flybabies april 10th

Heidi, how funny! Your night alone turned into a snorefest! LOL!

Wow, one in middle school already!? They are growing up WAY to fast! Suxs though about all the different start times. I'm glad our whole school is in one building (or complex, I guess would be more accurate) and everyone starts at the same time.

I'm very excited about next school year. We are going to a four day week! That means Fridays OFF!! Unless there is a holiday on a Monday (but still, that weekend will be a 4 day weekend). School just lasts a little bit longer, from 8-3:50 everyday. We still start mid-August (the 16th or 18th, depending on what the school board decides tonight), and end in late May. We also get an extra day off for the county fair, which is really going to help the kids out, since so many of them have animals they must care for or show for the fair during a usual school day. We are also trying to plan all sporting stuff for during our new weekend: Thursday night, Fridays and Saturdays. How cool is all this!

Oh, yeah, this is a flylady board. LOL! Back on topic.

Will try to do my weekly blessing today. DD8 has ball practice tonight and it's nearly to town. DH has school board meeting tonight, so I have dinner plans with a friend. I had to bail out on her last week for Lion's club, so while DD is at practice, I'm going to run into town and get pizza, then bring it back to her place after practice. Yummy!! I'm also going to water the side and back yard today, and maybe get a couple things made of my latest project (details later).

I just love spring, even though our spring is very brief here.

Jenny, I am so impressed with your school! I think a 4-day week is a great idea! I suppose for some families it would be a pain, but I'd love a four-day week.

Heidi, at least you're rested!

Just a few hours before the sitter gets here -- we have a sitter 10 hrs a week now so I can get freelance work done with DD6 at home.

TADAs
Put away grocery delivery
Waffle sandwiches for girls breakfast
swiped bathroom floor

PODA
Unload DW
rotate laundry
shop for DH birthday dinner (gotta go see what fresh fruit looks good, as that was his request)/Easter goodies
straighten in bedrooms
homeschool meeting

I'm trying out one of my friend's homeschool groups. It's basically a support group for parents and a playgroup for kids. DD is a year younger than a big group of girls in the group; she's turning 7 and they are turning 8 and 9. I am little concerned how that will play out -- she will not do well being the tag-along baby in a group!

Shaun
www.homeschoolblogger.com/shaunms

I have my oral exam Friday, so I have to look back over what I wrote on the exam and figure out how to justify some of the more idiotic things I said.

Heidi, I'm glad you have nice weather! Thanks for starting the thread.

Jenny, what happens with daycare with the new schedule for kids without SAHPs? It sounds like a great idea, I'm just curious about the logistics.

Shaun, I hope your DD has fun and that you do too!

Nothing happened Flying-wise today, really. Just school and work. Tomorrow! I'll be home all day tomorrow.

I barely got anything done! DD8 called complaining about her eye really bothering her (it has for a couple of weeks), so I ended up taking her to the dr., where the diagnoses was allergies thanks to all of our dust. Wonder if I can bill that one to the air force? LOL! But the day was basically shot.

Becky, it's actually the working parents that have been begging for the 4-day week! It's one less day to have to pick their kids up from the bus. I guess because most of our kids are out of district kids from town. The buses go a little more than halfway to town to pick these kids up in a couple of different stops, all the parents just line up on a dirt road for the bus. A majority of working parent's have their parents as babysitters. And many of the younger kids have older brothers and sisters that are old enough to care for them. Or neighbors. Like I said, it's probably a bigger problem for working parents to pick up from the bus stop than just have an extra day off.

The house is horrible! I'm just going to roll up the sleeves and get busy and hopefully have something to post later.

Good Afternoon!

TADA
morning routine
DS off to school
read paper
talked to friend
playdate/lunch for DD here
DD to preschool
GYN appt for me
sort mail
couple calls

PODA
pick up Dd
1 load laundry
dinner
homework
read with DD

Later All....

Heidi

I'm not sure what I did today, but after dinner I went to the mall for new pants for DH and me, a scarf and shoes for me, a tart pan, hostess gifts for my Easter hostess, and little gifties for her kids. Then I went to Target as one of the Easter Bunny's assistants for my own kids, plus got some key limes for my tart. Then I spent 72 minutes on the phone working out the guidelines for a process we're working through at church.

I'm sure I did stuff before that, but there is no room left in my brain for it!

