Flybabies August 20th

HI Again-

TADA so far:
dw emptied
exercised
laundry
Zone
exercise
breakfast for kids

PODA:
phone calls
kitchen floor
scrapping gardens

See ya!
Andrea

Managed 2 loads of laundry for the weekend. The entire rest of the weekend was spent at inlaws playing with the kids (listening to the kids play, fight, scream, etc., while we tried to have adult conversation).

And was back over there this morning after dropping off oldest 3 at school (DS4 started today! No tears, barely a goodbye. As if he had never left. Two children so far were clinging to parents, including one little brat that was there last year. Sorry, he and his mother and grandmother annoy the hell outta me). Visited with MIL and SIL for a couple of hours. Niece, age 2, found my daughters' teeny tiny beads that they aren't allowed to bring home (MIL gave it to them for Christmas. I said "great, they can play with them at YOUR house!"). It took, I kid you not, at least 30 minutes of the three adults picking up the damn things. Ugh!

Ok, home now. Need to do my news column, then pick up the house enough to vacuum, dust, a load of laundry, and maybe mop if I'm really ambitious.

Peppered steak for dinner.

Glad DS4 had a good start. I still remember sending DD5 off to Kindergarten, and she never looked back. Second day she said, "just drop me off at the curb"!

I'm with you on the beads -- we just informed the girls yesterday that all renegade beads would henceforth end up in the trash.

We are having a super lazy day. 3rd day of gloomy gray skies, first day of Flo's visit, kids slept in until 9! I'm trying to keep the laundry going too. Oh, and we have no car and no food today, which puts a crimp in our style. Computer time for all! (DD8 is sooo into doing roleplay on Neopets, it is scary.)

Shaun
www.redseahomeschool.wordpress.com

Morning all-

Off to the city to do school shopping with both kiddos. Wish me luck and patience and good deals!
Andrea

Good luck with the shopping, Andrea!!

I worked on climbing back on the flywagon yesterday. And I don't think I did half bad. A load of laundry (well, two, but all done from start to finish). Dishes put away, cleaned after dinner, picked up living room before bed. Was super nice to be back on a routine for the kids to go to bed!

Trying to do the same today, plus do the weekly blessing (which didn't get done yesterday).

DH may be running up to Oklahoma for a part. It will take three days for it to get here, or he can have it back here late tonight and put it on in the morning. Time is money, he was right in the middle of cutting when it died. I'm frustrated when I can't help at a time like this.

I'm back. It went very well actually. DD still needs shoes and jeans, but I can do that at WM here in town and she shoes online. I am beat though!!

Not much else on my TADA yet -

What a bummer about that part Jenny -
Andrea

Good morning!

I got the house semi-vacuumed yesterday. Did load of laundry and put away (I should go start one instead of being here, but, ohwell). Kept the kitchen clean. And goofed off too long on the computer. And gave the boys both a haircut. Oh, I did straighten up the sewing desk/closet (because I was fixing to make a Christmas gift, but discovered in all my fabric that I didn't have the right piece for something. So, I need fabric. Really. LOL! It's a Christmas Tree skirt with appliqued cabins, trees, and moose, but the background piece is tan. I have white, slightly offwhite, and brown. Nothing in between). Anyway, sorry 'bout that.

DH got in at 3am from getting that part in Oklahoma. I sure hope it's the right one. He's already off this morning to fix the swather, keep your fingers crossed.

I'm going to town today. Out of DH's milk (skim) and almost out of whole (the rest of us), and need a few other things, too. Including going to big-ger town and getting my textbook for the online class I'm taking this semester (Biology 113). Need a new mouse, too. For the computer (not live ones. Got enough of those!). I've killed two on this computer, the one I'm using came off the old computer we bought nearly 10 years ago. LOL! Doesn't even have a scroll thingie.

Fair is this week. We were going to go tonight, but I hate to pay for all of us to get in just so DS4 can do the greased pig chase. I'll save the money from today and we will all go Saturday and pay extra to see the Arenacross bike races that night. Need to teach Drew to use a stickhorse so he can do that race on Sat.

I'm chatty today. Time to run!

