Last day of vacation. Mom and Dad were here all week -- arrived a bit late, but without incident. The weather was great all week, and I kept the kids home for the week so they could play with Granny and Papa. Easter was fine -- got some great shots of the kids and the flowers. Mom had refurbished her antique wicker doll carriage and had it shipped from Tulsa to arrive in the middle of their visit. It's adorable -- Sadie loves it! Mom's great grandmother (Grandma Anna) bought it secondhand for her when she was very little, so who knows how old it actually is. Dad bought some clear plastic tubing, split it, and wrapped the wheels in it to protect the original rubber tires (which are now hard, cracked and dropping off in chunks here and there). The new tubing is a vast improvement! Mom made a new liner and made it look wonderful, but it still has that antique look to it -- very cool.
Read a couple books over break. Garth Nix's latest, Sir Thursday, was excellent. You definitely have to have read the previous three to understand what's happening to Arthur Penhaligon and Leaf, but it was a fast-paced exciting read. Great for the boys, as Sir Thursday commands the House army, and there's lots of military training, strategizing and battle scenes ... and Arthur's been drafted. He has to survive, find and free the Fourth part of the Will, and somehow keep from becoming a denizen of the House as he wants to return to his normal mortal life when this is all over.
Gordon Korman's new one, Born to Rock, was a lot of fun too. Leo is living with his mother and father and loses his scholarship to Harvard over a misunderstanding with a hard-nosed principal. He spends the summer on tour with the man he believes is his biological father -- Marion X. McMurphy, aka "King Maggot" of worldwide punk rock fame, in hopes that he will write a $40,000 check so Leo can go to Harvard in the fall The tour is an assault on Leo's Young Republican senses and sensibility, and he learns more than he ever imagined from this bizarre group of people.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Mama Ball Says
Last day of vacation. Mom and Dad were here all week -- arrived a bit late, but without incident. The weather was great all week, and I kept the kids home for the week so they could play with Granny and Papa. Easter was fine -- got some great shots of the kids and the flowers. Mom had refurbished her antique wicker doll carriage and had it shipped from Tulsa to arrive in the middle of their visit. It's adorable -- Sadie loves it! Mom's great grandmother (Grandma Anna) bought it secondhand for her when she was very little, so who knows how old it actually is. Dad bought some clear plastic tubing, split it, and wrapped the wheels in it to protect the original rubber tires (which are now hard, cracked and dropping off in chunks here and there). The new tubing is a vast improvement! Mom made a new liner and made it look wonderful, but it still has that antique look to it -- very cool.
Read a couple books over break. Garth Nix's latest, Sir Thursday, was excellent. You definitely have to have read the previous three to understand what's happening to Arthur Penhaligon and Leaf, but it was a fast-paced exciting read. Great for the boys, as Sir Thursday commands the House army, and there's lots of military training, strategizing and battle scenes ... and Arthur's been drafted. He has to survive, find and free the Fourth part of the Will, and somehow keep from becoming a denizen of the House as he wants to return to his normal mortal life when this is all over.
Gordon Korman's new one, Born to Rock, was a lot of fun too. Leo is living with his mother and father and loses his scholarship to Harvard over a misunderstanding with a hard-nosed principal. He spends the summer on tour with the man he believes is his biological father -- Marion X. McMurphy, aka "King Maggot" of worldwide punk rock fame, in hopes that he will write a $40,000 check so Leo can go to Harvard in the fall The tour is an assault on Leo's Young Republican senses and sensibility, and he learns more than he ever imagined from this bizarre group of people.
Read a couple books over break. Garth Nix's latest, Sir Thursday, was excellent. You definitely have to have read the previous three to understand what's happening to Arthur Penhaligon and Leaf, but it was a fast-paced exciting read. Great for the boys, as Sir Thursday commands the House army, and there's lots of military training, strategizing and battle scenes ... and Arthur's been drafted. He has to survive, find and free the Fourth part of the Will, and somehow keep from becoming a denizen of the House as he wants to return to his normal mortal life when this is all over.
