All Hallow's

Hi, and Happy Halloween. All the plans I made for this week and weekend were scrapped at some point, with a few exceptions: Brother came and we carved pumpkins, I made the hash brown soup and a yellow cake with cinnamon apples, and tonight, we will be trick-or-treating. The rest was hashed and re-hashed and became it's own creature and was then slaughtered. (Rather a gory metaphor, but it is Halloween, after all!)

Here are the highlights of what did happen:

Carved pumpkins (from Thierbach Orchards) and had yummy food, as seen above.
Did not, in fact, stay up late and watch Halloween movies.
Only played one board game, and it was Candyland.
Took Brother to the mall....at his request.
Did NOT go to any of the parties we were invited to, even the one I REALLY wanted to, that Brother even said we would go to, but changed his mind closer to time.
Had dinner out with my parents (wasn't expecting that...).
Watched the pilot episode of Arrested Development instead of Halloween movies.
Said an early and not very happy good-bye to Brother this morning, as he was not feeling well.
Watched Little Shop of Horrors. (SO THERE!)

It was a whirlwind, and I feel like I haven't sat down for two minutes since Brother got here, with the exception of the sit down dinner last night.

The kids are all ready for tonight: Abbie has a lovely red wig for her Annie costume, and Grant has his dragon costume. We're going to visit a few houses of people we know, and then pass out candy for the rest of the night. That's really my favorite part. And we can eat apples and watch more of my movies while we do that. I had planned to dress up this year, but with all the sickness, it was not to be.

Did I tell you about Grant's parent teacher conference? First of all, I must brag, briefly. He had top scores in everything. His teacher said his good behavior was encouraging, and that he is reading so well, she is going to start getting him first grade level books. I forgot all the questions I was going to ask her. Yes, all of them. But I did get to see a pumpkin that Grant drew.

I still haven't made a haircut appointment. And I need to make Grant's dentist appointment.

Josh didn't get the job he applied for at work, and we are still trying to figure out if his schedule will be affected by the staffing change.

Haven't thought ahead to this next week, much. Gonna try and vote.....and some other stuff. Can't remember. I wonder if I'm not feeling well?

Well, I'm looking forward to tonight and seeing all the little kids in their costumes. I hope the medium sized kids all have good manners. If they do, I will be more than happy to load them up with sugar!!!

Hope you are all having a great Halloween! Oh! I forgot to make the pumpkin-shaped cookies! I will do that today.

The Moan of the Mummy

I don't feel like being tough today. As the Mommy, I am expected to handle anything that comes along. And I have. Any plans that are sacrificed are always mine. I've run this house on nothing - and less. I've cleaned up spills and vomit and still been capable of putting lunch on the table. There has always been food in the house. I've done without for the sake of the kids, and I've made holidays out of green sprinkles or construction paper. I've driven to soccer practices and dance classes and zillions of dentist appointments and run countless baths.

Josh came home from work the other night with a fever. Then, during the afternoon, Abbie developed a rash on her torso. I immediately made a doctor's appointment, knowing what I do about strep. All four of us went. Neither of the kids showed symptoms of strep, but Josh has it. (I didn't get checked for anything.) Abbie's rash means she's about to come down with some sort of virus, but chances are slim that it will be strep. So. Now I have two diseases to deal with at once, not to mention that Brother is in the state visiting and how this will complicate that. And just after we all suffered from a stomach virus. Now Poor Sick Josh is too sick to help with anything. He just lies on the couch all day snoring. That is...until we're in bed. Then I hear cheerful footsteps all over. Last night, for instance, he played on the computer all night and ate candy for the trick-or-treaters. The night before, all the movies were scattered over the living room in the morning. Poor thing. How he must suffer.

I wonder how we're going to pay for that doctor visit. I saved up that Christmas money myself. I will weep buckets if I have to give it to the doctor.

So, if you don't mind, why don't you tell me all the news where you are. Tell me some good things that happened this week. Or some bad ones. I promise to be very sympathetic. I just need to not think about my house for a little while. I'd run away to the mall if I could...but I have to do laundry and get ready for Grant's parent-teacher conference.

I must be very selfish if such normal things seem to matter so much. Here's the thing, though: No one is going out of his/her way to make my life happier. If it were even, then I would be perfectly happy putting 90% of all my efforts for others. No, really, I would. I've always been like that. It's in my nature. If you take care of me, I'll take care of you.

