Random Thoughts From Marybeth

Been Busy Part 2: Meeting Relatives

Just before last Christmas I got a letter from a relative in Canada. She is a second cousin on my mom's side of the family. My mother's parents died when I was young and other than her brother's family, I didn't know any of her relatives. She and her parents had come to the U.S. from the UK when she was very young and she didn't know any of her family in England.

Finding out that I had relatives in Canada and England was a great Christmas surprise. Even better, I got to meet some of them recently. My second cousins, Denise (from Canada) and Jean (from England) and Jean's husband Michael came to visit.

From left to right - Jean, Michael, and Denise.

We only got to spend one evening together before they traveled on to visit with my uncle and his family but it was wonderful to meet them and learn more about where my mom's family came from and about my relatives.

Been Busy Part 1: Two Promotions, One Graduation

Emma at her fifth grade promotion ceremony.

Conor at his eighth grade promotion ceremony.

Trevor at high school graduation.

Girls and Guns

Emma went to OpenRange today and took a gun safety class. Before the class she wasn't sure that she would ever want to shoot a gun but I thought that learning gun safety along with proper handling and reinforcing respect for firearms was a good idea since we have guns in the house.

By the end of the class, she did want to try shooting just to see what it was like. Now we have a new enthusiast. She shot well and is looking forward to going back to the range with me. It may not be the most common mother/daughter activity but it is a nice alternative to shopping.

Japanese Culture in Lebanon

Today we went to Japanese Cultural Day in Lebanon, KY. We arrived later than I had planned, both because of a late start and poor directions on the website. (It says to take a left turn at one point where we needed to turn right.)

We saw a koto performance.

Jeff and Emma participated in the chopsticks contest. The object was to see how many M&Ms you could move from one plate to another in 60 seconds.

Because we were late we missed some of the performances that I had wanted to see and missed trying any of the food we will have the opportunity to sample some Japanese food later - I won a gift certificate for dinner for two at Tomo in Lexington. A bit earlier during the doorprize drawing someone who I think was from Lexington won a gift certificate to a restaurant in Louisville. I should have tried to find him and ask if he wanted to trade...not because Tomo doesn't sound good but because going to a restaurant in our own cities would have been more convenient.

Lost and Found

My family calls me a finder. They lose things, swear they have looked everywhere possible, and whatever it is that's missing is gone, gone, gone forever. More often than not I find it. Usually within a few minutes of beginning the search.

I once asked, if this makes me a finder, does their persistance in losing things make them losers? They weren't amused. I didn't mean it in a bad way and it seemed like a logical question.

While I don't claim to have an eidetic memory, I do think I must have a better than average (at least for my household) ability to remember where I saw an object. I think of it as a learned survival skill since none of us are especially well organized. That, combined with questions about where they were when they last remember having the missing object (while they insist they already looked in that area), usually results in me finding what they lost.

Maybe I should have encouraged them to do more of the Highlight's Hidden Pictures when they were younger. Because, really, finding things is mostly a matter of observation. And a willingness to actually look for something...including looking under and around other things (especially in a house with kids and cats...the first piles things on top of other things, the second knocks them down).

Veni, Vidi, VISA (I Came, I Saw, I Bought the T-shirt)

On Saturday we went to Indianapolis to see the Roger Waters concert. It was an excellent show. The music was as good as I hoped and the political part not as bad...but that could be because that part was going on during the time I took my daughter to find a restroom and buy some t-shirts.

This also meant that we were back in our seats in time for "Sheep" and the intermission. I was looking around at the audience and the people who chose to remain in their seats rather than fight the crowds made it look more like an AARP convention than a rock concert.

In The Flesh
Mother
Set The Controls For the Heart Of The Sun
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Have A Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Southampton Dock
The Fletcher Memorial Home
Perfect Sense parts 1 and 2
Leaving Beirut
Sheep

Dark Side of the Moon

The Happiest Days Of Our Lives
Another Brick In The Wall (Pt 2)
Vera
Bring the Boys back Home
Comfortably Numb

The pig.

Fun Friday

The kids had the day off from school today. The school calendar says it is for "Staff Development", I translate this to mean "We need to be with adults for a change".

Emma and I went to AAA to pick up our WDW trip information...only three weeks until we go!

After that Conor, Emma and I went to Open Range. Emma watched some boys playing reball while Conor and I practiced shooting. For the second time, a casing flew back and into the neck of my shirt (how does this happen with a t-shirt?). I got the casing out faster this time so I hope it doesn't leave a burn mark like it did last time. I may need to shop for a tiger striped bathing suit to match my cleavage for our trips to the water parks.

On the positive side, my groups are getting tighter and my reflexes are improving. Although being fast at pulling up my shirt and dumping a casing out of my bra isn't the reflex I hoped to improve. I don't even want to think about how this looks on the video monitor at the cashier desk.

PKI (II)

We went to King's Island on Sunday. (Our last attempt to go had been rained out.) Jeff and Trevor spent most of the day riding the roller coasters while I took Emma and Conor to the water park*. The weather was perfect and it wasn't too crowded, although the lines did start getting long about mid-afternoon.

The only downside is that it's made it even harder to wait for our trip to WDW in October.

* Public service announcement - if you're going to a water park, please wear a swim suit that fits. One that is a couple of sizes too small isn't comfortable for you nor for those who are behind you in line. Then again, taking bets on whether or not your seams will burst does give us something to do while we're waiting for our turn.

Hark, What Peaceful Music Rings

Today was the last day of band camp and this evening we went to the high school to watch the marching band perform. The theme for this year is "Joy" and pieces that they play include selections from Ode to Joy and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. I'm sure the band was joyful that the weeks of all-day practices are over.

Best Breakfast Ever

Before we left Chicago this morning we went to Lou Mitchell's for breakfast. As soon as we got out of the taxi I knew this was going to be a very special breakfast. It wasn't the diner's reputation for good food that got me excited, it was seeing the men in suits with curly wires coming out of their ears.

I had heard on the news this morning that the president was also in Chicago, what I didn't know until we arrived was that he was coming to the same restaurant for breakfast. When President Bush came in he stopped to say hello and shake hands with every person in the restaurant. I think what I said to him went something like, "a buh buh buh, uh, nice to meet you too." I'm sure the grin on my face was equally idiotic. Not one of my better moments.

We were asked not to take photographs inside so the best I have to offer is a photo of the president's limo.

Watch Out Danica

Here comes Emma!

We had fun at the go kart track at Renaissance Park today. Although Emma isn't ready for real racing, she still did well considering that this was her first time driving a go kart (or anything other than a bicycle).

Conor was in the lead...

I Need Chicago Help!

This year, the 50th Anniversary of the Interstate Highway System will kick off a record Fourth of July holiday weekend. AAA estimates that 40.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday, a 1.2 percent increase from the 40.2 million who traveled last year. Of those travelers, about 85 percent will travel by car on our national interstate and local road way system this weekend.

I'm not going to be one of the weekend/holiday travelers but I will be taking a trip after the 4th. I'm taking the kids to Chicago to see the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum. I wasn't able to see it the last time (1977) it was in the U.S. and I didn't want to miss it this time.

We'll only be staying a couple of nights and we plan on visiting the Field Museum on the morning of the day after we arrive. That leaves the late afternoon/evening of our arrival day and the afternoon and evening of the second day open. I've been reading books and checking Websites to find things to do but would appreciate any suggestions for things to do with kids (10, 13, and 17).

Restaurant suggestions would also help. I would like to take them to a nice restaurant, the kind the guidebooks call "fine dining". I figure the chances of them acting civilized are better when they're in an unfamiliar city than at a good restaurant at home. (Their manners are usually pretty good but they are kids and a little unfamiliarity might move "pretty good" up to "a pleasure to dine with".)

I'm expecting that meal to be pricey so I'm also looking for good but inexpensive places for breakfasts, lunches, and one other dinner.

PKI

We've been making plans to visit Paramount King's Island later this month. It's about a two-hour drive to Cincinnati so we are planning on driving up the night before. We also wanted to spend the night of our day at the park in Cincinnati and stop at the Newport Aquarium on the way home.

When I came up with the idea for this trip I thought the most difficult part of it would be enduring the car ride with three children who can't get along with each other for more than ten minutes at a time. I'm still not looking forward to that part of the trip but they're going to have to outdo their normal disagreeable behavior to beat the frustration I had finding a hotel room that would accommodate all of us. I could have driven there and back in less time than it took me to find a place to stay. (I could have booked an additional room at several places but that would have meant another $250 - $300.) Are families of more than two children so unusual that hotels located near a theme park don't offer rooms for more than four people?

I finally found one that not only has two double beds plus a sleeper sofa but also provides a free hot breakfast and it's only four miles from King's Island.

Update: We tried going this weekend but as is often the case with my vacations, the weather was unseasonably cool and wet. We did go to the Newport Aquarium but decided to wait until another time to visit King's Island. We'll probably just make it a day trip...wait for a day when the weather is nice and sneak up on it before it knows I'm coming.

Yes, I do believe that the weather plots against me. On most other topics, I believe I'm reasonably sane...but I may not be the best judge of that.

I May Have Seen You There...

