Summer Haze

I have been negligent.

My poor blog is starved for time and attention.

Well, so are my fish, so at least the blog is in good company.

But it's time to feed the blog.

I just have no idea where the time went this summer. The kids will be back in school in a little more than two weeks, and I feel like we've just settled in to summer break.

The first part of summer was spent visiting my mom in Germany. I generally post pictures mostly for my mom, and she was with us during the whole trip and has copies of the best pictures, so she's covered.

But I'll post a couple here.

Here's my Oma's house. It doesn't belong to her anymore now that she's in a nursing home, but we went by to visit the house anyway. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The house looked happy to me, which sounds silly, and is, but there you have it.



I humored Bruce with the next one. If you're eating lunch, blame him.



Spencer was easier to convince.



Have no fear. No snails were actually harmed in the taking of the above pictures. Ack! I'd never eat one of those nasty things.

Me and my mom.



Mom flew home with the kids and me, since Bruce left a week earlier to get back to work. Then my brothers and I played the Mom Shuffle for a few weeks so we each had time with her at our homes.

During her time with us, we chilled. Ate Chinese food during lunch time while Bruce was at work so he wouldn't have to partake. Took a couple of evening strolls at both a nearby state park and a walking trail. Baked a few batches of cookies. Did some gardening. Introduced mom to both "The Office" and "Losing It With Jillian," neither of which impressed her appropriately. Mom even subjected herself to various games with the kids, including Clue, Monopoly, Yahtzee and Boom Blox.

And once she returned to Germany, I found myself in a funk. Typical fare following time with my mother, because it's never long enough.

But life invades my haze. Summer goes on.

Other summer activities for us were:
- hauling the kids to VBS and swimming lessons in the same week

- engaging in an ongoing indoor battle with ants, which I continually think I've won only to discover that "Oh yeah, I have three kids, and my floors will never remain entirely food free for even one solid 24-hour period, thus ensuring an ant buffet pretty much constantly." I talk to the ants when they visit. It's not pleasantries. They are the devil's spawn.

- keeping up with our first family garden ever and realizing that the horse manure fertilize we dumped on the garden before planting seeds might have been too much of a good thing. We've been sharing zucchini, cucumbers, squash and tomatoes with pretty much anybody I can accost without being arrested.

- getting a new heat pump installed, fortunately not because ours died, but because they are newly developed units that need testing. We're willing guinea pigs. Of all the men I could have married (that sounds like I had more than one offer!), God could not have chosen more perfectly for me than in hooking me up with an engineer whose job is in the heating and cooling business. In this summer's 90 degree heat, I am loving my AC. Oh, and my husband. Who keeps me in the chill zone.

- camping. Actually only once so far. But we have another trip coming up. And so far, we've remained tick and injury free. That's all it takes for me to consider camping a success.

- visiting doctors. Orthodontist consultations for our twins. Dermatologist. And after seeing our family doctor, a clinic doctor (twice), a podiatrist, and an orthopedic surgeon to figure out what's up with my foot, I was finally told to stop running. Which makes me mad. But I'm trying to look at the bright side... it's really hot outside. And I can't strap the heat pump to my back. Plus, I'm going to see a physical therapist... who is a runner and was into track when she was younger. I miss running. I really do. So I signed Bruce and Clay up for the same running training program I did. I'll live vicariously through them for awhile and maybe be back to running in the fall. When it's a more livable temperature outside.

- re-staining our deck, which admittedly was done mostly by Bruce. But I did help for a couple of hours one evening. It looks pretty great, too!

- re-accessorizing our master bedroom. After looking half-heartedly for two years, I finally found a quilt Bruce and I both liked, so out with the old and in with a new. But that meant new curtains, too. Some time soon, we'll probably replace the door going out to the little balcony that we never use because it's wasp infested. I am loving the idea of a door with built-in blinds between the panes of glass. Because I detest cleaning blinds. But first, I need to decide on some curtains for the den, which we started re-doing during the past winter. And we've got to replace the French doors in that room with doors with built-in blinds. Because it has been brought to my attention that one cannot properly view the television with the current door/curtain situation. Because the sun shines into the room too brightly and blots out the view of the TV screen. See, it's all about priorities. Watching the TV with a crisp view is rated much higher in importance than looking out a bedroom door to see where the newest wasp's nest has been constructed.

