...at least, for 2020, anyway.
So, literally right after my last post, something crazy happened to the entire world that we couldn't have even made up if we wanted to. This new virus, hence forth now known as the coronavirus, started in China and spread rapidly around the world. To this day, there's no vaccine yet and the effects are pretty severe with a pretty high death rate, relatively speaking. To combat the spread, there's been a lockdown of everywhere in the world that gives a hoot. Basically, we're staying home unless you're working in an essential service area, buying groceries, etc. Laura has unfortunately been having to work still, but we are thankful that she still has a job. Many people in the US are out of work because of this. Staying home and not being allowed to congregate means a lot of things. Some of which include school being closed (since spring break), no church, etc.
That's the quick summary of it. How it started for us was during spring break, we had decided to go to Robber's Cave State Park for Connor's birthday present. While we were there, the news started breaking out and saying that this is something we need to take seriously. Of course, our stupid president didn't heed the warning as early as he could nor take any action even after. Anyway, in the middle of vacationing, it sort of hit us that we needed to prepare for this upcoming pandemic. I panic ordered some things from Amazon and we went to the grocery store near the state park to get some things before things got out of hand and everything was out of stock. We got a lot of stuff at the grocery store, but slowly, in the coming weeks, everything was going out of stock like crazy. People were starting to hoard paper products, with toilet paper being the notorious victim. Anyway, everyone's been stocking up and stuff. Things seemed to have plateaued for now, but because of it, it seems like states are beginning to "open up" again and I'm just waiting for the 2nd wave to come. We've pretty much been at home since spring break, going out for things like dropping off mail at the post office and dropping off things at friends and family/church. Laura has been picking up groceries for us on her way home from work and we've been using Walmart grocery and Instacart and stuff a lot. I don't know how long this is going to continue, but that's the life at the moment. My Mom seems to be doing fine given the circumstances, but I'm sure she's getting bored as well.
This week is the last week of school for the kids and they haven't gotten to go back at all. They've been using video software to do class at home. It's not the same, but it's something. Things are fore sure different right now. I don't know how summer is going to turn out, but we'll see. Graphs and predictions say that the low point of the curve should be around July, so let's hope that's correct.
Other than that, things have been harder around here since we just have to stay in. The kids seem to be doing good despite the rules. We've been playing a lot of the Switch lately as well. We got Animal Crossing and they've enjoyed that. The past 3 days, Laura's parent's have taken the kids to Tulsa to give us a break, so that's great. They're coming back home tomorrow.
Well, that's really all there is to say. It just sucks now and there's nothing we can do except to stay at home and hope the situation gets better.
Monday, May 11, 2020
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Holy Moly - 4 months?!
Talk about a break!
I honestly thought that I had written something sometime in December, but I guess I was off on that mark. Time has certainly flown by and a lot has happened since October, so let's get to it, shall we.
First off, the situation with my Mom. Her memory is still failing and she is starting to forget more and more things that are recent. I can't tell if it's the same rate or faster, but it seems like it's getting noticeably worse. The apartments that she was on the wait list for in Oklahoma I guess called her a couple of months back saying a 2nd floor unit had opened up. She messaged me asking to call them. I panicked because I did not want her moving here so quickly and we certainly weren't ready for it yet. This was in December, I believe, right before the Christmas hoopla...or, was it before Thanksgiving? I can't remember. Anyway, Laura literally saved the day because she called, talked to them, and then convinced my Mom that she should wait for a ground level unit to open up because the risk of her falling down the stairs or something was high due to the weather and icy conditions here sometimes. For now, we're in the clear...although I'm sure the wait time is decreasing rapidly. A couple of months ago, she also crashed into the gate opening machine at the apartments. I'm really not sure how she managed to do that because you pull up to it pretty straight forward. I could maybe understand if it was during a turn, but no. Anyway, the apartments said she didn't have to worry about fixing the machine or paying for it. The car repair, however, even though it was the front left fender area, was like $2000. Insurance apparently paid for roughly half and she paid the other. She thought about selling the car for a while but I said she should keep it in case of an emergency but that she should limit the use of the car when she could. She really shouldn't be driving. So, apart from the memory situation and her always saying she doesn't feel good and doesn't have strength, that's where we are. We just visited her this past weekend on a surprise Dallas trip for the kids.
Back to the Fall. I think the next big trip we had was in November for Thanksgiving. During the break, we drove out to Colorado/Estes Park to spend a few days there at the YMCA cabins over the holiday. Actually, I think it was Lucy's baptism, so we sort of tacked on the Estes Park part to make it a vacation. Everyone was there, including Uncle Kenny. So, we got there on Saturday or something and spend a couple of days with the McGuires. Then we left for Estes Park after the weekend. The cool part was that starting the night we got there, it literally blizzarded for a day straight and there was about 18" of snow or something like that. The highlight of day one was that we all went out to eat I think that night and the snow started while we ate. The problem was that there is a huge hill you needed to climb to get into the YMCA grounds. People were already having issues going up the hill, so getting back to the cabin as soon as possible was priority. We had split up into 3 cars, me and my kids, Ryan and his kids, and then the rest of the adults in another car. Ryan got to the entrance first as I had to pick up some things at the market before we went home. He apparently had trouble going up the hill, so I saw him at the base of the hill. I pull up and talk to him. The snow plow truck was going up at this moment, so he asked if I wanted to try and I said sure. By luck or skill, I was able to get up without any issues, but my troubles weren't over. By this time, the snow was really picking up and literally minute by minute, the chances of cars being able to go up the hill were getting lower and lower. I kept going back to our cabin, but then I got lost trying to find the right route to the cabin. I couldn't remember which turns were what. It was worse because by this time, the roads were covered and I couldn't really see the road. I didn't want to get stuck in the ditch, either. At the first fork, I had stupidly turned left, which in hindsight was the wrong turn, obviously. After nearly getting stuck in the bend after the left turn, I managed to find my way way behind our cabin. It sucked that we could see our cabin, but I couldn't get to it. After looking at the map afterwards, it turns out I wouldn't have been able to anyway. So, I turn around and slowly make my way, guessing on some turns. The satellite map did not prove to be helpful. Eventually, though, we finally found our way back to the main roads of the YMCA and then I tried again, this time turning right at the fork. I was then able to get home. Now, this was about 15-20 minutes of being lost in such a small space. During this time, Ryan was able to get up the hill and get home before us. Oh well. It was funny because during the time I was trying to figure out the road, I had told the kids jokingly to "pray for us," after which they started muttering the our father line from church. Then I overheard Connor asking God to forgive his sins or something ridiculous and I started laughing. So, that's 2 of the 3 cars.
The last group of adults which was everyone else, got to the hill quite a bit later after doing some shopping. By now, the snow was still coming down harder than before and the road probably got more packed and icy than when Ryan and I went up. They tried a few times, even after a snow plow, and they were unable to get up the hill. They ended up parking the car at the entrance and getting a ride from the ranger. Ryan and I celebrated our successful climb after hearing from them. The rest of the trip was good. The snow let up the next afternoon, the kids got to play in the snow, and we did some activities at the YMCA, even though the workers there were pretty incompetent. However, Laura's Mom and Uncle actually fell and ended up getting hurt halfway into the trip, so they were resting after that. The cabin situation was okay. We and the Lemons were in a bigger cabin and the rest were down the street, actually in the same cabin that Laura and I stayed at with the kids a couple of years back. That did mean they had to walk to our cabin each night to hang out with us, however.
The day we left, we met up with Chris and Alicia in Boulder for breakfast and we were then headed to Wichita, Kansas to stay the night before going home the next day. All and all, it was a fun trip, minus some of the hiccups.
Oh, for Thanksgiving dinner, we did eat at the Stanley Hotel, which was cool. That was my first time there. Because of the storm, Ellen and Matt, who were supposed to fly out for a trip, couldn't get out of the airport, so they ended up staying and actually coming up to meet us and eat with us at the Stanley. That was a good surprise extra visit for the everyone.
Fast forward to Christmastime. All the presents were bought and ready and we had already has our Christmas with the Lemons and all that. We did our yearly carriage ride thing in the neighborhood, which was a little crazy this year. The horse this year was really nervous or something, so at one point, some cars I think scared it and it went out of control, moving the carriage crazily. At one point, we were waiting to get on, pretty close to the carriage, when that happened and I had to basically grab Emmeline's coated to tug her back because the carriage wheels literally would have run her over. Laura was actually the only person to have gotten on the carriage when that happened, so it was just her sitting when the horse was going crazy. It was sort of funny after the fact. We did end up riding it shortly after, but now I'm wary of doing that again.
The next Debbie Downer moment was that right before we were to go to Tulsa, everyone, and I mean everyone, got some degree of the flu that was going around school at the time. First, it was Emmeline, then Laura, then me, and of course, lastly, Connor. This made it so we were unable to head down the Tulsa this year for Christmas because the McGuires were there with Lucy, so we didn't want to risk them her and them getting sick. Laura and Emmeline ended up going down for the day I think on Christmas day, but Connor and I stayed home. Sort of sucked because we didn't get to see the McGuires and all that, but, oh well. Everyone had recovered by that weekend for our New Year's celebration. Laura was really bummed about not being able to go, but what could we do? At least she got to see them a little bit.
The last thing I wanted to write about is this enrichment cluster program that St. Eugene is having this semester. It's a student-led course about different topics sort of like an elective. They were asking volunteers to facilitate these clusters, so I volunteered to teach computer building. Turns out I'm the only non-teacher to be doing this, so I'm getting pretty nervous about it. It starts next week and I'm anxious to know how many, if any, students chose my cluster. Since the news, I've been slowly amassing a crapload of computers and spare parts, some from the tech lab at school that they didn't need to parts I've had since I'd been building computers. I have a big pile right now behind Laura's desk. I think I went overboard with it. Anyway, I'm nervous about it and I know the days leading up to next Friday are going to feel like an eternity. I chose to limit it to 4th-8th graders, leaving the 2nd and 3rd graders out. I felt they were too young to building computers. I'm most nervous about the students behaviors and attitudes. However, at least since they had to choose their top 4 cluster topics, they are attending clusters they are somewhat interested in. I hope that it enough to keep them behaved. I'm still fleshing out how I'm going to run this cluster, but hopefully things with fall into place after the first day.
Well, that's the catch-up for the last 4 months. I actually wrote a lot. My fingers hurt now. Time to get ready to pick up the kids.
I honestly thought that I had written something sometime in December, but I guess I was off on that mark. Time has certainly flown by and a lot has happened since October, so let's get to it, shall we.
First off, the situation with my Mom. Her memory is still failing and she is starting to forget more and more things that are recent. I can't tell if it's the same rate or faster, but it seems like it's getting noticeably worse. The apartments that she was on the wait list for in Oklahoma I guess called her a couple of months back saying a 2nd floor unit had opened up. She messaged me asking to call them. I panicked because I did not want her moving here so quickly and we certainly weren't ready for it yet. This was in December, I believe, right before the Christmas hoopla...or, was it before Thanksgiving? I can't remember. Anyway, Laura literally saved the day because she called, talked to them, and then convinced my Mom that she should wait for a ground level unit to open up because the risk of her falling down the stairs or something was high due to the weather and icy conditions here sometimes. For now, we're in the clear...although I'm sure the wait time is decreasing rapidly. A couple of months ago, she also crashed into the gate opening machine at the apartments. I'm really not sure how she managed to do that because you pull up to it pretty straight forward. I could maybe understand if it was during a turn, but no. Anyway, the apartments said she didn't have to worry about fixing the machine or paying for it. The car repair, however, even though it was the front left fender area, was like $2000. Insurance apparently paid for roughly half and she paid the other. She thought about selling the car for a while but I said she should keep it in case of an emergency but that she should limit the use of the car when she could. She really shouldn't be driving. So, apart from the memory situation and her always saying she doesn't feel good and doesn't have strength, that's where we are. We just visited her this past weekend on a surprise Dallas trip for the kids.
Back to the Fall. I think the next big trip we had was in November for Thanksgiving. During the break, we drove out to Colorado/Estes Park to spend a few days there at the YMCA cabins over the holiday. Actually, I think it was Lucy's baptism, so we sort of tacked on the Estes Park part to make it a vacation. Everyone was there, including Uncle Kenny. So, we got there on Saturday or something and spend a couple of days with the McGuires. Then we left for Estes Park after the weekend. The cool part was that starting the night we got there, it literally blizzarded for a day straight and there was about 18" of snow or something like that. The highlight of day one was that we all went out to eat I think that night and the snow started while we ate. The problem was that there is a huge hill you needed to climb to get into the YMCA grounds. People were already having issues going up the hill, so getting back to the cabin as soon as possible was priority. We had split up into 3 cars, me and my kids, Ryan and his kids, and then the rest of the adults in another car. Ryan got to the entrance first as I had to pick up some things at the market before we went home. He apparently had trouble going up the hill, so I saw him at the base of the hill. I pull up and talk to him. The snow plow truck was going up at this moment, so he asked if I wanted to try and I said sure. By luck or skill, I was able to get up without any issues, but my troubles weren't over. By this time, the snow was really picking up and literally minute by minute, the chances of cars being able to go up the hill were getting lower and lower. I kept going back to our cabin, but then I got lost trying to find the right route to the cabin. I couldn't remember which turns were what. It was worse because by this time, the roads were covered and I couldn't really see the road. I didn't want to get stuck in the ditch, either. At the first fork, I had stupidly turned left, which in hindsight was the wrong turn, obviously. After nearly getting stuck in the bend after the left turn, I managed to find my way way behind our cabin. It sucked that we could see our cabin, but I couldn't get to it. After looking at the map afterwards, it turns out I wouldn't have been able to anyway. So, I turn around and slowly make my way, guessing on some turns. The satellite map did not prove to be helpful. Eventually, though, we finally found our way back to the main roads of the YMCA and then I tried again, this time turning right at the fork. I was then able to get home. Now, this was about 15-20 minutes of being lost in such a small space. During this time, Ryan was able to get up the hill and get home before us. Oh well. It was funny because during the time I was trying to figure out the road, I had told the kids jokingly to "pray for us," after which they started muttering the our father line from church. Then I overheard Connor asking God to forgive his sins or something ridiculous and I started laughing. So, that's 2 of the 3 cars.
The last group of adults which was everyone else, got to the hill quite a bit later after doing some shopping. By now, the snow was still coming down harder than before and the road probably got more packed and icy than when Ryan and I went up. They tried a few times, even after a snow plow, and they were unable to get up the hill. They ended up parking the car at the entrance and getting a ride from the ranger. Ryan and I celebrated our successful climb after hearing from them. The rest of the trip was good. The snow let up the next afternoon, the kids got to play in the snow, and we did some activities at the YMCA, even though the workers there were pretty incompetent. However, Laura's Mom and Uncle actually fell and ended up getting hurt halfway into the trip, so they were resting after that. The cabin situation was okay. We and the Lemons were in a bigger cabin and the rest were down the street, actually in the same cabin that Laura and I stayed at with the kids a couple of years back. That did mean they had to walk to our cabin each night to hang out with us, however.
