News

Saturday

Saturday was really cold out, so we stayed indoors. IL7 played various games with Aaron and myself. I read to D16. Aaron went to a local Democrat coffee and shopping.

Sunday

Sunday was fairly calm as far as Sundays usually go. I played Minecraft with IL7, then D16 also played with him. I took him to swim lessons, where he dunked his head twice. (He kept his face out of the water, but it was improvement.) In the evening, the family played D&D. They annihilated the foes. I need to get them harder enemies. They then managed to convince a bunch of guards to let him into the mines. Sans then stepped onto a rickety old elevator, and fell a couple of levels. Luckily, the three kobolds in a trenchcoat cast featherfall, and Sans didn’t die. Sans then poked a skeleton, which came to life. That’s where we stopped. 

Monday

Monday, all three kids had a video appointment at 7am, then I took IL7 to another appointment. On the way back, my phone rang and I didn’t answer it, because I was driving. Then, when I got to the school to drop IL7 off, there were hordes of people picking up their kids. Apparently the call had been to tell me they were closing the school early because they had no heat. So IL7 was home all day. That rearranged my whole day.

IL7 and I played on the Switch. I read to him. He wrote a book. It was adorable.

In the evening, I read to D16 before work.

Tuesday

Tuesday I had a bunch of time in the morning that I wouldn’t normally have because D16 was registering for next year’s classes instead of going to her weekly appointment. I got a bunch of calls made and then read for a bit. 

M13 had a dentist appointment in the afternoon. I read to IL7 when he got home. Aaron ran some errands for me after work. Aaron and I watched Andor while IL7 and M13 played Minecraft.

Wednesday

Wednesday, M13, D16, and IL7 all had appointments. But I managed to get a bunch of reading done. The family went out to eat while IL7 and I were at his appointment. He and I read some Dog Man.

Thursday

Thursday, I got some reading and letter-writing done. I took Dad to physical therapy. M13 and IL7 played on the Switch. M13 played his fantasy card game with friends. I played D&D. It was mostly battles. Just a really long night out camping where creature after creature attacked us. Three gigantic birds, followed by a huge lizard. I also got a little cross-stitch done for the first time in over a month. 

Friday

Friday was pretty laid back. I got an oil change in the morning and got some reading done while I was doing that. I dropped dad off at the gym, cross-stitched, and read. IL7 worked on writing a book. He played Super Mario Maker with M13. Then I read to IL7 in the night.

Reading to myself

• Influenza, by Jeremy Brown
• Determined, by Robert Sapolsky
• Nightfall, by Shannon Messenger
• One Piece Volume 19-21, by Eiichiro Oda
• War Peace, Leo Tolstoy
• The Week: Art of the Deal
• Guards, Guards!, by Terry Pratchett
• Gulag Archipelago Part 3, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland
• New Scientist: The 21 Best Ideas of 21st Century
• His Last Bow, by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The House on the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
• One Piece Volumes 22 – 24, by Eiichiro Oda

Reading to IL7

• Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea, by Dav Pilkey
• The Curse of the Were-Weiners, by Ursula Vernon
• Cat Kid Comic Club, by Dav Pilkey
• Any Fin is Possible, by Mo O’Hara
• Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives, by Dav Pilkey
• The Scarlet Shredder, by Dav Pilkey
• Big Jim Begins, by Dav Pilkey
• Big Jim Believes, by Dav Pilkey
• Cat Kid Comic Club On Purpose

D16 reading

• Hunger of the Gods, by John Gwynne

Media Completed

This is a solid history of influenza and what has historically and presently been done to treat it. It warns of a potential oncoming pandemic of influenza, similar to that of 1918 because it is pre-COVID. He underestimated how badly such a pandemic would go, though. Guess he didn’t predict Trump. He seems only mildly confident in the flu vaccine, and seems to feel that it should not be given to healthy adults, as, apparently, England did at the time. He is unsupportive of Tamiflu – though his complaints about it were not entirely new to me. It was an interesting “no-treatment-is-best” approach to a virus that he admits may cause a pandemic of the proportions of that in 1918. Which may make sense. I wouldn’t know, not being a doctor.

This is the beginning of a new (to me) arc of the Discworld series. As usual, the book was funny. It was nice to be introduced to new characters, and I look forward to seeing more of them in a couple months.

Sapolsky is a fantastic science writer. It’s a mixture of wit and well-researched, well-explained science and philosophy. He is explaining why he believes free will doesn’t exist. I learned a lot on the subject, though I was disappointed in his definition of “proving free will doesn’t exist” which is basically the lack of proving free-will exists (which is impossible). However, his arguments that it didn’t exist were pretty good.

