A Very Busy Weekend
Dec. 12th, 2006 11:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liralenBoth John and I were so tired, last night, we went to sleep as soon as I could finally get my head to stop spinning.
Wow. It's amazing to be this busy during time off.
Saturday was a nice series of things. I had a huge amount of Web things to deal with in the morning, including ordering nearly half our Christmas presents and the cool yarn from the sale I linked earlier. There area few people getting in on the deal, so it's been fun.
Then from 10-2, our church was babysitting so that parents could run around and get stuff for the kids. So John and I did a marathon shopping run. Luckily, it wasn't all that busy, yet, as most folks wait until closer to D-Day, but we did a huge haul of stuff and nearly a dozen different stops including a bunch up and down the Pearl Street Mall.
One stop in particular is notable. For lunch, John had found a little place called 8Island Cafe, which is a Hawaiian lunch counter, complete with macaroni salad on every plate. They even had chicken long rice and salt salmon and the usual teriyaki and katsu and curry and... very, very delicious food. I stuff myself with the short ribs, brown rice, and chicken long rice. I was very happy with my meal. John had the teriyaki plate with steak, chicken, and mahi mahi. Hee. With a wasabi ginger sauce that was very tangy. For just $8 it was a great meal. It's new in Boulder, but I now know that we'll likely be eating there more often. Yum.
When we got Jet, he was pretty tired and pretty happy, and fell asleep in his seat a bare two miles from the church. He was pretty tuckered out, and I carried him into the house and the two of us dozed in the rocking chair for a while. A Super Vanilla milk later, he was awake and ready to eat some dinner/lunch, and then we headed into Longmont proper to be a part of the Christmas Parade.
I think the ENTIRE town is either in the parade or sitting along the sides of the street watching it. We hiked the mile in from the parking we could find, and then settled our folding chairs on the side of the street and watched from 5-6. It was a good hour long, with all kinds of floats pulled by everything from horses and ancient tractors to full-blown semis who blew their horns if there weren't horses right in front of them. We saw neighbors, friends, co-workers, and other volunteers in the parade and they usually came over to say hi. *grin* Jet got a whole bag of candy from the folks throwing the stuff, and he also got pencils, cheese-shaped erasers, glow-sticks, and even some ornaments from Murdoch's the local tack and feed store. *laughter*
We like the baby chicks and ducks at Murdock's, we keep thinking about getting some.
We then walked the whole mile back. I had complained most of the way out, but was happier on the way back to the car, and we went home, had some dinner as it was only 6:30 and Jet and John played until Jet announced that he was tired and wanted to go to bed.
Sunday was just as busy. We had church in the morning, with John helping with the Gift Tree and lots of people going, "Oh! I forgot my present, can I bring it tomorrow?" We really have until next weekend, so it was okay.
Then we went home, tried to eat some lunch, and I was falling asleep in my lunch, so John took Jet off to Macy's birthday party, and I went and took a nap. I felt kind of bad about doing it as I know I can sleep worse if I do that, but I went right to sleep for a full hour, woke up and felt MUCH better.
Jet went over to play at Macy and Tanner's after the party as they had a pinata, and there's not much that can compete with that. I did a ton more on the computer, and then worked a little on some knitting stuff. Then I packed for my trip on Wednesday, as there was a lot to remember.
Monday was no better. *grin*
I had a list of half a dozen errands, and then Jet woke up and we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, which was actually very cool as I was able to have some coffee and cinnamon rolls and cartoons as a start to the day. We then played some, and Jet did his homework while sitting in my lap, as he's now reading, and it's easier if he's in my lap and I don't say a word as he's sounding everything out. I know that when I pop in with what it's supposed to be he kind of gives up, so I try not to say anything and just make encouraging noises until he's gone through it himself a couple of time. When he asks me for help, I'll do the letter sounds for him, but that's about all he really needs. He did his sight words in a flash with the flash cards, which was very cool, and then we did a bunch of flash cards for all the alphabet sounds. So he did a fair amount of work.
I started all our laundry while he was doing that as well.
He as also "adjusting" himself a lot. He was complaining a bit about feeling like he has to pee a lot. He's getting bigger, and we finally figured out that, maybe, his size 4 underwear was a bit... tight for someone nearly six. So he and I went off to Target to get him some Sponge Bob and Star Wars underwear. I wish I could get Star Wars underwear, and Jet loved that Bob and Patrick were kicking each others butt on HIS butt. *giggles*
We then went to Noodles and Co. and got our meal within nearly a minute of ordering it and we were out of there in, maybe fifteen minutes! Meep. I even had the slow-braised beef with my Mushroom Stroganoff, and Jet had his usual buttered noodles with seasoning and parm. I was pretty impressed.
