Happy 49th Anniversary to my Mom and Dad! You have given us everything we've ever needed and wanted. You are the best parents I could ever ask for, and I want you to know that we love you with all of our hearts and souls, forever and ever! Only one more year to hit the big Golden Anniversary! Just keep doing what you're doing! You're the best!
Love,
Stacy
Friday, February 4, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Check marks
I learned a very important thing Monday. Check marks do not mean the same thing here as what I am used to everywhere else I've lived!
Each day the kids bring home planners. Basically it's a spiral bound calendar that is a communication tool for the parents, teachers and students. The kids write down assignments or important things that are happening at school. It's a neat thing. We used them in Bismarck too, but not until they enter 3rd grade. So I like that Emma now has a planner as well. Each day they are supposed to bring them home from school and the parents are to sign it and send it back. Showing that you have read the information and know what's going on. There's no excuse (if it's written in the planner) for not knowing about assignments or what's going on at school.
Monday when Gage gave me his planner, I saw a note written by Gage in the planner for that day to have math paper signed, then return to school. So, I found some papers in Gage's planner and nearly had a heart attack when I saw Gage's math paper! EVERY PROBLEM was marked wrong! Then, at the top of the paper, it said, "Way to go!" I thought, what kind of smartass writes "Way to go!" on the top of a paper that has everything checked wrong!? Upon further inspection, I realized that checkmarks actually mean the problem is correct. WHEW! An "X" means it's wrong. That doesn't seem right? Maybe they just like to waste red ink? I don't know, but that is just plain weird. I have seen teachers use a "C" before, just to signify that they looked at the work and it was correct. However, they just put one big "C" at the top of the paper typically, not a "C" on every problem! It really only makes it more difficult to find the problems that are wrong. You have to look through every problem to find either the check or the x. Just a waste of red ink in my opinion. BUT......they didn't ask me, did they?
Another thing I am seeing is that the kids do not bring papers home. I have yet to see a paper of Emma's. I guess I do see little 1/3 sheets of paper with math problems on it from Emma, but that has been it. I also saw Gage's one math paper, which about gave me a coronary. They have spelling tests every week and I haven't seen any of Emma's, and I've only seen one of Gage's, and that's only because I threw a little fit about not seeing these papers. Gage brought one home and said he had to take it back. I wasn't very happy when I saw it either. Gage is an awesome speller. (Takes after his mother! ;-)) He rarely misses a word. We typically only go over the words once, and he knows them, so I don't really worry about quizzing him on spelling words each week. PLUS, when we got his first list of spelling words, we discovered that they are words he's already had before, so are very easy for him. When he did finally bring home that first graded spelling test, he missed 4 words. HUH?!?!? Well, he didn't actually miss the words, he just writes his cursive o's without the little loop at the top. They counted his wrong because he is supposed to have that loop at the top. Gage says that's how they learned to write it in cursive in Bismarck. He could have missed ALL of the words if they wanted to be difficult, since the spelling list was a list of long o words, but thankfully they didn't. The teacher just told Gage to be sure to put the loop on the o's. I haven't seen another spelling test come home, so I have no idea how he's doing. I'm not sure how they do things here, so I'm going to have to ask. I'm not sure why you would wait until Parent/Teacher conferences to show any of the school work. I mean, if there's a problem, isn't it a little late to be telling the parents?
I guess I'm going to have to do a little investigation work!
Each day the kids bring home planners. Basically it's a spiral bound calendar that is a communication tool for the parents, teachers and students. The kids write down assignments or important things that are happening at school. It's a neat thing. We used them in Bismarck too, but not until they enter 3rd grade. So I like that Emma now has a planner as well. Each day they are supposed to bring them home from school and the parents are to sign it and send it back. Showing that you have read the information and know what's going on. There's no excuse (if it's written in the planner) for not knowing about assignments or what's going on at school.
Monday when Gage gave me his planner, I saw a note written by Gage in the planner for that day to have math paper signed, then return to school. So, I found some papers in Gage's planner and nearly had a heart attack when I saw Gage's math paper! EVERY PROBLEM was marked wrong! Then, at the top of the paper, it said, "Way to go!" I thought, what kind of smartass writes "Way to go!" on the top of a paper that has everything checked wrong!? Upon further inspection, I realized that checkmarks actually mean the problem is correct. WHEW! An "X" means it's wrong. That doesn't seem right? Maybe they just like to waste red ink? I don't know, but that is just plain weird. I have seen teachers use a "C" before, just to signify that they looked at the work and it was correct. However, they just put one big "C" at the top of the paper typically, not a "C" on every problem! It really only makes it more difficult to find the problems that are wrong. You have to look through every problem to find either the check or the x. Just a waste of red ink in my opinion. BUT......they didn't ask me, did they?