The kids had the day off from school for that most important of holidays, Kentucky Oaks Day. (What were you expecting, Cinco de Mayo?) The Oaks is a race for fillies that is run the day before the Run for the Roses. It's like a Derby Day for locals (all of the fun with fewer celebrities and tourists) so everyone should have been at the track or preparing for tomorrow's parties. At least that's what I was hoping. Instead it seemed as if they were all at the Louisville Zoo. I think it was the largest crowd I've seen there other than when they have their annual Halloween Party.

Some of the animals we saw -

Trevor and Emma

Trevor doesn't exactly look thrilled to get a hug from Emma but considering it was in front of some of his friends I'm just happy he wasn't swatting her away.

Cheerful Emma

Emma at a cheerleading clinic held at South Oldham Middle School earlier this month.

It Wouldn't Be a Problem if I Drove a Tank (With a Turret)

When Trevor was first learning to drive he did not like other vehicles anywhere nearby, especially ones coming from the opposite direction. I could understand this, the main road near our house is a two lane affair that hasn't changed much since this area was mostly cow farms (they've been replaced by subdivisions now).

His reaction to these cars and trucks was to yell, "Get off my road!". I would tell him to calm down, that the cars coming from the other direction were less likely to be a problem than the ones pulling out in front of him or the ones coming up too fast from behind. I would say that yelling at them doesn't help.

I was wrong.

I've tried it when someone rushes to pull out in front of me and then goes 20 mph under the speed limit or a car coming the other way decides to take their half of the road out of the middle. It doesn't make them drive any better but I feel better after telling those who think the road belongs to them that it really belongs to me!

Keeping Our Fingers Crossed

On most school days it is a challenge to get my younger son up and out of bed. Today he got up more than an hour before his "usual" wake-up time. It's not happenstance, it's a snow watch.

So far we haven't gotten any news about our school system being closed or having a delayed opening. We're both still hopeful...but not necessarily for the same outcome.

Update: There's a two hour delay. I guess we both win a little.

Stuff I Left Out

Some short notes about our recent trip to Disney World that didn't fit into my earlier posts:

For most of us, taking off our shoes before going through airport security is, at best, an annoyance. For Emma it was one of the best parts of being in the airport. ("Yea! We get to take off our shoes!") Although now that I think about it, taking off my shoes for a bit after all the walking and standing in line may have been one of the better parts of the "airport experience".

Even though I researched and planned where we were going to stay myself I had AAA book the hotel and park tickets. This turned out to be a very good thing. When you book a Walt Disney Travel Company Magic Moments Package with AAA you get "Diamond Parking" preferred parking. The Diamond Parking lots are next to the handicapped parking area (close to the entrances of the parks).

I didn't use the Diamond Parking on the day we arrived and went to EPCOT. I wasn't sure yet where the Diamond lot was but we were still able to park fairly close to the entrance. I made a mental note of the section and row in which we parked. I should have written it down. I had the right section but wasn't sure of the row and we wandered around for a while before we found the rental car (which looked like 90% of the other vehicles in the lot, especially after dark). The next day we began using the Diamond Parking and never had trouble finding the car again.

While Conor and Emma both beat me by a huge amount in the Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin I do want to add that I got the second highest score in the game we played in Innnoventions on our first night there and I was playing against several people then. (Conor got the highest score.) My score was probably a fluke but I was still pretty pleased with myself.

The food court in the hotel and the counter service restaurants in the parks are cheaper than the table service restaurants but for meals other than breakfast, I think that the extra expense is worth it if you can afford it. We didn't try every restaurant and I'm sure there are exceptions to this but I appreciated the variety of choices and quality of food in the table service restaurants.

Side note: If anyone knows the recipe for the barbecue sauce they use at the Whispering Canyon Cafe in the Wilderness Lodge, please share it with me. I really liked their pulled pork sandwich.

We did see some rude and cranky people and others that peppered their (loud) cell phone conversations with salty language but considering the huge number of people that were in the parks the rude ones were a very small minority. Maybe it really is the happiest place on earth.

For others that are planning a trip to Disney World (and so I can find them easlity next time) here are some of the resources I used to plan our trip:

Walt Disney World is the official Disney site.
All Ears Net has an excellent list of resort and park restaurant menus along with lots of other information.
WDW Info.com has information on discounts and a discussion board. One forum there is devoted to pictures from the parks.

All of these offer good information about the hotels and parks. The shorter your trip, the more you need to research the rides and attractions to see which ones you really want to do and which ones you won't mind missing. Even if you're staying a week it will be difficult to see and do everything.

Homeward Bound: Day V

I was able to check our bags and get our boarding passes at the hotel. (And found out that one of the nice young men working there has a grandmother who lives in the same neighborhood in which I grew up.) Checking the bags was a good thing. I had already discovered on the trip down that my laptop, which seems light enough when I carry it around home, feels as though it doubles in weight when I have to carry it through airports, so I didn't want to be carrying my suitcase also.

We arrived in plenty of time, dropped off the rental car, and went through security with no delays. Our flight to Orlando had been straight through but we had a stop in Atlanta on the way home. Everything was fine until we got to Atlanta. First our flight was delayed because of mechanical problems. Then we had to go to another concourse so we could take a different plane. The people at the gate told us that it would still be delayed and that they would keep us updated. The airline employees at the gate told us that the delay was now due to having to wait for the crew. That was the last they said about it until the plane was ready for boarding almost two hours after the scheduled time for our flight.

As soon as we (finally!!) boarded, the flight crew told us that the delay hadn't been caused by them regardless of what the people at the gate had told us. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to take that information, go back in to the gate and accuse them of lying to us? (A better choice might be just to avoid any flights to/from Atlanta in the future.) As far as I was concerned, the cause of the delay was the problems with the first plane and all I cared about at that point was getting home safely.

Even with delays, it's still better than a long car trip. If we drove, I would be too tempted to pull over at the first "are we there yet?" and tell the kids sure, we're here, now get out. It's not like I would abandon them just anywhere. I expect them to be asking if we're there by the time we reach the entrance to our subdivision.

We arrived home (obviously, since I've posted since then) and spent the rest of the day resting (one of us spent more than one day recovering and is now thinking a nap right now isn't such a bad idea). The weather here was cold and icy. It's warmed up some since then but the predicted high temperature today (55 degrees) isn't even as high as the low for today in Orlando (61 degrees). I'm ready to go back to Florida. I would be happy to move there but my husband says he likes living someplace that has seasons. For some reason, telling him that Florida has seasons - hurricane season and repair season - doesn't help persuade him any. Go figure. He says it's the hurricanes he wants to avoid but I think it's really the possibility of having to do repair work.

WDW: Day IV

In many ways this was the best day of our trip. We went back to EPCOT for some of the best rides and attractions that (I think) WDW has to offer. The daytime temperature got up to around 80 degrees (finally, my kind of weather!). And last, but certainly not least, I finally was able to drive to the park and back to the hotel without getting lost on the way.

I would be wiling to have an RFID chip implanted in my body if there were signs that would give me personalized messages - Mary Beth, take the next exit! No worries, Mary Beth, you're on the right road. Hey, MB, you missed your turn!Sure GPS might be cheaper and easier but does it give me the chance to see my name in lights?

While at EPCOT, we rode Soarin' (twice). We used FastPass both times. We would have ridden again but by the time our second ride was over the FastPass time about 7:00 that evening and I wasn't sure we would be there that long. I wanted to ride Soarin' as soon as I read about it before leaving home. The kids weren't too sure about it at first but enjoyed it so much that it was their idea to ride again.

We were among the first group in to see Turtle Talk with Crush that day. Conor and Emma both had questions they wanted to ask but Crush and the cast member with the microphone only seemed to be picking younger children to ask questions. I can understand why they might do this, young kids are more liekly to ask funny questions and ones that don't require 100+ frame-by-frame viewings of Finding Nemo to answer.

We tried several Coca-Cola produced soft drinks from around the world at Club Cool. Kinley Lemon from Israel was pretty good. I didn't try Beverly from Italy but the kids did. They don't recommend it. (I think the exact quotation is, "Oh, yuck!")

While waiting for our second Soarin' ride we had lunch at the Garden Grill in The Land. The food there was very good (and all you can eat, including dessert). We also got to meet some more characters including Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale.

In the afternoon we visited the World Showcase in EPCCOT and did some shopping. After that we went back to Downtown Disney for a bit and then back to the hotel for some swimming. (Kids only this time, it was early evening and the temperature was cooling down too much for me.) We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside so we also had access to the Port Orleans French Quarter pool and the kids wanted to visit it. We took the boat over because, really, the only thing more pleasant than a cool evening swim is the same followed by a chilly boat ride back to the hotel. I was wearing a jacket and still felt cold. It didn't seem to bother Conor and Emma much. Sometimes I wonder if they weren't switched at birth and some cold weather-loving mother is wondering why her children get chilled when the temperature drops below the mid-70s.

This was also the day that the kids discovered Disney pins. I, of course, abstained from all that. (Ignore the clanking of my lanyard and don't check my eBay bids since I've been home.) I didn't tell them about pin collecting and hoped we could make the trip without them discovering it on their own. No such luck. I guess I should be glad that they didn't discover the pins on the first day since they found at least one that they "just have to have" at almost every store and kiosk we visited.

You can see a couple of pictures of the kids with some characters we met at lunch and some from the Lego store in Downtown Disney here.

