Friday was a pretty good day, so my weekend got off to a good start. By the way, I have vacation on Monday. I am in a play and it is rehearsing on Monday. I am so excited! We got our tax refund on Friday too, so I made the house payment two days early and paid the past due gas bill. It feels good to be caught up. We still have to watch our spending and I have to work every hour that I can--even that will still put us behind. How can I make more money? That is a question that put me back on Prozac.
Anyway, Lori decided that she wanted her own laptop computer, which means I get mine back for good! She won't have to use mine ever again. She told Adam that when she has it, that he is forbidden to music on it. He has uploaded quite the music library on mine and I am happy for it. He and I like many of the same songs, so I am not upset by it. What did upset me was that he deleted the photos off the flash drive to make more room for his videos, which he put on my laptop. Maybe someday he will have his own. There were some really good photos that I took and Lori cropped of the kids and her cousins that are gone forever.
Today Lori and I ran errands and I mean we were out of the house together for more than two hours. It was really a good time. We went out for lunch at a new Mexican Restaurant, the food was really good and Lori told me about a dream she had. I, of course, interpreted her dream for her. That was fun for me, I love doing that and it isn't very often that I get to do that for my wife. My marriage isn't healthy at all, but I still love her and I look for ways that I can connect with her.
After lunch we went to church so she could fill out her time card. The organist was rehearsing which made being there rather spiritual. I helped her sort the mail and read a newsletter from St. Luke's in Grand Rapids. I started to get a headache so I took one of Lori's Aleve, which did the trick because as I drink my third glass of wine, I don't have a headache at all. We left Peace Lutheran and returned Momma Mia to Family Video. Momma Mia was cute, but not great, and at time rather hokey, but I digress.
We then went to Best Buy where Lori and I purchased a Toshiba laptop for her. I am so excited! She will have her own laptop, FiNALLY! (can you tell that I am happy and excited for her?) We then went to Meijer and bought groceries for two weeks of meals. Menu planning has saved us a lot of money, although we spend more money in one trip to Meijer we are focused with our money and the kids know what to expect for dinner.
Our last trip was to Bob's Butcher Block where we got Sizzler's for dinner. Lori is grilling them now on her grill pan. It is a good day.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
There is a lot to be said for picking the proper font style and color when I finally get around to posting on this blog. Although it could be said that I am just trying to look impressive, for me it is all about getting into the emotional writing attitude. Truly, more than 90 per cent of all that we do is emotionally driven and the remainder is divided between necessary and automatic. Under the necessary category are items such as eating food and drinking water. Under the automatic items such as breathing, urinating and defecating--not very glamorous but we all do it. Why do we think that living is glamorous anyway? God told Adam that from dust he came and to dust he will return. Dust isn't glamorous at all.
There is nothing glamorous in receiving reports that your children are struggling in school, misbehaving or failing a class. Nathan is struggling in division. Evan is swearing on the school bus and Adam is failing Journalism. Nathan is getting help and Lori is working hard with him. I asked him how many dimes does it take to make 60 cents? "Six" he said. Then I asked him, "How many dimes does it take to make $1.20" He said. "10 dimes plus 2 dimes." He certainly understands the concept he just isn't making the connection. But he is starting to get it.
I don't know why Evan is swearing so much. I wonder if it has something to do with hormones and a OCD. I do know that he isn't happy with his drink choices with his school lunch. He was buying a Gatorade everyday at the price of one dollar. He was burning through his lunch money too quickly so I had to put a stop to that. He has been getting the chocolate milk but he wouldn't drink it. He said he doesn't like the taste--Lori thinks he doesn't shake it before drinking it. Yesterday, I went to the Food Service office and talked in person to Sarah who manages all the lunch accounts for all the West Ottawa students. She changed Evan's account so that he can have lemonade. He got it for lunch yesterday and said he liked it. He asked me if that was for just that day, and I said it was for everyday. He was happy to hear that.
Lemonade is given to students who are lactose intolerant. I told Sarah that he isn't lactose intolerant but that he has narrow nasal membranes and milk isn't the best choice for him. She gladly accommodated him. I know it's a small thing but it makes a big difference to Evan. I could have called her, but I wanted to work this out in person. We interact with people through e-mails, text messages and phone calls. It was real and human.
Adam and I met with his Journalism teacher yesterday after school. He told me that Adam won't fail the class but he needs to complete his edited drafts. It was a good meeting, the three of us sat down face to face and talked about Adam's work and progress in Journalism. I held Adam's submitted articles in my hand and looked at some of the editing comments. I agreed with the editing comments I read. I was glad to have a meeting with him. Conferences were such a disaster for us that we are working harder than normal to keep tabs on Adam's assignments.