The day we left, we met up with Chris and Alicia in Boulder for breakfast and we were then headed to Wichita, Kansas to stay the night before going home the next day. All and all, it was a fun trip, minus some of the hiccups.
Oh, for Thanksgiving dinner, we did eat at the Stanley Hotel, which was cool. That was my first time there. Because of the storm, Ellen and Matt, who were supposed to fly out for a trip, couldn't get out of the airport, so they ended up staying and actually coming up to meet us and eat with us at the Stanley. That was a good surprise extra visit for the everyone.
Fast forward to Christmastime. All the presents were bought and ready and we had already has our Christmas with the Lemons and all that. We did our yearly carriage ride thing in the neighborhood, which was a little crazy this year. The horse this year was really nervous or something, so at one point, some cars I think scared it and it went out of control, moving the carriage crazily. At one point, we were waiting to get on, pretty close to the carriage, when that happened and I had to basically grab Emmeline's coated to tug her back because the carriage wheels literally would have run her over. Laura was actually the only person to have gotten on the carriage when that happened, so it was just her sitting when the horse was going crazy. It was sort of funny after the fact. We did end up riding it shortly after, but now I'm wary of doing that again.
The next Debbie Downer moment was that right before we were to go to Tulsa, everyone, and I mean everyone, got some degree of the flu that was going around school at the time. First, it was Emmeline, then Laura, then me, and of course, lastly, Connor. This made it so we were unable to head down the Tulsa this year for Christmas because the McGuires were there with Lucy, so we didn't want to risk them her and them getting sick. Laura and Emmeline ended up going down for the day I think on Christmas day, but Connor and I stayed home. Sort of sucked because we didn't get to see the McGuires and all that, but, oh well. Everyone had recovered by that weekend for our New Year's celebration. Laura was really bummed about not being able to go, but what could we do? At least she got to see them a little bit.
The last thing I wanted to write about is this enrichment cluster program that St. Eugene is having this semester. It's a student-led course about different topics sort of like an elective. They were asking volunteers to facilitate these clusters, so I volunteered to teach computer building. Turns out I'm the only non-teacher to be doing this, so I'm getting pretty nervous about it. It starts next week and I'm anxious to know how many, if any, students chose my cluster. Since the news, I've been slowly amassing a crapload of computers and spare parts, some from the tech lab at school that they didn't need to parts I've had since I'd been building computers. I have a big pile right now behind Laura's desk. I think I went overboard with it. Anyway, I'm nervous about it and I know the days leading up to next Friday are going to feel like an eternity. I chose to limit it to 4th-8th graders, leaving the 2nd and 3rd graders out. I felt they were too young to building computers. I'm most nervous about the students behaviors and attitudes. However, at least since they had to choose their top 4 cluster topics, they are attending clusters they are somewhat interested in. I hope that it enough to keep them behaved. I'm still fleshing out how I'm going to run this cluster, but hopefully things with fall into place after the first day.
Well, that's the catch-up for the last 4 months. I actually wrote a lot. My fingers hurt now. Time to get ready to pick up the kids.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Fall
Finally, the weather is starting to get cool...cold even. I've had to wear my fleece jacket a few times now. I don't know why but I think this every year - the transition into fall and through to winter is my favorite part of the year. I don't know if it's because the heat is finally over or that Laura and pretty much the entire retail market starts to get ready for the holiday season, but it gives me a good feeling. A couple of months have passed since my last blog, so let's see what we missed.
Connor has NOT been practicing his 10 minutes/day at all. Not even close. He has been practicing more than last year, but that's not saying much. It seems like his stuff is starting to get tougher, as in playing with both hands. He says he's doing fine, but we'll see when recitals and tests start to come. He did get his medal from the last test he took in the spring. He was proud of it.
Emmeline has been doing well at school. She's gotten a lot of trays for lunch and seems to enjoy it. She's the only one that goes half-days all week and she was missing music because of that. For now, she's going to try going full days Tue/Fri to be able to participate in music, but we're thinking that after winter break, she might go full days all day. We'll see about that. I worry about her doing the school's "quiet time." She will not be quiet. The other thing she's been struggling with is coming out of her room every single day before the clock is green. It's been something like 10 days in a row now she just comes into our room and wakes us up for stupid reasons. I don't understand why she keeps coming out. It's getting old. I wish we could close our door, but Laura doesn't want to.
Aside from that, nothing's really changed from the normal routine.
The big thing that's been happening the last month is drama with my Mom. In the short time she's been there, she's just been increasingly difficult to deal with, according to Justine and company. So, the stress and clashing just got higher and higher until it reached a point a few weeks ago where they were all fighting. Each had their own points, but the main cause I'm assuming is something with my Mom's health being the catalyst. Anyway, after all was said and done and after many texts from my Mom to me, we decided to send an e-mail to my side of the family inquiring about how my Mom was doing and all that. Steve wrote back a lengthy e-mail outlining the issues they were having. After the conversation, one that Ken was in on as well, we decided that the best course of action would be for my Mom to live in a senior apartment. We had already put her on a waiting list here, but Steve and Reiko looked around a few places near where they live and found a place, albeit a bit expensive. They found it within a week and moved in after submitting an application after looking at the place. So, a couple of weeks ago, my Mom moved into that apartment. She seems to be doing ok for now. I'm slated to pick her up in 10 days for her to spend some time here. I already know that it's not going to go well. Her memory is failing more and more each time she's here and it's pretty noticeable. She's not eating well in Texas and although it's better here, she just doesn't keep it up.
When we go to drop her off, we are going to surprise the kids with a medieval times experience. I still remember when Laura and I took TJ to medieval times as a surprise for his birthday. I had more fun than I expected. It was my first time, too. I don't think we're going to do the birthday package, although, I just realized that it would be pretty close to Emmeline's birthday. Now that I think about it, maybe we should for the photo. At any rate, I think it'll be fun, though expensive. It would be about the same price as the Disney On Ice that we went to.
Laura took the kids to Tulsa for a couple of days. I should just rest up. Like, sleep until they get back. But, I know I'll end up staying up late and be even more tired. I really need to stop doing that. Lately, I've been playing too much Destiny 2, a video game on the computer. A new expansion came out and a lot of the new stuff is free is why. I can't justify buying the expansion part of the game. Dunno. I really need to find a better use of my time when the kids are in school. I've thought about doing a flipping thing with ebay and stuff, but I just don't have the motivation for some reason.
Anyway, it's late, and I should go to sleep.
Thanks, Laura, for taking them. I promise I will take them both somewhere for some overnight trip closeby so you can have some time at home! Love you!
Connor has NOT been practicing his 10 minutes/day at all. Not even close. He has been practicing more than last year, but that's not saying much. It seems like his stuff is starting to get tougher, as in playing with both hands. He says he's doing fine, but we'll see when recitals and tests start to come. He did get his medal from the last test he took in the spring. He was proud of it.
Emmeline has been doing well at school. She's gotten a lot of trays for lunch and seems to enjoy it. She's the only one that goes half-days all week and she was missing music because of that. For now, she's going to try going full days Tue/Fri to be able to participate in music, but we're thinking that after winter break, she might go full days all day. We'll see about that. I worry about her doing the school's "quiet time." She will not be quiet. The other thing she's been struggling with is coming out of her room every single day before the clock is green. It's been something like 10 days in a row now she just comes into our room and wakes us up for stupid reasons. I don't understand why she keeps coming out. It's getting old. I wish we could close our door, but Laura doesn't want to.
Aside from that, nothing's really changed from the normal routine.
The big thing that's been happening the last month is drama with my Mom. In the short time she's been there, she's just been increasingly difficult to deal with, according to Justine and company. So, the stress and clashing just got higher and higher until it reached a point a few weeks ago where they were all fighting. Each had their own points, but the main cause I'm assuming is something with my Mom's health being the catalyst. Anyway, after all was said and done and after many texts from my Mom to me, we decided to send an e-mail to my side of the family inquiring about how my Mom was doing and all that. Steve wrote back a lengthy e-mail outlining the issues they were having. After the conversation, one that Ken was in on as well, we decided that the best course of action would be for my Mom to live in a senior apartment. We had already put her on a waiting list here, but Steve and Reiko looked around a few places near where they live and found a place, albeit a bit expensive. They found it within a week and moved in after submitting an application after looking at the place. So, a couple of weeks ago, my Mom moved into that apartment. She seems to be doing ok for now. I'm slated to pick her up in 10 days for her to spend some time here. I already know that it's not going to go well. Her memory is failing more and more each time she's here and it's pretty noticeable. She's not eating well in Texas and although it's better here, she just doesn't keep it up.
When we go to drop her off, we are going to surprise the kids with a medieval times experience. I still remember when Laura and I took TJ to medieval times as a surprise for his birthday. I had more fun than I expected. It was my first time, too. I don't think we're going to do the birthday package, although, I just realized that it would be pretty close to Emmeline's birthday. Now that I think about it, maybe we should for the photo. At any rate, I think it'll be fun, though expensive. It would be about the same price as the Disney On Ice that we went to.
Laura took the kids to Tulsa for a couple of days. I should just rest up. Like, sleep until they get back. But, I know I'll end up staying up late and be even more tired. I really need to stop doing that. Lately, I've been playing too much Destiny 2, a video game on the computer. A new expansion came out and a lot of the new stuff is free is why. I can't justify buying the expansion part of the game. Dunno. I really need to find a better use of my time when the kids are in school. I've thought about doing a flipping thing with ebay and stuff, but I just don't have the motivation for some reason.
Anyway, it's late, and I should go to sleep.
Thanks, Laura, for taking them. I promise I will take them both somewhere for some overnight trip closeby so you can have some time at home! Love you!
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
I'm Still Here
I didn't realize that it's been so long since my last update. I know a few times I've told myself I need to the the 2018 yearly summary, but I never even got to do that. So, where do we begin.
The end of last year was/is a blur. We did go out to Silver Dollar City for...I don't remember what occasion - maybe it was Thanksgiving? Anyway, we went there and it was SUPER cold. There were Christmas lights up in the amusement park so that was pretty cool, but man, it was cold and raining for much of the time we were there. The kids did great, though, all things considered. I used a lot of hand warmers, too. I think we also lumped the Polar Express event in together with that because it was at the station near Silver Dollar City. Wasn't as good as the Stillwater one, but it was fun for them.
Christmas, I really don't remember at all. Opened some presents as usual and the kids were restless the entire time. We had our New Years party here and that was about it.
Ohhh, so, a couple of days before Christmas and just before we headed out to Tulsa for the holidays, I got in a car crash. Yup. I wasn't paying attention and hit the car in front of me. To my defense, the car was parked in an awkward place that I wasn't expecting because they were letting another car turn left across traffic where they aren't allowed to turn anyway...but, whatever. Bottom line, I wasn't looking, hit the car in front and that car hit a little of the car it was letting turn. I was in the Santa Fe with Emmeline on my way to pick up Connor. I quickly called Kelly to pick up Connor and I started talking with the guy I hit. Luckily, they were super nice old folks. Couldn't have lucked out more. I called 911 to report the crash and a AAA guy randomly stopped to ask if we needed help. Since we really didn't, we moved the car to the parking lot we were next to and waited for the cops. I called again since they were taking a while and they said they didn't need to come if we all agreed that we didn't need them. Since we did, we all exchanged our information and went on about the day. The car I hit, the trunk was the only thing damaged. The car in front of them, I think they just had a little ding or something. I didn't see, really. However, our car was another story. I didn't even hit the car at high speed, probably under 30 or 25. The airbag didn't even deploy, which I thought was strange. Anyway, I called our insurance and a tow truck came to get the car to drop off at the service center after the weekend. This was literally 2-3 days before Christmas, I can't remember exactly. Anyway, later that day or the next day, I called to make sure it got to the right repair center for the estimate. I chose one right near our house. After the holidays, I called to check in and they said they're looking at it. We got a rental for the time being. After about a week, they had an estimate that was pretty much the price of the car, maybe a bit under. We were pretty sure insurance would total it. After another week or so, they did just that and we got a check for about $6800.
About a week later, we decided to get a van and put that towards it. It sucks because our initial plan was to trade in Laura's car for a van and Laura would start driving the Santa Fe. I still feel bad about that. So, now we have a van that is coming in handy for a bunch of stuff.
The rest of the school year went fine. During Spring Break, we took a trip out to Moab with Chris and Alicia. That was fun. We went to Canyonlands and Arches National Park. Our Airbnb was right near it, and it all worked out. The weather was nice and had a good time. We drove, of course, and on the way to Moab, we, just the Yams, stopped at the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. It was super cold when we went the night we got there, but we went again the next day and it was much better. We stayed at the lodge right on the park. It's definitely a place to spend more time, however. On the way out, I wanted to stop by at this weird, UFO place right near the park. It was interesting, to say the least. Another 6-hour drive later, we were in Moab. We stayed there for a few days and then drove back a different way, more south, stopping at Santa Fe for one night to rest and check out that area. We also went to this place called Meow Wolf which was a pretty cool, and weird, museum of art and stuff. The kids had fun but was overwhelmed after a couple of hours. It was expensive, too, so I don't think we got our money's worth, but whatever. The adults could have spent way more time in there. Cool place, though.
Summer then began after school and, like the previous Summers, I was getting overwhelmed with them being bored and stuff. We didn't really plan any vacations this Summer because of the Spring Break trip as well as a Colorado Thanksgiving trip that's coming up in November later this year. Well, school started this past Monday and both are getting into the swing of things. They both like their teacher, so that's good.
It's been super hot the last month or so, so that put a damper on playing outside, too. They took swimming for most of the Summer and both did pretty good. They were super small classes, especially near the end, so that was good.
The other big project that we started I don't even know when, was converting our laundry into a mudroom/laundry room combo. We had a huge cabinet countertop that took up a lot of the space and it was something that we weren't utilizing very well anyway. We went ahead and removed that countertop and moved it to the garage. I still can't believe that we got it out of the laundry room, through the door to the garage, and fit it where we wanted it to fit. We then brainstormed how we wanted the bench in the mudroom to look and fit and, over the next few months, slowly built it up. We finally JUST finished pretty much the day before school started. We moved our old shoe rack location into the mudroom and it looks so much better in the house. No more shoe clutter and they kids can now just come in the house and take off their shoes right there. It was big project and while it didn't come out perfectly as I wanted in terms of everything fitting nice and flush, at right angles, etc., it came out better than I thought. There's a few more touch ups to do and the baseboard trim and crown moulding, but at least it's 95% done and usable.
