Work this weekend

Tammy called from TSH and said she doesn't have an opening this weekend.
Bummer! So I will be leaving this Saturday for Florida instead. My next
paycheck is going to be rediculously small but I really NEED this income.
So I am going to call back and see if I can work Friday also. I called and
she said she has enough. So I'll just wing it. This week, when I get back
from Florida, my major project will be getting the house decluttered
again. Major Spring cleaning... erm, fall cleaning. Then I won't be so
worried about leaving at the end of October. Today we are attacking the
yard and packing. I will be getting the livingroom back in order this
evening also. That has been my main battle this week. Once it's back
together the won't look too bad. My biggest issue is that we ahve been
going through the camp gear and the winter clothes and it seems to be
consuming the livingroom LOL. Even though we are doing it slowly, it is
still becoming a problem and that is why I am stopping it tonight before
it gets out of hand!

--
Dotchi

Email and cell phone

My email doesn't want to check email. It keeps saying that my server has not responded. So I got the same 3 emails about 5 times. Very annoying.

 

My cell phone doesn't want to charge either. Or at least, it doesn't want to stay charged very long. Agh!

 

I am working on cleaning house right now. Borrowed mil's lawn mower so we can get some of the yard done. I'll try to get a trash run down tomorrow before we leave for Chattanooga.

 

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

 

http://dotchi.blogspot.com A blog for our life

Waiting

Done with my dry round. Got beat up. Lol. Now I am waiting 2 clock out.

Seeing if i can post pics too

The bet is on!

I already have my pack list. Girls @ work are betting how far i get b4 i break down. LOL

Sitting here at work. Done

Sitting here at work. Done for now. Curious how long these msgs can be. This is not a bad length. I can leave a good bit of info.

From my phone

Trying out a txt msg 4 our trip. Hi all!

Support

I found this great yahoogroup for support. They are so real. Not the fake people type. I am so happy!

 

I talked to dh about the tape drive (did I post that?) and found it in the office. I'll get that to neighbor Tom sometime soon. I have to finish packing.

 

OH! I called Monroe Auto and I feel like a dolt now. They said that it was only low on trannie fluid. *blush* I feel like an idiot.

 

Today the boys are experimenting with water force and then we;re cleaning up the yard before we head out to Nana's house. I am taking the change jar to see how much extra cash we have. Not sure if we are camping out yet since I forgot about the autowithdraw and sent our account into the hole... oops. Might just do that starting this weekend.

 

Hey, hubby, call me tonight about the house payment. I need to schedule that with them and wasn't sure what day would be best. They'll call me back tomorrow.

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

 

http://dotchi.blogspot.com A blog for our life

Quick road trip soon

The boys and I will be driving Auntie V to Florida soon. I think next Friday or maybe the Monday after that. We'll stay a day or two (depending on accommodations) and then drive back. We're looking into renting a car so it will probably be 3 days instead. V is excited to get back to her hubby and is glad she will be able to keep her dog with her. We looked into airplane rides but there is still the chance we'd get there and they wouldn't let her take the dog and she doesn't want to risk that because she'd just lose her money or her dog.

Tuesday I will go to my mother in law's house early and we'll start working on the details and making plans more definite. Will keep you all updated.

From the Mail Bag

how did Mendel break his ankle? 

 

He was moving furniture and stepped off a piece of concrete... I think. At least that is th eway I understood it.

 

Did you get to see your Mom?

 

YES! We had a blast! We took oodles of pictures. The weird part was that we kept getting orbs in the pictures she was taking and at one point, none of the pictures would show my face... it was a glowing blur. Very Weird! I took pictures too and one day soon I will figure out how to post them to my blog. How fun! Anyway, she looks so different. Much healthier, I think. She does look just like me! *AGH* I finally got to give her the plaque I bought her. It says:

 

    I smile because you are my mother. I laugh b/c there is nothing you can do about it!

 

She loved it! She gave the boys Kennedy space center bears and books and puzzles and TONS of pictures... surprised we didn't blind them LOL. It was so good to see her again. If all goes planned, I'll be visiting her in November!

 

Why aren't you answering your phone?

 

I forgot to pack the charger to my cell phone. So when it died, that was it. No more phone. Don't worry, I am home now and will charge it up just fine and you can call me tomorrow.

 

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

I Quit

I have decided that I am going to quit smoking. I am NOT going cold turkey though. I am going to cut down one cigarette at a time. My plan is to stop the social smoking, find other ways to deal with stress and stop smoking just because I feel like it.

