It's 15 degrees outside.
With a -5 (at least) windchill.
We've got 4 inches of snow on the ground,
With another 4-8 inches predicted.
I have a hearty, home-cooked meal in the crock pot.
I fed the kids a decent lunch (chicken burritos).
But it looks like the blizzard is IN the house.
I really should pick some stuff up.
But.....
Forget productiveness.
I'm going to go take a hot shower
(Before all our pipes freeze)
And go stay warm under the covers with my sleeping husband
(Who I hope will call in to work tonight).
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
(Un)Health(y) Department
I finally took Jacob in to get his next round of the immunizations we're doing.... Two months late. (I tried earlier.) It was a gorgeous day (another one - we actually had about 3 last week!), and there was no one in there, and we pretty much got right in and out, so I didn't mind the trip, even though Jacob screamed, and I got the usual lecture over our choice of how we do immunizations.
However, while we were there, we let the boys play with the toys. Jacob played on this thing that's like a bunch of big blocks hooked together into a big square with a slide, and Nathan played with a big wire/bead maze.
Apparently both toys were infected, with different diseases. Saturday night, Nathan came down with a stomach bug (he puked all over his own face while in bed). Since he was running a fever, Paul stayed home from church with both boys, even though Jacob wasn't sick.
By the time I came home from church, Jacob was running a fever. He wasn't throwing up, but was acting "off". By evening, his breathing was rasping in and out and he was coughing. The fever wouldn't really go away, even though we kept him dosed with tylenol/ibuprofin.
I guess I don't think of the health department as a place where the toys are dangerous.... I try not to let them play with things at the doctors office, but I guess I was thinking that when kids go to the health department, they have to be healthy to get their shots. But I guess there are other services they offer, and moms bring their kids with them, sick or not.
Thankfully, Nathan's seemed to be a 24-hour bug. He woke up chipper and hungry this morning. But Jacob was still running a fever, and we made the decision to go ahead and take him to the doctor. Generally, I would wait another day or two, but we are supposed to be getting a major winter storm starting today with freezing rain, and ending tomorrow with 40-mph winds and up to a foot of snow. I didn't want to not take him in, and then have him need to see a doctor when we couldn't get out. (Our road drifts shut if there's any substantial amount of snow and wind.)
His fever had subsided by the time we got there, but he was obviously not feeling well - content to sit and let me snuggle him, and not pull stuff off of every shelf and drawer his norm). Thankfully, his ears were clear, but she said he had major drainage in the back of his throat. She went ahead and prescribed an antibiotic to help him get on top of it.
And didn't I just say a few posts ago: this happens every time??? I had a couple of very productive days last week where I was pretty much on top of the house. You should see it now. We were almost completely out of plates (all sizes - big ones, saucers, and salad-sized), and running dangerously low on silverware. Even though the dishwasher was unloaded, we'd just been stacking them on any available surface.
I did load and run the dishwasher, but sad to say, that's about as productive as I'm going to get today. Being up almost all night with Nathan Saturday, then the same routine last night with Jacob, I'm pretty much shot. If I nap today, I can be more productive tomorrow......right?
However, while we were there, we let the boys play with the toys. Jacob played on this thing that's like a bunch of big blocks hooked together into a big square with a slide, and Nathan played with a big wire/bead maze.
Apparently both toys were infected, with different diseases. Saturday night, Nathan came down with a stomach bug (he puked all over his own face while in bed). Since he was running a fever, Paul stayed home from church with both boys, even though Jacob wasn't sick.
By the time I came home from church, Jacob was running a fever. He wasn't throwing up, but was acting "off". By evening, his breathing was rasping in and out and he was coughing. The fever wouldn't really go away, even though we kept him dosed with tylenol/ibuprofin.
I guess I don't think of the health department as a place where the toys are dangerous.... I try not to let them play with things at the doctors office, but I guess I was thinking that when kids go to the health department, they have to be healthy to get their shots. But I guess there are other services they offer, and moms bring their kids with them, sick or not.
Thankfully, Nathan's seemed to be a 24-hour bug. He woke up chipper and hungry this morning. But Jacob was still running a fever, and we made the decision to go ahead and take him to the doctor. Generally, I would wait another day or two, but we are supposed to be getting a major winter storm starting today with freezing rain, and ending tomorrow with 40-mph winds and up to a foot of snow. I didn't want to not take him in, and then have him need to see a doctor when we couldn't get out. (Our road drifts shut if there's any substantial amount of snow and wind.)
