Game day

It was gorgeous outside today. Much too pretty to be stuck inside all day. We called a half-day of school, and played the rest of the day!


Jack and I took a beautiful drive out to Thomasina's house, to pick up a few extra pieces that we needed for Savannah's pirate crewman costume. (Of course Thom had what we needed!) The drive was breathtaking, and Jack pretty much sang and talked the whole time. Unfortunately Thom was under-the weather- so I begged her to just stash the goods outside on her car, and we'd swing by and get them without bothering her......anymore. There are very few people you can ask to do stuff like that. Thank goodness for sisters!

The rest of the day was spent playing games. I am serious. There were outside games of "My Land" (I dunno anything about this one), there was laser tag in the woods,and baseball. There were also inside games of Risk, Monopoly, and Ping-pong. It was a great day. Maybe not so much in the way of traditional education, but there is something very right about a family who can just enjoy one anothers company. And we really had a great time hanging out with one another today. It was a nice break.

We put together Savannah's costume. This is her last year to go Trick or Treating, and oh, how she mourns having to give it up. She is my child who revels in the imaginations of childhood, and while her logical mind tells her otherwise, she would love to BELIEVE forever. Which is all wonderful,when balanced, but lets face it no one wants a 22 year old trick-or treater showing up at their door! LOL! Anyway, she intends to go out with a bang and collect mountains of candy this year. She is going as a Pirate ships mate, and she did her costume all by herself, and it really IS adorable. Maybe next year we can throw a Halloween party for their friends, after all Halloween IS Austin's birthday!! Jack is going as a ninja. Easy.

We can hardly wait to see mam-maw, pap-paw, the aunts, uncle, and cousins tomorrow. Em is having us all out to her house, and then on to Trick or Treat. Who knows, maybe we'll start a new tradition!

I heard from Race, and all is well. We are missing him so much, and I am glad that we will have something out of the ordinary to do this week, with the family.

Oh- by the way. I am toying with the idea of going totally brunette! I have to get my hair done next week, what do you think? Be honest, I can take it. Well, I can take it BEFORE I get it done, but for future reference I die a thousand deaths if anyone says anything negative AFTER I've had it done. So, speak now!

G'night!
Melissa

Late pictures from this summer!

All set for hiking and camping with dad!














And not to be outdone, the feminine side of the group!




















Tree frog, meets Jackson. A match made in heaven!




















Jackson and his mega-horseshoe crab at mam-maw and pap-paw's beach house.

AWwwwwwwwwwwww! Here he is, all 9 years of him! Can you see that little leopard tucked under his arm?
The writer's corner
Savannah on her way to the Children's Theatre dress rehearsal, this summer. She had such a wonderful time, and she can't wait to do more acting this summer. They did the Jungle Book, as a musical, and it was SO impressive!
Her make-up!

Welllllllllllll..............I looked at all the blogger hoopla about the blogger beta. And since they were going to make us switch anyway, I went ahead and did it. The formatting, editting and stuff is a lot easier, and it is much more user friendly. But now I am getting a lot of traffic from google searches. All I can say is THANK GOD I didn't spell out H**ters!!!!!!ACK!!!!! Someone actually found my lil' ole blog by typing in the search words, "Jim@@y Cracked Corn" and someone else put in "Ph@asant bait". BWAHAHAHA! Anyway, the whole commenting thing has been a pain for the last few days. It's been really touch and go. How is everyone else dealing with the switch?

We had a great time at church today. The kids had a youth event at a nearby orchard this afternoon. They went for a hay ride, then they hit the corn maze, and there was some sort of apple sling-shot. They had a blast. When I picked them back up, they each had a bag of apples, a pumpkin, and were chowing down on pizza. Jack and I ran around running errands and made a stop by the pet store for him to browse. he loves to do this, as this particular store has an amazing selection of reptiles and amphibians. He could browse to his hearts content. He said, "Mom, isn't it so cool when you can go to the pet store and look at stuff that you've ACTUALLY CAUGHT?"

