Afternoon Recess

While the kids are doing their learning from home, we have instituted afternoon outdoor recess.  It's a great time of year for it.

High School Student Gets Much Needed Recess Time

Julia & Petra on the web swing shortly before we decide that we need a 1-person-at-a-time rule

Nathan and our Grumpy Little Old Recess Lady

Nathan was taking a break because his legs felt wobbly after a ride on the web swing the PJ pushing.

Happy Palm Sunday!

We did this in lieu of having a Palm Sunday processional at church today.

PJ - Big Guy

While the rest of us were finishing our dinner, Julia climbed up on the two-step step stool to get down big yellow bin, so she could pick out a treat for dessert.  As she squeezed the bin, the lid popped off and dropped onto Paul's shoulder, scaring him, and making a terrific racket.

"And this," I said, "is why we put the child with the most HP in that seat."

Paul was not amused.

NOTE: HP stands for hit points, and is a term used in video games to describe how much damage a character can withstand before being knocked out.

Zoo 2019

I managed to get all the kids to the zoo with me.

I saw monkeys

The monkeys saw me

No trip to the zoo is complete without somebody being eaten by the alligator

We love the manatees

Julia let Nathan ride the bald eagle

See my fierce predators?

I think they had fun.

9 Tails at the Orthodontist

And this is what happens when the administrative staff at the orthodontist's office take too long processing the paperwork for Petra, and I give Petra my phone to entertain herself with.

Secret Agent Man

This would be one of the consequences of cleaning out the boys' closet.

Friday night lights

This picture could be any high school football field across the United States on 8/30/19.  But it was the field that Paul was playing his first marching band half-time show on.  And I was so proud!

1st Driving Lesson

I've spoken to Paul and Julia about distracted driving, not using the high beams in the fog, and being wary of the dicey intersections near our house.

We've had Paul driving mowers for a couple of years now.

On Sunday, Steve gave Paul his first behind-the-wheel-of-the-car driving lesson.  They piled into our big, red, automatic Suburban and went up the driveway.

Drive up the driveway, reverse down the driveway.
Drive up the driveway, reverse down the driveway.
Drive up the driveway, reverse down the driveway and around the loop.
Drive up the driveway, reverse down the driveway. 

Drive up the driveway, reverse down the driveway.

Drive up the driveway, reverse down the driveway and around the loop.

All the kids were excited.
Petra hid up in the treehouse at first.
Maggie stood at the screen door and whined and cried because something was going on and she was left out.

I'm not sure how much Paul enjoyed his lesson, but afterward he came into the house and collapsed for a while.

Clothing struggles

Keeping the kids clothed in stuff that fits is an ongoing struggle.  They keep growing.  The kids, I mean. Not the clothes.  Unless you count the bathing suits that stretch out from chlorine water exposure, but that's another problem.

Last night I sent Nathan with money to buy a new taekwondo uniform.  He looks so nice now in the new one.  He can bend over to touch his toes without showing off his underwear.

A couple of weeks ago I had to make an "emergency" run to Goodwill to replace Paul's shorts, which were getting a little too form-fitting.  We picked up 4 pairs so he could make it through a week of school without having to do laundry for shorts.  He wore one of the pairs this week for picture day.

I, on the other hand, haven't outgrown anything since 1992.  Several years ago, I bought a pair of blue jeans from Goodwill.  When I got them home, I realized they were missing the button, so I found an appropriate sized replacement button and sewed it on.  Since then the jeans had been patched in both knees (by my mother-in-law), had started tearing at the patches, and finally had been cut-off into shorts for me (by my mother-in-law).  The seams have started to fray, and there is a small hole above one of the back pockets.  Yesterday I came home from running errands and realized the button had fallen off somewhere. 

Steve says it's time to let them go.

Super Reading Program

The library's summer reading program this year was super hero themed. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Notes from home

My parents have a young Labrador, and they are in a constant race to keep it from eating stuff.  Socks, Christmas ornaments, rocks - Molly likes it all.  Out of the blue, the other day Petra said, "To Molly, everything is a hot crispy cinnamon roll."
Well said, child.

