random ramblings

Both kids got up at twenty 'til eight, this morning.  They've been getting up at twenty after.  I'm about ready to thump the imp, because he turned on every light, woke the pixie and let her out of her room. 

Right now, I have a freshly ground, freshly made cup of coffee in my Coleman travel mug.  I only have one partially-functioning laptop (the netbook) right now, and I can't risk it.  The coffee is making things a little better, but forty more minutes of the kids being asleep would have been better. 

We're going to be having chili for lunch, today.  It's bloody cold, today, and that will be very welcome.  Besides, the kids love it as much as Odysseus and I do. 

I think the kids are both about to head into a growth spurt.  Both of them are eating everything that's not nailed down, and they're napping a bit longer.  I cannot tell you how thankful I am that they're sleeping longer during the day, even though I know it's not going to be for more than a couple of weeks.

The pup has decided that, even if it is only a three foot by three foot play pen, time outside is great.  She digs.  She doesn't try to dig her way out from under fences, just digs holes.  I'm not entirely sure what she does with the dirt, though; for all I know, she eats it. 

We're going to have to loosen her harness again, soon.  This will be the fourth or fifth time we've had to--the fourth or fifth time she's increased in girth by more than half an inch. 

It's hard to write, right now.  I've been having trouble focusing on doing anything besides herding cats (trying to keep a four year old and two year old from destroying the house or each other), or the grading that I need to be doing, but can't without risking a blue screen and restart (the class website's grade book does that, or else it freezes everything up and requires a restart). 

Speaking of...I had a student whining about "How do I know what I need to do for the next paper if the teacher hasn't graded the last paper yet???  It's not fair!!!"

Yeah.  After I'd managed to post an announcement that I'm having major computer problems. 

On the bright side, I had another one of my students tear into the first one, defending me, and wishing student A a professor just as understanding of computer problems as student A was being with mine.