A Soggy Adventure With Good Company

That was pretty much the gist of our weekend. Since last year, when I first found out about it, I've been anxiously awaiting the return of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga Battlefield's once-a-month bike tour. Normally, you have to walk these tours. I don't mind walking. We hike every week. But I do have a little bit of a mental block about walking civil war battlefields. in the South. in the Summer. We did one once. It was horrific. The whole experience was just one of those things that'll be funny in ten years. (It hasn't been ten years yet, so I can't properly tell the story yet. Someday, it'll be hilarious, though.) And while I was certain it would be a completely different experience with a completely different group of people, well, it left a mark.

So I was anxious (really anxious) to rally up a new experience to wipe the RAM and re-set the whole memory bank. (Been talking with James a lot today.) I asked a friend if she thought her family would like to go, too. They said yes! WooHoo! (I love them.)

So, last weekend was the first one of the year, and we were ready to go! The kids and I got all the things squared away: tents, food, chairs, first aid kit... Z modified the trailer to haul a billion bikes plus a cooler and the plow disc.

Reservations made, dates and times confirmed. (Ohhh, yes, I felt like such a grown up! No more showing up in New Orleans two days into Mardis Gras and no clue it was happening. Not this girl. At least, not when I have children depending on me. I could unravel completely after Jase leaves home.) But this time? I had this.

Except, the weather. The rain came, and it stayed. The weather app just showed clips from The Neverending Story as The Nothing swept across northern Georgia. We broke camp in the morning, just in case. (The lady at the campground couldn't believe we were checking out early and was rather insistent that the folks giving the weather report were from Atlanta, and they have no idea what they're talking about.) We smiled at each other as the rain drops began hitting the windshield as we pulled out of the visitors center.

Then we raced over to the Battlefield to see if they were still having the tour, or if it would be postponed. Yep, still on. They knew it was going to rain, but didn't really mind. So we dismantled the Rube Goldberg machine that has become our trailer, checked the bikes, and saddled up. Off they went!

I stayed behind. EmilyGirl still hasn't quite mastered bike riding. (Comes of living on a damn steep hill with a gravel drive and a terrifying drop into the creek if you don't stop in time. Since we've moved here, the kids have been learning to ride later and later.) So she and I trundled about in the grass, in the rain. We made it about half a mile in two hours, going one half a pedal push at a time. She never quite got the hang of it, but she never did give up. She did, however, fall quite a bit, and that was her biggest fear going into it, so... yay? I think. (I'm not glad my child wrecked. But at least now she knows falling off your bike isn't the most horrible thing that could happen. Conquering fear is good. Conquering fear on grass is even better.) I didn't make her cry, and she's been back on since we got home. I'm going to call that a win.

The boys returned wet, tired, and happy. The park ranger was amazingly knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The group they rode with was a great group. Jase had his inaugural ride on the Trail-A-Bike, and he was walking ten feet tall by the end of it.

And that's when the skies opened up and let loose the fury of a thousand shipwrecks. Holy cow, that was some amazing rain! We smiled at each other again, glad we didn't have to go back to break camp in the storm, and we all headed back home with a stop at Jefferson's for some oysters and burgers, and the necessary stop at Unclaimed Baggage to see what we could see.

And you know, it was a totally different experience. We just had to go with the right people. Our people. And it was fantastic!

¡Hablamos Español!

Ooo! It worked! (I had to look up how to type the punctuation and the tilde.)

Anyway, Em and Jacob took a fun mini-class the last two weeks that introduced them to Spanish vocabulary.

The class was wonderful, Miss Pam is a delightful instructor, and now we're all wishing we could either take her home with us or take a longer course with her. Such fun!

And the kids? Ah, I love these kids. They're so delightful, and so funny. We're pretty spoiled.

James is nearing his first progress review with the orthodontist. This week, he got rid of the bite plate, and he's one happy camper!

And while the Middles were at Spanish, the Bigs enjoyed some volunteer time at the Native Plants Garden in Cullman, then an Edible and Medicinal Plants session. I was on Small One Duty (for a child who doesn't particularly care for New Things, this has been a rough Spring) on the other side of the park, so this is the only picture I got from that. We don't think it's edible or medicinal. But it's pretty, and it made us smile.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Big Fun on the Catwalk, and a Good Turn

The children were invited to participate in the Aveda Insitute's annual Catwalk for Water this last week. This is the organization's annual scholarship competition and fundraiser for their clean water programs and initiatives, and is comprised of designs, created by the students and staff at the Institute, made entirely of recycled materials (trash, leftovers, re-purposed goods, thrift store finds, etc). They then bring in the make up and hair teams to finish the look, and the happy volunteers take a turn on the catwalk.