But, in general, I think people need to get over it and suck it up. (I will, too. Just tomorrow.) For instance: They are trying to legislate against bullying. I don't care for bullying. I've been bullied. I've been bullied for trying to keep people from bullying someone else. I've been called horrible things. I've had things thrown at me. I've had people follow me around just to make me miserable. The thing is...sometimes I dreamed of moving away, but I never dreamed of killing myself. But would I if the news informed me that it was a normal consequence of bullying? Who knows. I was told to get over it. "Someday you will grow up and be able to live wherever you want - somewhere where they don't live. And by then what they say won't be so important to you, anyway."

I've said before that this planet's most frightening things are other people.

If a child is assaulted, then the assault should be reported as such, the same as any other crime. If a child is taunted, the child should be taught endurance. You can't make the world taunt-free. It's survival of the fittest. Please stop telling kids it is okay not to be fit. You are not preparing them for life as it is. My kids have to learn to live in a paradox: You make sure your behavior is considerate and polite, while at the same time, not expecting consideration or politeness from others, but to appreciate it when you get it.

Oh, I forgot. I don't want to think about my house.

I needed to get bread at the store last night, but forgot. We ran into our neighbors, and it threw me off.

Not much in the news, at least the way I get it. I'm assuming not too much is going on today. We have a red flag weather warning today. Do you know what that is? Risk of wild fires. I'm used to hearing about "Flag" conditions in terms of PT on military bases, so I had to look it up. Today will have high winds and low humidity. If you were thinking of burning your autumn leaves, please refrain. Tomorrow it is supposed to cool off. Perhaps I will make that soup mix.

And now it is time for you to tell me how you are. How are you? I am....fine. We'll make it.

The Busy Post-Recovery

Well, first of all, we are not sick anymore. In case you have children, or even if you don't, here is some advice that may or may not have been instrumental in helping Grant back to his normal self: If the virus is gone, but you still have symptoms, try unpasteurized yogurt to re-introduce what might have been forced out of the system. Dr. Sievers was kind and sent me an email and eased my mind about the doctor. She says they would probably tell me that it was a virus, and to wait it out. Which is the truth. It was just a virus. It was my dad who suggested the yogurt.

I've been babysitting this week, too. The kids just left, and I had them Monday and Tuesday, too. I'm saving up for Christmas, and for the company I'm having this month and next. Tomorrow, I'm going to take Abbie to the pumpkin patch in Wright City. Grant went on his school field trip there last week on one of the days we thought he wasn't sick anymore.

I have a new phone. It was kind of an ordeal. I'm not meant to have fancy phones, I think. We needed them because now that Josh works for Pinkerton Security, he is eligible for the Boeing Spring discount, which would actually cost less than our Wal-Mart re-chargeable ones. Except that our phones weren't Sprint phones, so we replaced them. And now I have a strange little phone. I want to keep my old text message sound. It goes, "Took, took, took!" But I don't know if I can. And Josh's new phone has my other phone's ring, but mine doesn't. At least I still have the same phone number.

I'm making a music CD for my Uncle Pete. It's a fun project, and I hope he likes it. I also have to re-start the taiko J-Fest photo project today, too. I've started it several times, but kept having problems. Now that Eddie has fixed all the problems, I just need to get it done. I also need to go to the grocery store, do LOTS of laundry...and about a hundred other things.

Did I mention that we finished reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone? We've started on The Hobbit. Fun. Slow going, though. Little kids require lots of explaining, but it shows that they are paying attention, and that they are interested. I'm not reading anything else at present. I read 5 of Gran's Agatha Christies and am taking a break.

I talked to Brother on the phone, and today he is getting his roof fixed. If they get done today, he's leaving tomorrow to come to Missouri. Eek! My house isn't clean.

Tonight is taiko. We have been working on looking interested in what we are doing. You know...I think the people who are going to improve in that area have officially been informed of its benefits and need little more than occasional reminders. The others aren't going to do any better no matter how you attempt to entice them. I'm going to gloss over the staring at people tactic by saying it wasn't my favorite. A difficulty with this topic, for me, anyway, is that the songs we've been practicing our happy faces on are really kind of no-brainers. What we need to do is find out what face to make on songs that are neither happy nor angry. How do I know what an intense face looks like on me? I'm not really so intense. We're also learning new songs, and teaching new parts of old songs. I played Tenchi all the way through without throwing anyone off. Yay!

Just thinking....I really wish we could see what we look like while we're playing.

I still haven't made my hash brown soup. I'm waiting for the perfect weather. Last night Josh brought home Chinese food. He was off flying a helicopter. He's considering taking classes toward certification. The only hang up is that we found out that it isn't covered by his GI Bill. Why not?? Anyway, he had a great time, I think.

