Monday: Katelyn got laid off for the first time in her life. She was working at an after-school daycare that is losing money. They will close the end of February. She wondered outloud if she could collect E.I. Dan commented that Kate was the first person he knew who had lost their job because of the recession.
Tuesday: Katelyn finished high school. She wrote her last exam - a two part English exam with lunch & bathroom breaks. She is "officially" finished but still plans to help out with the yearbook & go to a weekly music class & take private flute lessons that the school is paying for through an Arts Council Grant.
Tuesday after school: Katelyn is promoted at her job (the one she is being laid off from). This means regular hours & a pay raise. We laughed at the irony of it all.
Wednesday: Katelyn did NOT sleep in now that she is done high school ... instead she had an 8:40 dental hygiene appointment. Afterwards she is going to write her "beginners" test for her driver's license.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Ron's horrible no good very bad & awful day
I got a call at 6:30 am. It was Ron. His car broke down & he needed to be rescued. He told me he was at "Layton" - a street I had never heard of. I "sleep drove" & found him - inside a PetroCanada gas station. He had called a tow truck - which took 2.5 hours to get there. He had to shoo away two police officers that wanted to ticket his car for parking in the middle of the street. (Really quite fair - but they chose not to kick a man with a dead car while he was down.)
So Ron missed his early morning workout & his early morning Death class. When he finally got to SMU, the parking lot was full. He had to drive around & was late meeting his 10:30 appointment! He told someone his woes & it turns out the gym had a bomb threat & was closed anyway.
In the winter, with -30 temperatures, it is hard to stay motivated when everything goes RIGHT. The car is OK - there were some belts that had broken & needed to be replaced. A cool $300 & we were ready to go again.
So Ron missed his early morning workout & his early morning Death class. When he finally got to SMU, the parking lot was full. He had to drive around & was late meeting his 10:30 appointment! He told someone his woes & it turns out the gym had a bomb threat & was closed anyway.
In the winter, with -30 temperatures, it is hard to stay motivated when everything goes RIGHT. The car is OK - there were some belts that had broken & needed to be replaced. A cool $300 & we were ready to go again.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sam & division
I made Matt & Sam a deal. If they did what was written on my list they could use the computers. Everything was going fine until Sam found out that he had to 50 division problems - not long division but things like: 48/6, etc.
He cried, he whined, he pleaded, he begged. He even crumpled up his paper & threw it in the garbage. He complained that they were too hard, that he was just a little boy. It went on for 1.5 hours - his most effective technique was crying right beside me while I tried to do some computer work. The other kids & I were laughing, which made Sam rage all the more. Dan even filmed him & played it back to him - only increasing his rage. He finally did them ... getting much less time on the computer because of it. Mom - 1, Sam - 0.
We were talking to Grandma afterwards - she was having a similar problem with our nephew Noah.
Grandma: "Sam, when I take Noah to the grocery store, he wants me to buy things for him. I tell him no, but he persists. He keeps at me for a long time & won't take NO for an answer. What should I do?"
Sam: "What kinds of things, Grandma?"
Grandma: "Well he wanted a ball - a softball".
Sam: "How much did it cost?"
Grandma: "$5"
Sam: "That's too much. Tell him no."
He cried, he whined, he pleaded, he begged. He even crumpled up his paper & threw it in the garbage. He complained that they were too hard, that he was just a little boy. It went on for 1.5 hours - his most effective technique was crying right beside me while I tried to do some computer work. The other kids & I were laughing, which made Sam rage all the more. Dan even filmed him & played it back to him - only increasing his rage. He finally did them ... getting much less time on the computer because of it. Mom - 1, Sam - 0.
We were talking to Grandma afterwards - she was having a similar problem with our nephew Noah.
Grandma: "Sam, when I take Noah to the grocery store, he wants me to buy things for him. I tell him no, but he persists. He keeps at me for a long time & won't take NO for an answer. What should I do?"
Sam: "What kinds of things, Grandma?"
Grandma: "Well he wanted a ball - a softball".
Sam: "How much did it cost?"
Grandma: "$5"
Sam: "That's too much. Tell him no."
Sunday, January 18, 2009
View from my Window
1. It is birthday month! Matt turned 11 last Monday & Dan turns 15 tomorrow (Jan 19th). They chose the same meal: curried chicken thighs, rice, and greek salad. Dan wants Greek roasted potatoes too. Matt had a missile-shaped chocolate cake. Dan is having a carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Carrot cake is one of the things I miss on my gluten-free, milk free diet. It has been 11 carrot cake free years!
