What a schedule we have today! My first activity was cancelled which was a makeover with a friend from church. That just means that I can breath for a while. Later today, I don't think there will be time for even that.
The kids have Parent/Teacher Conferences today. Ours are in classes trying something new called Student Led Conferences. This will be a new experience for us all. Ours are scheduled for 4:30 & 5:00.
The kids then have practice for the Awana games at church from 6-7:30. I told them we are going to pack sandwiches for them to eat between the school and the church.
I am part of a small group Bible study that meets at 7:30-9 on Tuesdays. Our entire church is going through a "Season of Renewal". And most everyone is working through the "Experiencing God" Bible Study. The church was able to get the books at a discount and even had youth editions available. It has really been interesting! We even had an evening worship service "in the round". Because we have chairs in the auditorium, the pastor had the chairs rearranged between services so when we came in at night they were in circles facing the center of the auditorium. He used that night as a sharing time for what God was doing since the Bible study had started. He wanted people to be more comfortable sharing and everyone to be able to see who was talking without them having to come to the front. It was a casual atmosphere and really unique.
Well, I have Avon customers awaiting their orders. Joshua and I will be off delivering them here soon.
At least with P/T Conferences this week, it means I'll have help delivering the Advance papers tomorrow because the kids only have a 1/2 of school.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Friday, February 24, 2006
Get the Lead Out
We have been learning and working through a program here in GR called "Get the Lead Out" since last fall. Mom knows about it but I figured it was time to fill everyone else in as well. The object of this is to get lead out of older houses that could be dangerous to young children.
I had to sit through a class on the dangers of lead and safe ways of cleaning. We also had to fill out an application and give them all sorts of income paperwork, etc. I turned that in early in Dec. and waited a month. No word from anyone so I called. A week later there was still no word. Finally, the guy I was calling gave me the number of the lady he was awaiting info from and I called her. That seemed to get the ball rolling.
By late January, Mark & I had to sit down and go over paperwork with a city inspector. We received a lot more information at that time. Turns out that it is actually a loan program. We were this far into it before anyone used the term "repayment" or anything that gave indication that we would have to pay to have the work completed. This startled us some because of the fact that we hadn't heard anything and we were so far into the program already. It really isn't that bad of a program though. The city is going to write off 30%. We are approved for up to $12,000 and it would be at 0% interest for 10 years. There is no lean put on the house or anything like that. The inspector also had to look over the house to make sure that it was worth fixing if there was lead in it.
Less than a week later, we had a full-blown lead inspection done. It took 2 people 3 hours to go through the house and test lots of different areas with a special machine (XRF) which reads the lead content of all layers of paint. They had to do inside and out and even the garage. They also did dust swipes and soil testing.
This morning before Mark went to work, the city inspector came back with the official results. To no ones surprise, we have a lead problem. The good news is that most of the interior of the house is safe (just some in the basement stairway). The problems are in the window sills and the exterior of the house. So the city is proposing all new windows and repainting the outside including the garage. (Part of the outside is not contaminated, but he is going to try to have them do the whole thing.) The other place that it is, that was new for the inspector, is a bare patch of soil in our driveway. So they are talking of replacing all that grassy area in the drive with concrete. (This makes my husband happy because it was awful trying to shovel or snowblow that grass strip.)
The next step is for the city inspector to write up a report and send the work out for bids. He is hoping that it won't be a problem keeping it at or under the $12,000. I also have to take Joshua to the health dept for a blood test. (If his levels were high enough, they would actually change the amount written off or would write off the whole thing.)
Frankly, we think that the lead has possibly affected his speech development. His speech improves dramatically during falls and winters. During times when windows are open, his speech doesn't get worse but it also doesn't continue to grow and improve as it should. From what I have learned about lead, it is also a possibility that the lead has caused, or enhanced, Stephen's Asperger's Syndrome. From the class I went to, lead can affect any part of a developing child's body except the lungs.
I keep talking to the inspector about timing of having the work done at each visit. He is going to see if we can push it through to have the work done during the kid's spring break (the first week of April). We will have to move everything 5 feet away from the windows and vacate the house on Monday morning. We won't be able to get back into the house till after 5 on Friday. This will be while they are doing the windows and interior painting. The outside work won't be done till early May and we can be in the house while that work is done as long as all windows are closed and the kids don't play in the yard. We sort of figured that Spring Break week would be easiest when I can just take the kids and go stay with family out of GR. It wouldn't be too hard to find a church family to take Mark for the week so he could work but to take the whole family of 5 and deal with our crazy schedule could be rough. With this type of notice, it shouldn't be too hard for Blacks to work something out for Sarah for that week.
Well, that's about the biggest news from here. The only other thing going on is that Stephen has tested positive for strep again. This is twice in 2 weeks. They have switched antibiotics but want him tested again in 3 weeks to make sure that he isn't a carrier.