I am feeling pretty tired, beat up, and worn down the last few days. So, I am heading for home. The kids and I heading to Mom and Dads for a bit, just as soon as I can line up care for the pets here. Our Wonderful Pet Sitter girl is out of town, so this always creates havoc. That poor girl just doesn't realize how important she is to our happiness!

Anyway, that's about it. I may post some random photos later, (just so you are not left with that one sl^t picture in your mind!!) LOL! Actually these are some old photos that I had wanted to put up, but just hadn't gotten around to it. It'll also give me a chance to try out the new blogger-beta picture upload!

G'night!
Melissa

You just never know....

This morning I get a phone call.
It was Race's mom.

Me: "Hello?"

Race's mom: "Well, hey there! I didn't know if I would catch you at home or not. Thought that you might have to work today at your new job!"

Me Internally: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
Me: (stammering, stuttering)
"Ohhhh...yeah....about that....I thought that your internet was down!!"

Race's mom: "Oh, it is. But I called my friend in FL. and had her read it to me."

GULP.

Sooooooo.........hello to all Race's mom's friends in Florida! And thank heavens I have such a wonderful mother-in-law, who saw the humor in my little joke! She suggested that I send him a pin-up! (GASP!!!) I'm SHOCKED!!!

Wow! You guys are too nice about the picture! I thought that it was hysterical! My dumb hair dryer laying in the floor, my construction paper name tag, and that dorky pose all crooked!! But, hey thanks for the compliments! And don't forget, my YOUNGEST is now 9, so I actually DO have a little more time to devote to myself than I ever did when they were little. I started working out with race, in order to spend more time with him, and lo and behold, I LOVED it! The program that I use is from "The Body Sculpting Bible for Women". I can't say enough good things about this book. It totally educated me on how to make the most of my precious time working out and eating! Anybody can do it. AND as an added bonus, working out has totally regulated my hormonal swings. Seriously, every woman should lift weights.

Austin had a friend over to spend the night last night. They camped out in the woods down by the creek. I thought that it was kind of funny though. These 2 scouts built a fire, roasted various food items, ate junk from MRE's and then settled into their sleeping bags, to..........WATCH A MOVIE??? Apparently the friend just purchased himself a video ipod with his summer job earnings. Techno-scouting?? Would Baden-Powell approve?

As an aside, yesterday at lunch, I went to fix the kids something to drink.(Read: Pretending to be a nice Mom in front of Austin's friend). I say, 'O.K., well we have iced tea, milk , or water. What would you like to drink, Sam?" Sam says, "Iced tea please". I reach for the tea, and Jack scrambles from the table, throws his body between me and the jug of tea in the fridge and screams, "DON'T GIVE HIM THE TEA! I POURED SALT IN IT!!!!"

*blink, blink.

"O.K., Sam, would you like milk, or water?"

Sigh. WHY does he do things like that?

My 24 hrs. as a H**ters girl.....

Don’t judge me.

First of all, this is one of those posts, where you try desperately to remember all of the people whom you have given your blog address to.

First. Some History:
For the past 8-10 years, Race and I have had a standing argument over H**ters Restaurant. He loves to bring it up when he has nothing better to do. He doesn’t even GO there ….he just likes to argue with me about it. And he LOVES to get me hopping mad, and then say something like, “Sometimes, you are just too easy”. (Did I mention the 10 years?) Now. I’m not out picketing in front of H**ter’s, mind you, but what really gets me is the whole- “It’s just a good place to eat….nothing more. They just have really great wings.” I REALLY hate that. Just say it. “Men go there to stare at b**bs and eat a $10 hamburger”.
Well, you can do that at home, eat a better burger, and save 10 bucks.
Anyway, you get the picture. YEARS of me falling into his trap, bickering away, and then to have him walk off laughing.

8-10 Llloooonnng years pass……………........

The day before Race leaves to go overseas this last time, he once again, draws me deep into the great depths of the “H**ters Dispute”, and the following words were exchanged:

Me: “So, you wouldn’t care if I worked there?”
Race: “No, way. The money would be good”
Me:”OH, REALLY??!”
Race: “Yeah. But, besides, hon……I don’t think that YOU could get a job there.” (snicker)


Ahem. Well, by golly, that sounded an awful lot like a challenge.

