Babies

Good morning! What a beautiful day! Other than the fact I do not have internet access at the moment for some unknown reason, life is pretty good.

Yesterday was an interesting one. Quite frankly, I’m not really remembering what we did in the morning. I know I did something but I don’t remember what. I did work on accounting some and got the second problem about two thirds of the way done. Amena and the boys went outside to eat lunch and then went exploring. I was looking for a sock so I cleared off all the stuff that I had collected on the loom and the stuff under it. I didn’t find the sock I was looking for but did find some other things.

I went to my chiropractic appointment in the afternoon and went ready to go to the job fair in Worcester after. I got gas because it’s cheaper in Leominster and then I left for Worcester. I got there and I really tried to talk myself out of going because I wasn’t sure the parking was cool (where I was parked there were no signs but farther up the street there are signs that say one-hour parking only). I was about .7 of a mile away from where I needed to be (there is no free parking near and I was not going to pay) with shoes not really great for walking and I was way overdressed for the temperature. Still, I was there, and I figured I couldn’t just leave without going so I went. .7 of a mile really isn’t that far (unless you have shoes not good for walking and it’s too warm AND you forgot your water at home) so I set out and got there and was surprised. The job fairs I’m familiar with are like cattle brandings with a bunch of people milling around attempting to talk to people representing companies they would like to work for. Not this one. You signed in, filled out a paper, and sat down to wait until your name was called. Wow.

Seth was not able to go to practice because Will was going to a birthday party and I didn’t know when I’d be home so I didn’t think it would be wise for Laura to take him and leave him.

While I was gone, Snowflake had her babies. Cedric discovered this happy fact which was tempered by the death of one of the kids. There were three, two boys and one girl. One of the boys didn’t make it. The other two are doing well. I am not sure why Raven and Bella said that our goats are not good mothers because Snowflake was really good. She was letting them suck and they were all cleaned off when I got home. Even when she wanted to go in, she stood still and let them suck. They were cold this morning so I let Seth bring them in after we got a crate ready for them. As soon as they wake up and get active, they need to go out to see mama and have some breakfast. Amena wants to name them Ron and Jenny. Imagine that.

Today I have class and then an honors luncheon. Cedric has practice this evening. Doula training starts tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Another day!

Good morning! It is a beautiful day here, currently 50° (and we’re looking at Bonners Ferry 28°, Yreka 30°, Dublin 55°, and Paris 73°. Guess where I’d rather be today?

My interview was interesting yesterday. My video for Skyping wasn’t working and the sound was really bad so it ended up being over the phone. I hope it was good enough for acceptance. I fixed up a picnic lunch for Amena, Cedric, Seth and Joseph so they’d be outside during the interview. They ate in the back field and came in to get ice-cream through the basement door and then went exploring in the woods. They were gone for almost four hours.

Soccer practice was cancelled due to the rain which didn’t really materialize (but was present, at least at our house, near enough to decision time to make the decision to cancel). This worked out well because I’d decided that if it was raining at our house, it must be in Barre/Hardwick because they’re to the west and that’s the direction the storm was coming from. If it was raining and I needed to fee missionaries anyway, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt the boys to stay home.

In other news, I got a problem done in accounting and plan to do one today. There are only four problems for this chapter so I figure one a day is good since the whole thing isn’t due until next week. I worked on my Pitcherville Soap Co., thing and could still use more people evaluating the websites I posted yesterday. Please. Pretty please? I’ll even send you a bar of soap if you do it for me.

Today I have a chiropractor appointment and there is a job fair at Reliant in Worcester from 4 to 8 this afternoon/evening. I would like to go to that but haven’t figured out the logistics for that and Seth’s soccer practice. I THINK it would work if Laura takes Seth to practice and leaves him there and Will’s dad, Terry, brings him home. I could go to the job fair after my chiropractic appointment and be there when it starts. I would just have to leave in time to be home by 7. What fun it all is.

Have a wonderful day!