I had to sit through a class on the dangers of lead and safe ways of cleaning. We also had to fill out an application and give them all sorts of income paperwork, etc. I turned that in early in Dec. and waited a month. No word from anyone so I called. A week later there was still no word. Finally, the guy I was calling gave me the number of the lady he was awaiting info from and I called her. That seemed to get the ball rolling.
By late January, Mark & I had to sit down and go over paperwork with a city inspector. We received a lot more information at that time. Turns out that it is actually a loan program. We were this far into it before anyone used the term "repayment" or anything that gave indication that we would have to pay to have the work completed. This startled us some because of the fact that we hadn't heard anything and we were so far into the program already. It really isn't that bad of a program though. The city is going to write off 30%. We are approved for up to $12,000 and it would be at 0% interest for 10 years. There is no lean put on the house or anything like that. The inspector also had to look over the house to make sure that it was worth fixing if there was lead in it.
Less than a week later, we had a full-blown lead inspection done. It took 2 people 3 hours to go through the house and test lots of different areas with a special machine (XRF) which reads the lead content of all layers of paint. They had to do inside and out and even the garage. They also did dust swipes and soil testing.
This morning before Mark went to work, the city inspector came back with the official results. To no ones surprise, we have a lead problem. The good news is that most of the interior of the house is safe (just some in the basement stairway). The problems are in the window sills and the exterior of the house. So the city is proposing all new windows and repainting the outside including the garage. (Part of the outside is not contaminated, but he is going to try to have them do the whole thing.) The other place that it is, that was new for the inspector, is a bare patch of soil in our driveway. So they are talking of replacing all that grassy area in the drive with concrete. (This makes my husband happy because it was awful trying to shovel or snowblow that grass strip.)
The next step is for the city inspector to write up a report and send the work out for bids. He is hoping that it won't be a problem keeping it at or under the $12,000. I also have to take Joshua to the health dept for a blood test. (If his levels were high enough, they would actually change the amount written off or would write off the whole thing.)
Frankly, we think that the lead has possibly affected his speech development. His speech improves dramatically during falls and winters. During times when windows are open, his speech doesn't get worse but it also doesn't continue to grow and improve as it should. From what I have learned about lead, it is also a possibility that the lead has caused, or enhanced, Stephen's Asperger's Syndrome. From the class I went to, lead can affect any part of a developing child's body except the lungs.
I keep talking to the inspector about timing of having the work done at each visit. He is going to see if we can push it through to have the work done during the kid's spring break (the first week of April). We will have to move everything 5 feet away from the windows and vacate the house on Monday morning. We won't be able to get back into the house till after 5 on Friday. This will be while they are doing the windows and interior painting. The outside work won't be done till early May and we can be in the house while that work is done as long as all windows are closed and the kids don't play in the yard. We sort of figured that Spring Break week would be easiest when I can just take the kids and go stay with family out of GR. It wouldn't be too hard to find a church family to take Mark for the week so he could work but to take the whole family of 5 and deal with our crazy schedule could be rough. With this type of notice, it shouldn't be too hard for Blacks to work something out for Sarah for that week.
Well, that's about the biggest news from here. The only other thing going on is that Stephen has tested positive for strep again. This is twice in 2 weeks. They have switched antibiotics but want him tested again in 3 weeks to make sure that he isn't a carrier.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Mid-winter break?
What is this? I know we never had such a thing. Our kids are having a 5 day weekend. They have today, tomorrow, and Monday completely off school. It sure seems strange but then again. The schools scheduled to be open tomorrow may not be anyway.
Have any of you seen the pretty colors on a West MI radar today? From white to several shades of blue, pink, green, and yellow too! We have had a whole rainbow of colors all over the radar screen. It has really been strange to have thunder and lightening during February. We started this morning with snow...then hail and rain. It has really come down hard for a while too. Some people are even without power. Of course, it is supposed to go back over to snow over night which will make for fun travel to work tomorrow but that is why I said that schools that are scheduled open still may be closed tomorrow. All this precipation to usher in the coldest weather of the year! And just 2 days ago we were up around 40 and some people weren't bothering with coats. I think I have your weather rollercoaster beat, Dad!
Have any of you seen the pretty colors on a West MI radar today? From white to several shades of blue, pink, green, and yellow too! We have had a whole rainbow of colors all over the radar screen. It has really been strange to have thunder and lightening during February. We started this morning with snow...then hail and rain. It has really come down hard for a while too. Some people are even without power. Of course, it is supposed to go back over to snow over night which will make for fun travel to work tomorrow but that is why I said that schools that are scheduled open still may be closed tomorrow. All this precipation to usher in the coldest weather of the year! And just 2 days ago we were up around 40 and some people weren't bothering with coats. I think I have your weather rollercoaster beat, Dad!