Our meeting was at 3 and I was a little late. I went to the wrong building first. Adam rode with me when I picked up Nathan at Lakeshore. We went to Speedway and got our snacks to watch eat while watching "The Soup." We drove to Dave and Paula's house and let Bob out and fed him snacks--Paula sent a text message to Lori's phone asking Nathan to do so.
I asked Nathan to say something funny. He replied, "Airline food." It isn't as funny as humour blog that has vanished, but it is Nathan's interpretation of Jerry Seinfeld.
There is nothing glamorous in receiving reports that your children are struggling in school, misbehaving or failing a class. Nathan is struggling in division. Evan is swearing on the school bus and Adam is failing Journalism. Nathan is getting help and Lori is working hard with him. I asked him how many dimes does it take to make 60 cents? "Six" he said. Then I asked him, "How many dimes does it take to make $1.20" He said. "10 dimes plus 2 dimes." He certainly understands the concept he just isn't making the connection. But he is starting to get it.
I don't know why Evan is swearing so much. I wonder if it has something to do with hormones and a OCD. I do know that he isn't happy with his drink choices with his school lunch. He was buying a Gatorade everyday at the price of one dollar. He was burning through his lunch money too quickly so I had to put a stop to that. He has been getting the chocolate milk but he wouldn't drink it. He said he doesn't like the taste--Lori thinks he doesn't shake it before drinking it. Yesterday, I went to the Food Service office and talked in person to Sarah who manages all the lunch accounts for all the West Ottawa students. She changed Evan's account so that he can have lemonade. He got it for lunch yesterday and said he liked it. He asked me if that was for just that day, and I said it was for everyday. He was happy to hear that.
Lemonade is given to students who are lactose intolerant. I told Sarah that he isn't lactose intolerant but that he has narrow nasal membranes and milk isn't the best choice for him. She gladly accommodated him. I know it's a small thing but it makes a big difference to Evan. I could have called her, but I wanted to work this out in person. We interact with people through e-mails, text messages and phone calls. It was real and human.
Adam and I met with his Journalism teacher yesterday after school. He told me that Adam won't fail the class but he needs to complete his edited drafts. It was a good meeting, the three of us sat down face to face and talked about Adam's work and progress in Journalism. I held Adam's submitted articles in my hand and looked at some of the editing comments. I agreed with the editing comments I read. I was glad to have a meeting with him. Conferences were such a disaster for us that we are working harder than normal to keep tabs on Adam's assignments.
Our meeting was at 3 and I was a little late. I went to the wrong building first. Adam rode with me when I picked up Nathan at Lakeshore. We went to Speedway and got our snacks to watch eat while watching "The Soup." We drove to Dave and Paula's house and let Bob out and fed him snacks--Paula sent a text message to Lori's phone asking Nathan to do so.
I asked Nathan to say something funny. He replied, "Airline food." It isn't as funny as humour blog that has vanished, but it is Nathan's interpretation of Jerry Seinfeld.
Friday, February 6, 2009
I don't know if it's the cold winter days or just pure laziness, but on Fridays, my day off work I hardly do anything at all and it is driving my wife crazy. I know she is angry at me for not doing much, and that money is really tight right now. I am not working any overtime. Today she told me that we might have to stop cable and/or internet. But there is no way she would consider stopping her $50 a month cell phone service. Either one of us is going to have to take a second job or she gets a full-time job. Overtime has been discontinued at my work, and considering the fact that I work in automotive, the fact that I am working at all is quite astonishing to me, indeed.
Anyway, I overslept this morning and had to drive the older two to school. Evan's expression on his face when his bus pulled up infront of our house was priceless. He started to change his clothes quickly and then he said, "you didn't get me up in time." He was right and I was already dressed. I walked out his bus and told his bus driver that Adam and Evan weren't ready at all. I did ask her what time she got them to school--Adam at 7:30 Evan 7:40. I was six minutes behind their usual time, but they weren't late.
I drove the boys to school in Lori's car, because all week long the Blazer's breaks have been hard to operate. It took all my strength in my right leg to press on the peddle. I got home, slightly delayed by a garbage truck that was blocking traffic, woke Nathan up and began the battle for comfortable clothes. The pants I picked out for him were too tight and the shirt was unconfortable. The sweat pants were good but the shirt had buttons. The third shirt has a zipper and isn't comfortable when it is zipped up all the way.
