Real World: Wyoming; Day Eight

Monday was a hang-out day. We did some homeschooling to get back into the swing of life and messed around in the house and outside a little. Our big excitement was when we couldn't stand it any longer and had to venture to the river beach because the day was simply too gorgeous to pass up. I wonder if we'll ever be stuck inside while it rains here? So far it's been nothing but gorgeous. Here are a few pics from our day:

The boys put on an art show!

I made cookies that actually were not flat. The first batch I used baking soda from 2006. Today I used baking POWDER from 2003 and they worked out fine!

We drove the trash up to the dumpster. The van is stalling out and I have to powerbrake it so it stays running. Probably the TPS (throttle position sensor) but I'm no mechanic; I'm just a girl.

A necessary evil: laundry.  But it's much easier when it's on the main level of the house. I'm gonna miss this old girl when I go home.

Mommy's gettin' crispy while poor Daddy works a 13-hour day including commute.

Sammy shows off his new Cars swim trunks.

At the beach.

Joel doin' some whittlin'.

Why Do Public Schools Need So Much Money?

Sorry in advance to my friends with kids in public school, but I have a curiosity itch and I gotta scratch it.

So tonight as I'm cutting my umpteenth Boxtop for Education off of FOOD that I am consuming, I start wondering something.

Why do public schools need so much money?

It seems like they are always raising money for something and it is never enough. I want to see a damn balance sheet, a revenue report, their budget in Quickbooks or Excel or even on paper. Heck, you can even break it down per school for me instead of showing me some extensive Superintendent of Schools report for EVERY school in a district. Where can I get this information?

By the way, I'd be happy to whip up a balance sheet for my homeschool any day of the week. I run it cheap, folks and public schools could learn a thing or two from moms, that's for sure.

Because there are the Boxtops and the Capri Sun recycling and the Campbell's labels and the Best Choice labels and the restaurant nights like Sonic and McDonald's and Johnny's Tavern where the restaurant donates like 10-20% of the night's sales to the specific school.

Then there is the ice cream social and the carnival and the parties, all of which cost money. And you are buying a ring pop for 50 cents when you can get them for a quarter a piece at Costco.

Then there are the freaking fundraisers ... selling candy and wrapping paper and entertainment books and first-born children and when you ask a kid what the money is going toward THEY NEVER KNOW.

Let's not forget about how all those millions from lottery tickets and casinos were supposed to going toward public education. Hell, schools should have crystals on the doorknobs by now based on that alone!

I'm sure there's a lot of waste going on ... ask any teacher. And the party line is that teachers don't get paid enough, either (but consider their paycheck is only for NINE MONTHS).

I get why private schools do these things ... they don't get federal fundage.

So why do public schools need so much money?

Especially when so many of us homeschoolers are giving them like $1,000 per year from our property taxes and what do we get in return? I guess my family uses the school playground in our neighborhood and sometimes we have to park a car there for a few hours, so there's that.

I'm not even suggesting I be given that money back to put into my homeschool. I'm cool with helping to raise the village.

I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm genuinely curious here.

Readers, school me on this subject! (and let me know about the money-raising things I've forgotten!)

Mother's Day in Wyoming: Day Seven

Mother's Day in Wyoming started with some alone time for me since I woke up at 7 and was able to get out of bed without waking up Sam. I did some writing work while I got the little treat of watching the last 10 minutes of a current episode of Madmen, one of my all-time favorite shows. Being transported back to the 1960s kinda rocks.

As everyone started getting up, we worked on breakfast: blueberry pancakes, sausage and eggs. That gave me enough energy for the relaxing (wait, there was the kayaking) I did all day.

Daddy made Sam into a robot using a diaper box.

One of the two cabins down by the pond, just down the road.

 Aron took the kids down to the pond for some water fun and none of the kids even gave me a backward glance because they knew they were going to have so much fun with their dad. While they were gone I shaved my legs while listening to The Real Housewives of New Jersey. I also took a shower without any little company and I did some writing while watching TV. They were gone about an hour and a half, then Aron came back with the two littlest.

Not even so much as a "bye, Mom!" So much for attachment parented kids being dependent!

Sam did not want to stay home, though, so I walked them down to the pond and ended up taking my maiden kayaking voyage and my maiden rowboat voyage. Great exercise, sunshine, time with family. We had kayak races and took delight in bumping each other's boats.

