More Nothingness

• At this time, one year ago, Carl and I were sailing the Mediterranean. Oh how I miss those days!
• It was at that time that we started watching Monk to pass the time on our international travels. One year later and we have watched 99 episodes of Monk (thanks to Netflix Instant). That is an average of one episode every three days. We have 26 episodes to go. I’m going to miss Monk when we are done. We will need to find something new to keep us entertained for the next year.
• Zack’s lacrosse seasons (indoor and outdoor) ended. For outdoor, Zack’s team had 1 win and 6 losses, in some of the dreariest, wettest, miserable spring weather. For indoor, which was much more fun and more exciting to watch, Zack’s team had 6 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie with many memorable come from behind wins. One thing I won’t miss about lacrosse is this guy:

• In addition to our Jay Leno tickets, I got confirmation of Conan O’Brien tickets as well this week. I am excited to sit though these live tapings and hope that we get to see some big stars promoting some summer blockbusters.
• I finally planted my garden a few weeks ago. I just went with a salad garden…lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers since that is the main thing that we eat. I could have done some zucchini too but I forgot about them. Oh well.
• I tried planting some window boxes with some herbs this year as well. We will see how that goes.
• I finished our first dance recital (3 shows total) and am now busy working on the second studio.
• Anthony’s last day of classes is today. Most of the school has finals next week and will be finished up on Thursday. Anthony was given some extra time though to complete all his missing work and still needs to write a few major papers so hopefully he can get all his school work completed in the next few weeks. We are hoping that he can salvage this semester with at least C’s in all his classes, and maybe even a little better in a few classes. But this semester was not pretty. We (me, Carl, Anthony and probably all of his teachers) CAN NOT wait for it all to be over.

Random Monday

• I finally purchased airfare for our California vacation. It only cost me a right lung, but I’ll have plenty of time to recover as I’m lying poolside and on the beach for 2 whole weeks.
• I secured 2 tickets (for Carl and I…you have to be 16 years of age) for a taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Cool!
• We are waiting for confirmation for tickets to Conan O’Brien, as well.
• I also want to do a cheesy movie lot tour and see the Hollywood sign and walk down the Hollywood Walk of Fame and see Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and take a tour of the Stars Homes. In other words, I want to be a total star-struck tourist.
• I also want to go to Disneyland. And the San Diego Zoo.
• I think I need another 2 weeks for our trip to do it all .
• Anthony just wants to go to the ocean every day and surf.
• Carl has taped 2 out of our 3 studio recitals using our new video camera. The new tapeless recording system made transferring the footage to the computer so easy. I just popped the CF card into my computer and transferred the first 3 shows in less than 1/2 hour. It was sweet!
• I’ve got dance recital editing down to a science. I timed myself and it took approximately 1-1/2 hours to edit and complete one whole dance recital.
• The only downside is that we realized that having an awesome new HD camera means nothing when you still burn to DVD. Did you know that DVDs are only standard def, no matter what kind of camera you use? To provide a fully HD product, we need to burn/sell Blu-Ray discs instead. I’m working on that for next year now.
• I had a really cool, fun birthday surprise for Carl’s FORTY-NINTH birthday last week. (Dang, is he getting old. Next year will be a really major birthday.) Anyway, I arranged for a 45-minute glider plane ride. I told him to take the afternoon off of work. I wouldn’t tell him where we were going. He thought for sure that I was taking him sky-diving. He insisted that he wasn’t going sky-diving. He told me repeatedly that he wouldn’t jump out of a plane. Luckily for him, there was no jumping involved. On the day of his ride, we had lots of wind with 50 MPH gusts and the ride was canceled. Bummer. We will be rescheduling within a few weeks. But at least he was relived that he wasn’t jumping out of an airplane.
• Instead of the ride, I made Carl go see The Hunger Games with me. And then we went out to eat at Kelly’s favorite Mexican dive restaurant. It wasn’t nearly as fun as the Glider ride but it was a fun afternoon/evening with no children.
• That is all.

What the Kids Think About Me – 2012 Version

It’s been 3 years since I asked the kids these same questions. In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought it was time to see how their answers have changed.

My kids are an  22-year-old girl, Kelly, 15-year-old boy, Anthony, and 13-year-old boy, Zack. Here are their answers:

1. What is something I always say to you?
K – Well the past few months… “How was xyz? When will your new blog post be up? Can we google chat this weekend?”
A – “Clean your room.”
Z – “Clean up your room.”

2. What makes me happy?
K – New gadgets, sunny warm weather, having fun with family & friends
A – chocolate
Z – stamping

3. What makes me sad?
K – When you know what’s best for your children but they don’t listen! 
A - disobedience
Z – Something dies

4. How do I make you laugh?
K – Extreme cleanliness/organization, random stories about the boys
A – when I move something and it’s not straight anymore and you have to move it back.
Z – When you joke around.

