A mom's work is never done....
I'm not getting this publicity setting thing. Or rather, I get the concept, and am glad that (supposedly) the default setting is to prevent other media from taking exerpts from my entries from this point onward, but I don't see how I'm supposed to change the security of prior posts, retroactively, except to turn my entire LJ to friends-only in a mass move. Is that the only way to do it?
Monday: After breakfast, we did ascertain that MiniPlu's playdate was a "Go", and set the time for 10a-noon. MiniPlu and I scuttled to the grocery store, then did a very hasty tidying-up before K arrived. (Keep in mind that not only was the house in its usual clutter, and in desperate need of vacuuming, but we had dumped all our stuff from NJ and hadn't put it away yet, and there were still shards of MiniPlu's ripped-up valentine all over her floor.) The playdate went well - the girl brought two of her Webkinz and showed MiniPlu some of the games she can play online. They also did the usual sorts of inventive play, and went outside a bit. I did a LOT of cooking while they played: chicken soup, spaghetti sauce, meatballs, mashed cauliflower in preparation for shepherd's cottage pie later. The dad was 15 mins late picking up his daughter, which was annoying - I had MiniPlu's lunch all ready and waiting. After lunch, I had to get some computer information together to drop off to our investment guru, and I had to strip Two's room of her possessions. What I *really* wanted was a nap. :P
After picking up Two (dropping off the investment info on the way), my mom called for a chat and the girls played a little while I finished making the cottage pie. Then off to tae kwon do. Because many area schools were closed yesterday, hardly anyone came to class last night. And this is a class which is typically small to begin with, usually just 6-8 kids. Last night: only one extra boy (green belt), plus my two. This meant that, for the first time, MiniPlu was the second-highest belt in class. At the beginning and end of class, the highest-ranking belt makes the opening/closing call by telling everyone else to face the instructor and bow; at the end of class, the second-highest belt also tells everyone to face the highest belt and bow again. So - MiniPlu got to do that for the very first time. :D Also, having only 3 kids meant that each one got more attention, and Two wasn't allowed to slide by with sloppy work nearly as much as usual. She also got knuckle pushups twice for inattention. :P
Thankfully, Will got home at a reasonable hour and had dinner all heated up by the time we got home. And I got some homework done after the girls went to bed. Long day.
Tuesday: My morning started off with Two ruining nearly a full quart of my homemade yogurt in her well-meaning attempt to make breakfast for everyone. *bangs head* Yes, it's "just" yogurt, but I HATE making it. It's just a tremendous pain in the arse, even if it only lasts 20-25 mins (plus the 24 hour fermentation). And to have her dump almost an entire quart into 3 separate containers, dump what remained of a can of pineapple (with juice) on top, along with (unwashed) grapes and other fruits just ... it wasn't a great start to the day. And, of course, she cried when I expressed my exasperation, even though I didn't shout at all. We have told her over and over that her desire to help is fantastic BUT SHE HAS TO ASK FIRST. *bangs head some more* Hopefully I can still rescue the pineapple-juice-logged yogurt for my breakfast over the next few days, but I'll probably have to eat it faster than usual. And, of course, Two didn't want to eat her own breakfast that she'd made. :P But she eventually did.
Back to normal routine today. MiniPlu went back to school and I had my usual stint at the library. I (re)learned how to check in new books, so I hacked at that in between the usual checking in/out for kids, reshelving, and also reshelving all our Easter books, as well as a pile I had mended last week. Stayed about half an hour extra to finish checking in the books we were trying to get done today. This also involved, for a few books, consulting a manual I referred to as "Dewey for Dummies" - trying to figure out what their best call number should be, given their contents.
Stopped by the health food store on the way home, had lunch, made PB brownies, then treated myself to some reading time as I wanted to take the girls to the public library later and needed to finish Island of the Aunts first. As soon as that was done, I headed out to our safe-deposit box to retrieve the wagon's title, as well as Two's and MiniPlu's passports (need Two's proof of birth for kindergarten registration, and MiniPlu's ID to get her free Disneyland entry on her birthday). It was when I pulled up to the bank that I realized I'd left my purse at home. Thankfully, there were a few coins in the car I could scrounge for the parking meter, and I had the safe-deposit key in my pocket, not my purse. But still. I'd planned to get some cash while at the bank - couldn't do that. Had also planned to stop by the farm market afterwards - couldn't do that, either. I ended up going straight to the college after the bank (bypassing the farm market), going to Will's office, begging some money out of him, then backtracking to the farm market, and hurriedly returning to pick up Two, arriving back just in the nick of time.
Two and I got home, and we started to walk to the bus stop with the dog, as usual. There was some light rain, not enough to be really troublesome, but it was breezy and Two was having trouble hanging on to her umbrella so we hastily beat a retreat and got in the car, instead - I just shoved the dog in, too, not wanting to take the time to put her back in the house. Cassie HATES the car - even for such a short distance. But she lived.