WDW: Day III

On Thursday we went to the Magic Kingdom. Some pictures from that day are here.

We picked this day to visit the Magic Kingdom because it was the day that Trevor's band was to perform.

Before I go on, a little back story here: Trevor had lost his cell phone and I had hurried to have it replaced (thank goodness I had the insurance on it) before we left so that he would be able to call me and let me know when they arrived and what time the band was marching. We had also discussed meeting up sometime for lunch.

I hadn't heard from him on Wednesday, the day they were supposed to arrive. I left him a couple of voicemails but still hadn't heard from him. He finally answered the phone on Thursday. I asked where they were staying. The information from the school only said "All Star Resort". (All Star Music, All Star Movie, or All Star Sports?) I assumed the Music one was the most likely for a band trip, but still wanted some confirmation. He didn't know. He didn't know what time they were marching. They were getting ready to get on a ride and he cut the call short saying he would call me later. I didn't hear from him again until the bus was almost back in town.

Even though Trevor didn't tell us when they were marching, we still figured out the time and place to be to see the band. (He is still learning how unwise it is to not call his momma when he should. I forgive much faster than I forget.*)

*If and when Alzheimer's sets in and not a minute before.

We spent the earlier part of the day riding rides and meeting some Disney characters. The first ride we went on was Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. I remember our scores but am not going to post them. There are limits on how much I'm willing to embarass myself here. Let's just say that Conor and Emma both pwned me.

We also rode Thunder Mountain Railroad, one of my favorites. We rode several other rides, not including Splash Mountain, another one of my favorites because the kids don't like the "big drop" at the end. To me, that's the only good part of the ride. Without that, it might as well be It's a Small World (only with less annoying music). And, yes, we did ride the Small World ride too. (I have two excuses for that, pick your favorite: 1. I think riding it is a requirement for all Disney visitors. 2. It was in the evening after we had returned from a rest break where I had, again, been exposed to the perky lady and I wasn't in my right mind...or perhaps, less rational than normal would be more accurate.)

After the band performance and the SpectroMagic parade we rode a couple more rides and then watched the fireworks. The fireworks show was very good but don't watch it from the park if you like to have your personal space extend more than 3" from your body. After it ends, everyone is trying to leave the park at the same time and it gets oppressively close very snug.

WDW: Day II

On Wednesday we went to Animal Kingdom. We rode the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride twice. Some of the pictures I took are here. We didn't do much else there, the kids kept wanting to go back to the hotel and go swimming. We could have stayed home and gone to the YMCA for that.

After swimming for a while we went to the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge for a late lunch. I had their pork barbecue sandwich which was very good. The kids enjoyed the "bottomless" milkshakes.

In the evening we rode the Sassagoula Steamboat Company boat from the hotel to Downtown Disney. The kids bought some candy from one store and lots of Legos from the Lego store. (Buy Danish!)

Inside and outside the Lego store are several Lego sculptures. I took pictures of them on another visit to Downtown Disney and will post some of them later.

One section of the Lego store has bins of various types of Legos - small to large, a variety of colors, and lots of the little extra pieces like wheels, windows, car seats, flowers, leaves, and even picket fences. You can select the ones you want and put them in a container (a small container is about $7 and a larger one is about $13). Conor and Emma each bought a container of Legos and after our boat ride back to the hotel spent some time building, um, something.

We also watched the perky lady talk about Disney some more. I read a book and tried to ignore it.

What I Did on My Summer February Vacation: Day I

Trevor, my oldest son, is in his school's marching band. They were traveling to Walt Disney World to march before the parade in the Magic Kingdom. I decided to take Conor and Emma (my husband had to work so he couldn't go) to see the band march and spend a few days at Disney World.

We left home on Valentine's Day and the flight down to Orlando was (thankfully) uneventful. Our plane was small, one seat one one side and two on the other. This way Conor had a seat by himself and Emma and I sat together. If only I could have kept them separated like that throughout the whole trip!

I'm an only child so this whole brother and sister thing is strange to me but you would think that by now (Conor is 12 and Emma is 9, Trevor who was traveling with the marching band is 17) I would be used to how they can be getting along like best friends one minute and acting as though World War III just broke out the next.

It was late afternoon by the time we had rented a car and got settled in the hotel. We decided to go to EPCOT because it had some new attractions that I wanted to see. I was hoping the lines wouldn't be too long at that time of day, but no luck there. We still got to play a video game and send an email postcard (with a photo that I find embarassing but I'm posting it anyway in the extended entry) from Innoventions. We also visited The Living Seas and looked at the (huge) aquarium there.

After that we went back to the hotel for dinner at Boatwrights, played some games in the arcade, did some shopping in the store and went back to our room. We spent the rest of the evening watching TV. The kids picked the channel we watched - a show about the attractions at Disney World. It was interesting the first time... but they watched it over and over again throughout our time there. It featured a very perky woman. I still haven't recovered from the exposure to so much perkiness.

IBM added the message to the postcard. We don't have any fish to feed. With three cats any fish we might get probably wouldn't last long no matter how secure the aquarium was.

Home Again

We had a great time in Disney World. We went on safari in Animal Kingdom, rode Soarin' (twice), talked with Crush, met several Disney characters, rode some other rides, saw several attractions and walked (and walked, and walked....).

As busy as we were there, the trip home was even more tiring. Our flight home was delayed. If I had been by myself this would have just been annoying, with two kids it was exhausting.

We came home to a light dusting of snow and temperatures below freezing. I shouldn't have complained about evening temperatures in the 50s in Orlando. That now seems almost balmy by comparison.

I'll post more pictures, more comments, and less complaining later. Right now, I'm just...

Sleepy.

Posted During the Game (With Time Out to Watch the Commercials)

Last night Emma and I went to see Nanny McPhee. I really enjoyed it. There's something about someone coming in and making unruly children behave that appeals to me.

Today is my oldest son's 17th birthday. He seems to think that means it's his special day. I think it should be mine. I told him to strap a watermelon around his waist for a few months and then tell me who deserves special treatment. I know a watermelon doesn't exactly simulate what it's like to be pregnant but it's close enough. I would probably still have to sneak up and punch him in the kidneys once in a while to add to the experience.

Tonight we've been watching the Commercial Bowl XL. It made me start thinking - if you had a competition with a team of sports announcers and a team of U.S. Senators to see who could talk the longest without really saying anything, who would win?

Do You Think He Was Mocking Me?

My son was telling me something about a career day at school and asked if he could go dressed the same way I dress for work.

My typical "uniform" is pajama pants and a t-shirt. I know it's a bit strange that I dress better when I'm not working than when I do but I work from home and if I'm going to be sitting at a computer for hours, then I'm going to be comfortable.

I told him it was an excellent idea. He could wear what he slept in and it would be one of the very rare mornings where I wouldn't have to nag him to hurry up and get dressed.

A Last Goodbye

It had been just over a year since the last time I saw Louise Pulliam, my sister-in-law's mother. While I never saw her frequently, every Christmas for several years after I got married and then even less often during the last few years, I knew her well enough to say that she was one of the kindest, most loving people I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

Last night I went to say goodbye for the final time. Judging by the crowd at the funeral home, I think most of Harrodsburg, maybe even most of Mercer County, was there too. People were standing in line for an hour and a half or more to express their condolences to the family.

It was clear that she was well-loved by the community. Their grief and shock at her death was made worse by the fact that it wasn't caused by old age or illness, she was murdered in her home by a former neighbor.

17-year-old Lee Anderson came to her door asking for a glass of water. He then stabbed her to death and rummaged through the house, stealing what he could carry.

Goodbye, Mrs. P., you deserved so much better than this.

I'm Going to Disney World

Trevor's marching band is going to WDW during the second week of February. I could have volunteered to be a chaperone and traveled down on the bus with the band and other band parents and families.

Because I still have a tenuous grasp on my sanity (and want to keep it) Conor, Emma, and I are going to fly to Orlando. I've booked the flights already but still haven't decided on where to stay. If anyone has a suggestion or recommendation for lodging, I would appreciate the input. I'm leaning towards one of the WDW properties but haven't ruled out anything yet. I am going to try to decide within the next couple of days. I prefer the anticipation of a trip more than the actual planning of it.

Jeff has to work so he'll be staying home with only the cats for company. It may not sound fair that I get Florida and (I hope) sunshine while he has to stay home. But he will get to play World of Warcraft without me nagging him about the amount of time he spends playing and I'll be traveling with two children who refuse to get along. I can guarantee which of us will feel more rested when I get back home.

Snow Ice Day

We didn't get the several inches of snow that had been predicted but the roads are slick, the temperature is only 18 degrees, and the schools are closed.

The kids are thrilled. I'm less enthusiastic. I'm glad they're not on a school bus driving on those icy roads, but then again, they're home. This is seriously going to cut into all the housework I had planned my nap time.

Bush-Haters, My Children Mock You

Dr. Sanity has an interesting post on Bush Derangement Syndrome.

Even my chldren have picked up on the illogic of the Bush-blamers' rants. Now when a pair of shoes can't be found, homework goes missing, Gameboy batteries die during a crucial part of a game, or any of the day-to-day mishaps occur, one of them is likely to say, "It's Bush's fault!".

After the Bush-blaming Katrina coverage, even rain and the seasonal change to cooler weather is open to a mocking, "I blame Bush".

