Simplifying the Morning Routine

My kids are really good with their nightly go-to-bed routine: brush teeth, put on pajamas, have one story ready to each of them, then lights out. My husband does it all in less than fifteen minutes.

But the morning routine? We were hurting when school began this fall. Desert Boy forgot his lunch a couple times, forgot his homework, didn't feed the chickens. He even missed the bus one day. Not to mention that he was often really crabby and he cried because he didn't think he was getting enough computer time.

Something had to change.

I decided to write out a morning list. What a difference it made! The very next morning, Desert Boy had everything done and was happily playing on the computer for fifteen minutes before leaving, proclaiming he had finished his list. And nearly every morning has been like that.

I made a list for Desert Girl, too, so she wouldn't feel left out. But she can't read, so I drew her list. You can see I need to work on my artwork!

I did make one addition after the original list, a five-minute clean up. Just that quick clean up helps make me much happier, as the kids pick up the obvious things they've left out.

Lunch has not been forgotten, and Desert Boy hasn't missed the bus. Once in awhile the chickens are still in the coop, but usually they are fine. And Desert Boy still has time to play on electronics, in fact more time than before because he knows exactly what he has to do each and every morning and has gotten into a routine with it.

In the morning, I simply ask, "Did you finish your list?" Sometimes the kids will double check it, but usually they enthusiastically reply, "Yes!" And I smile.

If only all my problems could be solved so simply!

Late Harvest

 This has been the longest season garden I have ever had. I started planting in February, using old windows on straw bales to keep things warmer. It is now December, and I still have beets, onions, and carrots hanging out under leaves and we go and pick cilantro and kale periodically, despite several hard freezes. I've learned that some vegetables are a lot hardier than I had thought.

About mid-November I finally got around to harvesting the rest of my red cabbage, popcorn, some carrots, red beets, kale, and onions.

Popcorn was a new crop to try this year. I had some helpers husk it.

I bought colorful varieties, partly because they might be more nutritious, partly because they're so pretty. It's not easy getting the kernels off, so I just take off what we need. We've had one successful batch of popcorn and one not so successful.

It's strange to think that it will only be a couple months until it's time to plant again--if the weather cooperates! We've actually enjoyed gardening so much we're thinking about putting in a greenhouse. I keep dreaming of year-round cherry tomatoes and spinach. I would love to be able to just go pick my salad daily.

Desert Girl and the Monkey Bars

 One afternoon while we were waiting for Desert Boy to finish his piano lesson, Desert Girl had a chance to play with her friend Ella. Ella started across the monkey bars, and this really impressed Desert Girl.

So Desert Girl took a turn. She's 4 1/2 now and can be quite stubborn. I knew she really wanted to do the monkey bars, because on the way home from our fall vacation we stopped at the great playground in Austin, Nevada, and she gave those monkey bars a try.

She began across, those little hands holding tight, eyes focused on the next bar...

…legs flailed, hair flew, and she became even more determined...

…but sometimes determination isn't quite enough...

…but sometimes it is.

So did she make it across? Watch the video to find out!

Nevada Day Parade

Two weekends ago we watched the Nevada Day parade in Carson City. We had been forewarned that it was a long parade, so we brought chairs and settled in. The first half an hour was watching law enforcement go by.

They had an impressive amount of equipment.

The mounted police had at least 20 horses.

They showed off some old cars.

They brought an airplane.

The SWAT team tank was there, along with fully armed officers walking alongside.

The parade also had lots of veterans--thank you to all of them for their service!!

Because it's an election year, we saw quite a few politicians, including Governor Sandoval and his family and their many dogs.

The best politician entry was Congressman Mark Amodei, who followed some horses with a garbage can and shovel and helped clean up the mess. What a great political statement. I was laughing for a long time.

The bands in the parade were outstanding. They played very well and had some cool marching moves that we never got to do when I was in marching band.

In addition to the 150th birthday for the State of Nevada, it was also the 100th birthday for women's suffrage in Nevada.

Lots of entries celebrated the Sesquicentennial and the many people who make up Nevada.

One of the old fire carts we had admired the day before in Virginia City was in the parade.

For my friends who love horses, there were horses and horses and more horses in the parade. This group all had Arabian horses and were decked out in beautiful costumes.

Special coins were minted for the 150th birthday. For a short time back in the 1860s, the U.S. mint had an office in Carson City.

I cheered loud for the White Pine County High School marching band. That's a long way to come for a parade!

These Mexican riders and horses were perhaps the most talented I saw in the parade, riding a special gait that made it look like the horses were dancing to the mariachi music played from the back of the pickup that proceeded them. (Do you see the snow on the mountains? It snowed that night and was cold for the parade.)

Rotary Youth Exchange had a good contingent. I have a special place in my heart for them, as I was able to see more of the world via Rotary.

The Shriners had their small cars and had a good time driving them around. They do wonderful work supporting Shriners Children's Hospitals, where they treat children for free.