Good fun for a good cause. What's not to love? We went with a group of homeschooled teens we've been very fortunate to get to know - doing this with friends made it even better. We arrived at noon, and the process began - matching outfits to models and tweaking this and that along the way. The kids all pitched in and helped each other out. They helped with adjustments to outfits, prep for the walk, went through rehearsals and blocking, then back for more prep. During downtime, they kept busy keeping our space squared away (it seemed huge when we got there, but after four hours or so, it felt awfully small, and hot), encouraging each other, or helping to keep nerves at bay and the Littles occupied.

They were a team, the entire time. (Well, except for one DS face-off. But even that was pretty high on the camaraderie scale.)

We didn't leave until ten o'clock, and while I honestly expected to be absolutely ready. to. go. by that time, I could have gone for a quick power nap and done another round. (Says the lady who didn't have to sit through hair and makeup, of course.)

The theme this year was Hunger Games, so each model was assigned a District. 

We had Livestock (as actual animals - there were three goats and one white reindeer)

Masonry (depicted as tar birds)

and Rebels from District 13.

The whole group of students depicted a wide array of Districts and creatures. They were such great sports about it, and had a really fantastic time.

John got mobbed by a gang of beautiful blonde models. It wasn't quite what most men have in mind when they think of that, but we told him he can check it off his bucket list, anyway. Close enough, right?

Jacob was the largest of the Rebel children. It went to his head just a wee bit, and he reveled in having chipper minions. (Didn't help that he had a star on his chest and fern leaves on his shoulders - that just oozes power and forest dominion, doesn't it?)

Em *hated* getting the eye make up applied. She was a trooper, though. The staff was wonderful and gentle and kind with her. But she *loved* the hair, and the dress, and the excitement of the whole thing. The three little girls looked like fairies scampering about in their woodland garb.

James was wonderful in character, although he said he felt a bit silly with all that hair up top. 

John did a double-take when he heard he'd be wearing actual hair horns. I do wish I'd captured that on camera. But when the time came, he rocked the persona and gave it his best Blue Steel look. (This only makes sense if you've seen Zoolander.)

I loved this opportunity for so many reasons. The kids got to see some out-of-the-box thinking in terms of The Real World. They got to participate in an active and interesting way with big projects and big ideas. Several of them stepped way outside of their comfort zones for this project, and that is commendable. Even better? Everyone, and I do mean every. single. one. of them, was supportive and encouraging and uplifting to the others. They were there for hours, and not a deprecating or negative word was spoken. These are kids who get it, and they're doing good things. Together. Wow.

Not every volunteer project will be this glamorous (quite literally - I think the next one involves... horse stalls...) but I imagine they'll have just as much fun at the next one. They're like that. It's one of the things I appreciate about these kids. I can't wait to see what they do next!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Busy Days!

The kids asked for a day at home, since we've had one in the last ten days, but that was for re-packing gear and doing laundry. Not quite the same.

After the storms that ripped through here last night, I think they'll get their wish today. We weathered it just fine, but not everyone did, so as the reports come in, we're looking for opportunities to help and pay forward all the generous care we've received in the past. If you don't mind saying a prayer for the Southeastern US this morning, that would be much appreciated.

James spent a fantastic week in New Mexico, eating, learning, experiencing, and doing.  He ate a lot of new food (mostly Vietnamese and Indian, I think), which thrilled his food-curious heart no end. He Skyped with us on Easter Sunday so Em could show him her dress, and Z and I could put eyes on him in real time. It was a chance to see the tangible benefits of hard work and self-discipline, and to walk away with more knowledge and insight than he arrived with. That's hard to pass up. His team won an award for Creativity and Innovation in Design: they each received a plaque and $50.  We picked up a very happy camper the following week.

Meanwhile, we had a quietly busy week while James was gone. (I spent a lot of time standing in parking lots, waiting for him to come around the back of the Suburban, then realizing he wasn't actually in the parking lot with us. The kids thought that was hilarious.) We went to the annual Earth Day movie (it was Bears this year, and absolutely fantastic) with friends, then shuttled over to the Teen Game Day for a visit and some fun.