Ask them why the dinosaurs became extinct and the answer will likely be, "Bush did it". The Krakatoa eruption in the late 1800s? Bush, again. It doesn't matter when, where, what, or who...the answer is always "Bush".

It's kind of sad when 9, 12, and 16-year-old children can see how silly it is to blame the president for everything while adult Bush-haters can't.

Apple Picking

A few weeks ago we went to a U-pick farm to pick apples. (I just finally got around to uploading the pictures.)

Conor picking some Red Delicious apples.

Monarch butterfly that we saw on the way to the orchard.

Dressing Up

On Saturday we went to Caufield's to get Halloween costumes for Conor and Emma. Conor is going to be an undead mage (a World of Warcraft character) and Emma is going to be a flapper. She had originally planned on being a cowgirl but the red-fringed dress and feather boa were too attractive to her to pass up. She loves anything frilly and girly (the complete opposite of my tastes), unfortunately one of our cat's also has a fascination with frills, feathers, fringe and all the same things that Emma likes so her costume has to stay hidden away so it doesn't become Zoe's next "victim".

I'm also making a pioneer dress for Emma to wear to school. The class has an assignment to read a book and then dress up as a character for part of their book report. (She's reading "Little House on the Prairie".) They're having a party on the same day and I don't know, but I'm guessing that dressing up as a book character is a way to get around any possible complaints about celebrating Halloween.

My sewing skills aren't the greatest, so wish me luck. If it doesn't turn out completely awful I'll try to post pictures of all the costumes later.

Emma's Little House on the Prairie costume:

See You in September August

The start of school always meant the end of summer to me when I was growing up. Not any longer, there's still a good bit of summer left but my kids are going back to school tomorrow.

I'm not looking forward to having to get up before dawn but the idea of having a few kid-free hours of peace and quiet does have some appeal.

New School

Emma and I went to the open house at her new school.

You are welcome to view the building anytime between 9:00 AM -3:00 PM. During your visit you will be able to go on a self-guided tour, find out your child’s teacher and meet your teacher along with the related arts teachers, administration, office staff, The Jungle staff, and bus representatives.

First we had to wait in line for over half an hour to turn in one form (emergency health information). Doing this allowed us to get her classroom information.
The school is new and very nice looking but her teacher wasn't in the classroom so we didn't stay long. Since it was an open house and parents were expecting to meet the teachers it would have been nice if she had left a "be back in ___ minutes" sign so we would know whether or not to bother waiting.

A couple of thoughts I had while waiting in line: It's times like this when the differences between businesses that depend on customers' good will and institutions that are paid for by taxes becomes most apparent. If I ever decide to homeschool it will probably be the result of a build up of small annoying details rather than a big difference in philosophy.

The best thing about the visit was her school fee was only $15. Trevor's fees for his high school classes was $174 (plus about $1000 or so for marching band.)

SOHS Marching Dragons

This evening the high school marching band put on a performance for family and friends.

There was also a potluck dinner. We were asked to bring a casserole or a dessert. I brought a bucket of dirt.

Dragon Dirt

1 clean child's toy bucket with shovel
2 (6 serving size) instant chocolate pudding
6 cups milk
1 (16 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
1 package Oreo Cookies
Gummy worms, if desired

Put the cookies into a large zipper-seal plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.

Make pudding according to directions on package. (Combine pudding mix with milk and beat with a whisk for two minutes or until it begins to thicken.) Fold in thawed Cool Whip until well blended.

Alternate layers of pudding mixture and cookie crumbs in the bucket, finishing with a layer of cookie crumbs. Top with a few gummy worms. Put the shovel in the "dirt" to use as a serving spoon.

Pictures from the Zoo

Conor and Emma at the zoo.

We went back to see the lorikeets and I remembered my camera this time. I have a couple of pictures of them plus a few of the other animals.

More pictures

For the Birds

Just got back from the zoo. They are opening a new exhibit called Lorikeet Landing. It's a walk-in aviary where you can feed nectar ($1.00 each) to the birds. The exhibit doesn't officially open until tomorrow but they have been having a preview for members only since the 6th.

It's a good exhibit to visit if you like birds. They'll land on you...especially if you have nectar to offer.

I forgot to charge the battery for my camera so I didn't take it. No pictures this time but I'll be sure to take it the next time we go.

Leaving Tranquility Base

Note: Someone please remind me of this post when I start complaining again about all the chaos that comes from having the kids home all summer.

The quiet and relative calmness (we still have the cats to stir things up) ends this afternoon. I'll be leaving soon to pick up Conor and Emma from camp.

It's about time. As much as I plead for "a little peace and quiet" when they're here, a week of it is enough. It's almost eerie. And a little dull.

It's not that Trevor hasn't been willing to do things with me if I suggest something. Yesterday we went to the mall so we could go to the Godiva store and get some truffles. (Well, I think that's fun and exciting!) It's just that neither of us is really motivated to think of anything to do without the prodding of the younger two.

Jeff is taking the next week off from work. We don't have plans to go anywhere during this vacation week so I'll be going from a week with only Trevor at home (Jeff is at work all day and plays WOW most of the evening) to having everyone at home. One extreme to the other, but I think I'm ready.

It's So Quiet...

I took Conor and Emma to camp yesterday. They will be there until Friday so the only child I have at home now is Trevor. Without his younger brother and sister here to bother him (everything they do, everything they say) he's pretty quiet.

I like quiet but I've gotten used to all the noise the kids so the silence is kind of spooky. Maybe I'll go play video games before Trevor starts so he'll have something to fuss about. (Having to wait for his turn.) It'll be just as if the other kids are here!

Museum of Pointy Things and Things That Go Bang

Today's keep-the-kids-busy activity was a trip to the Frazier Historical Arms Museum. There are three floors of exhibits with items dating back to the 11th century. My favorite is the third floor with items on loan from the British Royal Armories.

The majority of the items (everything before modern times) were handcrafted and many are interesting as works of art as much as for their historical importance. Some of them are truly beautiful but the one item that made me think of the amount of time and skill needed to make it was a rather plain piece of chainmail. It looks like a small metal poncho and isn't at all showy like some of the other armor and weapons but just thinking of someone making all those little metal links and fitting them together amazes me.

Keeping Busy

I'm still working on keeping the kids busy to cut down on bickering now that they're home all day. My success has been somewhat limited. Duct tape would be soooo much easier.

Today we went to Cave Hill Cemetery.

We stopped by the area devoted to veterans but also went to the lake. The cemetery has a small lake that is home to a variety of ducks, geese, and swans. Going to Cave Hill to feed the ducks has been something I enjoyed as a child and still enjoy with my children.

Yesterday we went to the zoo. Pictures from both days are in the extended entry.

Cave Hill

Louisville Zoo

We got there just in time to see them exercising the elephants.

I would love to have a couple of these at home. I don't know why...I just like turtles.

Friday's Diversion (Mom Held Hostage By Kids: Day Two)

We went to see Madagascar today. It has some funny bits in it which was good since the story itself wasn't that great. It's more of a "wait until it's on cable or DVD" type of movie.

I did like the penguins. It also made planning dinner easier...I just had to have steak.

At least the kids didn't argue during the movie. Though sitting for 80+ minutes just rested them up so they could pester more afterwards. I think I need to think of more strenuous activities for them. Ten mile hikes would be a good start. Or maybe I should look into those team-building camps they have for businesses and see if they have family programs too. It would be a real challenge (for the instructor who has to get my kids to work together). Hey, it worked for the Simpsons (sort of).

Ballet Recital

Emma's ballet recital was last Saturday. We were asked not to take photos during the performance and the ones I took during the dress rehersal didn't turn out well.

It's traditional at her dance school for family and friends to present the dancers with flowers after the recital. Here is a picture of Emma with her roses.

School's Out

Wednesday was the last day of school for my kids. I'm not used to it yet, I keep thinking it's the weekend. Maybe it's just wishful thinking. On the plus side I get to sleep later (this is always a good thing) but being awakened by their bickering isn't all that much better.

I'm trying to think of things to do this summer to keep them busy. Their arguments seem to get worse when they're bored. Yesterday Conor, Emma and I went to a farm to pick strawberries. Trevor had spent the night at a friend's house and was going to a party in the evening so we left him at home to rest.

It's been cooler than usual this spring so there weren't as many ripe berries as we expected. We may go back in a week or two to get more. (More pictures in the extended entry.)

Riding back from the field.

Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day and day three of a three-day weekend. Kids around here get Oaks day off from school. (The Oaks is a race for fillies run the day before the Kentucky Derby.) I don't know why they get off for a horse race, all I know is that the it means an extra day for them to clutter up the house. Not that any rational person would call my house neat at any time, it's just now there's an extra layer of clutter over the normal stuff.

When I got up (late morning) I mentioned that it would have been nice if they had cleaned up some for a Mother's Day present to me. My husband pointed out that it's Mother's Day, not Miracle Day. Really. What was I thinking?

Cheesecake for Conor

Today is Conor's 12th birthday and he asked for a cheesecake as his birthday cake.