I know, I know…..I should have better things to do. I actually DO have better things to do. And while it was out of character for me…..I JUST.COULDN’T.LET.THIS.ONE.GO.

My brain began to feverishly develop a plan. If I could win…… just this once…..if I could, I would NEVER, and I mean NEVER have to win another argument with Race as long as I lived.

Yes, yes…it would work……it was almost too easy. I began to weave bits of a story. Dropping tiny hints on our limited phone calls, and going into slightly more detail in emails. I was baiting him like a poacher baits pheasants in somebody else’s woods.

Ohhhhh…I was crafty. I was sly. I lied through my teeth. Oh so careful was I
.”I didn’t think that I would actually get hired. I only applied because I thought that it would be funny. I was only going to work for 2 weekends.”, I lied.
I covered all the bases. It was all very convincing. I wanted to add in things like, "The kids are at the kitchen table eating more hot wings". But no. had to be careful. If I overdo it, he'll be on to me.

The words of Scarlett O’Hara kept haunting me, “Now aren’t you a cool lie, Mellie.”

A cool lie indeed.

But it would take more than lies to pull this off.

It was going to take some help from good ole’ @bay and some poor nameless H**ter gal in Texas who was selling her uniform. She’d had enough of feeling like a piece of meat every day and gone on to bigger and better things. And good for you, nameless H**ter gal. Thanks for the uniform and the ultra quick shipping. I honestly don’t know how you girls wear that tiny, wretched uniform every day. I can honestly say it is the most uncomfortable thing I have ever put on. Seriously.

The last thing that I sent was the picture, with a lie saying that it was taken before my first training day. I added stuff about how awful my day was, and how I didn't even get to keep the tip money, because I was still in training.

He read it. He saw it. He bought it. For 24 hrs, as far as he knew, I was a H**ters girl.

He called.
As it turns out, he, in fact DOES NOT want his wife working serving up hot wings to the hungry men at H**ters! (GASP!)

“Well,what should I do?”, I asked innocently.

“Well, for starters….don’t go back!”, he said emphatically.

*A pause*


“I got you.” I said.


Victory. It is mine. MINE!!! I have won. This is big for me. REALLY big.

I never win. But this time, I got him. I actually got him.

Race laughed. Yep, I got him.

The picture that secured my victory can be viewed Here I know that the suspense is killing you! LOL!

Yes, I do believe that I have taken the homeschooling blogs to a new low. And, yes mom, I do have better things to occupy my time.

The uniform is now available for a small fee, and appropriate documentation.

It is finished. I am triumphant. Don't judge me.

Love you, Race!!!!!

Homeschoolin' at H**ters!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIESUE!!!!

Don't fall and break a hip! ;-)

So, there was once this bad thing I did...

I had ballet class today. As I stood there with my hair pulled back in a high, tight pony-tail, staring into the mirror, concentrating on my turn out and whatnot, it took me back to my childhood.

I've told you before that I took dance for a long time. When I was about 10 years old, my class was a bit of a mixed bag. There were several other petite girls, a girl with a glass eye, and there was Big Val. Besides Big Val and the girl with the glass eye, the rest of us girls were at about the same ability level. We were also about the same height/weight, and had the most dancing experience, so we were always in front. This was all fine and good, and as it should have been. BUT.

There was Big Val. She was a big burly gal. At the time she seemed to be about 6 ft tall, but that could be an exaggeration from my then young mind. Ohhhhh she was big, alright. And clumsy. Her brown, thick, curly hair was always cut short, and she ALWAYS had a snarl on her lips. She had large round glasses that would always slide to the end of her nose.

One could always expect to be hit with one of her flailing arms if you came anywhere near her during practice.

Our sweet dance teacher would show us a new step, and we would all begin to practice it. Then one at a time, we would try our best to imitate what she had done.Big Val's steps always looked the same. NO MATTER WHAT. And it didn't look good. NOT.AT.ALL.