Friday, February 10, 2006
Finally
I finally seem to have a minute to sit down and blog since I know it has been a week and I owe you an update on the AWANA Grand Prix. Rachel's car weighed in just fine which was really nice to not have to worry about. However, she didn't fair too well in the racing. They go through the racers 4 at a time with the top 2 moving on to the next round. The do this till they have the top racer and they take that one and put it in the "Trophy Round". They then go back through the racers again leaving out the fastest from the first round. They keep doing it 4 times till they fill the "Trophy Round" positions and have a final race. Unfortunately, Rachel's never came in higher than 3rd in any of her heats. We take some consolation though in the fact that there was to be a new rule this year that didn't get enforced and all the cars faster than Rachel's were not following that rule. Seems that some people took to making their tires thinner which tends to make them faster. The officials at the area race were not aware of this rule change till just prior to the start of the race so they just let them race that way this year. We all had a good time though and learned from it. Rachel can also now say that she made it to the area race and she has a pin to prove it.
Now a family update: Stephen has strep. One of my daycare girls had it after she left here on Monday. I really thought that Joshua would end up with it since he was in the closest proximity to her while she was here. Joshua started with a runny nose on Wednesday but hasn't had anything else. Stephen had a runny nose last weekend without any other symptoms so we thought it was probably allergies and he seemed to be improving since it got to be winter again. Yesterday, Stephen started complaining that his throat hurt and he had a low-grade fever before bedtime. Took him to the dr. this am and he came out positive. Now the question is when any of the others will come down with it? I'm thinking, better safe than sorry so I will have to make some phone calls and get someone to teach my SS class on Sunday. If I don't someone will definitely be sick Sunday morning.
We have actually been doing fairly well this winter and avoided anything too major. These sniffles are about it till the strep. I figured we'd get something pretty soon. I guess you could say "We were due." I was enjoying the healthiness but sort of holding my breath knowing it wouldn't last. I am starting to believe in using echenacia though. Mark was starting to come down with something a couple of weeks ago and this type of something usually moves down into his chest to become bronchitis. I started giving him echenacia right away and after about 5 days it was gone. It never became anything else and never got bad enough that he missed work.
Times up for now. I need to put the boys down for a "rest time" and then get some work done around here. Hope my big brothers are having a nice visit in UT. (Is Nate's blog goofing up anyone else's computer, especially the comments?)
Now a family update: Stephen has strep. One of my daycare girls had it after she left here on Monday. I really thought that Joshua would end up with it since he was in the closest proximity to her while she was here. Joshua started with a runny nose on Wednesday but hasn't had anything else. Stephen had a runny nose last weekend without any other symptoms so we thought it was probably allergies and he seemed to be improving since it got to be winter again. Yesterday, Stephen started complaining that his throat hurt and he had a low-grade fever before bedtime. Took him to the dr. this am and he came out positive. Now the question is when any of the others will come down with it? I'm thinking, better safe than sorry so I will have to make some phone calls and get someone to teach my SS class on Sunday. If I don't someone will definitely be sick Sunday morning.
We have actually been doing fairly well this winter and avoided anything too major. These sniffles are about it till the strep. I figured we'd get something pretty soon. I guess you could say "We were due." I was enjoying the healthiness but sort of holding my breath knowing it wouldn't last. I am starting to believe in using echenacia though. Mark was starting to come down with something a couple of weeks ago and this type of something usually moves down into his chest to become bronchitis. I started giving him echenacia right away and after about 5 days it was gone. It never became anything else and never got bad enough that he missed work.
Times up for now. I need to put the boys down for a "rest time" and then get some work done around here. Hope my big brothers are having a nice visit in UT. (Is Nate's blog goofing up anyone else's computer, especially the comments?)
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Good thought
I just had to pass along the following that I received via email. I know I owe you all an update on the Grand Prix and hopefully I can post that tomorrow. Here's a thought shared by an AVON upline of mine:
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Mr.Common Sense. Mr. Sense had been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).
His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition. Mr. Sense declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student, but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the TenCommandments became contraband, churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, then she spilled a bit in her lap and was awarded a huge financial settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers: My Rights and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Mr.Common Sense. Mr. Sense had been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).
His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition. Mr. Sense declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student, but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the TenCommandments became contraband, churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, then she spilled a bit in her lap and was awarded a huge financial settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers: My Rights and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Super Bowl Fun
Of course, the hype of the week around here is the Super Bowl this Sunday. This blog usually only talks about 1 sport, NASCAR, but we had to share the following to show just how much we think of our Detroit Lions in this house. (For Nate, this might require one of your liquid/keyboard spill warnings.)
What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl?
The Detroit Lions
How do you keep a Detroit Lion out of your yard?