Cheesecake

40 vanilla wafers
1/4 cup melted butter
1 T. sugar
3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 T. flour
1 t. vanilla
1/4 cup milk
3 eggs

Crust:
Crush the vanilla wafers into fine crumbs. I put them in a large zipper storage bag and had Emma them with a rolling pin but you can use a food processor instead. (I'd rather use the energy - especially if it's someone else's energy - to crush them with the rolling pin than to use my energy to wash the food processor.) Add the 1 T. sugar and the melted butter to the bag/processor and mix well. Press crumb mixture onto the bottom of a springform pan.

Cheesecake:
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour, and vanilla with a mixer. Beat in milk until smooth. Add eggs and stir just until mixed in. (Overbeating can cause cracks in cheesecakes.)

Pour filling into pan*. Place pan in a shallow baking pan and bake at 375 degrees until edges are puffy and done and center jiggles slightly:
8" pan - bake about 40 - 45 minutes
9" pan - bake about 35 minutes

Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cheesecake from the side, cool 30 minutes more. Remove the sides of the pan and cool cheesecake completely. Cover and refrigerate for 4+ hours.

*Conor wanted a raspberry swirl cheesecake. The recipes I found said to mix some seedless jam with a portion of the filling and swirl that in (similar to how chocolate marble cheesecakes are made). I had had a raspberry swirl cheesecake once at a restaurant that had more of a jam swirl and wanted to try to duplicate that so I melted 1/4 cup of seedless raspberry jam and swirled that in.

Take Your Kids...

Tomorrow is Conor's 12th birthday. He requested a cheesecake for his birthday cake (not one like his brother got). I'll post the recipe later tonight or tomorrow.

Tomorrow is also Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day. It began as Take Our Daughters to Work so that girls could learn about employment opportunities. Boys were included a few years ago because they should have the opportunity to skip school "be encouraged to reach their potential by participating fully in family, work, and community" also.

I work from home on my computer so my kids "go" to work with me all the time. I get much more done when they are in school or at night after they have gone to bed. I have some questions for people who work outside the home and take their kids to work.

Do you actually get anything done on this day? How long before your co-workers spoke to you again? What do you think the kids get out of it? Have you asked them what they learned? Was their answer something work related or more along the lines of "Joe in accounting has hair growing out of his ears."? Why don't they do this in summer when fewer children would miss a day of school? Did you remember to order you official gifts and decorations for the day?

I would like to suggest having a Go to School With Your Kids Day. It could be a real eye-opener.

Proud Mama

Conor brought home his mid-term progress report. All A and B grades (3 A+!) so I'm a proud mama and just a little surprised. It's not that I thought he wasn't capable of getting good grades, I know he is smart. It's just that of my three kids, he's the most difficult to get up and ready for school. When I ask him if he has homework his reaction is about the same as if I had asked him to donate a kidney.

On second thought, I think he would be happier to give up a kidney than he is to do homework...especially if the bed he was confined to afterwards was near a TV and video game console.

Happy Birthday, Emma!

Today is my daughter's 9th birthday. When she gets home this afternoon we're going to make a Fudge Pie. She asked for that instead of a birthday cake and she also asked to help make it. It's a good thing that the pie only takes about 40 minutes to bake, I think we'll have just enough time to make it between the end of her Brownie troop meeting and the time she needs to leave for her gymnastics class.

Fudge Pie

3 large eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. pecans
1 unbaked 9" pie shell

Whisk ingredients together the first 6 ingredients. Stir in pecans. Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until pie is set, shielding edges with strips of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, if necessary.

This is good served with vanilla ice cream.

My oldest son, Trevor, had his 16th birthday. At Emma's suggestion we made him a cheese cake. No, not that kind of cheesecake...this was a block of cheese with some canned cheese spread on top. (If Trevor could create his own personal food pyramid it would look like a wedge of cheddar.)

What's Objectionable About Cloning?

Once a week Conor (the boy who makes the most of being a middle child) goes to his school's debate club. The boy truly loves to rant and argue and I thought he would quit debate as soon as he learned he had to research his subject and follow rules. I've been pleasantly surprised, he really seems to enjoy it.

It hasn't discouraged his normal complaining though. The most recent (but justified) complaint was about researching for a debate. The school's Net Nanny blocked much of the information about cloning. No explanation, just "access denied".

I'm not familiar with the software. Anyone know what it is about cloning that is so offensive? Do the articles about it contain "illicit, obscene and other objectionable material"? Or is the software (or someone from the school district) making a moral decision?

Regardless of whether one is arguing for or against it, how can the students do so successfully without being able to research it well?

Fettuccine Alfredo

My oldest son, Trevor, can cook two things - grilled cheese sandwiches and Fettuccine Alfredo. About once a month he will fix the fettuccine for us for dinner. Considering how rich it is, if he starts making it more often I'm going to wonder if he's hoping for an early inheritance.

Seriously, you can feel your arteries clogging just from reading the recipe.

Fettuccine Alfredo
(The Kitchen-Aid Cookbook)

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup butter
1 1/3 cups Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 lb. fettuccine noodles, cooked and drained

Place 1 1/2 cups cream and butter in a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat.

Add noodles to cream mixture and toss. Add remaining cream, Parmesan cheese, and salt, mix well. Return to heat and cook 1 minute. Toss gently to coat noodles thoroughly and serve immediately.

Sick Day

Trevor wasn't feeling well this morning so he stayed home from school. Emma's school called in the late morning saying she wasn't feeling well so my husband went to pick her up. This means Conor is the only child feeling well today.

It bothers me, just as it would any parent, when my babies aren't feeling well (okay, so one "baby" is at least a foot taller than I am....) but it's been so quiet around here today. I like quiet.

So, should I feel guilty for appreciating the quiet or just be grateful for it because I know that within a day or two they'll feel well and it will be as noisy as usual?

A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action

In a couple of weeks my oldest son will be sixteen - old enough to get his driving learner's permit.

(Please pray for my sanity and for him to use good judgement.)

Getting a permit is just the beginning, then comes a driver's license, a big milestone bringing more freedom and more responsibility. With that, he'll be able to get a job (without mom having to provide transportation.) And before long (a couple of short, short years) it will be time for high school graduation and along with that, choosing a college.

Things like this (via Education Watch) make me wonder if I should be more concerned about helping him choose a college than I should be about handing him the keys to a two-ton vehicle.

(I know one course isn't going to kill or injure someone physically. On the other hand, the only brainwashing ideas instilled in him are by me or his driving instructor and have to do with safety.)

If parents and students are right to be alarmed by the results of recent national tests that show U.S. schoolchildren falling behind Latvia in math scores and doing even worse in science education, then they will really be puzzled by the latest initiative at the University of Michigan: requiring that all students take a mandatory course on gender and sex. The same people who brought you racial preferences in college admissions, "hate speech" codes and mandatory courses in race and ethnicity now want another official captive audience so they can hector their charges about "oppressive" heterosexual dominance, homophobia, male harassment, "antiquated" religious beliefs about sex, and the usual laundry list of liberal enthusiasms. Students who might refuse to take the course cannot graduate.

I'm not worried about his math scores. He scored in the 99^th percentile in math on the last set of tests the schools gave. I'm worried about him ending up in a school that is less concerned about developing his academic potential and more concerned about indoctrination into a set of beliefs. (Not just the one mentioned above, but all of the "people with different ideas are right and you're wrong" classes.)

You want students to be exposed to different ideas? To interact with other students from other backgrounds and cultures? To appreciate others for who they are and not on stereotypes? Sitting them down in a classroom and lecturing them about it isn't the way to go.

In my opinion, a better way to go would be to place more emphasis on making sure the students have a wide variety of classes from which to choose that are outside of their major/minor.

It would work for any major - get students out of their scholastic comfort zone by selecting introductory classes in another area for electives. For example, encourage a math geek (not that I'm saying my son is one) to take photography, dance, or a cooking class. An arts major could take an introduction to astronomy class. A physics major could take music appreciation. By choosing electives such as these, a smart student should be able to find something in them that relates to their interests and may even find a new interest or hobby that could last a lifetime.

The classes would introduce the students to new experiences and to new people they might not normally have met. It's real-life exposure to others that breaks down the barriers of prejudice, not class lectures about it.

Three Day Weekend

My kids are off from school on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. day. Words cannot express my feelings about this.

Gnashing of teeth, screams, hair pulling would be more appropriate. I've just started to recover from them being home for the winter Christmas break.

I love my children dearly but I love peace and quiet too. Maybe if I take them to the YMCA to go swimming every day they'll be too worn out to bicker much....

(Not likely, but I can hope.)

Kids Cook

It's January 3 and my kids went back to school today. (Doing the happy-mommy-dance!) Still, I know that unless this is a very unusual winter, we will have at least one school day cancelled due to the weather.

Snow days are different from planned days off because in most cases the school closings aren't announced until early morning after everyone is already up and awake (or as awake as any of us are that early.) Around here this means that by late morning/early afternoon I get complaints of boredom. There's nothing to do. (We have the three most popular game consoles, handheld games, cable TV, videos, boardgames, and enough books to fill a library...but the kids want something new and different to do when it's the least convenient time.)

Sometimes I'll bake something and let them help. This is more fun for them than it is for me...too many arguments over who gets to add what ingredient and then they tend to drift off before our project is finished (especially clean up.) Here are a few recipes that kids can make that use ingredients you probably have on hand. The kids can do most of the work themselves with minimal help from mom or dad.

Candy Coins (I never said the recipes were nutritious!)

