So today was Roo's birthday. He's been anxiously awaiting it's arrival. This is a day we've been marking as a big deal for almost a year now. It seems that when someone reaches age six, they are no longer a little guy but working up to something bigger. With this in mind, we created a goal for Roo.
Stop sucking his thumb.
This seemed like reasonable goal for a six year old to obtain but his thumb is his prized possession, along with "Stuffy" his pillowcase. They go together, Stuffy and Thumb. They've been together since he was about one. Over the years we have tried, with great failure to curb this habit and to his credit, he has, on a few occasions, attempted to stop on his own. For about a day. So last year I succumbed to a trick my friend used to toilet train her son. "Roo, what would it take to get you to stop? If you could have or do anything what would it be. Because Roo, if you stop by the time you are six, we will do it/get it for you!"
Over the past year he has vacillated between an electric guitar and a drum set (the house is already loud so whatever). He even picked the color. So last night he went to bed, informed us that tomorrow he would stop sucking his thumb and went to sleep, right. At 1:30 am Roo crawled into our bed (I should mention that he was born at 1:20 am) and said, "Okay, I'm six is it time to open presents?" Then immediately grabbed Stuffy and started to suck his thumb. The deal is off and I have a suspicion that we have some large orthodontist bills coming our way.
This week the boys had their annual holiday concert at the mall. I must say they looked quite dapper. If you recall, we did not have appropriate attire for our spring recital and I was determined not to go down that road again. Especially since their violin instructor was threatening to withhold treats if they were not visions of holiday splendor. Well, I don't know if they were holiday visions of little sugar plums but since I had made purchases of appropriate recital/concert attire last spring, I think we passed the test.
Here is a handsome photo along with a clip of Roo playing Jingle Bells (his first year really being able to play with the group) and a clip of G-man playing What Child is This/Greensleeves Jig which he worked his butt off to be able to play with the group. (If you wonder why kids sit down in the middle of playing...they are asked to sit if they aren't keeping up with the group or if they are only approved to play certain parts of the song...way to go G-man, you did it!)
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We just finished a lovely Thanksgiving with so much wonderful food and amazing company. Almost every year we have lived here, good friends join us for Thanksgiving and this year we were lucky to have my parents join us too. We ate and drank and enjoyed our time together while feeling thankful to be so blessed.
This year, the boys also documented what they are thankful for in projects at school.
G-man...
My family, because they help me.
School, because I can learn.
Sports, because I like to play sports.
Crab, because I love to eat it!
My dog, because I like to play with her.
Food, because it keeps me alive.
Animals, because they are so "intertaining."
My rat, because I like to play with her.*
*Technically this rat lives in my classroom at work and he sees her a few times a year, but whatever, I'm glad he likes her.
Roo...
I am thankful for "I like my mommy, the best mommy!" (Awww!)
I am thankful for "Daddy. I like my Daddy."
I am thankful for "Osprey (his stuffed animal), he can make noise."
I am thankful for "Pandy (his stuffed panda). Sometimes he's bad but he still rocks!"
This Thanksgiving I am thankful for my boys. They have brought an energy and enthusiasm to our house that I didn't know could exist. Although it can often give me a headache, it also reminds me about enjoying life. So G and Roo, although you can drive me nuts, you still rock!
I honestly don't know where to start. Funniest stories? Scariest stories? Just plain fun stories? It's been a while and so much has been happening that this can just be the potpourri of blog entries.
Well, let's leave out major details of the scariest. In short, a few ultrasounds, multiple blood tests and a CT scan found that I have cysts and a few kidney stones. My daily intake of water has increased significantly in an attempt to hold them at bay. This Thanksgiving, I'll be thankful for my health!
Funniest? Well, Roo is always good for a laugh. We had a photographer/friend take family photos of us in October. You can see them on her blog at http://www.cracklephotographyblog.com/. What she didn't dare post was the picture of Roo releiving himself during the photo session in the field. Other than that little laugh and a generally uncooperative Roo, we had a good time documenting these years in G-man and Roo's lives. It certainly showed their personalities and one of the other postings on her blog gave me a new iPod song...what do you think? It's constantly stuck in my head these days! Thanks Crackle! (By the way, you will have to press the play button in the upper right hand corner of my blog to hear the song if you didn't already figure that out. Song's gone now but if you want to hear it, it's called What About Everything by Carbon Leaf).
Since Roo always seems to get the funny blog moments...I thought I'd give G-man a moment in the spotlight. THE big question was asked the other night. Of course EJ was out of town so I got to tackle the birds and the bees on my own. Not that I'm complaining. I don't mind being in control of these topics but it's still an awkward conversation. It went along pretty innocently until the long pause before realizing that one bodily substance had to get to the other. How does it actually GET there anyway Mom? At the moment of realization he was mortified and hid his head under his pillow like a ostrich in a hole. After checking in with him to see how he was handling his newly discovered knowledge, he reassured me that he has no further questions and wished he hadn't asked.
And for just plain fun...EJ had a round of cyclocross racing this fall to finish off his first season with Five Valley Velo. He had a great season of road and cyclocross racing with a few place finishes. Here's a picture of my hottie hubby at one of his cyclocross races. I do have to admit that cyclists are hot! I'm glad I have one!
As for me, aside from the revolving door of doctor appointments and tests, I hope to do well in an upcoming half marathon even though my training has been sporadic. Finish I will, PR...not likely.