Another thing I am seeing is that the kids do not bring papers home. I have yet to see a paper of Emma's. I guess I do see little 1/3 sheets of paper with math problems on it from Emma, but that has been it. I also saw Gage's one math paper, which about gave me a coronary. They have spelling tests every week and I haven't seen any of Emma's, and I've only seen one of Gage's, and that's only because I threw a little fit about not seeing these papers. Gage brought one home and said he had to take it back. I wasn't very happy when I saw it either. Gage is an awesome speller. (Takes after his mother! ;-)) He rarely misses a word. We typically only go over the words once, and he knows them, so I don't really worry about quizzing him on spelling words each week. PLUS, when we got his first list of spelling words, we discovered that they are words he's already had before, so are very easy for him. When he did finally bring home that first graded spelling test, he missed 4 words. HUH?!?!? Well, he didn't actually miss the words, he just writes his cursive o's without the little loop at the top. They counted his wrong because he is supposed to have that loop at the top. Gage says that's how they learned to write it in cursive in Bismarck. He could have missed ALL of the words if they wanted to be difficult, since the spelling list was a list of long o words, but thankfully they didn't. The teacher just told Gage to be sure to put the loop on the o's. I haven't seen another spelling test come home, so I have no idea how he's doing. I'm not sure how they do things here, so I'm going to have to ask. I'm not sure why you would wait until Parent/Teacher conferences to show any of the school work. I mean, if there's a problem, isn't it a little late to be telling the parents?
I guess I'm going to have to do a little investigation work!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Floors
I have never had laminate flooring before. The only place we have it in this house is the front entryway, hallway to the kitchen, and in the office. This is not good flooring for dogs. It is slick and there is no texture for them to get traction. Brie has been having troubles on this floor. It wasn't a problem until a couple of weeks ago. The guy who came to install our blinds arrived at our house just before Scott got home from getting his driver's license. (I was still at at the place getting my driver's license.) He rang the doorbell as Scott was driving into the driveway, so there was no one inside to holler at Brie for barking and tearing through the house to the front door. When Scott got to the house, he unlocked the door and came in with the blind installer (I had been calling him the "blind guy" but decided that might not be the best use of terms.) Anyway, when they came inside, Brie was in the doorway where the hall meets the kitchen. Scott tried to get her to come with him upstairs, but she wouldn't cross the doorway. At the time, he didn't know what had happened and was getting frustrated with her that she wouldn't come so he could put her in the bedroom upstairs so she wouldn't bother the man who was here to install our blinds. Scott ended up dragging her up the stairs. I didn't know any of this until much later in the day. The guy finished his job just before lunch time and I then went upstairs to let Brie out of the bedroom. I wasn't paying much attention at the time, but she went down the stairs and sat on the third step from the bottom for a little while, then went back upstairs. This isn't unusual for her as the steps were her favorite place when she was a puppy, and it didn't matter to her that she had outgrown the step and hangs over the edge when she lays on it. Anyway, she was pretty quiet all day and I was enjoying it. She wasn't bothering me to let her outside every 10 minutes and she wasn't following me all around the house like she sometimes does. I left to pick the kids up from school and she continued to sleep upstairs beside our bed. I was LOVING THIS! It wasn't until awhile after I picked up the kids from school that I realized there was a problem. Brie is ALWAYS underfoot when I'm cooking supper. But still, I continued on with what I was doing. Scott was late coming home from work, so I put supper on the table and the kids sat down to eat. I heard Brie bark upstairs. Weird!? Then the lightbulb turned on in my head and it finally really registered to me that something really was wrong, because she is ALWAYS pestering Emma at the supper table (that's what happens when you sneak and give the dog scraps under the table!) Anyway, I got up from the table and filled her food dish as I knew this would get her to come. Brie is what you call a CHOWHOUND! She will NOT let you miss feeding time. She still didn't come! As we were going to get her, Scott came home. I told him something was wrong with Brie and she won't come into the kitchen. He then filled me in on what had happened earlier that morning, or at least what he thinks happened, as no one was in the house at the time. He thinks she bolted to the door when the doorbell rang and wiped out on the slick, laminate floor. She will not walk on it now. I feel bad for her, as she stands in the doorway to the kitchen watching what might be happening in the hallway or the front door. The other day when my office furniture was being delivered, she REALLY wanted to get some attention from the guys, but she would not walk to the front door. Poor Brie. However, I am LOVING this! She can't pester people when they come to the door. She can still be obnoxious with her barking, which seems to have increased. I suppose she is making up for the fact that she can't jump all over whoever has come to the door. Because she won't walk on the floor, it means she can't get upstairs. Hmmm......I can handle not having dog hair all over the upstairs. I do feel bad that she can't lay on the steps, which is one of her favorite spots to lay. I suppose I'll get over that too. I've thought about getting a long runner rug for the hallway, but I think we'll just stay like this for now. It's kind of nice. Alot of people don't necessarily appreciate a big dog, who is more excited to see them than they are to see the dog, wallering all over them as they walk in the door. Now I just need to find people who want to come visit! ;-)
