Well, the day yesterday didn't exactly turn out as planned.....it was better. The rain held off until late afternoon, so the kids and I ended up outside for most of the day. I made a dump run. YAY! Go ME! THEN, I actually got our shed in better order.(Notice I didn't say "cleaned out". That would be a task of gargantuan proportions.) I also planted 3 blueberry bushes, and surveyed the garden for it's up-coming tilling.

In taking time off from school work this month (we school through the summer months), we have noticed that a large amount of free time isn't sitting as well as it used to with Austin (13 yrs.). We don't like for the kids to have too much "screen time" (computer,t.v., nintendo) so we really limit that stuff. Austin still likes to read on his own, but I must say that the amount of time that he does this has greatly decreased since all things baseball have begun to crowd his mind. He needs more to do. What does he want to do? Play baseball. What else? Nothing as far as I can tell. So, what's a mother to do? At the moment, Dad is making it home for practices and things like that, but they don't get much time to do other "man-type things" (you know, like.....WORK). So, Race and I talked about it, and here is our short term soloution: A club house.... TO BUILD. The boys have been given our old chicken coop, which is just a frame of building with a roof that needs to be replaced. This weekend, we will be heading to Lowes for supplies, for Austin to begin working on it. He is thrilled. A Place of thier own! Now, there is an added bonus to this project for me: My avid reptile hunters now will have a place to confine all of thier critters (AWAY from the house). They have already started building shelves, and hauling aquariums and things out to the structure.

So, we will see how it goes. Austin is a very obedient, good natured child, and will do pretty much any work that I ask of him (without an attitude). He is also our chief "lawn man" all summer long. But I get the feeling that it's still-"Mom makin' me work". I think that he views it sort of like my hobby, instead of things that MUST be done. He only sees ME doing it, so he is thinking "Man, why can't you just be laid back like Dad!" LOL! What would YOU do??

The rain started late in the afternoon, and we got a call from Race to say that he was on his way home. When we knew that baseball practice was going to be cancelled, I made an executive decision, and CLEARED the schedule for the rest of the day. We didn't go to ANY lessons. We sayed home and had a really nice, home cooked family dinner. It was great, and very relaxing. We did our "High-Low" thing that we do at the dinner table. Everyone takes a turn and says thier "high" for the day, and thier "low" for the day,(dorky, but fun, and we've been doing it for the past 6 yrs.). The kids all said that thier "high" was having Dad at home.
It was a good day.
Cheers!
Melissa