So that's the update for now. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! It's my favorite holiday and anyone who knows me well knows it's all about the leftovers! This year, I'm looking forward to squash and turkey pizza! YUM!
I wish I could share it in pictures but that would have required me to have a camera in hand, which I didn't. At times something else may have been in my hand, but never a camera. In fact, we were so happily crazy that this is the first year I don't have photos of the boys in costume with their pumpkins. So you'll just have to use your imagination for this one.
Our Halloween started with a very full house full of friends for a pre-trick-or-treat attempt at making the children eat something healthy. There was the most amazing spread of "bloody fingers" "witches brooms" "pumpkin soup" "hummus eyeballs" and one really amazing platter with an entire Halloween scene made of eggs, broccoli and olives which no one dared to eat ...if anyone knows who brought that let me know, and sorry we didn't actually eat it! We did this little shindig last year just for the neighbors and had much fun and success (I am measuring success in how much healthy food my children ate prior to the candy onslaught). So this year we expanded and let the boys invite whoever they wanted. It was big. I recall EJ a few days prior saying, "How many people are coming to this thing?" and you know it's bad when I reply, "I don't really know, but a lot." It was a lot and my only saving grace was that it was nice enough outside for the gaggle of crazy boys to be outside.
When I say crazy boys, I do mean crazy. I should specify the amount of boys we're talking about here. This will also give you an indication of how many boys are involved in our life. Kids only, 27. Twenty-seven boys under the age of 11 at our house. I may be missing a few, who knows. All I do know is that the core group of 7-11 year olds moved in a troupe that drifted around the street as one being. At two points I found them in their Star Wars, ninja, football player, baseball player, ax-man glory battling in different neighbors front stoops. I have really great neighbors, but this was above and beyond the call of neighborliness, really. You know it's reached peak craziness when you notice a friend in full ax-man make up and find yourself saying, "Is that a real bloody nose or just your make up?" It was a real bloody nose, no worries though, he seemed to think it just added to the effect.
By the way, if your wondering how many girls were in attendance (not including Moms). It was nine. Poor things.
As the party wrapped up, they all headed out to trick-or-treat in various parts of town. Except Roo. No, he was having a meltdown due to the sudden misplacement of his blue lightsaber. Forget that he had three others to choose from. He needed the blue one because then everyone would know that he was supposed to be Ki-Adi-Mundi. Right.
To finish things off G-man and I joined another party at a friend's house for a driveway bonfire and an introduction to Young Frankenstein for G-man and a vocabulary lesson for me. I now know what a merken is. It's not a slang way of saying "American" by the way.
Today I ran solo. My consequence for escaping to the cabin for the weekend. However, this was the scene in my backyard when I returned home. Running shoes and iPod on I made a quick scamper up this little hill at a pace I must say equalled my marthon training. It was one of the most amazing runs I've had in quite a while (sorry running partners). It might have helped to have this song playing on my iPod as well. Nuff said.
The other night while I was away, being tortured at "Body Boot Camp" (some insane idea care of one of my typically sweet neighbors), EJ had this interaction with Roo. I was lucky enough to catch the tail end of this transaction (which was mainly hysterical laughter).
Roo: "Dad, how do you spell we?"
EJ: (assuming that he is talking about the game system) "Well, you spell it W-I-I or you can spell it W-E depending on what your saying."
Roo then disappeared into his room. For a while. In the meantime, EJ is reading with G-man in preparation for bed. Eventually, Roo reappears with a notebook in hand containing the above phonetically spelled words. I must say that we are loving Kindergarten and the fact that Roo is figuring out sounds it is a wonderful thing to watch, especially since he is actually interested in trying to spell out words (unlike his brother, no offense G-man).
At this point I will remind you of Roo's scrappiness which we love but can also lead to unpredictable behavior. So imagine the scene as Roo presented his hard work to his dad and his brother. Needless to say, it didn't take long for G-man to figure out what Roo had been working so hard to spell and knowing him like he does, EJ wasn't far behind. Within seconds they had erupted into laughter, Roo to the point that he was on the floor. This is about where I entered the scene and was quickly enlightened to the "homework" my sweet 5 year old had completed. I'm sorry to say that I couldn't contain my giggles either and so the beat goes on and we feed the fire of our potty mouthed child.
BTW, you've hopefully decoded his phonetic spelling by now...feel free to take a guess. Maybe I'll let you know if you're right.
I really can't think of a better way to describe our recent family field trip other than amazing! Let me start with how we ventured on this one time day of homeschooling.
For those of you who know G-man, you know that he is very, very, very fond of our feathered friends the birds. Most particularly raptors. This is the boy who has been both a bald eagle and a harpy eagle for Halloween (now those are easy to come by at Target). This obsession started at the age of 4 and although he has many other interests, this is one that seems embedded or possibly pre-programmed in his little brain. In any case, I was at a fundraising event quite some time ago and happened upon a lovely little auction item titled, "A Day in the Field to Band Golden Eagles." No shit!! What would G-man do if I told him he could go band golden eagles for a day! Well, I was not with my significant other on this particular night so to get up the guts to bid on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I drank. I drank a little too much. Not so much to make me do embarrassing things to hear about later (other than bid on live auction items) but just enough to bid on and win the said auction item. Needless to say, EJ wasn't amused. Most especially when I tried for over a year to schedule this banding extravaganza at which point, I was convinced was just a great donation to our local children's museum with no goods or services received (tax donation at this point please?). Just when I was about to give up, Raptor Guy called and left a message to schedule our long overdue raptor banding trip. Schedule we did, about 6 weeks in advance with all directions and checklists finalized. The date to anticipate, September 16.