Now, I know what you're thinkin. You're thinking that I am being mean to this poor , big, awkward ballerina. Well, you can just stick that sympathy in your pocket, and save it for someone else, because Big Val doesn't deserve it. You see, Big Val beleived that she was ......A STAR. If you accidently came near her during dance, while we were practicing, you would undoubtedly get a blow to the face from one of those bohemoth arms flying about. ANd then she would snap around, come so close to you that you could smell her hot, poridgy breath, and bellow down to you in her man-like voice, "WHY DON'T YOU LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOIN??!! I'M TRYING TO DANCE!!! You're SO DUMB!" It became clear the next year, that in order to preserve the posterity of the class, and indeed the school, it would be the job of those of us in the front row, to keep Big Val from dancing her way up front during performances. The music would start, and here she would come, from the back row, flailing and thrashing about in all her glory. We would have to sort of squeeze together,in mid dance, to keep her from getting by.

Our sweet teacher tried to help her, but Big Val was the same size as our sweet teacher, and would snap back at her in the same way she did us. She WOULD NOT be corrected.Ohhhhh....she was a mean one. We all feared her.

One day my best friend J. had to catch a ride home with Big Val and her mother. I'll never forget seeing poor little J, sitting in the back seat all quiet, kinda slumped over, staring back at me from the back window. She rode out of the parking lot with Big Val and her mom just yelling at one another.

For several years in a row, nothing changed. Big Val held us in a sort of gripping fear, every dance class. And she never got any better. EVER. And she hated us.

One night, after a particularly grand string of performances, and several curtain calls (Again, this is as I remember it), we all headed back to the dressing rooms backstage. J. and I were the very first to reach the dressing room. The room would be strewn with 100's of costumes and all manner of dance shoes and tights. There were bags, upon bags of personal items which every girl must bring in case something is lost, torn, or stolen. And it smelled of sweat. It was in this massive pile of smelly dancing perephinalia, that we were to change out of our costumes, and into our going home clothes.

J. and I were electrified with excitement from our performances. We were giggling and talking as we hurridly changed before the mass of other girls arrived to do the same.

Then, it was as if a light shined down from somwhere above. I don't know where. Maybe it was a broken light from the dressing room,...or perhaps it was something more. But there it was.......... a beam of light shining right down on Big Val's panties.

We saw them simultaneously, and we acted with lightening quickness, as if this spontaneous moment had been planned out in a back room for days. So smooth and so cool were we. In a nano second, Big Val's giant panties were dangling on the end of a clothes hanger, being held by my partner in crime. We began to hear the other girls coming. We must act quickly! Big Val could come in at any moment, and she would crush us. She would hold us down and suffocate us.It would take several strong men to get her off of us. Our hearts were pounding. Where could we put them?? WHERE??

Now I'm not saying it was Providence or anything, I'm just telling you how it went. Again, the answer was revealed. Above our heads a ceiling tile was loose, leaving just a small, dark space exposed.Oh, but our short legs be damned!! We began tossing the panties up furiously, over and over. Each time retreiving them again from the floor with the coat hanger. And all of a sudden, the door burst open and in walks Big Val.Just before the screams left our lips, as if by some miracle.....(eh?)....the panties were gone, and there we stood innocently with a coat hanger in our hands. The enormous skivvies were in the ceiling.

As we left the dressing room, Big Val's mother was yelling, (They always yelled at one another), "VALERIE JEAN! WHO IN THE WORLD WOULD GO AND STEAL SOMEBODY'S UNDERPANTS?!" She just kept yelling it over and over in a quick,nasaly voice, not unlike Joy on "My Name is Earl".

I'll never forget driving out of the parking lot that night, and seeing Big Val walking to her car in a big, bright orange tu-tu, with her tennis shoes on. I sat quietly, watching Big Val yell at her mother. That night, in my 10 yr old mind, all seemed right with the world.

And may I not to this day, enter into that most terrifying of thoughts. May I not think for even the faintest of seconds the horrors that would lay in store for me if Big Val ever finds out who hid her panties. I would imagine that the evidence still lies there, cold and dark in the ceiling of S.S. High School.

