ARGH!!

Went and had lunch "with" Marty (he walked past my table and waved a few times.) Ran to the grocery store on the way home, and just as I was heading home got call that the boys were at the house waiting for me. They wee 1/2 hour early. Oops!

Rushed home, chatted with a friend for a few minutes (her son is the kid they played Halo all night with) and decided to run to Mc Donald's for lunch for the boys. (Thanks Andre! We never ate fast food before you came to visit!) Sitting in line at Mc Donalds, my temp gauge shot up again. WTF? Remember, I just had the water pump replaced two weeks ago.

Called my brother, and he got me home. (Let it cool *forever* and then drive like hell. Check!) While I was talking to him, the girls were blowing kisses and crossing fingers to get us home. I'm sure that is what got us here safe and sound. :o)

Of course, it is Saturday at 5, so no one is open. I will have to take it in first thing Monday.

On the way home the temp gauge stayed right where it should be, so we are hoping it is something stupid like the thingy getting stuck, so it decided to ding and spill antifreeze. Yea, I'm not holding my breath either.

I have had more trouble with this new(er) van than I ever did with my old one. What is that all about?

Oh well, I am going to go drown my sorrow in a big bowl of caramel and apple slices. I still have a ton of stuff to do for school next week... good thing I'm not going anywhere for a while. *snark*

TGIF

School is done and the boys are at a friends house for a Halo threeapalooza. My big plans for tonight are to reread The Well Educated Mind, grade papers and maybe go soak away my troubles in the hot tub. Clearly, I need a life/hobby.

This morning I surprised them with donuts and cider for breakfast, to tell them thank you and that I am proud of them for such a good school week.

School was uneventful. It has been all week, except for the extremely sloooooow pace Christian decided to take on Thursday. Two hours for a history lesson? I'll have some of that please!

Ethan got to explode some marbles and Alex made edible glass. He was pretty bummed that I wouldn't let them eat the whole batch of "glass."

Alex has been... well... different this year. Of course, we are only a week into it, but something is different. Now he says things like "ok, what is next?" and "Is there more history?" instead of whining "OMG I can't do it. You make us do too much, I think I am going to die!" and "Do I have to do that?" Maturity? Maybe. He finally really, really realized that there is just no point in fighting, because you are doing it anyway, dammit!? Maybe. I never really had a problem with Christian, so this is a total surprise.

Lasagna

This is the lasagna recipe from Andre's girlfriend, Valeria. Dear lord it is the best lasagna I have ever tasted!

Valeria's Lasagna
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. ground beef
5 29 oz. cans tomato puree (or 1 #10 can tomato sauce)
1 large onion
1 small handful dried basil
salt to taste
1/4 cup or so heavy cream
3 cups mozzarella cheese
2 boxes Barilla lasagna noodles (not the long ones)- DO NOT cook!
4 hard boiled eggs, finely diced

Preheat oven at 475°

Coat a skillet with olive oil. Fry onion. Add meat and break into small chunks while cooking. Add salt, basil, chopped eggs and tomato sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Cook for half an hour, stirring occasionally.

To assemble lasagna:
Cover bottom of a *lasagna pan with a layer of sauce, to prevent sticking. Continue layering, in this order - noodles, sauce, cheese, cream (lightly "sprinkle" the cream all over the layer.) Continue until you run out of room or ingredients.

Turn your oven down to Preheat oven at 375° and bake for 30 minutes, or until done. Let sit for 20 minutes to "tighten" back up, or you will have lasagna soup.

*We used the disposable foil lasagna pans.

Is it Friday yet?

Today when I opened the back door to get some fresh air in the house Christian complained that it is cold. I said in the fall it isn't cold but is instead called crisp. Today was very crisp. Like, pull out the apple cider and donuts crisp. Like, crap - I haven't unpacked our warmer clothes crisp.

Now we all have colds. Well, Christian and Alex have them and I am fighting mine with lots of Zicam and whining. I will let you know how it works.

Marty was off today so school dragged on. For some reason when he is here they think they can screw around and take for-freaking-ever to finish things.