I must say, I can be a little of a half glass empty kind of girl at times. I like to believe it's my mental preparation for things going poorly. Not that things often go as such but if I plan on trouble and all is well, I am pleasantly surprised! Let's just say, I often plan for worst case scenario. With this in mind, we set off for our day trip at about 6 am for an hour and half drive to meet at a gas station in a small Montana town. I was honestly a little sceptical that this was really going to happen. But happen it did and after a little more driving and 4-wheel shuttling, we were sitting in a trapping blind waiting for our first bird by 10:00 am.
This is when the waiting game began and although my initial glass-half-empty-thought was "OMG, what is Roo going to do this entire day? He's going to drive me crazy! I should have brought some little toy guys or cars or something for him to play with!" So I started feeding him. "Roo, do you want some cheese? How about a cookie? Fruit leather?" I just fed him and fed him until he was bored with it. Then they went out and fed the lure birds, then at around 11:00, we experienced our first catch! A beautiful Cooper's Hawk with shimmering golden eyes and beautiful feathers. Raptor Guy gently placed the bird in EJ's care and we took it down to a separate tent to measure, weigh, and band the bird. Then to my amazement, Raptor Guy passed the precious cargo off to G-man to release. I think the boy had died and gone to heaven! His mantra the remainder of the day was, "This is the best day of my life!" After 4 more catches of 3 Sharp Shinned Hawks and a Red Tailed Hawk (all of which he released but one that he kindly allowed Roo to do), I think I believe him. And with no Golden Eagles on our trapping list...we have an invite to try again in October. I won't hold my breath, but I will keep my fingers crossed.
EJ and boys with a Cooper's Hawk
G-man preparing to release the Cooper's Hawk
Roo palm releasing a Sharp Shinned Hawk
Raptor Guy passing off the Red Tailed Hawk for G-man to release.
I like Star Wars. I do. I've seen 4 out of 6 of the series and as a child I saw the three originals in the theatre. EJ and I even went to the re-release of Episode IV in 1997. Growing up my brother had all the cool toys. All the ships, fighters and characters. I had to be Princess Leia, always. I wanted to be her. I wanted her dress and bagel bun hair and to be captured then saved by Luke and Han. It was all really cool and we had fun with it but it's not the kind of thing that consumes my thoughts every waking minute. I don't really care all that much about Clones, or even what they are. I don't really know the names of all the characters or what their purpose is. Again, I don't really care and I'm not all that worried about the fact that I haven't yet seen Episodes II and III. I've planned on seeing them someday.
Apparently, that someday is coming very soon. My boys are obsessed with Star Wars. It started about a year ago when they decided to be Jedi Knights for Halloween. It was cute, they had glowing light sabers and played in character for months afterward. Then over the year we allowed them to watch Episode IV, the obsession grew. Then Episode VI (yes we skipped V). The obsession grew more. Until finally the viewing of Episode V was allowed. In the last month they have checked Episode I and II off the list and have passed EJ's and my viewing experience. The only remaining episode is III. It is THE Episode. Although haven't seen it, I can summarize the story pretty well at this point. The main point being that Anakin Skywalker transforms into Darth Vadar. Big stuff! But we won't let him watch it until we've seen it first.
Now, when this movie was released in 2005, G-man was at the sweet age of 5, attending Kindergarten and still fairly naive to the more intense PG-13 movies. However, many of his friends were allowed to see the movie in the theatre upon release. Although G-man knew about it, it wasn't troublesome to keep him away. This decision was strengthened after his friend's parents informed me that seeing it was a big mistake! At the time it was the right decision and I have stood by it now for 3 years. So here I am with an obsessed 8 year old boy, who as far as I can tell is the only one of his friends still not allowed to see Revenge of the Sith because 3 years ago it was too scary for a 5 year old.
Then there is our current 5 year old Kindergartener who tends to fall into the category of, "Okay, you can watch it because your brother is." Roo has had to wait a much more minimal amount of time to see movies than his brother. He is equally obsessed and adamant about wanting to see this movie. At this point, I suspect this sweet 5 year old will be the one filling in all his friends about Anakin's transformation to the dark side and giving their parents a headache as they beg to watch Episode III.
I leave you now with G-man quizzing his current play date as to which Episodes he has seen and trying to talk him into watching one now...on a beautifully sunny fall day.
First, let me say this. I never promised to consistently update my blog. There. This is my second defense of the sort and I stand by my desire to only blog when I want. And...I was at the cabin, lots. And...there is no Internet service or computer at the cabin. Only water skiing, swimming, hiking, running, biking, lounging, reading, and now sudoku-ing (kind of fun when sitting on a porch swing). So with that said, there are other firsts occurring this week which did keep me from blogging sooner.
