking, "Hey this morning is going kind of nice even though I didn't sleep well." Sitting here sipping my coffee. Carpet vacuumed thinking to myself it was nice to have some time before work and then I remembered! Eep! My blog! My challenge!

Today we tackle the living area be this your living room or if there is another main room in the house (other than the kitchen) that your family spends their time in. Shampoo carpets or area rugs. Steam floors if you have hard floors. Also if you are able to then move furniture too. If you need to wait for some help then please do. I know my back is sore for not taking my own advice yesterday.
I swear I vacuumed! This boy and girls is why we shampoo especially if you are like our family and have pets in doors. I know the cat sheds constantly in our home but until I started really scrubbing deep into my floors I hadn't realized how much our dog also sheds in the house. So it's time for another deep cleaning of the carpets.


Have an awesome Tuesday!


Monday, October 14, 2013

Fall Cleaning Challenge: W4/D1


Oh goodness we made it to the 4th week! Though I didn't throw in any bonus material like I said I would! I'll try to do that sometime soon. Sorry folks things got really crazy and I'm hoping to find some sort of normalcy soon!

So I noticed something. I jumped the gun last week on baseboards. That was suppose to be this week! Well if you got it done then good for you and if you didn't well consider this whole week baseboard week while cleaning the floors.
Today's task is the kitchen floor. Mine is exceptionally bad after having a hoard of people over Saturday and then I've been in the process of making costumes so there is cardboard all over my house. Now this isn't just a simple sweep job. If you didn't clean the floor from under the fridge when cleaning the back of it then now is the time to do it. If you have an old bookshelf like I do or some other piece of furniture in your kitchen for storage than now's the time to move it! This isn't your everyday cleaning otherwise it wouldn't be a challenge!


At the end of the day be able to ask yourself, "Would I let my child eat off of this." We have center it around a child and not you otherwise you may find very odd looks from the company when you sit down to the floor to eat.


Busy Monday, October 14

Today's 'To-Do' List

  • Menu
  • Shopping
  • Write 'Fall Cleaning' blog for today
  • Accomplish 'Fall Cleaning Challenge'
  • Laundry
  • Lunch with Peter
  • Dishes
  • Library
  • Drop off paints @ Friend's
  • Finish gluing on Minecraft face coverings
  • Mow backyard
  • Call Orthodontist 

Menu
  • ?
  • Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
  • Spaghetti w/Italian Sausage
  • Royal Round Steak
  • ?
  • Pizza
  • Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes & Corn (Held over again! I will make it!) 
This Week's 'To-Do' List
  • Keep up with Fall Cleaning Schedule
  • Finish cabinet doors (said I was going to do this yesterday to myself and I never did get to it)
  • Drop off donation items (Yup still cluttering my van... yet another week but scheduled for donation to a friend that works with lots of organizations this Wednesday)
  • Saturday Night Family Movie Night
  • Katherine's Science Fair Project
  • Finish kids Halloween Costumes
  • Work on Halloween Decorations

Last Week

Last week was Fall Break for the kids and I already miss being able to sleep in until 7 o'clock. We didn't get a lot of time together because of course my husband and I were still working all week. 

(Bright Spot) Katherine was at YMCA Holiday Camp this week and she asked for 2 bananas that day for snack time and I'm not about to deny a child a banana so I packed her two. That day one of the kids at camp didn't have a snack so she offered them one of her bananas and let them choose which one because one was a bit more bruised than the other one. (Proud Momma) 

For movie night (and I meant to get a picture but I was rather ill that day) we had two of our friends and 3 of their children and then 2 of those children's friends over at our house. Our friend bought pizza for everyone and I bought little brown paper bags and popcorn. Peter borrowed a projection screen and we set it up out in the carport along with the projector. We had an outdoor movie night and watched The Croods and the kids didn't have to worry about their soda spills or popcorn or candy that hit the ground because we were outside so I wasn't worried about it. The movie was very cute and the kids seemed to have fun. 

We sort of got started on Katherine's Science Fair project. We pinned down what it was going to be and bought all the supplies for it but since we are dealing with food and it's not a mold project I guess we better get started on that ASAP! Katherine is pretty hyped about it but it is some heavy stuff so we are going to have to sit down and do lots of reading and watching of youtube videos so that she can really understand what is going on. 

I think that was the big thing. I mentioned I had some friends and their children displaced out of their home so a lot of last week was trying to help run them back and forth until they were able to get their car re-insured and tagged which they were able to do last Friday so I'm very happy for them because I know it was a lot of stress trying to figure out how to get the kids to their schools.

Through it all I tried to keep up with my cleaning schedule though I will admit there are areas that got skipped and you noticed I had some pretty flakey days in there. With any luck this week will go a little smoother but I know it will still be hectic because this Saturday is the big (30 kid big!) Halloween party over at my friend Sarah's house and I've got treats to make and decorations to still get together. 

I'll try to pull out my camera more of then this week.