Christian and I started our TWEM journals for The Red Badge of Courage today. As you can imagine, he is thrilled! Last night I typed up a sort of cheat sheet for the steps to reading the book for the first time. Hopefully it will make it easier for him. I know I am enjoying it, but I am weird. Hopefully when it comes time to discuss it he will have more to offer than "I dunno!" I will cut him some slack on the first book... but not too much.


I might end up throwing this keyboard in the river. I will be typing away with no problems and then all of a sudden it will stop typing. I try to reconnect it and it will type 2 or 3 letters. Never mind the fact that I have to replace the batteries every few days. Argh!

Ok, rant over. Back to boring post.

I am off to the library and to buy marbles. Tomorrow we get to make the insides explode so that they look like shimmering crystal. We might also mane some edible glass.

Applesauce

My niece Sydney has started to pick up a bit of a potty mouth. (I'm sure she didn't get it from Aunt potty mouth Krista...) They have told her that when she is angry and wants to say one of those words, she should say "Applesauce!" instead.

One day Syd was trying to do something and we heard "Applesauce! Applesauce!" in a pretty ticked off voice. I said "Geeze, that sounds bad. It must be chunky applesauce" or some stupid, smart ass comment like that.

My boys, who I am sure curse like sailors when I am not around, have started saying applesauce just for the hell of it. Being the resourceful teens/pre-teens that they are, they have three levels of applesauce.

"Applesauce!"

"Chunky applesauce!"

"Chunky applesauce with cinnamon!"

What is wrong with these boys??!!

Of course, their favorite Sydney potty mouth story happened in the van with my brother.

Sydney: Dammit!

My Brother: Sydney, you can't say the word dammit.

Sydney: Ok Daddy. I won't say dammit.

My Brother: Sydney, you are not allowed to say the word dammit.

Sydney: Ok Daddy. I won't say dammit.

My Brother: Sydney, you can't say the word... Just stop saying it.

Google Book Search

I have been able to find an amazing amount of information using the Google Book Search.

You can search using the name of the book, the author, character name, catch phrase from the book, etc.

Taking a break

Taking a break for lunch and for Alex to take a short nap. He isn't feeling well, so I told him to go lie down for a bit. Hopefully that helps. I am still not feeling 100%, and I am afraid that whatever I have I managed to pass on to him. Oops!

He has managed to get history and science done, and if he is feeling better after lunch I will just have him do math and call it a day. He can finish up what he misses tomorrow. They have plans to spend the night at a friends house Friday for an all night Halo 3 event, so of course he needs to get better. (If you could see me you would see that I have rolled my eyes so far that they are now stuck.)

After lunch, Christian and I are going to watch Ahmadinejad's speech and he is going to finish math, history and lit. (He says he will hate it and complain the whole time.) Ethan only has math and reading left.

The guy from the city is supposed to be here today, sometime after 2. The sad thing is, the maintenance guy hasn't fixed the things he is supposed to (globe over light in laundry room & check for leak in bathroom sink) so the guy is probably going to have to come back. If that is the case, I am going to be pissed. (Shock!) I am so over this, already.

More Ahmadinejad

Carin sent me some links that I wanted to share:

The Islamic Republic News Agency response to Ahmadinejad's Columbia speech.

A Daily Kos blogger has something to say

Shoot me now, please

Well, I feel like crap. I think I picked up the tummy bug that our friend brought (without knowing it.) The good news is, it isn't a bad one. Just tummy cramping. The bad news is there is a lot of tummy cramping. Ugh!

We got everything on our list done except for current events. We will have to do it tomorrow.

Right now Christian is reading the prep notes for The Red Badge of Courage, Alex is in his room finishing up math and Ethan is waiting for me to get done so we can read his latest American Chillers.

First day of school

Yesterday was interesting. Combine my lack of planning (we had company on Sunday) and our late start, and it is a miracle we got anything done. Working until 6:30, we managed to get everything done though. Of course, everything was printed on scrap paper, because we ran out of new paper. Our current supply of scrap paper is old recipes I printed aand no longer use, so all day I got to hear "I get to do 'oatmeal cookies' for history? Cool!"

I told Marty it is a good thing I don't drink, because yesterday would have been a "fifth of Jack for dinner" kind of night.

