The Fine Art of Checking Ahead....

Is one I probably should master.  But sometimes the best laid plans go wonky and I don't always take the time I should to do some research.  And sometimes, like today, that bites me in the butt.

I found our passes for the Rosicrucian Museum over the weekend and thought it would be nice to go there again since they were still valid and why not take the nieces as well. Comparing calendars with Kendra saw that Today looked like the best day so it was arranged that we would just leave after Matt's guitar lesson, around 12:30p.  That would get us there at 1:30p giving us a few hours to look at stuff, play a bit outside, and then I'd take them to dinner to avoid traffic before coming home.

Well, I was trying to get stuff done this morning so I didn't get lunches made.  This led to us stopping at the bank and then Subway and Burger King to make sure everyone got what they wanted.  And of course, this led to us getting to the museum around 2:30p instead.  Oh, well, it still gave us 2-1/2hrs to look around inside which I figured would be plenty for this crew since my boys have been there before and would spend the entire time staring at the mummies anyway playing Monk and seeing if they could figure out the cause of death better than the experts.

Unfortunately, we get there to find the doors closed.  Apparently they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. WTH?!  Um, don't schools go there and stuff?!  Yes, but they probably know how to go online and check out the hours and days of operation unlike me who decided to just do an impromptu thing, which is apparently frowned on.

Ok, so quick. We just drove an hour to get to San Jose and the thing we wanted to do was closed.  Most museums and things of that kind will close at 5p so what is close that might have a chance of keeping 6 kids ranging in age from 5-16 amused.  Ok, Happy Hollow was just renovated and there is the Tech Museum.  I know HH better and how to get there and wouldn't have to deal with the downtown parking crapola.  So HH it is.  Check on my phone to make sure they are open and head over.  I figure it's right up Nick's alley and Jon will probably like it too so I can get a family membership, get us all in, and maybe do another trip or two with some friends and the two younger ones over the year to make it worthwhile.

Nope.  When we get there we find out that they no longer offer family memberships, it's a per person affair and the cost is just barely cheaper than going 3xs. Not only that but there is one admission price for 2-69yrs and it doesn't matter that we are getting there 2hrs before closing.  It is still going to cost $84 for all 7 of us to get in.  Oh, plus the $10 parking fee we already paid.  I paid it and grumbled under my breath but put on a cheerful face for the kids and in we went.

Then we found out they don't do maps any more.  You just get to stumble around and try to figure out how to get from place to place on your own and things have changed enough from when I was there last to make that lots of fun if, you know, we had more than 2hrs to spend there.

Next disappointment was the kids favorite Crooked House, which was featured on the website even, has been boarded up.  About this time Matthew started complaining and got the "I know this is not what was promised and it's a poor substitute but it's the best I could do and I just forked over a small fortune for this when our outing was supposed to be free so shut up, put a smile on, and let's try to enjoy it" lecture from me. To his credit, he did.  Mostly I think because he and Lena managed to get me on the frog jump ride which is one of those things that goes high up in the air and bounces you down and back up again.  I HATE those rides and had managed to pretty much avoid going on them until today.  I was thankful for the guy manning the ride when he told us the second time that he thought our party should split up so it was very easy for me to just bow out and let them keep going on it.

So it was expensive and basically the kids did fair rides for 2hrs but there was much laughing and shrieking and annoying each other.  Only Nicholas got lost at any point and that was when I was watching him on the climbing structure.  He popped down out of sight like he was going down the slide but then he didn't come down the slide.  After a minute, I started looking for him and he was nowhere to be found.  As I'm looking everywhere for him for a few minutes not having any clue how he had gotten past me, I see him outside of the climbing area completely with a HH employee.  He comes running over to me and the guy waved and turned around.  Nicholas then explained that he had ducked down and crawled around to the other side and taken off to go do something else.  Ugh!!!!  Can I say I'm not too thrilled with a HUGE climbing structure with multiple exits and lots of things to block your view when you are trying to keep an eye on your child?!

After all was said and done there, it was time for dinner.  One kid wanted pizza, another soup, and blah blah blah.  Finally Fresh Choice was agreed upon and we had fun trying to follow the directions my phone gave me as interpreted by Matthew.  *Note to self....NEVER let Matthew navigate again!*

I'd like to note at this point that this was crazy.  I'm not sure what I was thinking but I'm going to go with some sort of heat/sun induced cognitive malfunction when I said yes to taking 6 children to an all-you-can eat buffet by myself.  Talk about herding cats!  I'm pretty sure that they each ate about 5 bites of regular food and then 70 bazillion desserts.  For myself, I was disappointed as the food was not as good as usual and their fresh-baked bread selection which is the biggest reason for going there as far as I'm concerned was abysmal.  I'm not sure if it's just that particular one or FC in general going downhill but I'm not in any hurry to go to another one and find out.

You would now think that this would end our day and I would herd them back into the car and head for home.  Yeah, well, I'm just not that bright.  You see, there was a Barnes & Noble in the shopping mall and Hannah's birthday is next week and she wanted to go.  I'm thinking I'm not sure I want to do this but it would make my life easier to get her input on what to get her there rather than her current suggestions which all include living things.  I sit the kids down, give them the mommy glare of death and a list of rules that were to be followed or we would be leaving B&N immediately.  You know, silly things like no running and keeping all body parts and fluids to yourself.

Thankfully they took me seriously and we were able to get in and out without me losing it or having to leave the basket of shopping behind.  I got the shopping for Hannah done and another friend whose birthday is later this month and found a game we'd been wanting at 40% off with my membership discount.  Add in some GCs I had and the game was free and got a few $$ off the gifts as well.  Most amazing of all, I didn't buy any books for myself.  Or given the fact that I had 6 kids with me including Nicholas this meant that I couldn't do more than a quick buzz to see if there was anything out I had forgotten to find out about and pick up before.

So now everyone is here and things are very quiet.  I'm hoping that means they are asleep.  Or at least scared of me enough to keep it down.  LOL

Cause there just isn't enough going on...

Crazy, crazy week.  Lots of kids over leading to lots of clean-up and laundry.  Not much to report on the remodel thanks to all that but it's life.  We are starting to gear up slowly for the start of school on the 15th.

And because that is just never enough around here, today I had to go to the doctor's.

Let me back-track...

Tuesday morning after getting all 6 kids fed and eating breakfast myself (the 2 scrambled eggs someone else didn't end up wanting with a little cheese on top), I got hit with the most excruciating pain in my upper abdomen. It was so bad I ended up curled up on my bed in an almost fetal position, crying, and breaking out in a cold sweat.  It felt just like when I went to the hospital before Jon was born and I found out later my liver was failing. This of course scared the crap out of me.  What felt like forever but I'm guessing was closer to about 20min later, it passed and while I didn't feel great, I was out of pain and I continued with our plans to go pick up 2 more kids and bring them back to the house.  I didn't forget about the episode but as the days passed and it didn't happen again, I figured it was likely a flukey thing and went about my business.

Until 3am today that is when that same pain woke me from a sound sleep and left me moaning, crying, and writhing on the bed.  What was worse is Nicholas came in about the time it started after having a potty accident.  I made Mark deal with that as I was incapable of doing anything but wishing for death.  Then Nicholas kept coming back into my room wanting to cuddle and the last thing I wanted to do was have him thrashing next to me as I was fighting to not scream in pain.  He went away crying even tho I was trying to be nice about it.  Not one of my greater mommy moments but also not one I'm going to beat myself up over.

Needless to say, this seemed to worry the crap out of Mark but based on my previous experience, I was confident it would pass so saw no reason to leave the kids at home alone.  It passed and I did eventually get a bit more sleep.  I did some research online this morning to figure out if this was something that should likely pass on it's own or if it warranted a call to the advice nurse.

Um, yeah.

After talking with an advice nurse and then getting a phone consult with a doctor, I got an appointment for 12:30p.  Odds are high that it is either reflux or gall stones.  They did labs to rule out infection and check my liver function and those have already come back just fine.  Based on friends stories and a little internet research and my own gut instincts, I'm guessing it's likely gall stones.  I will be taking the the reflux meds that the doctor prescribed to be sure but I dont' have high hopes for it helping.  Right now I have an u/s scheduled for the 15th so hopefully we'll have some answers then although I am to call if I have another episode.