Oops! Please Help!

I was going to add this to the other post and went and forgot. I really, really, really, need people to do this for me in order to make my project more objective and well-rounded.

I need help with a project for school. It is a rather large project and I expect that anyone who is willing to help could spend a relatively substantial amount of time doing what needs to be done.

While taking a look at the following websites:

http://soaptopia.com/

http://www.soapshed.com/

http://ellieshandmadesoap.com/

http://www.summerhousesoaps.com/

I need you to rate each the following on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the worst and 10 being the best) for each site:

1. Ease of maneuvering web site

2. Number of products

3. Total product differentiation (how many types of products do they have, such as bar soaps, liquid soaps, lotion, etc.)

4. Product differentiation within each product category (how many different bars of soap, how many different liquid soaps, etc.)

5. Shipping prices

6. Ease of ordering (you don’t have to order anything, just pretend)

7. Aesthetic web site (is it pleasing to the eye)

8. Size of bars

9. Ethical (do they seem to care about the environment and being honest and fair)

10. Knowledgeable (do they seem to know what they’re doing)

Many thanks.

Tragic Day

Good morning, one and all! It is currently a beautiful day outside here (at least looking at it from the inside).

What a day yesterday, eh? I have always thought that runners of marathons were crazy. Currently I am glad that I have never wanted to go to the Boston Marathon for any reason ever. I mean, really, too many people, too many traffic issues, etc. I haven’t looked at the news yet today but last night they were admitting to three dead and over 100 injured. Paul is familiar with that part of Boston and said after watching video of the explosions he has a hard time believing the death toll isn’t much higher. My heart goes out to the families of those who died and those who were injured and their families. It brings back all the emotions of learning Daniel was gone with a vengeance and I feel great relief and gratitude that those I know who were in Boston are safe.

Laura said that one of the guys she works with was worried because his boyfriend was at the marathon. The grandmother of another coworker always goes to the finish line to cheer the runners on but decided the day before not to go this year. His aunt and uncle went instead but left before the explosions. My favorite story that I’ve heard so far is one of a Rhode Island police officer (or maybe firefighter—I don’t recall which) who had just crossed the finish line when the explosions happened. He just went to work putting tourniquets on people. Small and simple things but they add up.

Yesterday I managed to finish the first part of the online homework for accounting. It was pretty easy but really emphasized the fact that I wish I’d’ve had this class before taking Strategic Management because the information in this particular chapter I could really have used for the Capsim simulation we’re doing (and have the last round Thursday). Ah well, such is life.

Cedric and Seth had soccer practice yesterday as well.

Today I got my biking and Pilates done and decided since I don’t have class that I would write something to keep you all somewhat entertained before I move on to do all the things on my list for the day. It isn’t a huge list which is good because we are feeding the missionaries tonight (we’re having lentil soup with salami sausage) and I have a Skype interview with Birthwise Midwifery School at 1:00. I was really hoping Joanna or Laura would have today off so that I could go to Maine for the interview but I guess I’ll have to do with second best.

In the meantime, enjoy the day!

Good Afternoon!

Good afternoon! I decided to not wait almost a whole week again. It has, as usual, been a busy few days since last I wrote. We have soccer practice every evening other than Friday. Monday and Tuesday both Cedric and Seth have practice. Wednesday is only Seth and Thursday is only Cedric. Fortunately, on Monday, I can drop Seth off at his, take Cedric to his, wait at Cedric’s, go pick Seth up and go home.

Friday I went to kindergarten and got to listen to every single child in Joseph’s class read a book. That was nice. I really do like kindergarten. I’m sure I’ll like 1^st grade next year as well; especially if some of the same students are in Joseph’s class.

I’ve been busy getting school work done. All I have for Economics is reading one more chapter. For Strategic Management all I have is one more round of Capsim and then we have a presentation to do based on the Capsim experience and what we’ve learned from it. I have my soap presentation to finish as well and I would be working on it right now if it wasn’t Sunday. For accounting, I have two more chapters to read, two sections of homework for each of those chapters as well as the chapter I read last week, and an exam. That’s all she wrote for school for me which is nice.

