Picnic in the Park and More

Yesterday the boys and I took a picnic down to the park near Main Man's office and treated him to lunch.

The lunch itself was nothing special - Black Forest ham on fresh home-baked bread, raw veggies, melon, cookies and soft drinks - but the time together was wonderful.

I hope Main Man found it as much of a boost to his afternoon as I did.

When we arrived home, the little boys continued work on their BIG PROJECT. They are in the midst of going through the massive amount of toys, books, action figures, and Hot Wheels cars in their room and playing "Love it or Shove it". They're doing a fantabulous job! I'm very proud of them. They're being far more ruthless than I would be. It's probably best that I leave them on their own to do it, or they wouldn't be nearly as efficient. ("Oh, but Sweetie, your Auntie Heather bought you this for your third birthday! You can't possibly throw that out!" There's no stronger sentimentality than that of a mother.)

In the evening, Main Man did something he hasn't done in a very long time - he went for a bike ride. #1 got a new bike this summer, so Main Man asked to borrow it. I sent him off the the grocery store for a few things. #3, who is a bicycle maniac this summer, begged to accompany him. So off they went - my oldest (so to speak) and my youngest - on an excursion farther than #3 had ever ridden away from home before. When they returned - well after dusk, I might add - both of them were pumped beyond words. They had had a ball together out on their quest, and they had even managed to remember to get the groceries I had asked for!

The Language Police Are On the Job

#3 and I went to the first puppet show of the summer season at the library yesterday. We were treated to a very entertaining rendition of Walter the Farting Dog.

You can vividly imagine, I'm sure, the hoots of laughter emanating from the crowd, chiefly consisting of children ranging from three to eight years old, every time the puppeteers gasped the word "fart" or sounded the whoopie cushion (every thirty seconds or so).

#3 was no exception. He enjoyed almost every second of the performance. I say "almost", because there was one moment when his giggles gave way to a frown of perplexity and discomfort.

In one scene two burglars invade Walter's home in the night. Not wishing to wake anyone, one of the intruders tells the other to "Shut up!"

A shadow instantly crossed #3's face and he scooted over to the side where I was seated to inform me, "There are little kids here. They shouldn't say, 'Shut up'!"

Yes, it's nice to know that he's on the job!

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful...

... for the safe travel of my dad, his wife, my sister and her husband. They have been in Europe since early April. We received an email last night from Paris, and it sounds as if they are having a spectacular time and that the weather has been perfect. They arrive home on the weekend.

... for the hard work and dedication of #2's Cub leaders and #3's Beaver leaders. I know I've mentioned my gratitude to them before, but it bears repeating. The wind-up night was earlier this week, complete with order-in pizza and potluck salads and desserts for the whole family. It was a veritable smorgasbord of good food and goodwill.

... for soft overnight spring rains that help coax the eruption of green but do not dampen daily life.

... for yesterday's rejuvenating book day.

... for strong early morning coffee.

... for last night's American Idol show, which helped me appreciate my own life so much more. It was more of a telethon than an Idol episode. I hate to admit that, as I watched it, there were times I had tears rolling down my cheeks. I hate when I let shows like that manipulate my emotions. Did any of you watch it?

... for the patience of my church council colleagues. I was elected to church council in February and I attended my third meeting earlier this week. I'm not sure I've said anything out loud at any of the meetings yet. I've sat back though, and tried to pick up the rhythm of the meetings, and hopefully, I'll be able to contribute something soon.

Boys Will be Boys

Last night oodles of giggles suddenly emanated from the room that #2 and #3 share. Knowing that could mean trouble, of course I opened the door to check on the situation.

It appears that they were testing the new protective gear we had just purchased for #2, as he will begin sparring in Tae Kwon Do this week.

He was decked out in his new cup, and #3 was trying to kick him as hard as he could in order to determine just how effective it was.

I'm glad I caught them before they began to test the new mouthguard.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful...

...for the new minister at our church. Her induction ceremony was on Sunday evening. #1 was a server for the ceremony. I was very proud of him. I digress, though: our new minister is fabulous. She seems to be really interested in youth, which suits our family perfectly. This Sunday, she's going to join the youth group in a rousing game of lazer tag!

...for #1's curling season, which wrapped up yesterday. He had a great time, and it would appear that he is hooked. He's already talking about gathering together a team for next year.

...that I've managed to shake most of this terrible cold I've had for the last week. My energy level is beginning to pick up, and I no longer go into full-out panic mode if there isn't a box of tissues in my line of sight, so I guess I must be getting better.