My biggest hope is that this is something easily taken care of and gall stones while not fun, do seem like an easy thing to fix as they just remove the gall bladder.  Most people don't notice the lack of it so I'm kind of leaning in the hopes that this is what I'm dealing with.  It would be a lot better than seeing a small alien in a barber's hat on the u/s screen.  Not sure I can deal with a song and dance, man-eating alien.

And then there were 8...

Well, it's now a tie between the boys and girl in the house (unless you count the cats in which case, for the first time ever, the girls are ahead! LOL).  It's so much fun having a house full of kids and seeing how they all interact with each other.  For the most part it's been really good, just the occasional squabble among siblings and every once in a while two strong personalities clash over what to do next but everything gets resolved quickly and they move on.

After spending lots of time outside riding bikes and going for walks and playing at the park, they are finally settling down.  The 4 youngest are sleeping in the living room and the older 4 are in the "teen" room.  LOL  Of course, this means that we have one bedroom with bunk beds completely unoccupied.  Of course.  LOL

It's definitely been funny tho finding girl clothes on the bathroom floor and beading parties on the living room couch.  The boys aren't quite sure what to make of it all and the cats have been escaping more than usual.

Kids, Kids, and More Kids

We are nearing the end of summer vacation and with the return of the school-year looming, that must mean it's time for some sort of craziness so that there is no possible way for us to either finish the remodel or get our kids established on a decent routine prior to the start of school.  Last year it wasn't sleep-overs that caused those things to happen but doctor's visits but every year it's something.

This year it's sleepovers.

Unplanned we have our nieces spending tonight with us.  Tomorrow I'm picking up Eleven and Zinnia and will have all 4 girls here in addition to the 4 boys.  It's still not established if we send all 4 girls to Mark's parents for Wedn night or if we are hosting again here.  Thursday I take Eleven and Zinnia home but I'm sure we'll have the nieces for a few more sleepovers before the school year starts.

I've had people look at me like I'm absolutely nuts when I volunteer my house for these kinds of sleepovers but really, I don't mind in the slightest.  Are things a bit more chaotic? Not so I really notice.  A bit more of a mess to clean after everyone has finally gone home but that's about it.  I honestly love having the bustle of all the kids around which is part of the reason I have 4 of my own.

I will say tho that trying to go shopping with 5 of them today did push things a bit.  3 boys, 2 girls, all poking at each other and bouncing off the walls like siblings who haven't seen each other in ages.  I lost track of how many times I just stopped the shopping cart so I could do deep-breathing and counting.  Thankfully everyone survived even if my grocery budget didn't and apparently I didn't scare the kids too badly as it was after that they decided they needed a sleepover tonight.

Now I'm under no illusions that they will get much sleep but so long as they keep it down so I can get some, I'm fine with that too.

Surprise Matt!

Tomorrow Matthew turns 13.  It's kind of a big deal but he's been acting like a teenager for the last two years so he's been doing the whole "whatever" thing about his birthday this year.  Yeah, we don't play that for 13.  When Chris turned 13, Mark stayed home on Friday and took Chris over the hill to run some errands.  After that it was time for lunch so they drove to Sonic's which Chris had always wanted to try out but the nearest one was a 2hr drive.  Then they went for a drive....down to Santa Clarita where a friend had a hotel room reserved. They all went out to dinner and an arcade, got microwave popcorn and rented ppv movies.  The next day Mark told Chris he needed to do some shopping and it wasn't until they were hitting the parking lot that he realized they were headed to Magic Mountain.

Mark decided that this should be a tradition.  The Father/Son road trip when they turn 13.  They won't know where they are going or what is going on until they are already en route   We pack their clothes when they aren't looking and put everything in the car the night before.  Mark invites them to run errands which is not an uncommon occurrence and the next thing they know, they've been in the car for hours with no clue where they are going.

Today was Matt's turn.

I packed a bag earlier this week when I was folding that ton of laundry.  Last night we wrapped the presents and got everything in the Firebird.  This morning, Mark said he needed some help running errands.

2hrs in, Matt started asking questions and figured out something was up although he didn't know what.

And now?  Now he is watching Cowboys vs Aliens with his dad in Universal City and heading to Hard Rock Cafe after for dinner.  Tomorrow on his actual birthday, he and dad will both get to go to Universal Studios for the first time.  The next time I see my 2nd child, he'll already have been a teenager for over a day.

But we surprised him and kept him in the dark for hours.  And that totally rocks!

What do you mean I can't cross things off?!?!?!

Busy running around this morning with chiro for me and therapy for Jon.  My dad and step-mom came and got Jon and Nick afterward and took them to CuriOdyssey for the afternoon so I could get stuff done around the house.  I got lots done but unfortunately it was one of those days where I got tons of prep done but very little actually able to be crossed off the to-do lists. *sigh*

So what did get done:

• Cabinets and doors for boys' bathroom primed
• Other side of J&N's bedroom door primed and first coat of paint on
• J&N's doorway sanded and ready for primer
• Pulls replaced on ceiling fan in dining room (yeah, tiny item I know but something actually done!)
• Lamp shades from ceiling fan removed and cleaned. Unfortunately the paint that was supposed to be on them started coming off and then when Matt tried to take all the paint off he dropped one which broke so now we need to buy new ones. 
• Dining room window caulked
• Dining room baseboards caulked and painted
• Master bedroom closet baseboards caulked and touched up
• Last baseboard in master bedroom touched up
• Master bedroom closet door taken down
• Master bathroom paint prep started

So....lots got done when you look at that list but it's all prep and priming and first coats.  I'm not discouraged as I know tomorrow I'll be able to cross lots of things off the list as being done but man, I wish I could cross something off today.

Matthew's 13th Birthday Party

Well, he's not 13 yet (I have 2-1/2 more days before he's officially a teenager, thank you very much) but we had his party on Sunday due to upcoming craziness this weekend.  Just went for a fun time at the park where the kids could run around like maniacs and the adults could sit and chat and guard the food from the teenagers and almost-teenagers.

Matt seemed to enjoy himself and was thrilled with all the presents attention.  Still hard to believe that in just a few more days I'm going to have another teenager.

More Remodel Progress

So this week none of the kids have camps of any kind and KSW is closed as they are moving locations.  After Matthew's birthday party on Sunday, this left us with a visit with friends and a Costco run on Monday, swim lessons and D&D on Tuesday, and therapy and soccer practice on Thursday plus our usual Saturday morning craziness.  For us, that's an extremely quiet week. I rearranged a few things to consolidate it to that point so that I would have the most number of days free.

Today was the first of those free days and a LOT got accomplished for having all 4 kids home.  So far this week I have been able to cross the following off the to-do list:

• Paint big boys' closet trim and door
• Caulk and paint boys' bathroom baseboards
• Wash, fold, and put away mountain of laundry
• Prep cabinets in boys' bathroom for painting
• Start clean-up of windows from paint where Mark didn't use tape (Grrrrrrrrr!!!!)
• Prep baseboards in dining room for caulk and paint
• Replace heater registers, outlet and light covers in rooms that are basically done
• Start cleaning off desk
• Work on cleaning up master bedroom which has become a dumping ground again

Admittedly, I haven't done all this myself.  Chris and Matt have been particularly motivated to help as they needed some extra $$$ right now. They've been saving for an XBox 360 for a while now and were finally close enough that I bought it and the game they wanted when we went to Costco this week.  They had the money for the system and today earned enough to get their game.  Now they are working for some accessories.  Hey, I'm happy to have the help and they are happy to get paid for it so it's a win-win as far as I'm concerned.  Jon has also been helping where he's able although right now we are at a point where there isn't much for him and Nicholas to do.  

Tomorrow Jon and Nick are going to CurriOdyssey with my dad and step-mom which will be great.  They will get out of the house and do fun stuff and I can work without the guilt of seeing them in front of the tv all day.