Connor started piano again this year next week and this time he's promised to practice at least 10 minutes every day...we'll see how that goes. I know he won't. I just know it. Emmeline is doing ballet again but also tap, back to back, so Tuesdays are going to be a busy day. Other than that, I have some time to do stuff in the morning after Emmeline goes to school. I need to figure out what I want to fill the time with. I really want to get a side project going for some money to save up for our proposed trip to Japan in a few years. We really want to go business class as well, so we have been thinking of ways to use points and stuff from credit card promos. We're confident we can do it.
Well, it's almost time to get Connor.
The end of last year was/is a blur. We did go out to Silver Dollar City for...I don't remember what occasion - maybe it was Thanksgiving? Anyway, we went there and it was SUPER cold. There were Christmas lights up in the amusement park so that was pretty cool, but man, it was cold and raining for much of the time we were there. The kids did great, though, all things considered. I used a lot of hand warmers, too. I think we also lumped the Polar Express event in together with that because it was at the station near Silver Dollar City. Wasn't as good as the Stillwater one, but it was fun for them.
Christmas, I really don't remember at all. Opened some presents as usual and the kids were restless the entire time. We had our New Years party here and that was about it.
Ohhh, so, a couple of days before Christmas and just before we headed out to Tulsa for the holidays, I got in a car crash. Yup. I wasn't paying attention and hit the car in front of me. To my defense, the car was parked in an awkward place that I wasn't expecting because they were letting another car turn left across traffic where they aren't allowed to turn anyway...but, whatever. Bottom line, I wasn't looking, hit the car in front and that car hit a little of the car it was letting turn. I was in the Santa Fe with Emmeline on my way to pick up Connor. I quickly called Kelly to pick up Connor and I started talking with the guy I hit. Luckily, they were super nice old folks. Couldn't have lucked out more. I called 911 to report the crash and a AAA guy randomly stopped to ask if we needed help. Since we really didn't, we moved the car to the parking lot we were next to and waited for the cops. I called again since they were taking a while and they said they didn't need to come if we all agreed that we didn't need them. Since we did, we all exchanged our information and went on about the day. The car I hit, the trunk was the only thing damaged. The car in front of them, I think they just had a little ding or something. I didn't see, really. However, our car was another story. I didn't even hit the car at high speed, probably under 30 or 25. The airbag didn't even deploy, which I thought was strange. Anyway, I called our insurance and a tow truck came to get the car to drop off at the service center after the weekend. This was literally 2-3 days before Christmas, I can't remember exactly. Anyway, later that day or the next day, I called to make sure it got to the right repair center for the estimate. I chose one right near our house. After the holidays, I called to check in and they said they're looking at it. We got a rental for the time being. After about a week, they had an estimate that was pretty much the price of the car, maybe a bit under. We were pretty sure insurance would total it. After another week or so, they did just that and we got a check for about $6800.
About a week later, we decided to get a van and put that towards it. It sucks because our initial plan was to trade in Laura's car for a van and Laura would start driving the Santa Fe. I still feel bad about that. So, now we have a van that is coming in handy for a bunch of stuff.
The rest of the school year went fine. During Spring Break, we took a trip out to Moab with Chris and Alicia. That was fun. We went to Canyonlands and Arches National Park. Our Airbnb was right near it, and it all worked out. The weather was nice and had a good time. We drove, of course, and on the way to Moab, we, just the Yams, stopped at the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. It was super cold when we went the night we got there, but we went again the next day and it was much better. We stayed at the lodge right on the park. It's definitely a place to spend more time, however. On the way out, I wanted to stop by at this weird, UFO place right near the park. It was interesting, to say the least. Another 6-hour drive later, we were in Moab. We stayed there for a few days and then drove back a different way, more south, stopping at Santa Fe for one night to rest and check out that area. We also went to this place called Meow Wolf which was a pretty cool, and weird, museum of art and stuff. The kids had fun but was overwhelmed after a couple of hours. It was expensive, too, so I don't think we got our money's worth, but whatever. The adults could have spent way more time in there. Cool place, though.
Summer then began after school and, like the previous Summers, I was getting overwhelmed with them being bored and stuff. We didn't really plan any vacations this Summer because of the Spring Break trip as well as a Colorado Thanksgiving trip that's coming up in November later this year. Well, school started this past Monday and both are getting into the swing of things. They both like their teacher, so that's good.
It's been super hot the last month or so, so that put a damper on playing outside, too. They took swimming for most of the Summer and both did pretty good. They were super small classes, especially near the end, so that was good.
The other big project that we started I don't even know when, was converting our laundry into a mudroom/laundry room combo. We had a huge cabinet countertop that took up a lot of the space and it was something that we weren't utilizing very well anyway. We went ahead and removed that countertop and moved it to the garage. I still can't believe that we got it out of the laundry room, through the door to the garage, and fit it where we wanted it to fit. We then brainstormed how we wanted the bench in the mudroom to look and fit and, over the next few months, slowly built it up. We finally JUST finished pretty much the day before school started. We moved our old shoe rack location into the mudroom and it looks so much better in the house. No more shoe clutter and they kids can now just come in the house and take off their shoes right there. It was big project and while it didn't come out perfectly as I wanted in terms of everything fitting nice and flush, at right angles, etc., it came out better than I thought. There's a few more touch ups to do and the baseboard trim and crown moulding, but at least it's 95% done and usable.
Connor started piano again this year next week and this time he's promised to practice at least 10 minutes every day...we'll see how that goes. I know he won't. I just know it. Emmeline is doing ballet again but also tap, back to back, so Tuesdays are going to be a busy day. Other than that, I have some time to do stuff in the morning after Emmeline goes to school. I need to figure out what I want to fill the time with. I really want to get a side project going for some money to save up for our proposed trip to Japan in a few years. We really want to go business class as well, so we have been thinking of ways to use points and stuff from credit card promos. We're confident we can do it.
Well, it's almost time to get Connor.
Friday, October 19, 2018
What Am I Doing?
Here we are again. Laura took the kids to Tulsa, Woolaroc, and Kiddy Park this weekend to give me a break for all the upcoming breaks the kids are going to have.
So, this always happens. I plan on doing some productive things when Laura and the kids are gone and this weekend I was going to start researching/setting up an online shop or something to make some money on the side, perhaps FINALLY order the cranes for making crane trees, but here I am, getting absolutely nothing done. Yesterday, I had to do a media meeting for the church and it turned out awful, in my eyes. Everyone else thought it was helpful and stuff, but I barely got through, maybe, like 10% of what I was originally was going to cover. Then time ran out and everyone started to leave. I know there are going to be all these questions later on that I WOULD have covered, but I guess it's partly my fault for underestimating how much hand-holding these people needed. I thought it would be a good idea for them to bring their laptops and follow along, but man, some, actually, most of them couldn't even log on to the editing page. Severely underestimated. I began to think that much smaller groups or even one-on-one training will probably be the way to go and, ironically, the least effort. Then I was thinking to myself, man, this is like a job for a full-time staff at the church, not a handful of people do this on their spare time.
Anyway, because of that, I didn't do anything else last night. I woke up this morning and just watched YouTube videos most of the day. I cut the bottom section of the fence gate a little more because it keeps leaning down for some reason and scraping the path, but I sort of free-handed it, so it's sort of jagged. Then Kip pooped again while I was out getting lunch, then I gave him a peanut butter jar and he threw that up a little while after. Then the kitchen faucet started pouring water out really slowly, so I cleaned out the nozzle, but now I'm wondering why it was covered in small rubber pieces like last time. Sigh.
The best thing we did in the last month was our trip to Nova Scotia. Lauren planned out a great trip for us and it turned out really well. We were expecting rainy weather, but aside from one day that was really windy and rainy, the rest were actually pretty good that it was overcast so we weren't too hot from all the hikes we did. The first couple of days it was really sunny, then it started to cloud up. Of course, I didn't like the fact that 2 entire days were devoted to travelling in the airports and customs and all that stupid stuff, but what can you do. It was literally leaving OKC 5am in the morning to getting in to our destination airport at 6pm at night. It was crazy. And the weird thing is that we didn't have much layover time at each of the 2 other airports either. Our checked in luggage didn't make to Nova Scotia, but it was delivered the next morning. It wasn't a big deal, but it was a small hassle for sure. But, like I said, it was a great trip and I was thinking today, actually, that it was a great time with just Laura without the kids, hiking along the coast and the forests, etc. We don't do that often enough, I think. It really puts everything in perspective that the kids are ALWAYS with us usually whenever we try to do anything, so it's hard to imagine life without them. At one point, we stopped in the middle of the forest hike and just listened to COMPLETE silence, minus the rustle of the leaves every once and a while. It was also great that we didn't really see any other people on most of our hikes and stuff. I dunno if we hit it at the right time or there were other things going on in the big city, Halifax, but, I guess it could have just been that there aren't that many people living there, either. I dunno. It was a good break for us and we had a lot of laughs. The stressful thing, coincidentally, was that during the entire week we were going, literally a couple of days after we left, Connor got a fever and a weird rash/hives all over him the entire week. We think that because of us leaving, I think he was bringing it up on himself, somehow. I mean, nothing like this has happened ever before. And then, magically, the day or two after we came back, he's all better...come on! Whatever.
So, we're now back in our grind. Laura is super busy at work because of some certification coming up in a couple of weeks. We sort of also talked with Chris and Alicia about a trip we're going to do next spring break to Moab. We'll see how that goes. I really think before that trip at least, we will finally need to get a van. We just need more room and some more features in the car. That'll be a pretty big purchase. The price range for what we're sort of looking at is like $25,000, and that's for a used, 50k-ish mile, 2015-2016 Honda Odyssey. We actually drove a Toyota Highlander during our Nova Scotia trip and they were way too small. The 3rd row was like, basically not a row and unless you folded that down, the cargo area was like 1/2 the space we have now in our Santa Fe. That was one of the cars that Laura originally like when we got the Santa Fe, but I don't think that would have worked for us. I still think the Honda Pilot is in the running, but it's probably going to be an Odyssey. It's roomy, has the stuff we need and doesn't look *totally* like a van...sort of. It's kind of a cross between a van and an SUV.
Well, I'm tired for some reason even though I did nothing. It feels like a Saturday, so I'm a little thrown off that it's Friday because the kids had fall break this week, sort of. Emmeline did anyway. Connor just had 1 day off. So, tomorrow I will try and do something productive. Maybe...
So, this always happens. I plan on doing some productive things when Laura and the kids are gone and this weekend I was going to start researching/setting up an online shop or something to make some money on the side, perhaps FINALLY order the cranes for making crane trees, but here I am, getting absolutely nothing done. Yesterday, I had to do a media meeting for the church and it turned out awful, in my eyes. Everyone else thought it was helpful and stuff, but I barely got through, maybe, like 10% of what I was originally was going to cover. Then time ran out and everyone started to leave. I know there are going to be all these questions later on that I WOULD have covered, but I guess it's partly my fault for underestimating how much hand-holding these people needed. I thought it would be a good idea for them to bring their laptops and follow along, but man, some, actually, most of them couldn't even log on to the editing page. Severely underestimated. I began to think that much smaller groups or even one-on-one training will probably be the way to go and, ironically, the least effort. Then I was thinking to myself, man, this is like a job for a full-time staff at the church, not a handful of people do this on their spare time.
Anyway, because of that, I didn't do anything else last night. I woke up this morning and just watched YouTube videos most of the day. I cut the bottom section of the fence gate a little more because it keeps leaning down for some reason and scraping the path, but I sort of free-handed it, so it's sort of jagged. Then Kip pooped again while I was out getting lunch, then I gave him a peanut butter jar and he threw that up a little while after. Then the kitchen faucet started pouring water out really slowly, so I cleaned out the nozzle, but now I'm wondering why it was covered in small rubber pieces like last time. Sigh.
The best thing we did in the last month was our trip to Nova Scotia. Lauren planned out a great trip for us and it turned out really well. We were expecting rainy weather, but aside from one day that was really windy and rainy, the rest were actually pretty good that it was overcast so we weren't too hot from all the hikes we did. The first couple of days it was really sunny, then it started to cloud up. Of course, I didn't like the fact that 2 entire days were devoted to travelling in the airports and customs and all that stupid stuff, but what can you do. It was literally leaving OKC 5am in the morning to getting in to our destination airport at 6pm at night. It was crazy. And the weird thing is that we didn't have much layover time at each of the 2 other airports either. Our checked in luggage didn't make to Nova Scotia, but it was delivered the next morning. It wasn't a big deal, but it was a small hassle for sure. But, like I said, it was a great trip and I was thinking today, actually, that it was a great time with just Laura without the kids, hiking along the coast and the forests, etc. We don't do that often enough, I think. It really puts everything in perspective that the kids are ALWAYS with us usually whenever we try to do anything, so it's hard to imagine life without them. At one point, we stopped in the middle of the forest hike and just listened to COMPLETE silence, minus the rustle of the leaves every once and a while. It was also great that we didn't really see any other people on most of our hikes and stuff. I dunno if we hit it at the right time or there were other things going on in the big city, Halifax, but, I guess it could have just been that there aren't that many people living there, either. I dunno. It was a good break for us and we had a lot of laughs. The stressful thing, coincidentally, was that during the entire week we were going, literally a couple of days after we left, Connor got a fever and a weird rash/hives all over him the entire week. We think that because of us leaving, I think he was bringing it up on himself, somehow. I mean, nothing like this has happened ever before. And then, magically, the day or two after we came back, he's all better...come on! Whatever.
So, we're now back in our grind. Laura is super busy at work because of some certification coming up in a couple of weeks. We sort of also talked with Chris and Alicia about a trip we're going to do next spring break to Moab. We'll see how that goes. I really think before that trip at least, we will finally need to get a van. We just need more room and some more features in the car. That'll be a pretty big purchase. The price range for what we're sort of looking at is like $25,000, and that's for a used, 50k-ish mile, 2015-2016 Honda Odyssey. We actually drove a Toyota Highlander during our Nova Scotia trip and they were way too small. The 3rd row was like, basically not a row and unless you folded that down, the cargo area was like 1/2 the space we have now in our Santa Fe. That was one of the cars that Laura originally like when we got the Santa Fe, but I don't think that would have worked for us. I still think the Honda Pilot is in the running, but it's probably going to be an Odyssey. It's roomy, has the stuff we need and doesn't look *totally* like a van...sort of. It's kind of a cross between a van and an SUV.
