tikatu | Entries tagged with school

Gonna make this as quick and painless as possible.

Hubby: The meds seem to be kicking in. For a couple of mornings this week, he had good bg numbers. The dietician says he should take his bg before bed, and not before supper. That way they can see if the meds are working overnight. He's got an appointment for a diabetic nutrition seminar on Oct. 15. I'm going with him as I could use the refresher. He's found that some of the McDonald's around here serve diet Dr. Pepper, which has pleased him no end.

The Girl: She still needs to buy some books for her classes. She's finding her design class to be tougher than she thought. She's also reconnected with one of her friends from church (who no longer goes there either).

Boy #1: He's been asked to join the academic team; I tell him he should join because he's smart. He's decided to do NaNo this year; his English teacher requires that her students enter three writing contests during the year. She says NaNo will count for all three. I talked to her about it and about the YWP on Open House night. Who knows, maybe she'll join up, too. She also asked him how he could do so well in his classes (his progress report is all A's with just 1 B) when he reads so much.

Boy #2: He's back to afterschool stuff on Thursdays. Legos Robotics and Math Counts. They're planning on fielding a Robotics team this year; I can hardly wait to see how this goes. His progress report was good, too. He's only getting Bs in his Honors classes.

Me: I'm trying to get back into a lower-carb lifestyle myself, but it's hard. Writing is coming slowly, which isn't good as I'll want to pick up the pace for NaNo this year. Put up the next chapter of The White Winds last night. This story will be a good 300K when it's finally done. Let out a little squee when I got my 500th review! I'm going to try and wrap it up in October and get it out of my hair before NaNo I also need to work on my RP posts; that's my goal for today.

Not much to say about the pets, except that Kami is doing things that both of our departed cats liked to do. She's killing snakes and trying to drink from the bathtub like Callie used to, and likes to come into the bathroom like Tika used to. Was quite the shock to find the present she left in the kitchen: a dead snake! Oh, and we lost one of the immortal striped danios. Down to two fish in the tank.

Rainy and cool today. Feels like fall. Wish it would stay this cool.

That's all for now. Over and out.

Current Mood: working
Current Location: at my desk
Current Music: the kids playing the PS2 in the background

The Girl graduated today in a smooth, respectful ceremony--much more respectful than her cousin's, where people were booted for loud, obnoxious shouting and sounding off air-horns while names were being called. She was easy to spot in the processional--my SIL had French-braided her hair and the braid went all the way to her butt. We made sure we were on the aisle she said she would come down so we could get pictures. She slipped me the money from her first art sale--the principal bought her horse picture for $100! So I guess that technically makes her a professional now! I'm so proud of her!

My bro took some pictures, and I took some with her camera. One of my bro's pictures is so good, I'll be using it as her official picture this year, and get it printed up for the relations. Here are a few that I took.
( cut for pictures! )

When we got home, we had a fabulous dinner with BBQ chicken (requested by the graduate), corn on the cob, two kinds of macaroni salad (one with tuna and one with salmon), five-cup salad, and decorated wacky cake for dessert. It was really good and everyone pitched in to help

The boys are now also officially out of school for the summer and I think everyone will sleep in tomorrow--for a bit. The animals don't like to wait for walkies and breakfast.

Current Mood: proud
Current Location: my desk
Current Music: the cats rampaging through the house

Yeah, yesterday was a busy day. Got three out of four hampers cleared, mostly because Boy #2 had to have clean clothes. I folded what was already clean, and sorted it out for pick up by the kids. I also made 3+ dozen oatmeal raisin cookies (first time making them!) for Hubby. After dinner, I took Boy #2 out to find him a cheap pair of canvas sneakers.

The reason Boy #2 needed clean clothes and cheap sneakers was his overnight field trip. He's one of 30 kids from his school who trekked down to Clemson U. this morning for a "CSI" themed science field trip. Two and a half days, two nights of forensic fun. The school got a grant, and somehow there was money donated by the school system, so this $300 per child trip was paid for. I was told he'd need two pairs of shoes, and that good clothes would get ruined, but really, that's all he has: good school clothes. Hopefully I can get them clean when he comes home on Friday. I'm not optimistic: it's raining today and has been since this morning. Forecast is for more tomorrow and Friday. I hate red mud!

I'm glad he has this opportunity though. We got his PACT scores back the other day; like his brother before him, his science scores are as high as they can go! (Now he just has to move up from Proficient to Advanced in English!)

Now if I could only get some ambition for today!

