Run your hands through your hair if you’ve just lotioned them with coconut oil.
Guess I better fix this before the Bulls game tonight…
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I have to type fast I think I heard someone wake up
Crap.
I was hoping to have time to write a good, long, funny entry (so maybe I should keep it short in that case) but I hear breathing and the shuffling of feet which can only mean people upstairs are awake. The breathing might be me. Yes.
This is officially the busiest summer on record. We have gone non-stop for the last two weeks and I rolled over and looked at my calendar at 6 am this morning and we don’t stop until the first week of JULY.
NO!! Now I hear actual footsteps! I hope it’s Henry, he’s less high maintenance. Nope, Rhys. He scares me to death. He’ll stand at the bottom of the stairs and hiss/whisper (hisper?),
“Maaaamaaa! Maaamaaa!”
and it’s so faint I’m not actually sure I’m hearing it, which makes me question my sanity. Again.
Anyway, I signed Henry up for a Lego/robotics camp without doing much research on it because a friend recommended it and I trusted her judgement and figured it would be fine. I Paypalled the guy my money and I think I just made up a new word, there. Mailed in Henry’s info and waiver form (how is he going to get hurt building a Lego robot with other 7-year-olds?!) and then my crazy brain started thinking. This was my train of thought: there are two guys running the camp and they have the same last name. How is this possible when gay marriage is illegal in NC? I have just enrolled my son into Mr. Garrison’s Lego Robotics camp and given them quite a sum of money and they will teach him to dance on a pole in a sequined bikini and furry legwarmers like I saw that guy do on YouTube (accidentally) and also, how to twerk, again, an accident but wow, that guy could do a split between two chairs, which he will fail at because he has no body fat. How am I going to tell Dave?
In reality, after READING THE WEBSITE it became clear that one of the alleged twerkers is a high schooler who has done Lego League for years and wanted to share his skills with kids who were just getting old enough to join Lego League. The other guy? His dad. Probably not a twerker, or a pole dancer or a former member of the Village People or any other wild stereotype.
But what if I had to sign that waiver so he could spin on the pole?
The Kids! The Kids!
“If you use a British accent, I’m not going to take your emergency seriously.”
Yes, I said those words this morning to Henry, when Sarah ran off with his Lego creation, nearly crushing it. No one flapping their arms hysterically and shouting in a John Cleese voice is going to get an eyebrow-raise of “something might be amiss” from me.
He has grown to love reading. YES YES YES YES YES YES to infinity. This was my number one goal for the year and it was achieved! If you go back in my blog, you’ll see me bemoan his distain for books and how he was drawn to electronics. Well, we extremely limited them and read to him incessantly and voila! We have a proficient reader and a book lover. He begs for extra chapters at night and not just to delay the inevitable “Time to close your eyes,” line, he actually loves the stories and can’t get enough. I think the crowning achievement came the other day when he realized he’d left his Nintendo DS in the van, yet when I looked in the rearview mirror, he was reading a Highlights magazine instead. I almost cried. Yes, I am that much of a nerd, and so proud my nerdiness is now shared by my eldest.
We’ve even gotten him to brush his teeth without fussing- we bought him an electric toothbrush. I remember my mom always said they were bad for your mouth. Maybe back in my day they were something of an amalgam between sander and brush, but today’s brushes seem legit. He and Rhys love those brushes. And I loved the concept so much too, I bought myself one. <–dork.
We’re about to leave for a playdate with our friend Pierce so I better wrap this up. I’m back in the blogging spirit (I hope!) because there’s so much to catch up on. For now, I leave you with a mustachioed Henry, a shy Rhys and a sweet Pierce.
Fun at the park!
Making Kombucha
I have a new love and its name is kombucha. It's a fermented beverage, dating back thousands of years. Yes, it kinda tastes like easter egg dye, but it's fizzy and delicious at the same time. And it's full of probiotics and helps right all the wrongs in your GI tract if yours is like mine (i.e.; not moving). I've drank it on and off for years, but recently got serious about drinking it routinely to see if it could help me feel better.
Here’s the “How to Make Kombucha” post! I bought my SCOBY here https://www.etsy.com/listing/58696758/kombucha-culture-mushroom-scoby-organic?ref=shop_home_active
Sprummer!
