Making our medieval pouches and dog biscuit Rudolph ornaments.
Silly smiles cannot be excluded!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Some pictures of the guys.
Coming in from a campfire outside and too tuckered out to actually make it to bed.
A meal that only my kids would eat!
As most of you know, my children are known to eat foods that most of their peers probably would not touch! As we are finishing up tonight's meal, I thought I would share the wonderful meal that I prepared and was eaten with great anticipation. Tonight they wolfed down the following:
Emu Steaks (crockpotted with cream of mushroom soup)
Harvard Beets
Lima Beans
Mashed Potatoes
Frozen peas straight out of the bag
We are having a clean out the freezer week in preparation for Thanksgiving. The emu was gifted to us with our free freezer upon our move and it was time for it to be eaten (by the rest of the family - not me). The rest of the things are actual normal foods that get eaten at our house. But, I realized that it was a combination that may result in a battle of wills over the dinner table at other people's houses. JL is having the hardest time with the mashed potatoes actually - only my kids would have an issue with mashed potatoes and not the three vegetables that were served!
I hope that you had a very enjoyable meal tonight (last night) whatever it happened to be.
Emu Steaks (crockpotted with cream of mushroom soup)
Harvard Beets
Lima Beans
Mashed Potatoes
Frozen peas straight out of the bag
We are having a clean out the freezer week in preparation for Thanksgiving. The emu was gifted to us with our free freezer upon our move and it was time for it to be eaten (by the rest of the family - not me). The rest of the things are actual normal foods that get eaten at our house. But, I realized that it was a combination that may result in a battle of wills over the dinner table at other people's houses. JL is having the hardest time with the mashed potatoes actually - only my kids would have an issue with mashed potatoes and not the three vegetables that were served!
I hope that you had a very enjoyable meal tonight (last night) whatever it happened to be.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Reflections from today...
Today we hosted church at our house for the first time! We had a normal crowd today of around 40 people which was a full-house but still some elbow room. The first people arrived around 9:30 (right when I was jumping in the shower after a run) and the last person left around 4pm. In between time we had church, a meal, and lots of playing! It has been an outstanding day weather wise so Sunday School happened outside as well as most of the people outside as well. I enjoyed having church here and being able to host people in our house and having them feel comfortable enough to spend hours and hours here. I was even motivated enough to clean the kitchen even though my husband offered. We may have left the wrong impression with some of our visitors though - it seems that the most violent toys (Styrofoam swords, Nerf guns) are the ones that came out at the beginning of the morning and even stuck around through part of church! The college guys were having a bunch of fun with them - they are just amazing how much they play with the boys! We host through this month - we'll see if we get asked again or not!
Tomorrow we start our next week of homeschool. I have just been blown away by how much I have enjoyed homeschool. Here are just a few reasons why...
1. We don't have to get up and out of the house by a certain time. (I don't have to nag which makes me very happy.)
2. We or the boys can go different places during the week or for weeks at at time. (Currently there have been at least four weeks that they have been out of town during the week - and there are more planned.)School is portable and they can learn all kinds of things everywhere!
3. I get to spend quality, structured, meaningful time with my boys and I know what they are learning! For the day that they do school somewhere else during the week, I hear so little about the day. I can't imagine that being the case 5 days a week! When I know that I have done school with them, I don't have guilt having them entertain themselves.
4. I get to filter what my children are exposed to...I am OK with them being sheltered. That doesn't mean that they don't have socialization, they have a lot of that!
5. We don't have to do homework...we can stop when we are tired and we can press on when we are in a groove!
6. I am enjoying what we are learning and am learning fun things too! Grandma read the a book the week that they spent with her and now I want to go and read it too!
Last thoughts - running. I really wanted to do another 1/2 marathon this fall. It just hasn't worked out to get that done. My running partners got a 13 mile run in one Sunday morning that I wasn't able to join them. This morning was supposed to be my morning to get it in but for some reason all during the week I didn't prepare my body or mind for the race. For some reason I had it in my mind that I would wake up this morning and crank out 13 miles just like it was nothing. I have trained so it's not like I was thinking I would go out cold, but it's still 13 miles and I haven't done that many miles since the August race. I didn't really drink enough water for days and I didn't do any carb loading and I didn't mentally prepare myself to keep running for over two hours straight. So this morning when I woke up (I didn't even set an alarm and we were having church at our house at 10) and it was raining, it was God telling me that it wasn't my day. The rain stopped but it wasn't enough time to try and get 13 miles in, so I got about 5 in and came home to do final touches for church. Not sure if it will actually happen yet this month or not! Right now I have to be OK with not getting it in...I run to keep in shape and that's really the overall goal.