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Steve was telling Nathan about a video he saw recently, in which people were visiting Australia and swimming in ponds were platypus dwelt.  He said, "Wouldn't that be cool?  To go swimming with platypi?"
Nathan's response was, "Wait a minute!  You mean platypus are REAL??"


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Julia came home from school chatty and excited because in English class she did a survey on "kinds of intelligence," and she was intrigued by the results.  The kinds of intelligence had to do with natural strengths and learning styles.  "My top three were spatial reasoning, music intelligence, and logic.  My lowest three were interpersonal communication, intra-personal communication, and kinesthetic intelligence."
Steve and I answered with, "So you are good at math and spatial relationships, but you are socially and physically awkward?  Sorry, honey, but you are doomed to be an engineer."

Cooking lesson

Last night I was in a hurry to get supper ready, which does seem to be the story of my life this season.  I got home from work with the plan to make tacos, and I called Julia, Petra, and Nathan to the kitchen to help.  I assigned Petra (age 9) to cook the beef.  Julia helped her tie on an apron. 

Revelation #1

As I dumped the ground beef into the cast iron skillet, she said, “Mom, this looks like hamburger meat.”

I blinked twice and answered, “Yes, it is.  Taco meat is made from hamburger meat.”  I handed her an old fork and showed her how to break the meat up in the pan.

Revelation #2

I ran upstairs to change clothes.  Soon I heard her calling, “Mom, the meat is turning brown!”

“Yes, that’s what it is supposed to do.”

Later I explained that cooking the beef like this was called, “Browning the meat.”

The tacos turned out very well, and Petra learned a couple of important things about cooking.  Double win!

Violin Recital

Petra had her very first violin recital, outdoors at a park in 90-degree heat.  There were about 2 dozen other people with solos or duets performing that afternoon and it was so nice to be to be out there to support them. 

Now, sometimes you go to a recital and the music is genuinely enjoyable to listen to, and other times you go and the music is not super, but you're just so stinkin' proud of the performer that you are about to bust.  This performance fell in the second category.

I am proud of Petra because-

• it was very brave of her to get in front of so many people and play a solo
• "Lightly Row" was recognizable
• she played by memory
• this was her first time performing
• when she made mistakes, she didn't start crying, but kept going and made it through

Good work, Petra Grace!

First Day of School 2019

We have a Sophomore, 8th grader, 4th grader and 1st grader.

I love the slightly crazed look in Julia's eye as she waits for her pre-dawn bus ride

Petra is ready to go

Nathan rides separately from Petra, but here he is ready for full days of school

We have four children in four different buildings, but all of them are in the same building that they had last year, so that helps reduce a little stress.  Paul accidentally skipped English class on his first day.  His explanation went something like this:

So last year I had band right after lunch, and this year, once lunch was done I headed to band class.  In that hall on the way to band I saw a study hall, and I noticed a bunch of band kids in there, so I thought, "The band teacher must be out, and we're having study hall time instead," which I would like to mention happened several times last year.  And I asked, "So we've got study hall now?" and people were like, "Yeah."  So I stayed in the study hall room, but then, when the bell rang, people started going band class, and I was like, "Wait, what?" and I looked at my schedule and was like, "Ah, nuts."

We had him write an e-mail of explanation to his English teacher, who was apparently fairly understanding.  

Nathan bought his first school lunch yesterday.  I think he is enjoying that privilege.  He is allowed to pack a snack, but I'm a little concerned about what to send him with for snacks and lunch because there are children with some serious allergies in his room.  

Petra and Julia appear to be holding their own with their classes.

I'm proud of my crew and excited about this year.

Family Gig

The band Steve is in had a gig at a community event last Friday.  He played early enough in the evening, that I brought the whole family out for the first set.  I got some pictures of the kids playing with giant Jenga sets.  If you zoom in, you can see Steve on his bass in the background.

Julia and the School Board

 Julia and five of her classmates were selected to give a presentation to the school board on some technology they have been using to help them learn about different topics.  The particular topic they had studied for their presentation was agriculture, so Julia and one of her friends dressed the part.  Julia came complete with pitchfork and potato.  She offered to bring in one of our chickens and her principal seriously considered it until she noticed the look of horror on computer teacher's face.