I'm hoping to have lots of nice pictures at the end of this weekend to show all the progress that has been being made.

New Blog

I've been meaning to do it for a while and I've finally set it up, a book blog. A place to put all my reviews and all that stuff. I'll still leave my bookshelves up here and post my goals for the year with maybe a single list at the end of the year of what everything else will end up over there so I can keep this more focused on the family. I'm hoping to start spending more time updating this with family stuff and also, as ever, to actually keep up on the school blog as well. This year will be a very exciting one for school as Nicholas will be starting his school years with me while Chris is ending them.

104:63 Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

The 4th book in the Kate Daniels series. Now that Kate's secret is known to Roland's warlord, Hugh, she knows it's only a matter of time before family comes calling. Hugh is watching her, gathering all the information on her before bringing the matter up to Roland. But then a new baddie comes to town, one who is driving people mad and working on spreading some of the most terrifying plagues known to man. Can Kate stop this one, and if so, what will the cost be this time. Of course, in all this Kate still needs to worry about keeping Julie safe and figuring out what her relationship is with Curran.

Again, the basic story is fairly simple and straight-forward. Not a lot of twists and you know who is going to win at the beginning of any fight. But still, the series continues to be thoroughly enjoyable: witty and fun, dark but with enough humor to keep it from dragging you down.

Page Count: 349p/18,984p ytd

104:62 Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

Book 3 in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. Kate's teenage werewolf boy wonder has been beaten and left for dead for reasons unknown and Kate will not allow this to stand. Her investigation leads her to an illegal fighting ring where a new group of fighters is definitely more than they appear with eyes on a much bigger prize.

Loved the fight scenes in this one. They flowed well and I like that while yes, as to be expected the main characters do get out alive, they are not uninjured and often near death. The banter between Kate and Curran is always fun to watch although at this point, she has lost that battle. His note at the end was a nice touch.

In all the book follows a predictable pattern with fairly predictable characters for the genre but the world is definitely unique and I like how the author doesn't confine herself to one mythology. It continues to be a page turner even knowing how it will turn out in the end simply because it flows so well and in some ways, the author admits to doing the predictable.

Page count: 310p/18,635p ytd

104:61 Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

Book 2 in the Kate Daniels series. Kate has gotten herself mixed up in a missing person's case when she finds a teenage girl whose mom was part of a coven, all of whom have now gone missing. After she takes the girl back to her place, they are attacked by reeves who want the girl although neither the girl nor Kate know why. All of this is going on just as a magic flare, a huge burst of magic which only occurs every 7yrs, is about to go off.

Another page turner. I really enjoy Ms. Andrews style of writing, especially the battle scenes. The relationship between Curran and Kate is fun to watch as well. You know it's something special when the kitty brings you food. Kate should have figured that one out sooner.

Page count: 260p/18,325p ytd

Remodel Progress - I wish there was more to report

Well we are nearing the end of the week. We had some planned and unplanned interruptions including Mark doing an install as a side job to get some more $$$ for the remodel but that turned into an evening smooze on another night and then another meeting on a separate morning. I had two dentist visits this week taking advantage of the fact that Mark was home. Got a pulp cap and filling on one tooth Monday morning and then 3 front bottom teeth filled on Thursday afternoon. My gums and generally the inside of my mouth in the front and right hand side are raw and unhappy with me and I can no longer bite into things, not like I have much for the last 10yrs any way. Two of the front teeth will need upgrading in years to come but for now, they are healthy at a fraction of the cost (and a heck of a lot cheaper than pulling 4-5 teeth and bridging everything to take care of 2) so this is good. We also snuck away to go see the HP movie on opening day. Sue us. LOL

So what has gotten done?

• Floor is laid in big boys room and looks gorgeous!
• Trim is painted in big boys room except for closet and around doors
• New door trim is in place between master bedroom and dining room
• Boys' bathroom has freshly painted walls. Just need to paint trim and cabinets now.
• Living room is getting a coat of paint as I type. (I've been helping but all the dental work has definitely worn me down)

Not a bad week's worth of work. Would have liked more but with everything else going on, it's definitely progress. This week will be crazy as M&J still have camp over the hill and Matt's birthday party is a week from today but I will be trying to get a bunch of the touch up stuff done. Next week is a lovely quiet week with no camp and no KSW which means tons of time at home so I plan on doing a LOT of stuff that week and putting kids to work as well. Now if we could just figure out when Mark can take care of the laundry room painting. I just refuse to try and squeeze around everything in there. I'll go paint trim and cabinets instead, thank you very much.

104:60 Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Urban Fantasy with a twist. Ms. Andrews does not content herself to play in the world that we live in while just adding in paranormal creatures. She redefines the way the world works so that it is at once familiar but very different. In her world, magic and technology cannot both be in force at the same time. Technology became rampant and now magic is making a come-back to put things back into balance. What does this mean? During magic surges cars and lights and other technological wonders cease to function but when the magic surge dies back, they start working again. Easy to be stranded that way so horses have made a comeback as a more reliable mode of transportation.

As the human race was thrust into this new magic world, the paranormal creatures have come out as well and the humans are trying to cope. We have the standard weres although the different flavors have a single code and leader which is interesting. Vampires are around but are much different than in the usual lore. They are neither beautiful nor enticing but rather horrid, decaying things that are typically controlled through necromantic handlers.

In this world we meet Kate Daniels who is a mercenary, one who can operate on both sides of magic surges and who is not without a little magic of her own. Her godfather has been murdered and she is determined to find the killer and have revenge while meanwhile People (vampires) and Pack (weres) have gone missing as well. What happens when the killer wants to be found and is something even she has never come across before and is more powerful than she can imagine?

I read a short story based on this world in an anthology not long ago and that threw this series way up on my to-read pile and I was not disappointed. Things were a bit slow at times with a little more reminding of how the world worked than I cared for but otherwise I loved Ms. Andrews re-imagining of the world where technology and magic could not co-exist and how where some things did, she had an explanation rather than glossing over it. This looks to be an incredible new series for me and I'm so glad I have the rest lined up on my shelf.

Page count: 260p/18,065

104:59 The Pearl by John Steinbeck

A poignant tale when man's greed and pride go against the song of happiness and the family. A tale to prove that money truly can't buy happiness, especially the simple joy from before.

Page count: 118p/17,805p ytd

The never-ending remodel update

I knew it was going to take longer than Mark was saying but at this point, I have to wonder if it will ever be finished. Mark has finally managed to get a week off of work to work around the house but between everything taking longer and weather being uncooperative, I'm very uncertain that we'll get the inside finished this week although that was the hope.

What have we gotten done since the last update? Hmmm....the dining room got painted, mostly. All the repairs are done in the boys' bathroom except the window and it's just about ready to get painted. The living room and master bathroom are just about ready to be prepped for painting. The living room and dining room have new flooring (beautiful!) and since we had plenty leftover the big boys' room is almost done getting new flooring too.

So what's left? Both bathroom need to be painted and a new fan installed in the master (other bathroom already got one). Living room needs to be painted. All the doors need to be sanded and painted. New trim on the master bedroom door thanks to the cats. Trim in dining room, kitchen, and big boys' room needs to be painted plus the door trim for the little boys' room. Caulking of new trim in master closet. Painting of dining room cabinet. And that's just the inside list. *sigh*

I'll try to update daily this week as things are getting done and then post pictures at the end of the week. Here's hoping there will be tons of progress to report.

104:58 Nightingale's Lament by Simon Green

The 3rd book in the Nightside series. John Taylor has been hired to find a new, up and coming singer whose voice is to die for...literally. There have been a rash of suicides of fans of Rossingnol but she seems unaware and her managers seem uncaring of the fact until one comes and blows his brains out all over her on stage during a performance. Can John Taylor figure out why it is happening and can he stop it before anyone else has to die for her art?

I enjoyed it for the few twists included but there are definitely parts that are already getting old and formulaic. I do think the potential is there for this to continue to be a good series but only if Mr. Green can stop already with the Deux Ex Machina.