That's the reflection on Sunday - I'm off to bed leaving Todd and his friend studying for a test tomorrow!
Tomorrow we start our next week of homeschool. I have just been blown away by how much I have enjoyed homeschool. Here are just a few reasons why...
1. We don't have to get up and out of the house by a certain time. (I don't have to nag which makes me very happy.)
2. We or the boys can go different places during the week or for weeks at at time. (Currently there have been at least four weeks that they have been out of town during the week - and there are more planned.)School is portable and they can learn all kinds of things everywhere!
3. I get to spend quality, structured, meaningful time with my boys and I know what they are learning! For the day that they do school somewhere else during the week, I hear so little about the day. I can't imagine that being the case 5 days a week! When I know that I have done school with them, I don't have guilt having them entertain themselves.
4. I get to filter what my children are exposed to...I am OK with them being sheltered. That doesn't mean that they don't have socialization, they have a lot of that!
5. We don't have to do homework...we can stop when we are tired and we can press on when we are in a groove!
6. I am enjoying what we are learning and am learning fun things too! Grandma read the a book the week that they spent with her and now I want to go and read it too!
Last thoughts - running. I really wanted to do another 1/2 marathon this fall. It just hasn't worked out to get that done. My running partners got a 13 mile run in one Sunday morning that I wasn't able to join them. This morning was supposed to be my morning to get it in but for some reason all during the week I didn't prepare my body or mind for the race. For some reason I had it in my mind that I would wake up this morning and crank out 13 miles just like it was nothing. I have trained so it's not like I was thinking I would go out cold, but it's still 13 miles and I haven't done that many miles since the August race. I didn't really drink enough water for days and I didn't do any carb loading and I didn't mentally prepare myself to keep running for over two hours straight. So this morning when I woke up (I didn't even set an alarm and we were having church at our house at 10) and it was raining, it was God telling me that it wasn't my day. The rain stopped but it wasn't enough time to try and get 13 miles in, so I got about 5 in and came home to do final touches for church. Not sure if it will actually happen yet this month or not! Right now I have to be OK with not getting it in...I run to keep in shape and that's really the overall goal.
That's the reflection on Sunday - I'm off to bed leaving Todd and his friend studying for a test tomorrow!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Flash Back
Tonight I have had a major flashback...walking into a hotel room all by myself pulling a suitcase. Wow, I was doing this frequently just a year and a half ago and now it's a flashback memory.
Today at work was really fun in a way that doing something different is fun - I'm looking forward to going to RSNA and doing the professional thing for a couple of weeks but really glad that I am not choosing to do this full-time.
I can't believe how much I am happy to spend time with my boys. Most days I could be such a better parents...oh such a better mom to those wonderful boys. But being able to spend so much more time together has been so great.
Thank you so much to my husband for his idea for me to spend the time with the boys before they got too hold. Thank you so much to my husband for being such a wonderful financial manager so we could be in this place. Thank you so much to my husband for being the wonderful guy that he is and letting his wife do a bunch of crazy stuff with our lives!
In the mean time, I'll enjoy the hotel time and try and figure out what I did with myself in years past with my time here in the hotel. Translation - I'll probably end up working a bunch this week! I'll be very thankful for only having to work two days next week!
Monday, October 22, 2007
The windows...
I posted in July about the cutting of holes in the basement for windows and I was a little nervous. The cutting and framing in went wonderfully but it became a saga after that...
We contracted with a company in Jeff City (about 90 miles away) to do the cutting. They had a minimum fee which was about the same price as to cut what we wanted. We pulled a permit with the city like good little citizens. Before the cutting company was scheduled to come, my husband called the city to check on the permit status. He was told that it was approved but the company needed to register with the city and pay an appropriate fee before we would actually have the permit. So when the holes were cut, we didn't have an approved permit in hand from the city - no big deal we thought.