Good luck on your orals, Becky! When you're done I'll tell you about mine . . .

My eyes are closing involuntarily . . . must sleep . . .

Shaun
www.homeschoolblogger.com/shaunms

Good Afternoon!

Jenny- I would love a 4 day school week too,that's way cool.

TADA
morning routine
DS off to school
read paper
hung out with DD
1 load laundry folded,1 load washed and dried
several calls
lunch
DD to preschool
bank
Marc's for a few things
library return
sort mail
picked up DD

PODA
trash to curb
dinner
homework
wake for a neighbor's father 6-8pm

Gotta run........

Heidi

ok, I've spent a couple days sewing in my spare time (HA!). And today I opened up a store. Check it out!

http://stores.ebay.com/Egg-Money-Gifts

Jenny,
Just had to poke my head in to say - wow! You've done a great job with your listings! What does egg money mean?? I chuckled to see the truck next to the burp cloths! I will definitely remember you for my next baby gift!

Hi to everyone else!

Well, our big news is that DS9 broke his wrist in PE yesterday, so that was my day today! Dr, Xray, back to Xray, back to Dr, to orthopedist. He is now in a cast. So I had to take another sick day! Did get laundry done and some (2) windows cleaned. I have one more day or work and then spring recess!!!!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited?!

My wrist is bugging me, so I'm off -
Andrea

Andrea, Egg money is the money that farmer's wives used to make when they took extra eggs to town and sold to the local grocery store (or whoever wanted to buy some eggs). It was usually her little bit of "mad-money" or used it to contribute to her husband's meager earnings from the farm. I don't have chickens (yet, though I think we are getting some this spring/summer), but this is my "egg money". LOL! Glad you liked the stuff!

I went to town yesterday because I HAD to get some groceries. Now I'm back today for a meeting (I'm on the elections committee for our rural phone coop), and almost there tonight for baseball practice. Tomorrow plan on staying home, but to Clovis on Saturday for pictures (all 12 of us), and again on Sunday for Easter (church and party at aunt-uncle-inlaws). Great. And diesel is up to 2.79. ouch.

I did do something yesterday. Besides the Ebay stuff. I washed the windows on the outside. Now instead of being dusty dirty, they are streaky dirty. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. I've never had to do that before, the rain usually takes care of it. But, uh, we haven't had any except for a sprinkle in a sandstorm, which does enough to get the windows wet so the sand can stick to it better.

Oh, and it's supposed to hit 95 today, according to the radio. So much for spring.

Time to put my face on and get busy. gotta take Chance to the inlaws. Drew stays with me for the meeting.

Good Morning!

TADA
morning routine
DS off to school
read paper
colored with DD
put away laundry
called Mom
changed sheets

PODA
vacuum upstairs
lunch
DD to preschool
register Dd for safetytown this summer
assemble Easter baskets for cousins
mulch flower beds
pick up DD
sort mail
dinner
homework
read

Heidi

So much to do!!

I fertilized the yard today, that's something. LOL!

But I volunteered again. I'm now the T-ball coach. Didn't I say I wasn't going to coach anymore? How did that happen?

Hmmmm, how did that happen Jenny?!

I'm off for a week, so will be joining you a bit more.

TADA so far:
dw
exercised
laundry done, not folded yet
Wal-Mart for a bunch of stuff
lunch made
cleaned bathroom
deposit check

PODA:
clean stovetop
color eggs with kids (second batch)
maybe make cookies
get wine for dinner tonite and party tomorrow
maybe read if I have time - ha!

Anadrea

I sympathize with you. I took about 5 minutes to spit out that I had decided that I could not do a particular volunteer post today. I knew it was impossible, and yet as I tried to say the words my brain kept trying to get me to say yes!

Well, I'm sure you'll have a good time.

I went w/o kids to an egg-coloring party tonight! Had a great time chatting with the other adults and other people's kids without worrying about my own. (My kids didn't go because we thought if we did too many Easter activities they'd be exhausted by the time we actually got to church.)

And now I am going to bed without doing the dishes, because I am full of wine!

Shaun
www.homeschoolblogger.com/shaunms

Yep I am still here, lurking LOL! School is going good and work is good too, just way too busy!

My list for today:

PODA
balance checkbook...ugh
Mt. Laundry
dye eggs
groceries & bank
drag out summer clothes
pack up Ebay stuff
plan my MIL's 60th birthday party
try to spend some time with my DH, today is his BD (he may have to make an appt!)