2 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon milk
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

Put the margarine in a bowl and melt it in the microwave. Add the cocoa to the melted margarine and stir. Add the confectioner's sugar and mix well. Stir in the milk and the peanut butter until it is all well blended.

Pinch off marble-sized pieces and roll into balls. Smoosh the balls between your hands to make little patties. Don't flatten them too much or they will be hard to pick up. Place them on waxed paper.

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen

Easy Pudding Cookies

1 package instant pudding mix
1 cup Bisquick
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg

Stir all ingredients together, mixing well. Form into small balls (1"). Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, mash down with a fork.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes

Boogers on a Stick (I don't keep these ingredients on hand all the time, but I included it because I like the name.)

50 Pretzel sticks
1 jar of creamy American cheese (Cheese Whiz or similar)
Green food coloring

Blend cheese and green food coloring until it turns a light booger green. Dip pretzel sticks in the cheese blend.

The last recipe is one for adults to make but for kids to play with.

Kool Aid Play Clay

1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. salt
1/2 T. alum or cream of tarter
1 pkg. Unsweetened Kool Aid
1 1/2 T. oil
1 c. boiling water

Mix dry ingredients. Add oil (you can use vegetable or mineral oil) and water. Let cool.

When cool enough to handle, knead the clay. Store in plastic zipper bags or containers.

EyeToy

Santa brought us a PS2 for Christmas. There are few things worse than sitting and watching others play while waiting your turn. (Well, getting up and going to do something productive might be worse.) At least, for most of the games I've seen, just watching someone else can be pretty dull.

Not this time. Santa also brought an EyeToy. It's a small camera that hooks up to the game console that lets the players interact with the game. Watching the game can still be dull but watching the player can be a hoot.

And it gets my kids up and moving instead of just pressing buttons. Yeah, I know it's not the same as getting them to go outside and play, but it's a step in the right direction. There aren't a lot of games for it yet (we've gotten AntiGrav and Groove) but some of the software sounds interesting. One called Cameo lets you put your face into another game and another called SpyToy acts as a room guard.

I Wasn't Ready for the Weekend

Friday was not a good day.

I logged in to check our joint checking account online. There had been some pending charges for amounts we didn't recognize and I wanted to see what they were. Usually this turns out to be our DSL bill or something else that hits monthly (I can never remember when the auto-deduct bills hit).

This time it was for MP3 downloads, online games, and a couple of small charges (donations?) to Amnesty International and UNAUSA.org.

Somehow someone got the number for my debit card. I seldom use my card for this account...I could count the number of times this year on one hand. So I have no idea how they would have gotten the number. I've checked my computer to see if some virus/trojan could have been at fault but couldn't find anything. It wasn't enough to just take our money, this person added insult to injury by also donating to Amnesty International and the UN! Those were the smallest charges (a few dollars compared to $30-50 for the other sites) but they made me just as mad as the bigger charges.

I didn't suspect any of my kids of using my card but if I had, those donations would have made it clear it wasn't them. I'm not sure if they know what Amnesty International is but I do know that they don't hold the UN in very high regard.

We filed a fraud report and I went to the bank to sign an affidavit. The bank has credited the money back to us but probably won't try to find who stole the number because the amount was only a few hundred dollars. If we had waited until they stole a thousand or more, then we might have had a better chance of finding out who did it and how they got the number...at least that's how the bank's explanation of it sounded.

On Saturday, Emma and I went to Festival of the Arts with her Brownie troop. The highlight form me was learning how to make a balloon dog. We learned this in our first event which was about being a clown. The girls got to paint clown faces on each other too.

The second event was a local high school improv group and the third event was watching a performance by Almost Recess.

My birthday was on Sunday and we all went out to dinner. I had wanted to go on Saturday night but my husband decided to go to a party instead. I was not happy.

On Sunday we looked at new cars (see previous post) and then went to Build-A-Bear where Conor and Emma made Rudolphs. After that we went to dinner.

My father sent me a birthday card that said life begins at 40 and to think of myself as a 5-year-old. I think I'll call him and tell him in that case, I want a pony for my birthday!

The Incredibles

We went to see The Incredibles on Sunday. Unlike the last movie I took the kids to see, this one passed the "Emma test". The test is how long it takes Emma to announce that she wants to buy the DVD of the movie when it comes out. Usually she asks for it as we are walking through the parking lot back to the van. Last time she didn't mention it. This time she said she wanted the movie before the lights came back on in the theater.

I was going to take the kids to see it on Saturday but the showing we wanted to go to had already been sold out when we got there. Sunday was better anyway since my husband was off work and could go with us.

He teased me because I bought the tickets online in the morning and still insisted that we get there early so we could get seats together. After the theater began to fill up (long before the previews started) he admitted my plan had been a good one. I don't remember the last time I saw that many people in the theater.

Go see it, you won't be disappointed...unless you get there after the tickets have sold out.

Couch Treasure Hunt

Conor was complaining that he couldn't find his Harvest Moon: FOMT game for his GameBoy. I decided to check behind the couch cushions. I didn't find that game but I did find a lot of stuff.

Inventory:
$1.64 in small change plus one gaming token
12 assorted pens, pencils, and markers
4 beanie-size stuffed animals
4 socks (no matched pairs)
1 GameBoy SP (Emma's)
2 GameBoy games (1 Pokemon Ruby - Conor's, 1 Pokemon Pinball - Conor's)
nail clippers
laser pointer (cat toy)
1 mechanical mouse, also a cat toy
assorted candy, age unknown
3 plastic bead necklaces
1 shoe (belonging to Ken, Barbie's ex-boyfriend)
1 pair of scissors
1 microphone for Barbie CD/Radio
1 wallet (empty)
1 sailor's hat (U.S. Navy c. 1950s...no, it hasn't been there that long)
pair of dice
1 Zoo key (used to hear information about animals at the Louisville Zoo)
2 magnetic poetry words (at, treat)
1 plastic grocery bag half full of things that I prefer not to attempt to identify

Halloween at the Zoo

Conor, Emma, and I went to the Louisville Zoo's Halloween Party.

We rode the "Haunted Carousel (it goes backwards) and the Halloween Express Train (the Headless Horseman chases the train).

They like to go because it's a chance to dress up before Halloween and they get candy and other treats. I take them because they share.

Shark Tale

I took Conor and Emma to see Shark Tale tonight. It was okay and amusing at times...cute jokes, sight gags...but the story itself could have been better.

I know a movie is a good kids' movie when we leave the theater and Emma asks if we can buy the DVD when it comes out. That didn't happen this time.

Pumpkin Carving

I posted links for sites with templates for Jack-o-lanterns on my cooking blog.

I try to keep my comments on topic there (food, crafts, family stuff) and so I'll ask this question here. If I do this design, will people confuse it with this one?

"W" Stands for Winner

A few months ago my oldest son (Trevor) began asking if Kerry had done or said anything stupid lately. (Note: "Stupid" is his word. I would probably have characterized Kerry's comments as "contradictory", "misinformed", or "rude".)

I would tell him whatever the latest Kerry comment was and why it didn't make sense. My tag line for each news story I passed on was "and remember, he's the smart one!"

Having the mother that they do, my children all learned to recognize sarcasm at a fairly early age.

Trevor is 15 now and will be old enough to vote in the 2008 presidential election. Even though I make light of some of the things Kerry says and does, I still want Trevor to learn from this election so he will be better prepared to make his own decision next time.

My children know who I support in this year's presidential election and why. I also tell them about things the current administration has done with which I don't agree.

As flattering as it is to think that my children will support whomever I do, I still want them to be able to think about the candidates and form their own opinions. (Most of these conversations are with my 15-year-old and 11-year-old sons. My daughter is eight and doesn't really care unless Barbie decides to run for president too.)

To do this, I'll pick an issue. I give them some background information (just the facts of the issue.) Then without telling them which candidate said what, I'll tell them the statements Kerry and Bush have made about the issue. Usually I'll read it straight from a news article to keep my bias from slipping in.

They decide which statement they agree with.

Both boys are in their school bands and have recently put one of these on their instrument cases.

Around here, "W" stands for "Winner".

At Home

Only stuck at home for one more day. The service center called about my van and said it should be ready by this evening.

While I will frequently choose doing nothing over going out to do something, it's not as fun to be lazy when I don't have the option of going anywhere.

**

My husband claims to have little interest in politics but has been watching much of the Republican National Convention with me. I don't think it's been too painful for him. He liked Zell Miller's speech last night enough so that he joked that it made him want to move to Georgia.

I wonder if I can pretend I thought he was serious and start planning a move. Any move in a southern direction is a good idea to me.

After the RNC on C-SPAN, they take calls from viewers. I need to remember to change the channel next time before this segment starts. I'm tired of hearing the Kerry supporters call in and begin with the statement that George Bush lied and then go on to repeat the rhetoric of the left full of accusations that have been disproved weeks ago. I suppose fact checking isn't a skill parrots possess.

Not that all of his supporters' calls are like that nor are all of the Bush supporters calling in with wonderful, lucid arguments as to why they support him. It just seems that most of the Bush supporters say why they support the President while most of the Kerry supporters say why they don't support the President. Aren't they able to give a reason why they support Kerry? Or do they only support him because he's not Bush?

Kentucky State Fair

We went to the fair yesterday. You can read my husband's comments about it here.

