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Saturday

Saturday Aaron, M13, and I got COVID shots. My arm started hurting so bad later that day that I was having difficulty lifting it. I spent the day recovering from a headache and a bad mood (for the second day in a row).

Sunday

Sunday I woke with a headache and dad woke with chest pains, so we skipped Mass. I mostly read and worked on a few odd jobs around the house till it was time for IL6’s swim lessons. When Aaron got home from picking up D15 at her mom’s house, the family went to Outback Steakhouse. Then IL6 worked on his homework and we read longer as a reward.

Monday

Monday was busy for me. IL6 had an appointment where he showed me he knew how to put on his socks and shoes, despite acting like he can’t do it at home. The little rascal.

Luckily the elementary school is right next to the middle school, because I had to immediately run there and pick up M13. I took him to the orthodontist.

Pretty quickly after that I took dad to the gym and got a workout in myself. Then I got IL6 off the bus and took him to M13’s soccer game. He even watched a while before going back to his phone. M13 did great (as far as I’m concerned, he didn’t think so).

In the evening I read to D15.

Tuesday

Tuesday I took D15 to an appointment downtown, which is always a pain parking. Then I ran errands with dad. After school I watched IL6 play Pikuniku whole writing letters. After dinner, Aaron and I watched two episodes of Andor.

Wednesday

Wednesday, I took D15 to an appointment, then took dad to the gym for his personal trainer appointment. I got a good amount of exercising done, and stopped as soon as I became tired because I wanted to conserve energy.In between my stuff, I got some reading done.

After school, IL6 had an appointment, then faith formation. He remained quiet in the church, but he was very squirmy. He found the class more interesting.

M13 had a soccer game that his mom went to. D15 had Best Buddies (where she hung out with special ed students). Aaron worked till 8pm.

Thursday

Thursday I woke feeling overwhelmed. I took a half hour nap at home then had a seminar for learning how to parent a child with autism. I still have not learned anything, but it was nice talking. After that, I took an hour nap and woke feeling better. Dad’s nurse practitioner came to visit. Then in the evening, I played D&D. M13 had soccer practice. Aaron worked till 9:20pm.

Friday

Friday, I wrote a letter, took IL6 to an appointment, and then took Dad to the gym for his personal trainer appointment. I worked out on the treadmill for 45 minutes. I got lots of reading done. M13 went to soccer practice. Aaron worked till 8:30pm.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Pandemic, by Sonia Shah
• Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey
• The Hero With a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell
• To Ride a Rising Storm, by Moniquil Blackgoose
• Exile, by R A Salvatore
• Mr Ballen podcast

Reading to IL5

• Diary of a Minecraft Zombie: Book 2, by Zack Zombie
• Roar of the Thunder Dragon, by Tracey West
• Revenge of the Horned Bunnies, by Ursula Vernon

Media Completed

In this Western-style dystopia Esther runs away from her dad for fear of marrying a man. She thinks being lesbian is despicable, as the laws say. But the group she joins just happens to be LGBTQ as well. This book has good world-building and character development and is fun as a concept. It is light on plot, but was pretty good anyway.

Zack Zombie deals with bullies. It is full of typos and isn’t particularly interesting. The pictures are few and unoriginal.

The dragon masters defend their dragons against a mean dragon master who wants to steal their dragons. Reasonably good with nice pictures. IL6 seems more interested in humor books, but he seems cool with this series.

Danny and Wendell go to summer camp, only to find out that someone was kidnapping jackalopes. Very awesome book.

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Saturday

Saturday Aaron and I played D&D in the early afternoon. D15 and IL6 took turns playing Diablo on the switch. In the evening Aaron played a computer game with his friends.

Sunday

Sunday I accidentally slept in till 10:30 and missed Mass. I spent a good chunk of time writing a letter while IL6 programmed on Scratch. Then he had swim lessons.

Monday

Monday I went to the gym with dad and walked on the treadmill while he worked with his personal trainer. I think he overdid it, because he really struggled later when he walked to the post office. Aaron and I had a telehealth appointment. M13 played on the computer with IL6, then went to Boy Scouts. I read to D15.

Tuesday

Tuesday was busy. I had 3 back-to-back appointments. The first allowed only a 20 minute break after arriving home from work. I took D15 to her weekly appointment, then M13 to an appointment (he’s gained half a pound – he was worried soccer would make him lose weight). Finally, I took him to the dentist. He, D15, and I played Ticket to Ride, and laughed at the placement of some of the cities, as usual. M13 won. Later, my friend Liz came over to watch Doctor Who with Aaron and D15. After that, I struggled to stay awake till it was time to leave for work.

Wednesday

Wednesday M13 had his tooth extraction. He was bleeding for several hours, and we had to replace the gauze every half hour. I dropped dad off and picked him up from the gym. I took IL6 to an appointment.