And that's been our summer. Madness first when Bruce took us on a whirlwind tour of Germany, then mundane when household chores kicked in. But all good.

Clay's 10th Birthday Party

Clay doesn't actually turn 10 for another few weeks, but school is out by then. We've learned to work around vacationing friends by having Clay's party early.

I am not a big party planner. The simpler the better, in my mind.

Clay wanted chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. And a Nascar themed party.

Done...



We planned to order pizza, so we cut the kids loose to play in the yard until everyone showed up and we could get a head count.





Clay is under this heap somewhere...



Unofficially, the deal in our house is that I'll take care of food and getting the house ready for the party. Bruce provides crowd control and takes care of games. Clay wanted to play Capture the Flag. I have no idea what it's about. But Bruce does. See, this tag team thing works!

I'm not sure if Bruce is explaining the rules of Capture the Flag here, or if he was getting ready to let the kids dive into the bucket full of water balloons. Either way... his job.



Girls opting out of rough play... Kayleigh Ann, Jordan and Ruthie.



Capture the Flag... Team 1... Joseph A., Dylan, Clay, Carson, Amanda and Brayden.



Capture the Flag... Team 2... Allison and Avery, representing the girls, and Michael, Joseph K., Nathan and Spencer, rounding out the posse.



Taking food orders...





This was not planned. My neighbor Rachel noticed it first, so I snapped the picture.

The girls' table...



The boys' table...



I hope that was water, and not ginger ale...



I think they all enjoyed themselves.

E-I, E-I, Oops!

The entire first grade put on a music show called "E-I, E-I, Oops!"

My kids worked hard on their lines. Actually, Allison did. She'd tell me several times in the weeks leading up to today's show what her line was. And then she'd tell me the extra line she had to memorize, in case a fellow classmate was sick on the day of the music performance. Allison was one of many chicks.

Spencer was the cow. The only cow. And he said it was because his last name is Mooooooooo-dy. He acted like he wasn't very thrilled with being the cow. Up until the day of the performance.

Does this face look upset?



He left his mask off for most of the show. The whole play was about a farm animals, in particular a cow that wouldn't Moo. Right before he finally was convinced to Moo, he slipped his mask on. (That's his teacher beside him. We love Mrs. Jessee!)



Here's our little chick, up in the middle of the top row.



Ohhh, she's concentrating!



Finally, a cow that Moos... but minus the mask again.

4-H Camp Field Trip

I had to miss chaperoning one of the coolest field trips ever when Clay's grade went to Greenville's Clyde Austin 4-H Center. Spencer was home, sick with strep throat, and I needed to nurse my younger boy.

But Bruce saved the day and took off from work to go along with Clay's class.

Bruce took a bunch of photos. Here are some of my favorites.

Yes, that's our boy. Holding a snake. And smiling at the same time.





Time for some rockets!





Prepping for the canoe ride.





These three ladies are the Fourth Grade teachers who've shaped Clay's mind this school year... Mrs. Calhoun, Mrs. Mains and Mrs. Robinette.













They left home around 7 a.m. and returned around 7 p.m. Both of my older guys were worn out!

Art Show

The kids' school put on an art show this week, which we didn't attend. Some weeks you just have to pick and choose what's fitting in the schedule and what has to be by-passed.

Still, I have to recognize my kids' work. They love art class.

Here's the art work they did that was selected to grace the walls of their school.







An enjoyment of art might just be the one way my kids are all alike!

Character, Fairness and Voting

Clay won second place in an essay writing and art work contest at school sponsored by the National Association for Family and Community Education (FCE). Yeah, I'd never heard of them before.

He won $7 and a Character Counts ribbon and bracelet. Plus a Character Counts certificate of achievement from the local county chapter of FCE. Be assured that the seven smackers spoke volumes to my boy. The rest of that stuff is just for me... you know, to put in the keepsake box.