I'm not just flapping feebly this week! Whoo-Hoo! (Insert happy dance here)

I've been really good at keeping up with the sink, clutter, and laundry this week! Helps that I'm at home and don't have homework.

TADA
shiny sink
I know where my laundry is
remembered to swish n swipe the bathroom this morning
threw in and stacked 1.5 cords of wood with DH, DS15, and DS's friend

PODA
sweep shoe area-it's full of mud chunks from soccer cleats
re-tuck the sofa slipcovers
change bedding
laundry (underwear, bedding, and one load of towels)
stack some more wood
dinner: rosemary-garlic rubbed lamb chops, baked potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob

Boy did I make DS17 mad this morning! I have asked him three times in a row to put his belongings from the living room/kitchen/dining room area away. The third time I warned him that if it wasn't done when I got up in the morning I would bag it all up and throw it away. He didn't pick it up last night, so this morning I got bagging. He heard me and came thundering down the stairs in his boxers screaming. He managed to "save" most of it, but he was so angry when I wouldn't give him what I had already gotten to. I hid the bag in the back of my van, and now I'm pondering weather to give it back to him in a few days or not. Most of it is new school clothes...What do you all think?

Have a peaceful evening friends,
-Jo

I'm trying to re-surface. I've been doing a bit more Flying, but with the Motivated Moms planner instead of a control journal. It's simpler to keep up. Definitely still on the same routines, though.

My mom is visiting, and she's given me $ for housecleaners to come for this semester. This is an icky semester for me, extra-busy and DS has to be in daycare sort of full-time (that is, every day but not all day). I'm hoping next semester I can cut him down to part-time.

I need to get some new pictures up. I have them but haven't managed to get them to the computer!

Morning all-
Quicky fly-by! WE got a dog yesterday! He is a cockapoo - we named him Izzy. So my regular routines now include housetraining a pup. He is really cute and I hope he works well for the kids. I will TADA later - need to run now -
Andrea

Our fair starts today -- I took a walk by the fairgrounds as it was coming to life early this morning. I think next year I may coax the family to go first thing opening day. Hope you all have fun, Jenny! We don't chase greased pigs -- we just feel like them after we've eaten and sweated all day.

Rose, you are evil! I think you have a good idea though. Jo, I'm sure you gave DS a good scare--a few days of wondering and wishing he'd picked up his stuff is probably a good thing!

Not sure what's on tap today -- rainy day, and DH may end up at the Dr. instead of coming home so I can work (we're nanny-less for a couple of weeks, so he is working really early ams so I can work pms). Poor DH has some kind of lump in his armpit (TMI, I know) and will be a wreck until it knows what it is.

Better get moving,

Glad to see you, Becky! That is great with the housecleaners -- my mom gave me that gift for a while too, and it really helps in those crazy times.

Enjoy the new dog, Andrea. Get out that Dyson!

Shaun
www.redseahomeschool.wordpress.com

Good idea Shaun! I am hoping he won't shed much b/c of the poodle in him, but time will tell! Enjoy the fair -

TADA so far:
dw
laundry
sheets changed
exercise
vac kitchen and FR

PODA:
Zone
give dog bath
call vet
call friend
scrapping
make lasagna for dinner
clean pool if it stops raining

I have gotten in the bad habit of shopping almost every day since I am not working much in the summer. I am so sick of going to the store! I really need to get back to my menu planning.
Andrea

HI Again-
Just taking a very quick break. Hey Shaun, do you have any ideas for a yummy vegetarian dinner I could make for my friend? Something that could be grilled, but not necessarily. We are having them over Saturday and I would like to make just one entree, instead of trying to please everyone. So it has to be veggie!

Got the lasagna made for tonite - it looks good - just a basic one.
Andrea

Hope the dog works out Andrea!

Hi Becky! Glad to see you got a minute to post real quick.

Jo, make him earn it back. Now he knows you are serious!