Weeks later the company got their fee paid and Todd was able to pick up the permit. The permit was approved *WITH* modifications to the design...the biggest change to the design required 3 more inches cut into the concrete! Ummm - that means another minimum cutting fee AND removal of the glass block windows which may not be able to be re-used. Todd had the city inspector come out and he did not approve the work that was done because it did not meet city code (we didn't have a double header). It was worth a try to get them approved...Fortunately the city inspector did say that if we could get a professional engineer to approve his plan, then the city will most likely approve it.
So you would think that Todd could get some help from the civil engineering department at school but he didn't find anyone willing to put their stamp of approval on his plans. So he gets a recommendation for an engineering firm here in town and makes an appointment. Nice visit with an engineer and Todd gets a really good pointer on taking a CAD class from the local technical school instead of the university. (Having this class makes him very marketable as an intern/coop type person.) A week later, we get word that the plans didn't get approved but he does have a suggestion that does not include cutting more into the cement.
Todd stews over the option that was presented and talks with my dad and others on their thoughts. We have sealed windows and LOVE the new light that we have. The permit is outstanding for 180 days there isn't any huge rush to do anything. He's also trying to figure out how to do the retro fit without having to remove all of the siding from the back of the house to put in the recommended piece of steel! Fall semester starts and one of Todd's classes is "Structures". He's learning how to figure out if his windows are strong enough to support the house above it and the variables involved with that. He goes back to his design and looks at it and does some more math and some more math.
Finally he comes to a point where he doesn't see why his design doesn't work with what he has learned in school. He schedules an appointment with the engineer again to understand why his design doesn't work - a reality check to see where education and real life do or don't meet. The day before the meeting is scheduled, the other partner in the engineering firm just happens to be at church!
The meeting was great success - the office is a 2 minute bike ride away from the house but Todd had to call before he got home to tell me. The engineer didn't account for one large beam in each window that Todd put in so the plans were approved. Yippee! The engineer invited Todd to come in and apply for a summer job as well! (And Tuesday night is CAD class.)
So this is very much a situation where God works for the good, even though the first indication wasn't something that we thought was good! Todd wouldn't be taking the CAD class now and he wouldn't have had a good lead on a summer position where they have already seen some of this work!
The windows are in the process of being trimmed out now...the light has been truly wonderful!
We contracted with a company in Jeff City (about 90 miles away) to do the cutting. They had a minimum fee which was about the same price as to cut what we wanted. We pulled a permit with the city like good little citizens. Before the cutting company was scheduled to come, my husband called the city to check on the permit status. He was told that it was approved but the company needed to register with the city and pay an appropriate fee before we would actually have the permit. So when the holes were cut, we didn't have an approved permit in hand from the city - no big deal we thought.
Weeks later the company got their fee paid and Todd was able to pick up the permit. The permit was approved *WITH* modifications to the design...the biggest change to the design required 3 more inches cut into the concrete! Ummm - that means another minimum cutting fee AND removal of the glass block windows which may not be able to be re-used. Todd had the city inspector come out and he did not approve the work that was done because it did not meet city code (we didn't have a double header). It was worth a try to get them approved...Fortunately the city inspector did say that if we could get a professional engineer to approve his plan, then the city will most likely approve it.
So you would think that Todd could get some help from the civil engineering department at school but he didn't find anyone willing to put their stamp of approval on his plans. So he gets a recommendation for an engineering firm here in town and makes an appointment. Nice visit with an engineer and Todd gets a really good pointer on taking a CAD class from the local technical school instead of the university. (Having this class makes him very marketable as an intern/coop type person.) A week later, we get word that the plans didn't get approved but he does have a suggestion that does not include cutting more into the cement.
Todd stews over the option that was presented and talks with my dad and others on their thoughts. We have sealed windows and LOVE the new light that we have. The permit is outstanding for 180 days there isn't any huge rush to do anything. He's also trying to figure out how to do the retro fit without having to remove all of the siding from the back of the house to put in the recommended piece of steel! Fall semester starts and one of Todd's classes is "Structures". He's learning how to figure out if his windows are strong enough to support the house above it and the variables involved with that. He goes back to his design and looks at it and does some more math and some more math.