Yesterday Cedric had a soccer game. Seth was supposed to but the field it was supposed to be at was closed, probably due to the rain. Cedric’s game was good. I don’t have any pictures but I did get a couple of the clouds. Cedric is really good at defense which is what he played yesterday. The team he played was from Holden. They had the same number of players and one of them was a girl. No offense, but she wasn’t that great and probably ought not to have been playing goalie for the second half because she couldn’t throw and apparently couldn’t drop kick either. On Cedric’s team there’s a short kids who is really good at offense. He could really move the ball around and keep control of it. I’d love to see Seth and Joseph (and Cedric) get that good.

Today is a quiet-ish kind of day. Paul and the boys went to pick up Princess from the people who have the billy goat. The girls all stayed at church. There was a linger longer that Laura didn’t really want to stay for other than to visit with someone and Amena had a YW meeting. Joanna was the wheels.

Tomorrow is another day. No school for me. No school for an Amena, Cedric, Seth or Joseph either as they have the week off. No school for me Tuesday or Wednesday either because Dr. Greenwood is having surgery on some nasal polyps or something of that nature and will be out those days.

Have a wonderful rest of the day!

Busy--That's All

Almost a whole week again—busy days guys. Sorry.

It’s been a busy week. And I’m afraid this will be short because on tap for today is another busy day. Fun times; fun times.

We are all well and doing well. Soccer has begun in earnest. Paul had a good day (sales wise) at work yesterday. I had a good day at school. Cedric and Seth had practice yesterday and do again today. There is school and work and all the usual stuff as well.

Have a wonderful day!

School

Good afternoon! How has your day been? We’ve had quite an interesting one.

Monday was pretty good. Pretty busy. I got almost everything done that I wanted. I did not stay for the PTK meeting at school because I would not have gotten home until almost 2:00 and I had an accounting exam I needed to take. Getting home at almost 2:00 would have only allowed a little more than 1 ½ hours to finish before the bus arrived bring home four distractions which would not have been good for getting a decent grade. Instead, I came home and took the exam and got a 90 something on it which I can deal with. I hope I do better on the last one and I am glad that she drops the lowest. Seth and I went to the meeting at his soccer coach’s house. That was alright. Longish drive but no longer than taking Cedric to practice. Fortunately, Will is on the same team so Seth will be able to ride with him which is very good because they have practice on Tuesday same time as Cedric. I cannot be in two places at one time.

Yesterday was pretty okay as well. I accomplished most of the things on my list. Cedric and Seth went to a birthday party at 6:00 at Gardner Ten Pins so neither one went to practice which made my afternoon/evening much easier. We had Elders Stevens and Nash over for supper and we ate turkey chowder and almost no-knead bread. Amena had made cookies so we had those for dessert. It was strange with only Joseph here for the boys; much more quiet. Joanna went to pick the boys up and her Jeep wouldn’t start. She’s decided that the bowling alley has some kind of an effect on the Jeep. It isn’t the battery so Paul thinks it might be the alternator or the generator.

Last night Amena pointed out that if neither Laura nor Joanna was going to be home this afternoon, there would be no one home when Seth and Joseph got off the bus because today was a half day and she and Cedric would be at Roll On America. Hmmmmm. What to do? Laura’s schedule for today was 8 to 5 and Joanna’s 11 something to 7 something so neither would be here. I decided to just keep them home from school and take them with me to school. I needed to go early to make some copies for my group’s presentation in Economics but that was in the Honor’s Room so I knew they could color or draw or something at the table there which is what they did. Then during class, I figured they could just sit in the back corner with books and crayons and papers and something to eat and drink which is what they did. They were very good and they liked watching the Passat commercial that I had in my part of the presentation. It has a little boy dressed up like Darth Vader and he’s doing his best to use the Force to make things move and having no luck. When his dad gets home, he runs out to the car to make it start and is wildly surprised when the car actually starts! It is my absolute favorite commercial ever. They were very good and made quite an impression on Dr. Greenwood.