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Chores
I have never been good at enforcing chores. Often times, when the kids are wanting something at the store, I'll tell them that if they want to do some chores, they could get whatever it is they are wanting with the money they earn. The chore duty lasts maybe a day, if that. The kids occasionally will tell me they want an allowance. I tell them that they can earn an allowance if they do chores. Well, as stated before, that doesn't seem to last long. I am never good at following through. It also doesn't help that I never have cash on me, in this debit card world. Well, that is going to change with the banking we have here. We have to pay for a certain number of transactions per month, and if you go over, which we have, you get charged $0.55 per transaction, and apparently $0.75 for checks that clear when you have gone over your allotted number of transactions in a month! Because of that, we are going to switch over to cash. We can't switch over to credit cards at this point, because if we use our American credit cards here, we get charged a foreign transaction fee. We also have had troubles trying to get a Canadian credit card. I know Scott has spent several minutes on the phone a few different times trying to get one. So, until that happens, we will be using cash. Good news in the allowance department!!
Gage's chores are listed in green (G-green) and Emma's are in red.........no explanation needed. This calendar is also used to help me remember when certain activities are, eliminating the need to have a regular calendar hanging on the wall somewhere. I have ordered a "Chore Chart" from my sister's Uppercase Living Party, so when I get that, this calendar will be for school and activities and the chore chart will be for chores. I will also have a space for SCOTT! :-)
I swear I didn't suggest this to her. As a matter of fact, I was looking for her in the house, and after hollering a few times and she didn't answer, I had a surge of panic run through me. Then I noticed her coat and snowpants were missing, so I looked outside and found her hard at work! When she came in she said, "How much is that worth Mom!?" Hmmm.............good question Emma! Aren't those rosey cheeks adorable?
In our new house, we have alot of carpet. Well, okay, it's not alot, but it's light colored. Pets, kids and carpet don't go together. I also am not a big vacuumer. I want to be, but again, another chore that gets put off and eventually neglected. I don't want that to happen here. And so far, it hasn't. Mostly because with this carpet we have, you can tell that it needs to be vacuumed, and then once it has been, it looks so much better. The carpet we had in Bismarck looked the same, whether it was vacuumed or not, which also added to the problem of neglect.
After moving here, I think I tried making sure the kids were happy by buying them a toy here and there. When we would make a trip to Winnipeg, all I would hear is "Mom, I want this....." "Mom, can I have that?" It was wearing me out. So, I was trying to think of a way that I could implement a chore chart that would last, and what chores would I put on it. Another issue was where to put it. Our stainless steel refrigerator is not magnetic, so I can't hang it on the fridge (a blessing in disguise!). I had an idea. I have a large bare wall in the laundry room, and I might as well put it to use.
Here is what I came up with.
Gage's chores are listed in green (G-green) and Emma's are in red.........no explanation needed. This calendar is also used to help me remember when certain activities are, eliminating the need to have a regular calendar hanging on the wall somewhere. I have ordered a "Chore Chart" from my sister's Uppercase Living Party, so when I get that, this calendar will be for school and activities and the chore chart will be for chores. I will also have a space for SCOTT! :-)
Since moving here, Brie has become a little more "high maintenance." Only because I want to save our backyard. We have a dog run that we are making her use for elimination. She doesn't really like this. She can't find "just the right spot" to go, making it a nuisance. She constantly needs to go out because she might not have found "the spot" to go, and just decided not to. Really, she needs to be walked, which isn't happening. Scott is not good at that. Neither am I, but she's not "my dog." Maybe I will add that to Scott's chore list? Anyway, it became a fight, as to who had to let Brie out the next time, and the next time. I told the kids that if they would help me with the task of letting her out every 10 minutes (yes, I am exaggerating just a little), they could get a tally mark. Tally marks mean "extra" chores were done. You can see those in blue at the bottom of the calendar. (Now you understand why I have recruited help with this job! UGH!)
