News

Saturday

Saturday we prepared for the snowpocalypse which was supposed to come on Sunday. Apparently all the other Aldi shoppers were doing the same.

Sunday

Sunday, Aaron taught M13 to use the snowblower, but the drifts were too high for M13 to push through. The family drove to Red Lobster, but it was closed due to the storm, so we went to Perkins. 

Monday

Monday, the kids didn’t have school because, apparently, the district thought snowmaggedon would last another day (it didn’t). I took IL7 to Dad’s doctor appointment, then to the grocery store, McDonald’s Play Place, and Target. I took him to pick out some D&D dice, but then he wanted the expansion pack to a game we didn’t own because it had the picture of a tank on it. I didn’t get it, and he screamed all the way home (a 20 minute drive). We played Scribblebots and then made a cake when we got home. M13 had Boy Scouts.

That night, I overshot the driveway at work, and got stuck in a snowbank. I had to call AAA to pull me out. At 6am that morning, we got a call saying that school was cancelled again due to threats that the police were investigating. So I went back to bed with the expectation of another day of hauling IL7 around.

Tuesday

Tuesday, I dragged IL7 along with me to dad’s appointment. Mobilizing one, alone, is hard. Mobilizing them both at the same time is frustrating. 

Plus, they run off in different directions and don’t wait for me when I ask them to pause so we can stay together. You think my Dad can’t run off? Well, if I don’t leap out of the car with his walker, he starts wobbling off without it. So I stopped the car, asked him to wait, speed walked to the back to pull the walker out, and slammed it down in front of Dad before he’d gotten too far. Then, I had to turn around and get IL7 out of the car. He thought it was funny to crawl back and forth between the front and the back of the car whenever I switched what door I was at. When I finally got him out, he took off running through the parking lot, not looking for cars, to catch up with Dad.

Plus, I swear they were conspiring against me a couple of times. For instance, when the physical therapist came out to the waiting room to call Dad, I said that IL7 and I would wait there. I told IL7 to get off Dad’s walker. Dad stood up and started pushing the walker away with IL7 on it. I repeatedly told IL7 to get off. Finally I had to get up and follow them, because it became clear that neither of them cared what I wanted to do. 

And Tuesday was the second day in a row of dragging IL7 and Dad around together, so I was already tired before Tuesday started.

Luckily, IL7 didn’t require as much attention Tuesday as he did on Monday.

Wednesday

Wednesday I was very tired. I got a call from the vet saying Puck’s lab work came back unsurprising. He now has stage 3 kidney disease. They couldn’t find a reason for the heart murmur. They suggested a urine test, an x-ray, and an echocardiogram, which I decided are the responsible things to do. They’re expensive. I’m also going to see if renal soft food helps him gain weight, as he’s dangerously thin now.

I took Dad to the gym, and took IL7 to two appointments and faith formation.

Thursday

Thursday, I took Dad, then D16 to an appointment. I bought some renal soft food for Puck, which he completely rejected. I went to Perkins with Dad. I played D&D.

Friday

Friday was the first day of spring break. I took IL7 to an appointment and Dad to the gym. IL7 and I played Scribblebots, then he rode his bike to the library, followed by a park. We played “monster hunt.” Aaron made hamburgers for dinner, and we practiced IL7 on going through a little bit of dinner (sharing about his day) without my phone. He did admirably. I tried Puck out on another type of soft food – no luck. 

Reading to myself

• New Scientist: Stronger for Longer
• I is Another, by Jon Fosse
• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• Dragon Reborn, by Robert Jordan
• Curse of Strahd, by Dungeons and Dragons
• Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• The Week: Hegseth’s Rules
• Mr Ballen Podcast
• Men at Arms, by Terry Pratchett
• The Week: Dire Straits

Reading to IL7

• Beast Mode Unleashed, by Andres Miedoso
• Klawde Evil Alien Warlord Cat, by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
• The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, by Tom Angleberger
• I’m Your Biggest Phantom, by Andres Miedoso
• Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy, by Thomas Flintham

D16 reading

• The Accidental Apprentice, by Herman Foody
• Trouble’s Child, by Terry Goodkind
• The Girl in the Moon, by Terry Goodkind

IL7 reading 

• Robo-Rabbit Boy, Go!, by Thomas Flintham

Media Completed

This is a sweeping classic of historical fiction. It follows several characters/families and describes how they were impacted by Russia’s war with France in the early 1800’s. It also encompasses how their lives weren’t impacted by the war – how life went on despite it. I admit that a lot of the philosophy went over my head, though. I just don’t view the world from a Russian perspective.