Gordon Korman's new one, Born to Rock, was a lot of fun too. Leo is living with his mother and father and loses his scholarship to Harvard over a misunderstanding with a hard-nosed principal. He spends the summer on tour with the man he believes is his biological father -- Marion X. McMurphy, aka "King Maggot" of worldwide punk rock fame, in hopes that he will write a $40,000 check so Leo can go to Harvard in the fall The tour is an assault on Leo's Young Republican senses and sensibility, and he learns more than he ever imagined from this bizarre group of people.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Mama Ball Says
Today was one of those sandy britches days -- the ones where everyone and everything gets on your last nerve. Damn, and I didn't even have a hangover from dinner and seeing David Sedaris last night with Pat, Beth, Rie, Kristen and Rob. Last day of teaching my 8th grade classes was today, so now all I have to do is get grades in (and corner the last few kids who still have yet to turn in their final project). We'll see how exit project and all the other nonsense turns out last marking period.
Sadie is now all set for the Riverside branch of CDS in the fall, and I have an appointment for next Wed to go enroll Jake in Riverside Elem. so I am relieved to say the least. I felt like a fifty pound wet blanket was suddenly lifted off my shoulders when I got the email this morning that they had room for him. Things are coming together pretty well at the moment.
Mom and Daddy are coming late afternoon Easter, so that will be nice. They are staying the week and I am hoping for nice weather. I made an appointment to get pictures taken that Tuesday, so maybe we will get some of the kids and the grands together if everyone behaves. The kids officially have daycare that week, but we may just take the entire week off and play. And a good time will be had by all ...
Sadie is now all set for the Riverside branch of CDS in the fall, and I have an appointment for next Wed to go enroll Jake in Riverside Elem. so I am relieved to say the least. I felt like a fifty pound wet blanket was suddenly lifted off my shoulders when I got the email this morning that they had room for him. Things are coming together pretty well at the moment.
Mom and Daddy are coming late afternoon Easter, so that will be nice. They are staying the week and I am hoping for nice weather. I made an appointment to get pictures taken that Tuesday, so maybe we will get some of the kids and the grands together if everyone behaves. The kids officially have daycare that week, but we may just take the entire week off and play. And a good time will be had by all ...
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Mama Ball Says
I'm home today for the second day now -- Sadie had a nasty stomach bug all weekend and was still vomiting yesterday, so I stayed home with her. Last night, I started with it and this is definitely NOT a pleasant virus -- painful stomach cramping to go with the barfing. I think I'm getting past this faster than she did though as I am feeling better and haven't upchucked anything since this morning. Of course, I haven't eaten anything, and have had only water and tea. Food is a far-off thought at this point.
Jake is now signed up for four weeks of summer camp down at the beach, so hopefully he will meet some kids he will be going to school with in the fall. Sadie is all set for Riverside, and I asked for her to stay on full time through the summer so she will be all set too. This should free me up to put in a couple day's worth of hours over at EMS to work on the weed and feed project in the library.
The meeting at EMS went well. I think we will all have most of what we want, mainly that Carm and I get to keep our schedules, and there is going to be an ongoing process for renovating and updating the collection (looks like bit by bit at this point).
Kathy emailed and said Jerome was scheduled to leave yesterday, which was earlier than the original plan, so she was pissed. I hope he gets there all right and has everything he needs.
Next projects: furniture requests for EMS and updating the new and recommended reads website. I have lists going for both, but I don't have finals on anything --hopefully by end of the week I will be set with those.
Jake is now signed up for four weeks of summer camp down at the beach, so hopefully he will meet some kids he will be going to school with in the fall. Sadie is all set for Riverside, and I asked for her to stay on full time through the summer so she will be all set too. This should free me up to put in a couple day's worth of hours over at EMS to work on the weed and feed project in the library.
The meeting at EMS went well. I think we will all have most of what we want, mainly that Carm and I get to keep our schedules, and there is going to be an ongoing process for renovating and updating the collection (looks like bit by bit at this point).
Kathy emailed and said Jerome was scheduled to leave yesterday, which was earlier than the original plan, so she was pissed. I hope he gets there all right and has everything he needs.
Next projects: furniture requests for EMS and updating the new and recommended reads website. I have lists going for both, but I don't have finals on anything --hopefully by end of the week I will be set with those.
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