5. What do you think I was like as a child?
K – I don’t know, normal… Probably played outside a lot
A – either a goodie-good or rebellious
Z – Nice

6. How old am I? (For the record, I am currently 47-1/2)
K – 40-something
A – 48, 49 maybe
Z – 48

7. How tall am I? (For the record, the answer is 5 feet, 9 inches.)
K – ~179 centimeters, as they would say here
A – 5 ft. 11 inches
Z – 5 ft. 7 inches

8. What is my favorite thing to do?
K – Do stuff on the computer, stamp/make crafts
A – Stamp or hang out with Deb
Z – Stamp

9. What do I do when you’re not around?
K – Everything!
A – Stamp
Z – On the computer

10. If I become famous, what will it be for?
K – No idea… maybe famous by association with one of your crazy sons
A – I seriously do not know….you are not famous material.
Z – Movies

11. What am I really good at?
K – Organizing, crafts, computer stuff, planning things
A – Taking control and organization
Z – Stamping

12. What am I not really good at?
K – Baking sometimes
A – Driving, just kidding. Keeping an inside voice. You talk really loud sometimes.
Z – Playing XBox

13. What is my job?
K – Homeschool teacher, Mom
A – Teaching Zack and being a substitute teacher and working for Rotary
Z – You have no job.

14. What is my favorite food?
K – Chinese
A – Chinese food
Z – Chinese food

15. What makes you proud of me?
K – That you manage to do everything around the house while homeschooling Zack and keeping Anthony under control
A – Your perseverance in dealing with your kids.
Z – When you teach me.

16. If I were a cartoon character, who would I be?
K – This woman
A – Bible Woman
Z – Oh, I don’t know.

17. What do you and I do together?
K – Talk via google chat, Facebook, email
A – Argue
Z – You teach me school.

18. How are we the same?
K – Share some of the same interests… some music, GLEE, food, computer stuff
A – We both like electronics.
Z – We both like to go on the computer.

19. How are you and I different?
K – I’m more laid back and not as clean .
A – You like organization and schedules, I like to be spontaneous.
Z – I’m young, you’re old.

20. How do you know that I love you?
K – You let me go on this wonderful adventure and are fully supportive!
A – You do a lot of things to help me.
Z – Because you live with me.

21. Where is my favorite place to go?
K – No clue. I know Italy would be up there.
A – On a cruise
Z – Super Buffet

LOL…Thanks kids! That made me laugh. I think that they with age, they have all gotten a pretty good handle on what their mother is like (except for maybe Zack…Zack is still pretty clueless!). And I like how there seems to be two underlying themes….disobedience from my children and my cleanliness/organization. The latter seems to have become more prominent in the past three years. I think there is a direct corelation…as my life and children become more out of control, my organization and cleanliness kicks into overdrive. If I can’t control my kids, at least I can try to control my house!

My favorite responses were Anthony’s #12 and #17, Zack’s #13 and pretty much all of Kelly’s. 

That was fun. 

LAX

For the first 3 weeks of Saturday outdoor lacrosse, the weather has been cold and/or rainy and miserable. Carl has had to endure driving to far off fields in distant cities and then standing outside in the wet, freezing cold to cheer Zack on while I have been left at home to take care of getting Anthony where he needs to be. I have been sorry to miss it. Really. I mean it.

This past Saturday, with Carl off taping the first set of dance recitals, I was left to lacrosse duty with Zack. I only had to drive a few minutes away to the next city. And the weather was 65 degrees and sunny. Thank God for that awesome gift! I appreciate it.

Only one more week of spring lacrosse. Zack has really enjoyed it and wants to play again next year. Good job, Zack!

*I brought my camera with the intention of getting lots of actions shots of Zack. But unfortunately, Zack didn’t see a whole lot of action. He was either standing on the sidelines or standing on the field at the opposite end of play. The ball always seemed to be heavily on the side of the field where Zack was not. Oh well…maybe next year.

Child Training Bible

About a month ago, pins began to appear amongst my friends on Pinterest  for the Child Training Bible. Then some moms on Christian Moms Forum began to purchase the materials to make their Child Training Bibles and raved about what a good reference and teaching tool it was in their homes. Since I believe that everything that we do should center around what God tells us in His Word and I have struggled how to impart the truths of the Bible into my children’s lives, I decided to make my own.

What the Child Training Bible does is allow you to quickly and easily find appropriate Bible verses that correspond to sinful behaviors that are occurring within your home so that you can teach your child what God says about that behavior. Let’s say, for example, that your teenage son can not seem to choose appropriate friends. The CTB would show you 8 verses on friendship in the Bible…you read however many is appropriate for your child’s age (2-3 for a young child and maybe all 8 for a teenager). After reading the verses, the “Tabber” cards from CTB gives you questions to ask your child and models a short prayer for each behavior.