"Don't zip it all the way" I said.
"I have to." Nathan said. "It's my way."
I replied, "Change your way and you can wear that shirt."
"Nope, I"m not doing it."
Who does he think he is, George Herbert Walker Bush. perhaps? Well the young president-in-training wanted T-O-A-S-T for breakfast and was upset that I did not provide him with a large glass of orange juice and gave him a regular sized juice glass. He drinks too much orange juice. I want him to continue to drink it because I think it has really made him healthy. He drank his juice, ate half of his peanut butter toast--yes peanut butter, because we are choosy and we choose JIFF, which has not been recalled.
JIFF peanut butter was originally made by Proctor and Gamble who later sold it to Smucker's. Smucker's has maintained the quality of JIFF but has added new varieties under the JIFF label. Our future president, Nathan, did get dressed in a shirt he chose and then ate. We left home at 8:35 and not 8:30 because I read his lips and knew he was missing a glove, just as I was ready to back out of the garage. I went inside the house and got him another pair of gloves and drove him to school.
I came home, drank coffee and sat at the kitchen table with Lori. I paid the mortgage payment and updated our checking account. I then drove to Tuffy. A vacuum hose was disconnected which is why the Blazer idled high and the breaks were hard. Now, they are soft and the Blazer sometimes runs like it is missing. Well, it needs a tune up.
I picked Nathan up at school in Lori's car drove to Family Fare and bought a loaf of bread and Organic Romaine Hearts, which were on sale. I then filled Lori's car up with gas and drove home. While I was shopping, Nathan stayed in the car and ate his popcorn he bought at school. Fridays are popcorn Fridays.
I didn't do much at all, but for some reason I am really tired. We are going to Benton Harbor tomorrow to celebrate Adam's birthday on his birthday.
Anyway, I overslept this morning and had to drive the older two to school. Evan's expression on his face when his bus pulled up infront of our house was priceless. He started to change his clothes quickly and then he said, "you didn't get me up in time." He was right and I was already dressed. I walked out his bus and told his bus driver that Adam and Evan weren't ready at all. I did ask her what time she got them to school--Adam at 7:30 Evan 7:40. I was six minutes behind their usual time, but they weren't late.
I drove the boys to school in Lori's car, because all week long the Blazer's breaks have been hard to operate. It took all my strength in my right leg to press on the peddle. I got home, slightly delayed by a garbage truck that was blocking traffic, woke Nathan up and began the battle for comfortable clothes. The pants I picked out for him were too tight and the shirt was unconfortable. The sweat pants were good but the shirt had buttons. The third shirt has a zipper and isn't comfortable when it is zipped up all the way.
"Don't zip it all the way" I said.
"I have to." Nathan said. "It's my way."
I replied, "Change your way and you can wear that shirt."
"Nope, I"m not doing it."
Who does he think he is, George Herbert Walker Bush. perhaps? Well the young president-in-training wanted T-O-A-S-T for breakfast and was upset that I did not provide him with a large glass of orange juice and gave him a regular sized juice glass. He drinks too much orange juice. I want him to continue to drink it because I think it has really made him healthy. He drank his juice, ate half of his peanut butter toast--yes peanut butter, because we are choosy and we choose JIFF, which has not been recalled.
JIFF peanut butter was originally made by Proctor and Gamble who later sold it to Smucker's. Smucker's has maintained the quality of JIFF but has added new varieties under the JIFF label. Our future president, Nathan, did get dressed in a shirt he chose and then ate. We left home at 8:35 and not 8:30 because I read his lips and knew he was missing a glove, just as I was ready to back out of the garage. I went inside the house and got him another pair of gloves and drove him to school.
I came home, drank coffee and sat at the kitchen table with Lori. I paid the mortgage payment and updated our checking account. I then drove to Tuffy. A vacuum hose was disconnected which is why the Blazer idled high and the breaks were hard. Now, they are soft and the Blazer sometimes runs like it is missing. Well, it needs a tune up.
I picked Nathan up at school in Lori's car drove to Family Fare and bought a loaf of bread and Organic Romaine Hearts, which were on sale. I then filled Lori's car up with gas and drove home. While I was shopping, Nathan stayed in the car and ate his popcorn he bought at school. Fridays are popcorn Fridays.
I didn't do much at all, but for some reason I am really tired. We are going to Benton Harbor tomorrow to celebrate Adam's birthday on his birthday.
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