News

Saturday

Saturday IL7 watched The Dogman Movie 5 and a half times.

Sunday

Sunday IL7 and I went to the library then to swim lessons. Aaron took the boys for haircuts. Then the family played D&D. It was mostly a battle. IL7 wanted to fight Mario, who could jump and spit firebolts out of his butt. Mario never tried jumping, which disappointed IL7. Then Aaron and the older kids role played discovering D16’s 3 kobolds in a trenchcoat

Monday

Monday was MLKjr Day, so the kids had no school, and Aaron had no work. IL7 and I went to an appointment in the morning, so he didn’t get to sleep in. Almost immediately upon arriving home, I took Dad to the gym – I walked on the treadmill for 60 minutes. Later, Aaron and I had an appointment where IL7 was supposed to be observed by Zoom meeting (which was a little awkward). I read IL7 a Dog Man book, and played Switch/computer games with him. M13 went to Boy Scouts. I read to D16.

Tuesday

Tuesday I didn’t get much of a break. Immediately after work, I ran a vital errand and then made oatmeal for Dad. Then I took D16 to an appointment followed by an appointment for M13. Then I did some vital chores. When IL7 got home, I played Scribble Bots with him for an hour before finally getting a moment to myself.

In the evening, my friend Liz came over, and the family watched Doctor Who with her. Aaron then played Scribble Bots with IL7, and I read. 

Wednesday

Wednesday, I took dad to the gym then went to a surgery consult for D16’s knee. It would appear that she will have surgery this summer. In the late afternoon, I got IL7 in his pajamas for faith formation, hauled the two of us to an appointment in bumper-to-bumper traffic (due to the bad roads), and then decided not to go to faith formation because of the terrible roads. So we went home and played Scribble Bots. 

Thursday

Thursday I took Dad to his physical therapy appointment. Then I went to our phone carrier store to see if they could figure out why my phone wasn’t working with my data card, but it worked with IL7’s data card. After some troubleshooting, they found that my data was turned off on my phone. It’s a relief to have my phone back. Carrying around both phones was a bit annoying. I had my apps on one phone and my calls/texts on IL7’s. My apps include my journal, to-do list, Google docs, and parenting apps.

After that, I used my Christmas money to eat at Olive Garden. I read while there. When IL7 got home, I played Scribble Bots with him. We went to parent-teacher conferences for D16 with IL7. (He wasn’t behaving, so we couldn’t leave him with D16.) Of course, every teacher loves D16. She is very outspoken in class, and they love that.

D&D was cancelled because there were only 2 players, so I read before work.

Friday

Friday was busy. The kids were home from school, so I was having to pay attention to IL7. He had an appointment, and then Dad needed to go to the gym. I was on the treadmill for 60 minutes. I played Scribblebots with IL7, then we went out to Red Lobster as a family. Afterwards, I finally got some relaxation time.

Reading to myself

• Determined, by Robert Sapolsky
• The Great Hunt, by Rovert Jordan
• Influenza, by Jeremy Brown
• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• One Piece Volumes 16-18, by Eiichiro Oda
• The Week: ICE Unleashed
• The History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer
• Guards, Guards!, by Terry Pratchett
• Nightfall, by Shannon Messenger
• Gulag Archipelago Part 3, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• Mr Ballen Podcast
• One Piece Volumes 19-21, by Eiichiro Oda

Reading to IL7

• Curse of the Were-Weiner, by Ursula Vernon
• Dogman and Cat Kid, by Dav Pilkey
• Grime and Punishment, by Dav Pilkey
• Mothering Heights, by Dav Pilkey
• Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea, by Dav Pilkey

Deidre Reading

• Hunger of the Gods, by John Gwynne

Media Completed

A hunt for the Horn of Valere begins, as the group goes their separate ways. Like the first book in the series, this is a really good story that holds the reader.

News

Saturday

Saturday I helped IL7 play Piku Niku, then took Dad to the gym. I expected a 20 minute workout like last time, but he was feeling better after that injection Friday, and he stayed an hour. Aaron, IL7, and I went to the Pinewood Derby and raced IL7’s car. He came in 38th. Out of about 45. He fell asleep on the floor during the races.

I went to the grocery store twice. Cooked some jambalaya. IL7 fell asleep while I was doing that. The other kids watched TV all day.

Sunday

Sunday D16 and I worked on an awful homework assignment. Aaron shopped. I played Piku Niku with IL7, followed by swim lessons. After dinner the older kids, Aaron, and I played Pandemic Legacy. We won.

