For Brett From Home (5/22/12)

Well, it has happened--I got computer help from my nine-year-old son. After seeing me struggle for a little while on the computer, Todd came in and fixed the problem for me. Don't ask me how it happened, but the desktop was rotated 90 degrees. Which means that working the mouse felt off as well. I'm still not sure how he knew the solution so quickly, but I was grateful that he helped me out before I got frustrated.

I was also paid a nice compliment on Ryan's behalf at school last week. The mom who comes in for Smiley Math (a once-a-week volunteer-run program that gives kids the opportunity to earn points by working out logic problems, etc.) chatted with me in the library. There was a calendar-related problem on their last worksheet, and she was impressed with the unique method Ryan used to solve the problem (relabeling the days of the week to calculate the question more quickly). She said Ryan was the only one who approached the problem differently and it really showed "thinking outside the box." I often get frustrated that Ryan goes through his work so quickly (and sloppily). She pointed that his desire to get done quickly helped him come up with an easier (and still correct) solution. It was a good reminder for me to look for the positive qualities in my children and not just be quick to criticize when things are not done my way.

I am finding it hard to eat up the food in the fridge and freezer before summer. I am simply not cooking like I do with you at home. (I would miss cooking more if it weren't for the baseball schedule.) My lazy protein has been cooking with eggs, quite often. A typical late breakfast or lunch for me is an open-faced fried egg sandwich with Cheddar on an English muffin. Mmmm. I have also been known to cook that for dinner when the boys eat at your mom's. It's also good as an after-the-boys-are-in-bed supper. It's good anytime of day!

I missed the roses blooming on the side of the house this year. I just didn't take the time to check on them. I didn't miss out on the hydrangeas. They are full of blooms and I have enjoyed cutting them and keeping a vase of them in the kitchen. I have vase full of beautiful blue blooms right now. I love them! I am also enjoying the gardenias. They don't last too long before they start wilting (inside or out), but they smell so sweet. I love them, too! I also love my pink Gerber daisies, though they are not producing as many blooms these days. I started quizzing the boys on the flowers I kept inside, just so they would know what some of Mommy's favorites are.

You'll never believe what I saw about two weeks ago: I drove by a young man rollerblading on Forest Rd. with his dog! After ten years of rollerblading with my dog in this neighborhood and a few more years in our previous neighborhood it was fun to see someone else enjoying this form of exercise.

I have been more cautious with Copper, though he has run off a few more times. Once, he ran off in the rain?!? But this last week has been good. I have also been trying to play Frisbee with him more, now that he will finally run for me. He gets so excited when he sees his toy come out. He doesn't even mind if the boys play too.

The wrens nested again in the very same spot. The babies just left the nest this afternoon. I think there were three fledglings. They were making a ruckus during my piano lessons. I explained to Todd and Ryan the conversations that were taking place between Mommy or Daddy Wren and the babies.
Mommy/Daddy Wren: Dinnertime, dinnertime, dinnertime. Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?
Babies: Food! Food! Food! Here we are! Here we are! Here we are!
Of course, it was much cuter when I was using little birdy voices to act it out. Todd, especially, liked it.
I was a little afraid of opening the garage door and moving the car out to go to baseball practice this afternoon. I didn't want to run over one of them. So I had Todd keep watch for me, and I think it worked out just fine. I have enjoyed watching the wrens this last week and it really made me miss you.

For Brett, From Becca (5/4/12)

This week has flown by for me. We continue our day-to-day routine. This week has been busy with field day activities for the boys. Todd was able to participate on two different days: once for third grade and once for fourth grade. Both boys participated individually in the hurdles. Todd got first place in the Third Grade boys race and Ryan got second place in the First Grade boys race. All of the classes were very competitive when it came to the Tug-of-War. That is my favorite event to watch. The three-legged race has always been favorite event to participate in, and I was pleased that both of the boys let me race with them during the parent participation portion of field day. I would even say that we did a pretty great job (except when Todd paused to say to hi to his spectator brother and friends when we were turning back around).