2. I got this DVD from the library called Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. She is on a show I've never seen called the Biggest Loser (as in, lose weight). Her exercise DVD killed me - really killed me. It is all jumping jacks & high impact moves. I could barely walk the next day. Sarah said, "don't worry, mom, it gets better. Just keep doing it every day." It is very nice for me that Sarah can do the DVD & I can't. I'll stick with my low-impact moves - my knees prefer low-impact moves.
3. And speaking of knees ... Ron woke up one day with his knee so swollen he couldn't walk. He got into a physiotherapist right away (because he works with the hockey team & was wearing his hockey jacket). They have no idea WHY, but he is receiving intense help, including T.E.N.S. & acupuncture. He can walk now. It is a very odd injury & they think it might be related to his back. Ron & his back! It causes him all kinds of problems.
4. It has been very very cold here. I'm sure most of you reading can relate. We've resorted to multiple layers of clothes, climbing under the covers in my bed & reading "Farmer Boy". I always like reading "The Long Winter" at this time of year ... remember? the year the trains couldn't get through & they had very little food to eat & it kept storming and they had to stay inside because people were getting lost in the storm if they went outside. And Almonzo went on a very dangerous mission and bought seed wheat from this guy many miles away so that the townspeople wouldn't starve to death. Man, I love that book.
2. I got this DVD from the library called Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. She is on a show I've never seen called the Biggest Loser (as in, lose weight). Her exercise DVD killed me - really killed me. It is all jumping jacks & high impact moves. I could barely walk the next day. Sarah said, "don't worry, mom, it gets better. Just keep doing it every day." It is very nice for me that Sarah can do the DVD & I can't. I'll stick with my low-impact moves - my knees prefer low-impact moves.
3. And speaking of knees ... Ron woke up one day with his knee so swollen he couldn't walk. He got into a physiotherapist right away (because he works with the hockey team & was wearing his hockey jacket). They have no idea WHY, but he is receiving intense help, including T.E.N.S. & acupuncture. He can walk now. It is a very odd injury & they think it might be related to his back. Ron & his back! It causes him all kinds of problems.
4. It has been very very cold here. I'm sure most of you reading can relate. We've resorted to multiple layers of clothes, climbing under the covers in my bed & reading "Farmer Boy". I always like reading "The Long Winter" at this time of year ... remember? the year the trains couldn't get through & they had very little food to eat & it kept storming and they had to stay inside because people were getting lost in the storm if they went outside. And Almonzo went on a very dangerous mission and bought seed wheat from this guy many miles away so that the townspeople wouldn't starve to death. Man, I love that book.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Sam's Bad Day
Sam has had a very bad day. A rotten day. A terrible day. A day when he had to cry, have temper tantrums, whine, fuss and complain. Here is why, according to Sam.
1. A boy at church was chasing him, kicking and punching. I (Marsha) can verify that this is true. We left church because of it. That set him up for a bad day today.
2. People have been taunting him all day. They've said things like: "Sam, can you say that a little louder?" while Sam is crying.
3. There is nothing to entertain him. Mom kept suggesting he read books, but that wouldn't entertain him.
4. He wasn't allowed to use the computer. THAT would have entertained him.
He is also a little itchy from being in a chlorine pool. Sarah died his hair green and blue but THAT didn't entertain him for long. Our neighbour came over and played but Sam didn't really get entertained by that. The ONLY thing that would entertain him would be playing on the computer.
Signed,
bored, angry, frustrated, un-entertained Sam
1. A boy at church was chasing him, kicking and punching. I (Marsha) can verify that this is true. We left church because of it. That set him up for a bad day today.
2. People have been taunting him all day. They've said things like: "Sam, can you say that a little louder?" while Sam is crying.
3. There is nothing to entertain him. Mom kept suggesting he read books, but that wouldn't entertain him.
4. He wasn't allowed to use the computer. THAT would have entertained him.
He is also a little itchy from being in a chlorine pool. Sarah died his hair green and blue but THAT didn't entertain him for long. Our neighbour came over and played but Sam didn't really get entertained by that. The ONLY thing that would entertain him would be playing on the computer.
Signed,
bored, angry, frustrated, un-entertained Sam
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