This Week's Top Ten List of Firsts
10. FIRST day of school
9. FIRST checker boarded backpack
8. FIRST day in a long time that boys are wearing clean, unripped clothing
7. FIRST day of third grade
6. FIRST time there have been textbooks sitting on the desk of one of my children
5. FIRST day of kindergarten!
4. FIRST time riding the bus!
3. FIRST time eating hot lunch!
2. FIRST time I cried while telling a friend about his first day of school!
1. FIRST time I am working full-time since the boys were born!
It's true, G-man has textbooks. A pile of them at that. Roo started school all proud and happy and thrilled to death with his teacher (who he may secretly have a crush on). And I am officially a full-time participant in the work force. I really don't want to. I really wanted my day off to be all about ME. Not home doing laundry and going to playgroups but doing what I want to do. Like ski or bike or run. To get up, get the kids off to school and drink my latte slowly while listening to NPR. Who knows, maybe I'd even blog. But no, I'm working full-time. My friends and family think I'm crazy, and I possibly am. All I know is that for my efforts, I got new bedroom furniture! The first time since middle school! It's amazing to think that EJ was okay with my childhood furniture for 15 years! But now it's gone with a new location at the cabin. So now a teaching friend tells me I can call my room my "Tuesday Room" because I gave up my Tuesday for my new bedroom. Now you may think that personal freedom may be more worthwhile than furniture and I will tell you that you are likely correct in that assumption. However, there is another aspect to this story. You see, one of the other preschool teachers had a baby in December. She took her leave and came back for the end of the school year. Like most new mamas, she wanted to work part-time so she could have some time home with her bebe. So we switched FTE which gives her one day home and me money to redecorate my house. So you see, I would love my day off, but it was time to pass the torch to a new mom who needs time with her little one. I know I loved mine.
We finally have it! The cabin is complete enough to use and although we have also been working to put on the finishing touches, it is nothing short of fabulous! We were able to spend the Fourth of July weekend there with our cabin partners and had an amazing time watching fireworks by the water and roasting marshmallows.
The following week we were able to join EJ's entire family for some boating, swimming, water skiing, biking and just plain old relaxation. I also became baker of rhubarb extraordinaire during the week which I must say worked out well for all. I made rhubarb crisp, cake, pie, bars, and if there was anything else, I've forgotten by now. This was all due to the massively overgrown rhubarb plant in my backyard that would have certainly gone to seed by the time we returned from the cabin. I didn't hear any complaints about all the baking.
Enjoy some pictures of our new addition (both the cabin and our niece!) and for those of you out of state, maybe it will be another temptation to come for a visit.
Okay, okay I know it's been a while, sorry about that. I guess after the marathon I preoccupied myself with finishing up the school year and settling into summer vacation mode. In lieu of boring you with the details of our last month (conference in Bozeman, skateboard and violin camp, housing and cabin projects, and playdates) I'll just start with current events.
Last weekend's event is one we look forward to every summer. It is called the RATPOD. I know this sounds like something involving rodents but it's not. RATPOD stands for Ride Around the Pioneers in One Day and is a benefit bike ride for Camp Mak a Dream a medical camp for children and adolescents fighting or surviving cancer. The ride starts and ends in Dillon, Montana covering 130 miles around the Pioneer Mountains. This was EJ's third RATPOD and although I would love to ride it (and will someday) I think I'll chalk up the marathon as my big spring event. Now, when I say this is a ride, I do mean RIDE not RACE. Here's the difference between ride and race. RACE: you work your butt off, take quick breaks (some possibly while still on your bike...if you know what I mean) and survive and refuel on goo and bar food. This was accomplished by EJ in the fall while racing in the LOTOJA (don't you love these acronyms?) RIDE: now in EJ's case, he still works his butt off while he's riding however...there is the breakfast stop with breakfast burritos, the lunch stop with live music, and the pie and ice cream stop before bringing it into the finish. I don't know how well this works for the gut, especially since advise given to me during marathon training was not to ingest anything during the race that I didn't train with but it seems to work. Again, it's a ride, no worries if your breaks require some digestion time (and appropriate relief time).
So, now that we have all that cleared up, I can tell you that we had a perfect weekend! We were lucky to be joined by Farfar and EJ2 (also know as EJ's bro) and the weather was amazing (as opposed to hail and a flat tire the first ride and cross winds the second).
Our weekend always starts with a spaghetti feed at the Elks Lodge which was accompanied by a favorite local band to set the mood. Ride day the boys and I usually attempt a fun outing like digging for crystals, exploring a fairly remote hot spring or roaming the nearby ghost town. This year we got to be part of ride day action as we shuttled Farfar so he could ride approximately 50 miles of the course...way to go Farfar! It was fun to see all the riders and cheer for friends (although I got some strange looks at my cheering attempts...again, the possible difference between race and ride). On Saturday night there is a great dinner on campus with free beer and a band. As we have participated in this event and lived in MT for a while now, it is a great time to hang out with friends and hear about our friend's rides (at which point I become a little jealous, especially when questioned about how my ride went...it didn't'). To finish off the weekend EJ and his posse head to the Big Hole for a little fishing action. I, in the meantime, hang at the pool with boys at the KOA...it is the one time during the year I can confess to "laying out." They have a blast and Roo has enjoyed the company of a new friend from Seattle two years in a row (they have also found the joy of KOA camping during the RATPOD...cheap and showers). Oh, and did I mention the Patagonia Outlet? Oh yeah, that's really why I go at all.
So, I finally have a moment to give some Marathon MADness details.