We missed Ahmadinejad's speech, so today Christian is going to watch the first 10 minutes or so of it and read part of the transcript, as well as the introduction from Lee Bollinger, the President of Columbia University. (Warning- I wouldn't dig around on that site too much. I just found the transcript and have no idea what else is there.) We will discuss why he thinks Ahmadinejad was invited to speak (and if he agrees or disagrees), the protests (and if he agrees or disagrees), the introduction given by Bollinger (and if he agrees or disagrees), etc. Should make for an interesting discussion.

In a few days, we will read President Bush's UN speech from earlier... it usually takes them a few days to get the transcript up.

Alex and Ethan started American history and after only one day, seem to like it. We will see how they feel in a week. lol

Back home

We made it home safely. Each time we go "home" to visit, we think about moving back... but then something happens that makes us remember why we moved. lol

We had lots of family dinners. That is one thing I miss. More people than chairs, all crammed around a big table, passing food and sharing stories.

Marty and the boys helped my brother build a swing set for the girls. It took a few trips to Home Depot, but they now have three swings and a cargo net to climb.

While my brother was working on the swing set Marty and I tossed Syd and Shel into the van and headed to McDonalds for ice cream. They wore more of it than they ate, but what are an aunt and uncle for?

There was a bunch of just sitting around and being goofy, plenty of park days (which are on my brothers camera), feeding ducks, and even a picnic.



We went to Marty's dads for a big family dinner with Marty's brother Mike and his wife Stephanie. Marty's dad is a Chef also, so I don't have to tell you how good it was.

Before leaving we picked my grandma up and went to her Church for their monthly Spaghetti Dinner.

Sure, the spaghetti is good, but you can't beat the cake!

After dinner we played on the hill (just like my brother and I used to do as kids) and then headed home.

My grandpas funeral was nice. The Masons did a ceremony at the beginning, the American Legion presented my grandma with a flag, and the minister did a good job, considering that he didn't know my grandpa well. (They have attended that church since 1957, but since moving to a nursing home, have attended the service they offer.)

Another day in Ohio

Yesterday we went to see my grandma... twice. We showed up right at lunch time, so we went to a local park and played for a bit and then headed back for a proper visit. She is doing about as well as to be expected.

On the way home we stopped at the library and picked out a huge pile of books... that of course aunt Krista had to read to them as soon as we got home. All. of. them.

My brother, the boys and Syd went to Home Depot to get supplies for a swing set my brother has been wanting to build and when my brother got home they all set out to build it. One more trip to Home Depot and uncle Marty making it into town and we have an a frame. today I might head back to Home Depot to pick up the 16 foot 4x4 they really need, if I can figure out how to get it home without killing someone.

Today we have the girls while my brother and SIL work. I think we are just going to go see my grandma again and have my mom over for lunch.

Ohio again

We are back in Ohio again. My grandpa died yesterday and today was Shelby's birthday party so we headed down this morning. Marty will join us tomorrow. The memorial service is Thursday.

Health Inspector

Yesterday we got a letter in the mail. Apparently, while I was gone the health inspector inspected all of the apartments and I had a list of things I needed to take care of. Are you ready for this?
1. The laundry hamper in the laundry room could impede our escape in case of a fire
2. The recyclables in the garage could attract bugs

Are you kidding me?? In the letter the apartment manager said "Look, the guy is extremely picky and each time he is here he finds a BS complaint about at least one apartment. . I wanted to write you to give you a heads up that he is coming back to reinspect." I Went to talk to her (to make sure I was reading it right so that I can take care of the problems) and she said that the maintenance guy was there too and saw NOTHING that they are concerned with. I knew there was nothing wrong, but it was nice to have it confirmed. lol

The maintenance guy did tell m that the inspector was >this close< to making us move the boys beds. They are in front of the windows and apparently he was concerned that in case of a fire a body couldn't get out of the window. If that had happened, I would have turned into super-hyper bitch and taken hem to court. Until you can prove to me that you have inspected every other private, non-government subsidized house in the town and made people move their furniture and laundry baskets, you can kiss my ass. I'm not even sure why they inspect apartments in this town.

