Merry Christmas to me

Sure it's a little early. A month early to be exact.
On November 25th, ZD and I signed the papers on my brand new van!

Oh, I love it! I love, love, love, love, love it! Even ZD loves the van. We ride around in it just grinning at what a great van it is.

Every day I find another little thing that makes it such an awesome ride.
Today, I discovered that the windshield wipers slow down when you stop and then speed back up when you start driving again. Now that may not mean anything to you, but I find that brilliant design.
Yesterday, I learned that when you put the van in reverse, the read wiper starts up even if you don't have it on. How stinking cool is that!
I also discovered that those heated seats are the most decadent thing in the world. I wish all my seats were heated. I want a heated couch and heated kitchen chairs, and heated bed.
I can listen to Fox news in the van! ZD is psyched about that. I feel so spoiled.

Y'all should come over and we'll go for a ride.

almost ready, but not quite.

My sweet, darling, and totally self-less sister came over to watch the boys while ZD and I went out. (2 of the boys are sick, hence the self-less part.)

We spent a lovely evening together......... at the car dealership.

It looks like I might get a new van after all. I'm giddy with anticipation but I don't really want to get my hopes up just in case something happens.

I'd be fine with that if it happens. My old van is only 8 years old and it hasn't even hit 100K miles yet. It still looks good even though the inside is currently (ashamedly) trashed. And it has been behaving so I have to praise it when due.

So we looked at new fancy schmancy vans. Fancy schmancy vans that cost about the same as my old one did 8 years ago. Man, we got ripped off!

The van I test drove is absolutely decadent.
power side doors and rear hatch door.
DVD entertainment center with wire less head phones and 6 disc CD player
XM radio and a dock for my ipod
a rear camera for backing up. (Holey smokes!)
leather seats for 8 (woohoo) that slide and come out and do all kinds of things I didn't know van seats could do.
second row windows that roll down and have little sun screens to protect my light sensitive boys.
a plug for the boys video games. They can play game cube in the van on trips!
all kinds of little secret compartments for legos, Star Wars figures and baseball gear.
heated front seats
eleventy-billion cup holders
and the cherry on top..... a moon roof.

OMG!!!!! A MOON ROOF!

It's so stinking wonderful that I can't imagine taking it home with me. It has everything I could dream of and they have the color I want for exterior and interior.

My dream car with no concessions at all in any way. No "well, it's a good enough color." Or "I don't mind this interior." Or "I guess this feature is a bit excessive we could save money without it."

Nope.

Now, I just have to let myself deserve it.
Oh, and I also have to check out the other dealership to see if I like the other van better.

I don't know when I got so fickle.

They are fine

I just got a phone call from ZD and Matthew. They are on their way home albeit through a route that was not on their travel plans.
Matthew started the conversation, "Hi Mom. Dad thinks we're lost." Turns out they were. I, however, who spent many a weekend in my Grandmother's station wagon wandering around a four state area, knew exactly where they were.

I relayed directions to ZD so he could relax a bit. (I guess this seals the deal for the new van I want. It has voice activate GPS mapping.) They will be home in a hour or so.
Now I can relax.

Worried sick....literally

ZD and Matthew are camping this weekend at a Webelos-ree. If this was normal November weather, they would be sitting pretty.

But it's not.

We are having record cold this week. For those of you in colder areas, lows in the 20's is no big deal. But our normal lows for November are in the 50's. February might get in the 20's but we don't go outside in February other than the amount of time it takes to go from building to car and back again.

We certainly don't go camping.

But that's where they are....camping beside a lake in a park north (colder) of where we live. I'm sure the temps were around 20 degrees last night. And the winds are 10 to 15 mph.

They have a propane heater, but you can't run that while you are sleeping. They have sleeping bags and tons of blankets including old wool Army blankets. They also have jackets, coats, hats, and gloves.
What they don't have is cell phone coverage, so I haven't heard from them today. I know they got there safely and were doing fine at 7:30 pm.

I have been immobilized with worry today. My only comfort is that if they had died of hypothermia or carbon monoxide poisoning....someone would have certainly called me by now.

So ZD must be taking good care of our little "Eeyore" son and they are just too busy earning those 7 Webelos activity badges to get somewhere with cell phone coverage.

Right?

cold feet, cold hands, warm hearts

ZD and I are cold weather wimps.
Really.
We both hail from deep in the South where the coldest nights are in the high 20's. And believe me...we are miserable for both nights.

I am the worse of the two of us. I can't seem to keep my extremities warm, my feet especially. ZD teases that I could get a job at Gitmo. Forget water boarding. All I'd have to do is put my ice cold dogs on them and those folks would confess to anything.
Woolen knitted socks are my dearest friends.

This evening the current temperature is 43 and ZD and I are fretting because he just let the fire burn out so we could go to bed. I know the people who live near here are thinking, "You had a fire going today? It was barely chilly."
Why yes we did. My oldest boy made the fire about 7 am and we kept it going all day long. It was so nice and warm in the house, that I actually went barefoot.

Thankfully, we have access to lots of free firewood. MIL had a clear cut on a few dozen acres. There are lots of little leftover trees that will make great firewood. ZD and the boys will spend Thanksgiving weekend cutting and splitting several cords of firewood.
I'm sure glad of that. My feet will be quite thankful.

Now I just need a fireplace insert like our first house and I will be the happiest warm footed gal in the state.

