After being rescheduled twice, the elementary Christmas program went on yesterday. Mae had a great time singing and all of the children did a great job; it was the adults who stunk up the auditorium. The music teacher, with a month extra to practice, didn't have her shit together. The music cues were all wrong, microphones were constantly being adjusted and the song selections were absolutely awful. The program was "A Country Christmas" with several country songs mixed in with a few traditional. Who thought that Toby Keith was appropriate for 1st graders? Remember that's the "We'll stick a boot in your ass, it's the American way" guy. That's not the song they sung, but crappy none the less. Another great selection was a song called "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer" one line I can remember was "jingle bell and the rebel yell" very classy. Then much to my surprise, each grade (K-4) sang a religious song. Not just a mention of the birth of Jesus but full on gospel type songs. My daughter's class sang "Jesus Christ is born" and the second grade sang "Mary did you know?" What the hell? This is a public school! I know this is a community with strong Christian beliefs, but come on, this is a government funded PUBLIC school for EVERYONE, regardless of religious affiliation. It seems that I 'm always fighting the issue of what kinds of religion my children are being taught behind my back. Am I just making too much of this? Does this happen in other public schools?
I can't decide how I should handle this. Should I talk with the principal who obviously supported this program, complete in her overalls and bandanna? Will I get anywhere with a letter? I know Mae's teacher is the children's' choir director at her church, so that's a dead end. I can't seem to find an unbiased Christian to complain to. Maybe I need to go even further up the ladder, but at the same time I don't want to alienate my children as the ones who can't participate in holiday activities.
I feel that this type of religious content has no business taking up valuable school time. Perhaps time would be better spent on teaching the children about healthy eating habits and exercise. Is Jesus OK with childhood obesity? Just a thought after watching all 5 grades pile onto and off of the stage yesterday.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Priceless
"Mommy, do ya wanna see my great spin?"
At least twice a day Binny performs her great spin.
I drink it in, and take lots of pictures.
At least twice a day Binny performs her great spin.
I drink it in, and take lots of pictures.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Infomercials
We allow our kids to watch (a limited amount of) TV and up until now that has meant PBS kids. I love PBS for their great documentaries, craft and cooking shows, and my children love the kids shows. I never worry about the content from PBS because usually it's of the educational nature and the best part, no commercials. Saturday mornings are a little trickier. On the weekends the children's programming on PBS is spotty at best, so my kids scan the channels for any type of animation and usually end up watching cartoons with tons of commercials. "Mom, can we get that cereal, I want that dolly that cries, when can we go to Chuck-E-Cheeseseseseses?"
So about a month ago we bought one of those digital converter boxes because we have the old style analog TVs and no plan to upgrade our TVs or get a dish before the Feb. conversion. Got the coupon, installed the boxes which by the way are rediculously confusing if you want to use anything else in conjunction with the TV, like a DVD player, stereo, etc. Now we need 3 remotes to watch the stupid thing and the sound is way diminished, but the up side is that now we receive MORE channels, like a lot more. We now get about 4 PBS channels, 2 weather options, a traffic channel, jazz and classical music, a channel called ion life that hubby loves (mostly for the drag racing and the big chested outdoors-woman shows) and Qubo (cartoons) for the kiddies. At first glance I liked Qubo, the shows are for the most part educational, and on all the time, perfect for those late night sick kid puke fests that we enjoy on a way too regular basis.
Now here's my bitch- the infomercials. Between each show there is about a 2 minute gap usually reserved for regular commercials, but Qubo chooses to run one really long commercial (usually starring Billy Mays) featuring some silly, can't live without household product. Mae watches these infomercials then runs over to try to get me to call the 800 number at the bottom of the screen.
So about a month ago we bought one of those digital converter boxes because we have the old style analog TVs and no plan to upgrade our TVs or get a dish before the Feb. conversion. Got the coupon, installed the boxes which by the way are rediculously confusing if you want to use anything else in conjunction with the TV, like a DVD player, stereo, etc. Now we need 3 remotes to watch the stupid thing and the sound is way diminished, but the up side is that now we receive MORE channels, like a lot more. We now get about 4 PBS channels, 2 weather options, a traffic channel, jazz and classical music, a channel called ion life that hubby loves (mostly for the drag racing and the big chested outdoors-woman shows) and Qubo (cartoons) for the kiddies. At first glance I liked Qubo, the shows are for the most part educational, and on all the time, perfect for those late night sick kid puke fests that we enjoy on a way too regular basis.