All I can say is WOW! WOW that I finished, WOW that I enjoyed it, and WOW that I feel pretty well back to normal one week later.
I never thought I would do a marathon, ever. But you know, it starts with a 5K and realizing it was fun. Then you do a few 10Ks and realize that was fun. Then you train for a half and think, "Omigod, I can't believe I ran that far!" Then after a few halfs you start thinking about a marathon, then you sign up and think, "Omigod, I just signed up for a marathon!" Then you start training and feel like you spend all your free time running and showering (or thinking you should shower). Then you get used to it and kind of like it. Then you realize you're calling 13.1 miles "a short run." Before you know it, it's the night before the marathon and you get nauseous thinking about it and you just want it over so you know what it's like (I compare this to anticipating child birth). Then it comes, and you do it and realize you're going to finish. I can truly say that at mile 18 I looked around at the gorgeous bay that we were running along, listening to my favorite music on my iPod and thought, "This is FUN! I want to do this again." We all finished, we all enjoyed it and we all finished under 4 hours with two qualifying for Boston! You rock ladies!
So now the planning for #2 may be in our midst and I promised EJ that the next one won't be a 12 hour drive over a long weekend.
26.2 miles that is. The weather was lovely, the scenery was beautiful, the camaraderie was awesome, my nose was clear, and my time was 3:52. It was priceless and when I have more time, I'll give the grueling and glorious details.
I'm sick. That's all there is to it. It started on Sunday when I woke up with a sore throat. Not good I thought being less than a week away from Marathon MADness. So I took it easy, spent the majority of the day on the couch and slept. Monday was luckily a holiday as I didn't feel much better and, again, spent the majority of the day in bed, sleeping. Tuesday came and feeling like my head was going to explode, made an appointment with my nurse practitioner hoping beyond hope that she could give me some kind of magical medication. Turns out to be a virus...just let it run it's course, damn it! It's course is on day 4 and I don't care if it's a virus or not, we decided to blast the SOB with a dose of antibiotics and steriod nasal spray, just in case a virus wants to surrender to an antibiotic. Hmff. That'll teach it! So in every attempt to actually run this marathon that I've trained for, taken work off from, and have looked forward to people who are crazy do oyster shots on the route, I stayed home from work today. I must say I'm feeling a bit better. I can breathe anyway and heck, I may even attempt to bike to Roo's school to pick him up. I may drop dead from lightheadedness and lack of oxygen but it may be a good 3 mile test to the 26.2 I have to face on Saturday. I'll keep you posted, the caravan leaves at 6 bells tomorrow morning!
Roo finally did it. He decided to figure out how to ride his bike. On Friday evening, he hauled out his little bike and very firmly said, "Don't help me!" He worked and worked with Far Far at his side brandishing a camcorder. Being the pessimist I can be at times, Gramma and I went for a walk (not at all confident that he would really do it) while EJ and G-man went for their own ride. Upon return to the house, we found a Roo riding his bike. He is so proud of himself that he has been riding non-stop since. As an added incentive, EJ told Roo a while ago that he would buy him a new helmet once he could ride his bike. So off he goes, with his new cool helmet wondering if now he can ride his bike to school himself.
On another riding note, EJ had a bike race this weekend. I had planned to go and cheer him on but standing in the rain to watch 30 seconds of riding wasn't what I considered the best of plans for my Saturday. In hindsight, I should have. My guy rocked! He is racing with a local team this year and competed in the Tour of the Bitteroot's road race placing first for his category! Next time, maybe I'll show up and give him a smooch at the finish line.
Roo is charming, yes it's true. He's continually charming those around him with his wit, brown eyes, and as a friend says...scrappiness. So for those of you who don't see him on a daily basis, here's a dose of Roo.
This conversation occured during G-man's baseball game between the coach and Roo and was relayed to us after the game by the coach.
Roo: Hey coach, see that pink thing down there by your foot?
Coach: Uh, yeah, that little pink thing down there?
Roo: Yeah, that pink thing by your foot. Could you pick that up for me? I dropped it.
We took our first camping trip of the year this weekend. With temps in the high 80's we couldn't resist. We had an invite from some soccer/baseball friends and decided it must be done. Here's the scene...we arrive to a camp swarming with 6 boys all aged 6-9 and brandishing sticks. We arrive and add two more boys to the scene so now there are 8 boys and two more sticks (BTW, this does not include the dads who could at times very well be counted in this scenario). They managed to create some kind of game involving a stash of weapons on the hillside and using them to "attack" anyone who was not on their team. Now, I may not have this game correctly documented, but you get the point...a bunch of boys with sticks as weapons. What else could we expect? To add to the fetish with weapons, my two boys got their first attempt at shooting a BB gun at beer cans on this trip. Are we in Montana or what? I'm waiting for the conversations about Christmas presents to come up now. The term "You'll shoot your eye out" may be a frequent one in the coming months. Needless to say, the females on this trip (never more than 3 of us mom's at a time) spent much of the time laughing at the boyness, the lack of nutritional content on the food labels, and comparing notes about where our boys have chosen to relieve themselves. Oh, and the girls also got a stellar mountain bike ride in. As for photos, the boys also enjoyed long boarding and biking. Here's G-man's first long board casualty along with Roo deciding how exactly to cross the creek (EJ carried him). I may be able to get a BB gun photo from a friend. If I can, I'll enlighten you all with some true Montana camping images.