Now the boys are playing with Daniel’s Legos and Laura just got home. Amena is waiting to use my computer and I need to get some supper ready for everyone.

I hope the rest of your day is fantabulous!

April Fool's

Saturday

March 30, 2013

9:44 am

Good morning! It is another beautiful day outside this morning. The sun is shining, the temperature is moderate, the geese are flying by overhead. There is an egg hunt at Hubbardston Center School at 11:00. Amena is supposed to be there at 10:00 to help hide the eggs because she is too old to hunt this year and the Girl Scouts are hiding. Normally, it would be at the rec field but due to the snow, that just really won’t work. I am writing until Amena is ready to go.

Yesterday was a decent day. I sort of forgot about going to kindergarten so I ended up getting things done instead. My appointment with the chiropractor was good. My hips are staying aligned so I don’t go back for three weeks. I’m sure the biking and Pilates and other stretches have something to do with that.

I accomplished everything on my list which was nice and provided an interesting story. I needed to call the doctor for albuterol inhalers for me and Amena. I did this and the woman at the doctor’s office said something to the effect of, “You want to pick these up at CVS?” I said, “Yes.” A while later, the phone rang but I was busy doing something like getting dressed so Laura took the call. It was CVS letting us know that AmenaB’s prescription was ready. At the Lakeville CVS. That is an hour and a half away from here. What the heck!?! I called them and explained the situation and was told to call our local CVS and they would take care of transferring it. Holy crud! Where the heck does the doctor’s office think we live, anyway?

So, today, I’ll stop by the CVS in GARDNER and see if it is ready because they never called us. I’ll check on mine as well because they never called about that either.

Amena’s ready so I’ll be back later.

Notice the cute Joseph chillin' on the rock.
These rocks are all part of an old foundation.

Monday

April 1, 2013

6:54 am

You know, I’ve always liked the idea of April Fool’s jokes but I’ve never really liked actually pulling them. It might be because the best ones I think of are not nice and I really don’t like to be mean on purpose. And to do anything like color the milk green, I’d have to do it the night before because Amena and Cedric are usually downstairs eating before I get up. Therefore, no April Fool’s jokes unless I think of something between now and the time the kids get home from school.

Well, it is a good thing I didn’t say how much later it would be before I got back, isn’t it? We went out to get in the red car and Paul got in the van and wanted to know what we were doing. So we all (sans Laura who was already at work and Joanna who was getting ready for work) went to the school and dropped Amena off and then the rest of us drove out to Barre Falls Dam. Some of you may have seen the pictures I posted on Facebook. I’ll post them on the blog as well along with one other. Grandma, I think I need to get some pictures done up for you like I did that one year for Christmas or print the blogs again—it’s been a while. We decided that we need to go back for a picnic some Sunday after church once the snow is at least mostly gone. With the weather we had yesterday and what we are expecting today (in the high 40’s-low 50’s with rain in the afternoon) it shouldn’t last long.

On the agenda for today is an accounting test. I told Dr. Greenwood that I might be late today to class. We’re just doing an online quiz (if the class as a whole gets all the questions right, everyone who is there that day gets a 100) and since I’ve done them all and gotten 100 on each, I don’t really need the help for this. I do want to get there toward the end of class so I can see how our group is doing on our presentation for Wednesday. Also, there is a PTK meeting at 12:30 that I’d like to go to.

Other than that, I will most likely work on my Pitcherville Soap, Co., stuff and read the next chapter for Accounting and probably Economics. And this evening, Seth has a meeting in Barre with his soccer coach and Cedric has a practice at Roach field, wherever that is. Hopefully Laura will be able to help with Cedric because I’d like to go meet Seth’s coach.

So, have a wonderful day!