The State of Hoytlandia Address

Good afternoon. It would seem we have had our one and only snow of January, and so far, winter in general.

Friday the 20th's 5-6 inches was just enough for Ethan to get all of the house bermed with snow pack **aplause**, but alas, temperatures have warmed on several different occasions. The snow melteth, the grass showeth, and even the wind doth hardly bloweth.

More grass than snow in the yard, with the next chance of precipitation being rain, on Tuesday **mild booing**.

Then I'll look for a February thaw in which to run out and prune the apple trees and raspberries.

After that it's a brief spell until garden plannin' and plantin'; that time of year when I have to tell hopeful children, "Seriously....I don't think peanuts would be a good choice for north central Iowa..." or, "Nooooo, you can't plant rice."
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In diet news, I didn't lose any weight this past week **sympathetic coughs**. Oh I could have counted myself down 1/4 of a pound, but it seems fairly ridiculous to keep track of miniscule amounts. At some point that type of behavior smacks of OCD.

But at least I didn't gain. Probably put on some muscle. There are certain tweaks I can make to cut down on nibbled calories.
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Scholastically speaking, we have just passed the half-way point in our school year. Hooray for us! **sounds of wild cheering** Soon I'll have to start prepping Nolan and Trevor for the yearly tests. Oh good...extra subjects to work into the day.
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For the bedtime routine we've once again started reading through LOTR **sounds of "hear, hear!"** I read The Hobbit myself, but caved to pressure to let the kids take turns reading different characters in The Fellowship of the Ring. We have four copies between us, so that works out pretty well. Two of them are quite dog-eared but still readable.

Trevor wants to read a part but he still needs work to read smoothly, not skip words and decode the bigger words (he prefers taking a reasonable guess based on one or two letters rather than phonetically sounding it out. And sometimes he flat out doesn't try).

Nolan is not completely smooth and has a tendency to substitute words, but he enjoys himself; it's probably good for him.

We're substituting seamless storytelling for audience participation, but I guess Ma has to stop hogging the fun stuff all the time. After this series, however, I'm picking a book that's never been read and only has one copy ;-)
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Health-wise we all seem to have recovered from the cold-that-would-not-end. It must have been potent since Loren developed bronchitis, but it is over. If only we can avoid the norovirus that has hit Iowa....**vociferous booing**
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In conclusion **cheers all 'round**, I've finished mending Ethan's coat for the second time (thanks to "king of the snow-hill")**applause**, the kids are cleaning the bathrooms**wild applause**, the second treadmill stint of the day is completed**heavy applause and whistling** and now comes lunch**heavy applause, whistling and foot-stomping**.

My goals for the rest of the day include a nap, 3-4 more treadmill miles, supper, and preparing food for tomorrow's pot-luck **sonorous applause signifying warm admiration**.

Let't all work together to make this a profitable day (and that means being quiet during my nap, kids!) for Ma.

**Standing Ovation**
 

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