Page count: 217p/17,687p ytd

104:57 Dragon's Time by Anne & Todd McCaffrey

Another collaboration of mother and son and a continuation of Dragongirl. I liked this one more than I did Dragongirl simply because relationships had finally sorted themselves out and remained constant rather than trying to keep straight who was involved with whom. Not to be outdone tho, this one was very confusing in trying to keep time straight as there are a lot of people timing it all over the place in order for there to be enough dragons to fight Thread as numbers are diminishing rapidly. I found the end to be a bit trite after everything else but I suppose even tho a ton of characters that we knew tangentially had been killed, they just couldn't bring themselves to kill off the "main" characters when they were still young.

I think Anne's inclusion in writing this one definitely helped it stay more focused on the relationships that moved the story forward rather than throwing in new ones constantly and for that I'm thankful. Not sure how many more collaborations we'll have at this point but I'm glad for the ones that we do get.

Page count: 321p/17,470p ytd

104:56 Dragongirl by Todd McCaffrey

2010's installment of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern written by her son. This continues his story of the third pass. Lorena has lost her queen and Fiona has just returned from the past with the weyrlings. In a tragic loss, all the Telgar dragons end up between and Fiona lands as Weyrwoman there. A cure has finally been found for the plague but the weyrs are already depleted and do not have enough dragons to protect Pern from Thread for long.

I enjoyed the story for the most part and think Todd has finally done a good job of taking over the reins from his mother. I did find all of his character relationships a bit confusing and, to be honest, unnecessary for the most part but that was truly the only flaw I found in the book. Unfortunately, it was such a big part of the book that it really stood out. Otherwise, a compelling story with unforgettable characters that you grew to care about almost as much as his mother made you care. Not quite a Lessa, F'Lar, or Robinton but he may be well on his way and I look forward to seeing him succeed.

Page count: 482p/17,149p ytd

104:55 The Word for the World is Forest by Ursula K. LeGuin

I'm always amazed at how she takes a simple story but makes it fresh through her imagining. Really, this story is the typical one of colonization and what happens when two peoples collide. But she breathes life into the people and the world, gives it those little twists that make it unique even when you know what it is, and allows you to lose yourself in the story by being simple, yet poignant.

Page count: 169p/16,667p ytd

104:54 Kitty's Big Trouble by Carrie Vaughn

The 9th book in the Kitty Norville series. After finding out that the military has an interest in werewolves, Kitty starts digging around to see what famous people may have been similarly afflicted when she gets a call from Anastasia who is in San Francisco trying to hunt down an object of immense power before Roman can find it and she needs help because he's in town as well. Of course, Kitty goes out to help with Ben and Cormac following along.

Being very familiar with the area I was looking forward to this one but I found that the story got a little messy. Chinese gods are now involved, without which Kitty and company would not have survived which was a little odd. It just didn't flow as well as previous books did and I hope that this will not be a recurring theme. I enjoyed the book but it wasn't the best of the series.

Page count: 307p/16,498p ytd

104:53 No One Noticed the Cat by Anne McCaffrey

The first book of hers I've read that wasn't part of the Pern series. Neighboring kingdoms in an uneasy truce with a scheming queen who wants to control everything and many mysterious deaths surrounding those that get in her way.

Simple yet charming story with the twist that the cat is definitely more than it appears, when it appears.

Page count: 142p/16,191p ytd

104:52 Watership Down by Richard Adams

The classic tale involving rabbits. Matthew read it for bookclub and loved it and insisted that I read it immediately.

I know it's a classic, beautiful language and the basic story was interesting. I'm one of those people tho who get bored to tears at pages upon pages of scenery description. I want enough to imagine the basic layout but I'm not one who generally sees in pictures as I read so this was a bit of overkill in that department for me and the intense description slowed it down to plodding all too often. I found the imagining of an adventure for rabbits interesting but I doubt I'll read it again.

Page count: 475p/16,049p ytd

104:51 Hexed by Andrews, Galenorn, James, & Stein

Billed as "Four All-New Stories of Magic and Mayhem". Ilona Andrews and Yasmine Galenorn are NYT Best Selling authors and Allyson James and Jeanne Stein are National Bestselling authors. I bought the book because I LOVE Galenorn's Sister's of the Otherworld series and her piece in this book was the story of one of the secondary characters from that series so I had to grab this one and get my fix until her new book comes out.

Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews - I have a few of her books but hadn't gotten around to reading them yet. Her world is interesting in that either magic or technology works at a time and waves of magic will go through and disrupt all technology at random times. Apparently this story was between secondary characters but still, was compelling and gripping despite me having no clue as to any back story at all. Her books have moved up several notches on my to-read pile.

Ice Shards by Yasmine Galenorn - I always enjoy her stories and I loved finding out Iris's history. I'm not sure what the point of having some of the other characters along was as they did almost nothing but provide a little moral support. I found the story to be a little repetitive but that may have been because I was already familiar with the characters. On the whole tho, I enjoyed being back in that universe for a little while as I wait for the next installment in the series to come out.

Double Hexed by Allyson James - Never heard of her or her Stormwalker series but after reading this short story, I've put the whole series on my wishlist. Absolutely fabulous weaving of native american lore with her own creation. Besides, who can't love a story that has both Coyote and dragons?!

Blood Debt by Jeanne Stein - After the other stories, this one was a let down. A vampire running around during the day? Maybe there was an explanation but for someone just coming into the universe, it made no sense. I wasn't gripped by the main character and the sex scene at the end just made no sense between those characters. Maybe her novels are better and this would make more sense with backstory but without it, it just didn't grip me. I won't be searching her out on the basis of this story.

Page count: 326p/15,574p ytd

104:50 The Zombie Chasers: Undead Ahead by John Kloepfer

The 2nd book in the series. Basically the same as the first in that you have a couple of kids trying to get away from the zombies and find their parents, if possible. They meet up with Ozzie, a highly trained army brat, who is capable of mowing down tons of zombies with a baseball bat, can drive tanks, and fly helicopters. They find Zack's parents but at the last second they are both infected so the children manage to get them into a bank vault so they'll be safe while the kids try to find Madison who is the cure and has been taken to Washington DC. Did I mention that they are in AZ? Yeah, it's fantastical what the author does but it's aimed at the 8-12yr old set and judging by how much Jon is loving it, it hits that mark just fine. For me, I'm only reading them because he has asked me too. They just aren't gripping in any sense for an adult.

Page count: 204p/15,248p ytd

104:49 An Age of Empires by Marjorie Wall Bingham

Middle school history covering the empires of 1200-1750AD including the the Mongols, Poland & Lithuania, Russian, Mughals, Ottoman, Portuguese, Spanish, Habsburgs, and Manchu. I hadn't even heard of some of these so I found it interesting to see how they came into being and how each often learned from the others.

Page count: 145p/15,044p ytd

104:48 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Considered a classic since it's publication in 1959, Chris is reading it for his bookclub summer reading. A simple story, it's truly captivating in it's earthy tone. We follow the life of a man of a tribe in Niger, a life that is ruled by fear and anger, until towards the end the white men come and work to destroy his way of life. A good read and definitely recommended.

Page count: 209p/14,899p ytd

104:47 The Zombie Chasers by John Kloepfer

Jon's new favorite series and one which has actually gotten him very excited about reading to the point where I have to drag him away from the book to do anything else. He insisted that I read it too.

It's a campy, spoof of every classic zombie movie you can think of with a 10yr old boy, his best friend, and his older sister's friend as the main protagonists. People eating from BurgerDog are turning into zombies and pretty much their entire town has been affected. The government has told people to go to the nearest military base for assistance so grabbing his parents car, that's where they end up heading.

Geared for the 8-12yr set, it's simplistic in it's writing style with lots of gross b&w pictures to go with it. It's got the humor down for this age range as well. Not really my style but if it has Jon wanting to read constantly, I'm all for it.