I began by purchasing the charts from the CTB website, along with some new highlighters and post-it tabs from Amazon. We already had an extra Bible at home that was not being used and it turned out to be the perfect for this project.

All the instructions are included when you order the charts, plus you can find a video tutorial on their website. But the first thing I did was to use double-sided tape to affix the Key to the inside cover of the Bible.

Then I used the “Easy Tabbers” to locate the appropriate verses, which I highlighted with the corresponding colored highlighter and I affixed a coordinating post-it in the proper location of the index.

Here’s a page after all the verses have been highlighted and all the tabs affixed.

So now, when closed, the cover page looks like this:

By following the tabs next to each behavior, you can easily be led to the appropriate verses.

Although this would be an ideal tool for families with young children, I think there is still much usefulness for older children and even parents, when they need to know what God says about a particular sinful behavior. Now that my CTB is completed, it has a special place in the entryway, where we can easily access it and consult God’s Word when we are dealing with sinful behavior in our household.

That is the end of this public service announcement. You may not continue your daily activities.

Birthday Cocktails

Yesterday was the BFF’s birthday.

So in between picking up Anthony from detention, taking him to get his hair cut (you were right, Grandpa John…he was way overdue), cooking dinner, dropping Zack off at Lacrosse practice and going to a meeting at church, I stopped by Deb’s house with some special goodies.

We had fresh, warm brownies right out of the microwave and Blackberry Rum Smash cocktails while we sat and chatted on the back deck for about an hour. Then I gave Deb a present to show her how special she is to me.

It was my very last bag of Easter Cadbury Mini Eggs. I *heart* Cadbury Mini Eggs. I have taken to eating a handful after lunch. And sometimes after dinner. And when I’m bored. And when I’m stressed. And sometimes just because. Did I mention how much I love them? But Deb recently mentioned that she likes them to. So I gave her my last bag. You are welcome Deb.

Now, who wants to go to Canada with me to pick up some more Cadbury Mini Eggs? I heard that they are available year-round in Canada. I feel a road trip coming up.

Happy Birthday Deb!

It’s a wrap!

Last week was a momentous occasion in Anthony’s high school career, thanks to a little help from some friends .

First a little backstory. Since his enrollment in Southwest Christian High School, Anthony has always liked going to school there. He has stated on numerous occasions how much he likes his classes and his teachers (for the most part….until he has too much homework or he gets a difficult assignment, and then he suddenly “hates” school, but that’s to be expected).  His first semester (the second half of his freshman year) he made some good friends, but unfortunately they did not come back this current school year. So this entire school year we have struggled with getting Anthony connected at school and encouraging him to make some new friends, without much luck. I think one of  the keys to being a successful teenager is having good, reliable friends that will support you and encourage you and help you to make good decisions.

So about a month ago, I ran into another SWCHS mother at church (Hi Chick!) and was telling her of these struggles to get Anthony connected. Chick then got her son, Andy, an upperclassman, who’s very involved in all school activities, including the school play, to recruit Anthony to help. Andy began with inviting Anthony to join the tech team. When that didn’t work, Andy got the other members of the team to start bugging Anthony to help. Then the sponsor teacher (Anthony’s history teacher) began asking Anthony to help as well. When all attempts failed and Anthony still resisted, they put his name on the show t-shirts and we all told him that he had no choice .

So, somewhat reluctantly at first, Anthony joined the tech team, as the “lighting assistant.”  Andy took Anthony under his wing and got him involved, introduced him to other kids, gave him rides to and from practices and shows and was in incredible role-model. The kids went from right after school until around 11pm each night for rehearsals last Tuesday and Wednesday. Then the performances were Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, when again, the kids went from right after school until around 10:30pm on Thursday and Friday and until nearly 1am on Saturday because of the cast and crew after-party.

And you know what? ANTHONY HAD FUN!  ANTHONY SMILED AND LAUGHED! ANTHONY MADE FRIENDS! ANTHONY SAID THAT HE WANTED TO DO IT AGAIN! Major victories all-around.

At the intermission of the show that Carl and I attended on Saturday night, I asked Anthony if I could take his photo in the tech booth. He refused, on the grounds that it would be a major embarrassment. So imagine my delight at the end of the show when I saw him at the back of the stage for final bows. HA! Gotcha, Anthony.

And of course, since most school events are a family affair, I helped Chick (Andy’s mom) with the concession stand on Friday night.

The show was “Beauty and the Beast” so Chick decorated the tables with books, clocks, candlesticks, teapots, antlers and French country touches. It was adorable. She even created these amazing “Mrs. Potts” cake pops.

After the last show, Carl and I stayed to help….Carl and Anthony helped tear down the sets and I helped Chick tear down the concession tables.