Ryan begged me to check him out of school after field day today. Many parents check their kids out. About half his class was gone. But I had things that I wanted to do at home. And I honestly think those low-work days when half the class is gone are some of the best. Ryan came home off the bus so cheerful and happy. He clearly had fun this afternoon. It made me feel good to hear him say, "Thanks for not checking me out from school." They celebrated Cinco de Mayo with some snacks and got to watch a movie. I am sure he wouldn't have had so much fun at home.

I enjoyed meeting with Todd's teacher about completing the Fourth Grade math book this summer. It may mean more work for me keeping up with his assignments and tests and encouraging him to continue to make progress. But what else will I be doing? I am also going to try to keep the boys reading this summer. They usually do a good job, but being away from home we will have to make a point to plan reading time into our activities. Vacations are great, but I don't want them to regress too much. And it would be great if they could advance even a little.

I finally had to turn on the air conditioner this week. I held off for as long as I could. There are some times of day when it's not so bad, but it's getting humid also. Today was especially humid. The sun wasn't so strong during Ryan's field day, but it was so humid that I still felt like I was melting.

We had a bit of a downpour last night. I had already been thinking it was time to check the gutters again, and last night confirmed it. Actually, last night I realized that I should have checked the gutters last week. I will work on cleaning them out this weekend. It will be a new experience for me.
Besides being here to clean out gutters and do all the rest of the outdoor maintenance, I also miss being able to call on you to be my bug killer. I had to kill a cockroach last week in the bathroom. I'm sure it would have been very funny to any onlookers. Although, if there were anyone around watching (and laughing) I am sure I would have enlisted their help.

The sago palm is starting to look kind of freaky in an almost obscene way. I'll post a picture later. I'm sorry if you are disappointed about it splitting.

Yesterday the boys and I finally reached our goal of reading scriptures 20 days in a row (110 days this year). We almost didn't make it a couple of times, but we were determined to succeed. We've only reached 20 days in a row once before. We reached our 10 days in a row goal twice before, and I rewarded the boys with a Dairy Queen trip. This time I told the boys they had to reach 20 days before they could earn their DQ trip. If we make it to 25 days in a row they will earn a movie night. On our way for ice cream yesterday I remembered the new frozen yogurt store, Top This. The boys were excited about trying it. It was not as "heavy" as DQ and the boys got to pick out their own toppings. It totally hit the spot.

I made some lentil soup this week. It was so delicious. Ryan loved it too. I will definitely be making it again. Do you think you would eat it? I also made kale chips. They kind of taste like a broccoli, but are light and crispy and almost disintegrate in your mouth. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it.

Copper ran off on me again this morning even though he got a nice golf course run last night. This is the first time he has run off when I let him out for his morning pee before school. He didn't even wait for us to take him to the bus. I was scrambling to get the boys ready for school and I was trying to get myself ready to attend field day. I couldn't start looking for him until after I got the boys on the bus. I drove around the usual streets with no luck. I asked Mark if he could keep an eye out for Copper while I was at field day, but I decided to stop by the house again. I was just in time to receive a phone call from a woman on Kildare who found him. I don't know what he was doing over there or what prompted him to leave this morning.

I picked up a German book from Goodwill about two weeks ago. I've been flipping through it from time to time. I would love to be able to teach myself enough German to be able to get by on my next trip (2013??).

I'm happy to hear that you seem to be doing a little better on the trail. I really don't want you to give up. I think it you can just get through Virginia it will be a little easier. I'm so proud of you!

For Brett From Home (4/24/12)

I miss having you around to share my little nothing-happenings. However, it has been kind of fun recording these daily thoughts. Years from now it will be interesting to see what concerned me and what I thought about.

I mentioned on the phone that the sago palm is splitting. It is forming two cones. It isn't the sago palm right by the mailbox as I first told you. It is the one closest to Bobby's yard.

The lawn mower is working well enough that your dad was able to use it today. It still has troubles though. I'm not sure what the diagnosis is, but the motor keeps dying. I blew off the back patio and your dad successfully mowed our yard yesterday. Hooray! Hopefully the oaks are almost done dropping. I will make a point to check the gutters and clean them out soon.

We finally got some good rain last Tuesday. We needed it. It was pouring hard for at least a half hour right after the boys got on the bus. I would like to have been curled up in bed, but no such luck. It was kind of a cozy, snuggle-up rain. I don't suppose you have that same feeling about rain these days.