Now here's my bitch- the infomercials. Between each show there is about a 2 minute gap usually reserved for regular commercials, but Qubo chooses to run one really long commercial (usually starring Billy Mays) featuring some silly, can't live without household product. Mae watches these infomercials then runs over to try to get me to call the 800 number at the bottom of the screen.
"Mom we should get the craft cutter ba-cuz it's better than a
scissors and comes with a light."
"Mom, that vacuum is waaay better than ours."
"Mom, you should steam our curtains."
There are so many ridiculous products being advertised on that channel and they are all for adults, not the children who are watching. The handy steamer, sandwich makers, aqua globes, home improvement items, and my all time least favorite- The Bump-it. Seriously I had to see it to believe it myself. Bump its are a little plastic rounded framework that you tuck under you hair in the back to make it look like you have big Sarah Palin pageant hair. Seriously? Could you imagine walking around with a big hunk of plastic stuck to the back of your head just so you can have big hair? WTF?
Have you seen any bad infomercials lately?
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Cookbook Cabinet
Here's the cookbook cabinet hubby built for me.
I can't decide whether to put doors on it or just leave it open. This summer sometime we will pour a little concrete countertop for it to match the island in the kitchen.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Back to normal... or not?
Today hubby goes back to work and the kids go back to school. They all have been home since Christmas and honestly I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet this afternoon. Hubby decided to use up some vacation time over the holidays, since I don't think he'll be taking me anywhere tropical this winter like I wanted, but he did manage to work on some home improvement projects during his time off.
He built a cabinet for my cookbooks, rewired the basement and started on our new bathroom. We actually weren't planning on starting the bathroom projects (there will be 3 in this house when we're through) until next year because of our economic situation, but our current bathroom has had it, and we can't keep thinking that it will continue to accommodate our family of four. This house was built without plumbing or electricity, so one little 1950s bathroom with a bad layout is all we have. The door bangs into the toilet and cannot be opened all the way, the floor tiles are popping up, the fake plastic wall tiles are falling off and the plumbing is horrendous. The plan is to turn our laundry room/office/master closet into a master bath and master closet, move the office to the kitchen (hubby will build a desk to match our cabinets) and change the current bathroom into a half bath/ laundry room. The third bath will be upstairs for the girls, but that won't be until the other bath is ripped apart.
He started with the most important thing first, a place to pee.
That's right, the new toilet location is directly under my desk. Don't worry, I'm not blogging while on the potty. He has it all plumbed up in case something disastrous happens to our lone toilet. 3 women and no toilet, no man wants to deal with that.
He ripped out the old closet yesterday and that will be the new tub location. I was hoping for a shower stall to save space, but we helped remodel my in-laws bathroom last year and they gave us their barely old, very gently used bathtub, so I can't argue with free. We have most of the materials already, so this shouldn't be too expensive of a project, and of course we will be doing the work.
He built a cabinet for my cookbooks, rewired the basement and started on our new bathroom. We actually weren't planning on starting the bathroom projects (there will be 3 in this house when we're through) until next year because of our economic situation, but our current bathroom has had it, and we can't keep thinking that it will continue to accommodate our family of four. This house was built without plumbing or electricity, so one little 1950s bathroom with a bad layout is all we have. The door bangs into the toilet and cannot be opened all the way, the floor tiles are popping up, the fake plastic wall tiles are falling off and the plumbing is horrendous. The plan is to turn our laundry room/office/master closet into a master bath and master closet, move the office to the kitchen (hubby will build a desk to match our cabinets) and change the current bathroom into a half bath/ laundry room. The third bath will be upstairs for the girls, but that won't be until the other bath is ripped apart.
He started with the most important thing first, a place to pee.
That's right, the new toilet location is directly under my desk. Don't worry, I'm not blogging while on the potty. He has it all plumbed up in case something disastrous happens to our lone toilet. 3 women and no toilet, no man wants to deal with that.
He ripped out the old closet yesterday and that will be the new tub location. I was hoping for a shower stall to save space, but we helped remodel my in-laws bathroom last year and they gave us their barely old, very gently used bathtub, so I can't argue with free. We have most of the materials already, so this shouldn't be too expensive of a project, and of course we will be doing the work.
check out that wallpaper.