His fever had subsided by the time we got there, but he was obviously not feeling well - content to sit and let me snuggle him, and not pull stuff off of every shelf and drawer his norm). Thankfully, his ears were clear, but she said he had major drainage in the back of his throat. She went ahead and prescribed an antibiotic to help him get on top of it.
And didn't I just say a few posts ago: this happens every time??? I had a couple of very productive days last week where I was pretty much on top of the house. You should see it now. We were almost completely out of plates (all sizes - big ones, saucers, and salad-sized), and running dangerously low on silverware. Even though the dishwasher was unloaded, we'd just been stacking them on any available surface.
I did load and run the dishwasher, but sad to say, that's about as productive as I'm going to get today. Being up almost all night with Nathan Saturday, then the same routine last night with Jacob, I'm pretty much shot. If I nap today, I can be more productive tomorrow......right?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Jenius Award
And the Jenius Award goes to.....
ME!
Yesterday, I burned 6 of my fingers in two cooking mis-haps. I should get some type of award.
The first, I burned one finger taking muffins out of the oven. This was an honest mistake... I was using a crocheted hot pad, and even though I had it folded over to avoid it, I ended up sticking my finger through the weave and burning one finger on my right hand. It blistered, but I've had worse.
The second, I was taking a tray of home-made tortilla chips out of the oven. I made a smarter choice in hot pads this time, picked up the tray out of the 450-degree oven with my right hand, then grabbed it with my bare left hand to set it on top of the stove. I have no idea what I was thinking - apparently I wasn't. I burned all 5 fingers on my left hand, with my thumb, index finger and pinkie all having substantial blisters.
I'm a jenius.
And note to self: don't use warm/hot water to wash your hands, even hours after you've gotten a burn. PAIN.
ME!
Yesterday, I burned 6 of my fingers in two cooking mis-haps. I should get some type of award.
The first, I burned one finger taking muffins out of the oven. This was an honest mistake... I was using a crocheted hot pad, and even though I had it folded over to avoid it, I ended up sticking my finger through the weave and burning one finger on my right hand. It blistered, but I've had worse.
The second, I was taking a tray of home-made tortilla chips out of the oven. I made a smarter choice in hot pads this time, picked up the tray out of the 450-degree oven with my right hand, then grabbed it with my bare left hand to set it on top of the stove. I have no idea what I was thinking - apparently I wasn't. I burned all 5 fingers on my left hand, with my thumb, index finger and pinkie all having substantial blisters.
I'm a jenius.
And note to self: don't use warm/hot water to wash your hands, even hours after you've gotten a burn. PAIN.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
A Date! A REAL Date!
Paul and I went on a date Thursday afternoon, and it wasn't 'til we were out that I realized how long it's been since we had what I would call a "real" date. Yes, we've went out recently, but the dates have been kind of, "Go, go, go! Hurry! Gotta get back!" Because of something - kids' bedtimes, Paul's bedtime (if going to days), or other plans (band practice, etc).
Paul's dad came and picked the boys up just before lunchtime. The plan was to go see a movie at 2:50, and then go out to Outback Steakhouse (we had gift certificates for both). Since the boys were gone so early, that gave us two hours with no agenda - what to do, what to do? We ended up going on up to the city and wandering around three stores (Best Buy, Pier 1, and Borders). It's been forever since we've been able to wander like that, maybe even since before we had kids. I like to browse, but I find it generally leads to wanting to buy something, so I generally avoid it. (Not to mention, going with kids really take away the ability to browse.) But it was nice.
We went to see True Grit at AMC, and did their Fork & Screen experience. We really liked it. The food that we got (appetizers) was pretty good - nothing spectacular, but still not bad, and fairly decently priced - about the same prices as Applebees food. (Now, I did think that $3.79 for an iced tea was a bit outrageous.) I loved the movie! I am somewhat familiar with the original John Wayne one, but not so much that I was constantly comparing the two. I thought all of the cast nailed their characters. JC gave me the gift certificate last Christmas (2009) so we could try out Fork & Screen, and whereas I feel bad that it took us over a year to use it, I have to say, it was worth the wait.
Outback was fantastic, as usual. Paul's work handed out gift cards as a surprise for supervisors last week. I've had a major craving for steak. (I blame Pastor, for using that visual of the steak on Sunday - although this seems to happen every winter... I think I am actually craving warm-weather barbeques.)
Even though the iced tea kept me up 'til an ungodly hour, I had a blast, and I told Paul we need to do this much more often - like once a month, at least. Although, the biggest deterrent is money (or lack thereof), though thankfully that was taken care of this time.