G-man brought home a sweet Mothrer's Day surprise from school on Friday. It was the top 10 things about his mom...me! It was very thoughtful and sweet and though I cannot likely match his youthful honesty, I thought doing the same for my mom would be a nice tribute.
The Top 10 Things About My Mom
10. She can answer all my baking quesitons.
9. She lets me change the station on her car radio.
8. She shares her stash of Swiss chocolate.
7. She gives me the clothes from her closet that don't fit her anymore.
6. She will still buy me things when we are shopping, even though she shouldn't.
5. She wants all the details, even if I don't want to tell them.
4. She checks in with us almost daily.
3. She was always around for my brother and I growing up.
2. She will babysit my boys (just the two), anytime she can.
Well, when I said I wouldn't update my blog on a regular basis, I guess that meant I would consider actually blogging about once a month. How do monthly updates sound? No, but seriously, any of you who know me on a daily and personal level likely know that I am not generally a happy-go-lucky kind of gal in April and much of May. The profession I have chosen requires an insane and mind numbing amount of craziness during these times. The level to which this effects my life can best be put by telling you that G-man's birthday was quite a while ago and he has yet to effectively cash in his promised birthday party (on that same note, presents he has received thus far are not adequatley "thanked" for...if you are an "unthanked" soul, it's coming, probably after summer break starts...as is the birthday party). I'm sure some of you are wondering what a special education preschool teacher could possibly need to do that would send her to the dark side for six weeks. Well, allow me to enlighten you. TRANSITIONS and ESY. Got it? No? Okay, allow me to explain since you are all feeling deprived of my negligent blogging behavior. (If you really don't care, skip down to the photo section).
TRANSITIONS...any of the students in my classroom who are of kindergarten age in the fall are required to have a transition meeting. This starts with organizing a time for every receiving special education teacher (and sometimes counselors, psychologists, principals, coordinators, or general ed teachers) to come observe their incoming students. Next comes planning a time to meet. This involves coordinating a meeting with the incoming school, the parents, and sometimes additional schools (the reason for additional schools is really not worth explaining). Then comes preparing information and paperwork about the child to share at the meeting. Then I actually have to go to the meeting. I only mention this small detail because since many of these meetings are at unusual times in order to fit them all in, I actually almost forgot to go to one last year. Now, when I say "almost forgot" I don't mean that I remembered at the last minute and got there. Nooooo, this meeting was scheduled from 8-8:30 in the morning on a day that I teach but the meeting was not at my school. So off I went to work and started about my day when one of my paraeducators arrived and said, "Aren't you supposed to be at a meeting?" (My paras truly keep me in line on a daily basis! I would not survive without them!) So off I went, 15 minutes late for a 30 minute meeting that they could not have without me. Luckily this has not occurred this year but my last meeting is a similarly scheduled meeting so I'll keep you posted, unless I forget.
ESY...also known in the special ed world as Extended School Year and to the general public as summer school (but this is more specialized). The kids we teach often show a loss of skills after a break and if we can document and prove that summer break will cause a loss of certain skills that they will take a significant amount of time to recoup, then we nominate them for ESY. (Don't we all regress over summer break?) Guess what nomination involves...lots of documentation, photocopying, and filling out paperwork. Oh yeah, and trying to track down parents to see if they actually want it. It's all great fun and after leaving work at 6:15 on Thursday, since it was all due on Friday, I actually made it in time to see half of G-man's baseball game. And on that note, I'll fill you in on our happenings on the range.
BASEBALL SEASON
G-man has been waiting so anxiously for baseball to start and is loving every minute. He is doing great and getting a chance to try different positions as well as making some great plays. We love watching his enthusiasm but EJ (it's been a while but remember that's Endorphin Junkie) is pinning for the fast pace, one-hour games of soccer.
RUN ON THE RIVERBANK
We all ran in a great community race a few weeks ago. I raced the 5k in preparation for my marathon and the EJ ran with Roo in the jogger to support G-man running the 5k as well. Then the EJ and G-man ran with Roo to support him in the one mile (first photo). I decided to skip the one mile for any of you who wanted to wise crack that they all ran more then me. Besides, someone had to get a picture (at lest of Roo, G-man came by too fast and I missed him...one mile in under 10 minutes after running a 5k...you rock G-man!) We had a great time, all did better than we thought and enjoyed one of the first awesome days of spring!
TOO OLD?
Wilco "I'm Always in Love"
EJ and I went out last week. This wasn't just a regular night out, oh no...we went out with the havurah without any of our children (now, I should mention that 2 members of the havurah...the very ones who gave us this label, couldn't be there due to being in Seattle or something not nearly as fun as the havurah). Nonetheless, it was a great time that involved dinner and a concert. I managed to keep this little date night a secret (until another friend spilled it) almost to the end. The funny part about this being a secret was that this concert was not one either of us had a clue about. Neither of us knew the band or their music. So in preparation, I put a few songs on my iPod, borrowed a CD and strategically played it while EJ was in the car. I came to like these guys but EJ didn't catch on. So as we jammed, tried to avoid the smell of pot occasionally floating around and enjoyed a night with no babysitter curfew, I think EJ wondered if we are just old.