At night, my night time smoke will be enjoying the outside. After meals, I'll figure something out. And at work, I will limit the number of cigarettes I take to work with me.

I am just so tired of the headaches and sinus problems, the coughing, the chest pain, the tiredness and the crankiness.

I already talked to the boys about this and told them I might be cranky sometimes but we'll work through it day by day. They are cool with this and will remind me how bad it makes me feel each time they see me light a cigarette.

I know I can do this! I am going to do this! And the money I save will go towards the trip to California. Every time I would have been buying a pack of cigarettes, I'll set the $3 in a jar instead. That should be motivation! LOL

Oh how exciting!

My Mom just called and she and a friend are on their way to Chattanooga from Georgia. We'll be going down there tonight to visit them. I am going online to check out KOA and Harrison Bay State Park camping prices and see which one is cheaper. This is so exciting! I am going to take the camera and take LOTS of pictures! WOOHOO!

 

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

Blogging along

I have decided that 3 blogs are too much to keep up with. I've decided to just blog everything on The Baker's Acres Blog. After all, the blog is about my life. Education is life and life is education... while food is not life, food is fuel for life... and chocolate cake has to be the highest octane fuel I can think of. But it's all still part of us and it's not like there is anything to differentiate the 3 things in our daily lives so why do I have 3 blogs for it?

 

I am tired of trying to separate my life into categories. So I am going to do away with the other two blogs and just keep the main blog.

 

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

The Upper Room

One of my residents was transferred to the upper room last night. He went peacefully in his sleep. It was still hard on me though. I was one of the few that could communicate with him since he was deaf and I know enough sign language to get by. There was a while that he would not eat. We couldn't get him to eat anything! I went to the store and bought birthday cake ice cream made by Mayfield. I had just opened it when he seemed to spring to life, sat up on the bed and signed "Bring me some. And a spoon." I did! He sat up and ate the entire bowl. Nearly half a pint. The next night he crawling out of bed and sneaking off again like his old self :) I swore from that day forward I would eat more ice cream to keep myself healthy! LOL

 

Last night S* came back from loading her linen cart and said that his name popped into her head and she felt compelled to go check on him. She came out a bit flustered and said "Uh, guys, he's dead." We thought she was playing a cruel joke, but when we went into the room, he was really gone. We got the nurse and he confirmed. C* went to get the supplies for death care while I went to smoke a quit cigarette to calm my nerves. Once I had composed myself, I went back in and S* and I cleaned him up, washed him, got him looking good, and covered him with his blanket that has his favorite team. I got teary eyed but I did okay...

 

And them his family came. I was sent outside to smoke again because they were afraid I would just lose it and start bawling my eyes out. Once the funeral home came to get his body, I helped fold the favorite blanket and then move him to the stretcher. When his daughter came in she praised our work and dedication and how much we genuinely cared for him. My eyes welled up and it was quite emotional for me. After the funeral home and the family left I sat on the bench out in the hall and put his white bear to my face and cried.

 

I know that C* was trying to be helpful when she started saying that I shouldn't cry, that he is in a better place, etc. BUT I am allowed to mourn a life that is gone. I will celebrate it also, but golly, let me mourn too!

 

After work I went to my mother in law's house and slept for a couple hours. I was so drained. Dh called while I was on my home. He said his ankle IS broken and they have him in a cast for 4 weeks. I am going to get a care package together for him and send it off... if he would ever send me the address. He's on pain killers right now so I am not expecting him to remember that today. Poor guy! I sort of hope I can head out to California sooner. I found out that we can camp in Wal-Mart parking lots! Pretty cool! I'll have to take that up. At least I'll be right there if I need anything. I am going to check and see if I can find other free places to camp also.

 

I am so busy planning the trip! I can't wait. Instead of planning day by day (like I was doing) I am planning step by step... Before we leave, Packing, When we get to MS, TX, OK, etc. That way I don't set myself up to feel bad when we don't make the set schedule of (day 1- leave, day 2- arrive in MS in early AM).

 

I am off to help clean out the van now. I will post my progress on preparations as I have time. I can't WAIT!

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

The acetone update!

I didn't drive the entire trip with acetone in the gas tank. I only drove from my mother in law's house to work and back, then to a gas station where I filled the tank again. My original gas mileage was 12.89 MPG. Today I filled it up and the gas mileage is 13.41 MPG. A small improvement but an improvement nonetheless! I am going to add 2 more ounces and will report back on the next fill up.