Thursday

Thursday was a nice day. I woke up thinking I wouldn’t have enough time to get through everything, but then the day cleared up.

First, I called the surgeon’s office about M13’s popped stitch, and they said it was fine – which meant I didn’t have to take him back in for a new one. Then, the clinic called and cancelled my telehealth appointment in the middle of the day.

That left enough time for dad and myself to go to Perkins for breakfast. Then I went to urgent care for something that turned out to not be urgent. Good thing I didn’t drop everything the day before and rush in. Aaron wouldn’t have been able to deal with M13’s bleeding mouth and work at the same time.

I did a few relaxing tasks and took a half hour nap. Dad had a visit from his in-home nurse practitioner. Then I played D&D. The game was fun. I finished IL6’s cross-stitched Creeper and began sorting the floss for D15’s gigantic unicorn. The unicorn will probably take me years, so I may work on smaller projects at the same time. I’ll also have to find more time to cross-stitch.

M13 played Minecraft with IL6, and then IL6 spent some time hanging out in the room with me while I played D&D.

Friday

Friday I took IL6 to speech therapy. Then M13, D15, and IL6 went to Perkins with me and dad. I dropped the older two off at home, then ran to the gym with Dad and IL6. IL6 played on my phone for about 45 minutes, then explored the gym. He could walk on the treadmill and almost use the arm curl machine.

In the evening, I cooked pork chops for IL6, M13, and Dad. Aaron cooked hamburgers for me and himself. Aaron played a computer game with his friend and IL6 and I read.

Reading to myself

• Pandemic, by Sonia Shah
• To Ride a Rising Storm,  by Moniquil Blackgoose
• The Week: A Nation Torn
• Lodestar, by Shannon Messenger
• A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• God’s Jury: The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World, by Cullen Murphy
• Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey
• Hero With a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell

Reading to IL5

• Didi Dodo Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster, by Tom Angleberger
• Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000, by Dav Pilkey

Media Completed

In this excellent set of lectures Professor Hoak not only describes the reign of Henry VIII, but also some of the important people of the time. I found the lectures engaging and informative. It added to other information I’ve read on the subject.

George and Harold deal with life as doubles and eventually with the return of the Turbo Toilet 2000.

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Saturday

Saturday I played Minecraft with IL6, then M13 played with him. I made some jambalaya for a potluck on Sunday. I took M13 to Michael’s to buy fabric for his home economics project (pj pants), but they didn’t have anything interesting. We did manage to get the rest of the cross-stitch floss I needed for my next project. I bought my Aida cloth and the fabric for pickup order instead.

Sunday

Sunday, I went to church with dad, then to a friend’s house for a girls’ day. We played Unstable Unicorns. D15 played D&D. In the evening, I had to call AAA to tow the car because it wouldn’t start.

Monday

Monday, IL6 had an appointment, then I ran several errands. M13 had soccer then Boy Scouts. IL6 played a computer game. I read to D15.

Tuesday

Tuesday I took D15 to a morning appointment. Then I spent the day doing more time-sensitive tasks, so I still haven’t accomplished some of the tasks I wanted to complete. Maybe Wednesday. In the evening, we picked up the car again, this time with new tires.

M13 played Minecraft with IL6 after school. Then he did “something on the phone” with his friends. It was rather magnanimous of me to let him do that during dinner since he’s actually grounded right now. In the evening, Aaron and I watched an episode of Andor. Then, because we didn’t have time for another episode, we watched a (shorter) episode of the new Quantum Leap. It was amusing enough for one episode.

Wednesday

Wednesday I took IL6 to an appointment and was told he grew taller and gained zero weight over the past year (which explains the falling down pants). So I’ve got to figure that out.

That’s on top of the stress that D15 and M13 will only eat out of specific 15-year-old bowls that seem to disappear. As we want M13 to eat the largest variety possible, this is stressful. ChatGPT told me which bowl it was based on pictures, but couldn’t find an exact replacement on the internet. It suggested a different set of bowls which it claimed had similar size, shape, and translucency. It said that translucency often matters in cases like this. Interesting.

I was very, very stressed over IL6’s blood draw, which included about 20 minutes of coaxing his tears away, then pinning him down kicking and screaming. I took a second dose of anxiety meds afterwards (the first was due to stress anticipating the blood draw), and became extremely chill. It was nice, but it wore off about the time IL6 got home. I got some reading done while I was chill.

Immediately after IL6 arrived home, we went to another appointment, which he did a good job at.

Thursday

Thursday I had a parenting children with autism seminar by telehealth, which went well.

I woke lightheaded and tingly with cold symptoms. Then that progressed to cold symptoms and dissociation. The dissociation was gone by the time I drove to work.

M13 had soccer practice, then played Minecraft with IL6. IL6 then went to Cub Scouts.