But I think it's worth putting into the budget.
Paul's dad came and picked the boys up just before lunchtime. The plan was to go see a movie at 2:50, and then go out to Outback Steakhouse (we had gift certificates for both). Since the boys were gone so early, that gave us two hours with no agenda - what to do, what to do? We ended up going on up to the city and wandering around three stores (Best Buy, Pier 1, and Borders). It's been forever since we've been able to wander like that, maybe even since before we had kids. I like to browse, but I find it generally leads to wanting to buy something, so I generally avoid it. (Not to mention, going with kids really take away the ability to browse.) But it was nice.
We went to see True Grit at AMC, and did their Fork & Screen experience. We really liked it. The food that we got (appetizers) was pretty good - nothing spectacular, but still not bad, and fairly decently priced - about the same prices as Applebees food. (Now, I did think that $3.79 for an iced tea was a bit outrageous.) I loved the movie! I am somewhat familiar with the original John Wayne one, but not so much that I was constantly comparing the two. I thought all of the cast nailed their characters. JC gave me the gift certificate last Christmas (2009) so we could try out Fork & Screen, and whereas I feel bad that it took us over a year to use it, I have to say, it was worth the wait.
Outback was fantastic, as usual. Paul's work handed out gift cards as a surprise for supervisors last week. I've had a major craving for steak. (I blame Pastor, for using that visual of the steak on Sunday - although this seems to happen every winter... I think I am actually craving warm-weather barbeques.)
Even though the iced tea kept me up 'til an ungodly hour, I had a blast, and I told Paul we need to do this much more often - like once a month, at least. Although, the biggest deterrent is money (or lack thereof), though thankfully that was taken care of this time.
But I think it's worth putting into the budget.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
CSI Mentality
I read somewhere that local police departments and detectives get frustrated because people see these high-tech labs on TV shows like CSI that can get things like DNA results pretty much instantly, when in reality, most departments have to send them off to a regional lab where there is a back-up of specimens. (Or something like that.)
But sometimes it would be nice if they even pretended they were capable of investigating clues.
When I went out to get the mail today, I noticed an exploded Gatorade bottle sitting in our yard. I just figured someone had thrown it in the road, and then another vehicle had hit it.
Then I got out to our mailbox, and I noticed bits of aluminum foil inside it with liquid residue all over the inside and around the seams on the outside. I don't know how many of you are familiar with teenage pranks, but I recognized it instantly as leftovers from a pop-bottle bomb that uses a reaction of aluminum foil and Draino to cause a pop bottle to explode. (I never vandalized anything with this, but it was popular with friends at Independence Day celebrations.)
Our mailbox wasn't damaged, other than the fact that the door won't latch shut, which just requires pliers to fix (I'm pretty sure, at least), and gross liquid all over. Had it just been this, I would have said, "Stupid punk teenagers," and went on with my day. But we had a Netflix DVD in there when they put this contraption in there. I had noticed the door hanging open yesterday (no mail due to the holiday), but didn't see the red envelope inside. (I didn't actually go check, as it is hard to escape the house without Munchkins following, and I didn't know what had happened until I went out to get today's mail.) I figured that the punks either stole the DVD (federal offense), or at the very least damaged it (which I'm pretty sure is an offense as well), so I called the Sherriff.
The Sherriff's officer came out, asked me a few questions, and then left, without so much as looking at the mailbox any more than a drive-by in his vehicle. He did call me later and said he intercepted our mail lady, and she said that our DVD was inside the mailbox and she got it. (How she remembered our mailbox out of 300 or so on her route, I don't know; we'll see if Netflix recieves it.)
What bugs me, I guess, is that the officer didn't even look for clues. He didn't go out to the mailbox or even look at the bottle laying in the yard. I know that teenage punks probably wouldn't be "on the books," but why not take the bottle in and finger print it anyways? Maybe they would happen to catch the kids on something else - other vandalism or underage drinking. And say they have prints from 20 mailbox bombs that they can pin to the kid. Maybe a bit of community service would put him on the straight and narrow?
I don't know; it just kind of bugged me.
But sometimes it would be nice if they even pretended they were capable of investigating clues.
When I went out to get the mail today, I noticed an exploded Gatorade bottle sitting in our yard. I just figured someone had thrown it in the road, and then another vehicle had hit it.