Monday

Monday, I took IL7 to an appointment then took dad to the gym. He was thrilled to be exercising again. I went on the treadmill for 45 minutes. I had a video appointment later in the day. When IL7 got home, he and I made a chocolate cake (he decided it was Sake’s birthday). In the evening, I read to D17. M13 watched TV.

Tuesday

Tuesday I took D16 to an appointment. In the evening, M13 had a band concert. We sat in the back row, and IL7 was  on my phone with headphones on.

Wednesday

Wednesday was a frustrating day. It started with me not having a phone signal at work (all that night, in fact). I figured it was a tower issue since my signal came back when I got about a mile away from work. At the gym, I also didn’t have a signal. When I got home, I realized I didn’t have a signal there either.

Aaron and IL7 had a signal. So I decided to switch out my card with IL7’s card to see if I had a signal using his phone. Only I had to break my phone case to get it open. Then, when I managed to get it open, there was “glue” (maybe just gunk) along the sides of the phone, so the card wouldn’t come out. I had to dissolve the gunk in vodka before I got it open. Then I had the same gunk problem with IL7’s card.

When I finally got the cards switched, suddenly both phones had a signal. Fixed, right? No. Because when I switched the cards back, since both cards worked and both phones worked, my phone doesn’t work ONLY when my card is in it. But since both phones had a signal when the cards were switched, I switched them back again.

In the evening, I took IL7 to an appointment, followed by faith formation. Dad took the rest of the family out to eat. 

When I got back, I opened an envelope containing D16’s IEP for us to approve and sign. This was surprising, since we never had an IEP meeting. We were supposed to have one the day my dad went to the ER with pneumonia. But we had to cancel. We were supposed to do it another day by Zoom, but the link didn’t work. We were going to do it by Zoom a second day, but the link didn’t work that day, either. In an email conversation, I suggested a three-way call. The IEP manager said she didn’t know how to make a three-way call. I said I’ll make one. She didn’t respond. 

While Aaron was in Oregon, the IEP manager suggested a same-day three-way call. It would now be a four-way call, which my phone wouldn’t do. The IEP manager said that we’d have an in-person meeting after winter break.

Imagine our surprise that, without any notice and without any meeting, we received an IEP. It claimed there had been a meeting, and quoted us from the non-existent meeting. This is a clear violation of our legal rights. D16 was so angry she was shaking. She wanted to advocate for herself (i.e. tell off the teacher), but I said that although I applauded her desire to do so, this was a job for her legal representatives. I decided to email the principal in the morning. 

Thursday

Thursday morning, I sent an email to the principal of D16’s school about the IEP manager. He said he’d get back to me after talking to the manager.  I ran some errands and took dad to PT. In the evening, Aaron and D16 went to a registration event at her new magnet school, and I went to a registration event at the local high school for M13. IL7 and M13 played Super Mario World 3D.

Friday

Friday, I took IL7 to speech therapy and then took dad to the gym. I didn’t really want to, but I managed to walk 60 minutes on the treadmill. The rest of the day, I tried to read. I got an email from the principal of D16’s school in which he didn’t acknowledge the lie the IEP manager made. He just backed her up that she made three attempts scheduling a meeting, and, regardless that the Zoom link failures weren’t our fault, she was not required to schedule another meeting. I told him that that does not excuse 1) that she told us she’d schedule another, didn’t, and didn’t tell us she wouldn’t and 2) she lied in D16’s IEP. I think we at least deserve acknowledgement and preferably an apology. I can go over the principal’s head, but am trying to determine if it’s worth it. Of the three of us parents, I seem to be the only one who thinks contacting the district head of special education is worth it.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• The Great Hunt, by Robert Jordan
• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• Gulag Archipelago Part 3, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• Determined, by Robert Sapolsky
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• One Piece Volume 16 – 18, by Eiichiro Oda
• Valley of Fear, by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Week: Imperial Ambitions
• Nightfall, by Shannon Messenger
• Mr Ballen Podcast
• The History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer
• Guards, Guards!, by Terry Pratchett

Reading to IL7

• Curse of the Were-Weiner, by Ursula Vernon
• Fetch-22, by Dav Pilkey

IL7 Reading

• Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilet, by Dav Pilkey

D16 reading

• Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne

Media Completed

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson try to determine who murdered a local rich man whose home is surrounded in a mote. I found this solution rather predictable, as it was similar to the end in one of the short stories. But it was an interesting book, regardless.

Dogman and his friends save the world from supa angry psychokinetic tadpoles.