Panic

I am in a little bit of a panic right now. Some of the things I had planned to use for school this year are lesson plans (using free online resources) that someone is posting on their blog... and she hasn't added to them in a while. I emailed her this morning to make sure she planned to continue to add to them, so keep your fingers crossed that I get a reply. I want to start school Saturday.

Home

We are home. We stopped by Marty's work and ate, so the only thing for me to do is unpack... maybe tomorrow?

Tonight, Ethan and I are going to a friends football practice (mostly so I can talk to someone who isn't related to me) and just doing a whole lot of nothing. Tomorrow we will unpack and do the things around here that I need to do in order for us to start school on Saturday. We are going back to Ohio on the 20th (or earlier if needed) for Shelby's 2nd birthday, so we will start early to make up the two days we will miss.

Heading home

My grandpa is still holding on so we are heading home today. We stayed to make sure that my grandma wouldn't have to sit there alone while everyone was at work, but my aunt has taken the week off, so she won't be. We are going to visit them this morning and then head home after lunch.

I am pretty sure that I will end up getting a call on the way home, but this is what I need to do for my family right now.

Still in Ohio

Yesterday my mom got a call from the nursing home that they should come up ASAP, so we decided to stay. I spent yesterday - my grandma's 88th birthday - at the nursing home. I went to my grandmas favorite restaurant and got her favorite food and we had a birthday picnic in my grandpas room.

The boys are spending the weekend with Martys mom. I am on my way to the nursing home soon.

Thursday

The boys and I have decided to head home tomorrow. There is a lot going on here and we are just at the "I wanna go home!" point. Tomorrow is my SIL's grandpas funeral, so when they head out of town for that we will head home. We plan to stop and have lunch with my mom and then visit my grandparents first.

I plan to sleep in until 3pm on Saturday. For the last two days I have watched the girls while my brother and SIL work, and holy crap I forgot how early 1 and 3 year olds wake up.

Saw my grandpa again yesterday and he is rapidly getting worse. They have started hospice care for him now. The strange thing is, he was more alert and aware yesterday than he has been in years. He knew everyone and even called my mom out for not visiting as often as he thinks she should. "It is nice to see you Kay. You should come to see me more often." He doesn't know the details but he knows that something is going on... and I think it scares him. I am a horrible granddaughter, because I can't handle death and am totally bailing. I suck.

Tuesday

One water pump and three hours worth of labor later and the van is fixed. It makes me so mad that I just replaced the water pump a year ago... but what are you going to do?

Today my SIL's grandpa died. I offered to stay in Ohio for as long as they need me to to help with the girls while they do what they need to do. I think we have decided that the boys will stay until the 20th, when we planned to come back down for Shelby's 2nd birthday. I wasn't too keen on the idea, citing school as the reason - until Marty reminded me that this is one of the reasons we homeschool. The ability to drop everything and be there when someone needs you is something I am grateful we have. So we will take a shorter winter break and start school later this year. We will still get done what we need to, so I'm not worried.

My borrowed niece started Kindergarten this year, as a cyber homeschooler. So far it is going great. She has a teacher that she can talk to whenever she needs to, and she has been very positive with her. She said that Rhiannon is the first kid in the state to test out of K math and reading. Not bad!

Tonight the boys are with Marty's dad out for dinner and a movie. Tomorrow, Marty's mom is taking them to dinner and for a hike. I'm glad they are able to spend time with them. Sometimes when we come into town we are so over scheduled that we miss someone.

Tomorrow while my SIL is at work I am going to pack up the boys and the nieces (1, 3 and 5) and take them to see my grandparents and then to lunch. Wish me luck!

A quick update

I am staying in Ohio until at least Thursday. On the way down here my mom called and told me that they had just found out that my grandpa has lung cancer.

Yesterday, I drove from Tappan Lake to Cuyahoga Falls to see him and on the way home my van overheated. To make a long story short, I ended up having to have it towed to my brothers house, at around midnight and tomorrow we will have it towed to the garage to have the water pump replaced. It lasted almost one year from the last time we had it replaced.

The boys and I will spend the next few days with my nieces and grandparents.