Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero

It's the first day of school, and I'm sitting at home in silence.  I miss the sounds of the kids, but I know that they are having a good time with their friends at school.

This summer was a mess - family illnesses, a car accident (I wasn't driving this time), changing vacation plans, craziness of all sorts.

But in the end, we had fun, started a new family tradition (weekend hiking), visited state parks, and helped my parents move stuff into their new house in Ohio.

Aargh - sometimes I think a pirate's life would be much simpler.  Put the pointy end of the sword into your opponents, and take all that you can carry.

Lately, things have been a tad bit crazy.  So here's a quick update:

• Rachel bought herself a skateboard, so now we have two skateboard kids!!!
• Last week, Rachel participated in Art in the Park, and painted in three styles:  Impressionism (Monet), Pointilism (Seurat), and Abstract Expressionism (Pollack). 
• This week, we went back to Art in the Park, where Rachel and Terry volunteered to help out in the Toddler Area.  The young man running the area said that they did a fantastic job, and they already volunteered to help out next time.
• My Mom had surgery this week, and everything went well. :-)  Next week I fly to Tampa, and leave my kids at home for the very first time.  Ever.
• I started Weight Watchers this morning, with a wonderful friend. 
• I've had a cold, that turned into an upper respiratory infection.  After three weeks of coughing up crap every 5-10 minutes, I am finally feeling better.
• I'm starting a Girl Scout Brownie troop for Rachel.  The parent organizational meeting is tomorrow, and I'm already nervous.
• We're getting a new heat pump/furnace installed today, because our 13 year old A/C broke down.  And it just did not make sense to spend $1,400 to fix something we will be replacing in a year or two.
• The kids lived through CRCT (mandatory testing).  They both thought the test was boring, but at least there was no homework.
• I reread "The Stainless Steel Rat Begins" by Harry Harrison.  Actually, I bought the book "Bone Crossed" by Patricia Briggs, the latest installment in the Mercedes Thompson series.  But "Bone Crossed" reads like a draft, not a finished story.  The story contradicts details established in earlier books, and several passages read quite roughly because the action does not flow.  So I pulled out an older book, and had a great time wondering about the 25th century.

I will try to update my LJ next week, otherwise you'll hear from me after my trip.

Or.... something like that.  Why?

Terry has a skateboard!!!!!

For his birthday, we gave him a certificate to choose either roller skates, roller blades, or a skateboard.  He picked out a skateboard.  So this afternoon I researched online and found a local skateboard shop - Ambush Boarding Company.  I highly recommend the shop to anyone looking to buy a skateboard.

The man helping us suggested that Terry picked out the parts and build a custom board.  So T got a Zero deck with a bright yellow skull on the bottom, gray camouflage trunks, Reds Bone bearings, black skull wheels, and a printed grip with, of course, a big, black skull on the dark gray grip.  He also picked out a green camouflage helmet.  Oh, and he got a ton of stickers - it seems that skateboarders like stickers.  T's hip with that.

I'll post pictures later, because as soon as we got home, Terry went out to practice.

Last week, my son brought home an unknown blue jacket from school.  On the jacket was a note, "Thank you for labeling your clothes.  This jacket was found and returned to <name>". 

Now, the jacket is one size bigger than my son's current size, but it fits him quite comfortably, with lots of growing room.  It's made of sweatshirt material, and looks like something I would buy.  In fact, I was contemplating buying a light jacket for him, because he didnt' have one.

I look at the tag inside, and see our last name written there - in what looks like my handwriting!!!


So I'm attributing this to Dr. Who and time travel.  I think I bought the jacket, and somehow Dr. Who got the jacket and brought it back in time to right before I would have bought it. (And no, I'm not even trying to figure out the proper grammar for that sentence.) 

Who knows, maybe we just saved the world from Daleks.

Woot!!!  Thank you Dr. Who! 

This week on NPR, they talked to several bands going to the South by Southwest festival.  Sadly, I live nowhere near this festival.  But NPR put a stream of 100 songs from some of the bands on their website here.  I haven't listened to everything, but so far I like what I hear.

Metallica made a cover of George Michaels' song, "Careless Whispers".

Enough said.

My aunt Josephine Yoder Bontrager died this morning, at 4:45am EST.  She was a mother of six children, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother.  I think she might even have great-great-grandchildren, but I get a bit confused with that many generations.  Josephine was also a sister, a cousin, and a wonderful aunt.

I have too many memories of visiting her house, to list them all here.  But I remember smiling, because Aunt Jo always made me feel welcome.

When I decided to leave the corporate world and become a stay-at-home mother, I thought about all of my Dad's sisters.  But Aunt Jo stood out, because she made their house feel like a home.  And that's the feeling I wanted to create with my family.

I am relieved that she died, after rotting out from the inside with cancer.  I am relieved that she is no longer in pain.

But I am sad for myself, and for my kids.  I feel sad for my Dad and his other siblings, for the Nine are no longer. 

May she rest in peace. 

Yes, the roofing company actually showed up yesterday.  After the lovely snow on Sunday, our roof was covered in ice.  So yesterday morning we assumed that the roofing company would wait a day to start working.