Page count: 205p/14,690p ytd

104:46 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Told by the wife and 4 daughters of Nathan Price, an evangelical authoritarian minister, who have gone to Congo to open a ministry there. They are woefully unprepared for the world that awaits them and everything they brought with them is unsuited for life in Africa. While they are there, Congo is fighting for it's independence from Belgium and then suffers the loss of it's first elected Prime Minister at the hand's of the CIA. They learn that even if you leave Africa, Africa stays with you and doesn't let go.

This is not normally a book I would have picked up but it is on several of my recommended reading lists so I had picked up a copy and then it was on Christopher's summer reading list for his bookclub so I decided it was time. I was incredibly surprised at how quickly it gripped me and didn't let go. I found that I just had to keep turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next and I read it in just a few days. An incredible read and one I would highly recommend.

Page count: 543p/14,485p ytd

Busy day, haircuts, and remodel update

First, a few pictures from Matt & Jon's art exhibit from their clay class. Not a lot of pieces to chose from for display as most was packed up so it was down to what they had just finished. Here are Matt's which are a bust (which he called meathead), a dragon, and a bottle:

Here are Jon's pieces which include his bust (Bob got in a bike accident), Garfield, and his bottle:
Here's a picture of Jon and Bob:

Yeah, I haven't been on much except for book reviews lately. Why? Well, mostly because things were crazy with the official end of the school year (we aren't actually done doing schoolwork tho since a lot fell through the cracks thanks to the remodel endeavors). We had Jonathan's play over Mother's Day Weekend (and I'm a horrid mother and have no pictures of it because I was too busy watching it and laughing hysterically). That week was the counter installation and getting the kitchen finished with the weekend spent trying to locate all our kitchen stuff so we could start the process of putting it all back (I still can't find my cups tho...grrrrrr!) The following weekend was black belt testing and I hurt myself the night before, which was also our official last day of school and Matt & Jon's art exhibit, so went to testing like the idiot that I am and then spent most of the next week in bed....when I wasn't trying to deal with the kitchen. We didn't go to Baycon over Memorial Day weekend for the first time in as long as I can remember but with so much to do and being way over budget, it didn't seem prudent. Instead we had some friends out on Sunday and played at the beach and then BBQ at our house so people could see our progress and we had a reason to take care of some cleaning that had been put off.

So that brings us forward to this weekend. I'll admit, both Mark and I have definitely run out of steam on this remodel. Between his working full time and my needing to deal with schooling the kids plus all their activities and other things, it's taking forever and we are both just burnt. I've been working on some small things but mostly dealing with school stuff all week. He scrubbed the dining room yesterday to prep it for paint and has applied the first coat of paint to the ceiling and upper parts of the wall. I need to figure out my schedule for tomorrow so I can work on getting the first coat on the lower parts of the walls.

We did manage to have some fun today tho. One of the other KSW schools had arranged for a private showing of Kung Fu Panda 2 for KSW students this morning so we signed up. It was a fun movie with plenty in it for both kids and adults. Afterward, we ran a ton of errands including taking all 5 boys for haircuts. Mark needed one and Matt and Jon have been talking about changing their hairstyle after Chris changed his a few months ago so we stopped at Supercuts. Good-bye tails...

and hello new dos:

104:45 Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The long winter is over and is over and opportunities are popping up all over for Laura. She is offered her first job in town helping a seamstress which helps her earn the money to send Mary off to the school for the blind. She continues to study hard even when she finds it difficult due to the distractions that being in a town offer like sociables and Literaries the first winter after that long one and then revivals, sociables, and the school exhibition. Not to mention that Mr. Almanzo Wilder has been asking to see her home after these events. Laura misses Mary terribly but at the end is offered a job as a school-teacher which, although only for 2mos, will bring enough money in to allow for Mary to come home for the summer.

Again, I'm always touched by how sweet these books are. Times are simpler, if harder, but it definitely makes the simple seem gentle and sweet.

Page count: 375p/13,942p ytd

104:44 Deadline by Mira Grant

The 2nd book in the Newsflesh series (sequel to Feed). This one is mainly told from the POV of Shaun about a year after George's death. He continues to talk to her as her voice keeps resounding in his head but he is resolute in trying to find the people behind Tate's actions that led to her death. Little did he know that the biggest story is just about to land in his lap...

Again, incredibly fast-paced with real characters. Much less about the zombies themselves and much more into the science of how it happened and where things are going. It's harder to identify quite as much with Shaun as I did with George but he is still incredibly well written and he's easy to understand. There are definitely some major surprises again in this one (no spoilers, sorry) that will leave you cursing Ms. Grant and wanting to go hunt her down so you can get your hands on a copy of the next manuscript. Unfortunately, it looks like that will have to wait another year and I will just have to make do with her October Daye series until the next one comes out.

Page count: 608p/13,567p ytd

104:43 Torchwood: Bay of the Dead by Mark Morris

Based on the Doctor Who spin-off series, Torchwood. I felt the book captured that universe adequately and the characters nicely. The storyline was interesting enough to keep my attention but not overly complex and I felt the ending was rubbish and forced. It was about 200 pages of build-up to a 1p explanation and resolution of the events. I appreciated that for the most part, Mr. Morris treated people reading it as tho they were already fairly familiar with the characters and past events from the show so didn't spend time trying to explain everything.

In all, a quick read with an interesting start but ultimately failing to deliver on the ending.

Page count: 238p/12,959p ytd

104:42 Parenting with Love & Logic by Foster Cline & Jim Fay

I've heard of this book and actually had it sitting on my shelf for years. I excused myself from reading it as I used the basic principle in many interactions with my kids but with a things getting rougher with my teenager and hearing more and more about it from friends, I decided there was definitely nothing to lose and possibly a whole lot to gain so I dove in.

Can I just that I am so glad I did? Yes, I think I followed the principles in a lot of places but there were definitely many places where I didn't and was more like the drill sergeant (which I have even called myself before) rather than allow my kids to suffer consequences that I felt I needed to protect them from or consequences that I didn't want to have to impose or deal with, I fell back into yelling, threats, imposed punishments, etc all in the name of getting them to "grow up" and "be responsible". After having read this and looking back on things, we have started trying to give the kids more choices in the "bigger" issues and let them deal with the outcome of those choices. We are implementing some new systems on chores and the like. Mark is going to read it next and hopefully with us both on the same page, we will have more luck in accomplishing our goal of raising our children to be respectful and responsible adults.

Page count: 255p/12,721p ytd

Yes, I will be detailing what we are doing here on my blog for my own records and so that anyone who wants to follow our journey and see our successes and failures can do so.

104:41 The Asian World by Roger Forges & John Major

Middle School History covering China, Korea, India, and Japan from 600AD-1500AD. I really enjoyed the presentation and learning more about this period of time in Asia. Interesting to see how religion spread through the different areas and how it would change in accordance to the needs of the people of that region. I found it fascinating to learn that the Korea had a movable metal-type printing machine 50yrs before Gutenberg made his movable type press. There were lots of little tidbits like that which makes the history much more fun and accessible to the middle schooler and even to those adults (like me) who tend to find history dry and boring.

Page count: 160p/12,466p ytd

104:40 Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

I'd seen the movie and heard that the book was even better so when I saw it on Freecycle, I grabbed it. Quick read and a little eerie how while you read everything ends up in your ears with Edward Norton's voice. They truly did a superb job of translating this to the screen although there were some very subtle layers that didn't cross over which was nice as it gave the book that something extra.

Page count: 208p/12,306p ytd

104:39 The Warlock by Michael Scott

The 5th book in the Nicholas Flamel series. Josh has gone with Dee and Sophie is heartbroken. Scatty, Joan, St.-Germaine, Shakespeare, & Palamedes are now ten thousand years in the past at the time of the destruction of Danu Talis. Nicholas is dying and Perenelle is not far behind him.

The stories of all the characters continue to be separated by time and space while still being intertwined and Mr. Scott does a wonderful job of keeping it all straight. His mastery of mythology is outstanding and he is masterful at weaving all the different legends together into a cohesive whole. Yes, it's YA so it's targeted at a slightly younger audience but it's refreshingly simple yet complex at the same time.