Friday

Friday I went directly to urgent care after work in the morning. I watched a movie, spent an hour at the pharmacy waiting for my prescription, and took a nap. I was starting to feel less fatigued by the time I should read to IL6.

Reading to myself

• Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• To Ride the Rising Storm, by Moniquil Blackgoose
• Gulag Archipelago Part 2, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne
• Shepherds’s Crown, by Terry Pratchett
• Pandemic, by Sonia Shah

Reading to IL5

• My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, by Mo O’Hara
• Diary of a Minecraft Zombie, by Zack Zombie

D14 reading

• Thirteen Doorways Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby

Media Completed

When Tom’s big brother does a science experiment on a unsuspecting goldfish, the goldfish needs resuscitation. When it comes back to life, it is a zombie that can hypnotize people. This book was very fun and funny. It had great pictures. IL6 loved it.

This fantastic epic fantasy covers the stories of three characters as they navigate their viking-like world. It was very well-developed world-building and great character development. It felt like it was well-researched as well.

Tiffany is drawn thin when ahe has to take care of two steadings. Funny, as usual.

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Saturday

Saturday, I played Minecraft with IL6, Aaron and I played D&D, and then Aaron made chili.

Sunday

Most of Sunday morning was spent (me) sitting next to IL6 as he programmed a game on Scratch and (Aaron) buying jeans at Goodwill and taking M13 to get supplies for soccer. In the afternoon, I took IL6 to swim lessons and Aaron picked up D15 from her mom’s. In the evening, the family went to Red Lobster with dad.

Monday

Monday, IL6 woke me at 5am, and I gave him a bath, then he watched TV. As soon as Aaron got up, I went grocery shopping – let me tell you, 7am is the time to get donuts. Then I had a video visit with a friend, followed by a telehealth appointment Aaron and I attended.

Dad and I went to work out – I managed 45 minutes on the treadmill. He was still feeling a little tired from the pneumonia the earlier week. Afterwards, I took dad to get his hearing aide fixed. Then, he had an at-home nurse visit.

M13 went to soccer after school and seemed to enjoy himself. D15 had an audition for a play in the community theater.

Tuesday

Tuesday was ok. D15 had an appointment in the morning, then I had a telehealth appointment in the afternoon. I was going to run errands in the afternoon, but I was too tired to drive, and I fell asleep.

In the evening, Aaron went to pick up my prescription, but apparently I called my prescription in wrong last Tuesday, and they didn’t have the prescription done. They were way behind on prescriptions so I couldn’t get it and am in withdrawal the next morning, which involves weird electrical shocks to my brain. That means I won’t be able to run my errands until I pick up the prescription.

In the evening, my friend Liz came over, and we watched the third and fourth episode of the new Doctor Who, which were as messed up as the first two. I hope they get better. I also couldn’t watch some of the dramatic events because IL6 kept demanding I look at his LEGO creations at the worst possible moment. And he will scream and grab my face if he doesn’t get listened to.

Wednesday

Wednesday dad took me to Perkins in the morning, then I stopped by the pharmacy. I took dad to an appointment, and then took IL6 to another. Aaron and D15 worked on a puzzle, and I read.

Thursday

Thursday dad had an in-home nurse appointment, then I played D&D. M13 had soccer practice, then played Minecraft with IL6.

Friday

Friday dad took me to Perkins, then I took him to get flu and COVID shots. Aaron had taken a half day off because we had been planning on going camping because it was so cold last time, but now it’s hot. He and I dropped dad off at the gym and went on a date to a brewery. Then we headed to three Goodwills to buy hoodies for IL6. He wants to be warm, and he only wears sweatshirts with hoods. In the evening, Aaron played his computer game with his friends and M13 watched a documentary about OJ Simpson.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne
• To Ride the Rising Storm, by Moniquil Blackgoose
• Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• The Week: Occupy Chicago

Reading to IL5

• My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, by Mo O’Hara
• Hall Monitors are Fired, by Jack Chabert
• Double Creature Feature, by Andres Miedoso
• Bad Guys in Open Wide and Say Arrgh, by Aaron Blabey
• Battle of the Boss-Monster, by Troy Cummings

D14 reading

• Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo
• Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All, by Laura Ruby

Aaron reading

Media Completed

In this fantastic classic, a young man chose to murder an old lady for reasons that become clearer later in the book. I read this as a 13 year old, and I doubt I understood the adult content in some of it, and my memory was a bit foggy on some bits. This book is highly philosophical, I hear, but I am not an expert in Russian philosophy and history, so some of it went over my head. I did find it interesting how I reevaluated the “punishment” part of the book as an adult. I found what philosophy I understood quite well-shown. As it is shown and not told, I can’t explain it without spoilers.

The school manages to get the hall monitors fired, leaving the students vulnerable.

Our group of heroes searches for “The Others,” to help overthrow Overlord Splaarghon.