When hubby removed the trim from around the closet, we found this. The name of the builder who built the laundry room in 1970. Hubby says this kind of thing is common, and he sometimes signs his work in a place that may or may not be found again. Interesting to me.
plaster party
Little helper removing nails. And yes, she's had a recent tetanus shot.
Thankfully, home remodeling is our hubby's strength.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Hard times
***OK, I wrote this a while back and didn't post it. And since I don't have anything better to post right now, and I feel bad leaving the trashy New Year's photos up any longer, here we go.
Finally our shoe ducking president has agreed with the rest of the world that indeed we are experiencing a recession and not just an economic downturn (what PR asshole came up with that one?) so now, life as our family has known it has changed. Not that we have ever lived beyond our means, but we certainly have taken advantages in the housing market, and when times are good for our wealthy friends, they buy new stuff and usually offer up any good junk to us before shit-canning it. I can imagine that the gravy train will be screeching to a halt very soon.
My hubby works construction and has been cut down to 32 hours a week, even with the reduced hours he's having a hard time keeping busy all day. There just isn't any work around. The construction industry is flooded with workers and nothing for them to build, repair. The housing crash has stopped construction in many areas around here. Land that should have been left farm fields, is now big piles of frozen dirt with one or two lone houses. I don't think that was the idea. Did nobody see this coming?
Not that we have any official real estate training or economic insight, but we knew when to get out and settle for a fixed rate mortgage. I know that a house and a mortgage isn't right for everyone, but since when is an interest only mortgage a good idea for a long term investment like a house? Maybe for developers and builders, but not for the average Jane and her family. I have heard countless stories (on NPR) of families who didn't understand the terms of their mortgage and lost it all.
Now the rest of us who responsibly took out mortgages might not be able to pay for them because the job market has taken a swan dive into the toilet. This really hit home with me because, no I don't work, but that was the plan for us. We can live on one income and prefer to, if that income is steady and continues to also include health insurance.
Finally our shoe ducking president has agreed with the rest of the world that indeed we are experiencing a recession and not just an economic downturn (what PR asshole came up with that one?) so now, life as our family has known it has changed. Not that we have ever lived beyond our means, but we certainly have taken advantages in the housing market, and when times are good for our wealthy friends, they buy new stuff and usually offer up any good junk to us before shit-canning it. I can imagine that the gravy train will be screeching to a halt very soon.
My hubby works construction and has been cut down to 32 hours a week, even with the reduced hours he's having a hard time keeping busy all day. There just isn't any work around. The construction industry is flooded with workers and nothing for them to build, repair. The housing crash has stopped construction in many areas around here. Land that should have been left farm fields, is now big piles of frozen dirt with one or two lone houses. I don't think that was the idea. Did nobody see this coming?
Not that we have any official real estate training or economic insight, but we knew when to get out and settle for a fixed rate mortgage. I know that a house and a mortgage isn't right for everyone, but since when is an interest only mortgage a good idea for a long term investment like a house? Maybe for developers and builders, but not for the average Jane and her family. I have heard countless stories (on NPR) of families who didn't understand the terms of their mortgage and lost it all.
Now the rest of us who responsibly took out mortgages might not be able to pay for them because the job market has taken a swan dive into the toilet. This really hit home with me because, no I don't work, but that was the plan for us. We can live on one income and prefer to, if that income is steady and continues to also include health insurance.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
New Year's Eve
Last night hubby and I went to a "white trash" themed New Year's party and maybe had a little too much fun, if there even is such a thing. Pork rinds, cheap beer and Jerry Springer on tv. 
T is pregnant, so right off the bat, that gave her the best costume, but I have to admit she really had me convinced that we were attending a shotgun wedding. Very Classy. And G, he's got guts to wear that outfit and agree to be photographed. T's prize, a box of wine.
Roller derby and a fake black eye (thanks for the suggestion, hubby) 
Every year our friends B&T throw a great party. This year they had a costume contest and here are the winners:
T is pregnant, so right off the bat, that gave her the best costume, but I have to admit she really had me convinced that we were attending a shotgun wedding. Very Classy. And G, he's got guts to wear that outfit and agree to be photographed. T's prize, a box of wine.
The girls
The guys
Bride and Groom
Roller derby and a fake black eye (thanks for the suggestion, hubby)
Hubby and the finest orange flavored malt liquor
hubby and B. Nice clip-on.
hubby and B. Nice clip-on.
having fun with a pooped-out party goer
and because she's such a faithful blog reader, here's a cute one of the Hooter's girl
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