Page count: 383p/12,082p ytd

104:38 Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

A history of his life told from his perspective from early childhood to 1757. It chronicles his rise in business, his entrance and rise in politics, his founding of a philosophical group, and his journeys abroad. Some slight mention of his experiments but not much. I found his thoughts on his philosophy, how he came to his conclusions and what he did with them to be fascinating. Matthew read it for his book club as well and really enjoyed it. Would definitely recommend it.

Page count: 272p/11,715p ytd

104:37 Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

The 11th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I found this one a bit of a letdown after the previous ones. It moves at a decent pace but doesn't really go much of anywhere. Sookie learns more of her past but not really much that isn't known previously, more just confirmation of what was suspected or sort of known. Her relationship with Eric sort of devolves but not so it's left totally up in the air. Sandra Pelt is gunning for her again. Victor is still gunning for Eric. A few things do get resolved but there is so much that just doesn't go anywhere that it ends up being unsatisfying in the end.

Page count: 325p/11,443p ytd

104:36 Mercy Burns by Keri Arthur

The second book in the Myth and Magic series. Mercy has just been the target of a murder attempt, one in which her friend did not survive. In order for her friend, Rainey's, soul to pass on to the next life properly since she's a full dragon she must be avenged and Mercy has only 1wk to find and kill the murderers. Unfortunately for her, the people who tried to have her killed now what to find out how much she knows so they go for kidnapping next instead. Unfortunately for them, they put her in with a muerte, a dragon that is a tool of the council's for enforcing their laws. Even tho Mercy is only a draman (half-dragon/half-human), she has some powers that are unexpected and some allies among her kidnappers. Between her and Damon (the muerte), the must find out who has been destroying towns of draman which is likely the same people (dragons) who killed Rainey and who are trying to kill Mercy.

Can Death keep her safe or is falling in with him dangerous to Mercy in ways neither of them could have foreseen?

Fast paced, gripping, everything I've come to expect from Keri Arthur. A great book to sit down and just lose yourself in when you need a break from the mundane.

Page count: 320p/11,118p ytd

104:35 The African & Middle Eastern World by Randall Pouwels

A look at the history of Africa and the Middle East from 600-1500AD. Covers the rise and spread of Islam and the Islamic Empire and the influence it has had on Western Civilization. Honestly, I don't remember learning much of anything about this area during my school years. All I remember is European history and nothing else being covered so I found this incredibly fascinating to read. My only wish is that there was more information on what was going on in Africa but so much of that history seems to have been lost because of a lack of written language.

Page count: 160p/10,798p ytd

Fun links re: Kids activities

Young Actor's Workshop (YAW) and Kuk Sool Won have both been featured locally lately and I thought I'd share the links here.

This was about YAW's production of Food Fight (this years play that Jon was in):

http://www.hmbreview.com/arts_and_entertainment/article_88f1a2b6-7674-11e0-8e9e-001cc4c03286.html

Unfortunately they weren't in during his class but the class before so no pictures or quotes from him directly but it's a great article about the group in general.

And another local article on the Pan Moin Finals at KSW. The team Jon was on won first place. Definitely worth it to see the video and look at all the pictures (my favorite is the one where Matt is on the ground with Logan and Ryan beating on him LOL).

http://halfmoonbay.patch.com/articles/video-breaking-boards-in-friendly-competition?ncid=M255#photo-6028257

The teams that Matt and Chris led didn't place in the top 3 (there were 5 teams so I think you can figure out where they placed) but I'm super proud of how hard they worked and the leadership they displayed. Matthew in particular had 2 small children on his team (the only team with 2 so young) and the other child his age moved away half way through the season which left him using substitutes and then redesigning their demonstration so it wasn't as refined as other teams. With all that tho, I got nothing but compliments from several other parents at how well he worked with the younger children, keeping them excited to be there and making sure they knew they were valued members of the team. As far as I'm concerned, Matt won on a much grander scale.

Remodel Pictures

As promised, here are some in progress pictures of the remodel to date:

First, never underestimate the value of child labor

It's much easier for them to reach the low places.

Of course, if they are bigger you should let them help with the higher up stuff.

I mean why should the adults be the only ones throwing their backs out?

Remember when I was talking about my bedroom being in the dining room so we could paint and carpet? Here's what that looks like:

Yeah, that was some fun that I never want to repeat...EVER!

But man my bedroom looks HUGE when you take all the furniture out:

Nicholas LOVES all the space in his new room when there is no furniture in there:

Unfortunately we had to put things like a bed in but even still, there is enough room for J&N to play:

Unfortunately, it doesn't normally stay this neat and clean. *sigh* Lesson: Even with half the kids and less than half the stuff in the same amount of space my children can still manage to make a mess. Grrrr!

And here is our before pictures of the kitchen:

nd here it is once almost all the cabinets have been removed:

And here it is with almost everything ripped out:

Apparently we need to clean under our stove more often. I'd been wondering where that spatula had gotten to:

So that is our current tour. Yes, my bedroom is almost done except for some touch up stuff but we have a few boxes and things that still need to get taken care of before I get some good pictures taken. The majority of the kitchen cabinets are now in place (only the stuff around the fridge is not up yet) and the counters are being installed right now. It's BEAUTIFUL and I'll have pics up once that's done.

104:34 Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The final book of The Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss was rescued from the Quarter Quell by District 13 to be the rallying symbol of the rebellion by the Districts. As a result District 12 is bombed into oblivion with only a couple hundred survivors. Katniss is asked to assume a role that she neither desires nor feels suited for. Her only goal was ever to survive and keep her family safe. She understands that to do that, President Snow must die and thus she needs to the rebels to win but that's about as far as her loyalties go.

This book deals with the rebellion of the Districts. I don't want to give anything away but I will say that while I was riveted for the majority of the book, I was disappointed in the ending. It just sort of climaxed and then fell totally flat.

Page count: 390p/10,638p ytd

A productive weekend

Thought I'd update on the house project again. I know I did one yesterday but we got so much done this weekend I thought it deserved another update.

First, I no longer have a kitchen. Just a big open space with a non-working dishwasher, a working stove/oven, and a working fridge. All the cabinets and counters have been removed save the breakfast bar which is coming out tomorrow. That also means that the sink is gone as well. It was a bit more of a production getting it all packed up despite all the work I'd been doing on it for quite a while but in the end, out it went.

And while doing all that, we also managed to get our dresser and my desk out of the dining room and back into our bedroom where they belong. My computer is now all set-up so I have a regular mouse, monitor, and keyboard again. And I can sit at a desk rather than trying to navigate with the laptop actually on my lap. At the moment, my computer and the tv set-up is all that's on my desk so I'm enjoying the emptiness of it.

What that also means is that we almost have the dining room back. Of course, once I get my bookshelf out of there and the dining room table back in we'll just end up using it as a makeshift kitchen but there is something to be said for that as well.

So now we start our kitchen remodel. A week plus of either eating out, eating take-out, or eating prepared pre-packaged food off paper plates. If we are really lucky, my MIL may make a meal or two that we can pick up and then drop off the dirty dishes back. We are looking at is as an adventure and a chance to try some new foods. For instance, we learned tonight that I think polenta is okay, Mark likes it, and all 4 boys hate it.

104:33 Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

The 2nd book in the Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss believes that now they are home she and her family will be safe but nothing could be further from the truth. Her act of rebellion at the end of the Hunger Games has sparked rebellions in several districts and the Capital is desperate to put them back in there place. She is told that on her Victory Tour she needs to be more in love with Peeta than ever to convince everyone it really was love that caused her to act in that fashion and to do everything in her power to calm things down.

She fails.

And it's now time for things to start up for the next Hunger Games except this time it's a Quarter Quell, the 75th anniversary of the games, and there is a special twist. The tributes will all come from former victors and since Katniss is the only female winner ever in District 12 she will be entering the Games again in the most dangerous one of all.

Again, very fast-paced and kept me on the edge of my seat almost the whole time. I found the ending to be a little slow to start as Katniss was in the "Gale or Peeta but really no one but someone" mode but once the rebellion really got going, once she was headed back to the Capital and the Hunger Games, it was almost impossible to put down. So glad I have the third book sitting here waiting for me.