The topic was fairness. Something I'm certain Clay thinks he's an expert on, considering how many times I hear him say, "That's not fair!" Usually as it pertains to some heinous expectation we have of him as the oldest child in the family.

So here's what he wrote:

"I think fairness is being free and equal. Like during segregation the black people didn't get the fairness they deserved. And just think how good it felt when they finaly got the rights the white people had!

"Then there was the time before 1920 women couldn't vote! Our Socail Studys teacher told us that as soon as we turn 18 that she wanted us to sign up to vote. Then finaly in 1920 they got the right to vote. Thats only 89 years ago. See fairness is very important."

Then he drew a nice picture of bathroom doors labelled "White Men" "Black Men" "White Women" and "Black Women". And another segment of his picture showed women, picketing and holding signs saying, "Vote" and "We want to Vote". The stick women have upside down mouths... classic unhappy faces.

Ironically, when I picked up the kids from school today, Clay had a newspaper in hand and was reading a story under the headline: Obama signs historic health care overhaul.

After reading the article, Clay asked me some very smart questions. Tough questions. Things I couldn't answer. (I got a D in my college government class. The first time I took the class. And then I struggled the second time to get a C. And I still don't know how I accomplished that feat. I might be tempted to consider that my finest hour in college... except that I don't really think I learned anything. So there's no pride in it. I refer all political questions to Bruce.)

Watch out Washington... my boy is going to be a force to be reckoned with as a young adult voter!

Immunity

So, I was freaking out a little bit.

After school today, I had Allison unload the dishwasher while Spencer vacuumed the kitchen floor. Then at supper time, Bruce pulled a bowl out of the cabinet and... well, it was obviously dirty. Yuck!

Upon further inspection, several utensils were pulled out of their drawer... nasty.

What's up with that? I know I ran the dishwasher. And the ick on those dishes would have come off in there. So, after reloading the dishwasher with dirty/clean dishes and their close neighbors (because funk spreads!), I came to the conclusion that Allison must have gotten carried away and put dishes away that were left on the counter after snack time.

Mystery solved.

But the power of suggestion runs strong. And I have a healthy dose of hypochondria inside me, passed down from my paternal grandmother. I think it's genetic.

After supper, my throat started hurting. Just a little bit. Probably sinus issues brought on by allergy issues.

But... what if those kids have been putting up dirty dishes for some time now? What if today wasn't a fluke?

You know, strep is making a comeback at the local elementary school.

Gulp.

Just checking.

Yeah. It still hurt to swallow.

Probably a little bit more than it did the last time I swallowed.

"My throat hurts," I said out loud.

"What?! What do you mean 'your throat hurts'?" Clay asked.

"Well, my throat hurts. Like 'strep throat' hurt. That kind of hurt," I replied.

"How can that be?" he questioned. "Your immunity should be at its highest."

"Really? What does this kid know?" I thought.

Because even though I've been taking my multi vitamin and my calcium supplements, I haven't been drinking orange juice lately to really douse my system with extra vitamin C, which I've heard wards off all kinds of sickly bugs.

And I've had some sporadic sleep recently.

Plus some stress because of my grandpa's health issues.

And even though I started a training program last week to run a 5K by the end of May, I also ate at Chick-fil-A three times within six days, two times within a 24-hour period, because I was visiting my grandpa in Cookeville. And I always eat at the Cookeville Chick-fil-A. It's a family tradition. Kind of. (Well, it could be if we wanted it to be.)

But, you know, Clay reads stuff. He knows some interesting (sometimes boring) little tidbits.

Hmmm... I'll bite...

"Why is my immunity at its highest?" I asked my brain child.

"Because, you're 40," he said. "And you've been building it up for all those years."

And then he tacked on this...

"It's all down hill from here."

I hee-hawed.

Because laughter is the best medicine and I needed to do something quick!

I feel much better now.

But just in case, I'm going to have some hot peppermint tea. That always helps my sore throats.

A Butterfly Thank-You

I think our girl has been dealing with some test anxiety.

A few weeks ago, the first grade teachers sent home notes explaining that the students would soon be taking Accelerated Reading (AR) tests. Basically, the kids check out certain books within their reading range from the library and once they've read them, they take a short quiz on a computer about the book. Each student has a log sheet so we parents can list the books once they finish reading them and are ready to take the test.