The SSMP battle the boss-monster in this final installment of Notebook of Doom. IL6 loved this series and was disappointed it ended. He wants to write the author to ask for a sequel series.

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Saturday

Saturday, we had sausage for breakfast and sat in the cold waiting for it to be warm enough to go to the playground. Then when we got there, it was too hot, so we spent a couple hours at the beach. We dug in the sand and waded (except IL6, who was chest-deep.

In the evening, we had pork chops. M13 & IL6 played on their phones, and I read. Aaron sat and watched the fire. Then we played flashlight tag again that night.

Sunday

Monday was a sleepy day as I was really struggling with my sleeping disorder. I had to sleep on and off despite my meds, and was miserably tired the rest of it.

I made Aaron some white chili for his lunches and some pork chops for M13 over the week. M13 played Minecraft with IL6 a couple of hours. Aaron was feeling sick, but did get the shopping done. I only got a little reading done.

Monday

Tuesday I had a hectic morning. Immediately after work, before driving home, I called a clinic to see if I could get in with a certain type of hard-to-get appointment. There’s no waitlist, and I’d been calling twice a week for about 6 weeks. They actually had an opening! Not a perfect time, since I’d have to work around another regular meeting at the same time, but I still counted that as a success.

As I was driving home, the nurse from the elementary school called me to say she had no milk for IL6. Shoot! I had forgotten. So I rushed to the store and bought some. But I didn’t have time to bring it, as I needed to pick up D15 for an appointment. I ran the milk home, and brought it immediately after the appointment – 20 minutes before it was supposed to be there.

Dad’s new chair was delivered, and the broken one was taken away. Everyone likes dad’s new chair.

I scheduled 4 new appointments and rescheduled 2 appointments, which was a long time on the phone. I got my brake light fixed and went to the library.

After dinner, Aaron and I watched an episode of Andor. Then we had to stop because dad had a 102.9F fever. He was also so weak; he slipped to the floor while trying to stand, and I had to drag him back on the bed by his armpits.

The on-call nurse came and suggested that it was a COPD flare-up, possibly causing a bit of pneumonia (for the fever). She prescribed an anti-biotic, and I told her to send it to a pharmacy that was open till midnight. But apparently they changed their hours, which I determined when I drove out there. They now run from 9am-6pm. The closest late-night pharmacy is now 45 minutes away.

Of course, I had to call in to work, as all this lasted too late into the evening.

Tuesday

I spent all of Wednesday day rushing around, due to dad being sick. I got to Walgreens after giving them two hours to fill the antibiotic, and they hadn’t filled it yet! (Antibiotics and pain meds are supposed to be rushed.) I had to wait another half hour. Then I needed to get his laundry done, including remaking both his and M13’s beds, because he stresses when it’s not done quickly. He is sick and can’t deal with the stress. Then the dishes, and he usually does them, because buildup really stresses him. I didn’t want to stress him. Then a few other things simply needed to be done.

After IL6 got home from school, we immediately left for McDonald’s and his appointment, which went well. By the time I got home, I was too exhausted to read.

Wednesday

I spent all of Wednesday day rushing around, due to dad being sick. I got to Walgreens after giving them two hours to fill the antibiotic, and they hadn’t filled it yet! (Antibiotics and pain meds are supposed to be rushed.) I had to wait another half hour. Then I needed to get his laundry done, including remaking both his and M13’s beds, because he stresses when it’s not done quickly. He is sick and can’t deal with the stress. Then the dishes, and he usually does them, because buildup really stresses him. I didn’t want to stress him. Then a few other things simply needed to be done.

After IL6 got home from school, we immediately left for McDonald’s and his appointment, which went well. By the time I got home, I was too exhausted to read.

Thursday

Thursday I rushed directly from work to take dad to 2 back-to-back appointments. When I got home, I was feeling a bit burned out, so I took a nap. Then dad’s at-home nurse practitioner came to visit. M13 played Minecraft with IL6, then helped IL6 clean his room. I read. D15 was at crew for the high school play. In the evening, Aaron took IL6 to Cub Scouts, and I played D&D.

Friday

Friday was spent getting the physical form signed for M13 to join soccer. He decided in the evening, 3 business days from the first day of soccer that he wanted to join. I spent 2 hours on Thursday filling out the form, and an hour on Friday morning getting the form to the doctor. A couple hours later, they called to say the form didn’t print right, so I had to figure out what went wrong, and spend another hour dropping that off. Then, the doctor kindly signed it right away, so I spent another hour fetching the form. But M13 should be set to play soccer on Monday.