Anyway, the chore chart is WORKING! Of course we haven't had a payday yet. The kids want paid per chore, right after they finish doing it. I told them that's not how it works. We decided that PAY DAY would fall on Scott's pay day. That should work. We should have some money to pay them, right!? ;-) For some reason, they didn't get paid on the 15th, like they should have. I guess they didn't ask, and I didn't think about it. Their first pay day is coming up tomorrow. I haven't decided yet how much they should get paid. Today I told them that tomorrow is pay day, and they should do their best to do as many extra things they can. This is what I got out of Emma!
I swear I didn't suggest this to her. As a matter of fact, I was looking for her in the house, and after hollering a few times and she didn't answer, I had a surge of panic run through me. Then I noticed her coat and snowpants were missing, so I looked outside and found her hard at work! When she came in she said, "How much is that worth Mom!?" Hmmm.............good question Emma! Aren't those rosey cheeks adorable?
Maybe you could give me some allowance tips? Here are their chores for the week:
Sunday: Take clothes to the laundry chute.
Monday: Put clothes away
Tuesday: Empty all garbage cans except the big one in the kitchen
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday: Vacuum bedroom
Saturday: Gage vacuum upstairs stairs; Emma vacuum stairs to basement (they switch each week because no one likes to vacuum the stairs to the basement. "It's freaky down there Mom!"); Clean bathroom sinks.
For the month Emma has approximately 35 tallies, plus shoveling snow. Gage has approximately 30 tally marks.
What do you think all of this is worth?
And, all of the chores were done. Nothing was skipped. Now, it's my chore to keep this whole operation working!
Friday, January 28, 2011
I want a new car!
Well, it doesn't have to be NEW, but I want a DIFFERENT car. I hate my van. I didn't hate it until the start of the winter season. I think I can still count on one hand (just barely) the number of times I have been stuck this year, which has never happened to me before. What a helpless feeling! It's an even more helpless feeling when you are in a different country, your husband is traveling out of town and you practically know no one. (Okay, so I do have a set of wonderful neighbors who are totally awesome and would come to my rescue if I were to call them, but that would make the story less powerful!)
So today we wake up to more snow! SURPRISE! NOT! It was such a pretty snow too, until later in the afternoon, when it was time to go pick up the kids.
Scott came home for lunch because he was getting ready to leave town for the weekend. Thankfully he was kind enough to break out the snowblower before he left. I don't know how to run the stupid thing, and if I did end up getting it started, I'm sure I'd have the snow blowing right in my face. He also cleared out Brie's dog run of snow. Hey, that snow blower doubles as a shit blower! Who knew!?!
When he came back inside, he tells me that I should probably walk to school to get the kids. WHAT?!?! Are you SERIOUS?!?!? The snow is knee-deep and it's a little over a mile (I know because I clocked it). I'm not stupid. I know that if I walk a mile there, I will also have to walk a mile back IN KNEE DEEP SNOW! NO THANK YOU! Plus, I'm sure I would end up carrying the kids' backpacks and whatever else crap they hauled to school today for beach day. Great day for beach day, by the way!
Just before 3p, I decided I best get the car backed out of the garage and warmed up a bit. Oh, guess what!??! SURPRISE! The snow plow had been up our street. Guess what that means? It means there is a 3 ft (I don't know how many stupid centimeters that is, but I do know it's ALOT!) tall drift that is about 3 feet wide! WTH!?!? I got the snow shovel out and started to whittle away at the snow in a desperate panic, thinking "I am never going to make it to school on time to get the kids." Thankfully, the "clean up crew" wasn't too far behind and must have saw the pitiful, panic-stricken look on my face as he came into the drive to clear it out for me. I mouthed him a big, heart-felt "THANK YOU!" So, at least I was able to make it out of the driveway!
Because I am new here, I don't really know which streets are the arterial streets, so I am a little nervous on my drive to school, because I don't know which roads are clear and which aren't. I got lucky and took the correct route. I did run into one unplowed street, headed towards Main Street, but thankfully I was able to make it through without much trouble.