In this second of a trilogy Asle continues to ponder his past and present, often in the third person. It is unclear what is going on – is it parallel lives? And why the unique sentence structure. It feel compelling and meaningful, yet I don’t understand why or how. But I can see why Fosse won the Nobel Prize. I am fascinated.

News

Saturday

Saturday, IL7 and I played Piku Niku while Aaron went to a political event.

Sunday

Sunday, I made some split pea soup for Aaron’s lunches. Aaron and I played Super Mario 3D World with IL7. I got some reading done. Aaron went grocery shopping. IL7 had swim lessons. In the evening, the family played D&D.

Monday

Monday was busy. D16 had an appointment in the wee hours, then IL7 had an appointment. I took my dad to the gym, then I had an appointment. Dad decided to walk home from the gym (about two miles) without telling me – I had left him there because I thought my sister was coming. Dad made it 1.5 blocks before he needed to be rescued. Later, Dad’s at-home nurse came to visit. In the evening, my friend Liz came over and we watched Doctor Who. Afterwards, I played Scribblebots with IL7.

Tuesday

Tuesday it feels like I ought to have had free-time, but I was busy all day long. I got D16’s surgery scheduled for June, which required about 6 appointments, with promise of months of physical therapy following up. I took dad to his first physical therapy for his herniated disc. He was pleased with the exercises. I played Scribblebots with IL6.

Wednesday

Wednesday IL7 had an appointment. I spent some time reading.

Thursday

Thursday, I had to take a nap for a couple hours because I was so tired. D16 had an appointment. Later in the evening, I had D&D.

We had car troubles on my way to work. I moved the little car out of the way, so I could drive the big car. There was a wind warning in the morning. I parked it in an awkward spot. Then it wouldn’t start again when I tried to move it back in the driveway. We had to put it in neutral and push it back in, as IL7 ran around in our way. It started the next morning.

Friday

Friday I moved more slowly on everything than I intended, but I got enough stuff done, I suppose. I took IL7 to an appointment and ran some errands. I read. I wrote a letter. Aaron played a game with his friends.

Reading to myself

• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Dragon Reborn, by Robert Jordan
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• The Week: America at War
• Curse of Strahd, by Dungeons and Dragons
• New Scientist: What’s Tearing the Universe Apart
• A Master of Djinn, by P Djeli Clark
• American Eden, by Victoria Johnson
• I is Another, by Jon Fosse
• New Scientist: Stronger for Longer

Reading to IL7

• Desmond Cole Hold on to Your Heads, by Andres Miedoso
• Diary of a Minecraft Zombie, by Zack Zombie
• Klawde Evil Alien Warlord Cat: Enemies, by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
• [Fetch-22], by Dav Pilkey
• Beware the Werewolf, by Andres Miedoso

D16 reading

• The Accidental Apprentice, by Amanda Herman Foody
• Trouble’s Child, by Terry Goodkind
• The Girl in the Moon, by Terry Goodkind

Media Completed

News

Saturday

Saturday, Dad was in a lot of pain. IL7 wanted to do a lot of non-TV activities, which was nice, but he enjoys attention while he’s doing things like that, so I didn’t get much reading in. One thing IL7 did was make a carrot & apple smoothie, which was actually quite tasty.

Sunday

Sunday, IL7 played Battle Simulator. He talked me into playing Brotato, then I ended up playing alone. He also had swim lessons. D16 and M13 watched videos/TV. I got some reading done. Aaron went to a meet and greet with a politician.

Monday

Monday I took IL7 to an appointment. Then, hours of phone calls and housework. I took Dad to the gym for his first workout in weeks and worked out on the treadmill. Then I took Dad to see his doctor.

Tuesday

Tuesday, I picked up cupcakes, shuttled Dad’s urine an hour round-trip, took M13 to his well-child visit, played Minecraft with IL7, and read. Aaron went to a political meet-and-greet.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning, I took M13 to the dentist, then I went to the gym with Dad. In the afternoon/evening, I took IL7 to two appointments, then to faith formation. 

Thursday

Thursday, I used the last of my Christmas money to treat myself to Olive Garden, where I got some reading done. I ran errands. I took D16 to an appointment. In the evening, the family went out to Outback Steakhouse.