We got more rain on Saturday. Since then the temperature has dropped, and it has been quite nice, although windy. The wind chimes were so loud on Sunday when Jen was over that she shut the sliding glass door. She said she felt like she had to yell to talk to me. I was thinking about you all day today wondering how cold you have been. I heard that had some snow in New England.

The spring weather has been beautiful lately. There have been a few days (today included) when I would really like to have driven the Mustang. I'll just have to wait until you're back in the fall and make a point to drive it then.

The boys are still not getting to bed with any regularity. It would drive you crazy. There was one day last week when Ryan just didn't wake up on his own. He was completely out of it, and I felt so bad for his tired little body that I let him sleep in until 7:45am. I finally had to go in and wake him up. He was thrown off by the fact that he had slept in past the time that the bus is supposed to come. It made him a little grumpy until he discovered that I had decided that all of the boys would just be car riders that morning.

I have also not been going to bed well (big surprise!). I am not staying up past Midnight; my bedtime has been more like 11:30pm. But the six or seven hours of sleep I get each night just hasn't been enough. It is starting to wear on me. In fact, last week I had a dream where I came across an alligator snapping turtle (which didn't look like a real alligator snapping turtle--its shell was covered in fuzz...). I knew that the turtle was quick and vicious and I had to move it out of the road (I'm not sure why...). But I was simply too weak and tired to get it out my way. I wasn't just tired in my dream. I was weak and tired in real life, even though I was sleeping, and it carried over into my dream.

In fact, I have been remembering a lot of my dreams lately. Some of them are good dreams. Many of them are spurred by real-life situations. (Anne had recently told me about coming across an alligator snapping turtle in the middle the road.) I had a dream where I attended an end-of-the-year function at the elementary school. There was some drama in the dream, but what stuck out to me was the table of desserts we got to sample. One of the desserts served was pineapple upside-down cupcakes. I had recently seen a recipe for them in my recipe binder (in real life and in the dream) and was so excited to be able to try them. I woke up wanting to bake them, but have had to hold off because we still have too many sweets around the house from Easter and now Todd's birthday.

Monday was Todd's birthday. It may take me a while to get used to him being NINE years old. We celebrated yesterday and today. I will probably let him invite a friend or two to do something fun this Saturday as well. On Friday your dad took Todd and me out to dinner (Chinese) for our birthdays (even though mine is still a month away.) On Sunday we had the whole family over for cake and ice cream. Todd got a few presents from the family. Yesterday morning I let Todd open the few presents from me before breakfast. I made him orange ricotta pancakes, which he had requested the night before. And I baked chocolate chip cookies for him to share with his class at school. The boys had baseball after school and I had chorus practice tonight, so we didn't really do anything to celebrate in the evening. All in all, we kept it simple, but I think Todd was really happy with his birthday.

Baseball is still going strong. I feel like I haven't seen very much of their games. Last week I stayed home from Todd's two games in order to put Ryan to bed earlier. When your dad took us to dinner on Friday he told me that Todd had been hit by the ball during his game the night before. I asked Todd to show me. He has a huge bruise on his thigh! He never mentioned it when he came home that night. (It was so late that I had to hurry him along just to get him in bed before 10:00pm.) And he never mentioned it the next morning before school. Poor tough guy.

Last week it seemed like Copper was not keeping up with me very well on his walks. Last night was a completely different story. He was so full of energy. I asked your mom if we could give him a run yesterday evening just as it was getting dark. Copper ran harder than I have seen him run in a while. When I got back I told your mom that I was sure that he would have run away last night without that run. This morning he was in the mood to run as well. I'm glad that I was able to give him his morning roller-blading run. He had no trouble keeping up with me. Since the morning was crisp and beautiful I made sure that I went a little longer for him.
The other day I mentioned smelling the honeysuckle vines on the golf course. The flowers smelled so sweet last night that I commented on them. Todd corrected me and informed me that they were jasmine. I looked it up on Wikipedia last night. He was right, of course. And clearly I know nothing about flowers!