News

Saturday

Saturday, IL7 made a horse costume. We tried going to Michael’s to buy some elastic, but they didn’t have elastic! We got by with a rubber necklace, but it was slightly too short. We’ll have to buy some elastic on the internet. He wants to wear the costume on Halloween. Besides helping IL7 with the costume, I spent another 3 hours playing with him. In addition, I got some reading done. D16 and M13 spent all day on the TV. Aaron spent all day grocery shopping at 4 different stores (to save money).

Sunday

Sunday I didn’t get much done. I made gumbo, and Aaron and I took IL7 to swim lessons.

Monday

Monday I took IL7 to an appointment. I walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes. Had some back and forth with Dad’s doctor. I had called to ask if the med he prescribed is bad for the kidney. It was, and they changed their minds about Dad taking it. 

I learned that hemming pants by hand is about as hard as I thought it would be, but I made some progress. We bought some pants for IL7 that look great in the waist, which is really important for him, but the legs are way too long. So I’m working on this for him. The stitches look pretty awful, but no one is going to care. 

I read to D16, M13 went to Boy Scouts, and IL7 played on Aaron’s computer.

Tuesday

Tuesday I took D16 to an appointment, hemmed some more, and  walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes. In the evening, I read to D16.

Wednesday

Wednesday I went to the dentist, then took dad to the gym to see if he could handle an upper body workout. He got two exercises in. In the evening, I took IL7 to an appointment, then to faith formation. He complained about the length of the day, but didn’t want to drop out of faith formation.

Thursday

Thursday, I got a letter written, then I took dad to his first PT appointment for his hip pain. We didn’t agree on how long his hip has been hurting (he thought a week, but it’s been 6 months, on and off. He just thinks it’s brand new every time it happens). He got pretty angry at me.

After that, I went to the gym and walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes. Apparently dad had wanted to come, but I didn’t know. I needed time away from him, anyway. He’s been a lot lately.

I got to read till D&D. I got a lot of hemming done during D&D. I’m getting faster. The kids watched their screens and Aaron ran errands.

Friday

Friday I wrote a letter, took IL7 to speech therapy, and took Dad to get an injection in his hip for his pain. He was up doing the dishes the next day. I read to D16, myself, and IL7. M13 fell down on the ice on his way in the house.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• The History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer
• The Great Hunt, by Robert Jordan
• Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• Hangnail Castle, by Ursula Vernon
• We Shall Be Monsters, by Alyssa Wees
• Nightfall, by Shannon Messenger
• One Piece Volumes 13-15, by Eiichiro Oda
• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• Mr Ballen podcast
• One Piece Volume 16-18, by Eiichiro Oda

Reading to IL7

• Brawl of the Wild, by Dav Pilkey
• The Case of the Toxic Mutants, by Ursula Vernon
• Mermaid You Look, by Andres Miedoso
• Any Fin is Possible, by Mo O’Hara

D16 reading

• Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne

Media Completed

Gemma is told to stay away from the forest. Every time she ventures close, her mom steals her memories. But when an emergency happens, Gemma must enter the forest alone. This is a deep, thoughtful story, though the action is a bit slow.

Molly comes to Castle Hangnail to be its wicked witch, but her main minion is skeptical about her age. This is really cute and funny.

News

Saturday

Saturday I wrote a letter and got out the size up in clothes for IL7. Only there were no size 7 shirts and only 4 size 6 pants. I got out size 8 shirts and will buy size 6 pants. Then dad and I watched Fahrenheit 451. I didn’t read to myself because I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, but I read to IL7 for a bit.

Sunday

Sunday morning, I was pondering what to do about an email saying Aaron and the kids’ flight had been cancelled when dad called out. He had been in intense pain all night and wanted to go to the ER. So I called for an ambulance. At the ER, they X-rayed dad’s hip, and found nothing. He was sent home.

I wrote a letter, read, and watched Electric State with dad. I read to IL7 at night. Aaron rescheduled his flight for 6:30am Monday, which meant he needed to get up at 1am.

Monday

Monday, started with picking up my family at the airport. It was nice to see them. We opened Santa’s presents. M13 loved his rave gloves. IL7 got lots of knock off LEGO, I got nonfiction books and a Groot figurine. D16 got books and a shower speaker. Aaron got a new Swiss Army knife, as he had to throw his out at the airport.

Later, the family, including dad, went to Perkins. It was the first time Dad had been outside for pretty much a week, except the ER. The snow hadn’t been cleared yet, but he managed.

I mostly read, IL7 watched Wall-E, Aaron unpacked, D16 put together IL7’s frog LEGO for his birthday, M13 played on his phone.