Current Mood: lazy
Current Location: my desk
Current Music: "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego" by Rockapella

Yes, the kiddos started school today. Boy #1 had a half-day of freshman orientation yesterday, and Boy #2 got his books and schedule last night. He has at least two of his brother's former teachers, and the science teacher says he'll have to develop some sort of extra work for him since his science scores are through the roof. Boy #1 got only one of the Girl's old teachers, but he's one that will likely remember her.

We had almost the usual mix up with buses; Boy #2 got off just fine (a result of talking to the transportation people at the "Meet the teacher" thing last night), but the high schoolers didn't, resulting in my driving them to school. Fortunately, we were prepared, and I took the Hubby to work this morning. I told the two that they had to ride the bus home, and I have an email in to the transporation concerns people. Hopefully they'll get back to me today.

Lacey's been whining off and on all day, missing the kids and wanting to go out and sniff around. No doing her business or anything, just the usual "Gotta see who's out there" stuff. Other than that, things have been very quiet. I expect Boy #2 to show up at any time now; then he can take the dog out.

Current Mood: happy
Current Location: in front of my computer screen, where else?
Current Music: the rumble of the air conditioner

Yesterday was the Girl's appointment to take the SAT. This meant getting up early, taking Hubby to work early then on to the technical college, dropping her off for the big event. She had the cell phone, which I rather regretted later. Went home, napped, and restarted the day around 11ish. She called just before 1 for pick up.

On the way back home, I filled the gas tank about halfway. Though I'd used cash, the pump wanted to charge me the credit price per gallon. I called for help and the people inside switched it back. But I was glad I insisted on the proper price; by the time I picked up the Girl, gas prices had risen 8 cents across the board - so the credit card price was now the cash price! Whew!

I regretted the Girl having the cell phone when Hubby was so late coming home. He found he needed help during the day and had no way to call in at the appropriate time. So he got little help, and was back to the station far too late. He was mad at himself for it, and his supervisor wasn't too happy either. It's made me think that we should invest in a second cell phone.

The niece's graduation was nice, though there were quite a few people who disrupted it with loud calls - and promptly got up to leave before they were thrown out. One guy used an air horn, which was expressly verboten. I hope he got charged with disturbing an event or something. I got to meet the SIL's mother and sister that day, and her step-sister and the step-sister's daughter. Nice folks! The mom was very impressed with my kids, especially the Girl. The party on Friday was nice; I sat outside with them in the shade (they're all smokers, so my bro set up a table with comfy chairs and umbrella on his back deck for them). It wasn't too uncomfortable; the worst humidity was over though it was still very hot. The five-cup salad went over really well, too!

Report cards came in yesterday. Boy #1 is the only one who got straight As. Boy #2 had one B, the Girl had two As, one C and the rest Bs. I'm okay with it, for the most part, though Boy #2's B bothers me a bit because he could have had an A if he'd passed in his work on time during the first quarter!

Today, I slept in until 11ish, and I've spent a good part of the day avoiding the empty file I opened to write in. I know what I want to write, I think, once I figure out how to set the stage. But it's just the actual writing... I can't seem to get started. All I want to do is read!

Current Mood: hyper
Current Location: in front of my computer screen, where else?
Current Music: the rumble of the air conditioner

Just got back from seeing Riders In The Sky. We've been fans of theirs for years, ever since the kids were young and we bought Harmony Ranch and the days of their Saturday morning TV show (though Hubby was a fan long before that!). It was a wonderful concert, full of great cowboy songs and comedy. Clean, fun... a lot of families brought young kids dressed up as buckaroos and buckarettes . We sat way, way up in the nosebleed section but we could see really clearly from there. The tickets were reasonable, and a check we'd gotten from our mortgage company (overpayment of legal costs) provided the money - though next time, I'll buy them at the box office instead of online and keep from paying the "convenience fee"! All of us had a great time!

Last day of school for the Girl; she had one test in the morning and she was through. The boys finished yesterday. So now we have the summer stretching ahead of us. But first, a milestone to celebrate - the Niece is graduating! Her ceremony is tomorrow, early in the morning, at the BiLo Center. It seems that most all the schools are using the BiLo Center and there are several graduation ceremonies per day there. I guess it's one of the few places big enough to fit both a graduating class and all the friends and relations who show up to see them walk across the stage. Fortunately, Hubby has the day off. Unfortunately - in one way - my folks weren't able to come down for this. However, that opens up enough tickets for the boys to go. There'll be a combined birthday/graduation party for the Niece this weekend. I'm making five-cup salad, but we'll have to wait for Hubby to get off work before we can go down there.