Our family was smirking a little about this presentation, because Paul had had a rough time with this same computer teacher.  While we waited for the school board meeting to begin, Julia asked the teacher, "Hey, do you remember my brother, Paul?  He would have been in your class two years ago."  She didn't.  I stood there smiling politely, while trying to mentally beam Julia with messages to clam up!

Julia did a fine job with her part in the presentation.  She spoke clearly and the presence of the real pitchfork brought some levity to the board meeting.  (Keep that away from Joan!)

After the meeting the team of students fielded some questions from the board members.  When asked if they always liked working on teams to study a topic, Julia, pitchfork in hand and without missing a beat, answered, "No."

A couple of her team members gasped, and she followed with, "This team was great to work with, but sometimes they're not great teams, and then I don't like it."

The girl can speak the truth to authority. 

Unfair! - by Maggie

You humans are so contrary and inconsistent.
I constantly hear you sniping at the little humans to clean up messes, even if they weren't the ones who made the mess in the first place.
So what do I do?
When I find a puddle of spilled pasta sauce (with beef!) in the driveway, I lick and lick until it is ALL cleaned up so that you won't step in while you finish unloading the groceries.  I even find the sauce that you tossed over into the grass and slurp it up (so good!) so that nobody accidentally tracks through it.  I wipe my whiskers thoroughly in the grass, and the try to finish cleaning out my beard on the couch when we go inside.
And what kind of thanks do I get for all my thoughtful cleanliness?
A big fat trip to the washtub to rinse my schnauzer beard out. 

You know how I feel about that.

So not cool.

Camp meal planning

Our family is planning a small family camping vacation.  I decided that Paul, with all his Boy Scout camping experience, should take a whack at making the meal plan.  The result was something like this:

Paul: Now, how many days do I need to plan for?
Mom: I've already told you that twice.
Paul: Right, right.  Okay, Thursday evening, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning.  (calling siblings)ANY IDEAS FOR MEALS?
Petra: S'mores!
Mom: I know Julia would like to roast hot dogs.
Paul: Okay, Thursday night is hot dogs over the fire with s'mores.  Now, what for breakfast?
Petra: S'mores!
Paul: Nope, nope.  S'mores are a dinner dessert.
Julia: Can we have bacon?
Paul: Oh, no!  Trust me, bacon makes a terrible mess when you try to cook it over a fire.
Mom: Daddy will probably bring a gas stove.  And we could pre-cook the bacon.
Paul: Okay, Friday morning: pre-cooked bacon.
Julia: And sausage links?
Mom: Yes, but you need something more than bacon and sausage.
Paul: What about pancakes?
Mom: That's okay, but let's try to minimize cleanup.
Julia: We could pre-cook the pancakes and warm them up.
Mom: Yeah, that would be okay.
Paul: Friday morning: bacon, sausage links, pre-cooked pancakes.  Now what about Friday lunch?  How about sandwiches?  PB&J?
[I'm sparing you some of Paul's spelling.]
Mom: Sounds good.  We can do PB&J and ham.  I mean PB&J sandwiches and ham sandwiches, not PB&J and ham sandwiches.
Petra: And S'mores!
Paul: No, it's not for dinner yet.  What can we have for treat?
Mom: We will be coming off of Easter.  How about Easter candy?  Plus you need some fruit.
Paul: Friday lunch: sandwiches, & strawberries, easter treat. Now dinner.
Petra: S'mores!
Paul: Yes, smores.
Julia: Can we do hamburgers?  You know, with the stove again?
Paul: Friday dinner: hamburgers, s'mores.

After some discussion, Paul and Julia settled on oatmeal packets for breakfast Saturday morning.