Have a good one!
Happy Easter!

Marlene

They said they'd get back to us test-takers "later." I'm guessing maybe two weeks.

So, I'm caught up in here now, and today is devoted to bringing back some order to all this chaos. Tonight the Unitarian Universalist church is having a (belated) Passover seder so I'm going to that.

Hi Marlene, good to see you!

Jenny, what was that about no more coaching?

Shaun, I'm done now. You were going to tell me about your orals? Remember these were just for my master's degree, so don't get too impressed yet. (Plus I don't know if I passed!)

How is DS9's wrist, Andrea?

Heidi, I'm sorry about your neighbor's father.

PODA:
-call my mother to figure out the details of her visit (she arrives Tuesday)
-call my cousin and find out what time she wants us to come over
-dishes (YES they're from yesterday)
-laundry
-work on taxes
-make tzimmes (sweet carrot stew with raisins) for the seder tonight
-go to the seder

If I feel ambitious, I might dye some eggs as well.

They don't tell you whether you passed?

For my PhD orals they tell you on the spot. I b a r e l y passed. It was a disaster. I answered a particular question wrong, but my advisor continued asking me questions and talking about that answer as if I had answered it correctly, until finally I said, "I'm not sure." That's when he said, "That's because blah blah blah, you were wrong about 10 minutes ago." It was like a sucker punch in the gut. Suffice to say that I was so distraught and paralyzed with embarrassment that anything I *did* know fell right out of my brain for the rest of the exam.

When they told me I'd passed, I had to ask them why, and it was basically on the strength of the written portion of the exam and their familiarity with my knowledge/ability in general. But they told me to consider *very carefully* whether I would continue to the dissertation stage. Oh, and my diss proposal, which was part of the oral, pretty much went out the window too! I cried for about 24 straight hours after I got out of there.

The happy ending, of course, is that my diss. turned out to be a great success and was my department's sole candidate for outstanding diss. of the year for the entire University of Michigan. (toot! toot!) I also know one guy who outright failed his orals but decided against all advice to try again. He now has tenure at U Penn and is beloved there as a teacher.

Anyway, you did it, you're standing, so you can color me impressed!

And now (cheesy segue) I think I'll go color me some eggs!

Shaun
www.homeschoolblogger.com/shaunms

Picture day!

Yes, the 12 of us are all going up to Sears to have family portraits done. Six adults, kids ages 8, 6, two 3 1/2 year olds, one 10 month old, and almost 5 month old Drew-meister. Wish us luck that the photographer will get one shot of everyone with eyes open, looking at the camera, and SMILING. And that DD8 won't put bunny-ears behind anyone's head.

Becky, glad the orals are over. Thank goodness I'll never have to do anythiing that hard!! You are one brave gal!

Nor did they tell any of the other test-takers. They let you know right away for the Ph.D orals, but not for this. Fortunately there wasn't a way for them to pull the same thing on me as they did on you, because they had to ask more of a variety of questions. There were four I got wrong. One I got half-right, two I just plain didn't know the answers, and one I didn't understand the question.

Jenny, I'll probably never have to do any of that farming work that looks superhuman to me, so I think I come out ahead on easy street! At least for this I just had to sit on my butt and think. Maybe get some books off a library shelf (oh, the effort).

Congrats Becky - that's great!

We had a nice day here - busy with dance, baseball, etc. DS9 just watched. His arm is fine, just in a cast!

We are off to a birthday party now - so have to get dressed.
Andrea

Good Evening!

TADA
morning routine
read paper
put away laundry
lunch
took kids to movies
went to cemetery with my mom
dinner
walked with dog
DD bath
made up 2 Easter baskets,2 more to go

Happy easter or Happy Passover whichever the case may be!!! Enjoy the holiday weekend.

Becky-glad that the orals are over and you can sigh with relief

Jenny-how did the pictures go? Everyone cooperate?

Hi Everyone else

Heidi

Pictures.

Well, DH got called out on a big fire and couldn't make it. MIL was VERY disappointed. But I talked her into doing the pictures anyway. Chance wasn't very cooperative. Which I figured since 1. He is 3 1/2 and 2. his very best buddy, his cousin, was there right next to him and they haven't seen each other in a couple of months. I'm calling the pictures my "widow" pictures, since DH wasn't there. LOL!