To My Nasty Annonymous Commenter:

I'm sorry that my funny driving post upset you. And doesn't it just scare the hell out of you that we are also legal, permit-carrying, gun-toters?! (insert evil laugh, here) Go sell your nastiness elsewhere. (And for Pete's sake, lighten up a little. Nobody likes a Negative Nancy)

Pumpkin time

We baked Halloween cookies on Saturday. I have used the same homemade cardboard cut-outs for years. They require a little more time , but it seems to be a matter of tradition, now. The kids like the shapes, and think that we HAVE TO use those for Halloween!
Austin was too big to be bothered with the rolling, the cutting and the baking, but he was right there to do some decorating! Note the expressions on their faces. Why must boys act like that when a camera comes out??? Seriously. Why do they do that?
Here is Savannah, with some of her finished cookies. Ummmm.......she did mostly cats, for some reason.
Me and Jack, carving his pumpkin................because he just couldn't wait another day. Please notice that Jack is wearing his coat..........it's COLD.....and dark. I am only wearing my running clothes, because I hadn't had time to change due to all the baking, decorating, and carving. It was COLD out there( which accounts for the deer in the headlights look, I guess)!! 

Race 'n Car Drivin'

I love the way that Race drives.

He spent many an hour, back in his Trooper days, teaching Defensive Driving courses to fellow officers. And of course, with all the job changes in this same field, the driving experience and training has reached epic, movie-making quality.
So- I love the way he drives.
Riding with him, has taught me to be a different sort of driver as well. I’d say that we are a house of aggressive drivers. Not aggressive in the mean, violent sort of way……but more in the-- “That’s o.k., stay where you are…….I got it……I’ll do the thinkin’ AND the drivin’……..just stay in your lane please, and try not to swerve.”---type of driving.
And since Race will be the one teaching our soon-to-be 15 yr old….I’d say we’ve got another “thinkin’” driver on the way. Race can hardly wait to put him through the cones in reverse without dropping below 35mph.!!
We believe whole-heartedly that ALL of the space on the road is meant to be used. This includes the shoulders. You have no idea how much this angers some folks. We also are firm believers that traffic signals are merely for those who do not understand the rules of the road. More of a suggestion, really. We use traffic signals selectively.

Recently, while on our way home from vacation, Race was in the drivers seat. I don’t know what was actually going on at the time, but I DO know that there was a lot of traffic, and merging was taking place. Race begins singing “Jimmy crack-corn an’ I don’t care, Jimmee crack- corn an’ I don’t care………” as the gentleman from behind blows his horn and gives some sort of hand gesture as a greeting. Race only stops his tune long enough to say, “Oh, look how friendly they are here! Everybody wave at the nice man, kids!” And they did. Happily. Race picked up his lovely rendition of “Jimmee crack-corn”, which eventually led into the lesser known versions, of “Jimmee crapped-corn”, and then later, “Jimmee sells crack, an’ I don’t care”.

I love that man.

Melissa

Phantom of the Opera

A conversation today:

Me to Austin: "You are insane." (Yes, I really do speak to my children this way....sad...but true.)

Austin: (grinning) "Insane.......but magnificent! I am.....GENIUS!!"

Savannah(while entering and strolling through the room): "Clearly, Mrs. W_______, genius has turned to madness." From "The Phantom of the Opera", her all-time favorite book and movie.



I have heard from Race, and all is well. Sometimes it is so amazingly GREAT to just hear his voice on the line.

Well, I have a mountain of laundry to fold before bedtime, so I am outta here! Thanks for checking in!

G'night,
Melissa

What we did...

Today was a pretty good day. No real complaints, except that I didn't get to talk to Race again today.......and still no emails. :-( Other than that , everything was pretty standard. We got through everyone's lessons without any major wrinkles, which is always nice. Today was a big review day for Austin, so we slogged through a lot of Algebra and Physical Science.
Today was a big day for Savannah because my budding author finished the rough draft of her first book! Gareth The Warrior, by Savannah. All 136 pages are done and ready for her to edit and add illustrations!! She sent the first, unedited copy with Race on cd so that he can read it. When she gave it to him she hadn't finished the last few pages, so it will be a cliff hanger for him.