...for #2's dedication to his Tae Kwon Do. He tested on Tuesday, and we find out tonight if he passed onto his first official belt. He was pretty nervous before his test, but he did a great job.

...that #3 brought home the right rubber boots after Beavers on Tuesday. We got an email this morning that one of the little guys went home with someone else's boots (a common occurrence at this time of year when just about every 4 - 11 year old wears standard issue Wal-Mart $8 wellies), so I quickly checked, and we're in the clear.

...for my Mp3 player, which I dug up and re-juiced on the weekend. I hadn't used it much through the winter, and I'm so glad to be using it again. I love the feeling of being totally immersed in my music. I've taken to wearing it when I mark books and papers in the evening. Now, that sure cuts down on distractions!

...that daylight once again shines through the kitchen window while we eat supper. I love when the days begin to get longer. I always look forward to that first morning of work after the Easter break, when my alarm is greeted by daylight.

...that April Fool's Day falls on a weekend this year. As a teacher, I consider this occurrence a special gift from God!

Have a great week, everyone!

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful...

...that I'm starting to see the light through my two whirlwind weeks of work. This bout of report cards and interviews is almost over. Whew!

...that I made it through half my parent-student-teacher conferences and no one has yelled at me yet.

...that I made it home last night. By the time we were finished interviews at about 8:00 p.m., a wicked spring blizzard had blown up. Many teachers on staff had decided to stay overnight in the small town in which I teach. I was determined, though, to make it home to my family. I have to admit that I am more than slightly resentful of these evening interviews. I work so many hours beyond school hours already that I really resent being told that I have no choice about these interviews. I have a six-year-old, dagnabit! He needs his mom around.

...that#3's jazz band is performing at a festival this evening. Of course, I'm unable to go see the performance (I have the last half of my interviews.), but I'm grateful that he has the opportunity.

...that I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow. I always get a new lease on life with a new haircut.

...for the church St. Patrick's Day Irish Stew night coming up on Saturday. It's a hoot! They even serve Guinness. I go to such a cool church!

...for what we hope to do after the church stew night. Main Man and I have plans to go to our favourite Irish night-time establishment and celebrate St. Patty's Day in true Irish fashion. We can't wait!

Have a great week, everyone. Thanks for hanging in there with me through the rough times.


9:20 p.m.
Addendum: I am ever so thankful to be all finished parent-student-teacher conferences. I'm enjoying a glass of wine, preparing for a bubble bath to celebrate. Hip-hip-hooray!

Idol Wisdom

#3's comment as Antonella sang her farewell song this evening:

"She's hot, but she sucks at singing."

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful...

...for my job. At this crazy, hectic report card time, I often forget how much I truly love it. There isn't a day goes by that these students of mine don't make me smile.

...for my husband. Again, he often bears the brunt of my busy-ness at this time, but I do truly appreciate how he takes up the slack with things around home, even though it's often a busy time for him, as well.

...for #1. Last night I was telling him that I was getting too much attitude from him, but, all things considered, we probably get a lot less than the average family.

...for #2. Somehow, without our realizing it, he has grown into the most responsible of the three. He is meticulous about getting his homework done, he is usually patient and guiding with #3, and he actually cleans his room when he is asked to. Who'd 'a' thunk it?

...for #3, who can make me smile through anything. Last night I was at the kitchen table, books spread all around, red pen in hand, when he came in and asked me for a snack. I snapped, "Please get your father to get you a snack. I'm too busy." Seconds later, he was by my side, asking in his wee voice,"Are you too busy for a hug?" Priorities, priorities...

...for my dog. I often have trouble sleeping at report card time. You know, you've all done it - you wake up and you stew about unfinished things, will you have enough time, will you find that paper you lost, blah, blah, blah... Anyway, I have found that if I can touch the warm fur of my dog, it relaxes me and helps me settle back into sleep. And luckily, he's a bit of a cuddle-pup, so it works well for him, too.

Have a great week, everyone, and take some time to ponder what you are thankful for.

"The Elephant Man"

Our family caught a little more than half of The Elephant Man on television Friday night. I had never seen it before. I suppose that's not especially surprising, considering it came out when I was in high school and lived out in the boonies, a hundred miles from anything resembling a movie theatre.

It was an awesome film. Main Man was actually heading out to do some errands after supper when the boys and I started watching it, and he stood with his coat and boots on at the door, entranced with the story. I bet he stood like that at least twenty minutes, unable to draw himself away. (Too bad it was on a no-commercial channel.)

What really amazed me about the experience of watching it with the boys, though, was their reaction to the way John Merrick was treated. #2 and #3 were particularly vehement in their contempt of the people who mistreated him.