The kids all did an amazing job with the show. It was an impressive production from the actors, musicians, stage crew, tech crew and countless volunteers. I am so grateful that we *all* participated in putting on this great show and I look forward to Anthony’s involvement again next school year.

Thanks Chick and Andy for all of you help in making this happen.

Life with boys….

The other night Carl, Zack and I were watching Hawaii Five-0 when a commercial came on. The man looked lovingly at the woman, she smiled at him and then next thing you know they were walking on the beach together while the announcer began stating the wonderful, life-altering changes that ”Cialis” could bring.

Then the conversation went something like this:

Carl: I knew it! I knew it was a Cialis commercial as soon as I saw the man look at the woman.

Zack: What’s Cialis?

Carl: I could tell as soon as I saw the man.

Zack: What’s Cialis?

Carl: It’s a pen-is medication. (In a whiny man’s voice) My pen** is broken. I need medicine. Somebody fix my pen**. My poor pen**. (Kristy says: I was going to type out the word and then realized that by writing that word 4 times in one post, I would end up with a slew of SPAM commenters, so I decided against it. I definitely don’t need to be attracting sleaze-balls to my blog.)

Zack: (laughing goofily)

Carl: See Zack, you wouldn’t have these kind of conversations if you had a bunch of sisters. Only boys can talk like this.

Kristy: No, if it were girls, we would talk about menstrual cycles.

Zack: Menstrual cycles?! What’s that? I’ve never heard of that.

Kristy: Yes you have. We’ve talked about that.

Zack: No, I’ve never heard that.

Carl: Periods. It means periods.

Zack: Oh, well, how am I supposed to know when you talk in that genius way?

Kristy: (bursting out laughing until tears were streaming down my face) Oh well, I’ll try not to be such a genius when I’m talking to you then.

—————

It’s times like this that I really miss Kelly.

Mamma Mia

In addition to the Tour of Tables, Deb, Katherine (that I mentioned yesterday) and I were going to complete our Girl’s Day of Fun with dinner out and tickets to ”Mamma Mia,” playing at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis.

So instead, I ended up inviting my friend Tina and her friend, Tracy, to join me instead.

I apologize to Tracy for cropping her out of this photo.  In one photo, Tracy’s eyes were closed. In another photo, it was just not flattering. Tracy is a very stunning woman with gorgeous, curly hair. But she did not look so in the photos from that evening. So I did the only humane thing. She would thank me.

We began with dinner at a Greek restaurant, Santorini, where I enjoyed a yummy Caesar salad with the most delicious parmesan cheese ever.

Then I had the most amazing pasta dish, TORTELLINI BARONESSA, with cheese filled tortellini tossed in garlic Parmesan cream sauce with smoked ham, bacon, peas and mushrooms. Delicious!

As we sat talking and laughing and having a good time, we suddenly realized that we had 20 minutes to get to the theatre. Yikes! Luckily the roads were clear and I drove like a banshee and got us there in one piece with literally seconds to spare.

It was a good show and I enjoyed it so much more than the movie version! The female leads had amazing voices and did a great job. The best part was at the end, after the bows, when the leads came out in disco clothing and did some large group dance numbers with the entire cast and sing-a-longs with a few of the popular songs. The audience all stood on their feet clapping and swaying to the music. It was cute.

It was a great evening out and I enjoyed my girl’s day very much. It was a great day of refreshment and renewal!!

Tour of Tables Brunch

Saturday was the big day!

The day to unveil my decorated table.

Originally my friend, Deb, and her friend, Katherine, from Chicago were to attend with me. But when Katherine’s father passed away the week prior, Deb ended up flying to Chicago for the memorial service. So I invited my neighbor/friend, Lou, and my friend from Bible Study, Shelly, to join me instead.

We enjoyed walking around a viewing all the other decorated tables. There was “Winter Russian Dolls,”

“Western Splendor” (look at those adorable pocket silverware holders)

“The Picnic Table,”

“When Life Gives you Lemons…Make Lemonade!”

“Christmas Greetings,”

“Grandma’s Attic Treasures,”

and “Labradors,” to show just some of the 30 decorated tables.

So many incredibly cute ideas!

After “touring the tables,” we enjoyed a lovely brunch and then fashion show from Coldwater Creek.

Then there was some musical entertainment by “Summer Breeze Trio,” some of Westwood’s amazing musical talent.

Our morning ended with a gift giveaway for each table. The hostess read a poem as the gift was passed around the table from the “woman with darkest hair” to the “woman with the most children” to the “woman dressed with the most pink.” It finally ended with my friend Shelly, who received a Chris Tomlin CD! Yay for Shelly. I’m so happy that she won.

It was a lovely morning out with some lovely woman. Thanks for joining me Lou and Shelly.