Paul: What about lunch on Saturday?
Mom: We could do quesadillas.
Paul and Julia agreed to that.  And Paul started writing it down. 
Julia: Paul, that's not how you spell quesa-ding-diddly-dong-dillas.
Paul: I don't care.
Mom: Are you two actually arguing over how to spell quesa-ding-diddly-dong-dillas?
Paul & Julia: Yes.
Paul: And for dinner, what are we having for treat, Petra?
Petra (from 3 rooms away): S'MORES!
Paul: That's right!

Again, a fair amount of discussion, and we settled on the rest of Saturday dinner.
Paul: Saturday dinner: SPAM and cheese for Paul, and Ramen noodles and chicken, s'mores.
Mom: Are you actually going to eat SPAM?
Paul: Uh-huh.
Mom: Really?  We're going to open up the can and you're going to see this pink, rectangular rubber bouncy ball of meat covered in clear gelatin and eat it?  After I slice and cook it a little?
Paul: Can we take the gelatin off first?
Mom: Yes.
Paul: Then, yes.  And for Sunday breakfast, cold cereal cups.

I imagine that Steve and I will tweak this plan a bit.  For one, I mean to add a little more fruit and vegetable matter to our diet.  Still, the planning exercise made for an entertaining morning.

Petra's really big February: Part 2

February 9, just six days after her blackbelt test, Petra broke her wrist.

I had just gotten to work when Grandma called to tell me that she was keeping Petra home from school, because our girl had taken a bad fall down the stairs.  Grandma hadn't seen the fall, and by the time she got to the shrieking girl, Petra was kicking and thrashing violently.  As she said later, "I was pretty sure her legs were alright."  She also told me that she suspected Petra had been sliding down the railing based on where Grandma found her.

Grandma kept her on Tylenol and iced her wrist, keeping Petra quiet and the arm elevated.

It wasn't until Paul and Julia came home after school, and Petra was explaining to them what happened that Grandma realized how far she had fallen.  Petra, in trying to rush downstairs for the bus, had grabbed the railing to skip down steps.  Instead, she accidently vaulted herself over the railing from fairly high up.  We were all a little sick about the matter, though Petra was feeling somewhat better by then.

The next morning Petra complained about a bit of a headache and nausea.  We had been watching for signs of concussion, and decided this was sufficiently worrysome to take her to the urgent care for a check.

First we took her to her Black Belt Presentation that morning.  Priorities, you know.

After the presentation, Steve took her through the  McDonalds drivethrough for some lunch (a special treat) and on to the urgent care. 

Good news - no concussion.  Yay!
Bad news - a compression, or buckal, fracture of her left radius near the wrist.

She had her arm in a splint and (sometimes) sling for a week, and then I took her to an orthopedic specialist. 
I got to see the x-ray, and the doctor did a good job of explaining what I was seeing. As a material test engineer, I had a fairly viceral response to seeing the compression lines in the bone.  I asked if a cast was completely necessary since the bone was not in two pieces.  The doctor said a splint would be okay, but that they didn't generally trust children that young to be careful while the bone healed.

Since Petra had been jumping on her bed during the week and had wiggled until she nearly fell of the exam table that morning, I was forced to agree with him.  She got a cast for 3 weeks.

It was pink camo.  With purple glitter.

Petra's really big February: Part 1

Way back in January of 2014 little 4 year old Petra started Tae Kwon Do classes.  She spent the first several months preening in front of the mirrors, and periodically having to hold a board to the wall with her forehead for not paying attention to her instructors.  Slowly, she learned to pay attention and do the techniques.

On February 3rd 2018 Petra had her black belt test.  We were all so proud of her.  We got to the Tae Kwon Do school at 9:30 in the morning and had to sit on the mat and wait until noon for her test.  She was the only child testing for 1st degree black belt, so she stood on the mat in front of the judges all by herself while the instructor called out all the strikes, blocks, and kicks she was to demonstrate.  She went  back and forth until she was nearly stumbling with fatigue. 
She performed one-step self defense techniques.
She free sparred.

It took a bunch of attempts for her to break her board for the back wheel kick speed break.  She got frustrated and had to take a break, but she didn't cry.  I think I would have cried, so I was pretty impressed with her.  After a breather, she tried a couple more times and broke her board.

She did a really big girl job.