The parade kept coming. We had been there two hours and were getting hungry, so we went for some lunch, then walked up the parade route until we got to the Capitol building.

We found some beautiful leaves to play in. The kids were so happy to move around and goof off and take turns getting buried.

On a side street we found Smokey Bear. Desert Girl has been trying to work up her nerve to hug Smokey for two years, and she finally did it. She was ecstatic.

We passed a law enforcement vehicle that hadn't been in the parade: the gang unit. Yikes, something I pretty much never have to think about.

We rejoined the parade as the last group went by, shooting very loud rifles. About the same time, Desert Boy got something in his eye, maybe from the powder being shot into the sky. The firefighter/paramedics were very close and helped rinse out his eye with saline. They were super nice and helpful, and Desert Boy's eye turned out fine.

The parade lasted more than four hours. The kids liked some of it, but realized that they get more candy in the 20 minute parade in Baker than the super long one with 80,000 spectators. I was okay with not so much candy, after all they had just trick-or-treated the night before. Seeing the Nevada Day parade for the Sesquicentennial was a special experience. I overheard someone from California saying, "I sure wish we had a California Day!"

The Children's Museum of Northern Nevada

When we got to Carson City during our fall break vacation, we checked into our hotel, got our bikes, and went for a little bike ride. We enjoyed the Fire Museum (open whenever anyone shows up) and a visit to the state capitol and legislative building. Then the kids put on their costumes and we headed to the Children's Museum of Northern Nevada for some trick-or-treating on Oct 30. 

When we went in and paid our $5 per kid, we found out the flyer we had seen had the wrong time on it, so we were the first ones there by an hour. Fortunately, the nice lady let us in and we had the museum to ourselves for about 20 minutes. Then people started coming in real steady.

Desert Boy played a song on the piano. Hurray, a little piano practice!

The museum is essentially a huge play area in an old gym, with little dividers on the side to separate a play area, a puppet theater area, a doctor's office, and more.

Desert Girl went and sat behind the Governor's desk.

They had done a nice job.

Desert Boy found himself enjoying being a train engineer.

Later he went and climbed the climbing treadmill. It went too slow with just his weight, so he needed a little extra weight to make it become a challenge.

Desert Girl gave it a go too. I was a bit worried that all her dangling stuff might get caught in it, but fortunately that didn't happen.

Desert Girl did a bunch of Halloween craft projects, while Desert Boy joined a group of kids that went all over the building. Then it was time to trick-or-treat up on the stage, where some businesses provided the treats.

The kids really enjoyed it, and it was a good opportunity to check out the museum.

Nevada Museum of Art

 Our second museum of our fall break trip was the Nevada Museum of Art. I really wanted to see their exhibit about Nevada becoming the 36th State and the display of the Emancipation Proclamation. The museum also carries my book and wanted twelve more copies, which I was happy to deliver.

Don't have a copy yet? It makes a wonderful gift! Find out all the places to buy it on
my author and photographer website.

Outside the museum we found this steampunk submarine, which had been made for Burning Man (I might have to go one of these years!). We were allowed to go in it and climb up to the top. The submarine can actually be driven down the street.

We got our tickets and a special ticket to see the Emancipation Proclamation at noon. That gave us over an hour to look around the other exhibits. Some were really, really strange. I had a lot of fun watching the kids reactions to the different art. I have to admit, they seemed more open to some of it than I did. It made me realize that it's probably a good idea to take kids to art museums when they're young, when they don't have so many preconceived notions.

We went up on the roof for a little while. We didn't see much art up there...

…but we did find nice views of Reno and some changing colors.

Photos weren't allowed in the special exhibit, but it was great. I'm really glad we went to see it. We also saw the papers that declared Nevada a state, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, watched a film about why and how the state was made (to help win votes for the Union), and the 175-page telegraph that made it all official (and was relayed from Carson City to Salt Lake City to Chicago to Philadelphia to Washington D.C.--that's a lot of morse code!). I was also fascinated to see what county representatives signed the first documents. Very few of the current 14 counties were represented, as most everyone in the state at that time was near Virginia City for mining.

Afterwards it was time to eat! I was in the mood for an all-you-can-eat buffet and thought one of the nearby casinos might offer something. But after driving around the area a couple times on one-way streets that didn't pass the parking garage entrance, I gave up and we headed south on Virginia Street. Then all of a sudden I saw an Indian restaurant--with a lunch buffet! I turned immediately and we went in. I was ready for some more cultural exploration.

Desert Girl wasn't sold on Indian food, but Desert Boy liked it quite a bit.

And I was in heaven! It was so fun trying a variety of foods. (I get a taste of Indian food occasionally from Tasty Bites (on sale now at Costco-a six-pack for $6.99) and Jaali Bean (from Abe's Market)). But this was freshly made Indian food with real naan and delicious masala and other dishes I can't even remember. Next time in Reno, I'll definitely be going back!

That completed our Reno adventure. Then we headed south (on Highway 395, as our GPS didn't have the fairly new I-580 programmed into it) to Carson City for even more adventures.