M13 and IL6 played Mario Kart and Aaron played Minecraft with IL6. D15 went to stay at her mom’s for the weekend. I got a little reading done – finishing my one book this week at the last minute.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne
• A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• The Week: Occupy Chicago
• The Economist: What Brazil Can Teach America
• Mr Ballen Podcast
• Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew, by Ellen Notbohm

Reading to IL5

• Inspector Flytrap, by Tom Angleberger
• Inspector Flytrap in the President’s Mane is Missing, by Tom Angleberger
• My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, by Mo O’Hara
• Inspector Flytrap in the Goat Who Chewed Too Much, by Tom Angleberger
• The Skull, by Jon Klassen

D14 reading

• Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo

Media Completed

Otilla runs away and finds a big house with a skull. They become friends. The pictures of this book are wonderful and although the narrative is simple, it’s very cute.

In this book, Notbohm expands on what she claims was a highly successful essay about autistic kids. It had some good info for someone who knows almost nothing about autism, but informed me of nothing new. I hated the self-congratulatory tone of the book, where she avoided pointing out her mistakes and praised herself on how her son “Bryce” turned out, considering his original limitations. Not once does she acknowledge the work “Bryce” went through to succeed. Also, way at the end of the book, she mentions having two boys with autism, despite only talking about “Bryce” the whole book. Either she is more proud of her accomplishments with “Bryce,” or she merged her two kids into one fake child with all their limitations combined at the beginning and all of their successes combined at the end. Note I say their successes. Because they worked a lot harder than Notbohm did, regardless of what she may think.

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Saturday

Saturday was another relaxing day. Aaron and I played D&D, I played Minecraft with IL6, dad took us out to eat, and Aaron played Minecraft with IL6.

Sunday

Sunday, IL6 and I went to Olive Garden with my friend Liz. Then I played Minecraft with him and read. Aaron mowed the lawn and played Minecraft with IL6, as well.

Monday

Monday was a bit slow. I was feeling achy, nauseated, and headachy, so I avoided getting up and around. Aaron and I had an appointment by Zoom then I played Minecraft with IL6. I also read. Dad complained of the same symptoms I had. Then D15 and Aaron went to her orientation at the high school to walk her schedule and meet her teachers. She came back feeling the same symptoms as dad and me.

Tuesday

Tuesday felt busy. D15 had an appointment in the morning. Then dad had an at-home appointment. M13 weeded.  Afterwards, I took dad to Target to buy a few things for school that I somehow lost. But Target had already taken down their school area! Before school started! So we went to Walmart. Which had a better display than Target does, when it has a display! I got almost everything I needed (composition notebooks didn’t come in red). Then dad and I went to the bank and the pharmacy.

Upon reaching home, I prepared several things for mailing out, ran to the post office and picked up IL6. We are working on listening to the music we got from the library. Then I filled three pillboxes. My friend Liz came over, and we started the new Doctor Who on Disney (with Aaron, dad, M13, and D15), since HBO took down Doctor Who! Before we finished! I’m not sure about the new reboot, it seems aimed at a younger audience.

Wednesday

Wednesday was a busy and sad day. After work in the morning, I rushed to pick up IL6 for his meet-and-greet with his new teacher. They got along pretty well. While there, I heard about the shooting at the school in Minneapolis. That was incredibly scary and sad. It ruined my mood for the rest of the day.

Afterwards, I took dad to get a new recliner, popped by Toyota to get a new battery in my key, and dropped off a form at my pediatrician. I made 3 phone calls and made dad’s bed.

I had an hour off in which I doom scrolled. Dad’s at-home NP came because he’d coughed up blood. She decided it wasn’t a pulmonary embolism.

Then I  took IL6 to an appointment, followed by an open house at the school. He really enjoyed the open house.

It was M12 and D15’s first day of school. Neither of them enjoyed it very much.

Thursday

Thursday was more relaxing than Wednesday. Aaron and I had a telehealth appointment which advised us on how to deal with IL6’s difficulties. She suggested completely ignoring a temper tantrum and let him beat me up. She said it would get worse before it got better. It got pretty bad.

Then I spent the rest of the day getting stuff done around the house. I got a little bit of reading done. In the evening, I had D&D. I’m getting pretty far in my cross-stitch!

Friday

Friday was good. I took IL6 to speech and M13 to the orthodontist. (Nobody had work or school.) Then Aaron, M13, IL6 and I went camping. We had a fire and played “monster hunt” with Loki. I got a couple hours of reading done.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne
• Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew, by Ellen Notbohm
• A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• The Economist: All-American Silicon
• Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• The Week: Mission Impossible
• The Age of Henry VIII, by Dale Hoak

Reading to IL5

• Dragonbreath: No Such Thing as Ghosts, by Ursula Vernon
• My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, by Mo O’Hara
• Inspector Flytrap, by Tom Angleberger

Media Completed

Danny, Wendell, and a skeptic end up in a haunted house.