Sim City

My 10-year-old just walked in to tell me about his current game on Sim City.
I tried my very best to maintain a straight face until he left the room. The basic conversation was this:
"I built this city with lots of parks and nice stores. Then all these robbers and hippies showed up. The robbers stole things and the hippies wouldn't let anybody else use the park. Everybody in the city was mad at me and complaining about getting robbed all the time and the hippies using everything up. So I built some SWAT team buildings ant they took care of the robbers and hippies.
Now all my people are happy. Those hippies are worse than hobos."

I guess we should all keep a look out for the robbers and hippies.

A situation in which the ants win.

ZD comes in the kitchen to talk to me:
"We may have to get you a new car soon."
That perked me up, "Really?" Linda Blair, my oddly behaving van, is close to 8 years old. She looks good even though she's been hit three times. And currently, she's behaving except for one door that won't unlock. (No reason why. It just won't.)

"Yeah, with the economy the way it is....we should get a good price. Plus since we have good credit and actually have money for a down payment, we'll get a good interest rate too."
Not to mention that ZD has a pretty secure job. Wow, I wasn't expecting a new car right now. We tend to drive our vehicles until the break down permanently. And I'm not going to get my hopes up, just in case ZD comes to his senses.

"But it will have to be your Christmas present. You're not getting a new car and a PDA."
I guess I'll have to make do with my paper calendar. I'm not holding my breath though. If I end up with the PDA, I'll still be thrilled.

Some days, it's good to be an ant.

BWa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha

I am wolf den leader.
I have 17 wolf cubs.

That's 17 second graders!

Thankfully, I have an incredible assistant den leader and 15 sets of the most wonderful parents in the scouting community.

And I have 17 great little wolf cubs who make it all worth it.

But I can't be happy with that. Nooooooooo

Guess what I may be doing come February.

There's a large chance that I won't be a den leader anymore. I'm looking into being Cubmaster.

Yeah.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha (wipes tears)

Time and Math

So we've made it through the first quarter of the school year and I thought I'd post a little about what's bugging me so far.

First of all, I'm not happy with my schedule. Things are just too busy for me. Mondays are science classes and tutoring. (And soon, Boy Scouts) Tuesdays are speech at school and then tutoring another child after school. Wednesday is two hours of OT and another hour of tutoring. Thursdays are speech at school and the PE for the boys. Fridays, thank heaven, are free. Saturdays are scouts, sports, and whatever else comes up.
I wish I could drop all the tutoring but two of the afternoon are family/close friend obligations. Science classes, PE, scouts, and sports all benefit the boys so I feel a need to continue those. Speech and OT are non-negotiable.
Then add in seasonal sports practices, parties, social events, play practice, camp outs, family obligations, and my hospital board position.
But I guess we'd be running around as much or more if the boys were in school and I worked. So i should not complain.
Still.....I'm homebody at heart.

As far as school goes, everything is unchanged with the exception of my oldest math program. I had planned to use Lial's math program and Jacob's Algebra.
But I hate the Lial's Basic College Math book. Really hate it. Words can not express the loathing I feel towards this book.
So he's using Dolicani pre-algebra now and both of us enjoy it. I went ahead and bought the Algebra 1 and 2 texts and TE's. Surprisingly enough, I used that same Algebra 1 text when I was in 8th grade.

Hmm...... I had a great text book. Looking at it now, I see the level of math required and that it is a very intensive program. I had the Teacher of the Year for SC as my instructor. I worked with her as an adult, so I know she is serious about math education and is an excellent instructor.

However, even with a great teacher and a great textbook....I really struggled through algebra 1 and subsequently every other math with the exception of geometry.
I want better for my sons. I want them to understand math. I want them to feel confident in their abilities.
I want them to be better than me.

Which is going to be hard when I'm teaching out of the same books that I barely squeaked through as a student. (In my household a "C" was unacceptable. In high school, I got 5 "C's" and "B" one quarter and I seriously considered running away. I cried all day, scared to death to go home. So when I say "squeaked" I mean I got a "B" or "C" for the year.)

Thankfully, I have four incredibly math minded boys, the TE's, a lot more math experience, and ZD to encourage me. (And the fact that ZD uses all that complicated math on a daily basis.)

"I always thought my math teachers were smart," he told me when the package of books arrived. "It turns out they just had all the answers."

Well, at least it's over.

I voted yesterday without having to wait at all. In fact, when I walked in, ever poll worker looked up expectantly. One even asked, "Did you bring the crowd with you?"
I had not.

I'm glad it's over even though I'm not happy with the results. Oddly enough, I'm not depressed like I was after Pres. Clinton's election. I guess I'm better prepared.
And maybe I'm curious to see what happens when you give people exactly what they asked for.
In my head, I liken it to my grandmother who was finally annoyed to frustration by my repeated requests to eat the apples from our tree, even though they weren't ripe.

"Go ahead, child. Eat all the little green apples that you'd like."

I hope our country fares better than I did.

Whatever you call it

I was thinking about our pet names for each other and all the lovey-dovey things that get said around here.
ZD and I are very verbal about our love for the boys and each other. So are both sides of our family.

I call the boys, "Monkeys." It started when I would sing "Four little monkeys jumping on the bed."

ZD calls the boys "Pumpkin" or "Pudding." Both names are endearing to me because his father called him Pudding and my father called me Pumpkin.

Zd calls me "Hun" which is short for Honey and not an implication that I am a 5th century barbarian.

I call him "Love." Which suits him because I know he'll always love me and there nothing I can do to mess that up.

But most touching to us was Andrew's 5th word ever...."bo-bas." When he couldn't say much else, he would call for Mama, Dada, and bo-bas.