As I am driving down Main Street, which hasn't been plowed..........go figure.............and looking for a parking space, I was lucky and found a spot I could drive right in to. Hmmm.......I drove right into it and SUNK! UGH! I knew at that point, I was in trouble. As I sit in the car and wait, I watch the heavy traffic plowing through the snow. Across the street, I see a nearly 100-year-old (okay, so she wasn't that old, but it makes the story much more interesting!) lady get into her small, compact car that was parked along the curb and start driving. Well, then she stopped driving. And she started driving again. I could tell she was getting stuck. I wasn't sure yet if I should get out and help, but I unbuckled my seat belt in preparation. I'm thinking, "There's no way she's going to get out of that." I was also thinking, "Maybe I won't make such a scene when I get stuck too!?" After just a little bit of backing up, then going forward again, she started plowing right through the snow! She made it out! NO WAY! You've got to be kidding me?! I see this happen to several more cars. Then I start to think, "Well, maybe I will be okay?" Finally, the kids get let out of school and trudge their way to the car. As they get in, I tell them not to get too comfortable, because I figured we would be walking. Guess what? I was stuck! I tried and tried, and couldn't get out. The kids know not to say anything to me, because this has happened 3 other times this winter season. Gage offered to get out and push (I think he really wants to do it, because he thinks it will be fun!) and after I snapped at him that he isn't big enough to do that, he sat quietly and listened as I repeat how much "I HATE THIS CAR! I HATE THIS CAR! AAARGH! I HATE THIS CAR!" I have finally inched my way towards the driving lane and have to stop for traffic backed up behind me. One man, in his big 4x4 truck, drives by. At this point I'm about to cry. I did have the smarts to write down all of my neighbors' phone numbers, but what good is that when I don't have a phone to call them!? Finally, a lady is stopped behind me as I spin and spin, burning the rubber off my tires. She was kind enough to get out of her car and walk up to my window. I roll it down and she reaches in, grabs my steering wheel and tells me, very kindly I might add, that I need to straighten out the wheel while she pushes. She and her teenage son get behind me and push as I step on the gas. They then proceed to the front of the car as I put it in reverse. They start walking to the back as I put it in drive and was finally on my way. As I drive by, giving her my most heart-felt "THANKS", she tells me just to drive straight and I will be fine. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I'm sure all of the other people that drove by me were thinking, "Dumb American.....can't even drive in the snow!" I can't wait to get my Manitoba plates. At least no one will know that I'm a dumb American by looking at my car!
We were able to make it the rest of the way home without incident. Whew!
I firmly believe, despite what Scott says, that I need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get around in this part of the world. I will have a 4-wheel drive vehicle before the next winter season..........even if that means I am driving Scott's truck, and he is driving the van!
So today we wake up to more snow! SURPRISE! NOT! It was such a pretty snow too, until later in the afternoon, when it was time to go pick up the kids.
Scott came home for lunch because he was getting ready to leave town for the weekend. Thankfully he was kind enough to break out the snowblower before he left. I don't know how to run the stupid thing, and if I did end up getting it started, I'm sure I'd have the snow blowing right in my face. He also cleared out Brie's dog run of snow. Hey, that snow blower doubles as a shit blower! Who knew!?!
When he came back inside, he tells me that I should probably walk to school to get the kids. WHAT?!?! Are you SERIOUS?!?!? The snow is knee-deep and it's a little over a mile (I know because I clocked it). I'm not stupid. I know that if I walk a mile there, I will also have to walk a mile back IN KNEE DEEP SNOW! NO THANK YOU! Plus, I'm sure I would end up carrying the kids' backpacks and whatever else crap they hauled to school today for beach day. Great day for beach day, by the way!
Just before 3p, I decided I best get the car backed out of the garage and warmed up a bit. Oh, guess what!??! SURPRISE! The snow plow had been up our street. Guess what that means? It means there is a 3 ft (I don't know how many stupid centimeters that is, but I do know it's ALOT!) tall drift that is about 3 feet wide! WTH!?!? I got the snow shovel out and started to whittle away at the snow in a desperate panic, thinking "I am never going to make it to school on time to get the kids." Thankfully, the "clean up crew" wasn't too far behind and must have saw the pitiful, panic-stricken look on my face as he came into the drive to clear it out for me. I mouthed him a big, heart-felt "THANK YOU!" So, at least I was able to make it out of the driveway!
Because I am new here, I don't really know which streets are the arterial streets, so I am a little nervous on my drive to school, because I don't know which roads are clear and which aren't. I got lucky and took the correct route. I did run into one unplowed street, headed towards Main Street, but thankfully I was able to make it through without much trouble.