In this slightly fictional narrative history, Solzhenitzyn describes the history and first steps of getting to a Soviet gulag. He covers laws, arrests, interrogations, pre-gulag jails, and transfer of prisoners. He includes a “me” which is only loosely his own story. I find the history and descriptions interesting, but was lost in some of the history, so there were long boring parts to me. The writing was also dense.

News

Saturday

Saturday, I made some Gumbo for Aaron’s lunch this week. Then D15, IL6, Aaron, and I went to Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store. IL6 wasn’t interested in candy, so bought stuffies. D15 bought herself a puzzle as well as candy. Aaron got himself some Pocky, and I got fudge.

I cooked meatloaf for dinner, and we ate some corn our neighbor gave us from a relative’s farm. It was delicious. Then Aaron put together a puzzle with D15 and IL6 and I played Minecraft.

Sunday

Sunday was a calm day. Aaron mowed the lawn and picked up M13 from his mom’s. I tried taking IL6 to the park on his bike, but he stopped half way there and wouldn’t go forward or backwards until we agreed to take him to his favorite park, to which we had to drive. He won the power struggle, but he agreed to read to me when we got home. Aaron came to the park, as well.

Monday

Monday was busy. I had a telehealth appointment in the morning, followed by a video visit with a friend. I wrote a letter until dad’s at-home nurse practitioner came to check him out. Then I took dad to a pedicure and ran some errands. 

Tuesday

Tuesday, I had to rush to IL6’s camp to bring him the proper field trip shirt, which smelled like pee in the morning and had to be washed. Then I took D15 to an appointment, read, and took a nap. I picked up IL6. Aaron cooked dinner because I was pinned by a cat.

Aaron and I tried to watch Andor, but IL6 wanted me to watch him play Spore, and I was loading 3 pill boxes. On top of that, IL6 was having a continuous stomach ache since the day before, and it was swollen and hard. So I tried to give him Exlax; he refused. I tried to give him Dulcolax. He refused. After a bit of tears, he agreed to eat the Exlax, which he realized was yummy. Then it was bedtime.

Wednesday

Wednesday I had 3 appointments. The 4th was cancelled. Thank god. M13 was the first appointment and IL6 was the 3rd appointment. The 2nd was a telehealth one for Aaron and me.

In the evening, IL6 threw a temper tantrum because he wanted to download  a game that cost $14. Finally, I pointed out that he could pay for it with his own money, which he happily did. (He got some money as a present over Christmas, and he’s only spent it on two things – the other was a second controller for the Switch.)

Thursday

Thursday I had no appointments, but I had several things I needed to do. I had errands, and I had to sort the school supplies. M13 took his school supplies to school and walked his schedule. D&D was cancelled, so I got to spend the evening reading. It was nice to have an evening off.

Friday

Friday I took a well-needed break and read all day. I’d been feeling lightheaded all Thursday and Friday morning, so resting was necessary. M13 walked to the gym with dad. In the evening, I read to D15

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Mr Ballen Podcast
• Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne
• A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• Gulag Archipelago, by  Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, by Moniquil Blackgoose

Reading to IL5

• Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-boxers, by Dav Pilkey
• My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, by Mo O’Hara

Media Completed

George and Harold continue to battle Tippy Tinkletrousers and his time machine. Some ancient events are explained.

Anequs is a native of an island ruled over by the domineering Anglish. When she unexpectedly bonds with a dragon, she must live with the Anglish to learn to care for her dragon. This is a fantastic look for teens into the interactions of white people with indigenous people. It is also a creative fantasy with a new concept of dragons. It is well-written, and very engaging.

News

Saturday

Saturday at Cub Scout camp was fun. IL6 did crafts, swam, and shot b b guns. IL6 had a hard time concentrating after a couple of hours, so we relaxed at the tent during the “open program.”

Sunday

Sunday IL6 was ready to go home, and we had to keep convincing him to hang on till the closing ceremony. There was archery, a nature rotation, and a fitness rotation. He made it, and at the end of the day, he told me that he had a really good day. 8⁠-⁠)

We were very tired and soggy when we came home, so it was nice to get dry and clean, if not immediately rested. He was thrilled to see M13. They even played Kirby for a while. (After I spent a couple hours playing Minecraft then LEGO with IL6.) IL6 ate a whole bunch of frozen pizza for dinner, so he had made himself hungry.

Monday

Monday morning was a rush to catch up on stuff I should have done over the weekend. Then, Aaron and I had a telehealth consultation to see what sort of seminars IL6’s clinic had to help us deal with his behaviors and autism. They suggested 2 seminars and 3 consultations (all one time things). Afterwards, Aaron and I met with IL6’s therapist to discuss routines and behaviors. I took dad to his graduation from cardiac rehab, then played Minecraft with IL6.

Tuesday

Tuesday was fairly calm. I took D15 to an appointment. Made some jambalaya for Aaron’s lunches. Had an at-home nurse practitioner appointment for dad. Then my friend Liz came over, and we watched Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with Aaron. IL6 was scared by it, so he sat outside with dad.