Well, I'm tired for some reason even though I did nothing. It feels like a Saturday, so I'm a little thrown off that it's Friday because the kids had fall break this week, sort of. Emmeline did anyway. Connor just had 1 day off. So, tomorrow I will try and do something productive. Maybe...
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
September
Wow, really. It's already September. Time seems to go faster and faster. Much has happened since the last blog post. Or has it? I'm sitting here in the library parking lot awkwardly using my new bluetooth keyboard with my tablet in my lap. I should just go inside, but, whatever.
The summer went by both fast and slow. It was a struggle to find something to do with the kids everyday and I'm glad that the school routine is back again but bummed out that I didn't really get anything accomplished during the summer. I've just been so unmotivated and tired.
Connor is starting 1st grade and has new teachers, new classrooms, new routines, and new friends. He seems to be enjoying it. Pick up is better and worse than last year. Worse because Emmeline has to sit in the car and wait with me in the pick-up line which, if I don't leave within certain time margins, could get quite long. It's better because I just get to stay in the car. He is still not getting lunch trays at school, but he seems like he might this year without too much coaxing.
Emmeline started preschool a week after Connor. She also has a new teacher, finally someone that's not Ms. Mandy. She's in a new classroom, but has the exact same classmates as last year, save one person that she kinda knows. She likes it, but on the way to school she said she didn't want to go. Same thing Connor used to do and still does sometimes.
So, sadly, that's really it. I'm once again trying to figure out the best use of my time, which is just short enough that I really can't do anything meaningful. I opted to not volunteer at the library this year, partly because the schedule this year seems not compatible with Emmeline's school but mostly because I didn't really enjoy it last year. Maybe next year. We did get the inflatable raft that I've been wanting to get and have taken it out a couple of times, once with the kids and they loved it. Emmeline keeps saying that she wants to go again. I want to take it to Greenleaf when we went a couple of years ago. The lake there would be perfect for this. The electric motor works great and it sure beats paddling.
I better get to the school and wait for Emmeline. I forgot that they walk them from the classroom to the door now, so I don't need to walk in anymore, which is a plus. More posts coming soon...like I always say...
The summer went by both fast and slow. It was a struggle to find something to do with the kids everyday and I'm glad that the school routine is back again but bummed out that I didn't really get anything accomplished during the summer. I've just been so unmotivated and tired.
Connor is starting 1st grade and has new teachers, new classrooms, new routines, and new friends. He seems to be enjoying it. Pick up is better and worse than last year. Worse because Emmeline has to sit in the car and wait with me in the pick-up line which, if I don't leave within certain time margins, could get quite long. It's better because I just get to stay in the car. He is still not getting lunch trays at school, but he seems like he might this year without too much coaxing.
Emmeline started preschool a week after Connor. She also has a new teacher, finally someone that's not Ms. Mandy. She's in a new classroom, but has the exact same classmates as last year, save one person that she kinda knows. She likes it, but on the way to school she said she didn't want to go. Same thing Connor used to do and still does sometimes.
So, sadly, that's really it. I'm once again trying to figure out the best use of my time, which is just short enough that I really can't do anything meaningful. I opted to not volunteer at the library this year, partly because the schedule this year seems not compatible with Emmeline's school but mostly because I didn't really enjoy it last year. Maybe next year. We did get the inflatable raft that I've been wanting to get and have taken it out a couple of times, once with the kids and they loved it. Emmeline keeps saying that she wants to go again. I want to take it to Greenleaf when we went a couple of years ago. The lake there would be perfect for this. The electric motor works great and it sure beats paddling.
I better get to the school and wait for Emmeline. I forgot that they walk them from the classroom to the door now, so I don't need to walk in anymore, which is a plus. More posts coming soon...like I always say...
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Halfway Through the Year
Oh boy, where do I begin. I'm pretty sure that I had high hopes of doing more blogs this year, but somehow 5+ months went by in the blink of an eye and nothing has happened that I sort of outlined in my one and only blog post of 2018.
Summer break is officially here and I'm already at my limit, so to speak, with the kids on the very first day. I dunno what I need to do, but I need to change my outlook on how to handle this. Every day, I'm just super tired to begin the day and I have no motivation to do anything. The kids are always wanting attention and it's hard to give it to both of them at the same time, when I just want a break, even though I haven't even dealt with them really to be tired of them, if that makes sense.
Laura took the kids to Tulsa this weekend and although I feel very grateful, I feel like I accomplished nothing while I was here. Maybe that's not a bad thing, but I still feel tired. Last night I did go to bed at like 12:30am, then woke up a few times in the morning to let Kip out and stuff, but I finally woke up around 11:30am. They are coming home tomorrow and I'm afraid I'm just going to be my tired self. I dunno.
We did take our trip to Disneyworld last month. It was fun, but it was very tiring and I think a couple of days too long, in my opinion. There was a lot of walking, which I knew would happen, but I think the kids were tired of walking around so much as well. Still, everything went pretty good, all things considered. The kids slept decently in the hotel room and they had fun.
There's a lot of things planned for the Summer for the kids, I feel like. A week at the farm for Connor in the next couple of weeks. Emmeline still doing ballet. I think Connor still has a few t-ball games as well. Then he has piano once a week. Then Emmeline has Camp Haverim at the end of the Summer.
Sometime this Summer I do want to take both kids somewhere, not sure where, but somewhere to give Laura a little break for the weekend. I'm thinking I'm going to try and take them to the crystal digging place up north, but that's a 2-hour drive there and another 2 back, so I dunno if I can do that in 1 day or spend the night somewhere. I have to decide that soon. I need to do it when the weather's not going to be super hot, either, because it's just a big field of salt. I'll probably need to take an umbrella or something.
Anyway, I need to get some rest, I guess.
Summer break is officially here and I'm already at my limit, so to speak, with the kids on the very first day. I dunno what I need to do, but I need to change my outlook on how to handle this. Every day, I'm just super tired to begin the day and I have no motivation to do anything. The kids are always wanting attention and it's hard to give it to both of them at the same time, when I just want a break, even though I haven't even dealt with them really to be tired of them, if that makes sense.
Laura took the kids to Tulsa this weekend and although I feel very grateful, I feel like I accomplished nothing while I was here. Maybe that's not a bad thing, but I still feel tired. Last night I did go to bed at like 12:30am, then woke up a few times in the morning to let Kip out and stuff, but I finally woke up around 11:30am. They are coming home tomorrow and I'm afraid I'm just going to be my tired self. I dunno.
We did take our trip to Disneyworld last month. It was fun, but it was very tiring and I think a couple of days too long, in my opinion. There was a lot of walking, which I knew would happen, but I think the kids were tired of walking around so much as well. Still, everything went pretty good, all things considered. The kids slept decently in the hotel room and they had fun.
There's a lot of things planned for the Summer for the kids, I feel like. A week at the farm for Connor in the next couple of weeks. Emmeline still doing ballet. I think Connor still has a few t-ball games as well. Then he has piano once a week. Then Emmeline has Camp Haverim at the end of the Summer.
Sometime this Summer I do want to take both kids somewhere, not sure where, but somewhere to give Laura a little break for the weekend. I'm thinking I'm going to try and take them to the crystal digging place up north, but that's a 2-hour drive there and another 2 back, so I dunno if I can do that in 1 day or spend the night somewhere. I have to decide that soon. I need to do it when the weather's not going to be super hot, either, because it's just a big field of salt. I'll probably need to take an umbrella or something.
Anyway, I need to get some rest, I guess.
Friday, January 05, 2018
2018 - A Fresh Start...Sort of
Well, Christmas has come and gone. It was fun with Ellen and Matt here this year, but also hard because of the kids, as predicted. I can't say if it was harder than last year, probably, but there were other problems going on such as the gastro stuff with Connor and other factors that probably made it seem harder. The 3 boys just really cause issues with each other for some reason and then you add in Emmeline who tends to just play by herself because she doesn't want to be involved with all the fighting and teasing the boys do, so she needs an extra person to watch her most of the time. Laura did a lot and I thank her for that. It's just that I feel like I can't help because all Connor and Emmeline want is for "Mommy to help." Oh well.
We watched The Last Jedi, which I enjoyed. 2 more years until the next. 2018 will be a great year for movies, though, after watching the previews. Lots of Marvel movies coming out and stuff. Not that we will be able to watch it in the theaters, but we will probably watch 1 or 2 at least.
To add to all the hubbub, my Mom came the day after we got back to Oklahoma City. We scrambled to clean up the house as much as we could and then after she arrived, Laura had to make all the New Year's celebration stuff. It didn't seem as much work, or stress rather, as the previous years, but everything came out great and the party went well, aside from a few fits that Connor had with the boys. Always the boys.
We have a lot of projects to do this year. Unfortunately, they're projects that require a lot of money. The first big thing is the backyard fencing. They neighbors are redoing their fence, so it's a good time to do it and will allow us to at least split the cost of it. not sure if we want to do an 8-foot fence on the street side but we need to decide that soon. After that is done, I think we want to clear out the back area of the yard and put a big shed in to put all the patio stuff, toys, and perhaps a workshop into. The original plan for a 7x7 might be too small, so I found a 10x7, if it fits, that is only like $100 more than the 7x7. Then, after THAT, I want to make a small, standing fort for the kids right next to the shed. I think there will be enough room for all that. We also want to do the rest of the yard, too, including paving with stones the narrow side yard, mulching all around the big tree where the swing is, and other stuff I'm sure.
Other things I want to accomplish this year include making some money with the storybook idea I have, playing less games that I'm wasting my time with, working on my patience with the kids, helping out in the house more, and waking up with Laura to help her out more.
It's a big task, but I have to start somewhere...I just can't seem to start...
Oh, and don't get me started about the "possible frozen pipe" issue we had a few days ago...ugh. Long story short, I don't think it was a frozen pipe, but I do have to empty the hot water heater and then replace a shut off valve in the kitchen this weekend. Oh, the dishwasher I think is clogged, too...
We watched The Last Jedi, which I enjoyed. 2 more years until the next. 2018 will be a great year for movies, though, after watching the previews. Lots of Marvel movies coming out and stuff. Not that we will be able to watch it in the theaters, but we will probably watch 1 or 2 at least.
To add to all the hubbub, my Mom came the day after we got back to Oklahoma City. We scrambled to clean up the house as much as we could and then after she arrived, Laura had to make all the New Year's celebration stuff. It didn't seem as much work, or stress rather, as the previous years, but everything came out great and the party went well, aside from a few fits that Connor had with the boys. Always the boys.
We have a lot of projects to do this year. Unfortunately, they're projects that require a lot of money. The first big thing is the backyard fencing. They neighbors are redoing their fence, so it's a good time to do it and will allow us to at least split the cost of it. not sure if we want to do an 8-foot fence on the street side but we need to decide that soon. After that is done, I think we want to clear out the back area of the yard and put a big shed in to put all the patio stuff, toys, and perhaps a workshop into. The original plan for a 7x7 might be too small, so I found a 10x7, if it fits, that is only like $100 more than the 7x7. Then, after THAT, I want to make a small, standing fort for the kids right next to the shed. I think there will be enough room for all that. We also want to do the rest of the yard, too, including paving with stones the narrow side yard, mulching all around the big tree where the swing is, and other stuff I'm sure.
Other things I want to accomplish this year include making some money with the storybook idea I have, playing less games that I'm wasting my time with, working on my patience with the kids, helping out in the house more, and waking up with Laura to help her out more.
It's a big task, but I have to start somewhere...I just can't seem to start...
Oh, and don't get me started about the "possible frozen pipe" issue we had a few days ago...ugh. Long story short, I don't think it was a frozen pipe, but I do have to empty the hot water heater and then replace a shut off valve in the kitchen this weekend. Oh, the dishwasher I think is clogged, too...
Friday, December 01, 2017
Christmastime
I'm not sure if that's one word, but I'll leave it like that.
We're back and it's December 1st. We went to Colorado for our Thanksgiving break and we did have fun, but it was very tiring as we drove. We drove to Salina once again on the way the first day and then finished up the rest the next day. It still felt long. We spent a couple days in Denver with Ellen and Matt before they left for Iceland. On Monday, we left for Estes Park. Laura had gotten us a cabin at the YMCA and it turned out to be one of the newer, if not the newest, cabin there. Well, that might now be true, but everything looked new and clean, so it must have been. Anyway, it was a really good cabin with 2 rooms. One had a bed + bunk bed where the kids stayed and we stayed in the other. It was a good setup minus the couple of time Emmeline kept Connor up at bedtime. There was a lot to do there, but we certainly didn't do all of it. The first day we went to a painting station thing and that ended up in Emmeline screaming for some reason. Before we got there, Connor had a huge fit as well because both were just not listening to me at all that first day/night. Plus it was FREEZING because it was the windiest of the 3 days we were there. Well, 2 days. The next day was better and we hiked up into the mountains. It snowed just before and during the hike which was actually nice because the kids loved it. After the short hike because Connor's boot was drenched inside and it was freezing his feet, we went back to the cabin to rest and then to another short hiking area in the afternoon, which was much warmer and no snow. Afterwards, we ate at a mexican restaurant and then had dessert at "Laura's Desserts" in downtown. We saw a herd of elk in the park area downtown and almost got hit by deer running around in the YMCA grounds which made the kids laugh and stuff. That night was probably the best night of the trip as we all had fun. It felt like the holidays because all the lights were up in the town and it was snowy and stuff. After Estes, we went to Chris' house to hang out. We went to Top Golf, which was fun, but very expensive and probably not worth it if you don't have a large group.
For actual Thanksgiving day, we went to my sister's house in Niwot. The kids actually had fun and they played with Justine, who was a trooper hanging out with them the entire time, mostly with Connor. Her boyfriend, who makes dice and lightsabers, was there with them in hand and they played with that a lot. They both had fun I think. The food was good and after hanging out after a bit, we left to head back to Ellen's. The next day we went to Boulder to play at the park with Chris. That night, Laura had gotten us Polar Express tickets in Golden. The kids liked it, but there was a hiccup with seating during the moving train part and Laura got mad about it, but I just said forget about it since they're not going to do anything. The entire experience, I think, was better at the Oklahoma one, because in this one, we started out in a non-moving train to eat cookies and stuff and then we all moved onto the moving train to see the "North Pole" which was actually just a few hundred feet away. The train just kept going in circles until it was time to "make the stop." Anyway, it was fine, we were all tired out, and went home.
The drive back was actually probably better considering the fact we made it in 1 day. We stopped in Colby and then a little past Salina. The kids did great, really, with little fussing. Again, it was a fun but tiring trip.