I got my lifting and abs workout in today while the kids ate their lunch. (Yes, I am still working out, and still loving it!) Then I put in the stuff for some honey wheat bread in the mixer. I make this bread a lot. I just put it in the bread maker on the dough setting, and then I take it out, knead it, put it in the bread pan to rise, and then bake it later. The boys eat SO MUCH, and this is one thing that I have found that they can snack on and it fills them up.

This afternoon we headed out for classes. Martial Arts, Total Defense, and Jiu Jitsu. The boys did really well, and Savannah and I knocked out a few errands when we weren't watching them.

All in all a productive, non-eventful day. I'll take it! I sure do wish that I would hear from Race, though. Man, I miss him.

G'night!
Melissa

Acorn maggots

First of all a big "hey there!" to Bridget's mom! And also to Aunt D who left a sugary sweet comment to my sister (under the motorcycle pic).....on MY BLOG....AND gushed over how pretty she is....on MY BLOG. I'll let it pass this time. ;-)

And a correction from my last post. Jack informed me that it is NOT a lobster in the picture...but a CRAB. How silly of me.

Well, Dy passed along this link:
Acorn Larvae And after viewing all of her cute pictures over at Classic adventures, I figured that Jack would like to try this. So. After lunch, I looked up the web site and began excitedly reading the material aloud to him. After the first two sentences he stopped me and said, "Oh,wait a minute. Are you talkin' about Acorn Maggots?"

Apparently the kids had already discovered this little secret long ago. As I came to understand, the older two first made this discovery, and then passed the info on to their little brother. Sigh. I thought that I had 'em this time....I REALLY thought that I had 'em.

The lesson turned into a lesson FOR ME, as Jack gathered the acorns and immediately began showing me several.....um....."acorn maggots". And trying to be a good learner....I took photos.

Moving on......
Jack and I were having lunch together the other day and he began asking me alot of questions about how his dad and I met, and about when we got married. We chatted for awhile and the rest of the conversation went like this:

Jack: "It'll be neat to see who Austin marries."

Me: "Yeah...and Savannah......and YOU! Won't it be neat to see who YOU are going to marry?"

Jack: (In sort of a Joey Tribiani voice" OHhhhh.....IIII've been lookin'".

Me: "Oh REALLY??? WHat sort of girl are you lookin' for?"

Jack puts his sandwich down for emphasis, and looks me cold in the eye, "Not sayin'".

Me: "O.k., I understand"

I figured that I would follow suit and post pictures of our acorn-larvae-gathering experiment. I couldn't believe the sheer number of acorns with worms in them! Who knew?
It's in there! I swear it is! 

My vacation pictures

These are a few of the pictures that I took on vacation this year.


WHO ARE THESE BIG KIDS????
This is Jack posing for me at the aquarium. He makes a cute little lobster!












Jack and Q investigating the treasures that they have pulled in from the sea. This was pretty much what they did for the entire week. They make a great team.










Mom and Race going out in the kayak. Race said, "You just watch, I've taken everyone else out, and we've done fine, but THIS will be the one time that I tip over, and dump your mom into the ocean!" Of course, they didn't, and I have a feeling that even if they had, mom would have taken it like a trooper. She has always been quite at home in the water.






We had the most amazing time while Race was home. We miss him so much.

I'll post a few more pics a little later. Gotta get dinner going! 

You Saw it Here First!

 

Her mother would like for you to know that she raised her better.

(Kidding, she didn't really say that!) 

Lovely Fall Day

Today was absolutely gorgeous!! The weather was just so perfect! We had an awesome church service, and got to chat with everyone afterwards. That's one of the things that I love about this church. Immediately afterward, there is a good 1/2 hr of casual fellowship. Our kids all take off and play with their friends, and Race and I get to catch up with our friends. The service is always uplifting, and so is the time afterward.