Wednesday

Wednesday I walked to the library and then the gym with dad. I read. I took IL6 to an appointment. Dad took us all out to eat. Aaron and IL6 were up all night with ear pain.

Thursday

Thursday morning, Aaron took IL6 to urgent care. He had double ear infections, both in his inner and outer ears. He was given ear drops and antibiotics. We had to bribe him with an ice cream cone to put the ear drops in, and with another ice cream cone in the evening to drink the antibiotic (because apparently it tastes different in coke – evening vehicle – than it does in Doctor Pepper – morning vehicle.)

I spent most of the day resting and taking care of IL6, which is good because I’ve been very burned out. In the late afternoon, Aaron and I had a telehealth appointment about using visual cues to help him with transitions and think about pooping.

Afterwards, I had D&D, and I finished another chunk of my cross-stitch.

Friday

Friday I played appointment Tetris about 4 times (scheduling appointments on days where there are other appointments to leave some days as free as possible). I took dad for a haircut and dropped him off at his personal trainer. But while walking home he had chest pain, so I picked him up. I read to D15 in the evening, then read several books to IL6 at night.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Sociopath: A Memoir, by Patric Gagne
• Mr Ballen podcast
• To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, by Moniquil Blackgoose
• Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne

Reading to IL5

• Search for the Lightning Dragon, by Tracey West
• Diary of a Minecraft Zombie, by Zack Zombie
• Super Rabbit Boy vs the Gigabot, by Thomas Flintham

Aaron reading

• Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood

Media Completed

In this memoir written by a diagnosed sociopath, Gagne makes the point that people view sociopaths as “bad,” but sociopathy is a mental illness and people with sociopathy need compassion and treatment. She admits there is probably a spectrum, and that she was on the more mild side.

The point of the book was well-made, and the narrative was engaging. However, there are some bits that felt like lies to me. These lies were generally helpful to make a point. Gagne admitted to be a liar, so it’s not surprising.

Zack Zombie describes his life a a middle school-aged Minecraft zombie. This was about 2nd grade reading level. It didn’t really have much of a story, and there weren’t a lot of pictures for IL6 to look at. But he seemed to like it well enough. Though he was disappointed I didn’t get him a “real” zombie book (which he had requested).

The dragon masters try to save the lightning dragon from itself. They also meet its new dragon master.

News

Saturday

Saturday D15 had two showings of Newsies. Aaron played board games with his friends.

Sunday

Sunday Aaron mowed the lawn and I did some cleaning. Then D15 had her last Newsies show. I went to that one. I was surprised at how much talent some of those actors had. How does a small community theater find talent like that.

Monday

Monday I had an impending sense of doom – I thought I was going to have to make another appointment. I already had 12 appointments this week. And it sort of came true. I made one more appointment (though for next week), and was told to call every week to find an opening for another kind of weekly appointments.

In the morning, I took M12 to an appointment. After that, dad had a personal trainer appointment at the gym, where I worked out on the treadmill. I only got 50 minutes, though I was aiming for 60.

I took dad to a blood draw, then to his last appointment of the day.

When I got home, IL6 wanted a pizza. I said “That can be arranged,” and popped a frozen pizza in the oven (he only eats frozen). Then dad wanted to order pizza. Aaron and I would eat frozen, but I ordered some for dad and the older kids, forgetting M12 couldn’t eat due to his teeth hurting. So I ordered too much. Then IL6 fell asleep, so he didn’t get pizza.

The rest of the night, I made a half-assed attempt at being productive, and eventually gave up and chatted the rest of the night.

Tuesday

Tuesday D15 had an appointment in the morning, M12 had an appointment in the early afternoon. Dad had an appointment in the late afternoon. Then I picked up IL6 and we went to the library. In the evening, IL6 rode his bike to the park, and Aaron, dad, and I walked. We played a kind of hide-and-seek while dad watched.

Wednesday

Wednesday I was feeling pretty burned out. (I should do my best to relax for the next couple of weeks, the burnout was very bad.) I tried taking a nap, but dad was so excited by the trees being brought down in the back yard that he woke me twice. I finally gave up and made calls.

In the afternoon, I took dad to cardiac rehab, then afterwards I took IL6 to an appointment. I got my daily reading done at both. In the evening, I was dealing with the worst of my burnout for the day, so I just talked.

Thursday

Thursday I made Taco soup for Aaron’s lunches. Then I made some calls, took a half hour nap, and took dad to cardiac rehab. In the evening, I played D&D in the evening, and got a bunch of cross-stitch done.

Friday

Friday I packed for Cub Scout camp, had a nurse appointment for dad, and got the spark plugs switched. Then Aaron, IL6, and I headed to Cub Scout camp.