I am looking forward for your return for Copper's benefit possibly more than mine. We sure try to do our best with him, but it's not the same. On Sunday he did something that he hasn't done in a very long time. I had gone to Publix the day before and bought a baguette. When I came home from church all that I could find of it was the plastic bag it came in torn in pieces. He ate the entire thing. Luckily it doesn't look like it made him sick. Thank goodness he left Todd's birthday cake alone. It was cooling on a rack, covered with a dish towel.

I have been getting my fill of chick flicks while you have been gone. Lately I have been crushing on Zac Efron. Yes, he is quite young and was a star on Disney's High School Musical. But he has grown to be quite the good-looking man. I'm looking forward to seeing the latest chick flick he starred in.
Wishing you were here to hug and kiss on. Hope you're doing well.
Much love from home.

Why Don't People Skate?

Seriously, why not?

I hate to run. In fact, I typically view exercise of any sort as a chore. But I will skate: specifically in-line skating or Rollerblading.

I like to feel the wind blowing against my face as I move along. I like the smooth, fluid motions. Remember, too, how it can feel like dancing? I love coasting down a hill, quickly skating from side-to-side, imagining that I am skiing. Occasionally, I like trying to see how long I can balance skating on one foot. I would like to try more "tricks" and practice skating backwards, but I am too chicken to do much of that on the road with my dog, where I do most of my skating.

Doesn't that sound like fun? People often tell me that it looks fun. And it is.

But don't let the fun fool you. It is a workout, too. I come back from my skate sweating, with my heart-pumping and with legs that feel tired from good work. I like that you can take it easy or really push yourself to move and work hard. I like that I can work hard without getting a cramp. (Did I mention I hate running?) I like that my dog gets a better workout when I skate, too. He is still panting from our outing. That's a good thing. He is more content when he's had time to be active.

So why don't I ever see people skating--with or without a dog? I see people walking, running, and biking all the time. I hear friends talk about Zumba and going to the gym. But I don't know another person who skates. (With the exception of my neighbor who just started skating me once a week after seeing me skate with Copper in the mornings.)

Is it because you don't have good skates? Invest in them. I am sure you have spent more on your running shoes, your bike, or your gym membership over the years than I have on a good pair of Rollerblades. I have had my Rollerblades for about 13 years. While I (rather, Brett) have replaced the wheels a few times, replaced the brake (from Brett's own unused skates), and have glued the boot back into the frame more than once, my skates have served me well. I have happily used them up and buying a new, good quality pair of skates is a priority for me this year.

Perhaps you feel foolish? I still have moments (like today) when my balance is tested and I have to do the big arm wave to stay in control. No big deal. Copper and I do great skating together, but occasionally he catches a whiff of something and has to check it out. Now.

Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when they see this woman skating with her golden retriever: "Does she think she's twelve?" or "Aawww. How sweet." or maybe, "Good for her."? I bet I wouldn't get such an enthusiastic wave from the school bus driver who passes by if I were running.

Who skates anymore?
I do. And I'm proud to say it.
Won't you join me?

Draft from 2011: Baseball Ends, Summer Begins

I have a few posts that I started (some from a loooong time ago) and never finished. They are saved as drafts; some are very short and some are nearly finished. I am going to finish and post some of them from time to time, just to review what you may have missed. This is a post from 2011 (the year I didn't blog!).

All this draft had was a title and these photos.

We are in the middle of baseball season right now. It is a hard time for me. Between chorus practice on Monday nights, piano lessons on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and Cub Scouts/church on Wednesday nights--adding baseball to the mix makes me feel a little out of control. I complain about it quite a bit during the four months of the season. But I continue to let my boys sign up because they really enjoy playing, I think it's good for them to play on a team and learn to work with new people-kids and adults alike, and it's only four months, right?

But, I am glad when it is over and we get our life back. I love the slow and easy summer day these photos represent. It gives me hope that we will make it through this baseball season, just as we have the others, and I will be able to relax and enjoy time my boys again.