I am so happy! This morning I got off work and went to the van. The windows were rather fogged so I spent a few minutes trying to wipe them down and ran the windshield wipers but, it was still hard to see through them. I looked down at the heater controls (which are broken) and thought "Gee, I wish this worked". I reached down and tried to seat the control panel better because it was slouching again. When I did that, the panel lights came on and it let out a whining, then went quiet. I thought, "This is too good to be true". Afterall, the man that owned it before us couldn't get it to work and the auto-mechanic was going to have to replace the entire panel and some other parts before he could even figure out what was wrong.

I decided to give it a try anyway since it seemed to come to life by me merely touching it. I turned it on defrost, full blast, hot. It worked! My heater actually worked! Not only did it work but I was ready to die of heatstroke half way home. I was ecstatic! I don't know if the A/C works or not... I haven't messed with it yet, but the heater and defrost work now. I am sososososo happy!

Last night Miles figured out where the bolts were to remove the seat. This week, when I have a few days off, we are going to take the seat out and clean the carpet and make a plan of the layout.

I am going to enjoy this cross country trip too much! LOL I am going to map out my route using mapquest and then find theme units for each state we are going through. I am planning other things to make the trip less boring during boring times. If I can find a pole then I can make a table for the van too which will really make it easier for the boys to have a place to eat, draw, etc without losing everything. I know what you are thinking and I am right on top of that. I am going to get a strip of velcro for the table that wraps around it and then have the crayon box velcro to it. Should they be eating, I am going to find suction bowls and plates to set on the table or maybe justteach them how to eat like sailors hunched over the plate with one arm wrapped around the plate :) My hubby should enjoy that. Heeheehee

Gas Mileage

After the initial MPG shock wore off and the reality of only 12.89 MPG finally sank in, I started looking into acetone. From what I have read, people are reporting 10 MPG more with acetone in their gasoline. I think I'll give it a try just to see if it works. Afterall, 12.89 MPG is REALLY low. If I can get a few more MPG then when we finally head to California we can save a little bit of money.

 

I'll report back as soon as I have acetone and will let you all know how it goes.

 

Currently, I am driving a 1986 Dodge Ram Van.

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

The van saga continues

I tried calling Leslie, Christine, and Tom. None of them were available. We tried jumping the van with the yellow jumper. It has no charge... or not enough to start the van. So I decided to jump it with green car... someone left the glove box open and now it's dead too. So I decided to try the trans am but it's dead too. So I figured we could see if the battery in the blue car had any juice but it doesn't have a battery. So I tried to jump it off the lawn tractor which probably would have worked if the jumper cables weren't bad. I called the store about 3 miles away and asked if they sold booster cables. Yes, for $9.59. So I asked the boys if they wanted to go for a walk for an hour. Miles didn't want to because he is afraid we'll get run over. So I called Leslie back and she answered. She'll be up here in an hour or so and will boost the van off and I'll follow her to the gas station and give her gas for coming up here.

 

Thank Goodness! I wasn't looking forward to walking 3 miles in the country. Last time I walked anywhere in the country the people driving by called the cops on us. Their complaint? We were walking on the side of the road in the country.

 

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

Today is not my day

I lost my cell phone in the van last night. It was turned off and dead so calling it was out. We finally found it today and I charged it enough to call dh and tell him that the van was dead. I tried to start the green car so I could jump the van... it's dead. I tried to start the Trans Am... dead. I tried to use the yellow jumper box... Not enough juice. I called Christine and she is on her way to work. I can't reach Tom, I can't reach Leslie (she has company anyway, so I am patient). I guess I'll just sit here at the house and clean for awhile. Maybe I'll work on the yard too.

 

I am making lunch right now. We organized the back of the van. I am going to try to figure out how to get the bench out and move it so that we can swivel the chairs around in the front seat (Neat feature that Miles figured out) and I am trying to decide what I want to do about the back area. What goes where, etc. I have an idea but nothing definite yet.

 

Well, off I go to finish making tortellini for lunch.

 

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

Feeling better and house stuff

A friend of mine noted that this blog doesn't show up correctly on Firefox web browsers. Sorry guys! I'll ask Blogger why that is, but I have nothing to do with that. Wish I could help you all though.