For Conor and Emma, the highlight was getting to climb on a tank.

For me, the highlight was the cotton candy and funnel cake. (See extended entry for a funnel cake recipe.)

Funnel Cake

1 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 egg
powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar
vegetable oil for frying
1/2" spout funnel

Heat about 1" of oil in a 12" skillet to 375 degrees. Mix flour, milk, baking powder, salt, and egg with a fork. Hold finger over the spout of the funnel and pour 1/4 cup of batter into the funnel. Hold over hot oil, remove finger from spout, and let batter pour into the oil while moving the funnel in a 6" spiral pattern. Fry until golden brown, turning once. Drain well on paper towels and sprinkle with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve hot.

New Bike

Conor and his new Stingray.

Not In the Job Description

They just report news...now you want them to find it too? LA Times Link via Patterico's Pontifications:

A news analysis about the new Iraqi government in Sunday's Section A stated that outgoing administrator L. Paul Bremer III did not give a farewell speech to the country. His spokesman has since said that Bremer taped an address that was given to Iraqi broadcast media. The spokesman said the address was not publicized to the Western news media.

Oh, that explains it all. It wasn't publicized to the Western news media. All these years I've thought it was the media's job to go out and find the news when instead it's the duty of people who are making the news to inform the media.

You know, if the newspapers were talking about me using the same critical tone many have used when reporting on Bremer and Iraq, I wouldn't be eager to do their job for them communicate with them either.

What I understand from this is that the LA Times thinks its job is to serve as a news aggregator. The only original content is the news analysis...because we're all too stupid to form our own opinions about the news.

If the people who are regular newsmakers put out RSS feed the only thing we would need the newspapers for is lining birdcages and housetraining puppies.

We quit taking our local paper about a year ago. The best use I ever got from our paper was using it to protect from spills when I was doing crafts with the kids but I found that old vinyl tablecloths work better (no tears or leaks and no newsprint gets on the "art work") and the tablecloth is reusable.

This all makes me think of Isaac Asimov's Black Widowers short stories. In the stories a group of men invite a guest to present a mystery or puzzle. Most begin with someone from the group asking the guest, "How do you justify your existence?" It's a question the news media might want to consider.

I won't hold my breath.

Things That Go Poof (and Some That Go Boom!)

In a desire to play with fire and make the neighborhood smell like sulphur celebrate our independence, we were setting off smoke bombs this morning.

In our area, M-80s, cherry bombs and any firecrackers containing more than 50 milligrams of powder and aerial fireworks are banned. We can (and did) buy sparklers, spinners, snakes, smoke bombs, and fountains. Many of the other ones can be sold in Indiana (although it's against the law to set them off there). It's a short drive across the river, but being a fire-bug, I know I would spend way too much money if I went I'm satisfied with what we have.

We bought some prepackaged assortments of fireworks from the store and tested some out last night. One of the types in the package was something called Piccolo Pete Fountains. They make a very shrill whistling sound. Very obnoxious. I love them. There's another one that just has a series of bright flashes of light. I wish I could remember which one it was...combining the flashes with the whistling one would be great fun. Or induce seizures. Excitement for everyone, either way.

The grocery had some utility lighters on sale so I bought a couple for lighting the fireworks. They are much easier to use than matches or regular lighters because you don't have your hand as close to the fuse and your fingers don't get burned the way they can with matches or a butane lighter.

After the fireworks are all gone, I'll use the lighters for campfires and birthday candles. Maybe this year I'll be able to light all of my candles before the first ones have burned most of the way down!

Home and Away

We dropped off Conor and Emma at camp on Sunday. We'll be picking up Emma today. She makes friends quickly and was ready for us to clear out once we took her to her cabin so I have a feeling she won't be as ready to come home as I am to have her back.

We've been lucky and the weather has been nice the last couple of days and should stay good until Friday when we will be picking up Conor. This is good, the strongest memory I have of my first trip to a summer camp is that it rained and rained. Thirty years later and the smell of rain still makes me think of that camp.

Trevor, Jeff and I went to the Frazier Historical Arms Museum yesterday. There are weapons and armor on loan from Britian's Royal Armouries along with arms and equipment from the American colonial period through the early 1900s. We spent a couple of hours there and it wasn't enough time to see everything. There are three floors of displays and many have nearby stations where you can watch short videos that give more information about the arms.

If you're visiting Louisville, I would recommend a trip to this museum. It's across the street from the Louisville Slugger Museum and next door to the Louisville Science Center.

Family Time

Tuesday was the last day of school. This made the kids very happy. I have mixed feelings about it. The good part is that I don't have to get up early to get them ready for school or go pick them up in the afternoon. We also have more time to do things together (when I can pry them away from the video games.)

The bad part is that all that togetherness usually leads to bickering. I'll also miss my alone-at-home time.

This week Emma has been taking swimming lessons at the Oldham County YMCA. It's a short one-week course that covers the different strokes with an emphasis on water safety. I thought it would be a good class to have before she goes to camp.

Conor and Emma are going to Camp Piomingo on the 20th. Emma will only be staying for three days and Conor will be there for a week. I told Jeff that this is my Father's Day present to him, getting rid of a couple of the kids for a few days. This will be the longest that either of them has been away from home without me. I picked a camp close to home that had short sessions because even though I joke about getting rid of them I'm not sure how well I'll handle being without them I worried that they would become homesick if they were gone too long. If they do well and enjoy camp and I don't suffer too much from the separation, we'll look into something longer next summer.

Sometimes I feel bad that I couldn't afford things like this for Trevor when he was their age. He doesn't seem to mind though. He probably thinks that being home without his brother and sister for a few days is a pretty good deal.

Yesterday the kids and I went to see Shrek2. (Jeff didn't come with us. He had the day off but had a dentist appointment.) I really enjoyed the movie. I think the story in the first one was better, but the second is still very good.

After the movie we went to Target where I got the 20th anniversary edition of Trivial Pursuit. I'm looking forward to beating everyone around here unmercifully and showing them who is the Queen of Trivia playing this with the family. I can't remember what day of the week it is, but for some reason I have a good memory for useless trivia so I usually do well with this game.

Yesterday evening Trevor went to a youth group meeting at the Crestwood Baptist Church. (We aren't members of that church but several of his friends from school go there.) It was raining when I dropped him off so when he called for me to pick him up I wasn't too surprised that he asked me to bring towels. They had played some game outside and the boy was soaking wet and very muddy. He claimed to have washed most of the mud off...but looking at him, that was hard to believe. At least he was having fun and doing something besides sitting on his butt playing XBox or GameCube.

Ballet Recital

I took these pictures while they were waiting for their turn on stage last Saturday. Somehow my name got put on the list of room moms. I didn't mind, the alternative was sitting in the audience with my husband and sons. The choice between sitting with an 11-year-old and a 15-year-old boy during a dance recital made staying backstage sound like a good option.

Each class had two room moms who stayed backstage with them before and after their dance. (We did get to sit with the audience during the dance.) I brought a blanket for them to sit on so they would keep their costume and tights clean...they must have been migratory butterflies because it didn't take long before they were off the blanket and on the floor.

I brought coloring books (the dollar store had nice big ones for $1 each) and crayons. This kept them busy for some of the time. The rest of the time I kept threatening to get big butterfly nets to keep them all together instead of running around the gym. They wanted to climb on things in the gym. As a fun-spoiling responsible adult, I told them not to do any climbing...at least not until after they went on stage. They had to wait until after the dance to risk a twisted ankle or broken leg.

After trying to keep the girls together and somewhat under control, I decided that maybe sitting in the audience with my sons wouldn't have been that bad after all. (The boys actually enjoyed it...not that they would admit that publicly.)

My daughter's ballet class. Not a shy bunch, they love posing for a camera.

Emma and a couple of friends from her class, with wings.

A Bout of Beal

My daughter stayed home from school today. This morning she was complaining of a sore throat and an upset stomach.

She seemed to be well on her way to full recovery before the morning was over. (I would have taken her to school but I wasn't feeling that well myself.) I think what she really had was beal.

If I put that on the note explaining her absence (Emma was unable to attend school yesterday due to a bout of beal), do you think they will call me to explain what it is? Or will they just think that I can't spell bile?

Science Project

Sandwiched in between the two birthday parties is the due date for Conor's fifth grade science project. I drove him to school this morning to help him carry it all inside. The projects will be scored this afternoon and the science fair is tonight.

His project was comparing the efficiency of solar cells positioned at different angles. I think that he did a good job on it. All the information about it is on his site.

Update: Conor got a first place ribbon for his project! Everyone received a ribbon; either first, second, or third place or honorable mention.

We walked around and looked at all of the projects. There were some really interesting ones and then there were others that were just examples of bad science. From what I could tell, bad science (lack of a control group, no control over variables, small sample groups) didn't keep some of the projects from winning a first place ribbon as long as the project followed all the steps and looked nice.

Parties, School, and Impolite People

Last Sunday was Emma's birthday party. We went to The Artist in You, a place where the kids get to paint a ceramic figurine that is then glazed and fired. I like having the parties somewhere other than home. (I don't have to worry about cleaning the house before the party!) Her birthday was yesterday. I have pictures somewhere...I'm not exactly very organized right now (as if I ever am).