After MiniPlu did her homework, we did go out to the public library (right by the bank where I'd been two hours before - talk about deja vue); the girls got their books, I spoke to the librarians about a question I needed to address for my class, I picked out a couple of books for myself (including a new Valdemar book) and got home just in time to cook dinner (chicken fried rice for the others, leftover cottage pie for me - although at least I'm in enough remission that I can now actually test the rice for doneness, and eat everything IN the fried rice, in small quantities). Two wanted to play with PlayDough after dinner, so I did that while MiniPlu did her reading assignment with Will. Then the girls both wanted to copy my abdominal exercises. Just ... never a moment's peace. :P
I've just been watching this fascinating yet horrifying program on PBS called "Children of the Taliban", particularly in Pakistan; a female Pakistani journalist is reporting, interviewing everyone from little girls (prevented from going to school) to young boys and men at the strict Islamic schools which tend to breed Taliban fighters, to friends on opposite sides of the fighting, who, despite their long friendship, both swear they will kill each other if they meet on the battlefield. She even spoke with young Taliban supporters who said, right to her face, that women should be kept in their place and have no other use. I cannot fathom this woman's incredible bravery and determination in making this program.
Anyway - it's part of PBS' "Frontline" presentation. If you live in the US, check your local programming listings. It's worth seeing. (til_midnight, the Frontline program that followed is about online/gaming addiction among young people in Korea.)
On a more positive news-related note, I loved this story of the Obamas' first White House egg roll festivities - including the books they read to the kids, and the fact that they deliberately allotted some tickets to gay/lesbian families.
And speaking of ... I need to get moving on my lgbt_fest fic. Yipes! That's coming due REALLLY soon.
Island of the Aunts, by Eva Ibbotson, was largely charming, as all of the Ibbotson books I've read so far have been ("Which Witch" and "The Secret of Platform 13"). However, this had a less satisfying ending. You don't find out what happens to one of the children (he was bratty, but still), there was a side plot involving the Aunts niece and nephew which seemed largely unnecessary, and there was an odd resolution/lack of resolution at the end. Also, it felt a bit rushed. But the first 3/4 of the story were great. Ibbotson, like JKR and Dahl, has a nice ability to blend a serious/semi-serious story with loads of whimsical touches along the way.
We've read over 200 pages of GoF already. I can tell I'm having to explain more along the way, and Two never really understands the big picture of any HP book at all, but they're enjoying it and are eagerly watching to see when we get to bits that are featured on the cover. I've also told MiniPlu that we'll finally find out why Neville lives with his grandmother, and she's dying to find out. Alas, she has to wait another 400 pages. ;)
Ok, should get ready for bed soon, I guess. Will has tomorrow off to (hopefully) get the wagon fixed.
Monday: After breakfast, we did ascertain that MiniPlu's playdate was a "Go", and set the time for 10a-noon. MiniPlu and I scuttled to the grocery store, then did a very hasty tidying-up before K arrived. (Keep in mind that not only was the house in its usual clutter, and in desperate need of vacuuming, but we had dumped all our stuff from NJ and hadn't put it away yet, and there were still shards of MiniPlu's ripped-up valentine all over her floor.) The playdate went well - the girl brought two of her Webkinz and showed MiniPlu some of the games she can play online. They also did the usual sorts of inventive play, and went outside a bit. I did a LOT of cooking while they played: chicken soup, spaghetti sauce, meatballs, mashed cauliflower in preparation for shepherd's cottage pie later. The dad was 15 mins late picking up his daughter, which was annoying - I had MiniPlu's lunch all ready and waiting. After lunch, I had to get some computer information together to drop off to our investment guru, and I had to strip Two's room of her possessions. What I *really* wanted was a nap. :P
After picking up Two (dropping off the investment info on the way), my mom called for a chat and the girls played a little while I finished making the cottage pie. Then off to tae kwon do. Because many area schools were closed yesterday, hardly anyone came to class last night. And this is a class which is typically small to begin with, usually just 6-8 kids. Last night: only one extra boy (green belt), plus my two. This meant that, for the first time, MiniPlu was the second-highest belt in class. At the beginning and end of class, the highest-ranking belt makes the opening/closing call by telling everyone else to face the instructor and bow; at the end of class, the second-highest belt also tells everyone to face the highest belt and bow again. So - MiniPlu got to do that for the very first time. :D Also, having only 3 kids meant that each one got more attention, and Two wasn't allowed to slide by with sloppy work nearly as much as usual. She also got knuckle pushups twice for inattention. :P
Thankfully, Will got home at a reasonable hour and had dinner all heated up by the time we got home. And I got some homework done after the girls went to bed. Long day.