We were completely wrong.

The neighbor's dogs started barking early enough for me to throw on regular clothes (as opposed to what I wear to get the kids ready for school), but alas, I didn't have to time shower.  So I spent all yesterday feeling rather gross.

I showered as soon as the kids left this morning.

I just learned about a book titled "America Bizarro", which lists and describes quirky festivals and events around the country. 

For instance, each year Iowa hosts the International Hobo Convention, where hobos meet and elect the new king and queen.  In Lind, Washington they hold a combine demolition. 

And here in Georgia, since 1996, they hold the annual Summer Redneck Games.  The competition includes the cigarette flip, the mudpit belly flop, bobbing for pigs feet, the big hair contest, the hubcap hurl, the seed spitting contest, bug zapper spitball, dumpster diving, and everyone's favorite, the armpit serenade.  In 1998, someone in the armpit serenade played the entire theme song to "Green Acres".

Hmmmm,  I might just go see the games this summer.  Anyone else want to come along?

Big, fluffly, white snowflakes!!!!!

Woot!!!

6 Pack of Gatorade - $4.00
4 Boxes of Kleenex - $7.56
1 Bottle of Tylenol - $6.99

Enough mucus to build a lifesize statue of myself - Priceless

MasterCold,  What's in your nose?

Yesterday, R got sent home with one, count it one, louse on her head.  The school has been very concerned about lice, which I suppose is good.  But when your kid comes home crying and mortified because of one small bug, you feel a bit nasty about it.  Luckily, we caught it early, so the chances of it becoming a real infestation are small.

I'm nursing a cold.  I feel rather pessimistic and nasty about the world at the moment.  Bah-humbug.

I Love GEICO and Traveler's Insurance!!!  The adjuster looked over the roof, and decided that yes, we really do need a new roof.  So he gave us a check, and will send the rest after we sign a contract!!

We get two checks because we pay for non-prorated replacement of the roof.  The first check should cover repairs for a depreciated roof, the second check is to cover the non-depreciated value. 

The roofing guys, Imperial Roofing, will come by this week with the contract.  We sign, and poof!  A new roof goes up.

You know, I actually made a New Year's resolution to update my journal more often.  So far, it's not going so well.  But every day is another chance, so...

We as a family have been quite busy the past week and a half.  On February 13th, we did our regular Family Movie Night.  The plan had been to watch "The Water Horse" with my parents.  We picked out the movie partly because my Mom wants to see it.  But due to health reasons, my parents stayed in Tampa.  So Terry and Rachel insisted that we watch another movie, and save "The Water Horse" for the next grandparent visit.

On Valentine's Day, we had tickets to see "High John the Conqueror and other African Tales" at Theater in the Square.  Again, two extra tickets for the grandparents, but no grandparents.  So we let the kids each choose one friend to bring along.  Terry brought a neighborhood friend, and Rachel brought along a nice boy from her class.  So far, the plan is that they are going to get married. :-)

On Monday,  my DH had to work, but the kids had the day off.  So we drove up to Cartersville and went to the brand new Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum!!!  We loved it so much that we got a family membership.  The kids loved panning for gems and digging for fossils.  I loved the Science in Motion exhibit and the mineral gallery.  We all loved the digital planetarium.  If you are ever in the area, I strongly suggest going over for a morning or afternoon.

Tuesday through Friday were normal school days, but Terry and Rachel had friends over to play after school every afternoon - woot!!  Last Friday night was the official Family Movie Night - this time we saw "Cars".  Saturday I took Terry and Rachel to a birthday party at Sparkles, and we had a blast!  The party was sponsored by twelveoaks  and speaks - thank you for a wonderful time!!!

The happiness ends here.  Alas, Terry got ill Saturday night (I'll spare you the gross details) and has continued with a fever through today.  He's currently behind me, sleeping on the loveseat.  I hope he gets a lot of rest, because he's a sick little boy.

The insurance claim man just showed up.  Our house sustained some hail damage last year, but we didn't know about until we got the roof inspected a few weeks ago.  It seems a lot of houses in our area got hail damage.  So we might be getting a new roof in the next week or so.

• My Mom's in the hospital for diverticulitis.  I don't know a lot of details, which is quite frustrating, but at least she sounds okay on the phone.
• My mother-in-law went to the hospital this weekend also.  I'm not quite certain why, but she's back home and feeling well.
• Eddie's back in the hospital.  My DH called last night and got Amanda, Eddie's older sister.  Seems he's been in the hospital for about a week, but no one told us.  I find Mildred lack of responsibility annoying, to say the least.
• My aunt Jo is dying.  She found a lump on her breast more than 3 years ago, but her husband doesn't believe in modern medicine.  So now she is jaundiced, dying, and no one really knows why.
• On a complete tangent, my uncle, fuzzloc 's dad, had a stroke last week.  He's okay, and I didn't get any details until he was okay.  So I'm not exactly worried, but it reminds me that my parents' generation is getting old.
• House cleaners come tomorrow - woot!  I finally figured out that if I sit and crochet I don't feel too weird having people clean my house.
• Last Friday, the kids brought home a lost dog - Lolly.  She's a sweet-tempered pug, who is house trained and very calm.  We called her owner, who just moved into our neighborhood and freaked out that his dog got loose.  The kids enjoyed the dog as we watched our Friday night movie - "Zoom" - but I spent the next day with breathing problems.  Still no dogs for us...