And just as the summer gets off the ground (and I can sleep in late without worrying about the dog) the Girl starts her College Boards. SAT this weekend and ACT the next. Won't get to sleep in those days because she has to be to the exam sites by 7:45 a.m.! Whew! She's also talking about getting her beginner's permit and a job. She'll need the permit for Driver's Ed. next year, but it's still scary stuff!

Walked out with the dog a few moments ago and the night is like a warm wet sponge. Humid, in the mid-eighties - feels like summer has hit us hard the way winter didn't. To be expected, I suppose.

Current Mood: happy
Current Location: in a dark corner of the living room
Current Music: the rumble of the air conditioner

The forum at IR:TNP's been down for a few days now, at least, to those of us on this side of the pond. I've told Rain, and she's gotten back to me, but the error message I sent her gives her the idea that we may have been hacked. She said that she could access it, and she has an email in to her hosting service to see what they have to say on the matter. For now, it's a matter of patience - Rain has a lot of work to do in these last weeks of uni, and she'll get to it when she can. I understand completely, and I'm trying to keep the others up-to-date on the problem. So far the rest of of the players have been really good about it.

Boy #2 has come back from the field trip that concluded his special history-intensive Saturday school. It's based on a curriculum developed right here in this county, using the new DVDs of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (which have been renamed "The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones"). There's lots of supplemental material included with the episodes; documentary pieces, professorial lectures, and interactive timeline, and games. The field trip was to the Roper Mountain Science Center, where there was an interactive program called, "Walking Through Time With Indiana Jones". I find it really exciting that this is all coming together here, in our school system.

Still working on TWW - chapter 61 now. It's actually moving along and I know what I want to show here. It may sound a bit repetitious, but I figure that - in real life - it would take time for a rumor to die, especially if it has to do with someone's sexual orientation. As I have one of the characters tell the others, "It's hard to prove a negative".

Hubby will probably be home a little late today; it's the food drive, and it takes more time to pick up the food from each stop. We put out two bags full of canned goods and extra boxes of pasta and rice I'd found. I know it's going to a good cause.

Current Mood: productive
Current Location: in front of my computer screen, where else?
Current Music: the rumble of the air conditioner

Mostly I think because the vast majority of the people at the site are much younger than I am, teenagers and young twenty year olds. I have nothing against that age group, but when I read the "friends" column, I just shake my head. There's very little connection there. And I'm sure that when they read my own entries, they wonder why I make such a big deal about the things I do. And truthfully, there wasn't a whole lot of Thunderbirds centered activity there. So, I dropped it. Maybe sometime I'll go back. But for now, I just don't feel I fit in.

In better news, the kids got their report cards last Thursday. A clean straight A sweep for all of them! I am very, very proud of them, especially the Girl, who brought her three As and three Bs up to all As. And Boy #2, who, I discovered on Friday, was the only child in the whole third grade to get straight As! Boy #1 earned the good citizenship award in his class, and his Red Ribbon week essay was chosen as best in the fifth grade. (He made me chuckle when he said he had a "professional beta reader" edit his stuff.) So they are very smart and high achievers and I couldn't be a prouder mom!

Did a hugely massive collaboration on IR:TNP today, our first post-rescue debriefing. Everyone showed but Nikki, who unexpectedly had a young cousin to entertain. I tried very hard not to let Dianne dominate, but to let the newer writers have more of a go at it. The results took FIVE posts to get it all up. It was frustrating at times, but once we got some ground rules down, it went faster and turned out better. A good first attempt. I'm glad we won't be doing this after every rescue but just after some of them.

Hubby tried a chicken cacciatore recipe that took all afternoon. It turned out well and the kids didn't complain about it too much. I enjoyed it. He loves to putter around and do this kind of stuff. But now he's wiped out and just about ready to go to bed. I'm going to throw in some laundry so everyone has something to wear tomorrow. Later.

Current Mood: thoughtful

I hate homework. Not housework, though that's a subject in itself. Homework. Like the homework that my kids bring home from school.

Now the Girl is pretty self-motivated. She'll get her work done in a timely fashion. And Boy #1 knows what he's supposed to do. But Boy #2? Different story entirely.