Page count: 391p/10,248p ytd

End of April House Update

Ah yes, more on our great remodel. Last time, we were just about to get new carpeting in two of our bedrooms so we were living with 4 boys in a single bedroom and Mark and I sleeping on the couch with much of our bedroom furniture taking up our dining room. The carpet did get installed on time but then we decided we needed to replace baseboards and we had the never ending "touch up" of the paint so we ended up going away for our Easter holiday to San Diego with our living conditions at home basically unchanged.

We had a fabulous time in San Diego and I'm ever so glad we went. We needed the break and it was so nice to be sleeping in a bed again and staying a house that was not in a state of chaos. We relaxed, the boys swam, I went to tea with my friend Kat, we took the boys to eat at the Corvette Diner and then to the Science museum and to play in the park, 2 egg hunts, 2 big baskets of candy, a pinata, egg dying, and lots of Monopoly.

Then we came back to the demilitarized zone that is my house. Mark got the baseboards up in the boys room Tuesday morning while I headed out to take J&N to swim. After having some issues with our neighbor, I spent my time between swim and clay replacing our locks. Why did I need to do this? Simply we were nice and gave him a key so he could continue to live illegally in his new home using our power and he tracked mud all over the new carpet, tore out the electrical socket in our bathroom but couldn't figure out how to fit it with the new one he bought (although it didn't need to be replaced...he's just an idiot), cut a hole in the riveted screen in our back door so he could run his extension cord through to my kitchen (while the unscreened kitchen window was 6ft away...again, idiot), and killed our outside electrical socket by keeping an ungrounded extension cord plugged in during a rain storm. This was just what he did while we were gone. I've had plenty of other issues with him but Mark was trying to be nice. Needless to say, nice is no longer an option and I don't trust him not to have made a copy of the key for his own self-serving purposes. Hence the new locks.

After clay I get down to the business of caulking the baseboards in J&N's room and doing the never-ending touch up work on the paint. We were able to let them sleep in their room for the first time on Wednesday with just a mattress. Thursday we got all their furniture in there and set-up and the room is now their's! C&M's room is in a bit of flux at the moment as we still need to figure out a desk for them and we won't be putting their futon in until we finish the living room as that futon will go in there room while we paint and refloor that room. Still need to sand and paint their baseboards as well.

That leads to our room. Thursday night we finally got our bed set up! Yes, I've gotten to spend the last two nights in my own bed in my room. Never thought I'd be so excited to say that. The curtains were hung yesterday and I'm slowly getting things sorted with our stuff in the dining room so we can hopefully start moving that back in soon.

Which brings us to the next project, the kitchen. I'll be working on packing that up this morning so Mark can start taking down the cabinets and counters today. I stocked up on refrigerated/frozen meals in disposable trays to try and curb the eating out expense. Cooking ourselves will be impossible since I have no mind to try doing dishes in small bathroom sinks with everything else going on. We hope to have the kitchen torn down this weekend and prepped for painting during the week. At the same time, we'll also be trying to prep and paint the living room and dining room. We pick up the cabinets this coming week so we can install them I'm guessing next weekend. We need to figure it all out so we know when to schedule the counter installation. ASAP is my preference.

And because we like to keep things interesting around here, we'll be trying to install the new kitchen during Jon's play, our wedding anniversary, and Mother's Day. What could be more fun?! Besides a frontal lobotomy that is.

104:32 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

A post-apocalyptic tale set sometime after normal government in North America has been destroyed andPublish Post the continent has been separated into 13 districts which are ruled by The Capitol. The districts have rebelled and were crushed with District 13 being totally destroyed. Now the other 12 must supply 2 tributes each year (1 boy, 1 girl) for The Hunger Games. A brutal game in which there can be only one survivor put on for the amusement of those living at The Capitol and broadcast to the Districts as a reminder of the price for rebellion. The tributes are chosen by lottery on a day called The Reaping from among children age 12-17. Your name is put in once for each year you have been eligible to be drawn but you can buy food and other supplies for entering your name additional times.

Katniss has been supporting her family in this manner and through illegal hunting since her father died when she was 11. She has refused to let her younger sister take any of the risks that might garner her extra chances in The Reaping so it comes as a shock when on Prim's first Reaping Day with only one slip her name is drawn. Katniss stands up to volunteer to take her place in the Hunger Games. She and the boy from District 12, Peeta, head to the Capitol to try and survive in the most deadly game of all.

Fast paced, simply written but dynamic for the simplicity. The author doesn't over complicate things by words or unnecessary plot twists. It's all out there from pretty early on and we are left simply following the characters as they see how things play out. As soon as I finished this one I had the second book in my hands as I had to see where things went next.

Page count: 374p/9,857p ytd

104:31 Pale Demon by Kim Harrison

The 9th book in the Hollows series. Rachel has been labeled a black witch and thus shunned in the last book. This poses a problem when she tries to board a flight to San Francisco for her brother's wedding as well as to stand before the Council of Witches where she has been promised a rescinding of her shunning. By chance, Trent needs to get to Seattle and Quinn can't go with him so they ask Rachel to be his bodyguard. Only problem is how to get there and it turns out quickly that car is the only way. So now it's a road trip with Rachel, Trent, Jenks, and Ivy. But nothing can go smoothly. Trent has people trying to kill him and rather than trusting Rachel to save him, he calls up a day-walking demon who was banished by the demons for being a crazy soul-eater. Can Rachel possibly stop him and if she does while being so closely watched, what will it mean for her personally?

A fast paced book with lots of little twists and turns and a shocker of an ending. It will be very interesting to see how the fallout from all of this plays out in the next book. Totally stinks that we will have to wait a year to find out!

Page count: 439p/9,483p ytd

Enjoying the little things

It's said that absence makes the heart grow fonder. It's also said that it's the little things in life that matter the most. I can honestly say that the last few days have truly taught me what a load of crap those two statements are.

Let me explain.

I've been updating about our house remodel (pictures coming soon, promise). This past week I got the dining room completely and totally emptied. We packed up some, got rid of a lot, and put the dining room table into the freshly painted boys' room (need to get used to calling it J&N's room soon). That's when the fun really started.

I packed up as much of our bedroom as possible and then we moved the dresser, bookcase, and my desk (not packed nicely, more like just shoveled off into a box *sigh*) into the dining room. The problem is that we ran out of time (throwing my back out might have something to do with that) and so instead of having things nicely set-up in the dining room, everything got stacked all over my desk and the baskets of clean laundry are stacked between the desk and the dresser. Yeah, it's kind of a mess.

This also means that since we have two bedrooms emptied so we can be patching and painting those because they are supposed to be getting new carpet this morning (which has now turned into early afternoon but whatever). In addition to all this, our storage locker is basically filled because it has our bed plus the new beds for the boys' rooms and the new flooring for the living room & dining room in it plus the stove that we still need to sell (which we have yet to even put on Craigslist which may be why it hasn't sold yet LOL).

What does that mean?

It means that we are currently have 6 people living in 3 rooms and one of those is the kitchen. 4 boys are sleeping in one small bedroom which until today we had managed to keep fairly clean (it now has my dining set in it) and the adults are sharing the living room with a ton of boxes. What makes this more fun is that our living room is also our dining room and our bed the only place to sit. I just love having to brush all the crumbs off my bed before going to sleep.

In the time-honored tradition of all remodels, we are having our fair share of issues. The biggest one has been the paint that we went with. A friend who works with another friend who is a painter by profession told us that they swear by Mythic which is an eco-friendly, voc free, paint. We wanted to do something along those lines so we said, great, let's do that. We talked to the woman at the store and she raved about it, told us how it covers really thick in just one coat, blah blah blah.

Yeah, um, except it doesn't.