Now, it's onto Christmas. That's a whole other set of events. Ellen and Matt will be here this year and a couple less folks, but it will be stressful I'm sure. We need to figure something out about leaving the house every day. The problem is that we're just cooped up in there all day every day for a few days and that just makes everyone in a bad mood. The kids aren't ready to just sit and watch TV and listen to stories. We also need to make time to see the new Star Wars movie. I wanted to try it in the Warren theater so we can experience the eating and stuff while watching the movie. We'll see if we can do that. I'm sure it'll be sold out, possibly.
There are a couple of new projects that I want to tackle in the coming year. One is to get on my damn book. I just need to finish the first book draft and I'll be ready to put it on Amazon or something. Once there's interest, I'll start book 2. The second thing is that I want to kind of make kids bedtime story audio books, similar to the Jim Weiss ones Laura and Connor listen to. However, I want to make it about actual places on Earth, so they could "travel" to these places. I won't have gone to any of them, but I'm thinking with some research, I can write in a way that describes the places and the history and explanation of the place. I dunno...I searched for kids bedtime stories and nothing came up, so I figured it might be a good niche to take on. I put a microphone on my Christmas list for that reason. Although, I don't want to be the one narrating. I thought about using a voiceover on Fiverr but perhaps Laura could do it, too. Listening to myself is the weirdest thing for me. I can't stand it. I think there's some research into why that is, but I'm not sure.
Lately, I've just been super tired as well, mostly due to the kids' fits and general attitude about not listening well at all. Maybe it's just me and how I act with them, but it's tiring me out. I know that I should just drop some stuff and let certain little things slide, but when the moment comes, I just can't for some reason. I just have to say something and then at some point, I can't really back out of what I said, which usually leads to escalation and fits. The thing is, I see everything the kids do as something that shouldn't be happening, like using their fingers when eating, not sitting done when eating, fingers in their mouths, etc. I dunno, but I need to change something up for next year, i guess.
Disneyworld is the next big thing, I think, and that's in May. I guess we'll have Connor's birthday, too.
And, oh, look. It's already time to get Emmeline and I literally got nothing done. Sigh.
We're back and it's December 1st. We went to Colorado for our Thanksgiving break and we did have fun, but it was very tiring as we drove. We drove to Salina once again on the way the first day and then finished up the rest the next day. It still felt long. We spent a couple days in Denver with Ellen and Matt before they left for Iceland. On Monday, we left for Estes Park. Laura had gotten us a cabin at the YMCA and it turned out to be one of the newer, if not the newest, cabin there. Well, that might now be true, but everything looked new and clean, so it must have been. Anyway, it was a really good cabin with 2 rooms. One had a bed + bunk bed where the kids stayed and we stayed in the other. It was a good setup minus the couple of time Emmeline kept Connor up at bedtime. There was a lot to do there, but we certainly didn't do all of it. The first day we went to a painting station thing and that ended up in Emmeline screaming for some reason. Before we got there, Connor had a huge fit as well because both were just not listening to me at all that first day/night. Plus it was FREEZING because it was the windiest of the 3 days we were there. Well, 2 days. The next day was better and we hiked up into the mountains. It snowed just before and during the hike which was actually nice because the kids loved it. After the short hike because Connor's boot was drenched inside and it was freezing his feet, we went back to the cabin to rest and then to another short hiking area in the afternoon, which was much warmer and no snow. Afterwards, we ate at a mexican restaurant and then had dessert at "Laura's Desserts" in downtown. We saw a herd of elk in the park area downtown and almost got hit by deer running around in the YMCA grounds which made the kids laugh and stuff. That night was probably the best night of the trip as we all had fun. It felt like the holidays because all the lights were up in the town and it was snowy and stuff. After Estes, we went to Chris' house to hang out. We went to Top Golf, which was fun, but very expensive and probably not worth it if you don't have a large group.
For actual Thanksgiving day, we went to my sister's house in Niwot. The kids actually had fun and they played with Justine, who was a trooper hanging out with them the entire time, mostly with Connor. Her boyfriend, who makes dice and lightsabers, was there with them in hand and they played with that a lot. They both had fun I think. The food was good and after hanging out after a bit, we left to head back to Ellen's. The next day we went to Boulder to play at the park with Chris. That night, Laura had gotten us Polar Express tickets in Golden. The kids liked it, but there was a hiccup with seating during the moving train part and Laura got mad about it, but I just said forget about it since they're not going to do anything. The entire experience, I think, was better at the Oklahoma one, because in this one, we started out in a non-moving train to eat cookies and stuff and then we all moved onto the moving train to see the "North Pole" which was actually just a few hundred feet away. The train just kept going in circles until it was time to "make the stop." Anyway, it was fine, we were all tired out, and went home.
The drive back was actually probably better considering the fact we made it in 1 day. We stopped in Colby and then a little past Salina. The kids did great, really, with little fussing. Again, it was a fun but tiring trip.
Now, it's onto Christmas. That's a whole other set of events. Ellen and Matt will be here this year and a couple less folks, but it will be stressful I'm sure. We need to figure something out about leaving the house every day. The problem is that we're just cooped up in there all day every day for a few days and that just makes everyone in a bad mood. The kids aren't ready to just sit and watch TV and listen to stories. We also need to make time to see the new Star Wars movie. I wanted to try it in the Warren theater so we can experience the eating and stuff while watching the movie. We'll see if we can do that. I'm sure it'll be sold out, possibly.
There are a couple of new projects that I want to tackle in the coming year. One is to get on my damn book. I just need to finish the first book draft and I'll be ready to put it on Amazon or something. Once there's interest, I'll start book 2. The second thing is that I want to kind of make kids bedtime story audio books, similar to the Jim Weiss ones Laura and Connor listen to. However, I want to make it about actual places on Earth, so they could "travel" to these places. I won't have gone to any of them, but I'm thinking with some research, I can write in a way that describes the places and the history and explanation of the place. I dunno...I searched for kids bedtime stories and nothing came up, so I figured it might be a good niche to take on. I put a microphone on my Christmas list for that reason. Although, I don't want to be the one narrating. I thought about using a voiceover on Fiverr but perhaps Laura could do it, too. Listening to myself is the weirdest thing for me. I can't stand it. I think there's some research into why that is, but I'm not sure.
Lately, I've just been super tired as well, mostly due to the kids' fits and general attitude about not listening well at all. Maybe it's just me and how I act with them, but it's tiring me out. I know that I should just drop some stuff and let certain little things slide, but when the moment comes, I just can't for some reason. I just have to say something and then at some point, I can't really back out of what I said, which usually leads to escalation and fits. The thing is, I see everything the kids do as something that shouldn't be happening, like using their fingers when eating, not sitting done when eating, fingers in their mouths, etc. I dunno, but I need to change something up for next year, i guess.
Disneyworld is the next big thing, I think, and that's in May. I guess we'll have Connor's birthday, too.
And, oh, look. It's already time to get Emmeline and I literally got nothing done. Sigh.
Monday, October 23, 2017
The Break Before the Storm
We're already a month into Fall. The weather is definitely getting cooler, which is nice. The trees in our front yard are starting to change their colors. I like the atmosphere that Fall and Winter bring.
Connor's been in school for almost 2 months now and is pretty much settled in, although there are still times when he doesn't want us to leave in the morning, but not because he's anxious, but because he wants us to wait until he's the last one to sit down, which means that he can be the line leader heading into class. Dumb reason, yes. Anyway, the first few weeks were rough for him in the morning, but he's good now. He's made several friends and his favorite is a girl named Gabby in his class. There's a girl in the other class that seems to like him, too, but I'm afraid that Connor is sometimes rude in that regard, like not paying attention or something. I dunno. His behavior has been crap lately as well. Still hitting and stuff. Dunno what the issue is. Sometimes, I think he's bipolar or something.
For a while there, starting August-ish, there was something going on every fricken week, sometimes multiple times a week and that got me burnt out. Still am, but Laura was able to take the kids for a few days to Tulsa this past weekend, so that was great. I cleaned up around the house a bit, but mostly just relaxed. I felt like I did nothing, though, which wasn't a good feeling. I just hate wasting away the day, although that is what I do mostly. I still haven't done the cranes for this holiday season. I think at this point, that's out the window. I really wanted to, but I couldn't get the motivation to get started. It would cost around $500 to get everything to make 300 gift boxes. I think with what I learned about what sells last year, I think I could sell it all this year, but I just never got to it. I wanted to have my first book drafted, edited, and put on Amazon, but that hasn't happened yet. I have it done, but Laura needs to read through my second edit, which I think is much better as I put in stuff that she suggested. It's just that we're both busy and tired. I keep thinking that I should just go through it one more time and then throw it up on Amazon, but, again, motivation.
Every night I end up playing video games on the computer because at the end of the day, I just don't want to have to do something like chores and stuff. I keep imagining what I would have finished by now if I had been doing THAT instead of the hours of games each night. I'm sure I would have finished my entire story by now. Thing is, I have weird quirks about how I write. I can't have any sound or noise. I'm writing on my computer which is distraction for me to just surf the web.
Anyway, enough ranting. This week is Emmeline's birthday party with a whole bunch of people, which is, again, stressful. Laura makes it more stressful because she tries to do too much. I keep saying to just buy the cake and all the catering and no need to "get the house ready," but it is what it is. My Mom is also coming out for a week this Thursday, I think. It will be a nice help for her to watch Emmeline more, but that comes with the caveat of me getting annoyed at what she does and stuff.
To add to all this, every month I'm helping out in the library for volunteer hours. It's only a couple of hours and I've only done it once so far because for the first month, we all had pink eye and had to cancel. It's 2 hours, but still, I just don't want to do it. I regret signing up for it. I hate how you need to volunteer so many hours a year for the school. I think it's stupid.
I better go and get some things done before I get Emmeline up even though she usually messes around in the crib. We need to move her to her own bed, too, and not a crib. That's going to be fun.
Connor's been in school for almost 2 months now and is pretty much settled in, although there are still times when he doesn't want us to leave in the morning, but not because he's anxious, but because he wants us to wait until he's the last one to sit down, which means that he can be the line leader heading into class. Dumb reason, yes. Anyway, the first few weeks were rough for him in the morning, but he's good now. He's made several friends and his favorite is a girl named Gabby in his class. There's a girl in the other class that seems to like him, too, but I'm afraid that Connor is sometimes rude in that regard, like not paying attention or something. I dunno. His behavior has been crap lately as well. Still hitting and stuff. Dunno what the issue is. Sometimes, I think he's bipolar or something.
For a while there, starting August-ish, there was something going on every fricken week, sometimes multiple times a week and that got me burnt out. Still am, but Laura was able to take the kids for a few days to Tulsa this past weekend, so that was great. I cleaned up around the house a bit, but mostly just relaxed. I felt like I did nothing, though, which wasn't a good feeling. I just hate wasting away the day, although that is what I do mostly. I still haven't done the cranes for this holiday season. I think at this point, that's out the window. I really wanted to, but I couldn't get the motivation to get started. It would cost around $500 to get everything to make 300 gift boxes. I think with what I learned about what sells last year, I think I could sell it all this year, but I just never got to it. I wanted to have my first book drafted, edited, and put on Amazon, but that hasn't happened yet. I have it done, but Laura needs to read through my second edit, which I think is much better as I put in stuff that she suggested. It's just that we're both busy and tired. I keep thinking that I should just go through it one more time and then throw it up on Amazon, but, again, motivation.
Every night I end up playing video games on the computer because at the end of the day, I just don't want to have to do something like chores and stuff. I keep imagining what I would have finished by now if I had been doing THAT instead of the hours of games each night. I'm sure I would have finished my entire story by now. Thing is, I have weird quirks about how I write. I can't have any sound or noise. I'm writing on my computer which is distraction for me to just surf the web.
Anyway, enough ranting. This week is Emmeline's birthday party with a whole bunch of people, which is, again, stressful. Laura makes it more stressful because she tries to do too much. I keep saying to just buy the cake and all the catering and no need to "get the house ready," but it is what it is. My Mom is also coming out for a week this Thursday, I think. It will be a nice help for her to watch Emmeline more, but that comes with the caveat of me getting annoyed at what she does and stuff.
To add to all this, every month I'm helping out in the library for volunteer hours. It's only a couple of hours and I've only done it once so far because for the first month, we all had pink eye and had to cancel. It's 2 hours, but still, I just don't want to do it. I regret signing up for it. I hate how you need to volunteer so many hours a year for the school. I think it's stupid.
I better go and get some things done before I get Emmeline up even though she usually messes around in the crib. We need to move her to her own bed, too, and not a crib. That's going to be fun.
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
First Day of Kindergarten
Well, that "month left" from the last post certainly went by quick.
Yesterday we all took Connor to his first day of kindergarten as a family. Emmeline was disruptive sort of as always, but he seemed to do well, for him anyway. He was upset and very nervous but he only cried at home and not at school from what I saw. He sat in his little row in the gym with his class as they all assemble at the gym each day for news and stuff. All the parents left before the assembly was over, so we waved goodbye but I don't think he saw us. It was a little sad seeing him sitting there looking for us, but I think he had fun as we saw him smiling and stuff when we picked him up. He was, again, nervous this morning, probably more so than the first day, but that's always the case with him and these kinds of things. He gets more and more difficult about it for the first few days and then he seems to be fine.
This Thursday is Emmeline's school's orientation and then on Friday we meet her teacher. I'm sure she won't have any issues, though.
Still having no motivation to do anything other than just surf while they are doing their quiet time. Well, it's really just Emmeline's nap now (which she is taking less and less of each day, but that's another story) since Connor's in school everyday. I really, REALLY need to take this opportunity and DO something, but I just can't get myself to do it. And even if I say to myself that this is a break to give me a buffer for when they ARE awake/active, I seem to just get in a bad mood instantly when they start behaving badly. Maybe I just need to adjust my perception of "bad behavior." I dunno.
I already only have 20 minutes before I get Emmeline. She was dicking around the first half of nap time when I noticed the monitor was beeping. She had knocked the power adapter loose again. As I went in to plug it back in, she was standing up trying to reach her dolls that I had moved away because if it's next to the crib, she just grabs all of them in the dark through the rails. Hopefully, she's napping now, but it'll be short again.
Bleh, and now it's time after dicking around playing this game online...sigh.
Yesterday we all took Connor to his first day of kindergarten as a family. Emmeline was disruptive sort of as always, but he seemed to do well, for him anyway. He was upset and very nervous but he only cried at home and not at school from what I saw. He sat in his little row in the gym with his class as they all assemble at the gym each day for news and stuff. All the parents left before the assembly was over, so we waved goodbye but I don't think he saw us. It was a little sad seeing him sitting there looking for us, but I think he had fun as we saw him smiling and stuff when we picked him up. He was, again, nervous this morning, probably more so than the first day, but that's always the case with him and these kinds of things. He gets more and more difficult about it for the first few days and then he seems to be fine.