I ended the night going to work. My supervisor had gifted me soda! It made me so happy!

Tuesday

Tuesday I took D16 to an appointment and had to take IL7 along because he was at home. Dad had an appointment with his at home nurse later in the day. I played Minecraft with IL7. Read. Worked on my to-do list. D16 put together some of IL7’s LEGO.

Wednesday

Wednesday I brought IL7 to M13’s appointment. Then I tackled my to-do list and took IL7 to his appointment. IL7 put together LEGO with M13 while I was doing tasks.

After IL7’s appointment, the family went to Red Lobster and IL7 played Minecraft. I read to IL7 to midnight and M13 watched the ball drop with Aaron. D16 read to midnight.

Thursday

Thursday (New Year Day), wasn’t too exciting – which is sometimes nice. Aaron, IL7, and I ran some errands. I read to him while he put together LEGO with his dad. I played a LEGO game with IL7, read, and worked on my to-do list for the rest of the day.

Friday

Friday I took IL7 to an appointment then Dad to an appointment for his painful muscle. The doctor prescribed an anti-inflammatory medicine to see if that helps, which makes me really happy. The other doctors said nothing could be done. I had to drag IL7 along on Dad’s appointment 

In the evening I got some reading done, played Minecraft with IL7, cooked dinner, and read to IL7 till midnight. Aaron was sick with a fever all day. D16 and M13 watched TV all day.

Reading to myself

• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel
• The Great Hunt, by Robert Jordan
• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• We Shall Be Monsters, by Alyssa Wees
• History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer
• Castle Hangnail, by Ursula Vernon
• Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• One Piece Volumes 13-15, by Eiichiro Oda
• Castle Hangnail, by Ursula Vernon
• Mr Ballen podcast

Reading to IL7

• Jurassic Carp, by Mo O’Hara
• Lord of the Fleas, by Dav Pilkey

Media Completed

Klostermaier wrote a very thorough survey of the living-style and history of Hinduism. It had an overview of the philosophy of Hinduism, as well as the practices. It did not contain lists of gods, but treated the gods as one great God, which I think is how many, but not all Hindus feel. I am not an expert, but it seems more acknowledgement of polytheism was in order. Also, the book was a bit over my head in a lot of places, as it assumed a basic knowledge of Hinduism and terminology.

Petey battles some old friends and takes some advice from Li’l Petey.

A scientist and Mark make a giant prehistoric fish using Frankie as a template.

Nami gets a fever and they try to save her.

News

Saturday

Saturday M13 didn’t have a fever, so I drove the family to the airport and they flew off to see Popo. By the time they made it to her house, M13 had a fever again.

I had a good day quietly hanging out with my dad. I did all the laundry. I read. I wrote 2 letters. (I have 9 more to complete this week, then I’m caught up.) I stayed up late so I could read to IL7 by video call.

Sunday

Sunday, I wrote two letters, read a lot, and spent a long time cleaning the living room (which will stay clean for another 6 days, at which point it will transition to instantly trashed without an in-between state). Dad and I went out to Olive Garden. I read to IL7 over video call.

Monday

Monday I made some baked beans for Aaron’s lunches next week. I did a lot of reading and writing, and spent a little more time cleaning the living room. I read to IL7 over video call.

Tuesday

Tuesday I wrote two letters, scrubbed the floors, and watched “Death on the Nile” with dad. I didn’t get much reading done. I read to IL7 at night. The electricity in my room and to the router went out, interrupting the story, then IL7 fell asleep before I finished the book.

Wednesday

Christmas eve,  Dad and I watched “Crazy Rich Asians.” I read to IL7 till 2am.

Thursday

Christmas was calm. My friend Liz came over and we played board games. Then I cooked steaks for dinner. I read to IL7 till 2am.

Friday

Friday I ran a bunch of errands, cooked dinner, watched Elevation with Dad, and read to IL7 to 2am.

Reading to myself

• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• Determined, by Robert Sapolsky
• Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• The Great Hunt, by Robert Jordan
• Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel
• One Piece Volumes 10-12, by Eiichiro Oda
• The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle
• History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer
• One Piece Volumes 13-15, by Eiichiro Oda
• We Shall be Monsters, by Alyssa Wees

Reading to IL7

• Knight-napped, by Ursula Vernon
• Jurassic Carp, by Mo O’Hara
• The Frozen Menace, by Ursula Vernon
• Treasure of the Gold Dragon, by Tracey West
• Bad Guys in One Last Thing, by Aaron Blabey

Aaron reading

• Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

Media Completed

Danny, Wendell, and Christiana are kidnapped by knights while trying to save Danny’s cousin.