Weekly photos

Reading to myself

• Dreadful, by Caitlin Rozakis
• To Shape A Dragon’s Breath, by Moniquil Blackgoose
• Sociopath: A Memoir, by Patric Gagne
• Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• Mr Ballen podcast
• Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Reading to IL5

• Bad Guys in They’re Bee-Hind You, by Aaron Blabey

D14 reading

• The Girl in the Moon, by Terry Goodkind

Media Completed

The SSMP battle Ms Vanderpants.

Eerie Elementary is about to be demolished, but that’s not good.

Gav wakes up with no eyebrows and no memory, only to discover that he’s an evil wizard. He must figure out what his evil plan was before he messes it up. This book was hilarious. Loved it.

Team A runs into a sticky situation and Team B faces an underlord.

News

Saturday

Saturday D15 walked in the Leprechaun Days parade with the theater company, but her face turned beet red and she was told to sit in the car for the second half of the parade. It was still horrific when she got home.

IL6 and I were supposed to walk in the parade with the Cub Scouts, but he said his ears hurt, so we went to Urgent Care. No ear infection, but he had strep.

I had been feeling nauseated all night the night before, and was dry-heaving in the morning. I was feeling malaise, too. And my throat hurt, which I associated with the dry-heaving. I assumed I had eaten something off, but then decided I should get checked for strep. So I went back to Urgent Care. There, they lavaged my ear, which was surprisingly painful, but I didn’t have strep. The ear pain remained for several hours, when suddenly something shifted in my ear and it went away. That felt weird.

D15 went to 2 showings of Newsies. IL6, Aaron, and I relaxed.

Sunday

Sunday was relaxing (for me). Aaron mowed the lawn. I took IL6 to swim lessons. Aaron went to D15’s play.

Monday

Monday I was super productive all day. It was a good day. In the late afternoon, I took dad to cardiac rehab. In the evening everyone was home and available, which is the first time that’s happened during summer. We decided to go to Olive Garden. IL6 ate 2 pieces of calamari and D15 found out she likes chicken alfredo.

Tuesday

Tuesday was busy. Almost immediately after returning home from work, I had a phone meeting. That ended at exactly the time I was supposed to take D15 to pick up IL6 for their concurrent appointments.

Upon the heels of that, I took D15 and IL6 to the park because IL6 had a playdate. He had a temper tantrum because he wanted to go to a different park. That lasted about 30 minutes (part of it was in the car). He enjoyed meeting his friends, but then he had another temper tantrum because he wanted a spider man ice cream from the ice cream truck. We finally convinced him (after 15-20 minutes) that the grocery store had it. It did. Then, after I played Minecraft with IL6 a bit, my friend Liz came over. D15, Aaron, Liz, and I watched Doctor Who.

Wednesday

Wednesday started with a phone call meeting right after returning from work. But it was a very helpful appointment, and I was given some good resources. Then dad wanted to go to Perkins. Afterwards, I took the car to get an oil change. I got lots of phone calls made and forms filled out while waiting. Dad had cardiac rehab, during which I got lots of reading done. D15 had a show. Aaron cooked some steak.

Thursday

Thursday I had a pretty relaxing day. I dropped off dad at an appointment, but didn’t need to stay. So I relaxed. Then I had D&D later in the day. She’s not the most exciting DM in the world, so I’m struggling to make it through the entire 3 hours. But I did get a lot of cross-stitch done, though.

Friday

Friday I took IL6 to his speech therapy. I was dropping him back off at camp – sitting in the parking lot – when I played a voicemail that the people that were coming to pick up dad’s oxygen would be there in 15 minutes. (Which would be before their pickup window.) So I rushed home without dropping off IL6. I just kept IL6 home the rest of the day.

After the oxygen was handed over, IL6 and I went to his favorite park. On Tuesday I had promised I would take him there soon when he was so angry his playdate was at the “wrong” park. He only stayed about 45 minutes, though.

In the evening, D15 went to her show. Aaron, dad, and I walked to another park. IL6 rode his bike. (He’s still bad at listening to us when we tell him to stop at streets and look both ways.) 

Reading to myself

• Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
• Dreadful, by Caitlin Rozakis
• Return of the Dragon Slayers, by Brandon Mull
• Sociopath: A Memoir, by Patric Gagne
• Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
• To Shape A Dragon’s Breath, by Moniquil Blackgoose
• Mr Ballen podcast

Reading to IL5

• Dragonbreath: Lair of the Bat Monster, by Ursula Vernon
• March of the Vanderpants, by Troy Cummings

D14 reading

• A Darker Shade of Magic, by V E Schwab

Aaron reading

• Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood

Media Completed

This is the conclusion of the series beginning with Fablehaven. I enjoyed the series, and this book did not disappoint. I did wonder if the baptism allegory was necessary at the end of the book.

Danny and Wendell travel to Mexico, where Danny is kidnapped by a bat monster.