Conor is having a birthday party next Sunday. He's having it at the Hwang's Martial Arts and his father is taking care of most of the details so outside of having to send out the invitations I don't have to do much planning for that one.

It's not really the planning that is the problem for me though. I kind of enjoy that. We don't do it more than every other year though because during the week before the parties I always swear I'll never do it again. My problem is with invitations.

First, in my kids' school, you have to mail invitations unless you are inviting everyone in the class. They don't want any hurt feelings. The only problem with this is that not everyone is listed in the school directory. Some people choose not to be listed. Some probably just forgot to send in the forms at the beginning of the year. I wouldn't rule out the chance that some parents carefully filled out all the forms but the kids managed to misplace them somewhere between home and school.

I think the chance of a child's feelings being hurt are greater when they don't get invited to a friend's party because their address is unknown than someone getting upset because they aren't invited by a kid who isn't really a friend but just happens to be in the same class. Another school policy that came from good intentions but isn't really logical.

The second problem with invitations is that you fill them out. You carefully put all the required information; who it's for, where it will be, and what time. You include your phone number on the line next to where it says R.S. V. P. You mail them out and wait to hear from the kids or their parents to let you know who will or won't be there. And you wait. Why is it so hard for people to make a phone call? Do they think R.S.V.P. means regrets only? Or that it means call if you're coming? Or are they just lazy, inconsiderate cretins too busy to call?

While I don't like it, I can handle it if someone is rude. I really don't like it when someone is impolite though. If the schools want to teach kids about consideration of others, here's their chance. Teach them some social manners because I have strong doubts that many of them are learning them at home.

Not Dead Yet, Just Felt That Way

Whatever the kids had last week, Jeff and I got this week. Jeff had taken the week off since it was the kids' spring break from school. If you're gonna get sick, you should at least be able to miss school or work because of it, not miss out on vacation time.

Not a fun way to end the week.

Yup Chuhgee

Jeff and Conor doing their Tae Kwon Do thing.

Jeff!

Today's my husband's birthday. I got him a new laptop for his birthday because he complained so much about the old one. He complains about the new one too. Last year I gave him a trip to the Chip Collectors Convention in Las Vegas. The only complaints I got about that present was from the kids, dad got to take a trip and they had to stay home.

Barbie also has a birthday today. (Don't try and tell me she isn't real. With a young daughter, I spend so much on Barbie, her friends, clothes, and accessories that I should be able to claim her as a dependent on my taxes.)

Others with birthdays today include: Mickey Spillane, Yuri Gagarin, Mark Lindsay (Paul Revere and the Raiders), Bobby Fischer, Robin Trower (Procol Harum), and Charles Gibson.

Today is also National Crabmeat Day and Panic Day (for crabs, anyway.)

Spring Has Sprung

This is a picture of the crocuses that were blooming under one of our trees last week. I love when the crosuses come up, it makes me think that spring might really be on its way. I've planted them all over our yard, by the time the grass needs to be cut, the crocuses have died back.

I say that they "were blooming" because the day after I took this picture my daughter and some of her friends decided to pick flowers. Lots of flowers. I wasn't happy...they don't live long once they've been picked, but I can't really blame them. I'm sure the kids were as happy to see a sign of spring as I was.

The Break

My kids are on day 279 2 of a mid-winter week break from school, day 4 if you count the weekend. My husband took the week off from work too. So, we're all here together. All day. Every day.

I'm fine, really. Happy, happy, happy. All this togetherness is just like watching The Waltons. Maybe in an alternate universe. In this one it's more like living with the Borgias without the brilliance.

We had just been hanging out at home, (We have gone out for meals, I figure, I need a vacation too) but the kids argue and fuss. So I thought that today we would do something fun. We went to a place nearby (The Artist in You at The Summit) where you can pick out a ceramic figurine, plate, mug or other item and paint it. The kids like doing crafts at home, this way they could paint something and have it glazed and fired.

Conor and Emma each picked cat figurines to paint. I picked a small sectioned plate. Trevor, after some encouragement, picked a mug. I know teenagers are too cool to be doing stuff like this, but it's not like anyone he knew from school was around. Half way through, when Conor had made a blotch with his paint and talked his dad into fixing it, he wandered off and read a sign that said it would be a week before he could take home his piece. There was much fussing and complaining about that. This wasn't surprising, Conor will always find something to fuss about. It's seldom serious and he's seldom serious about the complaint he's making. After spending hours minutes telling us he never would have painted anything if he knew it would take a week, he was telling us what pieces he wanted to paint the next time we went there.

Only five more days. I don't even want to think about the next week-long break at the end of March. It's not that I don't love my children, I do. And I like spending time with them. Individually they are great kids to be around, when they get together....

Anyway, I have plans for summer vacation, or at least a week or so of it. The American Camping Association has a Find a Camp search. You can find camps by location, activities, affiliation, and other features. I found some possible ones for Conor and Emma but I couldn't find what I really wanted, a camp for 40-something women that features lots of time for reading and multiple chocolate desserts at every meal.

Weather Related Ache

It snowed again last night so school was closed today. I realize that there are some places where a few inches of snow doesn't automatically mean no school, this isn't one of them.

My kids are happy about the three day weekend.

I have a headache. I'm not saying they're the cause, but they sure aren't a cure. I love my children but "quiet time" isn't a concept that they understand.

Listen to Mom Next Time

Back on the 17th I linked to a blog post about a boy in Texas who was suspended from school for using the NETSEND DOS command. At that time, I also told my son Trevor about it. I knew that he and some friends were using the same IM to send messages to each other after they had finished their assignment in the computer lab. One would think he would take that as a warning not to continue sending messages in class.

I got a call from one of the assistant principals at Trevor's school today. The kids were still sending IMs to each other only some of them mistakenly sent them to all the computers in the school. Some messages contained language that wasn't appropriate. From what I was told over the phone, I don't think Trevor was one of those students. Regardless of what messages were sent and to whom, they were not supposed to be doing it at all. They "weren't supposed to be in that part of the computer." We signed a terms of use type agreement regarding the computers at the beginning of the year. While I vaguely remember that, I don't remember any of the specifics. It seems that sending IMs is prohibited because it is disruptive. I would think that having several students with nothing to do but twiddle their thumbs once the assignment is completed would be just as likely to give rise to some disruption.

The students received a warning this time along with a review of what is inappropriate use of school computers. This is good, much better than a 3-day suspension.

The Blue-tip Boys

My husband and son tested for their blue-tip belts in Tae Kwon Do this morning. They were tested on their form (green belt), self defense, and breaking (using a skipping side kick to break a board.) Both passed and will begin working on their blue belts.

After Dinner Whine

My husband (aka the germ-spreader) was sick over Christmas. Now I'm coughing and my head aches. My powers of concentration, which were pretty much shot after three kids anyway, are now non-existant.

I have to read posts and comments a few times before the meaning sinks in and when I try to write, I spend as much time hitting the backspace key to correct typos as I do typing. Did I mention I can't concentrate?

From what I've read as I've been browsing blogs today, I'm not the only one feeling this way. I just hope my kids don't get this too. I hate to think of them coughing and complaining, expecting me to wait on them hand and foot feeling this terrible.

Christmas Passed

The cookies were baked and shared with friends, family, co-workers, and Santa. Now there are just crumbs left.

The tree was selected, brought home, decorated (the cats "helped", one likes chewing on the lights), and surrounded by presents. With this began the hourly litany, "Can we open just one now?" Now it looks as though the tree barfed up a toy store (specializing in video games).

The turkey was roasted and picked to the bone.

As the excitement wears off and total exhaustion sets in, all that is left is the eternal question that echoes throughout households across the country...why doesn't the liquor store deliver?

Party Time

Today I went to two school winter parties, one with Conor's class and one with Emma's class. In Emma's class, the kids decorated cookies with frosting and sprinkles.

I brought cookies to share with Conor's class. All treats we bring in have to be store-bought with ingredient labels. I miss the time when we could bake our own things to bring in but they are worried about allergic reactions.

In the evening we all went to the high school to hear the band concert. My oldest son, Trevor, plays in the band. One of the pieces that the wind ensemble preformed was "Ode to Greensleeves". I guess it's called "Greensleeves" instead of "What Child is This?" since it's a winter concert rather than a Christmas concert. You can bet that when I sang along (in my head, I wouldn't subject the people around me to my off-key singing), I was not thinking, "Alas, my love, you do me wrong, to cast me off discourteously. For I have loved you well and long, delighting in your company."

Both schools have Christmas trees, the high school (picture at left) also has a table of Chanukah items. For some reason the whole thing is roped off. At first I thought that might be to keep rowdy students from messing with the stuff there but the rope is close enough that you could reach over it and touch anything there. Now I suspect that the rope is there to make it look more like a display and less like an endorsement of any religion or religions. The tree at the grade school isn't called a Christmas tree, it's an Angel Tree because the classes take part in the Salvation Army's Angel Tree project.

While the schools call their parties winter parties, the company for which my husband works calls their annual party a Christmas party. The work party is always in January because December is too busy a month to take any time for it. They could just as easily call it a New Year's party but since it's a retail company, I imagine it's called a Christmas party in honor of the best retail season of the year. As far as I know, no one has objected to it being called that. The store employees are probably too happy with their higher than usual commission pay to complain.

Is it just me or does "winter party" sound vaguely like some pagan seasonal celebration?