WILD
Today, yes we are finally updated, we went wild! Roo was dressed to the hilt as a ferocious cheetah and we marched our way through downtown with a lot of other fun and furry characters for an annual parade. He had a great time but for once, turned off his showmanship and walked along without his mask while his friends roared, growled, and purred. Maybe he isn't such a clown after all.
So that's where we're at folks. Sorry for the delay and hopefully this will satisfy your appetite for a while.
Spring recitals came on a lovely, warm spring day this year. This was to our benefit on this particular day since it very well could have been snowing. I'd like you all to take notice of the boys attire. Now, this probably isn't the most appropriate recital attire but let me give you some background. First of all, I love our town. It is casual, very casual. I seldom wear make-up, heals, or anything that requires dry cleaning. Not that there's anything wrong with any of those things but they really aren't my gig and therefore I fit right into our low key community. As I looked through the boys dressers and closets for something acceptable for them to wear, I came to the conclusion that their wardrobes lack anything that would fall into the category of "dressy." Now, had I found the dressy items I was looking for, I can pretty much guarantee that tears would have been shed at the thought of wearing something so uncool and foreign especially since my boys go for the skater look. So I compiled outfits that were clean, with buttons, and matched. This sadly included shorts because they haven't had time to put dirt, holes or any other kind of stain on them yet. As I said, thank God for warm weather.
Roo proudly performed Go Tell Aunt Rhody in his red converse high tops since they don't leave his feet. He came a long way this year and is decreasing the amount of throwing he does of his violin (we've replaced two bridges so far). At the awards ceremony afterward, he won the award for "Most Improvement at Lessons."
G-man won the award for "Best Shifting" after mastering Gavotte by Lully. This also required a few "come to Jesus" meetings after he threatened to break his violin into small pieces, never come in for his lesson and crying fits because it is toooooo hard (not that I don't agree). But he got it, did awesome and now says, "Oh, shifting...that's easy." Practice makes perfect.
Mmmmm the rewards. The boys' violin instructor knows exactly how to motivate a child to sit through a 1 1/2 hour recital...sweets. I think any wonderful instructor knows to offer cookies, brownies and such after a recital, but oh, no...that's just not creative enough for this violin studio. Instead, take strawberries, grapes, melons, and pineapple and top with whipped cream. Now when I say whipped cream, I mean continue to spray it on the fruit until the child says "stop." Now what child would ever say, "stop" to whipped cream. These kids had MOUNTAINS of whipped cream atop a little bit of fruit. Perfect.
We had a glorious weekend! It was our first real spring weather and it was amazing to be outside in the warm sunshine (I apologize to the Minnesotans...I do feel your longing). On the agenda for the weekend included the following...2 runs, a bike race and a soccer game. Otherwise, it was pure fun and freedom!Flat Stanley
We were lucky to receive a visit from Flat Stanley this weekend. He came all the way from Minnesota and we enjoyed showing him around our neighborhood and teaching him about Montana. A highlight was a hike on Saturday night in the foothills behind our house where we saw our first buttercups of the season! Here's a great shot of our neighborhood with a view into the valley. Stanley will be traveling back to Minnesota soon and hopefully has great things to say about his visit.
Thoughts of Food The marathon MADness continues. On Sunday my three girlfriends and I reached a near climax in our marathon training. The 18 miler. We have been running together for about four years now and our favorite part of the run is breakfast and coffee afterward. It took us a long time to find the perfect spot but now that we found it, it is just that...perfect. On this particular Sunday, my running friend and her husband met us all at this little joint and he kindly drove the four of us 18 miles away from the smell of frying potatoes. No biggie...just run all the way back with thoughts of food to pull you along. We made it, and the rewards were delicious!
Spring Soccer is Here
Roo finally had his first soccer game as well as his first time in any real organized sport. He has patiently been waiting since his first soccer practice (or two years of G-man's playing) to have his first game. It all started after practice on Tuesday night. He carefully placed his uniform on the floor as he would wear it and declared that he was leaving it there so it would be ready for the game. Well, the game finally came, he put on his uniform and had a blast insisting that they would win because this one guy on his team is soooo good. They played great, he had fun and as he declared on Tuesday before his practice, "Mom, this isn't about G-man is it." No sweetie, this time, it's about you.
We were fortunate enough this weekend to attend a rally for Barack Obama. I know I have shared this video with many of you already but if you haven't seen it, it is wonderful. Check it out and imagine us in a room full of 8000 other Montanans with this playing overhead. It gave me chills and filled the room with an excitement that our local paper likened to a rock concert as opposed to a political rally. We had a great time and felt lucky to get in. Tickets were free but required and didn't guarantee you a seat. As you can see from the size of the very small section of the line that I posted, we didn't know that we would get in. We did, after standing in line for over an hour, and it was worth the wait. When it was over, Roo decided he needed to find "Arack Obama" and shake his hand. We weren't successful but another Montanan body surfed their baby girl over the crowd with success! Lucky girl.
If you are interested in seeing more video of Obama in Montana, there are lots of great videos on You Tube.
For those of you checking for the next blog entry (Mom). I will tell you first, I haven't had time. Second, now that I had a little time tonight, I have been trying to bring you an oh so wonderful new posting. Third, I hate doing this on our laptop! I have literally spent an insane amount of time trying to post and fighting with this laptop and it's need to alert me to any suspicious or unwanted programs trying to run on my computer. I give up. I'll try again tomorrow on the computer that isn't loaded with spyware...who needs personal safety anyway, I'm not that interesting.
