We're off...again

I'm always a bit off, anyway...but we are headed out of town once more! We leave for College Station in the morning and will return Saturday.

Have a great week!

Take your time!

My aunt emailed me the "world's easiest quiz." Now you know with a title like that, you ought to take your time, right?

Go ahead. See how you do. I'll wait.

http://home.tiac.net/~cri/1998/easyquiz.html

We're back!

We returned Wednesday; the kids and I drove my parents to Kansas City today so they could return to Florida.

We saw old friends, ate great food, drank too much wine and had a great time in Toronto. We came home, ate great food, drank more wine and caught up with my parents! ;)

Additional photos and details will be forthcoming!

Packing, washing, stressing...but almost ready!

My parents are coming in this weekend as we head out! The hubbie and I are flying to Toronto on Saturday for a conference (his) and will return on Wednesday.

My oldest has started to test us again lately. (When she was younger, I called it "testing her limits. " I think now she is trying to test ours!) It'll be interesting to see if she settles down for a few days with my parents or if she tries to see what she can get away with while they're here.
(They've raised 5 kids and often help out with their 11 grandkids so she may be dismayed to learn that her new antics aren't all that new to them!)

I sense no disturbance in the Force

It isn't quite Christmas time but you would have wondered this morning. My son got up with a wide grin and admitted, "I will listen to whatever you tell me today without whining, Mom!"

No...I did not slip any potions into his toothpaste last night. He has been very eagerly awaiting the arrival of Lego Star Wars II in stores. He and his Dad went and put a $5 deposit down on one at GameStop on Sunday to be sure that there would still be one to buy after he got out of kindergarten today! He wasn't going to do anything to risk his chances of me driving him there to pick it up!

He has been giving anyone who will listen a daily countdown until TODAY! SEPTEMBER 12! It is FINALLY here!

And now it is quiet here at home. Not silent--I hear buttons clicking and cantina music wafting through the house--but young C is content.

In memoriam

From Aggieville to Aggieland?

We have one final visit to make before deciding where we want to move next summer. We've narrowed it down to Lafayette, Indiana; Kansas City, Missouri or College Station, Texas. We are visiting College Station once more at the end of the month.

Any advice on why we should choose one over the other (or why we should avoid one) would be much appreciated!

Recommended reading

I fell behind in folding the laundry, getting the dishes washed in a timely manner and blogging this week. Not just because I'm lazy but because I had to keep getting back to reading my book!

Though I try to read when I can, the hubbie took notice of this one. (Rather than remaining on my nightstand, this one has been traveling around the house--and in the car--with me.) The title had him intrigued--and intimidated.
"Is it about sex, or...?"
I just smiled. "Yes."

As he headed up to bed tonight, I was still in the kitchen with a glass of wine in one hand and my book in the other; he asked if I'd like Monk's Travels.
(Running joke/bet--I owe him. I thought he would enjoy The DaVinci Code and while I was reading it, told him he should. All he knew of it was what he'd heard on tv but said he'd read it if I agreed to read Monk's Travels. I agreed; he did read DVC but I have not yet read his book. I did pick it up one night, ready to fulfill my end of the bargain but after reading the back cover and first page, couldn't do it. (I had something better I was dying to get to.) He has given me grief for it and rightly so. However, he picked it up recently (he hasn't read it yet, either) and after reading the first page or two, he put it down himself! Still...a deal is a deal so I'll get to that one, too!)

It was also his way of asking if I thought he should read The Red Tent. I explained that I won't push this one on him but not because of a lack of quality. The main character of the novel, Dinah, makes a claim that "men knew nothing of the red tent or its ceremonies and sacrifices." Reading it now, thousands of years later and married to a man who was present for his childrens' births, I know it still contains things he'd rather not read. And he's a physician! So I won't add this to his TBR pile.

I do highly recommend it, though! I thank Mary P for recommending this! In her comments on another book review, she mentioned this book. I had not heard of it but looked it up online that day. I thought it sounded intriguing and added it to my wishlist. When I happened to pass by it at Target the very next day, I took it as a sign and grabbed it. (The kids were getting all sorts of school supplies that day so I decided I deserved something new, too!)

Of course, once I finish a good book, you know I can't stop with only one post about it. I just finished The Red Tent tonight so I'll likely have more to say about it tomorrow!

Living the high life

Living in a two-story house is great!
That is, until you have to paint.

PSA #2

For my readers with little ones, toy recall info:
Leapfrog toy recalled for entrapment dangers

In which she explains her new seating assignment

I was quizzing my daughter on her spelling and vocabulary words. She was writing them down so fast, I could not read half of her words.

"Slow down! You won't get credit for spelling them right if your teacher can't read them."

This is a constant battle. She is very smart but not patient. She understands concepts easily and CAN spell but misses things on papers and tests because she won't take her time or go back and check her work.

Apparently she has at least heard our admonitions.

"I hurry. That's my thing," she tells me.

"That's your thing?"

"And I'm a talker."