But we were way too early for his school. So we went home and played Polar Express for half an hour and then I took him to school.
Then I ran BACK to Target to exchange some presents for Jet as his wish list hadn't been coordinated as closely as it should have been. I ran to the library to make some copies of the Phoenix sweater color-work as I want to start at least charting the bottom couple of inches Meg said I should add. *grin* And then I drove by the Longmont post office and saw cars lined up out of the parking lot. Meep. So I went to the mini-post office in the local Mall.
It's pretty cute and in a candy shop. It has some of the pack-it-yourself items on the side, and the folks there are very nice. I had to kind of manuver my stuff through the candy displays and I'll admit that I dislike bringing Jet there, though he tends towards the toys instead of the candy. And there was no one in line! I was astonished. So I mailed my packages and I was done! Woohoo!
Then I ran back home for the scarf I'd knitted from yarn Jet had picked, and took my camera, too, and went back to school for the 2:30 Gingerbread House Building Party Mrs. Bower had put together for the kids.
Now I have a taste of what![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
silkiemom's days are like, and I admire her all the more. Whooooie.
So I had the fun of listening to a bunch of littles singing about Five Little Latkas Cooking In A Pan... and about Jolly Old St. Nick. *grin* Then we all got down to the sticky business of building little houses from graham crackers on milk cartons. It was fun. Lots of icing was involved along with tons of candy and graham crackers. I liked that a little two-year-old who was obviously visiting with Big Sis was happily cramming as much of the decorations as he could into his mouth. How was he supposed to know he's supposed to build with it? *grin*
Jet was far more restrained and we happily built what he wanted to build. The parents next to us kept telling their child, "Well, you can't eat it unless you put it on the house, so put as much candy as you can on the house." *sigh* The other parents were really into building the house and the grounds as well, so they had a gorgeous fence of all kinds of gum drops, a pretzel path to the front door, a beautifully decorated ice cream cone tree... etc.
Jet happily put a ribbon candy for smoke from the chimney. We got good coverage with the crackers and glue frosting from a can. Jet put butterscotch chips up where I'd spackled the corners together with icing. He had a gingerbread man door with a big orange fruit gem as a cornice. We covered one side with icing and sprinkles, and just left the other two sides when Mrs. Bower announced that we were going to be decorating for just another ten minutes, but that parents were welcome to take their children home early.
Jet got up at that, and said, "I have to wash my hands." And when he had, "Can we go now, Mom?"
We visited a few other kids and their houses, and then we went home. I carried it out to the car, and after Jet got buckled in, he got it on his lap and we took it carefully home so that Dad could see it before Jet got to eat any of it.
So we did.
Then we played a bit more Polar Express and John got home in time for me to get to my massage on time. I needed it and it was great to do.
Then I came home to the scent of Shepherd's Pie. John had pulled it from the freezer, and it was hot and delicious and great against the cold. Jet had a salad for dinner and we offered him some of the "pie", but he didn't really want it. But he did eat a Clementine and then asked how much of his house he could eat. I said Three Pieces, as it seemed few enough. He also offered John and I our three pieces, and we each just took one. It was nice of him to share! I was glad of that.
Then John ran off to class, and Jet and I played more Polar Express until it was bed time. We ended in the sorting chutes, which Jet enjoys a lot, so that was a good thing after all the other scarier bits.
He was quite tired, and fell asleep while I read.
Then, of course, I ran around like mad trying to clean up the parts of the house I'm responsible for as on the same morning I'm flying out, the cleaners are coming to clean up the house. So I need to pick things up and get them out of their way before they get here. Then I kept packing some more, and remembered that I'd bought the Hot Shot for traveling with, so I packed that up as well so that I can have sea level tea when I'm in San Jose. Yay!
John got home from class, and let me run around like mad. I also had to do presents for my folks, get some more liquids into me as the massage always leaves me sore if I'm not careful about that. And and and...
*sigh*
I did go to sleep last night. And I slept well, as with good planning, there really wasn't anything left for me to worry about. Especially with a pad and pen by my bed, it's all going on the paper, not staying in my head. *sigh*
Wow. It's amazing to be this busy during time off.
Saturday was a nice series of things. I had a huge amount of Web things to deal with in the morning, including ordering nearly half our Christmas presents and the cool yarn from the sale I linked earlier. There area few people getting in on the deal, so it's been fun.
Then from 10-2, our church was babysitting so that parents could run around and get stuff for the kids. So John and I did a marathon shopping run. Luckily, it wasn't all that busy, yet, as most folks wait until closer to D-Day, but we did a huge haul of stuff and nearly a dozen different stops including a bunch up and down the Pearl Street Mall.