Put up goal posts
Where do you go in Detroit in case of a tornado?
To Ford Field-they never get a touchdown there!
What do you call a Detroit Lion with a Super Bowl ring?
A thief
Why doesn't Grand Rapids have a professional football team?
Because then Detroit would want one.
What's the difference between the Detroit Lions and a dollar bill?
You can still get 4 quarters out of a dollar bill
How many Detroit Lions does it take to win a Super Bowl?
Nobody knows and we may never find out.
What do the Detroit Lions and possums have in common?
Both play dead at home and get killed on the road!
What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl?
The Detroit Lions
How do you keep a Detroit Lion out of your yard?
Put up goal posts
Where do you go in Detroit in case of a tornado?
To Ford Field-they never get a touchdown there!
What do you call a Detroit Lion with a Super Bowl ring?
A thief
Why doesn't Grand Rapids have a professional football team?
Because then Detroit would want one.
What's the difference between the Detroit Lions and a dollar bill?
You can still get 4 quarters out of a dollar bill
How many Detroit Lions does it take to win a Super Bowl?
Nobody knows and we may never find out.
What do the Detroit Lions and possums have in common?
Both play dead at home and get killed on the road!
Grand Prix Update
We received a phone call last evening from the AWANA Commander from our church. Turns out that each church is actually eligible to take the top 3 boys and top 3 girls from each of 2 different age groups. (Not just the top 3 finishers club wide.) This means that Rachel is eligible to take her car to the area grand prix on Saturday. She was really thrilled when she found out and is really looking forward to it. We'll let you know how it goes!
Thursday, February 02, 2006
AWANA Grand Prix
Last night was this year's AWANA Grand Prix at church. I haven't gotten pictures of the cars yet but hope to and will post them later. We had 2 cars racing this year as Stephen is now in the group that participates. Rachel came in 5 and Stephen came in 8th we think or at least 9th. That's 2 top ten finishes! Rachel was still a little disappointed because she was hoping to make it to 3rd or better to go to the area grand prix on Saturday. Well, she has 1 more year to keep trying.
We put a lot more time and effort into the cars this year than other years. Stephen's, of course, had to be a Nextel Cup car. What really surprised us was that it wasn't orange with the famous 20 on it. He decided to make an 88 UPS car. But not just any one, this was the ones from the commercial where UPS is finding a new use for Dale's cars since he is going to "drive the truck". It had several packages on it's trunk. Thankfully, UPS lets people cut and paste their logo off the website. I was able to give him printups just the right size to glue onto the car and help the design some.
Rachel took some advice from her Uncle Nate. We made hers high in the front with a quick dive in. It actually looked about like a sail boat minus the sail. She painted it pastel colors and covered it with stickers that came in the mail that were from around the world. The thought with the design is that because the gates drop down and the other cars are usually very low cut, she gets a little bit of a jump on them as the gate drops. It must have helped but I think we need to work a little more on the design for next year. The car that ended up winning was higher in front like hers too but a little more sleek in its design.
We also made sure to buff the axles well and we used a graphite lubricant that Hobby Lobby has. I'm sure we'll be into there a lot earlier and coming up with even different designs for next year.
Well, I have lots to do as usual maybe more so because of doing a cake for a little farewell party for a couple at church last night too. Laundry and dishes are really piling up. And as usual for a Thursday, Joshua and I have to go do lunch duty at the kids' school and then Joshua has speech therapy at 2 p.m.
We put a lot more time and effort into the cars this year than other years. Stephen's, of course, had to be a Nextel Cup car. What really surprised us was that it wasn't orange with the famous 20 on it. He decided to make an 88 UPS car. But not just any one, this was the ones from the commercial where UPS is finding a new use for Dale's cars since he is going to "drive the truck". It had several packages on it's trunk. Thankfully, UPS lets people cut and paste their logo off the website. I was able to give him printups just the right size to glue onto the car and help the design some.
Rachel took some advice from her Uncle Nate. We made hers high in the front with a quick dive in. It actually looked about like a sail boat minus the sail. She painted it pastel colors and covered it with stickers that came in the mail that were from around the world. The thought with the design is that because the gates drop down and the other cars are usually very low cut, she gets a little bit of a jump on them as the gate drops. It must have helped but I think we need to work a little more on the design for next year. The car that ended up winning was higher in front like hers too but a little more sleek in its design.
We also made sure to buff the axles well and we used a graphite lubricant that Hobby Lobby has. I'm sure we'll be into there a lot earlier and coming up with even different designs for next year.
Well, I have lots to do as usual maybe more so because of doing a cake for a little farewell party for a couple at church last night too. Laundry and dishes are really piling up. And as usual for a Thursday, Joshua and I have to go do lunch duty at the kids' school and then Joshua has speech therapy at 2 p.m.
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