After watching that famous scene in which Merrick shouts out, " I am not an animal! I am a human being! I...am...a man!", #3 spontaneously shouted out, "Good for you!" I actually think he had tears in his eyes.

It is extremely gratifying to think that my boys might actually "get it". You know, you work so hard to instill values, and you hope and pray that it might actually be taking hold. Sure is nice when a simple, unexpected time like this shows you that you might actually be on the right track.

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful...

... that our Oscar party is over for another year. After 17 years of putting on a certain type of party, you would think that it would be just a mere hiccup in your week, but it's always a major cough, almost a gag, no matter how successful. It's so much work.

... that Main Man is making more of an effort to turn lights off when he walks out of a room.

... that #1's braces are more manageable for him now. I was getting a little worried about the number of Advils he was popping.

... that #2 had a fabulous time on his Cub Scout ski trip, and that, unlike his father on his first foray onto a ski hill at age 10, he did not break his leg!

... that #3 had such fun on his first sleepover Saturday night. I think the family might be vegetarian. He said they had peanut butter soup for supper. He wasn't all that impressed with that, but had a great time otherwise.

... for movie nights with the girls. Even if the movie isn't all that great, it's nice to get out.

... for supper out with the girls. (Yes, I've had a big week!) Last night a group of us teacher-librarians got together and attended a fundraising dinner for the Willow Awards. It was an evening of delicious food, delightful conversation, and divine literature.

... that March has arrived, which must mean that spring is just around the corner. We did, however, have a major snowfall last night, so that corner may still be a little far away yet.

... that, even with report cards less than two weeks away, panic hasn't set in yet. I'm sure it will soon, though.

Have a great week, everyone!

Of Cabbages and Kings, Toilets and Lightbulbs

This li'l ol' Oscar party of ours tends to cause a fair bit of stress in the days leading up. Both Main Man and I are concerned that things be great for our guests. Notice I don't write that we wish they were perfect; we know that's impossible.

Often, we have at least one knock-down, drag-'em-out argument during this time.

***I must take a brief commercial break to point out that my philosophy of arguing in front of the kids is that it's fine as long as two conditions are met: 1) No name calling or swearing, and 2) they should also see you make up. ***

Thursday morning, Main Man went to use the washroom just before leaving for work. It irks him to no end when one of the boys forgets to flush, so - sure enough - he blows a gasket because the toilet isn't flushed.

I'm a little irritable myself, so I point out that whenever his little pet peeve happens, we all have to jump to make it better, but when someone leaves a light on in an empty room (my pet peeve), I must go and turn it off myself.

Suffice it to say - we discuss this at length all the way in the car as I drop him off at work.

After we arrive at his office and he jumps out (You all would have been very proud of me; as angry as I was, I still slowed down for him to get out!), #3's voice pipes up from the back seat of the car, "Okay, are we finished arguing about toilets and lightbulbs yet?"

A Glimpse into the Empty Nest

Main Man and I had the house to ourselves for five hours on Saturday evening. It felt like an out-of-body experience, almost as surreal as our Saturday evening out two weeks ago.

#1 was out babysitting for friends of ours.

#2 was on a weekend ski trip with his Cub Scout troop.

#3 was on his first sleepover.

I know what you're wondering - probably exactly what a girlfriend of mine asked last evening when I was relating this story to her - if we had the house to ourselves for five hours, what did we do for the other four hours and 45 minutes? ;-)

Anyway, as I'm sure you'll consider going down that particular road to be just ever-so-slightly TMI, I will turn the corner...

Main Man and I cannot complain in the least about our social life. Now that #1 can so capably babysit, we get out once every week or two - more than we have in years. Still, being alone together in the house is extremely rare - so rare that I can't remember the last time it happened.

Unfortunately, this rarity fell at a time when it was difficult to take full advantage. Our family was in the middle of preparations for probably our biggest night of the year - the Academy Awards.

Every year since we've been married, Main Man and I have hosted an Oscar party. We pride ourselves on certain traditions peculiar to this particular gathering. Every guest goes home with at least one doorprize. When an acceptance speech goes on too long or someone undeserving wins a statuette or a production number is just too bizarre (Remember Rob Lowe and Snow White?), guests delight in throwing marshmallows at the television. Every guest fills out a ballot indicating who will win each category - yes, every category, right down to best documentary short and best sound mixing - and throws two bucks in the pot. Whoever gets the most picks correct wins the pot. For second and third prizes, we provide donated restaurant gift certificates. We just don't consider it a successful party unless at least five or six guests are sitting on the floor. We simply don't have seating for everyone. And food! Well, basically, I don't sit down at all, as I'm kept busy keeping the kitchen smoking (so to speak) as the snacks and appetizers make their way guest-ward.