Grant needs a dentist appointment, and Abbie and I need haircut appointments. Grant and Josh had theirs cut last weekend. Thank goodness! Grant was so shaggy, he was almost stylish!

Well, I need to get ready to go to Wal-mart, or I won't get dinner done in time to leave for taiko tonight. I hope that you are happy today. I also hope that you are not sick. I don't want anyone to be sick. I want you to be happy and healthy.

Illness.

We've been sick.

8 days is a long time for a little boy to be getting sick, even if it's only during the night. Missing taiko and having to cancel lots of plans = not great. Missing school and having to decline babysitting are unfortunate and inconvenient. But what do I do to help my little boy feel better? Be better?

I'm still making monthly payments on the shots he needed to go to school. I have no insurance. And what can you do for a virus, anyway? So...do I take him to a doctor?

Today lunch was chicken soup with stars and toast. I feel ridiculous. His appetite has been normal. I gave him a vitamin. I've changed the sheets, cleaned the bathroom almost constantly, opened the windows....

Josh and I had it, for about 6 hours each. Abbie had it for about four days. How do I make it leave Grant alone? I'm about one step away from burning incense.

....And Wiser? We Can Only Hope.

Hello. I have gained another year. I'm not sure what comments I should make regarding aging, or birthdays, or life wisdom. I am nearly certain that not much has changed in my observation power. However, from now until my memory fails me, I am equipped with, "Oh, yes. I know what it is to be 31...." (You will note that having only been 32 for a day, I don't really list it among my achievements.)

Just sort of as a mental Checking In, I will declare the following:

I still believe that people should be considerate. They should consider the needs and preferences of the people they encounter, and they should also spare some considerate thoughts and deeds for the other plants and animals who share this planet with us (it really wasn't their choice, you know).

I still think that students should be required to actually learn (which includes retaining what information they have previously covered), not just get the right results for their schools on standardized tests. I also believe that Universities allow pretty much anyone to attend. How then, does an "education" indicate someone with specialized knowledge these days?

I still think that the United States of America is in need of a cultural revolution that takes us away from our tolerance of things that are not healthy. I'm working on the details.

I still think that at some point a person is responsible for his/her own actions, regardless of the quality of his/her upbringing. I still think that age is about 14.

I still think that the scariest thing on Earth is the other people in it, but I would rather be victimized by the evil of man than take on qualities of those who survive at the expense of others.

I still think that you should follow the rule or change the rule, not break the rule.

I still think that Welfare as it is only rewards the lazy and the selfish. But you have already heard my genius plan for solving that problem.

I still think that what passes on the tv as "appropriate for all audiences" is horrifying. Especially the commercials.

I still think that exposure to the flaws or sometimes crimes of mankind through the various media, we have been conditioned to think that flaws and crimes are unavoidable, necessary even. When the shocking fails to shock us, is it normal, then? I should hope not. We concentrate so hard on being appealing, but no one concentrates anymore on being worthy. I have a strong desire to go live on a farm in a far away country some days.

Well, I seem to be pretty much the same as last year. Except now I have waged mental war against school fund raisers, and can add that to my list. I do not believe that kindergartners should be asked to sell anything, unless they made it. It's INSANE what they ask those kids to do, and unless my kids have aspirations to grow up to be lobbyists, these fund raisers are teaching them nothing of value, and plenty of things I don't agree with. For instance: Let's learn to push our responsibilities off on someone else, by sending order forms with Mom and Dad to work. They will pressure their friends and co-workers into buying stuff they don't remotely want in order to maintain a pleasant environment, and the school will reward me for it. And that's only the beginning!

But I digress...

You want to hear about the festival last weekend, don't you? We went to Gran's on Friday, and spent the night. It's a good thing I packed the warm clothes, it was very cold! The kids rode ponies and we had apple cider and Nanny even found chocolate-dipped fruit on a stick! Whoever decided that this was good fair food deserves to be richly rewarded. Yum.

There was a parade, and if I hadn't been freezing and on my knees in a street, I would say that it was a great parade. As it was, I still had fun. The kids caught lots of candy, and the Shriners were great, as usual. The Clowns for Jesus, were, admittedly, a little much, but were very nice. And there were lots of tractors and some horses and bands and dance teams and politicians and the Knights of Columbus. Good parade.

I had a brisket sandwich for lunch and it was so good. I love brisket. Love it. As the day wore on, the weather became very funny, although not so much convenient: anytime the sun was out, it was quite warm, and we would all peel off our layers, but as soon as the clouds came back, it was cold to the point of my needing both hat and gloves! (Okay, actually they were mittens.)