Our group battles Arlong, a beautiful pirate, and enters the Grand Line.

The Dragon Masters race to stop Maldrid from getting the golden key that will release the Naga.

When Danny’s fire goes out, he, Wendell, and Christiana go to the Farthest North to find a phoenix egg.

Wolf is Shortfuse’s new apprentice.

Another set of short stories involving Sherlock Holmes and his great friend Watson. Obviously intended on being the last book in the series. Obviously wasn’t the last. I like how much Holmes’ personality has developed through the last several books.

News

Saturday

Saturday dad got out of the hospital. D16 was starting to get sick. IL7, Aaron and I played Minecraft. M13 watched TV. In the end, the family finally got to go out to Red Lobster for IL7’s birthday.

Sunday

Sunday was busy as usual. I made some taco soup, caught up on housework, and played Minecraft with IL7. Aaron, IL7, and I went to swim lessons, and he dunked his head under the water. M13 and IL7 played with the magnetic tiles. D16 played D&D.

Monday

Monday was a busy day. IL7 had an appointment, followed by an appointment for me. I had lots of tasks to do since Dad just got out of the hospital and we’re about to go on vacation. Then I took IL7 Christmas shopping. I spent a couple hours wrapping presents, and finished about half of it. Glad I started early.

Tuesday

Tuesday the high schools were closed because someone on the internet was threatening to shoot up more than one of the district’s schools. D16 stayed home, but they kept the middle school and elementary schools open.

I was supposed to take D16 to an appointment, but it was cancelled by the provider, so I was able to finish wrapping presents. That took forever!

Aaron and I had a video appointment and then we were supposed to have an IEP meeting for D16. She, Aaron, and I sat on the bed waiting for the Zoom link to work, then it was rescheduled for Friday. Such a waste of a half hour.

My dad’s at home nurse came to do an after-hospital visit. That went smoothly. Then IL6 played his new computer game while I wrote a letter. 

In the evening, my friend Liz came and we watched Doctor Who with Aaron, Dad, and D16.

Wednesday

Wednesday I got the rest of the Christmas cards mailed and ran errands. There seems to be a multi-step process to make sure everyone has enough meds to make it through the vacation.

In the evening, I took IL7 to an appointment, followed by faith formation. I actually got an hour of reading done! Dad’s SpO2 was in the low 80’s all day.

Thursday

Thursday, I took Dad to his primary care provider to follow-up after his hospital visit. His PCP seemed pretty dire about Dad’s oxygen levels, which was worrisome. Dad wanted to stop by the gym to talk to his physical trainer, but she wasn’t around. I popped by the library with IL7. Then I played D&D in the evening.

Friday

Friday I made the hard decision to stay home for Christmas because of Dad’s unstable health. (The family is going to visit my in-laws for a week.) I had thought Dad was going to be angry, since he’d gotten angry when I suggested it a week earlier, but he actually seemed relieved. However, it was a sad decision, since I didn’t really want to separate from the family for Christmas. But I’ll read to IL7 by video call instead of in person before he goes to bed at night, and I’ll celebrate Christmas with my friend, who is also alone on Christmas this year.

I took IL7 to an appointment and attempted l yet another IEP meeting for D16. Again, the Zoom link failed. I picked up M13, who was sick, and ran to get a COVID/flu test (negative).  Aaron decided if M13 had a fever in the morning, they wouldn’t go, either.

To finish the day off, we opened presents to each other (Santa hadn’t come yet), then packed. Except M13. Apparently he missed the packing memo.

Reading to myself

• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• The History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer
• Determined, by Robert Sapolsky
• One Piece Volumes 7-9, by Eiichiro Oda
• Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Great Hunt, by Robert Jordan

Reading to IL7

• Knight-Napped, by Ursula Vernon
• Double Creature Feature, by Andrea Miedoso
• Lord of the Fleas, by Dav Pilkey

IL7 Reading

• The Frail Snail on the Trail, by Brian P Cleary

Media Completed

The crew wants to save Nami from some fishman pirates.

News

Saturday

Saturday Aaron went to the DFL coffee meeting before talking to his mom. I made chickpea curry. M13, Dad and I went Christmas shopping. Aaron and IL6 also went Christmas shopping.

Sunday

Sunday we celebrated IL7’s birthday. We had a cake with cake pop eyeballs and presents and played D&D, where the group battled mirror world Shrek and Fiona. (Which is what IL7 wanted to do.) IL7 and I also built a snowman. The snow was very dry and powdery, so it ended up being a very small snowman that we squashed together using body heat. The head exploded as soon as we stuck the carrot in, so we had to get creative. We dyed IL7’s hair purple, too. It turned out really nice. He had a high fever by the end of the night, though.