This Thursday is Emmeline's school's orientation and then on Friday we meet her teacher. I'm sure she won't have any issues, though.
Still having no motivation to do anything other than just surf while they are doing their quiet time. Well, it's really just Emmeline's nap now (which she is taking less and less of each day, but that's another story) since Connor's in school everyday. I really, REALLY need to take this opportunity and DO something, but I just can't get myself to do it. And even if I say to myself that this is a break to give me a buffer for when they ARE awake/active, I seem to just get in a bad mood instantly when they start behaving badly. Maybe I just need to adjust my perception of "bad behavior." I dunno.
I already only have 20 minutes before I get Emmeline. She was dicking around the first half of nap time when I noticed the monitor was beeping. She had knocked the power adapter loose again. As I went in to plug it back in, she was standing up trying to reach her dolls that I had moved away because if it's next to the crib, she just grabs all of them in the dark through the rails. Hopefully, she's napping now, but it'll be short again.
Bleh, and now it's time after dicking around playing this game online...sigh.
Sunday, July 16, 2017
2 Months in - 1 Month Left
Summer has been a rough one, I might say. Kids are bored, hot, and not much to do. Part of that may be me being lazy, but we've gone to a park almost every day in the mornings. I'm sure they're tired of it by now. It's too hot to play outside by 10am most days, so then it's off to the stores we go until we come back home for lunch. In the afternoon, we usually go in the backyard where it's way too hot and play in the sprinklers. Come in, lay around for a while and then TV until Laura gets home. Rinse and repeat every day. I would like to do other stuff, but it's hard to get into the groove to do it. They do have a couple of things going on this Summer, such as Amazing Athletes at their old school and soccer and stuff, but, I dunno. I'm just burned out by them. They have been pretty whiny as well the last few weeks for some reason. Almost around the time we got back from going to Ashley's wedding in Indiana.
Oh, so that. We left the kids with Laura's parents for 3 days while we drove out to Ashley's wedding. It was a fun time to be there without worrying about the kids, feeding them, nap time, etc. I wish it were longer though so we could have done more or something. On the way home, we did stop by Cahokia mounds. It wasn't as cool at the documentaries I've seen showed it. We climbed up the highest mound. The view was cool, but that's about it. Pretty tiring to do in hot weather.
What else. Other than general lack of motivation to do anything, that's about the extent of the news. Tomorrow the kids start camp at the old school MWF all day, which is nice for me, obviously. However, what am I going to do?! I really want to finish this first book of my fantasy series and to publish it on Amazon, but I'm not sure. I wanted to Laura to re-read the edited draft because I added a lot of stuff to it. Maybe I just need to go through it again, take care of any mistakes and then just publish? I dunno.
I should be doing stuff right now, but I'm probably just going to end up surfing and writing this blog. I just don't know how to get started to do things. I often start it and stop halfway.
We still haven't gotten the fricken fence fixed. We've contacted a couple of places, but they don't seem to call back for estimates. I dunno what to do. We want to fix the fence and then put the shed and play area for the kids in the back. We also, I think, really need to talk about getting a van. We are just so short on space in the SUV, even with the hitch basket. It's weird. The thing is, I'm not sure if a van would solve that problem. I don't think we would get much more room out of it unless we put a hitch on it like now. Then we would definitely have more room. A decent Odyssey with decent miles would be around $22000. A bit more after taxes and fees. That's a lot of money.
We are also planning on taking a trip to Colorado during Thanksgiving break this year. We were looking at cabins in Estes Park for a few days and a few days on the front range visiting family/friends.
Yesterday, I read that my old friend from high school had just moved back to Longmont. I am thinking about trying to get the old gang back together for little reunion. I think it would be fun. It has been, what, almost 10 years since we've been as a group. Maybe a bit more, actually.
Well, I should get to...doing nothing...tomorrow is going to be another stressful day. Full day at camp for both. I'm sure Connor will be all right, but I dunno about Emmeline. She is DEFINITELY not going to take a nap during nap time. I hope I don't get a call from them. I really don't know what I'm going to do. I don't want to be too far away in case they call or something, but, I dunno. Whatever.
Oh, so that. We left the kids with Laura's parents for 3 days while we drove out to Ashley's wedding. It was a fun time to be there without worrying about the kids, feeding them, nap time, etc. I wish it were longer though so we could have done more or something. On the way home, we did stop by Cahokia mounds. It wasn't as cool at the documentaries I've seen showed it. We climbed up the highest mound. The view was cool, but that's about it. Pretty tiring to do in hot weather.
What else. Other than general lack of motivation to do anything, that's about the extent of the news. Tomorrow the kids start camp at the old school MWF all day, which is nice for me, obviously. However, what am I going to do?! I really want to finish this first book of my fantasy series and to publish it on Amazon, but I'm not sure. I wanted to Laura to re-read the edited draft because I added a lot of stuff to it. Maybe I just need to go through it again, take care of any mistakes and then just publish? I dunno.
I should be doing stuff right now, but I'm probably just going to end up surfing and writing this blog. I just don't know how to get started to do things. I often start it and stop halfway.
We still haven't gotten the fricken fence fixed. We've contacted a couple of places, but they don't seem to call back for estimates. I dunno what to do. We want to fix the fence and then put the shed and play area for the kids in the back. We also, I think, really need to talk about getting a van. We are just so short on space in the SUV, even with the hitch basket. It's weird. The thing is, I'm not sure if a van would solve that problem. I don't think we would get much more room out of it unless we put a hitch on it like now. Then we would definitely have more room. A decent Odyssey with decent miles would be around $22000. A bit more after taxes and fees. That's a lot of money.
We are also planning on taking a trip to Colorado during Thanksgiving break this year. We were looking at cabins in Estes Park for a few days and a few days on the front range visiting family/friends.
Yesterday, I read that my old friend from high school had just moved back to Longmont. I am thinking about trying to get the old gang back together for little reunion. I think it would be fun. It has been, what, almost 10 years since we've been as a group. Maybe a bit more, actually.
Well, I should get to...doing nothing...tomorrow is going to be another stressful day. Full day at camp for both. I'm sure Connor will be all right, but I dunno about Emmeline. She is DEFINITELY not going to take a nap during nap time. I hope I don't get a call from them. I really don't know what I'm going to do. I don't want to be too far away in case they call or something, but, I dunno. Whatever.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Summer is Almost Here
So, I started this blog like a few weeks ago, but never started it. I just wrote the title. My procrastination is getting worse every year. Since the last blog, not too much has happened other than some birthday parties for Connor and his friends. Actually, I guess we had Connor's birthday at the gym and my Mom was over for about a week. The weather has been slowly getting warmer, almost hot. Summer is right around the corner, if not already here.
Today was Connor's last day at school. It was a half-day. Tomorrow is his last big school program for preschool, then the all-school picnic, and then Summer is basically here. I'm not sure how I'm going to cope, but I need to try my best to keep my patience. I don't have anything planned as far as activities. Maybe the Science Museum a couple of times. I have talked to him about going to the Salt Plains to do some crystal digging, but that's a semi-big venture as it's about 2 hours away. That's 4 hours of driving for maybe an hour of digging. Laura says I should just take Connor as a bonding trip and stay the night and stuff, but I dunno. That's a lot of work for not much time at the digging site. The digging seems cool, though, and I think Connor would like it a lot. It's free, I believe. I still have to think about it. I think it'd be better as a family trip. Even though it's mostly driving.
The other thing that I wanted to write down was that one day after dropping Connor off at school, I was going home the way I usually do. Nothing out of the ordinary. I was on the left lane and suddenly the car in front of me, actually, a work truck, swerved hard into the right lane. There was a car that was stopped, trying to turn left into a parking lot that he didn't see, apparently, Anyway, that stopped car wasn't hit, but the swerving truck hitting a random SUV that was coming up from the right lane, minding its own business. The truck hit just right and pushed the SUV's back to the right, causing it to flip and roll once. The person seemed okay. We all stopped and a guy in a truck behind me pulled up and got out to check to make sure she was okay. The guy in the truck got out and started pacing, obviously knowing it was his fault and what he just caused. It was surreal to see it in front of me as it could easily have been me passing on the right. I think that was the closest I've been to see an accident happen. I have seen other accidents, but it was always after it happened, wasn't that big of an accident, or, once, it happened behind me as I drove away.
What else. Lately, it's been more of a bleh time for me again. no motivation, tired, and, yeah, just no motivation. I want to do thing such as finish my book which, I was into for a little while again. And a little while meaning like a week. I would still probably be writing except that I can't write at the library anymore because Google acts all weird and my work doesn't save. Unsecured connection or something. I could probably write just in Word, but...too stubborn to do that. I like to be able to access it anywhere. I just need to stop making excuses, I guess. I'm a couple of chapters into the 2nd book. Laura is in the process of editing the first. We've just both been tired and busy the last few months that she hasn't had a time to read it at night. Maybe once I get the first book out and I don't get discouraged from any and all reviews, that will get me to write again. I also want to do the cranes, too, but, again, no motivation. It's like, okay money, but the profit margin is so small that it's not worth the time to make it almost. Last year, I spent about $300-400, I can't remember, to make about $1200-ish (?) but then Amazon's cut is almost half that. I would make a pretty good killing if I sold it locally at a craft fair or something so Amazon isn't involved, but I'm not that kind of person, you know. It would almost entirely be profit. I think people would buy it, too, but, alas.
Again, I wasted my time playing Overwatch off and on while writing this and during quiet time. I could be working on my book an hour or two every day, unhindered, but I choose not to. Ugh. Now it's time to get them out and it doesn't feel like I've had any time to myself even I did...I dunno what's wrong with me!
We finally want to get the fence fixed and sent for an estimate from a fence place, but, our luck, they contacted once and now they've seemed to have forgotten...it's like, we try, but we can't seem to be able to do what we want to do. After the fence, we agreed on getting a fairly large 7'x7' shed for around $600 and put it in the back corner. It would fit perfectly. Then I thought I could make them a little play fort, not connected to a tree or anything, just stand alone. Lots of stuff to do, but we'll see if it gets done this Summer.
Gonna take them outside and fill up the sand table with water now, I guess.
Today was Connor's last day at school. It was a half-day. Tomorrow is his last big school program for preschool, then the all-school picnic, and then Summer is basically here. I'm not sure how I'm going to cope, but I need to try my best to keep my patience. I don't have anything planned as far as activities. Maybe the Science Museum a couple of times. I have talked to him about going to the Salt Plains to do some crystal digging, but that's a semi-big venture as it's about 2 hours away. That's 4 hours of driving for maybe an hour of digging. Laura says I should just take Connor as a bonding trip and stay the night and stuff, but I dunno. That's a lot of work for not much time at the digging site. The digging seems cool, though, and I think Connor would like it a lot. It's free, I believe. I still have to think about it. I think it'd be better as a family trip. Even though it's mostly driving.
The other thing that I wanted to write down was that one day after dropping Connor off at school, I was going home the way I usually do. Nothing out of the ordinary. I was on the left lane and suddenly the car in front of me, actually, a work truck, swerved hard into the right lane. There was a car that was stopped, trying to turn left into a parking lot that he didn't see, apparently, Anyway, that stopped car wasn't hit, but the swerving truck hitting a random SUV that was coming up from the right lane, minding its own business. The truck hit just right and pushed the SUV's back to the right, causing it to flip and roll once. The person seemed okay. We all stopped and a guy in a truck behind me pulled up and got out to check to make sure she was okay. The guy in the truck got out and started pacing, obviously knowing it was his fault and what he just caused. It was surreal to see it in front of me as it could easily have been me passing on the right. I think that was the closest I've been to see an accident happen. I have seen other accidents, but it was always after it happened, wasn't that big of an accident, or, once, it happened behind me as I drove away.
What else. Lately, it's been more of a bleh time for me again. no motivation, tired, and, yeah, just no motivation. I want to do thing such as finish my book which, I was into for a little while again. And a little while meaning like a week. I would still probably be writing except that I can't write at the library anymore because Google acts all weird and my work doesn't save. Unsecured connection or something. I could probably write just in Word, but...too stubborn to do that. I like to be able to access it anywhere. I just need to stop making excuses, I guess. I'm a couple of chapters into the 2nd book. Laura is in the process of editing the first. We've just both been tired and busy the last few months that she hasn't had a time to read it at night. Maybe once I get the first book out and I don't get discouraged from any and all reviews, that will get me to write again. I also want to do the cranes, too, but, again, no motivation. It's like, okay money, but the profit margin is so small that it's not worth the time to make it almost. Last year, I spent about $300-400, I can't remember, to make about $1200-ish (?) but then Amazon's cut is almost half that. I would make a pretty good killing if I sold it locally at a craft fair or something so Amazon isn't involved, but I'm not that kind of person, you know. It would almost entirely be profit. I think people would buy it, too, but, alas.
Again, I wasted my time playing Overwatch off and on while writing this and during quiet time. I could be working on my book an hour or two every day, unhindered, but I choose not to. Ugh. Now it's time to get them out and it doesn't feel like I've had any time to myself even I did...I dunno what's wrong with me!
We finally want to get the fence fixed and sent for an estimate from a fence place, but, our luck, they contacted once and now they've seemed to have forgotten...it's like, we try, but we can't seem to be able to do what we want to do. After the fence, we agreed on getting a fairly large 7'x7' shed for around $600 and put it in the back corner. It would fit perfectly. Then I thought I could make them a little play fort, not connected to a tree or anything, just stand alone. Lots of stuff to do, but we'll see if it gets done this Summer.
Gonna take them outside and fill up the sand table with water now, I guess.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Reaching My Max
The last few weeks have been CRAZY. Crazy in that there have just been a lot of little things going on that keep taking my time and that I've been with the kids solo a lot. I know it's not anyone's fault, but it's getting to me. I need a break from them. Quiet time may constitute as one of those times, but it just isn't the same, for some reason. I've been tired and I think I managed to not get a cold this time. I thought I was starting to a couple of days ago, but it seems like it was just bad allergies or something. Although, my throat hurts from coughing (or yelling at the kids the last week, ugh), so I dunno.
I did get my bottom retainer a couple of days ago and it's been two nights since I've started wearing them. It's bigger than I first imagined, but I'm slowly getting used to it. My jaw seemed weird since it's slightly open all the time. Hopefully it works and I am diligent enough to wear it because, well, mostly because it cost almost $300.
More school activities coming up. I think next week or the week after that, I have to teach some of the kids how to play a board game or something like that. I don't really want to do it, but whatever. Then it's Connor's birthday party at the gym, a different one this time. I think he'll have fun. We rented out the small little area for just us, so that's good. Other than that, I'm just tired.
I'm going to take this quiet time to rest. I'll write more later because I do have more to write.