It’s officially sprummer and I am so excited! You know the season where one day you’re excited because you can wear a short sleeved shirt, but you have to settle for pants, the next day your fishing a heavy sweater out of the tupperware tote bin you thought you wouldn’t have to lay eyes on until next winter? And then SURPRISE! Just when you didn’t bother to shave your legs, the next day it’s 95*F outside! So you sweat in your jeans, or wear really low capris and sit with your ankles crossed and hope no one looks down.
I’ve gotten some cool and inexpensive things this spring to liven up my post-maternity wardrobe (yeah, she’s turning two and we’re not having anymore so it’s about time). I got a green 3/4-length sweater set from Ann Taylor, a bunch of tee-shirts from Target (love! But if you buy one with writing on it, go UP a size, they are not stretchy!), some shorts from Target, two pair of Lucky Brand sandals (Milan 2 – canvas and canvas/blue stripe – LOVE the latter), and a new whitish/creamish purse and some scarves to mix in with older pieces so they look newer. I think that’s it. Part of that was for Mother’s day, part was my “Teacher of the Year” award. *snicker*
I think the pollen is finally gone. Why did I type that? It’s like an automatic electronic groundhog burrowing in and cursing us with six more weeks of pollen. Maybe I should erase that.
So many things have happened since I last blogged I’m not sure where to start. Not huge things, just tiny little things that are hilarious, that I should record daily HERE instead of Facebook, where they’re lost forever. Lots of funny quotes from the kids, silly acts I’ve caught them committing, that sort of thing.
They’re all bursting with excitement because Grandma is coming up today to spend today through Wednesday or (I suspect) Thursday with us. I’m going to the Classical Conversations praciticum in Durham from Monday through Wednesday (so if you read this and I’ve never met you and you are going to be there – please introduce yourself!!! I’ll be the one that looks like me!) I’m only staying half a day. It says the second half is about Challenge and Henry is only going to be seven this summer. We may all be dead before he hits Challenge and he’ll be the first so…yeah. I’d rather spend the afternoon with my mom. When I say “we” might all be dead I mean all of us, not my mom. I realize that sounded bad; Jesus could be here within that time frame, you know? Not trying to kill you off. Or a plane could land on our house. We could be stampeded by buffalo as we drive down I-85. I could kill us with my cooking some day, I am always afraid of undercooking pork, that’s why our chops usually feel like cutting into frisbees.
I’ve gone to several CC meetings recently and met a lot of nice new ladies who will be joining us next year. I’m going to end this entry now so I can type up a new entry on what curriculums I’m using next year (and a bit about the practicum) in hopes it might help – or overwhelm, hopefully not! – and encourage and get them excited about next year’s homeschooling adventure!
NOTE: I fell directly asleep after I wrote this. And I wrote it at 6 am so if you read it’s first incarnation, it was full of errors! Fixed now.
The Sponge Retains
Well, some stuff stuck I am glad to say! We are reviewing Cycle 3 of Classical Conversations and Henry remembered the history sentence about the Mayflower Compact and the cute little boat hand sign his tutor, Mrs. Lori taught them. I LOVE the boat hand sign, I cannot express how much I love that silly boat. I used to make him do this over and over just to see his little fingers do the boat. This may be why he remembers it…hmm…
Getting All My Christmas Gifts from Amazon Next Year
I’m going to buy paper towels and toilet paper and give the kids the boxes.
Most. Awesome. Parents. Ever.
Sarah Speaks – and it’s All Boy
NOOOO!
My precious dolly is taking after her brothers in a big way. We’re having a nice Sunday breakfast and suddenly a large “TOOT!” escapes from under the table. It comes from Sarah’s chair. She immediately beams with pride and says,
“Oh yeah!”
Really? We need some tea cups, stat.
How can this dress-loving, girly-girl enjoy a good fart? Scandalous.
The Orchestra Improves!
Our little orchestra has been practicing and here are the fruits of our labors:
Today was week 23 of the program and there was a sense of urgency in the air, to spend time with those you will miss, to talk to those you haven’t seen much, to find the elusive tissue in your purse and avoid the dreaded pollen that was killing half the group. We had a great time. I can’t believe next week is our final week – then on to Cycle TWO!