As I am driving down Main Street, which hasn't been plowed..........go figure.............and looking for a parking space, I was lucky and found a spot I could drive right in to. Hmmm.......I drove right into it and SUNK! UGH! I knew at that point, I was in trouble. As I sit in the car and wait, I watch the heavy traffic plowing through the snow. Across the street, I see a nearly 100-year-old (okay, so she wasn't that old, but it makes the story much more interesting!) lady get into her small, compact car that was parked along the curb and start driving. Well, then she stopped driving. And she started driving again. I could tell she was getting stuck. I wasn't sure yet if I should get out and help, but I unbuckled my seat belt in preparation. I'm thinking, "There's no way she's going to get out of that." I was also thinking, "Maybe I won't make such a scene when I get stuck too!?" After just a little bit of backing up, then going forward again, she started plowing right through the snow! She made it out! NO WAY! You've got to be kidding me?! I see this happen to several more cars. Then I start to think, "Well, maybe I will be okay?" Finally, the kids get let out of school and trudge their way to the car. As they get in, I tell them not to get too comfortable, because I figured we would be walking. Guess what? I was stuck! I tried and tried, and couldn't get out. The kids know not to say anything to me, because this has happened 3 other times this winter season. Gage offered to get out and push (I think he really wants to do it, because he thinks it will be fun!) and after I snapped at him that he isn't big enough to do that, he sat quietly and listened as I repeat how much "I HATE THIS CAR! I HATE THIS CAR! AAARGH! I HATE THIS CAR!" I have finally inched my way towards the driving lane and have to stop for traffic backed up behind me. One man, in his big 4x4 truck, drives by. At this point I'm about to cry. I did have the smarts to write down all of my neighbors' phone numbers, but what good is that when I don't have a phone to call them!? Finally, a lady is stopped behind me as I spin and spin, burning the rubber off my tires. She was kind enough to get out of her car and walk up to my window. I roll it down and she reaches in, grabs my steering wheel and tells me, very kindly I might add, that I need to straighten out the wheel while she pushes. She and her teenage son get behind me and push as I step on the gas. They then proceed to the front of the car as I put it in reverse. They start walking to the back as I put it in drive and was finally on my way. As I drive by, giving her my most heart-felt "THANKS", she tells me just to drive straight and I will be fine. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I'm sure all of the other people that drove by me were thinking, "Dumb American.....can't even drive in the snow!" I can't wait to get my Manitoba plates. At least no one will know that I'm a dumb American by looking at my car!
We were able to make it the rest of the way home without incident. Whew!
I firmly believe, despite what Scott says, that I need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get around in this part of the world. I will have a 4-wheel drive vehicle before the next winter season..........even if that means I am driving Scott's truck, and he is driving the van!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Hot Lunch Day
I was so excited a couple of weeks ago when the kids brought home a sign-up sheet for Hot Lunch Day, which actually took place yesterday! YEAH! I didn't know they had such a thing, but I knew I was totally going to sign the kids up for it! They brought home order sheets that had to be returned to the school with money. They were getting soup and a biscuit. It had a place to mark down what you wanted and then you totaled it up at the end. I didn't realize you could order more than just one of each item. I had ordered the kids each 1 cup of soup and 1 biscuit, which was $1.50 for each of them. That's what the hot lunches in Bismarck cost, so I was thrilled. I had it written down in big letters on our calendar so I wouldn't forget. I didn't want to accidentally send a lunch when I didn't have to! I did have to send a few other things for their snack and something else to eat with their lunch.
Yesterday when I picked the kids up from school I asked them how hot lunch day went. They told me they had it during their first nutrition break, which is their snack time, which is around 10:30am. WHAT? So, the kids ended up having their snack for lunch, which didn't consist of much more than a piece of Baby Bel cheese and pomagranate arils. I think I also sent a fruit strip, which is a healthier version of the fruit roll-up. Needless to say, they were hungry when they got home and ate a bigger after-school snack than usual. They were told that it didn't matter if they ate the hot lunch for snack or lunch, they wouldn't be any hungrier. I'm not sure that's true, but it wasn't a big deal.
As for sending cold lunches every day, I really thought I was going to hate it. It's actually not too bad. We get up between 7-7:20 each morning and my job is to get the lunches made. I started out just making the kids' lunches, then Scott would make his own. He asked me if I could make his lunches too, so I have been making his as well. Although Scott occasionally gets in trouble and has to make his own lunch. I'm so mean! I wouldn't do that to the kids though.