Friday

Friday the kids were all home from school. M13 and D16 spent all day on screens. I played on the computer with IL7 and took him to an appointment, the library, and Target. We bought Jenga. I worked on a letter and read a little.

Reading to myself

• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• Deathless Divide, by Justina Ireland
• Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• Curse of Strahd, by Dungeons and Dragons
• A Master of Djinn, by P Djeli Clark
• American Eden, by Victoria Johnson
• Mr Ballen Podcast
• Dragon Reborn, by Robert Jordan

Reading to IL7

• Super Cheat Codes and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham
• Klawde Evil Warlord Cat by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
• Super Rabbit Boy’s Time Jump, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off, by Thomas Flintham
• Diary of a Minecraft Zombie Book 4, by Zack Zombie

Media Completed

Klawde, an evil warlord cat, is banished from his home planet to Earth. He is adopted by Raj, who believes he is a good warlord. Very cute and funny. IL7 loved it. Maybe 3rd grade reading level?

Jane and Katherine continue fighting zombies and corrupt humans in this fantastic follow-up to Dread Nation. The story really isn’t complete without this sequel. It’s just one story.

News

Saturday

Saturday I got up early and took IL7 to Cub Scout Polar Camp. It had snowed earlier in the week, which was really convenient. It started with making a bracelet with knots. But I lack the visiospacial IQ for that, and gave up after a half hour and lots of help. Another mom finished it for me. The kids learned winter survival. And built with LEGOs (which is not winter-themed). And we went sledding/tubing. IL7 went down the tubing hill about 4 times. Which was me carrying the tube up a steep hill over and over because it was cumbersome for him. Walking down was just as hard, but for a different reason. Then he went down the sledding hill about 5 times. It was a long black tube, out of which the kid would shoot at high speed. I wouldn’t have expected that slide to be ok with IL7, who is historically afraid of tube slides, but he loved it. I had to carry the sled up the steep hill, too, and I was exhausted by the end. I was stumbling around, getting weird looks from the young man sending the boys down. Maybe they should try climbing that hill, carrying something, as an overweight 46-year-old.

After sledding, we were supposed to have lunch, but IL7 wanted to go home. When we got all buckled in, he changed his mind. So off we went to join the group again. We played a ball game kind of like dogde ball. Then they shot hacky sacks with a slingshot. We were both exhausted on the drive home. 

After a long nap, he wanted to watch Jurassic Park, which he enjoyed.

Sunday

Sunday was typical for a Sunday. IL7 had swim lessons. He dunked under, so earned McDonald’s. He fell asleep, so we didn’t do D&D.

Monday

Monday, I took IL7 to an appointment, then he stayed home sick. He didn’t seem sick, but he had a fever. I had two at-home appointments, as well. In the evening, Dad wanted to go to Red Lobster, and he got out of the house for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Tuesday

Tuesday, IL7 was home sick again. I took M13 to an appointment. I read to D16.

Wednesday

Wednesday, I wrote a letter, read, and took dad for a haircut and pedicure. I even got some cross-stitch done. Then I took IL7 to an appointment and to faith formation.

Thursday

Thursday started with a doctor appointment for Dad. I went to Olive Garden alone with my Christmas money. And I played D&D.

Friday

Friday I relaxed and read. Both of my usual appointments were cancelled. In the evening, I read IL7 a new Super Rabbit Boy book. 

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• The Other Name, by Jon Fosse
• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• The Week: The AI Tsunami
• Deathless Divide, by Justina Ireland
• Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Mr Ballen Podcast
• A Master of Djinn, by P Djeli Clark
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• Nightfall, by Shannon Messenger
• New Scientist: Before the Big Bang
• American Eden, by Victoria Johnson

Reading to IL7

• Super Rabbit Boy Team-Up Trouble, by Thomas Flintham
• Diary of a Minecraft Zombie: Book 3, by Zack Zombie
• Klawde Evil Alien Warlord, by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
• The Super Jump Between Worlds, by Thomas Flintham

D16 reading

• Fury of the Gods, by John Gwynne

Media Completed

This is an ethereal story of Asle, a Norwegian painter, who mourns his wife. It has flashbacks and another Asle, who lives a lonely, alcoholic life, mourning his life. The story was confusing at first, and I’m still not sure what is going on. But I found the book interesting, and will continue with the next book.

I’m not sure what to say this book was about, since it rambled a lot. It was basically Wilson’s thoughts on how humans have changed from evolution of the species to technological advancement. Unsurprisingly, he mentioned his negative impression of religion/faith, though he did admit it had upsides, too. I found the book lost its point in its rambling.

