Update November 1, 2025

News

Saturday

Saturday, I made Aaron gumbo for this week’s lunches. Then I downloaded a bunch of free software so IL6 could eventually program Minecraft mods. Or at least figure out that he can’t program in java. I also played Minecraft with him. We had chicken for dinner, then I relaxed while Aaron played Minecraft with IL6.

Sunday

Sunday IL6, M13, Liz, her nephew, and I went to Olive Garden. Liz and I discussed our book and picked a new one. Afterwards, IL6 and I chatted with ChatGPT to figure out where we went wrong in our java coding. It told me I downloaded the wrong Forge, so I downloaded the other one. That was all we had time for that day.

IL6 and I went to swim lessons, then we played Minecraft. Aaron went to buy pumpkins for carving, then he, Dad, and I went to Outback. Then Aaron, the kids, and I carved pumpkins.

Monday

Monday all three kids had a telehealth appointment, then I drove IL6 to an appointment a half hour away. When we got back to school, I realized we’d forgotten his jacket. I took dad to the gym, and I stayed on the treadmill for an hour. Then I drove an hour round-trip to get IL6’s jacket. After spaghetti dinner, I tried to program a mod in Minecraft and ran into a problem I don’t know how to solve. IL6 was not pleased.

Tuesday

Tuesday, I took D15 and then M13 to appointments. I did some chores. In the evening, my friend Liz came over and we watched Doctor Who.

Wednesday

Wednesday, I took dad to the gym then exhausted myself running a bunch of errands. After school, I took IL6 to an appointment. Then Aaron, M13, and I went to parent-teacher conferences. He’s mostly doing pretty well. IL6 and I tried to play Minecraft, but ran into a frustrating glitch that I will have to figure out.

Thursday

Thursday I was very tired. I had a telehealth appointment, then took a nap. Dad had an in-home nurse appointment. We went to IL6’s parent-teacher conference. He’s pretty solid in math. Then we went to IL6’s Cub Scout award ceremony.

Friday

Friday IL6 had a telehealth appointment that I let him sleep through. Then he had an in-clinic appointment. The rest of the day was relaxing. Aaron went in to the office for a team-building exercise and they built LEGOs. He got to keep his R2D2. In the evening, IL6 dressed up like a cobra and D16 dressed up like a witch and they went trick-or-treating. They got quite the haul. Along with candy, D16 scored a Jesus, a potato, and a banana. She gave the Jesus to IL6, because he was disappointed that he didn’t get one. He has placed it with his toy dinosaurs.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
The Week: Gunboat Diplomacy
Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him, by Tracy Borman
Hunger of the Gods, by John Gwynne
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett
A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
Mr Ballen Podcast
The Plantagenets, by Dan Jones
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle

Reading to IL5

Dogman, by Dav Pilkey
The SeaQuel by Mo O’Hara
Fins of Fury, by Mo O’Hara
Bad Guys in Let the Games Begin, by Aaron Blabey

Media Completed

When a cop and his dog get partly blown up, they decide to save the cop’s body by putting the dog’s head on its shoulders. Then Dogman battles an evil mayor’s plot.

In this second book of “My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish” Tom and Sandeep take Frankie on a vacation. This book is just as good as the first book. It is humorous and has great pictures.

Maurice has learned to talk. Why? So have a bunch of rats. They team up with a piper boy. But when they enter one town, they have to deal with the unexpected. This was very cute, though I felt the beginning was a bit slow.