 

I talked to Hubby last night and we sang Jimmy Buffet songs together. He's sounding pretty good! I felt better after talking to him. He always cheers me up!

 

Last night I scrubbed down the boys bathroom. I am not sure what to do with their toilet though. It does take long for an orange hard water stain to form in their toilet bowl. It's such a chore to get it scrubbed off. Then I cleaned the hallway and vacuumed it. It looks much better now. Next week, on my days off, I'll start conquering the bedrooms and then I'll move into organizing the office. I am going to buy boxes for that, sort everything carefully and label the boxes. I sort of have a plan for the labeling. Not sure if it will work in reality though. While I wanted to get banker boxes because they look so neat and tidy, I priced then the other day, laughed and looked at regular cardboard boxes. They'll do just fine. They won't be as strong as banker boxes but at least I can find them that are just plain, boring boxes instead of having boxes of "adult diapers" from work sitting in the office.

 

They couldn't find any seatbelts for the van. So that is my next big vehicle project. We'll be picking up the van in about 1 /2 hours. I am SO excited!!! We're going to clean it out, pack up and go to Nana's house tonight. Since the house is coming along nicely, I don't dread coming back home each time now. I am going to mount vesuvius the master bedroom and work on it little by little. The hardest part is the sorting and boxing (you messies
know what I am talking about) I am also on a hunt for things I can ebay to make extra money for our road trip in November. Hubby was talking about ebaying some of the computer stuff. I'll wait for his direction on that one. I would hate to find out I ebayed something that I wasn't supposed to ebay.

 

Well, as much fun as this blogging is, I really need to get ready to go. It's a busy day from here on out.

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

Needing to vent a minute

Tonight I am feeling a touch bummed out. I am trying to prep for tomorrow. Shenika should be over for breakfast, I need to pick up the van and then I need to pack for mother in law's house. I can't wait until I go part time and can work 2 or 3 days a week.  The house is getting there so that makes me feel better. The boys are helping keep the house clean, so that helps too. But I am really missing my hubby. I wish I could be in San Diego with him. I know I will be soon, but sometimes I just wish I be there with him and go to the places he is telling me about and visit everyone and see my family again. It's been 18 years since I have seen my dad and his side of the family. The boys keep counting out how many days dad has been gone and that doesn't really cheer me up any.

 

On another note, Miles and Mendel are learning the colours in Spanish. We had a fun day. We all woke up late in the afternoon. Had breakfast for dinner and raked in the Zen garden. We read about enthusiasm and teamwork and then sat chit chatting about different stuff. I think the whole running back and forth is starting to get to Miles and Mendel too. They keep saying they want to be home more. I am thinking of just picking them up from Nana's and going home during the day. Granted, it will suck gas, but they will be happier I think. Nana has started voicing her concern about me sleeping, about the boys riding bikes, about the locks on the house, and everything else she can think of when it comes to us staying. I am sure she does worry, but it is wearing me and the boys down. She also said that Mendel Latham got in the tools. He said he didn't. She just assumed that because a boy was there and the drill bits were out, that it was him. Miles said he used a screwdriver, but not drill bits or anything else. But she still thinks it was Mendel Latham. I understand her concern though, but the boys don't go in the garage without my permission and they haven't been in the tools except for a screwdriver. She keeps telling to not let Mendel Latham drop things on the floor, but we clean up after ourselves. What was dropped? What is she talking about.

 

Between the stress from her and the stress at work, I am not sure it is worth it. Then I remind myself that I am doing this for gas money!Soon I'll be singing "I'm LEAVING in a conversion van..." Ah! I can't wait. I don't think I can handle this mentally if I thought I wasn't going. I'd have to plan to hitch-hike or something.

 

Tomorrow I am making a big breakfast, so I better go so I can get ready for tomorrow. I am sure that after I spend some time with V that I will feel better. Maybe we can get each other laughing again.

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

Another night off

I have tonight off (well, actually it's this morning off) and I have been cleaning. I think I need to turn on the A/C a bit more cooler. 80 is WAY to warm for me.

 

Shenika is planning on coming over in the morning. I already have the table set. I am planning on making biscuits, eggs, gravy, bacon and sausage. I am not tired yet even after all that cleaning. Maybe it is just insomnia, but my sleep schedule is all messed up! I need to start going to bed in the afternoon again. At least I stayed on a regular sleep schedule then. But staying at my mother in law's for work... that isn't going to happen. I tried sleeping until about 8 pm, then driving to her house, dropping off the boys, getting them in bed and then heading out the door. But she wanted us there earlier... so we showed up at 8 pm (that's only about 4 hours sleep for me) and then she STILL wanted us to get there earlier. That is too much as it is. What am I supposed to do? Show up at dinner time? No. Wouldn't work.