In our experience with three rooms so far, it's extremely touchy about how the surfaces have to be prepped or it runs. Even with good prep, primer, and the right paint gun, it still has coverage issues and it's not just a "little" touch-up needed afterwards. It's more like "put a second coat on in most places". Needless to say, the 5gal I bought and was told should easily do my whole house has not even fully done 3 bedrooms. I'm picking up another 5gal today and then we'll see how much more we need. I still like the idea of this kind of paint and once it dries and the room aired a bit, the smell goes away quickly but I won't paint with it again. Maybe if a professional was doing it they would have better results but considering that we had none of these difficulties when we painted our house before using the same gun and the same person doing it with Behr paint, I would be much more tempted to go with their low or voc-free paints than this brand again. Unfortunately, now that we've started we are stuck with using it for project but at least we can live and learn.

So that is where things are right now. No, I'm not enjoying our smaller living quarters but I will say that I'm missing my extra space right now and all the stuff we have in storage. Having the walls so bare is depressing and I know we aren't done yet emptying the place. Really hoping that this is all worth it and we are able to sell quickly and for a good price. Mark's dream may be a new place before Christmas but I would love to move over the summer. Trying to do this all again during the school year is not something I'm looking forward to. My only consolation in that is that if it happens (likely I know) we move into a bigger, clean slate to start with rather than trying to cram ourselves into such a small space with absolutely all of our stuff that we can't fit anywhere else.

And the house stuff goes on

So last week I was sitting here without gas or a roof, planning a kid's birthday while things just kept going sideways. Since then, things have continued going sideways. Here's the current update:

The Roof - The main roofer was a complete ass about the entire job, demanded that we buy more expensive parts so he could be lazy about cutting, and suffers from neuropathy which meant that Mark ended up doing a lot of the moving of material. The roof is basically on but it's got tons of tall, shiny, expensive metal crap all over it that could have been done much cheaper and weird shingles overlapping the front trip which we will now have to try and figure out how to paint under. To say we weren't thrilled with how things went down would be an understatement, especially since he was still putting things on during the party which ended up back at our house and we all got to listen to the fights between him and our contractor. BUT, except for the chimney it's done. We've had a mild rain since then and so far no leaking. I hope for his sake that it is done correctly because no one is happy with how the project itself went down especially since the bid we got from another place ended up being cheaper (our contractor was confident they could do it cheaper but ended up not being the case) and we ended up helping to remove the roof, taking out the staples, and still have all the clean-up to do. The clean-up has ended up having it's own hassles as when Mark was putting a piece of trash into his dad's pick-up, it ended up touching the rear windshield and shattering it. Yeah, the roof has just been a barrel of laughs. Ugh!

The Gas - We have gas in the house again! It was a bit of a pain but it is now fixed. That leads to the next piece tho...

The Stove - We had gotten a wonderful 5 burner convection oven for free from a foreclosed house and had planned on putting it in here to replace our 20yr old beat-up range. That was going to mean rerouting 220 power from the outside hook-up to the kitchen to do. And then since it was stainless steel and black, well, maybe we should look into replacing the other appliances to keep things matching. After how much over budget the roof went, we decided that this was too expensive of a plan and I found a newer stove (well, newer than our current one) that matched our current appliances on Craigslist. It was only $240 but it has a nice top, digital display with delay and timed oven cooking and is even self-cleaning! Such an improvement over our previous one. Of course since nothing can go smoothly, it's gas hook-up is not compatible with our house gas line in the kitchen so we've been going through the run around trying to get the right parts to install it. It's been 3 days now but Mark was finally able to get the right parts and it is finally installed!

The Kitchen Remodel - I had to call the cabinet/counter place since I still hadn't heard anything a week and a half after giving the go ahead on the layout and quote. Turns out we had to go in and fill out paperwork, put a downpayment on the work, and make a bunch of decisions. Mark went and did that on Wednesday and while they were saying they could deliver this coming week, we decided to put it off until after Easter. We want to get the bedrooms done and carpeted before we deal with the kitchen. We ended up going with the granite that I loved the best because we couldn't get the backsplash for the oven in the one we had originally picked. Yes, we could have just gone and gotten some basic tile from HD or something to put behind it, but I liked the idea of matching it and since it was less than $100 difference to go with the other granite, we went for it. Hey, it makes me that much happier about this whole thing.

The Painting - And the hits just keep on coming. The paint we went with is too thick for our paint sprayer so Mark thinned it a little with water. He went to finally paint his office last night after using TSP to prep the walls as the guy at Home Depot recommended. Unfortunately, the guy at HD failed to tell him that he needed to rinse the walls after using the TSP on it. Between the two mistakes, there are several areas where the paint failed to stick and we will need to reprep and repaint. This is putting everything even more behind schedule. *sigh* Mark just talked to the paint guy and found out the right way to use the TSP (apparently we weren't using a strong enough concentration either) and also found out that our original paint gun is the right one to use and he managed to get the part to make that usable so hopefully now the painting can get underway in earnest.

The Packing - We have now run out of room in our storage locker until we can start getting some of the stuff out of there. Things like the futon we will put in the room for Chris and Matt, the boxspring and frame for the twin bed that will go into the room for Nicholas and Jon, and definitely the flooring for the living room and dining room. Thankfully, we are starting to finish up with the packing that will need to be done to finish the work on the bedrooms which will allow us to pull some of those things out. A few more boxes from our bedroom and I need to finish my desk. We'll need space for one more shelving unit until we move and for our bed while we paint and carpet the room and that will be tight for a bit but hopefully we'll be able to make it all work with just the one storage unit. Until we actually go to move that is. At which point, we likely will have to get a POD unit or something similar. That's going to be a whole 'nother level of fun.

So that's where we are this week. With any luck, we will get the boys moved into the office this weekend and start work on their room. We need to have that finished and us ready to move out of our room by Friday so we can prep and paint our room and hopefully give it at least a day to cure before the new carpet gets put it on the 18th. Cross your fingers and wish us luck that we can hit that date!

104:30 Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon R. Green

The 2nd book in the Nightside series. John Taylor has been hired by Jude of the Vatican to find the Unholy Grail, the cup Judas drank from before he betrayed Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, finding it won't be easy as the angels of Heaven and Hell are looking for it as well and they aren't being subtle about it. They will tear the Nightside to pieces to find it, killing everyone in their path and John dares not use his gift as they will tune into it and tear his mind apart using his gift to find the cup. Can he manage to stay ahead of them and find it first? Or will he be too late to save the Nightside and eventually the whole planet? And of course, what does his mother have to do with all this?

Again, very noir in it's telling. A very dark book which takes a look at the inner pain of the characters as part of their quest. More hints are dropped about Taylor's mother but nothing is really said except to show who knows something. An interesting series so far. Chris is enjoying it as well so I'm taking a break to let him get ahead of me in it since he seems to have more time for reading then I do right now.

Page count: 233p/9,044p ytd

104:29 The Living Dead edited by John Joseph Adams

An anthology of zombie stories that Chris wanted me to read. I found it to be a typical anthology in which there were a couple that I really enjoyed, some that were good but not great, a handful that were ok but just barely, and a few that really had me wishing I could have that time back again and left me shaking my head as to why the editor felt the need to include them.

Some that stood out in the good category:

This Year's Class Picture by Dan Simmons - a teacher is nabbing zombie children after the apocalypse, removing their teeth, and then trying to treat them as students albeit ones that are chained to their desks. It was the first story in the book but even after months it has stuck with me: the haunting idea of someone so lonely as to do this and the children's reaction at the end.

Death and Suffrage by Dale Bailey - what happens when the dead come back to life because they want to vote? This story deals with that and how the politicians would react. Third story in the book but it also stuck with me.

Meathouse Man by George R.R. Martin - takes place in the future where special handlers control zombies for work purposes. Some of the themes are haunting (no spoilers) and it has me looking forward even more to reading his other books.

The Song the Zombie Sang by Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg - what happens when you can keep a brilliant musician alive and keep them performing for years. Brilliantly told and executed.

How the Day Runs Down by John Langan - Told in a style similar to Our Town with the Stage Manager directing things and walking you through people's lives as they deal with the zombie infestation. Fascinating idea and brilliantly told.

There were of course others that were good but those were the stand outs to me.

Page count: 486p/8,811p ytd