News

Saturday

Saturday, after much cajoling, Aaron and I convinced IL7 to go ice fishing with the Cub Scouts. He was entertained for about a half hour, then ran off to play by the thin ice.

Sunday

Sunday was surprisingly relaxing. I got some chores done, and Aaron and I did the shopping. IL7 had swim lessons, then played Brotato with M13. In the evening, the family played D&D.

Monday

Monday was a sucky day. It started with too little sleep, because I needed to get Hero to the vet for her first-ever dental cleaning. It turns out, I’ve been neglecting her teeth – she had 5 broken teeth, a cavity, periodontal disease, and an infected root. Apparently some cats just have bad teeth. I guess we’ll look at them yearly from now on. So for the next 10 days, she’s locked in the bedroom, eating soft food. 

IL7 had an appointment, but other than that I was able to get stuff done around the house. The kids were all home from school, so M13 and I both played Brotato with IL7. In the evening, M13 went to Boy Scouts and I read to D16.

While I was at work that night, Aaron had to call 911 for Dad, who was in pain in his butt and hip. There, he was diagnosed with a broken tailbone and  a herniated disc – both from his fall a couple weeks ago. Aaron couldn’t go to the ER with dad, so an ambulance had to give him a ride back home. So Aaron had to settle Dad back into his room at 4am and got very little sleep while I was sleeping like a baby. 

Tuesday

Tuesday, I feel like I was putting out little fires all day. Making phone calls about Dad’s ER visit, taking care of him. D16 had an appointment. Then I proofread her essays for National Honor Society. In the evening, my friend Liz came, and we all finished watching the Disney Doctor Who.

Wednesday

Wednesday IL7 had a couple of appointments and then we played Brotato.

Thursday

Thursday was Aaron’s birthday, and he took it off work. We started out the morning running to Goodwill to drop off some stuff (it was nice having his help), then we went out for Mongolian grill. In the afternoon, we put together a LEGO set (Eeyore – it was my Christmas present). IL7 and I played Scribblebots, then dad treated us to Buffalo Wild Wings. Unfortunately, he couldn’t come along because of his pain. He’s hardly able to move around the house.

Friday

Friday, D16 and IL7 both had an appointment. Then I spent most of the rest of the day feeling stressed out. M13 and IL7 beat Brotato. Aaron played Gloomhaven with his friends. I read to Loki till midnight.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Mr Ballen Podcast
• Deathless Divide, by Justina Ireland
• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• The Week: Slash and Burn
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearn Goodwin
• New Scientist: Off the Scales
• Nightfall, by Shannon Messenger
• Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn

Reading to IL7

• Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea, by Dav Pilkey
• Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy: The Game Book, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy vs Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy World, by Thomas Flintham
• Diary of a Minecraft Zombie Book 3, by Zack Zombie
• Super Rabbit All-Stars, by Thomas Flintham

D16 reading

• Fury of the Gods, by John Gwynne

Media Completed

News

Saturday

Saturday I made baked beans for Aaron then played Piku Niku with IL7. Dad took us out to Olive Garden for dinner.

Sunday

Sunday, I made Aaron some white chili and took IL7 to swim lessons. IL7 and M13 played Minecraft. Aaron went grocery shopping. In the evening the family played D&D.

Monday

Monday morning I took IL7 to an appointment, took dad to the gym and a doctor appointment, had a virtual visit of my own, and then attended an in-home appointment for dad.

The day went downhill from there with 2 people crying, one person being grumpy, and one person being in too much pain to eat. So I made meatloaf, but then we didn’t have dinner.

Tuesday

Tuesday was fairly relaxing. I only had one appointment. M13 played Minecraft with IL7.

Wednesday

Wednesday, dad’s bruised tailbone hurt so much that we cancelled his outing to the gym. I made his bed and then made him oatmeal. In the evening, IL7 had 2 appointments in the evening.

Thursday

Thursday, I treated myself to Olive Garden with my Christmas money, then ran errands. I had D&D in the evening.

Friday

Friday I took IL7 to an appointment, then relaxed for the rest of the day. M13 went to his mom’s house. I read to D16. Aaron played Gloomhaven with his friends.