I was worried initally about making their lunches because I didn't know if I could figure out stuff to send that they wouldn't get tired of having every day. I was also worried because I can't send peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, because of the school's "allergy aware" program. We have been experimenting with some other things, like sun butter. It's supposed to be like peanut butter, but made out of sunflower seeds instead of peanuts, making it an "okay" thing for peanut allergies (of which we don't have!). Emma doesn't care for it, but Gage likes it. I don't care much for it either, but maybe that's because it looks like, and has the consistency of dog diarrhea. Some that I've unfortunately have had the pleasure of cleaning up. GAG! Anyway, Gage doesn't mind it, so I will occasionally send it with him for lunch. The first 2-3 weeks of school the kids were hooked on egg salad sandwiches. I then made some tuna salad sandwiches, with a to-die for recipe from my Carbohydrate Addict's recipe book. The kids really like that, but Gage was scared to have tuna at school, because there is a kid in the school with fish allergies, so he was afraid they would take his sandwich away from him. I assured him it would be okay, although I don't really know if it is. I will still make them on occasion and send them with the kids. If they get in trouble and get it taken away, I will have then learned my lesson. I don't think fish allergies are a contact allergy like peanuts can be? But, I guess I don't really know that for sure. I have also sent some turkey sandwiches. The kids seem to be eating all of their lunches. Either that or they are smart and just throw away what they don't eat at school so I don't know about it. But, I do think they are eating them and not throwing them away. Some of the other things I have been sending with the kids range from cucumber slices, carrots, broccoli. Apples, pomagrante arils, mandarin oranges, banana and pineapple are some of the fruits I have sent. Emma says that one of the lunch monitors has commented several times about her lunches being healthy and apparently she LOVES cucumbers and can smell them when Emma opens up her container of them. I always send a piece of cheese, yogurt and a fruit strip or fruit snacks. I have found some healthier versions of the fruit roll-up and gummy snacks at Costco, so I will send one of those with the kids each day as something "fun" for them. There are alot of kids that bring the fruit roll-ups, pop tarts, etc, which I refuse to buy. So, I will get these things for the kids so they don't feel so slighted.
At least I know they are eating healthier than they did with their hot lunches in Bismarck. This may not be as convenient, but at least I have an excuse for buying different lunch boxes, snack containers, etc.! I have a weakness for those things for some reason! I found a couple of little thermoses that are made for hot things like soup. Tomorrow I think I will try those out and they'll have a surprise of Kraft Dinner (a.k.a. macaroni and cheese in the US!) in their lunch boxes!
Yesterday when I picked the kids up from school I asked them how hot lunch day went. They told me they had it during their first nutrition break, which is their snack time, which is around 10:30am. WHAT? So, the kids ended up having their snack for lunch, which didn't consist of much more than a piece of Baby Bel cheese and pomagranate arils. I think I also sent a fruit strip, which is a healthier version of the fruit roll-up. Needless to say, they were hungry when they got home and ate a bigger after-school snack than usual. They were told that it didn't matter if they ate the hot lunch for snack or lunch, they wouldn't be any hungrier. I'm not sure that's true, but it wasn't a big deal.
As for sending cold lunches every day, I really thought I was going to hate it. It's actually not too bad. We get up between 7-7:20 each morning and my job is to get the lunches made. I started out just making the kids' lunches, then Scott would make his own. He asked me if I could make his lunches too, so I have been making his as well. Although Scott occasionally gets in trouble and has to make his own lunch. I'm so mean! I wouldn't do that to the kids though.
I was worried initally about making their lunches because I didn't know if I could figure out stuff to send that they wouldn't get tired of having every day. I was also worried because I can't send peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, because of the school's "allergy aware" program. We have been experimenting with some other things, like sun butter. It's supposed to be like peanut butter, but made out of sunflower seeds instead of peanuts, making it an "okay" thing for peanut allergies (of which we don't have!). Emma doesn't care for it, but Gage likes it. I don't care much for it either, but maybe that's because it looks like, and has the consistency of dog diarrhea. Some that I've unfortunately have had the pleasure of cleaning up. GAG! Anyway, Gage doesn't mind it, so I will occasionally send it with him for lunch. The first 2-3 weeks of school the kids were hooked on egg salad sandwiches. I then made some tuna salad sandwiches, with a to-die for recipe from my Carbohydrate Addict's recipe book. The kids really like that, but Gage was scared to have tuna at school, because there is a kid in the school with fish allergies, so he was afraid they would take his sandwich away from him. I assured him it would be okay, although I don't really know if it is. I will still make them on occasion and send them with the kids. If they get in trouble and get it taken away, I will have then learned my lesson. I don't think fish allergies are a contact allergy like peanuts can be? But, I guess I don't really know that for sure. I have also sent some turkey sandwiches. The kids seem to be eating all of their lunches. Either that or they are smart and just throw away what they don't eat at school so I don't know about it. But, I do think they are eating them and not throwing them away. Some of the other things I have been sending with the kids range from cucumber slices, carrots, broccoli. Apples, pomagrante arils, mandarin oranges, banana and pineapple are some of the fruits I have sent. Emma says that one of the lunch monitors has commented several times about her lunches being healthy and apparently she LOVES cucumbers and can smell them when Emma opens up her container of them. I always send a piece of cheese, yogurt and a fruit strip or fruit snacks. I have found some healthier versions of the fruit roll-up and gummy snacks at Costco, so I will send one of those with the kids each day as something "fun" for them. There are alot of kids that bring the fruit roll-ups, pop tarts, etc, which I refuse to buy. So, I will get these things for the kids so they don't feel so slighted.