Monday

Monday IL7 was sick. He had a high fever and was lethargic. I took him to urgent care. He has “A viral infection” and a mild ear infection. We played his new Mario game on the Switch.

Tuesday

Tuesday IL7 was home sick again. He still had a fever, but was feeling much better. I cooked some Southwestern chicken and rice for Aaron’s lunches, pork chops for IL7 and M13, and meatloaf for dinner. Right about the time I was finally going to settle down and read, dad asked me to call an ambulance because he was having chest pain. I told him to take a nitroglycerin, and it went away. Then he couldn’t catch his breath, so we gave him the nebulizer at the suggestion of the on-call nurse. He also had a fever. I stayed home from work because there was a snowstorm. Getting IL7 to take his antibiotic was like pulling his teeth.

Wednesday

Wednesday M13 had a virtual appointment, then I got him McDonald’s and took him to school. IL7 was home sick again, so I played Super Mario 3D World with him, which was fun. We were trying really hard to get all the stars, and we finished levels 1-1 and 1-2 (multiple times each because some stars are hard to get). 

At that point, dad said he thought he had pneumonia and that he couldn’t get out of the chair. I gave him a nebulizer and called 911. After 5 hours in the ER, he was diagnosed with pneumonia and checked in to the hospital. 

Aaron went to a tour of a magnet school D16 is interested in attending. It is a science-based one, located at the zoo. 

Thursday

Thursday IL7 was still home sick. Aaron sat with him for the day. I took D16 to an appointment, then went to visit dad in the hospital. The social worker called and said dad was cleared by physical therapy to be released – with in-home physical therapy for a while. She said the doctor said he could maybe be released Friday. Dad’s at-home nurse came to visit, as well.

Friday

Friday, Dad was still in the hospital and IL7 was still home sick (though it was the first day all week that he didn’t have a fever). I played Minecraft with IL7 and did a bunch of laundry. IL7 also wrote a Scratch program. M13 played on the computer. When Aaron was off work at 5, I went to visit Dad.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• Determined, by Robert Sapolsky
• Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen
• The Great Hunt, by Robert Jordan
• Gulag Archipelago Part 3, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• A History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer
• Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel

Media Completed

Danny, Wendell, and Christiana use mad detective skills to investigate Danny’s grandfather’s missing dentures.

Tom and Pradeep take Frankie to an aquarium, where he is almost eaten by an octopus. Then they try to audition for My Pet’s Got Talent

Snake and Wolf battle it out.

The narrator of this story is a spy for the communists during the Vietnam war. It describes a lot of complaints about how the US handled the war. It was much more character/situation-based than plot based. Very well written, and thought-provoking.

Reading to IL5

• The Case of the Toxic Mutants, by Ursula Vernon
• Bad Guys in the Serpent and the Beast, by Aaron Blabey
• The Night of the Zombie Zookeeper, by Andres Miedoso
• Jurassic Carp, by Mo O’Hara

D14 reading

• Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, by A. F. Steadman
• Skandar and the Phantom Rider, by A. F. Steadman

News

Saturday

Saturday we all mostly relaxed, besides getting some housework and the shoveling done. IL6 and I played Minecraft. IL6 played Spore. Aaron and I chatted.

Sunday

Sunday IL6 and Aaron played Diablo. IL6 and I went to the library. IL6 and M13 played Minecraft. D15 dyed her hair a darker pink, but it didn’t show up this time, either. And the family went out to Olive Garden.

Monday

Monday, I took IL6 to an appointment and then dad to the gym. After the gym, dad was more out of breath than usual, and I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to connect the nebulizer. The instructions were “connect the tubing and add the medicine.” It was unclear how to do either at first.

While I was giving dad the nebulizer, the middle school called to tell me M13 had been sitting in the office for 45 minutes waiting for me. I had accidentally said I would pick him up Monday instead of Tuesday. Oops! I had a virtual appointment later.

D13 came home upset because she didn’t mesh well with her personal finance teacher. M13 went to Boy Scouts and then played Kirby with IL6.

Tuesday

Tuesday I took D16 to an appointment. M13 was supposed to have an appointment, but they cancelled. Instead, I took Dad to get a pedicure and made some phone calls. I got some reading in since Aaron was playing a game with his friends. IL6 made a Super Mario Maker level for M13.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning, I had a chat with a friend in the morning. Then I took Dad to the gym. I didn’t work out because I was was tired, but I sat in the sauna for a while. I took M13 to an appointment then cross-stitched. In the late afternoon, I took IL6 to an appointment, then faith formation.

