We Are Here, We Are Here!

Just wanted to let everyone (all three readers) know that we survived Christmas.

Sharon left just after noon today, stopping in Cedar Rapids and leaving one non-resident here for the moment: Melinda. Derek will be back here sometime tomorrow. He is down in Cedar Rapids after this morning's checkup in Iowa City. New Year's Eve with the Scholls has become a tradition for some of our older gang.

Melinda and Derek head back to Texas on Friday.

That sounded a little confusing but it makes sense to me.

Guess we'll have to get back to the ol' school routine next Monday, but until then we'll enjoy this break.

Tonight we head over to Weikerts for a bit, then back here for another round of LOTR.

I should really post a picture or two of Christams doin's. It's getting pretty shabby, this blog...sometimes I wonder if it's worth keeping it up, but we'll see what the new year brings.

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Draco Blizzardo

Yesterday, the boys burning the trash in their shirtsleeves (with Nolan in snow pants because, "it's easier than changing out of my shorts")

25 hours later. The typical country storm: bare grass alternating with drifts

I threw on boots, a heavy coat and scarf to brave the outside, where I found Trevor and Nolan huddled on the lee side of the bricks.

Some drifting in the drive, but we've had worse. Still, it will need clearing.

A hazy sunshine tries to break through blowing snow.

And here we are after our first blizzard of the 2012-2013 winter. Which technically starts tomorrow.

Winds are currently 37 mph and we've seen one pickup go down the road earlier this morning. But travel still not recommended, with several highways closed across the state, some blocked by accidents.

The wind chill is just above zero and we're staying here for the moment. I'm trying to finish addressing the Christmas card envelopes; just a few more addresses to chase down.

Stay warm and stay inside if you can! And Iowans...stay off the roads, fer cryin' out loud.

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Cruising In To Christmas

Another interesting day coming up, tomorrow.

But first, must report on the safe arrival of Derek and Melinda in their travels from Texas, Sunday. They rolled in about 7:30pm.

One day of freedom (Monday) and then Derek is scheduled to go to University of Iowa Hospitals on Tuesday for a change of heart medication. Because there can be some arrhythmias in the transition time, they often like to hospitalize patients. Also, at the end of his stay (Friday) Derek will get another cardioversion, via his device. He's been in atrial fibrillation most of the year and they're going to see if the new drug will keep him out of it.

Anyway, as part of the process, he discontinued his current heart medication, a couple of days ago. Then he drove up from Texas on Sunday (all the way, since Melinda doesn't know how to drive a stick shift).

Then he went outside with the boys after lunch for a little physical recreation and horseplay.

Apparently too much horseplay. He got shocked.

Sorta forgot to take it easy and the doctors forgot to tell him to "cool it" inbetween meds.

Guess there's no doubt about needing heart medication.

So I'll be driving him down tomorrow, instead of the original plan; Derek driving himself.

Well anyway....

It'll all be OK. Melinda can do some of the school stuff with Nolan and Trevor--it's only half-ish days this week.

The fun never stops.

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Ma Steps Out On the Town

A momentous evening, it was.

After lots of busy-ness and sickness and running around-ness, it was decided I should just go see Skyfall by myself, at a theater relatively near to home. And by near to home, I mean only twenty-five minutes away.

The first decision...which car?

The Green-Dragon-Lady-Lincoln-of-Power ran well but did not have heat.

The Silver Lincoln had heat but tends to put-put around until it warms up. And then you may not have great acceleration...say, if you want to cut off a semi or somthin'.

The Toyota-of-Mouse-Smells has heat AND drives fairly well, but it makes weird clicking noises when you turn, and feels like it's sliding around if you go too fast on the gravel road.

I opted for the Toyota.

The second decision...where to eat?

McDondald's? With Coke products and bloating food?

Pizza Hut? With Diet Pepsi and the need for a tip?

Dairy Queen? Good Diet Coke to drink, but a lackluster atmosphere?

I decided to suffer the strain of Diet Pepsi so I could enjoy being waited upon at Pizza Hut :-) However, the thrill wore off a little as the free-floating table scooted and wobbled while sliding into the booth.

Smooth, Ma. Very smooth.

 No matter! I soon ordered my veggie lovers personal pan, cracked open my "Better Homes" magazine and perused the holiday gift & decoration tips.