For Brett, From Home (2/24/12)

I have a confession to make. Maybe I'm not doing such a great job taking care of Copper. Last night I took him for a ride with me to the baseball field. (Good Hun.) Then, somehow in the unloading of boys, shoes, equipment, purse, who-know-what-else . . . Copper never took the opportunity to get out and . . . I shut the door, with him still inside. (That's how ashamed I am. I had to use tiny print.) I think he just settled down and took a nap. Between getting the boys bathed and bedded, I didn't miss Copper. By the time things were quiet I still didn't miss him, thinking he was curled up somewhere. It wasn't until I went into the garage to do some laundry (more than two hours later--Bad, Bad Hun) that I saw him sitting up looking at me through the window. Poor boy. I felt so bad that I tried to make it up by throwing the Aeorobie, but he quickly got bored with it. The window had been down a few inches, and he didn't seem traumatized. I think I probably felt worse than he did. In fact, this afternoon when I went to leave for the grocery store, you should have seen Copper jump at the chance for another ride.
Sorry. We really are trying.

I was watching Ryan playing catch by himself this afternoon in the back yard. He has actually gotten better. Todd was inspired enough by his improvement that he invited Ryan to play catch with him. They played (unimpressively) for, I don't know, maybe a whole 3 minutes!

I sometimes think I am too nice to solicitors. I stayed on the phone with a girl this evening for about 10 minutes. She was very nice, and I was nice back. I let her describe some of their products. I declined, so she described some other options. I declined, so she described some other products. At this point (actually prior to that point) I should have just said, "I'm not buying nothin'!" But I didn't, and it took another two minutes for her to get the point. Now I feel worse for wasting her time than I would have if I were a little more rude, i.e. firm, in the beginning.

You would be proud of me. I attempted to fix another problem by myself. The shower curtain rod in the hall bath has been driving me crazy for months. It just rests and rolls on top of the ledge of the tub walls. I can never seem to extend it and get it to keep a tight fit. So, I bought a new rod today. (Way to show initiative!) I looked at the instructions on the new rod and thought (Did you catch that? I thought about it.), "Hmmm. I wonder if I've been trying to extend and tighten the old rod incorrectly. It might still work." I took myself to the bathroom and successfully (we'll see how successfully after a couple of weeks) extended and tightened the old rod. I don't know whether to feel proud that I fixed my own problem, or stupid that I didn't know how to tighten a shower rod without instructions. (Please don't say it; I already know what you're thinking!)

Thanks again for my Valentine's bowl. It is great, and I have already used it quite a bit.

It's surprising how many white Chevy trucks are on the road. I look for you in each one.

The Difference Between Baseball and Softball - by Ryan

Do you know why softballs are bigger than baseballs? Because girls are badder at hitting the ball than boys. So when they're hitting the softball with a thin bat then they can still hit the ball. Boys are the best at hitting - like me. I'm good at it.

Our First Season of Baseball (2009)

Last spring I hesitantly signed Todd up for baseball. I can't say I regret it. But neither can I say I always had the best attitude. I was nervous about how the baseball schedule might disrupt our afternoon and evening activities of homework, piano lessons, free time, and most importantly, family dinner. It all worked out (thanks to help of extended family many-a-night), and Todd had a great time. However, with baseball season approaching in mid-February, I find that I am feeling that same sense of dread--especially with two boys playing this season.

Both boys are looking forward to the season starting. I need to keep reminding myself that it will all work our fine, just as it did last year. I know that I will have to rely on Oma and Papa to help out even more this year since both my piano lessons and the number of baseball players in our home have doubled. I am so thankful to have grandparents so close, and I am thankful that they are looking forward to being involved with the boys sports (probably more than I am, to be honest).

So, to remind myself that it wasn't so bad, let's take a look at all the fun we had last year.

First team meeting in uniform before Opening Ceremonies.

Todd takes his running seriously.

The boys had a blast on Opening Day with the inflatable slides, cake walk, trampoline, and more! I didn't love spending the money that I did, but....I guess it's for a good cause, and the boys really had a fun time.

Thank goodness for an active and helpful Oma!

Ryan often got bored being a spectator. If he wasn't able to find some kids to run around and play with he was usually sitting in someone's lap.

Todd took playing baseball seriously, and learned a lot more about the game last year.

Patiently waiting his turn, and keeping a close eye on the progress of the game.

Good job, Todd!

End-of-the-year team party.

So proud of his trophy!

Hurrah! It's over! (My sentiments--Todd probably felt otherwise.)