Thursday

Thursday, D16 had an appointment right after work, and dad had an appointment in the middle of the day. I got some reading and writing done. I played D&D in the evening while Aaron went to a DFL happy hour and M13 played Mario Kart with IL6.

Friday

Friday I took dad to the gym, but he threw up and we had to go home. M13 played Minecraft with IL6. Aaron played computer games with his friends.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Gulag Archipelago Volume 3, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• Breathless, by David Quammen
• The Great Hunt, by Robert Jordan
• Mr Ballen Podcast
• The Great Hunt, by Robert Jordan
• The Plantagenets, by Dan Jones
• One Piece Volumes 4-6, by Eiichiro Oda
• History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer

Reading to IL5

• Live and Let Swim, by Mo O’Hara
• Dogman and Catkid, by Dav Pilkey
• Shine of the Silver Dragon, by Tracey West

Media Completed

Dogman and Lil’ Petey stop Petey’s evil plan to make Lil’ Petey evil and to take over the city with a giant taco.

Monkey D Luffy and his crew save a town from cat pirates. Then they seek out a cook, but the cook’s ship is attacked by pirates. Zoro fights the world’s greatest swordsman.

Dan Jones describes the Plantagenets from the first to the last king. This is surprisingly engaging (I was expecting a little dry). I would definitely suggest to people interested in monarchs.

The Dragon Masters race to save an important key from Mordred.

News

Saturday

Saturday was calm. Aaron and IL6 went to an overnight Cub Scout event, and apparently IL6 was social for a short while. I read to D15. I got to sleep in a bed – a rare occurrence.

Sunday

Sunday, Aaron and IL6 returned from the overnight Cub Scout event. He had a lot of fun. He fell asleep before swim lessons, though, and we decided he needed sleep after sleeping on concrete (he rolled off his matt). Dad was sick, so we didn’t go to Mass.

I made some chicken noodle soup for Aaron’s lunches. I made a new D&D character for IL6. It’s a half spider/half cat wizard named Hippopotamus. I made spaghetti for dinner. Aaron shopped and picked up M13 from his mom’s house.

In the evening, we played D&D.

Monday

Monday, IL6 woke with a fever, which hovered all day between 103-104F. I decided if it got up to 104.5, I’d take him into urgent care, but it didn’t. IL6 wanted me to check his temperature every half hour to hour all day. He threw up twice. Dad was also sick with the same bug.

I read, did laundry, cross-stitched, wrote a letter, played Minecraft with IL6, and helped Aaron make dinner. D15 walked around school all day without crutches. She was concerned about her knee when she got home, but it didn’t hurt. M13 and Aaron played Axis and Allies in the evening.

Tuesday

Tuesday IL6 was home again, because he’d had a fever within 24 hours of the school day. In the evening, Aaron and I watched an episode of Andor.

Wednesday

Wednesday there was a “blizzard” which had maybe half an inch of snow blowing around. The wind actually blew me backwards when I first stepped out, and I had to lean into the wind to get to my car. I told dad to cancel his appointments because it was too windy for him to step out. So, instead I had a nice break. The older kids left with their mom.

Thursday

On Thanksgiving, I got home from work to find the kitchen trashed. I knew I couldn’t cook like that, so I cleaned it. I cooked turkey, stuffing, sausage and veggies, and au gratin potatoes. We also had a key lime pie.  It was just Aaron, IL6, and me.

Friday

Friday was a relaxing day. We ate leftovers. Dad and I went to the gym. IL6 took two naps. I read. Aaron played board games with friends.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• Breathless, by David Quammen
• Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel
• Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• One Piece 1-3, by Eiichiro Oda
• Nightfall, by Shannon Messenger
• One Piece 4-6, by Eiichiro Oda
• Gulag Archipelago Part 2, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen
• The Great Hunt, by Robert Jordan
• The Plantagenets, by Dan Jones
• Gulag Archipelago Volume 3, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn

Reading to IL5

• Bad Guys in Look Who’s Talking, by Aaron Blabey
• The Sleepwalking Snowman, by Andres Miedoso
• Live and Let Swim, by Mo O’Hara

Media Completed

A boy eats a gum-gum fruit and becomes a gummy man. He sails around randomly looking for a crew so he can be a pirate captain. Good start to the manga series.

Wolf and Short Fuse continue their journey.

This is a continuation of Solzhenitzyn’s recounting of the gulag prisons in Russia. Not exciting reading, but an important work.