I was in heaven all day, as Aron did a bunch of laundry and most of the cooking! Later we had his Wyoming boss over for dinner: grilled chicken, corn on the cob, sweet potato fries and blueberry muffins. I was able to nurse Sam to sleep in bed (he was pissy! ... too much sun?) and so got an hour to help with dinner and eat it!

Later I got to do some reading in bed while snuggling with kids. What a great day! Hope your day was just as great.

P.S. My dad wants more fishing stories, so this is to let him know Joel tried to catch a crawdad as big as a baby lobster, and Aron tried some fishing but didn't have any luck. He'll be trying again some nights when he gets home at a decent time.

Real World: Wyoming; Day Six

Day Six = Saturday, by the way. Daddy worked all day. We went to the river beach for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I sunscreened faces liberally but didn't realize we'd be there so long having fun and didn't realize the sun bounced off the sand so much. As a result, I'm a BAD MOMMY and got my kids' little legs a bit sunburned. Not badly, mind you, but they griped later that night. I gave them some Tylenol and put lotion on their legs since we had no aloe or sunburn sprays. Of course they'll be nice and tan tomorrow, but I'm sunscreening the crap out of them next time!

Callie made a "pool" for Sam.

Michael and Joel made a bigger pool.

 Aron got home late in the afternoon and we were going to head to church and dinner, but Sam had other ideas. Sam had to eat at the MommyKerrie Breastaurant and fell asleep so Aron took the 3 oldest kids to the pond to kayak and rowboat. They also fed the horses since the managers are out of town for the night. Then we woke Sam up and headed out.

A Mexican restaurant in Evanston, WY. Muy bueno!

After dinner we headed to a park on the RiverWalk. Me and Callie snapped a pic while I practiced my Spanish on a couple of little girls there.

A moose feeding!

Here's a viewer question from my dad (well, two questions) that I pulled out of The Kerrie Show mailbag:

"Has it got very cold there at night? Is it alright to go out far nights, I mean do you have to be wary of wild animals there?"

Thanks for watching the show, Dad, and here are your answers:

(1) YES! Sometimes it gets to freezing at night. Mornings are chilly, but by after lunchtime we are good to go to hit the river beach for a sunny warm couple of hours in the low 70s or so (feels warmer, but sometimes there's a chilly breeze on the river's bend).

(2) NO and YES! It is pitch black out there in front of our place. In back there's one big "streetlight" ... but we don't venture outside much after dark. We had to read a pamphlet about cougars and bears and how to act if you encounter one, so that has us freaked out!

(3) Bonus answer: Dad, you know the kids are wild animals, so I ALWAYS have to be wary!

There's a triangle out back so I can call people in for dinner ... we are totally Ma and Pa Kettle out here!

The dog here at Kingfisher Bend Ranch, Socks, is the perfect bribe to get my kids to do anything! If Sam is having a fit, we just ask if he wants to give Socks a treat or wants to go pet Socks and he's happy. Looks like we'll be getting a dog in October after all.

As for music here in Evanston, Wyoming, let's just say there's plenty of country but I found THREE great rock stations ... the only catch is they only play stuff from the 70s and 80s. So I get to go back in time on a regular basis, but when I get home I'll be uncool on the music scene. That's okay.

If you missed any installments of the Real World: Wyoming series, head to the right-hand side of this here blog, look for Categories, then click on Wyoming.

Real World: Wyoming; Day Five

The usual type of day: coffee, breakfast, laundry, shower, dishes, pack lunch and off to town to hit the Family Dollar for a few toys, then Dollar Tree for some sand toys for the beach, WalMart for more grocery stuff, post office to mail Mother’s Day cards. I love when strangers tell me I'm raising polite kids :-)

Lots of chillin', then threw a lasagna in the oven and hit the beach for a while to catch some rays and build a rock dam. I chilled on the sand and watched my amazing kids just play, something I rarely do at home. This reinforces the goal we have that soon we'd love to be able to afford a place in the "country" (as country as you can get near Kansas City) where we can just go for a hike in the middle of the day to a stream and forget about household chores.

Gathering rocks for the dam.

Sam could be in San Diego for all he cares. Sand is sand and water is water. It's all fun!

Callie laying out on the beach.

Tonight I told Aron I can put away the dishes instead of him because he worked all day, and that I can write while I nurse after I put away dishes. He said, “Yes, I know you can write while you nurse. You’re very talented that way. But go do something else.” He just wanted me to relax, which rocks.

Catch you later for Day Six (Friday).