Back in the Saddle Saturday

[Emptynester]

Good Morning all.

Grrrr for science project!!

Hooray for almost moved!! (I know what you mean about last load - we have many last loads at the lot in our sheds)

Cookies are OK, OKay. Not deprivation but moderation. I find if I have just a bit of what I'm craving, I don't go whole hog and stuff myself.

I slept so good in the bed. It has a very thin mattress so my hips got a bit sore from laying on my side, but it was good to do anyway. I had to sleep on my back in the chair. It is really chilly here this morning and, of course, the MH was much cooler than the house. DH dressed and undressed in the MH, but I put my jammies on in the house and walked back and forth that way. If the neighbors don't like it - pfftt! to them.

Today, my job is to clean up the bedroom so DH can work in there. He will do all the sawing ect, in the garage but put the pieces together in the bedroom. I also have to plan meals while we are at Q and stock the MH with that food.

[OKay]

Wondering if Harriet DD teacher is that rude to everyone or just students? The attitude bothers me more than the science project decision (although I think that is wrong too!) ((((Harriet DD))))

Cookie baking resumed for a couple of reasons. #1 was making the house smell goooooooood. IMHO that smell is a great way to welcome guest. #2 reason is part of the learning process we are going through to test if all foods can be enjoyed if proper portion size is used.

A bit silly but happy moments in the last 24 hours....
** LO has finally learned to get his elbow to his mouth before he sneezes/coughs. Much praise & celebration each time!!
** LO learned the color brown. He is now noticing all the things that are brown - walls, trees, bed sheets, etc, etc, etc
** Numbers & counting has "clicked" with LO. He now counts everything.....silverware as he dries and put away, chairs as he pushes them up to the table, etc

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

OKay, The counting reminds me of the little 4 year old in our lives. He's the youngest of the 3 boys (9,7,4) that we take care of from time to time. His dad was saying he loves to listen to the boys in church as they mutter under their breath. The eldest wouldn't sit with him but the middle child was muttering, "It isn't fair, It isn't fair" (I can't recall the injustice!) and the youngest was sitting there counting as high as he could, as fast as he could. "1,2,3,4,5,6........98,99,100!1,2,3,4,5,6........98,99,100!" But apparently he'd miss the 30s and 17 every time!

I've got the upstairs dusted and vacuumed. Have to go finish tidying (putting the bath mats back, putting away the laundry I took off the drying rack.) I've been checking the washer every 15 minutes and this cycle seems to be going fine. I decided I'd do a double rinse cycle this time so we'll see if the timer can handle that extra request. Dh is theorizing it is only the gears on the delicate cycle that are bust because we use it all the time.

He's feeling Mr. Handyman today and wonders if he can replace the timer himself. He's reupholstering the arms on my Nordic chair today because he wore through them after his operation years ago, sitting in them with his elbows resting on the arms while he typed on his computer. That operation was 5 years ago but he was using 'my' chair this season (I swapped the two out at some point so he didn't realize how badly you could feel the bolts through the Naugahyde) and decided he should do something about it.

Next challenge: finish tidying the upstairs and put away a few more Christmas odds and sods.

[Emptynester]

I've gone thru 3 big totes from Shed/garage and found things that have been lost for years. (Meat grinder, Weight Watchers lit., some work shirts, flannel sheets, and my dressy dresses.) A lot of things I thru out, sox with dead elastic, shorts that didn't fit, etc.) I have it down to 1/2 tote and the rest of the stuff put away in house or thrown.

One of the totes will go in MH under-bed storage as it is too tall for under new bed in the house. The other two will hold seasonal clothes under the bed in the new house.

I need to see the configuration of the totes under the house bed and will set them in the footprint as I want to store them.

TTFN

[helia]

Lost a post! Oh, well. Just wanted to add my indignation to that science teacher Harriet and dd are dealing with. That is so contrary to the treatment dd16 is receiving with her science fair project here. She called the director of the state level science fair on Thursday with questions. Her questions were treated very seriously and she herself was treated with such respect, I was duly impressed. Another committee member will be consulted and the director will get back to dd16 next week, which is after the due date yesterday, but that is OK. She told dd16 they won't get to reading registration forms immediately anyway. I hope she sticks by that! The director even sent dd16 a test email to make sure her address worked and was an acceptable way for getting ahold of her!