At least I know they are eating healthier than they did with their hot lunches in Bismarck. This may not be as convenient, but at least I have an excuse for buying different lunch boxes, snack containers, etc.! I have a weakness for those things for some reason! I found a couple of little thermoses that are made for hot things like soup. Tomorrow I think I will try those out and they'll have a surprise of Kraft Dinner (a.k.a. macaroni and cheese in the US!) in their lunch boxes!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Checkbook
I am anal about my checkbook. Only one other time in my life was I not able to get it to balance to the penny. Last month, was the second time I couldn't get it to balance to the penny. I didn't give up trying to get it to balance, I just stopped trying. I thought I had figured it out, in my head, so I really didn't think I wanted to waste my time in attempting to balance it again. I figured I would just wait until next month, when we have alot less transactions taking place, which would make it easier. Well, that time is NOW and I still can't get the stupid thing to balance and it is DRIVING ME INSANE! I just can't figure it out. It's off by $43.13. Many people would just forget about it and write in whatever amount the bank says they have. NOT ME! Why can't I just be like normal people sometimes? I'm sure it is something stupid, but I will continue to work on this and figure it out..........eventually. Part of the problem is that the checkbook is shared with my beloved husband, who really doesn't know how to do it. Before we started sharing a checking account, he would balance his account by going through the ATM and printing out a balance slip, never taking into account what might be outstanding. He had alot of overdrafts during that time period and I told him I would not share an account with him until he learned how to take care of a checking account properly. Well, I don't really think he ever did learn, I just took it over. Every once in awhile he'll add his two cents worth, then I threaten to quit managing our money and hand it over to him. I'm not sure I could ever really do that. It would absolutely drive me nuts to not know what we really have in our accounts. And I know that if I turned it over, it would get to that point. Scott knows it too, which is why he never volunteers to do it. My Dad is the one who taught me about money management. I remember him always telling me to never get a credit card, because they are bad news. He always said to never join those book clubs or CD clubs, because they will just send things to you even if you don't want them, and then you have to pay for them. Well, I learned that that isn't entirely true. Credit cards are actually GOOD things to have, because you need them in order to establish credit. They become bad when you use them irresponsibly. I have always been a responsible credit card holder. Only one time in my life did I carry a balance on a credit card, and that is because I was in transition between jobs when we moved to Memphis and it took a little while to get back on my feet. And, when I got back on my feet, I paid each card off as I could manage. I also learned that those book clubs and CD clubs don't actually send you stuff without you knowing. I just learned that you need to watch your mail closely and be sure to check in the proper places in order to prevent an item being sent. I did learn, that you don't want to be in them because eventually you are spending money that you wouldn't normally spend on things you wouldn't normally buy. So, I stopped doing those. I also learned, from my Dad, to balance your checkbook every month, and by following example, I will work and work on it until I find my mistake. Thanks Dad!!!! ;-)
I always thought that maybe I should have become an accountant, because I like managing money. I know now, that I probably wouldn't make a good accountant, because if I get stuck on something. like trying to make my checkbook balance to the penny, I will get nothing done until I get it figured out. A good accountant would just figure out how to make it right and then go on to the next project. Not me.
I always thought that maybe I should have become an accountant, because I like managing money. I know now, that I probably wouldn't make a good accountant, because if I get stuck on something. like trying to make my checkbook balance to the penny, I will get nothing done until I get it figured out. A good accountant would just figure out how to make it right and then go on to the next project. Not me.
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