We shot over and raided the nearest chinese food buffet. Where else can you stuff the entire family, (dessert included) for $30??? If our bodies could take the excessive amounts of sodium and MSG we'd eat there several times a week! While eating, we ran into some dear friends that attend another church in town. We hven't seen them in years, so it was great to see them, and hear how they have been doing.

After we got home, Race's mom called and we all got to chat with her and fill her in on all of our "going's on". Granmama is always so great about being happy for us in all we do!!! And likewise, we got to hear about all of their latest travels. No grass growing under those feet!

I pulled out all the notebooks and texts to plan the next school week, and sat with Race while he watched football.

As the sun was going down, we all ended up outdoors. Race and the boys had a heated football game going on. Both boys have been enjoying trying out their quarterbacking skills. Turns out that if you work at it, you can use that same good arm that you use in baseball, to place that football right where you want it. Jack is also a big fan of the running-back position. The speed, spinning, and dodging is just natural for him. I was busy planting fall bulbs, dangerously close to the game, but I only got trampled once. Savannah was perched on her favorite vantage point for these games: The Roof. We have a cape cod style home, so the dormers,have always beckoned to the children to climb out of them. So, there she sat,cross-legged on the roof, holding Herriott (her cat) and cheering on Jackson.

After the boys finally wore down, we all came in for big salads and bruschetta.

There is still more football to watch tonight, and I have to finish organizing the kids' studies for the week. Baths and bedtime are coming up fast, and judging from the running and shrieks going on outside, they will be much needed. (I beleive that the kids are pretending that our dog, Scout is werewolf, and are running through the woods from him....somehow, the dog get's it, and plays along).

As if the gift of today was not enough.....there is one of the most beautiful full moon's out that you'll ever be blessed enough to see. I think that Race and I will take a glass of wine out on the deck and take it all in. We would hear the soft chirping of the crickets, and an unbeleivable quiet stillness............if it weren't for the aforementioned shrieking children. (You can't have EVERYTHING.)

It has been such a great day, and it makes me so thankful for my family and the life that I am so privledged to live.

G'night,
Melissa

Learning Financial Responsibility

Wow this week flew by!!! We have been busy with school work. The older two are up to their ears in projects and papers, and Jack is busy with the standard elementary stuff. We got through dance classes, boy scouts and martial arts all week. Race and Austin will be headed out tomorrow morning to sell popcorn with the boyscout troop at Wal-Mart. Hopefully they will do well. Last week the troop sold over $800 at Sams Club. Austin is hoping to sell enough individually to pay for his boy scout summer camp next year.

EM posted vacation pictures on her blog. They are so good. I love the way that she captures the boys. I really do have pictures, but we have dualling laptops when Race is home, and it will just have to wait.

We have been having a little trouble with Jack lately, when it comes to money. You see, in more ways than one, Jack has had a very different upbringing than Austin and Savannah. This is just one area. When Savannah and Austin were little, money was not an issue. WE HAD NONE. When you're broke it's easy to learn the value of a dollar, and to know what it's like to want something very badly and not be able to get it. And likewise to know the immense joy of waiting, working, and earning that cherished item.
Material things have come much easier to Jack. He has not learned to be responsible,(in the 9 yr old sense)for the things that he has. He can be be given something that he wants very badly, and then completely disreguard it's care and upkeep. Again, this is purely in a child-like way, but an attitude of self-entitlement will certainly make an adult miserable.
SO. In an effort to teach more "financial responsibility", we started a new system today. EM reminded me about this system while we were discussing this on vacation. I don't know who came up with the idea. We gave him 3 jars. They are labled: Church, Saving, and Spending. We divide all the money that he receives..(You may recall that this is the child who has BEGGED to play the lottery since he was 5, and checks EVERY gumball, change, and soda machine for change that people forget..I'd he finds about $1 a week...not kidding). 10% goes to Church, Then 1/2 in spending, 1/2 in saving. We will have one "shopping day" per month, where the spending money can be taken out and spent on 1 item. We are out in town almost every day of the week, so this should take care of all of the "Can I get....?" questions that have become so common.
So, what do you think? He was excited about it, and I think that it will really help with the situation. What do you do to teach financial responsibility? It is my sincere desire that my children learn the joy of waiting and working for the things that they want, so that they can take pride in those things and can even ENJOY taking care of them. God wants us to enjoy His blessings.