Anyway - I digress. Back to our evening alone together...

As I was saying, Main Man and I were busily cleaning house for our big night. I often say - if it weren't for the Oscars, my house would never be thoroughly cleaned!

We did take some time for ourselves, though. We ordered in from our favourite East Indian place and enjoyed a delicious meal of Samosas, Channa Masala, Butter Chicken, Basmati Rice, Naan, and Raita with a fine red wine. Our boys aren't big on East Indian, so it seemed like the perfect thing to do with them gone.

Still, as wonderful as our romantic meal was, it didn't take long for my heart to feel the stabs of hunger pangs. I really started to miss the boys. Finally, about 9:00, I gave in and phoned #1 to see how his babysitting job was going. He was doing just fine; he had tucked in the little girl he was looking after and had settled down to watch some tv. Main Man wouldn't let me call to see how #3 was making out at his sleepover. As it was his first, Main Man was worried I would make him homesick. But I missed him! Maybe I wanted him to be homesick!

Oh, not really... I know that isn't healthy.

Still, I've never really considered before then just how empty that empty nest can be.

Time for Some Comedy Relief

First ... a good joke.

And now ... a funny story about #3:

We have a college-age nephew who is studying engineering. He has really great marks and has worked on teams that have created some award-winning projects. I must admit that many of his projects are beyond my brain's comprehension capabilities.

One of his teams is developing a "space elevator". From what I understand it is a method of transporting materials to and from space without the use of a Space Shuttle.

#3 is fascinated by this idea. After listening with rapt attention, his little voice piped up, "Wow, that would be one long elevator ride! You'd get really sick of the elevator music!"

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful...

...that we are out of the deep freeze we were in this time last week. It's 25 degrees warmer today than it was last Thursday. Now this is manageable.

...that my dad and his wife made it to Hawaii safely. They had to leave a day later than expected due to a huge blizzard that shut down the airport, but Dad phoned last night, and they are safe and sound in their sunny spot now.

...that #3 has recovered. He had a terrible cold on Sunday and Monday. We kept him home from school on Monday, and Main Man (who stayed home with him) said that he slept pretty much all day. Keeping him home was obviously the right decision, as he is almost completely recovered now.

...for Chuck E. Cheese's. Although it may not be my idea of a good time, my boys (all four of them!) love it. It is almost always their choice when they are allowed to choose where to have supper on their birthday. As they bounce around entertaining themselves, I sit at our table and get homework done, so I guess everyone is happy.

...for Wal-Mart pizza. Last night, Main Man and I were fortunate enough to go out for supper - a fundraiser banquet thingy. The boys begged me to pick up a Wal-Mart frozen pizza for them on my way home from work. For $3.98, I can feed them something they love to eat. And you know, it isn't that bad, as frozen pizzas go.

...that my dryer, although it sounds as if it's on its last legs, is still working. Main Man tells me that, with the noises it's making, the motor will probably seize up soon, but it's been making those noises since before Christmas, so I figure every load I get done now is pretty much gravy at this point. We bought the poor old thing second-hand when we got married 17 and a half years ago, so I think it's probably time to let it die with dignity.

...that #2 has shown interest in another activity. Tuesday, he signed up for Tae Kwon Do, and he's very excited. His first lesson is tonight, and I hope he enjoys it as much as he thinks he will. (Aside: I have to tell you that I just don't quite understand these martial arts classes. There was a class in session when we signed him up, and it looked like these people were just doing the same motions over and over again. They were intent on their work and seemed to be getting something out of it, but it wouldn't be for me.)

Well, time to finish getting ready for work, I guess, speaking of doing the same thing over and over again. Have a great week everyone!

Even Old People Can Play Candyland

There are still a few Christmas stories left to tell. This is one of the cutest, I think.

#3 received the game "Candyland" as a gift, and he and I were getting ready to play a game Christmas morning. The rules state that the youngest player goes first. I read that to him and asked him who was the younger player between the two of us.

"I am, because I'm six!" he exclaimed.

"And I'm not, because I'm 41," I deadpanned.

His face suddenly clouded over, and he gasped, "You're so old!"

As soon as he said it, he realized that he may have hurt my feelings (though he actually didn't). Wanting to make things better, he took my face in his little hands and said, "I'm sorry - I didn't mean that in a bad way. I just want you around for a long, long time."

You know, it doesn't happen very often, but I was rendered speechless.