I did get my bottom retainer a couple of days ago and it's been two nights since I've started wearing them. It's bigger than I first imagined, but I'm slowly getting used to it. My jaw seemed weird since it's slightly open all the time. Hopefully it works and I am diligent enough to wear it because, well, mostly because it cost almost $300.
More school activities coming up. I think next week or the week after that, I have to teach some of the kids how to play a board game or something like that. I don't really want to do it, but whatever. Then it's Connor's birthday party at the gym, a different one this time. I think he'll have fun. We rented out the small little area for just us, so that's good. Other than that, I'm just tired.
I'm going to take this quiet time to rest. I'll write more later because I do have more to write.
Wednesday, March 08, 2017
A Rocky Start to 2017
8:43pm. I'm sitting here, procrastinating when I should be editing my first draft of book #1 of my "episodic" novel series. I can't even write this blog, let alone edit a book, fully concentrated since I have YouTube up on my other monitor with a bag of Cheez-Its next to me.
Okay, so now it's 9:01pm as I watched a few videos.
Where did I leave off...oh, the cancelled Colorado trip. Well, that got moved to President's Day, which was Feb. 20 or something. I ended up going and, although it was probably not worth it for the time I spent there, it was a good break from the kids. I decided to drive to Salina, KS that Thursday and stay at the Days Inn. I left the house around, actually, let me mention the "presentation" I gave Connor's class for Asia month.
I was pretty nervous about doing this, but it ended up all right. I was asked to come in and talk about Japan since Connor's class was learning about Asia in February. I said sure, but I wasn't sure what I would be doing. I ended up doing a super fast origami demo of a samurai hat and then the big thing was to teach them how to roll sushi rolls. I thought it was going to be a disaster, trying to teach his class and, as it turned out, the other pre-k class, how to roll seaweed with rice spread on it on a sushi mat. These are 5-year-olds...anywho, it actually went all right like I said and the kids had fun. Some even ate the roll and they all took it home. I would have loved to go the next day to hear reactions, but, alas, Connor got the flu so he missed the rest of the week. Oh, right, the flu.
We've basically been sick, someone in our house, since Thanksgiving, pretty much. I'm FINALLY about over this mucusy cough that I've been having, though I still get bouts here and there. Anyway, Laura got some bad stomach thing for a few days, and then Connor and probably her Mom, though we're not 100% sure about that. Emmeline and I somehow dodged that bullet and stayed relatively sick-free, aside from runny noses and slight coughs. We still kept her from school, though. Anyway, like I said, I wanted to hear from the parents if the kids said anything about my presentation, but no dice. I even made each of them a mini crane string, made up of 10 cranes hung on fishing wire with a bead at the end, and a paper clip to hang it from something. Yes, I used the Cranes for a Wish leftovers, but I still made it. They all liked it when I gave it to them.
So, after that, it was a couple of days before I left for CO. After staying in Salina, I left early-ish next morning to drop-off some Braum's ice creams that I brought for Ellen and Matt. I brought our cooler and got a 10-lb bag of dry ice, which I was skeptical about but it kept the ice cream like a rock. About 1/2, maybe a little more, was left when I got there. I guess it was all gone by the time Ellen came back from work. I got there at 1pm or so. I thought it would last longer than that in my cooler, but I guess not.
After getting lunch with Matt, I drove up to Chris' house. I stayed there for two nights. It was fun, but we really didn't do anything. Around this time, Chris's grandma wasn't doing so well, so his Dad flew out to CA. Also, his Mom's surgery was having some issues afterwards, so he was taking care of her periodically. So, again, we didn't do much other than hang out and sit around. I drove to Ellen's after that, on Sunday afternoon. We hung around and Ellen made dinner that took like an hour and half or something. She fell asleep while I was installing software for their new laptop and showing the cool new channel with movies and stuff on the Roku. We got ice cream at a place no one went before afterwards. It was pretty good. Then we watched some YouTube videos until it was time to go to bed. It was weird because it was such a short trip. The next morning I would be leaving at around 6:30 in the morning to get home at a reasonable time. I went to bed at like 11pm, thinking about how sucky driving that much with so little sleep would be. On the drive out and back, I listened to a bunch of different podcasts. The drive actually wasn't bad and it went pretty quick. I made a couple of stupid missed exits, especially on the way back that added like an extra 15 minutes. The crazy thing is that I made 2 wrong exits AT THE SAME SPOT both times. I just ran through the Kansas toll gate, too. I'm not sure how that's going to work. I didn't have any cash, so I was slowing approaching the toll booth trying to figure out what I was going to do, but the gate opened both times, so I just went through even though it was just for the Kansas toll tag owners. Oh well. I might get a bill in the mail.
So, yeah, it was a good break, but a lot of it was filled with driving.
Back at home, Connor's been doing well with the full days. He excited about them now and likes it better than the half-days, it seems.
The other reason 2017 is off to a bad start is that Laura's grandparents, both sides, aren't doing so well. One is in higher care than he was and the other, well, not doing well. That's why Laura left this morning to head to St. Louis, in case anything happened. I guess they are opting off of dialysis or something. Anyway, this kind of stuff is not my strong point at all. Of course, I'm here with the kids. I woke up at 3:30 in the morning today because of my damn allergies which, so far, has been the worse I've ever had here, I think. The trees have been blooming everywhere because of the warm winter and it's killing me. Literally, I'm waking up every morning at like 4, which seems like it's about the time the Zyrtec runs our or something since I take it the prior morning. I should start doing Flonase at night. I need to check the expiration on the one I got from a couple of years ago. Anyway, I hope this allergy goes away because I'm miserable from like 4 in the morning to about 9-ish when the meds I take in the morning kicks in. Here and there throughout the day, I get spikes of allergic sneezing and stuffiness. I should see if I can mix benadryl and zyrtec, because I'd totally take the benadryl at night since it makes me super drowsy anyway.
Well, that's about the wrap-up. Oh, my first book. Well, book #1. I finished it and Laura read it and said she liked it. I hope she is really telling the truth. I'm making the edits now, going through and making it better, hopefully. My goal, really, is to get this first book on Amazon by the end of the month and start some marketing, possibly, by creating a website for it and stuff. We'll see how the book is picked up, if at all. There are millions of books on Amazon, so it's naive of me to think that mine will get read by anyone at all...one can dream. Then, since it's an episodic-type story, my goal is to release a book every few months. We'll see how THAT goes with my laziness.
Other than that, finding a kindergarten for Connor is the other big stress for Laura and I, mostly Laura. All the good places are waiting-list places and the public schools aren't too good, although Edmond schools are fine with me. It's the OKC schools that are horrible.
I should get to bed. I fell asleep for like 10 minutes at 6pm tonight while I was winding down for bath.
I'll be back soon, perhaps with book #1 edited and finished...
Monday, January 23, 2017
Procrastination Continues
So, as you know, MWF's have been much easier for me since Connor is staying at school until 3. I do random errands with Emmeline until lunch and then she naps until about 2. I moved her nap from 12-2ish so I have time to get ready to get Connor. I'd imagine she'll start napping less, though, maybe like 1-2? I dunno. Still, I seem to just waste away the free time by playing games on the computer. I should mention that I finished the rough draft of book 1 of my book. I just have to print it out and bind it into a book to have Laura read it and write notes and stuff on the margins as well as tell me what she thought of it. I told her that she needs to be honest since if she's not, potential reader on Amazon will be.
I also saw a branch that I could use as my crane tree prototype at Michael's the other day. I have too many projects and no motivation to do it. Sales for my cranes on Amazon have pretty much dropped to zero after the holidays. I sold maybe 2-3 in the last 2-3 weeks. I hope a few more sell for Valentines because on 2/25 or something, Amazon is charging a yearly storage fee. The more I sell, the less it will be. Mine is only like $30 or something, but it would be nice to make that lower. I SHOULD order more stuff to gear up for like Mother's Day, but I dunno. It seems that the holidays is where it's at. It might be a money pit the rest of the year since storage is about $4-5 per month. I guess if I sell 1 crane a month, that will cover the storage costs. We'll see what I decide.
Got about 20 minutes before I get Emmeline. Connor has been transitioning better to full days. He was a little nervous last week, but it's been slowly going away.
I also saw a branch that I could use as my crane tree prototype at Michael's the other day. I have too many projects and no motivation to do it. Sales for my cranes on Amazon have pretty much dropped to zero after the holidays. I sold maybe 2-3 in the last 2-3 weeks. I hope a few more sell for Valentines because on 2/25 or something, Amazon is charging a yearly storage fee. The more I sell, the less it will be. Mine is only like $30 or something, but it would be nice to make that lower. I SHOULD order more stuff to gear up for like Mother's Day, but I dunno. It seems that the holidays is where it's at. It might be a money pit the rest of the year since storage is about $4-5 per month. I guess if I sell 1 crane a month, that will cover the storage costs. We'll see what I decide.
Got about 20 minutes before I get Emmeline. Connor has been transitioning better to full days. He was a little nervous last week, but it's been slowly going away.
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Oh, and One More Thing
The night before I was to leave for Salina (I was going to spend the night there and then complete the road trip the day after), I had made a reservation at the Baymont Inn there there by Braum's. We always stay there, so I figured why not. Of course, the next day I decide that I'm not going, so I figured the reservation was toast since the full refund cancellation time was Thursday at midnight.
Well, the next night, Laura had called Baymont to see if they could refund due to the ice storm. The lady was apparently nice enough to so Laura called Orbitz to do the refund since I booked it through there. I wouldn't have been able to do it. That's why I love her!
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Disappointment
I'll preface this saying it was a good decision, but I decided against going to Colorado this weekend because, of course, out of ALL the fricken days in the last year, there had to be a HUGE ice storm coming through all the states that I was going to be driving through this weekend. I would have made it out fine, I think, but the problem would have been on the way home. The first round of ice came like Thursday night and Friday morning. The second round was to come Sunday night and Monday morning, which would have been the one to mess me up. However, after watching the news here and there, it looks like Kansas is already getting hit hard, so, overall, I think it was just safer for me to stay here.
Still, it sucks that I didn't get to go as this was going to be my break from the kids, but Laura has been watching the kids a lot the last two days, so it's helpful. The thing is, I woke up today all cold and my skin being very sensitive, which usually happens before I get a cold. ANOTHER COLD. We have been sick since pretty much Thanksgiving and I am tired of being sick. Now that one of us is sick, it won't be long before everyone is sick again and the cycle will continue. I have been coughing since Thanksgiving, too. I hate being sick.
It rained a good amount in the last couple of hours, which I assume is going to turn into some ice overnight. However, perhaps the ice that was there, which wasn't much, melted...probably not. I haven't looked outside in a while.
I should go to sleep. My neck aches. I feel sorry for the kids that they can't leave the house or play outside. This is when being rich, having a huge house, and having nannies help...I better finish my book...
Still, it sucks that I didn't get to go as this was going to be my break from the kids, but Laura has been watching the kids a lot the last two days, so it's helpful. The thing is, I woke up today all cold and my skin being very sensitive, which usually happens before I get a cold. ANOTHER COLD. We have been sick since pretty much Thanksgiving and I am tired of being sick. Now that one of us is sick, it won't be long before everyone is sick again and the cycle will continue. I have been coughing since Thanksgiving, too. I hate being sick.
It rained a good amount in the last couple of hours, which I assume is going to turn into some ice overnight. However, perhaps the ice that was there, which wasn't much, melted...probably not. I haven't looked outside in a while.
I should go to sleep. My neck aches. I feel sorry for the kids that they can't leave the house or play outside. This is when being rich, having a huge house, and having nannies help...I better finish my book...
Monday, January 09, 2017
Freedom
2017 is well on its way and even only in the 9 days since the last blog, so much has happened and/or will happen.
First, our first snow! And it snowed quite a bit. About 3" I think, but it's been 3 days now and it's almost all melted. It's like spring weather now. 50s and 60s before it drops down again for a little bit in a few days. The kids loved it, but I was cold. Now it's just going to get hot or something. I just want to be in perfect weather.
Second, Connor started school again and, this time, Emmeline as well! She had a lot of fun from what I could tell and she didn't have any issues with me leaving her. Connor didn't either the first day but broke down the next few times, so we'll see how she does the second day, which is tomorrow. However, I don't think she'll have that problem being the second child. Connor started his first full day this morning and he didn't take it very well in the beginning. I had to keep scooting back because he wanted to be behind me and stuff. Of course, his usual teacher is gone for a couple of days so the other teacher was substituting at the front door, whom he doesn't really like, but finally after some coercing, he went with an aid to put back some toys that Emmeline brought back on her first day. Of course, usual Connor, at pick up he was all smiles and was happy about his extended day. I'm hoping that he will just be happy to go on Wednesday and not do the stuff in the morning that he did.
That sort of brings me to the amount of free time that I'm now going to have sort of spread out throughout the week. MWF, I'm just going to have Emmeline until I pick him up. That's at 3pm. While she's sleeping, I am totally free and can work on some writing that I need to finish up my first book, which is one of my personal goals. I'm not sure what I'm trying to achieve with this project...in my mind I'm thinking it will be super popular and use the sales on Amazon to pay for our Disneyworld, but the reality is that I'll get some bad reviews and my pride will be hurt...we'll see, though. On T/TR, I have about 2 hours all to myself. The first day, I went to the library to write. I think I should use that time more productively, though.
Third, I'm planning on driving out to Colorado for a few days this Friday to get a little break for myself and pick up some stuff from Chris. I'm driving because I don't like flying, but also because I wouldn't really be able to bring back the computer(s) that I'm going to get from him. Either way, I like driving and it will be a nice "meditation"...or something. I might get a book on CD or something from the library. I wish I could have my laptop on and use voice recognition to work on my book while I'm driving, but that's probably not going to work. Laura is worried because the roads might get bad, but I don't think there's anything to worry about. I got the oil changed on her car, too. I need to get the suv's oil changed plus there's a slight leak coming out of it. The other interesting thing that I'm going to try is to get some dry ice to bring some Braum's to the McGuires. I'm planning on buying it at Salina and then putting it in a cooler and getting it there around noon the next day. It should keep quite chilly until then. Although, I need to work out the logistics a little more because I think I'm going to break the drive into 2 days. Thursday night will be the 3.5 hour drive to Salina. But the Braum's there and then take it next day...oh, I guess that's the logistics. I'll get the dry ice on the way out of town, I guess.
Anywho, I should get going. I'll still in my super unmotivated mode...not sure why. I was going to do some bills and stuff, but I ended up playing this stupid, but fun, Overwatch game.
First, our first snow! And it snowed quite a bit. About 3" I think, but it's been 3 days now and it's almost all melted. It's like spring weather now. 50s and 60s before it drops down again for a little bit in a few days. The kids loved it, but I was cold. Now it's just going to get hot or something. I just want to be in perfect weather.