 

I finally started leaving when I had sleep. I get there between 8 and 9 pm. I am so tired still. And now I sleep in the morning just because I am so worn out with all the craziness.

 

4 more days until I go part time! Then maybe I can get some rest. All this sleep deprivation/ exhaustion does things to the body and I'm starting to feel all of them again. 3 weeks of vacation was not enough.

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

Vigilante Vegetarians

I have been searching vegetarian sites to paruse because
of my health issues. Not because I think eating meat is
bad, but because I have reasons I can eat it, drink milk,
eat too much cheese, ar too much yogurt. I do on
occasions, and sometimes I crave meat like crazy and
justhave to have my chicken! But for the most part, I try
to stay with the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. Yes, I think
animals should not be treated with cruelty and all that,
but I want a website that isn't vegetarian for animal
rights. I want a website that is vegetarian for health
reasons... not because all meat is bad and horrible and
evil. Why can't I find just ONE website that is
"Vegetarian because it makes me feel good" and leave all
the PETA people out of it.

ARGH! That is frustrating!

I am ready for bed

I just finished all the dishes. I started the crockpot oatmeal, made popcorn for tomorrows snack and got the peanuts in containers for snack. The knob on the crockpot broke off completely so I had to use pliers to turn it on low. All I really need to do is find some clothes for tomorrow. I have some but I was hoping to take more outfits. I am feeling better now and the kitchen is clean so I am off to sleep after I plug in the cell phone to charge for the night.

 

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

I feel better now...

Hubby called and I broke down in tears. It was just too much for me. Too much stress all at once. After three weeks of vacation time, having to go back to work and deal with real life just got to me. He talked to both of the boys and they both have much better attitudes now. Still aren't allowed TV when we go to Nana's house though. And no eating out ANYWHERE. They can eat what I make and be happy or go hungry. It may sound mean but they have to learn that I am not going to buckle under just because of their behavior.

 

They are acting much better. Finished their chores in half the time after they got off the phone. Tomorrow is the dentist appointment at 11 am so we need to get to bed. We'll get up at 8am to get ready. All I have to do is finish the kitchen and prep breakfast (oatmeal in the crockpot) and make lunch plans. Mendel Latham already packed toys and on Saturday they will have to finish the weekly plans for homeschooling.

 

I'll call my mother in law tomorrow to see how she is doing. She was on bedrest today. She'll be fine, but I am still going to see how she is doing.

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

A moment at home!

We spent the last few days at Nana's house. Turns out I don't work tonight. I work Friday and Saturday and that is just fine with me. I need the time at home to unwind. The boys have overdosed on cartoons and TV. While I slept they asked V if they could watch cartoons and suddenly felt they had control of the remote and could do what they wanted. I had to set down my foot (all size 11 of it!) when I woke up and they weren't too happy about it.

 

They blamed me for them being bored and then Miles refused to eat anything at the house. He wanted restaurant food and refused to eat anything in the bin, anything at the house and wouldn't even eat crackers and peanut butter. When we finally packed and got ready to leave, he complained that he was "starving". I told him to grab something and he still refused. I guess he kept thinking that I'd finally go "oh golly! My poor starving son! I must rush you to the nearest McDonald's for nourishment!" and when it didn't happen he got an even worst attitude. So now he isn't allowed to watch TV at Nana's when we go back unless it is something *I* choose for him. And I am NOT going to run him out for fast food just because he thinks if he holds out I will go to McD's or Central Park. Won't work. I still have crackers and pnut butter in the truck waiting for the next starving stunt. My philosophy... If he is REALLY starving then he will eat those crackers and pnut butter with pride. Until then, I am not playing wishy washy.

 

His attitude has improved since we got home. He is playing on his computer while dinner cooks (still hasn't eaten) and helping out with little things here and there. Hopefully this was just a phase and he is testing all my buttons to see if they work. They do! Last night they tried EVERYTHING to get away with stuff they know better about. Like eating things with food dye, junk food for dinner and lunch, etc.

 

Today was just stressful for me and the boys acted like I was mean old mom! Well, they'll get over it!

