1. Today was our playdate with John and Matthew. I ended up missing much of the fun as I had a hair appointment, but I hear there was lots of Skipbo, alphabet scavenger huts, and Mario Kart. I'm so glad we got to have this visit from the Joneses. Such fun!
2. Happy 30th Anniversary to Bill and Marilyn (aka Grammie and Granddaddy)! We hope you both had a wonderful day!
3. On Sunday, we had a great time with Grammy, Granddaddy and the cousins on Sunday. I think the high point for the kids was the pirate treasure hunt. This time the pirate treasure was LEGO mini-kits! It was fun to watch Brent & Granddaddy lead the subsequent building project.
4. There was also kiddie pool fun, including a lot of running and jumping in by B while the younger ones watched and later tried it themselves.
5. Right now these two are playing more computer games together and seizing these extra moments when Daddy is home and E (and sometimes M) are sleeping. (Ignore how messy it is in the background, the crafting area is sorely neglected and in need of ALOT of organizational help).
6. It is, again, way too hot in Oklahoma. We are part of OG&E's "smart hours" pricing plan. This means we agree to varying rates based on the energy usage in the grid. Essentially, we get super low rates at off peak times, but can get very high rates if there is peak usage. Today is such a day. So, while we saved $50 on our electric bill last month we're actually evacuating the house today when pricing is going to be nearly 10x what we've being paying at some points in the last month. The temperature is going over 100 and probably will for a few days so I can see us coming up with some creative afternoon plans and starting naps earlier so we can be "out" somewhere some of these "peak" pricing times.
7. E seems to be doing well. He will get his own 2-week post tomorrow, when we have new stats from the Doctor. He is awake more, complete with lots of funny faces. I think yesterday he got quite sick of all the iphone pictures as I tried to capture a series of them as they flew by. I know these looks are only here for a moment so I'm annoying him anyway.
8. Lots of sad news from my high school community of late. Three different Pioneer staff have died in the last week or so. Farewell to Mr. Snyder, Mark Kanaga, and Mr. Bingham.
9. My kids are starting to survive on Brown Bread and cheese sandwiches + fruit + carrots. Oliver Cat has this sandwich at the end of their library book so they ask for it a lot, plus it is too hot to cook and our inspiration for creative cool foods is waning.... hmmm... they seem content, but I feel like there are only so many cheese sandwiches that are a good idea in a given week, right?
10. I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but we've joined a CSA --- basically we bought a share in some farm produce so each Sunday we get a delivery of vegetables/fruits and a dozen eggs. Part of the idea is to ensure we have fresh vegetables and are supporting local farmers, but ideally, it also gets us to use vegetables we are less familiar with or less likely to buy on our own. So far, the later isn't working as I immediately handed my brother the cabbage in this week's supply out of no inspiration to figure out new recipes with it. Oh well, I'm sure we'll get there. I still have quite a few things to play with in the bag this week including: an large onion, a small eggplant, five ears of corn, some new potatoes, a tomato, and a pepper as well as our dozen eggs.
I hope you all are having a lovely week and staying cool. I'm off on Savory Spice Shop business with my brother and mom, which hopefully I'll have more to tell you about in coming months. I believe the kids and Brent are beating the heat at the library today. What are some of your favorite cool summertime retreats?
2. Happy 30th Anniversary to Bill and Marilyn (aka Grammie and Granddaddy)! We hope you both had a wonderful day!
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| All five grandchildren with Grammie |
4. There was also kiddie pool fun, including a lot of running and jumping in by B while the younger ones watched and later tried it themselves.
5. Right now these two are playing more computer games together and seizing these extra moments when Daddy is home and E (and sometimes M) are sleeping. (Ignore how messy it is in the background, the crafting area is sorely neglected and in need of ALOT of organizational help).
6. It is, again, way too hot in Oklahoma. We are part of OG&E's "smart hours" pricing plan. This means we agree to varying rates based on the energy usage in the grid. Essentially, we get super low rates at off peak times, but can get very high rates if there is peak usage. Today is such a day. So, while we saved $50 on our electric bill last month we're actually evacuating the house today when pricing is going to be nearly 10x what we've being paying at some points in the last month. The temperature is going over 100 and probably will for a few days so I can see us coming up with some creative afternoon plans and starting naps earlier so we can be "out" somewhere some of these "peak" pricing times.
7. E seems to be doing well. He will get his own 2-week post tomorrow, when we have new stats from the Doctor. He is awake more, complete with lots of funny faces. I think yesterday he got quite sick of all the iphone pictures as I tried to capture a series of them as they flew by. I know these looks are only here for a moment so I'm annoying him anyway.
8. Lots of sad news from my high school community of late. Three different Pioneer staff have died in the last week or so. Farewell to Mr. Snyder, Mark Kanaga, and Mr. Bingham.
9. My kids are starting to survive on Brown Bread and cheese sandwiches + fruit + carrots. Oliver Cat has this sandwich at the end of their library book so they ask for it a lot, plus it is too hot to cook and our inspiration for creative cool foods is waning.... hmmm... they seem content, but I feel like there are only so many cheese sandwiches that are a good idea in a given week, right?
10. I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but we've joined a CSA --- basically we bought a share in some farm produce so each Sunday we get a delivery of vegetables/fruits and a dozen eggs. Part of the idea is to ensure we have fresh vegetables and are supporting local farmers, but ideally, it also gets us to use vegetables we are less familiar with or less likely to buy on our own. So far, the later isn't working as I immediately handed my brother the cabbage in this week's supply out of no inspiration to figure out new recipes with it. Oh well, I'm sure we'll get there. I still have quite a few things to play with in the bag this week including: an large onion, a small eggplant, five ears of corn, some new potatoes, a tomato, and a pepper as well as our dozen eggs.
I hope you all are having a lovely week and staying cool. I'm off on Savory Spice Shop business with my brother and mom, which hopefully I'll have more to tell you about in coming months. I believe the kids and Brent are beating the heat at the library today. What are some of your favorite cool summertime retreats?
3 comments:
To help with your energy usage, I will suggest the Kill-a-Watt EZ (http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B000RGF29Q). You can pug this into various outlets to see your prime, nonessential loads that you should shed during peak cost hours. Well worth the price, especially for a variable rate home.
I see nothing wrong with cheese sandwiches every day. They'll be fine if you throw in some fruit or veggies now and then. I grew up eating nothing but PB and J sandwiches, mac and cheese, spam, tomato soup and creamed chip beef on toast. Kids are resilient. I heard a story on NPR today about a nomad guy somewhere in northern africa who survives on corn meal mush, made with muddy salt water twice every day. That's it. I think we're all in good shape.
Loved this time meeting the little guy and watching the cousins. Crazy that there are 5 now. Can't wait until next time.
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