Alright, I should get going. I won't try to reproduce the post. We have small group tonight, a white elephant party, and I need to make a salad. I did finish my New Year letter this morning and am playing with some photos of family members' projects to incorporate.

[lucylee]

Oooohhhh.... grrrrrr.... (((Harriet's dd)))... (((Harriet)))... I think I would speak to the principal about this, Harriet. Well, first, maybe TRY to speak to teacher yourself, and then, if no satisfaction, take it to the next level. As a teacher, we always feel better when parents approach us first, before complaining to principal. But honestly, in this situation, this is only going to be a formality, I fear, b/c it certainly does not sound like this teacher is going to listen to ANYONE. * sheesh *

Sometimes I think I am too accommodating... too flexible... but oh my. I'm glad I don't generally get complaints about being like this teacher!!!
Really, I've become MORE accommodating as school standards have -- IMHO -- been lowered to give students second and third chances... and fourth and fifth and on and on... I feel that in the interest of becoming a "No Zero Policy" school, we have taken away the sense of responsibility we should be developing in students. If someone fails to turn in an assignment in my class now, I am supposed to assign that student after school detention, at which time he/she will do the assignment and receive no higher grade than a 70. In reality, although I did assign after school detention on quite a few occasions throughout the first semester, I NEVER received any make-up work from any of these students, and -- as far as I know -- they never received any additional punishment. So I have given up on this and will (quietly) figure out some other policy on my own to give them a 10 or 20, etc., before assigning after school detention.
Personally, my philosophy is, if someone is DETERMINED to fail, let him/her fail. In the real world, we don't usually have employers that allow us to do no work at all until some set time when we can show up and do 60% of the work. Oh my goodness... I'm really getting on a rant.
Anyway, I can almost guarantee you that in my school system, dd would get to do that project, and she would make a good grade on it. System-wide, it seems, we seem to have moved the teacher to the bottom of the pecking order, and the customer (parent/student) is always right. (Which is not always a good policy, but the customer should at least be HEARD. * sheesh * )

Oh well. Back in the saddle? Hmmm... where did I put that saddle? Do I even HAVE a saddle? Surely there is a (figurative) saddle around here somewhere.
IF I find the saddle, today's PODA will look like this:
[ ] laundry
[ ] take down Christmas decorations
[ ] help dmom w/whatever is going on out there

[Cowinkie]

Morning everyone...

I bake cookies all the time and then have to hid them from Sweetie. If I didn't they would be eaten in a flash. I also make small batches just in case he finds my stash

This will make Lucylee shiver....My DS left for Guadalajara, Mexico yesterday. He will be living with a family and attending a university there for the next 13 weeks. He will return the end of April and then will travel to Madrid, Spain for another 13 weeks where he will be a paid intern for a Spanish company. Before my DS left, he set me up with an international texting app on my phone and we had a great talk today.

Harriet...Never mind the science fair, the way the teacher talked to your daughter is TOTALLY unacceptable. Period!!! I would personally talk to the principal. If this teacher is addressing your daughter this way, you can be sure she is doing the same to other students. My concern is if the teacher talked to your daughter in the manner that she did, it might continue to happen for the rest of the year. Like to hear what Lucylee has to say.

I am doing my normal Saturday routine and looking forward to my evening with Norma and her DH. We always have such a great time together. Gotta run..........cya'll later.

[Cowinkie]

LOL Lucylee....I didn't know you were writing at the same time as me. Great minds think alike

[lucylee]

I am s2s.
I do NOT know where that saddle might be. And oh my goodness I do NOT want to take on the chore of taking down Christmas decorations... but I know I will feel soooo soooo much better when everything is put back in the closet where it belongs.
* sigh * I just need to get STARTED. 15 minutes. I will see what I can do in 15 minutes. 15 minutes is magic, right?

LOL, Cowinkie! You are right -- great minds think alike!

[Cowinkie]

You go girl....you can do it