Second, Connor started school again and, this time, Emmeline as well! She had a lot of fun from what I could tell and she didn't have any issues with me leaving her. Connor didn't either the first day but broke down the next few times, so we'll see how she does the second day, which is tomorrow. However, I don't think she'll have that problem being the second child. Connor started his first full day this morning and he didn't take it very well in the beginning. I had to keep scooting back because he wanted to be behind me and stuff. Of course, his usual teacher is gone for a couple of days so the other teacher was substituting at the front door, whom he doesn't really like, but finally after some coercing, he went with an aid to put back some toys that Emmeline brought back on her first day. Of course, usual Connor, at pick up he was all smiles and was happy about his extended day. I'm hoping that he will just be happy to go on Wednesday and not do the stuff in the morning that he did.
That sort of brings me to the amount of free time that I'm now going to have sort of spread out throughout the week. MWF, I'm just going to have Emmeline until I pick him up. That's at 3pm. While she's sleeping, I am totally free and can work on some writing that I need to finish up my first book, which is one of my personal goals. I'm not sure what I'm trying to achieve with this project...in my mind I'm thinking it will be super popular and use the sales on Amazon to pay for our Disneyworld, but the reality is that I'll get some bad reviews and my pride will be hurt...we'll see, though. On T/TR, I have about 2 hours all to myself. The first day, I went to the library to write. I think I should use that time more productively, though.
Third, I'm planning on driving out to Colorado for a few days this Friday to get a little break for myself and pick up some stuff from Chris. I'm driving because I don't like flying, but also because I wouldn't really be able to bring back the computer(s) that I'm going to get from him. Either way, I like driving and it will be a nice "meditation"...or something. I might get a book on CD or something from the library. I wish I could have my laptop on and use voice recognition to work on my book while I'm driving, but that's probably not going to work. Laura is worried because the roads might get bad, but I don't think there's anything to worry about. I got the oil changed on her car, too. I need to get the suv's oil changed plus there's a slight leak coming out of it. The other interesting thing that I'm going to try is to get some dry ice to bring some Braum's to the McGuires. I'm planning on buying it at Salina and then putting it in a cooler and getting it there around noon the next day. It should keep quite chilly until then. Although, I need to work out the logistics a little more because I think I'm going to break the drive into 2 days. Thursday night will be the 3.5 hour drive to Salina. But the Braum's there and then take it next day...oh, I guess that's the logistics. I'll get the dry ice on the way out of town, I guess.
Anywho, I should get going. I'll still in my super unmotivated mode...not sure why. I was going to do some bills and stuff, but I ended up playing this stupid, but fun, Overwatch game.
Sunday, January 01, 2017
The First of Many More...
Wow, okay. I either a) don't really like to blog anymore or b) I just suck at blogging...let's hope it's not either and it's just because that at the end of the day after watching the kids, I'm just so unmotivated that I don't want to do anything. However, that doesn't explain the fact that I waste away the night usually playing games and surfing on the computer. To my defense, being on the computer is a very non-physical, non-tiring activity. Perhaps that's why I end up doing that.
Anyway, let's recap up to July...I didn't even talk about the Galveston trip.
Well, overall, I think it went pretty well. We rented an AirBNB type house right near the beach and there were plenty of rooms for everyone and then some. Jordan ended up sleeping with Chris and Alicia even though there were two extra rooms. Connor and Emmeline slept in the two rooms in the "attic" area that was finished. All in all, everything worked out. It was hot, but we went to the beach a couple of times. One was the closer one where you just drove up. The other was a state park, so there were less people there. That one was better. I mostly watched Emmeline while Laura and Connor would go a little ways into the breaking waves. The kids had fun. Chris mostly walked up and down the shore while Alicia watched. We ate at a few cool places including the Rainforest Cafe that that kids loved. I can't remember if I've ever been there before. I must have, because it felt familiar. Anyway, we didn't do the ride that was there, but walked around the gift shop and then got Connor a frog cup during dinner. We also went to the old downtown, where we ate at an ice cream shop. That was fun. We then picked up dinner to eat at home. That, however, was the worst idea because Chris wanted to walk instead of move our cars again and it was fricken hot. We sweat so much walking there and carrying our food back. Afterwards, Chris and I got ice cream, though that might have been a different night. The drive back was the most hilarious time we've had in a while. He was holding all the ice cream and cups while I drove and it was just dripping everywhere. Not sure what was funny, but we were just laughing at the ridiculous situation. The drive there and back were good, but tiring for the kids. It was only like 4.5 hours or something, but it was tough for them as they ran out of things to do like an hour in and they would not sleep in the car. It was fun, though, and hopefully we can make a yearly tradition out of it.
What next. Then it was Connor's preschool starting, I guess. He was getting a new teacher, new class, new classmates, everything. He was very nervous, but he eased into it pretty easily. He loves his teacher now. The only problem, however, has been getting him to go potty at school. Finally, he managed to do it with Laura's help at first, but then a few more times by himself. Rewards helped a lot. Anywho, starting next week, he's transitioning to full days two days a week, so that's why we were in a rush to get this issue resolved.
Then things finally settled down a bit, but we were heading into the busy holiday season, which I love, but I get super tired and Halloween makes me nervous, as does other social events that come with it. Luckily, my Mom was out visiting during Halloween so I didn't have to answer the door for that. We went to some neighborhood event or picnic, actually, I can't remember if I went or what it was, but I was just uncomfortable. We went walking with the kids for Halloween and they got treats, though Emmeline just stayed in the stroller most of the time. Even that got me nervous to just stand out on the sidewalk. Dunno what it is.
Then we had our huge Thanksgiving gathering that included Laura's family, Kelly's family, Ellen, Matt, AND my sister's family, so we had like 20+ people and a couple of people that we've never really met. However, Laura pulled it off, though. The big decision was to move all the tables that we need for dinner out into the back yard for more room. I'm not sure that we'll do that again, but it was a success. I didn't do much for it, either. I feel bad.
Then right after that we went over to Tulsa or something to put up the Christmas tree plus Ellen and Matt were staying there. It just gets me so tired when we go there because we usually have to sleep with Emmeline in the room and the kids just don't sleep or nap at all. Anyway, I don't really remember what else we did. Stockings or presents maybe?
Oh...and it's 2017 now...sheesh. I should get to sleep.
Then, the last thing that happened was Christmas just now. This year has been weird, though, because Laura's grandparents have been ill, so they didn't come out for Thanksgiving or Christmas or anything. Laura's other grandpa didn't show himself much either because he's having some problems. To top it off, EVERY ONE of the kids and respective parents caught some kind of cold or something and we've been sick since a couple of weeks before actual Christmas. We STILL have it. We seem to be on the tail end of it all, but I'm still coughing a lot.
My Mom came out a couple of days ago to celebrate the New Year feast that Laura likes to put together. I really am proud of her for doing all these things while sick AND watching the kids. I've sort of been in the background doing nothing. I really feel bad, but it just that when she's home, the kids want to be with her, so I just seem to always end up yelling at them because they're not listening. I don't know. that is one of the things that I need to work on more this year. Patience, and staying off my computer more.
There are a few things that I want to set as goals for this year and I'm already behind on them. I want to possibly look into expanding my cranes on Amazon. Oh, that's one thing that I should mention. They've been selling GREAT over the last few months leading up to the holidays. Enough that I've broke even AND turned a profit of probably a hundred or two dollars now. That's why I sort of want to get into it more. The issue is my motivation and time, really. The other thing was to get this book fricken done because I've decided that I want to publish it on Amazon myself and see what kind of sales I can get. I really think that I have a good story, but, of course, that's just me talking. I need to get the first book done and have Laura read it. I've decided to make it episodic and not a huge novel, selling each book/episode on Amazon for .99 cents or even free to see what the audience, if any, thinks. I read that publishing on Amazon is mostly marketing and luck, and I don't doubt that, but hopefully, I'll get 1 sale...The last thing that I want to do is to work on our family's relationships. I need to stop fighting with Connor more, less yelling and getting frustrated so quickly, and spend more time with Laura. The good news is that because of an awesome find that I purchased at Goodwill for 2.99 and subsequently sold on eBay that night for $129, with a profit of $100, I was able to get us a good condition Xbox 360 to play a Tales game that's been hailed as one of the best in the series. Then, I happened to find a King's Quest re-telling for Laura that I gave for Christmas that hopefully she enjoys. Oh, and I want to get into more woodworking as well. Working on house projects is also on the list. Perhaps get a van...who knows, man.
Well, I should really get going. I also need to decide in a couple of weeks if I should go to Colorado or not. I'm planning on it if it doesn't snow a lot because I don't want to get snowed in on that side of the country, but we'll see. I'm really just going to take a break and picking up a computer or two from Chris.
Okay, I'm really done now...I will PROMISE to be more timely with my blogs. A handful a year like last year is just unacceptable. I'll also have titles, too!
Anyway, let's recap up to July...I didn't even talk about the Galveston trip.
Well, overall, I think it went pretty well. We rented an AirBNB type house right near the beach and there were plenty of rooms for everyone and then some. Jordan ended up sleeping with Chris and Alicia even though there were two extra rooms. Connor and Emmeline slept in the two rooms in the "attic" area that was finished. All in all, everything worked out. It was hot, but we went to the beach a couple of times. One was the closer one where you just drove up. The other was a state park, so there were less people there. That one was better. I mostly watched Emmeline while Laura and Connor would go a little ways into the breaking waves. The kids had fun. Chris mostly walked up and down the shore while Alicia watched. We ate at a few cool places including the Rainforest Cafe that that kids loved. I can't remember if I've ever been there before. I must have, because it felt familiar. Anyway, we didn't do the ride that was there, but walked around the gift shop and then got Connor a frog cup during dinner. We also went to the old downtown, where we ate at an ice cream shop. That was fun. We then picked up dinner to eat at home. That, however, was the worst idea because Chris wanted to walk instead of move our cars again and it was fricken hot. We sweat so much walking there and carrying our food back. Afterwards, Chris and I got ice cream, though that might have been a different night. The drive back was the most hilarious time we've had in a while. He was holding all the ice cream and cups while I drove and it was just dripping everywhere. Not sure what was funny, but we were just laughing at the ridiculous situation. The drive there and back were good, but tiring for the kids. It was only like 4.5 hours or something, but it was tough for them as they ran out of things to do like an hour in and they would not sleep in the car. It was fun, though, and hopefully we can make a yearly tradition out of it.
What next. Then it was Connor's preschool starting, I guess. He was getting a new teacher, new class, new classmates, everything. He was very nervous, but he eased into it pretty easily. He loves his teacher now. The only problem, however, has been getting him to go potty at school. Finally, he managed to do it with Laura's help at first, but then a few more times by himself. Rewards helped a lot. Anywho, starting next week, he's transitioning to full days two days a week, so that's why we were in a rush to get this issue resolved.
Then things finally settled down a bit, but we were heading into the busy holiday season, which I love, but I get super tired and Halloween makes me nervous, as does other social events that come with it. Luckily, my Mom was out visiting during Halloween so I didn't have to answer the door for that. We went to some neighborhood event or picnic, actually, I can't remember if I went or what it was, but I was just uncomfortable. We went walking with the kids for Halloween and they got treats, though Emmeline just stayed in the stroller most of the time. Even that got me nervous to just stand out on the sidewalk. Dunno what it is.
Then we had our huge Thanksgiving gathering that included Laura's family, Kelly's family, Ellen, Matt, AND my sister's family, so we had like 20+ people and a couple of people that we've never really met. However, Laura pulled it off, though. The big decision was to move all the tables that we need for dinner out into the back yard for more room. I'm not sure that we'll do that again, but it was a success. I didn't do much for it, either. I feel bad.
Then right after that we went over to Tulsa or something to put up the Christmas tree plus Ellen and Matt were staying there. It just gets me so tired when we go there because we usually have to sleep with Emmeline in the room and the kids just don't sleep or nap at all. Anyway, I don't really remember what else we did. Stockings or presents maybe?
Oh...and it's 2017 now...sheesh. I should get to sleep.
Then, the last thing that happened was Christmas just now. This year has been weird, though, because Laura's grandparents have been ill, so they didn't come out for Thanksgiving or Christmas or anything. Laura's other grandpa didn't show himself much either because he's having some problems. To top it off, EVERY ONE of the kids and respective parents caught some kind of cold or something and we've been sick since a couple of weeks before actual Christmas. We STILL have it. We seem to be on the tail end of it all, but I'm still coughing a lot.
My Mom came out a couple of days ago to celebrate the New Year feast that Laura likes to put together. I really am proud of her for doing all these things while sick AND watching the kids. I've sort of been in the background doing nothing. I really feel bad, but it just that when she's home, the kids want to be with her, so I just seem to always end up yelling at them because they're not listening. I don't know. that is one of the things that I need to work on more this year. Patience, and staying off my computer more.
There are a few things that I want to set as goals for this year and I'm already behind on them. I want to possibly look into expanding my cranes on Amazon. Oh, that's one thing that I should mention. They've been selling GREAT over the last few months leading up to the holidays. Enough that I've broke even AND turned a profit of probably a hundred or two dollars now. That's why I sort of want to get into it more. The issue is my motivation and time, really. The other thing was to get this book fricken done because I've decided that I want to publish it on Amazon myself and see what kind of sales I can get. I really think that I have a good story, but, of course, that's just me talking. I need to get the first book done and have Laura read it. I've decided to make it episodic and not a huge novel, selling each book/episode on Amazon for .99 cents or even free to see what the audience, if any, thinks. I read that publishing on Amazon is mostly marketing and luck, and I don't doubt that, but hopefully, I'll get 1 sale...The last thing that I want to do is to work on our family's relationships. I need to stop fighting with Connor more, less yelling and getting frustrated so quickly, and spend more time with Laura. The good news is that because of an awesome find that I purchased at Goodwill for 2.99 and subsequently sold on eBay that night for $129, with a profit of $100, I was able to get us a good condition Xbox 360 to play a Tales game that's been hailed as one of the best in the series. Then, I happened to find a King's Quest re-telling for Laura that I gave for Christmas that hopefully she enjoys. Oh, and I want to get into more woodworking as well. Working on house projects is also on the list. Perhaps get a van...who knows, man.
Well, I should really get going. I also need to decide in a couple of weeks if I should go to Colorado or not. I'm planning on it if it doesn't snow a lot because I don't want to get snowed in on that side of the country, but we'll see. I'm really just going to take a break and picking up a computer or two from Chris.
Okay, I'm really done now...I will PROMISE to be more timely with my blogs. A handful a year like last year is just unacceptable. I'll also have titles, too!