Tuesday: My morning started off with Two ruining nearly a full quart of my homemade yogurt in her well-meaning attempt to make breakfast for everyone. *bangs head* Yes, it's "just" yogurt, but I HATE making it. It's just a tremendous pain in the arse, even if it only lasts 20-25 mins (plus the 24 hour fermentation). And to have her dump almost an entire quart into 3 separate containers, dump what remained of a can of pineapple (with juice) on top, along with (unwashed) grapes and other fruits just ... it wasn't a great start to the day. And, of course, she cried when I expressed my exasperation, even though I didn't shout at all. We have told her over and over that her desire to help is fantastic BUT SHE HAS TO ASK FIRST. *bangs head some more* Hopefully I can still rescue the pineapple-juice-logged yogurt for my breakfast over the next few days, but I'll probably have to eat it faster than usual. And, of course, Two didn't want to eat her own breakfast that she'd made. :P But she eventually did.
Back to normal routine today. MiniPlu went back to school and I had my usual stint at the library. I (re)learned how to check in new books, so I hacked at that in between the usual checking in/out for kids, reshelving, and also reshelving all our Easter books, as well as a pile I had mended last week. Stayed about half an hour extra to finish checking in the books we were trying to get done today. This also involved, for a few books, consulting a manual I referred to as "Dewey for Dummies" - trying to figure out what their best call number should be, given their contents.
Stopped by the health food store on the way home, had lunch, made PB brownies, then treated myself to some reading time as I wanted to take the girls to the public library later and needed to finish Island of the Aunts first. As soon as that was done, I headed out to our safe-deposit box to retrieve the wagon's title, as well as Two's and MiniPlu's passports (need Two's proof of birth for kindergarten registration, and MiniPlu's ID to get her free Disneyland entry on her birthday). It was when I pulled up to the bank that I realized I'd left my purse at home. Thankfully, there were a few coins in the car I could scrounge for the parking meter, and I had the safe-deposit key in my pocket, not my purse. But still. I'd planned to get some cash while at the bank - couldn't do that. Had also planned to stop by the farm market afterwards - couldn't do that, either. I ended up going straight to the college after the bank (bypassing the farm market), going to Will's office, begging some money out of him, then backtracking to the farm market, and hurriedly returning to pick up Two, arriving back just in the nick of time.
Two and I got home, and we started to walk to the bus stop with the dog, as usual. There was some light rain, not enough to be really troublesome, but it was breezy and Two was having trouble hanging on to her umbrella so we hastily beat a retreat and got in the car, instead - I just shoved the dog in, too, not wanting to take the time to put her back in the house. Cassie HATES the car - even for such a short distance. But she lived.
After MiniPlu did her homework, we did go out to the public library (right by the bank where I'd been two hours before - talk about deja vue); the girls got their books, I spoke to the librarians about a question I needed to address for my class, I picked out a couple of books for myself (including a new Valdemar book) and got home just in time to cook dinner (chicken fried rice for the others, leftover cottage pie for me - although at least I'm in enough remission that I can now actually test the rice for doneness, and eat everything IN the fried rice, in small quantities). Two wanted to play with PlayDough after dinner, so I did that while MiniPlu did her reading assignment with Will. Then the girls both wanted to copy my abdominal exercises. Just ... never a moment's peace. :P
I've just been watching this fascinating yet horrifying program on PBS called "Children of the Taliban", particularly in Pakistan; a female Pakistani journalist is reporting, interviewing everyone from little girls (prevented from going to school) to young boys and men at the strict Islamic schools which tend to breed Taliban fighters, to friends on opposite sides of the fighting, who, despite their long friendship, both swear they will kill each other if they meet on the battlefield. She even spoke with young Taliban supporters who said, right to her face, that women should be kept in their place and have no other use. I cannot fathom this woman's incredible bravery and determination in making this program.
Anyway - it's part of PBS' "Frontline" presentation. If you live in the US, check your local programming listings. It's worth seeing. (til_midnight, the Frontline program that followed is about online/gaming addiction among young people in Korea.)
On a more positive news-related note, I loved this story of the Obamas' first White House egg roll festivities - including the books they read to the kids, and the fact that they deliberately allotted some tickets to gay/lesbian families.
And speaking of ... I need to get moving on my lgbt_fest fic. Yipes! That's coming due REALLLY soon.
Island of the Aunts, by Eva Ibbotson, was largely charming, as all of the Ibbotson books I've read so far have been ("Which Witch" and "The Secret of Platform 13"). However, this had a less satisfying ending. You don't find out what happens to one of the children (he was bratty, but still), there was a side plot involving the Aunts niece and nephew which seemed largely unnecessary, and there was an odd resolution/lack of resolution at the end. Also, it felt a bit rushed. But the first 3/4 of the story were great. Ibbotson, like JKR and Dahl, has a nice ability to blend a serious/semi-serious story with loads of whimsical touches along the way.
We've read over 200 pages of GoF already. I can tell I'm having to explain more along the way, and Two never really understands the big picture of any HP book at all, but they're enjoying it and are eagerly watching to see when we get to bits that are featured on the cover. I've also told MiniPlu that we'll finally find out why Neville lives with his grandmother, and she's dying to find out. Alas, she has to wait another 400 pages. ;)
Ok, should get ready for bed soon, I guess. Will has tomorrow off to (hopefully) get the wagon fixed.