And there's one thing I noticed while eating alone: you basically do not look casually around. You stick your nose in your magazine so people won't think you are lame and lonely. I wasn't, but I sure didn't want people to THINK I was.

Dinner was a success in that the pizza tasted fairly yummo and I didn't spill my drink.

On to the theater! I bought my ticket and the lady said, "You're the only one, so far."

Fine by me. I sat by myself two thirds up the incline until a nice older couple came in, sitting just to my left, one row up. We chatted back and forth for a while because...well, I guess because this is Iowa and they were nice :-)

Enjoyed the movie and managed to exit the theater without tripping over anything.

Always a plus.

Then I went to the wrong car and opened the door, but that didn't turn out too badly since no one was there at the time. I knew something was wrong because:

1. It didn't smell like mice
2. The door opened right up and I'd left the car locked

Before anyone could call the police I located the Toyota and discovered....I'd left the driver side door unlocked.

Ma strikes again. Ma is having trouble with her brain. Ma was lucky to make it home in one piece.

 But Ma did have a good time :-)

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That Merry Ol' Time of Year

The Christmas letter is 97% finished, just simmering in the computer and waiting for the occasional edit or improvement.

The photocards have arrived and everything looks pretty good, the one exception being Ardith and Justin's. They appear slightly shadowed; still, pretty decent overall.

In other news, Derek and Melinda will be driving back to Iowa this Sunday, after Derek attends his roommate's graduation ceremony.

Then he'll party here for one whole day before going down to the U of I Hospitals for another change in medication. The last day of incarceration will culminate in another cardioversion; hope he stays out of a-fib this time.

Also hope that Loren feels better by then. After this moderate bug went through us around Thanksgiving, he never quite got back to snuff. Has been fluctuating between almost feeling better and not at all. So tomorrow he visits a local doctor to see if anything can be...seen.

I am spending lots of time each morning going over Nolan's math. Or have been. The last couple of days I've had him rework each wrong problem by himself, instead of going through it with him. With any luck, he can get 2/3 thirds of them right the second time around, cutting down substantially on my involvement.

Good for me, bad for him. His energy flags quite noticeably after spending an additional hour and a half struggling over the wrong problems. My hope is that he will tire of this and pay more attention the first time around.

Maybe.

I'm beginning to think, more and more, that homeschooling blurs an important distinction between being mother and teacher. In my opinion, assuming mothers can simply take on the task of teaching, in addition to being Mom, and not have any fallout, is shortsighted. The homey stories and "testimonies" of others are wearing quite thin, compared to my reality.

Ah well.

I must needs go to the treadmill, again. The call of carbs has been extremely strong these past weeks. The treadmill won't negate that, but I can't stop, can I?

Life goes on at the merry ol' Hoytstead.

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First Snow of the Season!

"Hey Trevor..." "What....?" "Nothing..I just wanted you to look at the camera."

The "snowman" doesn't appear to be very large, or snowy-white.

Trevor, discovering that looking into the wind is not always a good idea.

Attempts at making snow angles met with mixed results...

So yes, it wasn't a large snowfall, but it was enough to cancel church. Our visiting speaker from Dubuque contacted us to say they had left the city but turned around after the first 30 minutes of the drive took over an hour. Roads were very slippery.

In other seasonal news, the Christmas decorations are all up except for one last thing that I just remembered...

Trevor is back at the piano playing his version of "Carol of the Bells"....you know, the one that never stops.

The other kids are amusing themselves by sitting in the dark living room, repeating quotes from every single movie they've ever seen. And laughing uproariously at their witty renditions.

I've tried to start the annual Christmas letter but haven't gotten much written, as of yet. Maybe I'll scale it way down and squeeze everyone onto one page. I hate to do that because it feels like quitting, so we'll see if anything remotely inspirational comes to mind.

Perhaps the most startling occurrence of late was the cleaning of my desk (and surrounding area) yesterday. It is amazing. I'm still astounded when I walk into the room and see the brown surface of the fake-oak desktop. You would think this newly discovered order would give rise to letter-writing, but perhaps I only cleaned off my desk to postpone this yearly task.... It's a delicate project, coming up with something interesting yet not outrageously exaggerated.

Ooo, I just came up with an idea....gotta go...

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