I haven't been updating my journal, because I'm also fighting depression.   I find it difficult sometimes to even get up and read my email, nevertheless do anything else online. 

So I was under the impression that I had picked most things up, and that I was reasonably ready for the cleaners to arrive today.

WRONG!

As soon as the people arrived, I spotted several objects that seemingly magically  appeared on every counter top and horizontal surface in the house.   Arrgh!  I wasn't ready!!!

But the areas that are reachable are shiny now, and I didn't actually die of a heart attack.  So I guess it could be worse.

Interestingly, one of the cleaning people got down a baby toy from a skylight in the living room, which begs the question just how did that baby toy get up there?  How long has it lain there, in dust and cobwebs?  Mind you, the skylights are about 20 feet above the floor, so it's not like a kid happened to throw it up there.  And we got rid of that set of toys years ago.

On a happy note,  Happy Birthday to lovetruthbella  and fuzzloc !!!!!

I gotta run now - they're working on the master bedroom and bathroom now (did I mention that the cleaning service sent two people over?).  And I'm still rather nervous about it all.  It just feels too decadent.

My parents are in town for Rachel's 7th birthday party! We took the kids to see "Seussical the Musical" at the Blackwell Playhouse Theater If you live in the area, I strongly recommend this theater as a great way to entertain yourselves and your kids.  Everyone loved the show - even the rowdy kids sat quietly and attentively for the performance.  My DH made Funetti cupcakes, with whipped cream icing and watermelon sprinkles.  It turned out to be a nice party.

Rachel and Terry also attended St. Nick's Art Studio yesterday morning at The Art Place.  They made some beautiful Christmas decorations and gifts.  :-)

Last night, TwelveOaks invited us to their Christmas party.  We wanted to go, but after a big day yesteday, following a stressful week, I had an enormous headache.  I took Advil, went to bed early, and for the first time in a week my head does not hurt this morning.  Yeah, sleep!!

We arrived late Saturday, on a dark and stormy night. (Hee - I love Snoopy) The kids crashed in the car, so getting them to sleep was a piece of cake. I completely unpacked on Sunday, so the luggage now sits in my bedroom waiting to return to storage, which is a slight miracle. I'm not known for unpacking so quickly.

We were going to exchange Xmas presents with my parents, but my mom ordered from the Web and none of the packages arrived in time. So we ended up hauling our presents from Atlanta to Tampa then back to Atlanta. But I did learn what they're getting me- maid service for a year!!! Woohoo!!!!

I cannot tell you how much I hate cleaning my house. Plus I'm not supposed to either dust or vacuum. So I look forward to January, and my first maid visit.

Rachel's seeing the doctor for a pre-op appointment today. Stuff's leaking out of her ear again (yuck!) so she's at home until we get the green light from the doctor for school. I fear that they will want her on antibiotics until the surgery next week.

Now, I'm off to the living room! I want the entire house completely picked up in time for the holidays and the maid. :-)

It took us about  9 hours to drive from Marietta to Tampa, but we are here!!!

Okay, we actually arrive Saturday night, but yesterday I was too tired to type and make sense at the same time. :-)

Yesterday, Mom and Dad took the kids to a pirates festival in St. Pete, while Jim and I stayed home and worked on code.  I had so much fun (which is why I am such a geek!) working with Python and the developer app engine on my laptop.  In preparation for starting a new business, I decided to create a simple application on Google's app engine.  So I created a project to help people decide where to eat lunch.  Actually, my friend twelveoaks  suggested the idea, and agreed to let me steal the idea and code it.  Thanks, twelveoaks !

I created a project on code.google.com, and uploaded the initial files yesterday. Woot!

Today, Jim, Mom, and Dad took the kids to Busch Gardens.  I assume they had a great time - I'm waiting for them to return.  Then we're headed out to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner.  I stayed home and worked on my proposal to the Knight Foundation.  Ugh - my brain hurts, trying to come up with answers to all of their questions.  But I answered all but one question, so I'm almost through.  If you get a chance, please go to www.newschallenge.org, click on Read/Comment, sign up, and review my proposal.  You can find it by searching for "classroom".

Time to finish the last question!

I rented the Wii game My Sims: Kingdom this weekend, to check it out.  While I love the Wii and playing it can be a bit addictive, we need a few more fun games for the kids to play. 

Well, I love this game!!!  I played it first, to make sure that it would be playable for the kids (a rating of E does not guarantee that kids can play it).  There is a long introduction, but the training levels let the player learn the various movements easily.  And the storyline is cute.  You, the player, must compete to become the last Wandolier in the kingdom!

Good thing we have a timer, so that everyone gets similar turns.