Yesterday, once we got home, they all had a snack. The Girl buckled down to get her work done. But the boys decided to play and wrestle, until I yelled at them to get their homework going. Boy #1 did his work, no problem. But Boy #2 pulled a newspaper out of his backpack and started looking for his spelling words in it. Fine, I thought. But it seemed to be taking a long time to get it done and when I looked at the homework list for the week, I didn't see that particular activity on the list. I asked him about it, and he said, "Oh, the teacher said we could do this for extra credit."

Needless to say, I made him stop that and buckle down to his actual homework. He had to take the math pages with him in the car when we went to pick up the Hubby. He complained that he couldn't read one of the figures he was supposed to subtract because the number ran off the page. Then he discovered he was working on the wrong side of the page! So he had to turn the paper over and start over again! By the time we got home, he said he had finished both his math and his reading workbook. So I breathed a sigh of relief and set him to finish reading the book he's had for weeks and for which there was a diorama due by the end of the week. He worked on it before dinner and en route to Awana Club and finished it.

Now, both the Hubby and I had been after him for the past two weeks to finish the book and get the project done. It was due on the 28th. Yes. Today. I thought it was due Friday, but no. It was due today. Boy #2 knew this, for this morning he said to me, "Perhaps I should write the teacher a note; she said she wouldn't accept the project on Friday." He knew it was due today. I knew what date it was due, but got mixed up about what day of the week it was. He deliberately didn't tell me what the teacher said about it last night so that he could go to Awana. It was store night and he really wanted to go to it; if I had known last night that it was due today, he wouldn't have gone. He would have stayed home and gotten the project done!

I was livid. We had pushed and pushed and he had putzed around for weeks, not reading the easy book that the teacher had assigned, but instead reading Bunnicula. Now the project was due. And he was in big hairy trouble.

Fortunately, his sister and brother were helpful this morning. I made him eat quickly, dress quickly, and then work on a very basic scene from the beginning of the book. His sister and brother helped fix their lunches while I helped him with the diorama. I'll be interested in seeing what the teacher thinks of it, and whether he'll be honest about how much work he did and how much I did.

As a result of this putzing around and not doing what he was supposed to when we told him, he's lost the privilege of playing computer games for at least a week, possibly two. Depends on what the Hubby says when I tell him about the whole affair. And it looks like I'm going to have to be more vigilant about his homework, making sure he works on it as soon as he gets home, even if it means he doesn't get to play with his siblings. And pull out a timer so that he'll read for at least 15 minutes a night until he's finished his assigned reading.

I hate homework.

Current Mood: aggravated
Current Music: "Low Gravy" by the Chenille Sisters

I forgot to change the alarm time on my alarm clock! I got up at 7:15 this morning, a time which, if we weren't in a rush to get out of the house, the boys would be leisurely putting on their clothes and telling me they didn't have any socks. Instead we ran around frantically, the kids eating breakfast, getting dressed, and out the door in record time, while I spent 15 minutes trying to close up the snack baggies. I am going to complain to Aldi's about this one; I like the fact that they have snack baggies, but honey, they are hard to close! Not like their lunch baggies, which are a cinch. These buggers are difficult! Especially when you get little bits of BBQ chip flavoring in the track (but even when they're clear they're hard to close).

Just as we were about to head out the door, boy #2 comes whining to me "I have no socks!" I sent him out with his stuff and his shoes and his feet bare while I went and borrowed a pair of boy #1's socks for him to put on while en route to school. Then he began fussing because he forgot something. I told him, too bad, so sad, and we don't have time to go looking for whatever you forgot. The girl then announced that she had forgotten her glasses, but, as she put it in such a self-righteous way, SHE wasn't whining about going back in to get them. She did, however, whine about being late for school. I kept telling her that she was not going to be late, even when the yard waste collection guys hogged up the most direct route to her school for several minutes. And she wasn't late; she just wasn't as early as she likes to be. Grrrrrr. Mommy ain't happy.

So now I am home. I've fed the cats (not my job but we didn't have time this morning for the girl to decide to get around to it), eaten my breakfast, and made my bed. I have scads of other work to do and instead, I'm on the computer and getting sleepy. Oh, and I've done one more thing....

I changed the alarm time on my alarm clock.

'nuff said.

Current Mood: aggravated
Current Music: "Route 66" by the Manhattan Transfer

... but I've got one of my IR:TNP authors working on her next post and she wants my input.

Sigh.

Ran around like a chicken with my head cut off this afternoon, shopping for groceries and such. The kids had the day off for teacher's work day. Nice not to have to get up and make lunches but Hubby missed his bus and I had to get up and take him to work. They'll have next Tuesday off for voting, too.