Allison's log already listed her first book. And her test result. A 70.

Shortly thereafter, I noticed that Allison's library books weren't in her backpack. In the interest of not losing school library books or mixing them in with books from home or the local county library, the kids are supposed to leave their school library books in their backpacks. They can take them out to read them, but have to put them back in once they are finished.

But for a little more than a week, Allison wouldn't bring her books home. I asked her about it the first time I noticed their absence, and she said simply that she'd left them in her desk at school. I told her to bring at least one home so we could read it in preparation for the next AR test.

In one ear and right out the other one.

Or so I thought.

Because the next week... still no library book in her backpack.

I asked her about it again and that's when I got the waterworks. As she cried, she explained, "I can't take that test. I'm not ready. I've read the book, but I won't do well on the test. You saw! I failed the first one and I'll never do better."

On a side note, she took AR tests in kindergarten, so I wasn't sure where this was coming from. I thought it was ridiculous. She almost always does great on all her tests.

And since when is a 70 a failing grade?

I took a deep breath and told her, "Allison, you did not fail the AR test. So what if you didn't get a 100? Nobody gets a 100 all the time. And even if you did fail one, this isn't a score that goes toward your report card grade. It's so the teachers and your daddy and I can see how well you remember the details of a story so we can help you if you need help."

Whatever. That did not convince her one bit.

Sometimes my kids get this perfectionist bent and it drives me nuts. Obviously we've instilled it in them somehow, but I wish I realized how so we could stop doing whatever it is.

Finally, I told her that everyone messes up a test at some time. Dad did. Mom did. And even Clay does.

Hmmm... that got her attention. Because she thinks Clay is king of knowledge. Mostly because he spouts of trivia constantly. And since he's close to her age and not ancient like her parents, the possibility of Clay not doing perfect on a test started to make an impression.

While she went to the bathroom, I found Clay and whispered to him what was going on. I asked him his worst AR test, because I couldn't remember. But of course he did. A 60. I asked him if he would tell Allison and then reassure her that she'd do fine on her next test.

When she came out of the bathroom, he told her.

I thought we were over the hurdle, because she brought her books home after the next library visit.

But when I called her into the kitchen after school one day to have her read the book to me, she freaked out again.

"I'll never make a 100!" she said.

"Never" statements burn me up. And I don't have much patience for self doubt in my kids. I think they rock! So they should, too!

I told her, "Allison, you're going to read me that book. And when you are done, I'll go through the book and ask you all kinds of made-up test questions. Anything I can think of from the facts of the book. Let's just see how you do, okay?"

Most weeks, I give the kids practice spelling tests at home the day before their spelling tests in school. This concept was not new to her. So she agreed.

We had fun with the book. She did great reading it. And I asked every silly and serious question I could think of about the book. She nailed every one.

Then I told her, "I bet you get a 100 on that test!"

I volunteer to help the teachers with the students on their AR testing days. It gives me a chance to be around the kids that my children are around every day. You can learn a lot that way. And I don't mean anything about academics!

Allison was the very last student I worked with. And the only thing I said to her that showed special treatment to her as my daughter was at the beginning. I asked all the kids if they would read the test questions themselves or if they wanted me to read them. And then, for the ones that read them all by themselves, I remind them to ask me if they don't know a word. Allison tried to get me to read the test questions! Um, no. I told her she could read them all by herself, which she did.

Then I went on a mini-vacation in my head. Because I can't help the kids, even if I know the book they read.

At one point, I was pretty sure Allison answered one question wrong. Quickly I went back to hiking my make-believe mountain on my mental pretend vacation.

But when her test was over, she must not have missed it, because she aced that thing!

Whew! That was just a huge load off my back. I was so happy for her. Her little face just lit up. She knew she could do it now!

When she got in the van after school when I picked the kids up, she handed me something she said she'd made me. I told her I couldn't look at it right then, because I was driving. But once I got home, what I saw made my day.

She's such a sweet girl.

She made me this:



As a side note, she's done great on every test since then, too.