Still learning here.
G'night,
Melissa

Ballet

As a part of my attempt at a more-active lifestyle,I started taking a ballet class at the same dance school that Savannah attends. (It's o.k.,you can laugh).

Are you done? (Seriously. It's not THAT funny.)

Now, first. Let me explain the setting: This dance school is for professional-hopefuls. Girls and guys with big aspirations and goals of heading to N.Y, etc.
The artistic director is the real deal, and spent his carreer dancing for the American Ballet and for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. He still freelances all over the U.S.
The building is an old, 4 story in the downtown area of our city. The rooms are enormous, the floors are wooden, the walls are white, and the light streams in through the enormous windows that look out onto the river.
I danced for years growing up.(And as an aside, my freind Janelle and I used to laugh hysterically at the "older" ladies who took dance.) I loved it, and it is one thing that I regret giving up. SO. When the artistic director began encouraging me to take this class....I was excited. I REALLY wanted to. Race was encouraging: "SWEET. Leotard and tights, right? Go for it babe." (rolling eyes)
The time worked out so that Savannah would be taking a class simultaneously, and the boys would both be at martial arts. So after figuring out a little fancy driving/taxi duty, I jumped on it!
My first class was interesting. Not really sure what to wear to ballet anymore( I know you're wondering), I opted for a pair of dancers capri tights, short black nike shorts, a black cami top, and of course...my ballet shoes (squeal!). I thought that I looked pretty good. I tried to ignore Savannah's laughter as we walked from the car into the building.
In class there were a few other ladies who were a bit older than me, and weren't in shape AT ALL, and had never taken dance before. Most of the class was spent at the bar, and let's just say that when it came time to place our legs onto the bar, I was immediately reminded of an episode of "I Love Lucy". So, I left feeling pretty good about myself. I didn't do too shabby. And I will admit that I had more than one giggle thinking about the other ladies.

SO. It was going good. I was on my way back to my former ballerina days!

Next class: I walk in and there are only college aged girls........IN SHAPE college girls. I'm thinking, "Ummmmm...where are those older gals....from last week??" How humbling. The instructor considerably picked up the pace and difficulty of the class to match her students ability. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! The things that I used to be able to do perfectly and effortlessly and without even thinking, now require an UNIMAGINABLE amount of concentration to execute poorly!

Instructor: "A ballerina should look as if she is being beld up by an invisible string that extends from the top of her head, so that at any moment she might leave the ground effortlessly."
Um........ (snort) Not. there. yet.
My calves are still sore. I know a little more French, and I'm working on my "turn-out". My knee hurts. Can't wait till next week!

G'night,
Melissa

The beach

We had one of the most memorable vacations EVER at the beach this year. You can check my sister's awesome summary and pictures
HERE . I took pictures too, and I'll post some later, but hers are just perfect. We had an incredible time. Between Race, the kids and I we ran, biked,swam and kayaked. I'd say we did those things about....20% (10%?) of the time. The entire rest of the week was spent laying on the beach,lying around in the INCREDIBLE beach house, and...eating. It was all so much fun, and so relaxing. We especially enjoyed getting to spend time with Em's little guys. They are growing so quickly into such fine little men, and the older two are right at that "super-fun-to-play-with-age". Race actually mentioned how much he was missing W the day after we arrived back home.

It was all just so good. Dad and Thom cooking for us all; geting to sit around and shoot the breeze with Em and T while all the cousins played together; Mam-maw taking the kids for long walks on the beach to hunt for shells; getting to hold Everett,(One of the rare moments that he was not eating!); And of course just getting to spend time with Race, Austin, Savannah, and Jack. My family is one of my greatest blessings.

We are settling back into school and schedules,etc. Just dealing with the ho-hums of every day life. I am increasingly aware of what a blessing Race is to me, and I'm trying not to waste a single moment.

G'night,
Melissa