Then I got out to our mailbox, and I noticed bits of aluminum foil inside it with liquid residue all over the inside and around the seams on the outside. I don't know how many of you are familiar with teenage pranks, but I recognized it instantly as leftovers from a pop-bottle bomb that uses a reaction of aluminum foil and Draino to cause a pop bottle to explode. (I never vandalized anything with this, but it was popular with friends at Independence Day celebrations.)
Our mailbox wasn't damaged, other than the fact that the door won't latch shut, which just requires pliers to fix (I'm pretty sure, at least), and gross liquid all over. Had it just been this, I would have said, "Stupid punk teenagers," and went on with my day. But we had a Netflix DVD in there when they put this contraption in there. I had noticed the door hanging open yesterday (no mail due to the holiday), but didn't see the red envelope inside. (I didn't actually go check, as it is hard to escape the house without Munchkins following, and I didn't know what had happened until I went out to get today's mail.) I figured that the punks either stole the DVD (federal offense), or at the very least damaged it (which I'm pretty sure is an offense as well), so I called the Sherriff.
The Sherriff's officer came out, asked me a few questions, and then left, without so much as looking at the mailbox any more than a drive-by in his vehicle. He did call me later and said he intercepted our mail lady, and she said that our DVD was inside the mailbox and she got it. (How she remembered our mailbox out of 300 or so on her route, I don't know; we'll see if Netflix recieves it.)
What bugs me, I guess, is that the officer didn't even look for clues. He didn't go out to the mailbox or even look at the bottle laying in the yard. I know that teenage punks probably wouldn't be "on the books," but why not take the bottle in and finger print it anyways? Maybe they would happen to catch the kids on something else - other vandalism or underage drinking. And say they have prints from 20 mailbox bombs that they can pin to the kid. Maybe a bit of community service would put him on the straight and narrow?
I don't know; it just kind of bugged me.
Overheard:
Nathan: "Mom, I'm going to the big city of Ninevah! Did you know that?"
Me: "Really? What are you going to do there?"
Nathan: "I'm going to look at some fish."
(Apparently we've had a bit too much Jonah around here. He asks to read that story from his Bible several times a week, and loves the Veggietales movie.)
Me: "Really? What are you going to do there?"
Nathan: "I'm going to look at some fish."
(Apparently we've had a bit too much Jonah around here. He asks to read that story from his Bible several times a week, and loves the Veggietales movie.)
Monday, January 17, 2011
I'm a Gossip.
I've been reading through Proverbs. (Not to sound all self-religious.... I'm on chapter 17, and I've been reading them for probably 3 months, if that tells you how sporadic I am.)
One thing that jumps out at me in every chapter are the verses about gossip, and "the words of a fool." I know God is convicting me. And I don't know how to deal with it.
How do you respond when someone says, "Well, you need to be praying for so-and-so." Then proceeds to tell you about a co-worker whose husband has left her, but she probably deserved it, because she was having an emotional affair, and the prayer-request-sharer knows about it because of this, that, and the other. I mean, what do you do? Say, "No, I don't want to hear about it"? Say, "I'll pray, but you're gossiping"?
Don't get me wrong. I love the juicy details. I know I shouldn't, but don't we all feel just a little bit better on the inside when we hear how someone else has screwed up? Like we're just a little better than them?
So I'm convicted. I just don't know what to do about it. I guess that despite what comes into my ears, I can control what I pass on.
And I will say.... I don't believe talking about things with your husband is gossip. If someone tells me something that starts with, "Don't tell anyone, but...." I do interrupt and say, "I tell my husband everything." But I guess even within your own home, it can become malicious, and that is wrong however you look at it.
One thing that jumps out at me in every chapter are the verses about gossip, and "the words of a fool." I know God is convicting me. And I don't know how to deal with it.
How do you respond when someone says, "Well, you need to be praying for so-and-so." Then proceeds to tell you about a co-worker whose husband has left her, but she probably deserved it, because she was having an emotional affair, and the prayer-request-sharer knows about it because of this, that, and the other. I mean, what do you do? Say, "No, I don't want to hear about it"? Say, "I'll pray, but you're gossiping"?
Don't get me wrong. I love the juicy details. I know I shouldn't, but don't we all feel just a little bit better on the inside when we hear how someone else has screwed up? Like we're just a little better than them?
So I'm convicted. I just don't know what to do about it. I guess that despite what comes into my ears, I can control what I pass on.
And I will say.... I don't believe talking about things with your husband is gossip. If someone tells me something that starts with, "Don't tell anyone, but...." I do interrupt and say, "I tell my husband everything." But I guess even within your own home, it can become malicious, and that is wrong however you look at it.
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