A number of things are the norm at our house. Busy boys, a dirty dog, running and biking schedules, and clean up. The constant clean up. I hate to admit it, but I can't stand clutter. Dirt is okay, but clutter will make me crazy! I am one of those sorry, sad people that have to clean up the kitchen before I can cook. I can't find anything unless it is in it's place. Now, if I were to try and have 2 (or even 3) busy boys clean as they go, I would pull my hair out. Therefore, we do the traditional end of day clean up. G-man has become a pretty stellar helper for his young age with exception to the banana peels he leaves in his wake. Roo procrastinates, whines and becomes utterly defenseless in his ability to put away the disaster he created (which mostly consists of the 10 changes of clothing he adorned during the day). As for my endorphin junkie (EJ), I really can't complain. Compared to many women I talk to, I am definitely one of the lucky ones. He does his laundry, fixes my bike, takes out the garbage, handles the cars and yard, and is pretty much responsible for the arrival and departure of our boys to and from school. Like I said, he's a great guy. However, even great guys aren't perfect.
The results of our household's combined cleaning efforts are documented below for your enjoyment and/or judgment.
Thebaskets. Where I suspect clutter, I add a basket. It isn't considered clutter if it's contained, or at least mostly contained right? Just ask EJ how many baskets I have handed him for his piles. In fact, I have him nicely trained to ask for one as needed. I have come to love the phrase, "Do you have an extra basket?" It is now become my adopted decorating style...baskets everywhere.
The fine print...for those of you who are now worried that I'm going to come to your house and freak out about your clutter, I'm immune to other peoples clutter.
Truly.
This picture is for Gramma. I did an experiment the other day after our recent conversations about dishes on the counter vs. in the dishwasher. It was morning, I had cleaned up all the dishes and one member of our family was still eating and nearing completion. I kindly left the dishwasher open for this individual to put his dishes away in (I have three "he" members of my family so the rest of you will have to guess who I'm discussing here). This picture is the result of my effort. Notice the bowl and spoon on the counter. There it stayed. I put it away. I know I'm feeding the pattern here but I was laughing too hard to myself as I took this picture and put it away to request compliance. Besides, now it makes for a funnier story.
After an endless amount of drama and complaint, Roo finally puts his toys and many, many clothes away at the end of the day. As he approaches the end of clean up he makes sure I know that he is done and that the clothes on the floor are "for this next day" (also known as tomorrow to the rest of the English speaking world). This little pile is his security blanket that the exact outfit he needs to look cool this next day is not lost in a drawer or basket somewhere. I can only hope they are clean.
Today is World Autism Awareness Day. If you are interested in more information about autism, check out Autism Speaks. I feel fortunate to be a teacher of many children who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and many more who are suspected. Each day that I teach I see how this disorder interferes with basic daily tasks such as making a friend to washing their hands. I watch parents struggle through through the early stages of suspicion and diagnosis, and I watch these amazing children leap hurdles to make incredible progress.
I love where we live. It is beautiful, peaceful (except for the loud boys) and we have great neighbors. I know many of you have been to our house and many of you have not (shame on you). The following picture is for those of you who have not. This is my attempt to lure you out west. This picture is from the deck looking out into the "backyard." How could you resist this?
In the warmer weather, we love to take walks to the creek. This is one of my favorite pictures from the creek. The boys love to catch water skeeters and get wet and muddy. I can't tell you how many poor little water skeeters have been dragged, unwillingly, back to our house in a peanut butter jar only to expire days later.
As a teacher of young children, I always like to start the school year getting to know each of the kids and letting them get to know me. We do this by creating an "All About Me" book and add to it as the year goes on. As I venture down the path of blogging, I figured all you curious friends and family may enjoy a glimpse into some of the daily basics. Although I will spare you my painted handprints and self portrait, I will share my second home...my classroom.
This is my classroom. This is where we play, laugh, learn, and cry. I took this picture today before my afternoon preschool class. All was calm, and then they came. Today was not a typical day, but not an unusual day. Today was the first day after spring break. One week of no class can send preschoolers with high needs into a spin. Today was spinning, especially in the afternoon class. Today is the kind of day that makes me wonder why I torture myself, even if they are adorable (a few of them were not showing their adorable side today). Today is the kind of day where I wonder what they learned. Today, when I turned on the walkie talkie to radio for help, the batteries were dead. Today, I wanted to cry. But I didn't and Wednesday, when they return, I will be ready, or I will cry.
This is one half of our most recent bulletin board. This side was created by my morning class. I love this bulletin board. The kids created every aspect of it. Their project was to create an animal using shapes. I don't know about you, but I see a few houses, and two, maybe three, identifiable animals. Check out the green one on the bottom right. It's a dog.
Meet Whiskers
Whiskers is our class rat. She's new and was voted on as our class favorite after trying out a fish, hermit crab, rat and zebra finches. This little experiment came about after the tragic death of our class guinea pig, Joe. Whiskers is an amazing pet (much better than the guinea pig) and I would highly recommend a rat to anyone wanting something sweet and fuzzy (just don't ask the Endorphin Junkie "EJ" about it). Whiskers brightens our day and can increase interaction for some of my students. I'm glad she won our vote, second place was the fish.