One stop in particular is notable. For lunch, John had found a little place called 8Island Cafe, which is a Hawaiian lunch counter, complete with macaroni salad on every plate. They even had chicken long rice and salt salmon and the usual teriyaki and katsu and curry and... very, very delicious food. I stuff myself with the short ribs, brown rice, and chicken long rice. I was very happy with my meal. John had the teriyaki plate with steak, chicken, and mahi mahi. Hee. With a wasabi ginger sauce that was very tangy. For just $8 it was a great meal. It's new in Boulder, but I now know that we'll likely be eating there more often. Yum.
When we got Jet, he was pretty tired and pretty happy, and fell asleep in his seat a bare two miles from the church. He was pretty tuckered out, and I carried him into the house and the two of us dozed in the rocking chair for a while. A Super Vanilla milk later, he was awake and ready to eat some dinner/lunch, and then we headed into Longmont proper to be a part of the Christmas Parade.
I think the ENTIRE town is either in the parade or sitting along the sides of the street watching it. We hiked the mile in from the parking we could find, and then settled our folding chairs on the side of the street and watched from 5-6. It was a good hour long, with all kinds of floats pulled by everything from horses and ancient tractors to full-blown semis who blew their horns if there weren't horses right in front of them. We saw neighbors, friends, co-workers, and other volunteers in the parade and they usually came over to say hi. *grin* Jet got a whole bag of candy from the folks throwing the stuff, and he also got pencils, cheese-shaped erasers, glow-sticks, and even some ornaments from Murdoch's the local tack and feed store. *laughter*
We like the baby chicks and ducks at Murdock's, we keep thinking about getting some.
We then walked the whole mile back. I had complained most of the way out, but was happier on the way back to the car, and we went home, had some dinner as it was only 6:30 and Jet and John played until Jet announced that he was tired and wanted to go to bed.
Sunday was just as busy. We had church in the morning, with John helping with the Gift Tree and lots of people going, "Oh! I forgot my present, can I bring it tomorrow?" We really have until next weekend, so it was okay.
Then we went home, tried to eat some lunch, and I was falling asleep in my lunch, so John took Jet off to Macy's birthday party, and I went and took a nap. I felt kind of bad about doing it as I know I can sleep worse if I do that, but I went right to sleep for a full hour, woke up and felt MUCH better.
Jet went over to play at Macy and Tanner's after the party as they had a pinata, and there's not much that can compete with that. I did a ton more on the computer, and then worked a little on some knitting stuff. Then I packed for my trip on Wednesday, as there was a lot to remember.
Monday was no better. *grin*
I had a list of half a dozen errands, and then Jet woke up and we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, which was actually very cool as I was able to have some coffee and cinnamon rolls and cartoons as a start to the day. We then played some, and Jet did his homework while sitting in my lap, as he's now reading, and it's easier if he's in my lap and I don't say a word as he's sounding everything out. I know that when I pop in with what it's supposed to be he kind of gives up, so I try not to say anything and just make encouraging noises until he's gone through it himself a couple of time. When he asks me for help, I'll do the letter sounds for him, but that's about all he really needs. He did his sight words in a flash with the flash cards, which was very cool, and then we did a bunch of flash cards for all the alphabet sounds. So he did a fair amount of work.
I started all our laundry while he was doing that as well.
He as also "adjusting" himself a lot. He was complaining a bit about feeling like he has to pee a lot. He's getting bigger, and we finally figured out that, maybe, his size 4 underwear was a bit... tight for someone nearly six. So he and I went off to Target to get him some Sponge Bob and Star Wars underwear. I wish I could get Star Wars underwear, and Jet loved that Bob and Patrick were kicking each others butt on HIS butt. *giggles*
We then went to Noodles and Co. and got our meal within nearly a minute of ordering it and we were out of there in, maybe fifteen minutes! Meep. I even had the slow-braised beef with my Mushroom Stroganoff, and Jet had his usual buttered noodles with seasoning and parm. I was pretty impressed.
But we were way too early for his school. So we went home and played Polar Express for half an hour and then I took him to school.
Then I ran BACK to Target to exchange some presents for Jet as his wish list hadn't been coordinated as closely as it should have been. I ran to the library to make some copies of the Phoenix sweater color-work as I want to start at least charting the bottom couple of inches Meg said I should add. *grin* And then I drove by the Longmont post office and saw cars lined up out of the parking lot. Meep. So I went to the mini-post office in the local Mall.
It's pretty cute and in a candy shop. It has some of the pack-it-yourself items on the side, and the folks there are very nice. I had to kind of manuver my stuff through the candy displays and I'll admit that I dislike bringing Jet there, though he tends towards the toys instead of the candy. And there was no one in line! I was astonished. So I mailed my packages and I was done! Woohoo!