Gran got me a pack of soup mix for a Hash brown Soup. You buy the cubed hash browns and and them to a pot with the soup mix and Velveeta cheese, and you end up with a pot full of yummy comfort food. I can't wait for the next frost. I'm going to try it out. For herself, she grabbed a roasted ear of corn, dipped in melted butter. I heartily approve of that, as well. We also bought apple pies. One large crumb crust, one small (which got eaten in Versailles), and one small regular crust. I gave the small one to my mom, and we've been eating the large. It's very meg-y and fragrant. I told Gran that if I had been making a pie, I would have been going for something completely different, but it was, in fact, a delicious pie! Love it! The hypothetical pie I was making would have probably been inferior. I gave the kids two dollars each to spend as they chose, as well. Naturally, since it was a fall festival, they ended up both getting inflatable purple alien toys. Why not? Abbie very nearly got her face painted instead, but she says she will do that next time, maybe.

After the parade, Gran took us to B&B's for ice cream. Grant got a chocolate shake, and Abbie got an ice cream cone, and then dumped it in her lap. We helped Gran fix one of her wind chimes, and set the table for fall, and change the sheets... I actually wish I had been able to do more, but she declined help with most things. For lunch on Sunday I made the vegetables. We heated up some small sweet peas in butter, and then I sauteed some green beans and onion. That one was a particularly big hit. I gave Nanny the banana nut muffins I had made.

We stayed as late as we could on Sunday, giving Josh time to sleep in. Then, the long drive home. I didn't actually sleep too well at Gran's. Shh! The kids slept most of the way home, so that's good. It turns out that Josh was awake watching the football game, though, so the second we got home, he declared that he was now going to go to bed. Hmm. I made dinner and bathed the kids and unpacked. My grandmother really did give me all her Agatha Christie books. We counted them, and there were over 70 of them. She has already borrowed one back. Isn't she funny?

Monday was dance class, Tuesday was taiko. It is so cold in that room!!!! I got a new blister and I hit my left pinkie finger, but the good news is that I can play Tenchi now! Well, I could muddle through it, anyway. Fun practice. Wednesday, my mommy came to take us all to Olive Garden. She had to leave right after dinner, but it was still so nice to see her!!! (I sent here off with that pie and some school pictures of Grant, at least!) She brought me some presents, and Josh got me my first iPod! I feel so grown-up! Then, later that night, he we had a huge fight that started because he didn't believe me that iTunes set up required credit card info. I told him, "Go look for yourself." He interpreted that as, "Hey, why don't you close the window that I've been working in for an hour so I can start over again."

Are all husbands like that? Just curious.

Well, all is fine now. Had good taiko on Thursday, although I don't really like leaving early. Fortunately, I-70 wasn't one lane like it was on Tuesday. That would have made Josh late for work!

Today, I am doing as little as possible. It's my one day of nothing. Tomorrow we are picking apples (So excited!!! Already recipe shopping!) and Sunday after I'm done with beginner taiko we are going to visit our friend Chris, who has been off the radar lately. I don't know how I'm going to get out of bed on Monday morning!!! I bet I'll be babysitting at some point, too. Eeep!

Wishing you a wonderful and fun weekend. I hope today is just as you would have it.

...And Away She Went!

My back is still a tiny bit sore. If you don't know what I'm talking about...don't worry. It's not "out", it's just "unhappy". But I am pretty ready to spend the afternoon in the car.

I am doing things I've never done before this weekend! It starts with today. I'm going to pick Grant up from school. I don't know where I'm supposed to go for that, or exactly when...it's going to be an adventure.

After that is accomplished, we are going to Versailles to the Apple Festival! I've never been before! First, we are spending the night with my grandmother, and the festival is tomorrow. I've packed lots of different clothing options for the kids: t-shirts, long sleeves, sweaters... I even would have packed mittens, except my grandmother told me she has some for the kids. You see, I am prepared for weather eccentricities! And before you ask...yes, I packed mittens for me, too. I will probably wear them.

Yay for grandmothers and yay for festivals. They are the themes for this weekend.

Gran is making chicken fingers and mashed potatoes....because she just wanted some mashed potatoes. Well, it sounds great to me! I made a DVD for her. It's a copy of a David Suchet Agatha Christie movie I have. I also made banana nut muffins from a mix that was on sale. I don't think the taste of the mix was worth the convenience, though. I won't be buying it again. The lemon poppy seed ones taste nice, but I made the others for today.

I missed two calls from my brother this week. I might try calling him a little later on. But he should seriously know better than to call on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

How are you? Autumn is here! Get out your baking recipes!

Off I go to pack the camera, etc.!