Tuesday, November 30, 2010

First Snow Flurries

The kids woke up to snow flurries!  This is fun to see -especially as we just bought passes to Snow Creek for the season (tentatively opens on Dec. 11).

Monday, November 29, 2010

Physical Therapy starts

Dorito had his first physical therapy session (finally) and stayed off the pain medication today completely.  He is not free of pain, but we could tell the doctor more specifically about his condition this way.  One doctor thinks he will get better, and the other is very skeptical about long-term problems.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Penny Log

I found a nickel in the lobby of the gas station.  Meggar is trying to collect all the quarters she can find in my purse and the cup holders of the car to take back for her laundry. :-)

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Losing Teeth on Vacation

As is usually the case, some Schmidling child lost a tooth on vacation.  This time it was Winger, and it was twice in one day!  He came out of the locker room this morning before the game to give one to Captain, and then again right before supper he lost another one.  Last week, he lost one in the middle of hockey practice so he spit it out on the bench and went back for the next drill.  I think he is caught up with his twin brother now.

A Book Like Jane Eyre

I didn't report on the past two monthly book clubs: in October we read "Frankenstein" which was not what I expected.  It is a lonely tale about Dr. Frankenstein and his horrible guilt over the consequences of his "creation."   For me, it held a similar moral to the modern-day story of embryonic stem cell research and frozen embryos.  Scientists who want to "play God" are letting pride blind them to the limits of their knowledge and the long-term social impact.  In November, we read "Wide Sargasso Sea" which is a retake on Jane Eyre from the point of view of the mad-woman/wife from Jamaica whom Rochester kept in the attic.  She has a sad tale of her own which only deepened my appreciation of the Bronte novel and the minor characters in other good literature.  All of us in book club will gather in December to nominate selections for the 11 months in 2011.  With no assigned reading this month, I happily finished "Longitude" by Dava Sobel.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Wild About Hockey

Dorito was invited to use the extra ticket and went with Cousin Charlie and Kara to the Minnesota Wild game.  Here's a picture of him in the stands, and he said their NHL team was better to watch in person than he expected. 
The rest of us ate lunch with the Stars hockey team and cheered as they started their tournament with a win over Sioux Falls (minus their friend Zaccheus, who has a knee injury).  Hard to get used to the cold wind and icy streets here when it's been so mild at home this fall.  Meggar is back to doing her homework after a lengthy book-on-tape during the car ride.  And I am making Christmas lists while listening to Captain's cell phone negotiations over the new jet.  It's a multi-tasking weekend between hockey games.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving

We ate at Cousin Pam's house with: Bob (whose brother Mark and sister Michelle also joined us), Ethan (taller and tougher), Alyssa (sweeter and talkative), Aunt Mary (cooking but worried about Uncle Tony, who is still in the hospital with complications from his pancreatic cancer treatments), as well as Cousin Charlie, new wife Kara, and 3-month-old Sophia.  What a beauty!  Everyone wanted to hold her and make funny baby noises in her face. Captain had the best luck rocking her to sleep.  The twins were especially happy to see the snow and went out in the late afternoon to play in it.  The teen girls and moms headed for a movie, while the "old guys" watched football on TV.  Just the way a Thanksgiving should be.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Read Alouds Along the Way

Driving 8 hours to Minnesota today.  "Pocahantas" was our first read aloud to help fill the time.  And a re-watching of "The Blind Side" movie.  Such a hilarious Thanksgiving Table scene in the middle of that movie and a reminder of how many abundant blessings we have in our lives.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Fiddlers Three Plays at Cathedral

The half-day at "regluar" school proved an excellent time for scheduling a Fiddlers Three show.  My kids' quartet played pioneer songs and told Pony Express stories for the students at Cathedral grade school.  The kids especially enjoyed the bull whip demo and playing shakers along with "Red-Haired Boy."  An hour really can go by quickly, and I was happy to celebrate afterwards at Panera over bagels and hot cocoa.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

KCYC for Teens

(It was fun for me, too!)  I took the homeschool teens to the Kansas City Catholic Youth Conference this weekend.  Great speakers, comedians, musicians, and youn gpeople on-fire for their Catholic faith.  Little sleep, but plenty of good Catechism and teen testimonies.  On top of that, they worked together on a service project for the homeless, knelt for an hour of Adoration on the cement floor, and were eager to go to Confession and talk to religious orders.  Dorito was happy to attend with Michael, Malcolm, Austin, Brian, Faith, and Alison.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Getting an MRI or Two

The neurologist ordered an MRI of Dorito's head (which luckly came back "clear") and his low back (not as good of news there).  he has swollen discs, and he will need to start physical therapy before they do more follow up. We are learning a great deal about concussions and their long-term healing.  Dorito tried to read his favorite book from the library, but it only worsened his headache. Happily, he has gained 4 pounds in the past week and a half from eating so well and relaxing!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

MythBusters with Meggar

Tonight, Meggar took Dorito back to college for a show with Grant from MythBusters!  This is Dorito's absolute favorite show on TV!  Dorito said the power-point presentation was interesting and funny.  He was in heaven.  He is staying overnight in the dorms to attend church and Meggar's Fall Choir Concert.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Cheering Up Dorito

Meggar came home to spend time with Dorito.  After dinner, I took them with me to hear Condoleezza Rice speak and receive an autographed copy of her new memoir "Extraordinary, Ordinary People."  She was brilliant and dignified.  Her stories of living in Birmingham during the 60s and working for the president were thoughtful.  Her dedication to piano was also impressive.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Watching and Waiting

Dorito is not supposed to do school work or heavy concentrating while his headaches continue. The CT scan came back normal, and we were relieved about that.  But he was feeling much worse on this 5th day and has numbness in both legs.  Meanwhile, we are making all his favorite foods and trying to cheer him up.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Dorito Gets Injured

Dorito suffered a concussion in his first home game with the Jr. Outlaws JV team.  I didn't even realize it at the time.  He gave a normal body check put another player against the boards, but neither one fell down. Later, we learned the other boy put up his glove which forced Dorito's head back (like whiplash?).  As the second period was played, Dorito said he was developing a burning headache. He didn’t play at all in the third period because he was getting dizzy. The trainer recommended we go to the ER, and the doctor there verified a Level 2 concussion (at 2 a.m.) so we are supposed to watch him carefully the first week for signs of vomitting or worse pain.