Finally he comes to a point where he doesn't see why his design doesn't work with what he has learned in school. He schedules an appointment with the engineer again to understand why his design doesn't work - a reality check to see where education and real life do or don't meet. The day before the meeting is scheduled, the other partner in the engineering firm just happens to be at church!
The meeting was great success - the office is a 2 minute bike ride away from the house but Todd had to call before he got home to tell me. The engineer didn't account for one large beam in each window that Todd put in so the plans were approved. Yippee! The engineer invited Todd to come in and apply for a summer job as well! (And Tuesday night is CAD class.)
So this is very much a situation where God works for the good, even though the first indication wasn't something that we thought was good! Todd wouldn't be taking the CAD class now and he wouldn't have had a good lead on a summer position where they have already seen some of this work!
The windows are in the process of being trimmed out now...the light has been truly wonderful!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Keeping Busy Again...
It's almost the end of October and I haven't made any posts yet this month...so a quick follow-up on what's been happening.
I met the boys and Jenny in Kansas City at the end of their roadtrip. We all had a good time in Kansas City and packed in a lot! We saw Cerner friends, neighborhood friends, church friends, friends of friends, my new manager, some clients and drove a lot of miles. Across town it way different in KC versus Rolla!
I definitely kept busy while the boys were gone, but not too busy. Todd had five tests while they were gone so even though it sounded like great couple time, we didn't have too many lazy evenings to just "hang out" together. We did pretty much eat by candlelight most nights - by my husband's request!
We were home for a few days - tried to get back in the routine again and then we were off to Saturday again to the Missouri entertainment mecca - Branson. We met some friends of my parents there. Just so happened that these friends met my parents during their Rolla grad school summers! Todd came home to go to school and the boys and I stayed a few days longer. Their time share is on a golf course and the evening activity was to hunt for golf balls. I think that they found over 150 of them in a few days.
This weekend is home again. The last soccer games for the boys on Saturday and probably the UMR football game...maybe some laundry and good old house cleaning!
I met the boys and Jenny in Kansas City at the end of their roadtrip. We all had a good time in Kansas City and packed in a lot! We saw Cerner friends, neighborhood friends, church friends, friends of friends, my new manager, some clients and drove a lot of miles. Across town it way different in KC versus Rolla!
I definitely kept busy while the boys were gone, but not too busy. Todd had five tests while they were gone so even though it sounded like great couple time, we didn't have too many lazy evenings to just "hang out" together. We did pretty much eat by candlelight most nights - by my husband's request!
We were home for a few days - tried to get back in the routine again and then we were off to Saturday again to the Missouri entertainment mecca - Branson. We met some friends of my parents there. Just so happened that these friends met my parents during their Rolla grad school summers! Todd came home to go to school and the boys and I stayed a few days longer. Their time share is on a golf course and the evening activity was to hunt for golf balls. I think that they found over 150 of them in a few days.
This weekend is home again. The last soccer games for the boys on Saturday and probably the UMR football game...maybe some laundry and good old house cleaning!
Friday, September 28, 2007
What to do with myself?
I'm having my first experience of being the "stay at home" parents where I don't have to parent all of the time! The boy's Aunt Jenny came on Sunday and asked if she could leave with the boys in the morning for almost two weeks. She had been talking about taking them on a trip but we thought it would be later in the month.
Of course this has been a week where Todd was overwhelmed with tests and homework so he hasn't had a ton of time to spend with me. It really is amazing how much more time I have on my hands without little boys around. I'm so not motivated to get anything done though! I miss them but I know that they are having a great time and it's good for me to have a little down time too. The living room has been clean for days and I haven't cleaned the kitchen counter a half dozen times a day.
I will be happy to have them back, being without them really makes me realize just how much a part of my life that they are. It also makes me realize how much joy they bring to me as well.
Of course this has been a week where Todd was overwhelmed with tests and homework so he hasn't had a ton of time to spend with me. It really is amazing how much more time I have on my hands without little boys around. I'm so not motivated to get anything done though! I miss them but I know that they are having a great time and it's good for me to have a little down time too. The living room has been clean for days and I haven't cleaned the kitchen counter a half dozen times a day.
I will be happy to have them back, being without them really makes me realize just how much a part of my life that they are. It also makes me realize how much joy they bring to me as well.
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