We did not go to the greased pig chase (they don't actually grease a pig anymore. Now it's whoever can get the bandana off his neck). But I got tickets for the arenacross there on Saturday and that includes free admission to the fair, so I think I ended up saving money that way. Got my errands done (even got me a new pair of boots and jeans, for the fair, ya know! Was really cool to have to buy a size 7 in the jeans again. The boots are really cool--black Fat Babies. DD10 can't wait to wear them when she goes up one more size). Didn't get fabric, DH ended up meeting me at Walmart and he doesn't wait around in the fabric dept.

DH is off to the fair, he is in the EMT tent working. We are home, and I'm sure I'll find something to keep me busy. I'm not planning on much flying. Thursdays used to be my free day.

If I'm trying to combine veg and grill, I like portobello mushrooms (which make lovely "burgers" or burger toppings, or zucchini and yellow summer squash sliced longways. Look for recipes online for ideas on spices/cooking time. Pasta is the easiest please-everyone veg thing to make -- but you are making lasagne for tonight. You could have some hearty rigatoni or mostaccoli with nice fresh ( not skim!) ricotta and tomatoes/tomato sauce and then grilled veg on the side.

How many are you having? Vegetable quiche is good, especially if you have any nice stuff from your garden. A nice mushroom (or spinach) quiche (making 2 is just as easy, esp. if you use premade crust), a salad (of sliced tomatoes and sliced fresh mozzarella balls with basil scattered over the top?), and some grilled green and yellow summer squashes (or just saute with some sliced onions). Nice and light, so you feel free to drink wine and eat dessert!!

Shaun
www.redseahomeschool.wordpress.com

Is portabella mushrooms stuffed with a mixture of ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, frozen spinach, chopped up marinated artichoke hearts, and sun-dried tomatoes which I grill and a salad of baby spinach, shredded carrots, carmelized onions (warm), dried cherries and toasted pine nuts(warm) with a warm dressing of equal parts olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and maple syrup. They eat it, but they call it "chick food." What's up with that?

Rose, I love your evil thoughts!

I thought that was a great idea, so last night he earned back 3 items for every wheelbarrow load of wood he stacked. Bet he won't do that again...

TADA
kept up with routines
fell asleep at 9 and slept through the night! That's a huge tada for me!

PODA
vacuum the LR carpet
dinner: I may just do that meal up above! Or maybe some pizza...
swap out laundry
swap out dishes
wash and deep condition DD's hair-boy is it scraggly right now! Too much wind and chlorine

Our big fair starts this weekend too. The county one was the first week in August. I love fairs.

OK, gotta run
-Jo

Oooooh, those are luscious ideas - thank you Shaun and Jo! I always feel bad not making meat for our DH's. We will all eat veggie and enjoy it, but... Then there are our four kids. So it is four adults and four kids. Maybe I'll do simple grilled chicken breast, Shaun's pasta with ricotta and tomatoes and Jo's salad - I think i could handle that. This gal doesn't like any mushrooms of all things! I have made grilled squash and mushrooms before and she eats around them!

Got a lot done today, thinking about sitting down and reading now. Never made my phone calls though - oh well. The dog has had one accident inside, but it was our fault I think -
See ya -
Andrea-

Drives me BONKERS.

Mom is off taking the baby swimming.

Congratulations on your new canine arrival Andrea!

TADA:

-wiped out bathroom sinks
-took a 20-minute nap during the baby's 90-minute nap
-watched my mother clean the new-to-us Exersaucer handed down from a cousin

Um.... I think that's it! I could go for pizza too, but DH can't eat it with his reflux and he gets upset when he sees me eating what he can't have. Probably just as well.

Morning Everyone!

TADA so far:
dw emptied
laundry started
puppy business!

PODA:
finish laundry
DS's sheets
exercise
clean my bathroom
scrapping
call vet
maybe clean pool
decide on menu for tomorrow and maybe shop??

See ya!
Andrea

Mornin'!

You know me, the carnivore. Every meal must include meat. I don't even KNOW a vegetarian! LOL! Well, I mean in real life.

I stayed true to not doing much yesterday except maintained. Routines help, though I need to add a few things to them. Baby steps. I did get a wild hair and took apart the dryer. I can smell another dead mouse in the laundry room and thought I pinpointed it there. But apparently it's in the walls, again. But enjoyed taking the back off the dryer and vacuuming it all out. Then I decided to go ahead with the Christmas Tree skirt I'm making my stepbrother and wife as a gift with the fabric I already have. They don't keep their tree on the floor anyway (2 really large house dogs).