Reading to myself

• Gulag Archipelago Part 3, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
• Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland
• The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
• The Week: Start of the Steal
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• Case Book of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle
• Paradise Lost, by John Milton
• Deathless Divide, by Justina Ireland
• Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Reading to IL7

• Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets, by Dav Pilkey
• Any Fin is Possible, by Mo O’Hara
• Cat Kid Comic Club Influencers, by Dav Pilkey
• The Zombie Chasers by John Kloepfer
• Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea, by Dav Pilkey

D16 reading

• Fury of the Gods, by John Gwynne

Media Completed

Linus is sent on a work trip to investigate an orphanage with scary-magical children. OMG. I haven’t liked a book this much in years. It was funny, sweet, and interesting.

This final Sherlock Holmes book was as interesting as the rest. There was one story where I felt Holmes acted out of character, but that’s ok.

Jane is fighting for her life in this reconstruction-era zombie book. It was creative and interesting. The book was left open for the sequel.

News

Saturday

Saturday was busy. I did get some reading, writing, and cross-stitch in. But I also cleaned IL7’s room with the help of IL7 and Aaron. M13 read manga. Then, IL7 bought a new game. M13 spent an hour going through a tutorial, and I spent 2 hours going through a second tutorial. Then I read to IL7.

Sunday

Sunday was busy, too. I was going to make baked beans, but realized I had no ham. I’d already started cooking bacon by the time I realized, though. M13, IL7, and I went out to Olive Garden with my friend Liz and her nephew. Then IL7 and I played on the Switch, and he did some math workbooks. 

After swim lessons and dinner, the family played D&D.

Monday

Monday I took IL7 to an appointment, then dad to the gym. I stayed on the treadmill for 60 minutes. There were  several errands. I read to D16 in the evening. M13 had Boy Scouts.

Tuesday

Tuesday I took D16 to an appointment, made some onerous calls, and took Hero to the vet. My friend Liz came over, and we watched the Mario movie so that IL7 was prepared to watch the new movie coming out in April.

Wednesday

Wednesday was crazy. It started as a pain in the ass with registration for summer day care. It opened at 7am, and I used a half hour of free-time at work to try to get IL7 registered, but the website was really confusing. I couldn’t figure it out, then had to try again at noon. The way the system was set up, you had to add each day of the summer as an individual item to your cart, and each day took 20-30s to load. After 48 minutes, I got all the days loaded except the first week (didn’t exist in the system), the last two weeks (were full) and a random day in June (it didn’t exist in the system). I know it was 48 minutes, because they would have emptied my cart in another 12 minutes. It’s genius programming that might empty your cart before you can feasibly get it filled.

Between my  two attempts at the registration, I took dad to an appointment. The doctor had switched locations to somewhere much further away and very confusing. But with a little trial and error of building approach, we made it.

Then, Aaron and I dealt with a guy who came for an estimate of a duct cleaning. I left from there to an appointment. Afterwards, I drove back home to pile IL7 in the car to take him to another appointment. 

Meanwhile, Aaron was moving everything out of the way of our vents. We were both exhausted .

Thursday

Thursday I woke feeling sick. It was a struggle to stay awake all day. IL7 and M13 had no school. I took Dad to physical therapy. While I was there, the men came to clean out our ducts. In the evening, Aaron and I went to IL7’s and M13’s parent-teacher conferences. They are both performing as expected. No surprises. Then I played D&D. 

Friday

Friday, all three kids were home from school. IL7 and I played Scribblebots for a while, then I took him to an appointment. Otherwise, it was a calm day.

Reading to myself

• Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland
• The Week: License to Kill
• The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
• History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer
• His Last Bow, by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The House on the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• Nightfall, by Shannon Messenger
• Gulag Archipelago Part 3, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• Mr Ballen Podcast
• Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

Reading to IL7

• Cat Kid Comic Club on Purpose, by Dav Pilkey
• Any Fin is Possible, by Mo O’Hara
• Night of the Zombie Zookeeper, by Andres Miedoso
• Cat Kid Comic Club Collaborations, by Dav Pilkey
• Cat Kid Comic Club Influencers, by Dav Pilkey

D16 reading

• Hunger of the Gods, by John Gwynne

Media Completed

In History of the Ancient World, Bauer uses epic stories as if they are reliable sources for history. She does not use archeological evidence, and does not seem to use the bulk of other historians’ accepted ideas of what happened in her book. Sometimes, I know she’s stating juicy tidbits that weren’t included in, say, the Bible as if they are accepted truths. It read like historical fiction with no overall plot. But it wasn’t boring.

This penultimate Sherlock Holmes book had good stories, as the others. It stayed to character, and was fun to read.

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.