Worked a bit on Chapter 14 of Turnabout over the weekend, and fleshed out some of my novel as well. Noticed today that someone put up a TB fic on fanfiction.net called WashUp. I guess maybe the "babe washing up on Tracy Island" fics have either been pulled or been ignored by the newer writers. I hope she didn't get any ideas from the bits I posted on Live Journal. Though I will admit that the plot has been done to death, I planned a twist on the traditional scenario. I should finish that fic, I really should.

funky_cheese sent me a picture to post on IR:TNP; the one of my character's daughter. So cute! I can hardly wait to see what she makes of my character's sons. Took a quiz that rockchick86 posted on "What Kind of Lunatic Are You?" I was "normal"! Yeah, right. Just ask my kids if I am.....

Well, the author has left the chat, and so has our companion in crime, so I'm going to put my husband's uniforms in the dryer and go to bed!!! Yeah!

Never thought I'd see the day that I'd welcome sleep so much.

Sigh.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: "Interplanet Janet" from Schoolhouse Rock

Well, the car line grind has begun again. I'm still wearing the air splint as per orders. Doesn't seem to interfere with the driving much, but it does make stairs a bit of a challenge. The girl didn't get on the bus at all last week. I complained loudly in an email to the district, and after playing "phone tag" with the head bus supervisor all day I found out why: they gave me the wrong pick up time! Government schools can be so inefficient sometimes.

Speaking of schools, this week is conference week at the elementary school. We've gone to see the teacher of Boy #2. She had nothing but good to say about him, but she seems to be having trouble keeping him challenged. She's got some good ideas for the next nine weeks and I'm looking forward to seeing him come home excited about school. I'll see Boy #1's teacher on Thursday. I expect that will be a similar situation. Found out that Boy #2's class respect Boy #1 very much. Why? He's intelligent and gave them some "cool" instruction on amphibians. Nice to be respected because you're smart.

Looking at Boy #2, I noticed how scruffy he looks. Both of them need haircuts, and so do I. The Girl could use a trim, too, though I know she'll balk at it. Friday. Payday. I can hardly wait!!!

Current Mood: hungry
Current Music: none today

Today I have company at home. The girl, who was supposed to take the school bus, missed it by a few minutes and came back home. No transportation to get her there, and I was not about to let her walk (a significant highway to cross with no crossing guard). Besides, she wasn't feeling up to snuff as today she became... a woman. EEEEEEEK! Now the family not only has to deal with me PMSing, but her as well. Though I'm not too sure she hasn't been doing that in the months leading up to today.

The boys, however, were looking forward to walking to school and back. Being together will keep them safe, I hope. I gave them very explicit instructions on which route to take. I might have the girl walk up to meet them at the nearest crossing guard. I don't know why, but I'm very nervous letting my kids go anywhere by themselves. When I was the girl's age I was biking solo down to the mall in the next town, or up to the stores on our main street. No one ever stopped me, molested me, tried to entice me anywhere. At least not that I can recall. Even in high school I felt safe walking the nearly two miles to get to school. What happened to make our world so much less safe for children? The only reason the boys are walking is that I can't drive them. Otherwise, nervous mother that I am, they'd be in the van going both ways.

The ankle doesn't hurt. The swelling has gone down significantly, but I'm still elevating it and will until Saturday. I can feel the weakness in it when I take off the splint. I am determined to make sure this heals properly. But I will probably do some limited driving on Saturday. Our favorite babysitter is getting married (where did the years go? I remember her in sixth grade!) and I'd like to be there. Hopefully, I can.

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: "Little White Lies" by the Chenille Sisters

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tikatu

As My Muse Moves

November 2016

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Page Summary

crazy life is crazy update
It's official! I have a high school graduate!
Well, I got some ambition... yesterday...
Ah, the silence of back to school....
One down, one to go...
Wahoo!
Well, the forum's still down.
I've dropped my one and only group here at LJ.
Being a mom is a tough town.
AUUUUUGGGGHHH!!!
I really should be going to bed....
Back to driving again
Third day of the sprained ankle.

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Entries tagged with school

crazy life is crazy update

It's official! I have a high school graduate!

Well, I got some ambition... yesterday...

Ah, the silence of back to school....

One down, one to go...

Wahoo!

Well, the forum's still down.

I've dropped my one and only group here at LJ.

Being a mom is a tough town.

AUUUUUGGGGHHH!!!

I really should be going to bed....

Back to driving again

Third day of the sprained ankle.