 

And btw, I noticed on the cartoons last night that there are a TON of cartoons about kids living at school. They live in dorms at their school and they are in middle school. When did this become a fashionable thing? They don't even acknowledge that they have parents in the shows. It's just them and the school and their teachers. I found it eerie. I guess with year round schooling, longer school years, shorter summers this is just going to be the thing. I am just wondering when they are going to build a dorm near our schools around here and take over parenting for the masses. I am sure it would be touted as something that is "good" for the kids since they wouldn't have all those dysfunctional families to deal with.

 

Off my soap box for now.

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

Making meals

I am making meals for the week. With the short amount of prep time for the procrastinator extraordinaire, I changed some of the menu. Breakfast will have sausage one morning with eggs, Pancakes, Cereal and orange glazed biscuits.

 

Dinner will have two meatloaves this week, chicken salsa funky and hamburgers.

 

Lunches will stay the same though.

 

That'll learn me to wait for last minute LOL

 

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

We're packing up for the week

My vacation is officially over. We're packing the clothes and food for the week. I have all the theme units printed and ready to go. Plus I found some on the American revolution for Little Mendel. YEA! We'll be packing the Math-U-See and reading material along with the units. We still have to clean out the truck before we go. I got the kitchen all cleaned up and I'm working on the dining right now. The livingroom is okay. I think I'll pack a box of toys for the boys to play with plus their bikes are still there for them to ride once I am up and around during the day. I need to pack for 4 breakfast, lunches and dinners and then snacks. At least they'll have TV while there for all the educational shows they love and all the cartoons in the morning. I packed coffee this time too. All I need to do is buy bread and milk on the way and I am set.

 

Dh called last night and we chatted for awhile. It was nice to hear his voice again. I sure do miss him. We'll be working on a care package this week. I'd say what, but that would spoil the surprise (and he reads this blog :))

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

It worked!

Okay, now that I know it works, I can email my blogs from my mother in laws house. I can't post from Internet Explorer b/c of cookies or something. I tried all their tips and it still doesn't work. No big deal, I can use Opera at home and email from anywhere else.

 

I have to do another load of dishes for the large stuff now. So I better go.

 

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

This is a test

This is a test to see if I can email my blogs. Here's hoping it works!

 

 

Dotchi
I am not talking to myself, I am having a parent-teacher conference

Saturday we had a blast! First we cleaned up the house. That didn't take long. Then we tried to get the couch in the house. It wouldn't fit in through the back door and after an hour of sweating to death and fighting with the beast, we gave up and it's still sitting in the yard.

Then we packed the truck and headed to Coolidge Park for the Eclectic Homeschoolers of Chattanooga's Not Back To School Picnic! We had so much fun! I took a lot of pictures and need to get them to Maddie or figure out how to get the posted. The boys played in the fountains and ran all over having so much fun. It took a couple (HA) of people to help unload the truck. I met newcomers and oldtimers. There was jazz music playing across the park and we could hear it all the way over where we were. There was a lot of food too! I was quite happy that there was vegetarian food too. I sort of behaved. The only meat dish I ate was my enchilada casserole. It was gone by the time we left. It must have been a hit!

After we loaded up (with more help LOL) we drove to my work so I could fill out vacation papers. Then we headed for the gas station. Gas was $2.99 a gallon. Gee, ONLY $2.99 a gallon. It took $30 to drive home from the gas station, drive to Coolidge Park, to The Straford House, and then to the gas station. On an up note, the truck is getting 22 MPG. Or would that be a down note? I was so tired when we got home that I fell asleep in no time. Lil Man fell asleep coming up the interstate and Miles fell asleep around Calhoun.

Today we'll be be cleaning the house, running to get a lawn mower belt (broke again!) and then cleaning some more. We'll work on math this evening with lego's and Decimal street game. Then we'll practice some reading for Mendel and Miles and then we'll read about Labor day. I have two stories printed out. I need more toner but I forgot where we keep it so I'll wait for hubby to call me and let me know where it is.

My mission for this week is to survive LOL. We'll be in Chattanooga from Tuesday to Friday at my mother in laws house. I am making up a ton of food to take with us and trying to plan for healthy eating. I'll post on the Baker's Chef what we are eating for the week. I forgot to do that last week. Oh well... we ate good.

Well, I am off to get the breakfast dishes done. Have a wonderful day, I plan on it!