We had trash for dinner (fresh squash, potatoes, onions, and polish sausage all mixed together). It was GOOOOOD!

DH took DD10 with him today. MIL called and said she wants the girls to spend the night. So I'll run DD8 and stuff for both over there, and DH will drop off DD10 sometime today. We can pick them up on the way to the fair tomorrow. As for me today, I may just work on that tree skirt some more!

That sounds really great Jenny! You know I am a carnivore too, but this gal is one of my best friends, so I try to cater to her if I can -

This puppy is wearing me out - another accident tonite. Pulled out the carpet cleaner. 'Nuff said.

See ya-
Andrea

Andrea, you are making me glad that I don't bring Tex in the house, even though I would REALLY love a house dog, or house cat. A fight I will never win...

Gone all day today. First I have to pick up the girls from the inlaws (MIL called and wanted them to spend the night last night). The farm auction place in town is having an auction from the air force base. They have some pretty nice furniture in it. Going to check it out sometime. Plus the fair today (stick horse race at 2pm, need to see if Drew will run around the house with one), arenacross at the fair tonight. And the harvesters are starting to chop one of our hay fields. Going to go by and check that out. 4 harvesters and 28 trucks out there. wow!

Oh, did I tell ya'll about that? DH sold 760 acres of our hay to a local dairy for green chop. Which means that he won't have to cut, wait for it to dry, pray it doesn't rain while it dries for at least 2 weeks, bale, sell, and haul it off. It's just two fields (one 600 acres, the other 160), we still have 4 other fields to do all of the above to. But this is half our hay and is a BIG load off DHs mind (especially that 600 acre field. That field is 1 mile long! Many 1 mile trips on that field). Instead of baling it, the harvesters come in, cut/chop it and immediatly dump it into trailers and haul it off to a dairy for silage. Today. No wait. Which means we will get our money very, very soon! These two fields will be enough to pay the rent on the fields and nearly pay off our farm loan. Yay!! when the rest of our harvest is done, we will be able to finish paying off farm loan, make all machinery payments, and still have enough left over for the kitchen remodel and build DH a barn! whoohoo!! (pray it all goes as planned!)

Off to put a face on so they won't throw me in with the livestock today!

WHAT! Where is everyone!?

We played all day at the auction and fair (ok, the kids and DH played, I chased baby). We checked out all the animals, many by kids we knew (and it frustrates me that DD10 doesn't want to show animals!!), we chatted with friends, went to the arenacross (most of which I missed, thanks to Drew), missed the dance (cuz DH was too busy talking to people after the arenacross), and finally got home about 11:30. BUT, the good part of the day was the TV armoire I got at the auction! I'm putting it in the bedroom. It's a bit darker than the rest of the stuff in there, but it's better than the Sauder put-it-together-yourself thing in there that I bought 13 years ago and is falling apart!

So, today's plan is to clean out the old entertainment center and clean up my room, then bring in the new one.

I'm so glad my mom is here.... Anyway, DS let me sleep a little more than usual last night so I might actually get something done. We'll see!

I'm so glad my mom is here.... Anyway, DS let me sleep a little more than usual last night so I might actually get something done. We'll see!

Morning Guys -
Not much time to post yesterday. I worked at our church yard sale and then had friends over for dinner. I made Shaun's pasta and Jo's salad and they were both big hits. Jo, the caramelized onions and dressing were the finishing touch to that salad. I didn't spring for the $5.00 jar of pine nuts so used sunflower seeds instead.

So far today I've gone to church and done grocery shopping for the whole week! Gotta get back into that routine. Plus my regular am stuff. NOt sure what I will do with the rest of the day -
Andrea

We hit the fair Friday, worked and ran errands Saturday, and we've been at a baptism/party all day today. No time for flying *or* typing. In fact, I'm about to go lie down in front of the air co!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Shaun
www.redseahomeschool.wordpress.com