Then I ran back home for the scarf I'd knitted from yarn Jet had picked, and took my camera, too, and went back to school for the 2:30 Gingerbread House Building Party Mrs. Bower had put together for the kids.
Now I have a taste of what
silkiemom's days are like, and I admire her all the more. Whooooie.So I had the fun of listening to a bunch of littles singing about Five Little Latkas Cooking In A Pan... and about Jolly Old St. Nick. *grin* Then we all got down to the sticky business of building little houses from graham crackers on milk cartons. It was fun. Lots of icing was involved along with tons of candy and graham crackers. I liked that a little two-year-old who was obviously visiting with Big Sis was happily cramming as much of the decorations as he could into his mouth. How was he supposed to know he's supposed to build with it? *grin*
Jet was far more restrained and we happily built what he wanted to build. The parents next to us kept telling their child, "Well, you can't eat it unless you put it on the house, so put as much candy as you can on the house." *sigh* The other parents were really into building the house and the grounds as well, so they had a gorgeous fence of all kinds of gum drops, a pretzel path to the front door, a beautifully decorated ice cream cone tree... etc.
Jet happily put a ribbon candy for smoke from the chimney. We got good coverage with the crackers and glue frosting from a can. Jet put butterscotch chips up where I'd spackled the corners together with icing. He had a gingerbread man door with a big orange fruit gem as a cornice. We covered one side with icing and sprinkles, and just left the other two sides when Mrs. Bower announced that we were going to be decorating for just another ten minutes, but that parents were welcome to take their children home early.
Jet got up at that, and said, "I have to wash my hands." And when he had, "Can we go now, Mom?"
We visited a few other kids and their houses, and then we went home. I carried it out to the car, and after Jet got buckled in, he got it on his lap and we took it carefully home so that Dad could see it before Jet got to eat any of it.
So we did.
Then we played a bit more Polar Express and John got home in time for me to get to my massage on time. I needed it and it was great to do.
Then I came home to the scent of Shepherd's Pie. John had pulled it from the freezer, and it was hot and delicious and great against the cold. Jet had a salad for dinner and we offered him some of the "pie", but he didn't really want it. But he did eat a Clementine and then asked how much of his house he could eat. I said Three Pieces, as it seemed few enough. He also offered John and I our three pieces, and we each just took one. It was nice of him to share! I was glad of that.
Then John ran off to class, and Jet and I played more Polar Express until it was bed time. We ended in the sorting chutes, which Jet enjoys a lot, so that was a good thing after all the other scarier bits.
He was quite tired, and fell asleep while I read.
Then, of course, I ran around like mad trying to clean up the parts of the house I'm responsible for as on the same morning I'm flying out, the cleaners are coming to clean up the house. So I need to pick things up and get them out of their way before they get here. Then I kept packing some more, and remembered that I'd bought the Hot Shot for traveling with, so I packed that up as well so that I can have sea level tea when I'm in San Jose. Yay!
John got home from class, and let me run around like mad. I also had to do presents for my folks, get some more liquids into me as the massage always leaves me sore if I'm not careful about that. And and and...
*sigh*
I did go to sleep last night. And I slept well, as with good planning, there really wasn't anything left for me to worry about. Especially with a pad and pen by my bed, it's all going on the paper, not staying in my head. *sigh*
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no subject
Date: 2006-12-12 08:49 pm (UTC)It takes space to raise poultry, and they're also prey animals for coyotes and weasels, and they can't really share your living space so in winter, their living quarters have to be constantly heated; their water will tend to freeze overnight and have to be replaced (and you'll get big chunks of ice in the yard) and there IS no 'chicken and duck boarding' service.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-12 10:42 pm (UTC)But thank you for being so thorough!
no subject
Date: 2006-12-12 11:46 pm (UTC)In -30 weather, trudging out through drifting snow about 5 feet deep (it was a weird 2-4 years, and included the aftermath of the columbus day storm) to take out 10 gallon watering jugs, dump the contents out onto the lawn, refill with hot water, and then get it back out to the thirsty chickens.
My other stepbrother and stepsister would go through and find the eggs. The only heat in the building came from four 100 watt bulbs, and it wasn't terribly well insulated, so sometimes the eggs would be frozen. The chickens, sullen, huddled together for warmth and glared at us until the food and water came out.
Thus, when people talked about taking home a pretty, dyed-feather chick, I always thought about what they'd do with it once it got bigger.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-13 02:02 am (UTC)You will always have plenty to keep you busy. All Errands All The Time! I had a day like that today, too. One of the things I really like about not working is that I get to go to all the kids' events. All the school plays, gymnastics shows, class puppet show, Harvest parties, Winter parties, end-of-school parties, mini-graduations, whatever. Except when they overlap with each other. One more reason to be room parent for multiple kids - I get more say in scheduling the parties at non-conflicting times. :)