No decorations yet...

I have had the best of intentions to haul my Christmas decorations out of the crawl space, but the nights just seem to pass too quickly!

Monday night was the first time I had been to my fitness class in a couple of weeks. I was very pleased to see that I could get back in to the 'swing' of things fairly quickly, too. By the time I got home from that, the last thing I wanted to do was to start pulling out boxes.

Last night I got home from work about half an hour later than usual to find that just the A-man was home. Hubby and S had gone over to help a friend install their TV satellite dish. After a fairly quick dinner, the A-man and I got to work. He on making another kugelis dish, and I on contacting family members to pull together a family tree album I want to make for a Christmas gift.

This idea just popped in to my head yesterday, and I am now determined to make it happen. The only problem is that it's for my Dad's family - he is the oldest of 9 and a few of the family members are sort of estranged from others. It's very complicated to say the least.
Anyway, through the wonderful world of Facebook, I have been able to get quite a bit of information already, and I know I will be able to pull photos that way, too. I'm hoping to be able to turn this in to a gift for both my grandparents and my Dad. I did a similar thing a number of years ago for my Mom and my Dad was very touched by it, so I'm sure it would be appreciated.

My Dad is the oldest of 9 children. I am the oldest grandchild - there are 24 grandchildren now and about 36 years between me and the youngest. I have counted 17 great grandchildren, but I have 2 cousins that I am sure have children and I am waiting for details about that from my Aunt.
The A-man is not the oldest Great Grandchild, but he is the oldest Great Grandson. (One girl born about a year and a half before him...) Yes, a very large family tree, and that does not include any of the children that have come into the family as step-children; like my eldest niece!

As I was on the phone with my cousin getting information, I could see the A-man peeling potatoes, chopping onions, and gathering all the items he needed. He eventually interrupted me to see if I could assist with the chopping. We finished putting together the dish and popping it in the oven just as Hubby and S returned.

S got to work on his homework, then the two boys played a game of chess before bed. (I will admit - this no electronics on a school night is quite lovely.) S tried to tell us that he only had Math homework, but his brother had shared with me that he also had some French homework that he didn't want to complete. I "checked" his agenda - which he is going to keep updated daily to earn more Mom Bucks - and then asked him about French. He gave a groan, pulled out the binder and finished the work in about 10 minutes. What a guy.

Turned out Hubby was sent home from work yesterday at his lunch time due to a machine malfunction. Both plants were sent home for the remainder of yesterday and all of today. He didn't mind the chance to sleep in this morning, and was actually looking forward to getting some computer jobs finished up today. It was nice to have some time together last night after the boys went to bed. (Hubby usually goes to bed around the same time as the A-man...)

I am going to be attending a Grade 8 information session tonight at the highschool. Not sure how long it will be, but I'm pretty sure I won't have a chance to haul out Christmas decorations tonight, either. Sigh.

Getting a cold

...and running out of blogging time this morning.

Made a really nice dessert - a mango mousse - yesterday that made me think of my Singapore Connection. Living in Singapore, and having tons of access to all the yummy fruits like mango, it just seemed to me to be something she would make. Will be curious to find out what she thinks...

I enjoyed it, as did hubby, but the boys - not so much. The A-man gave his dessert a few spoonful chances, but S decided it was a 'no go' right away. I saved the extra desserts, and let the R-man try it. He told me that it just seemed too sour, or something. His first comment was that it had tooo much lemon in it - there isn't any lemon in it! Maybe I didn't use enough of the yogurt cream to the mango ratio - not sure, since I have never made it before.
After the boys left the table, I realized that is probably the first time they have had mango! Funny considering how much I enjoy it, but I guess since it is such an expensive fruit, I tend to not share with those that just won't appreciate... ;o)

I was a "food prep" machine last night. Made a big pot of chili, then portioned them and put them in the freezer. Prepped up a few "omelet baggies" so that it will be faster in the mornings when Hubby or I want to make an omelet. Got the ole meat-slicer humming and then wrapped up a bunch of meats that can be used for lunches. PLUS I made the turkey patties we are going to have for dinner tonight!

S and the A-man were VERY good to clean up after dinner - even doing all of the pots and pans by hand - with no complaining what so ever! They wiped both kitchen and dining room tables off, AND all the counters - well, minus the stove-top. But that is still a pretty good job for them.

Hubby and I went and bought some new appliances yesterday. Geesh, what an exhausting job that can be! I never knew washing machines can be so technologically advanced. I simply want a machine that I can put dirty clothes in, and after a while, clean clothes come out! I wouldn't even have to be doing this if my current machine didn't seem to be having issues with the drainage. But, we have an older machine, and I have been saying for a while that I would really like to get one of those front-loaders that uses so little water, plus is energy efficient.

Just as we were getting ready to look at new washing machines, the dishwasher started it's 'big leak' again. We have tolerated this for quite a while - cuz it only happens 'sometimes' - but Hubby said, "Oh well, we are going anyway, might as well get a new dishwasher, too."
New washer AND dryer AND dishwasher will arrive on Wednesday. I'm still not quite sure who that man was in my husband's body...

Head is pounding and throat is burning. I hate it when I get sick.