The rest of the weekend was taken up with projects - for me, mainly the quarterly changing of the seasonal clothing and updating of the sizes. I realized I have a lot of things in the basement we can pass along, now. They're too small for Em or Jase. Some of them were rather large sizes, to my way of thinking, for me not to have a child wearing them. Things are about to get weird, I suspect. Easter was a lovely day of joyful celebration with church family and local friends. Then I took the kids camping.

We slipped out to DeSoto State Park to enjoy a little camping and exploring. We scampered around Cherokee Rock Village in the fog (fantastic for kids, a wee bit terrifying for mothers), hiked and hiked all over the place, and played at DeSoto Falls (something I've been dying to do for the last five years! It was worth the wait!)

John and Jacob absolutely rock the camp set up action. Em and Jase have found their groove, and they're more help than not at this stage. It could not have gone more smoothly, or been more fun. Even John mentioned that the loading and setting up seemed "freakishly easy". He was worried we'd forgotten something, or left someone. I told him I know the feeling. We did a head count and called it good.

James flew back in on Wednesday as we headed out from DeSoto, and everyone arrived home covered in road grime, exhausted, and happy.

We had Thursday to re-pack, wash clothes, catch up, and rest, for Friday we headed out to the Camporee. That was a truly amazing experience. I sat in with the Rocking Chair Patrol (the adult leaders). Seldom saw the kids except when we ambled over to take pictures. The boys' Troop hosted the Camporee, and these boys were on fire. They were busy and engaged the whole time. They handled everything from administration to direction. They were gracious and encouraging. I think my favorite tidbit of feedback came from one Scout who came panting up to the check-in desk after the Orienteering course and exhaled, "That was hilariously awesome!" Well, that's hard to beat, isn't it?

We slipped out after the camp fire on Saturday night so we could be ready for Sunday's adventure... which requires a post all its own.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

New Adventures!

Thursday morning, James and I headed out at four in the morning. It was dark and chilly and awesome!

We drove to Chattanooga, and from there, he flew to Albuquerque to participate in a computer competition he's been working on since September. He had to tidy up his hair a bit, for presentation's sake, and get a suit, and then he was off. (He loves the suit, but was sad about the hair. I told him if he knocks it out of the ballpark this year, he can probably show up in house slippers and long hair next year, and as long as he brings the best game, nobody will bat an eye -- he hasn't seen Real Genius yet, and he wasn't really nurtured into adolescence on John Hughes movies, so he probably just thinks I'm in early onset dementia). It didn't cheer him up, any, about the hair, but flying and traveling in relative comfort (meaning, without your siblings' feet in your face, or drool on your shoulder) are compensation enough for a re-set on the hair of your 15yo dreams.

(I have pictures, but there are some changes to Dropbox and I haven't quite figured them out, yet.)

So far, he's having a great time! He enjoyed the flight. His terribly awesome Uncle took him shopping at the Asian market, where he got to stock up on all manner of goodies and interesting things. (He does love interesting foods!) He's been working on things I don't understand, and taking on projects I didn't expect, and in general, just spreading his wings and giving them a good stretch and a couple of flaps.

I miss him terribly.

But this is so good, and such a neat part of growing up. I can't feel anything but excitement for him.

Kiss those babies ~ even when they aren't babies, anymore! They're still so amazing!

~Dy

Awesome Weather!

This is why we school year-round. It was so cold, and wet, (and did I mention cold-for-here?) this Winter, and we know Summer's going to have its hot'n'sticky days (it always does...) So we've been running amok now, with highs in the low 70's and lows in the high 40's.

We went to Clarkson Covered Bridge and spent the day playing games, roaming about, enjoying the day.

We went to Monte Sano and spent the day running about, enjoying the view, and refreshing our spirits with all the color and laughter the day had to offer.

Our local homeschool group had Field Day this week. We spent the day... well, you get the picture. Plus, there was ice cream!

The chicks are out of the basement and into their tractors!
Em told me the other day that she really enjoys reading.
Jase loves phonics. (Classical Phonics, from Memoria Press. If you have one that likes to illustrate and doodle, this is a great, great program!)
We've had to replenish the duct tape supplies twice this week.
James is gearing up for a trip. (I can't wait to tell you more!)
John is happy.
Z is happy, and busy, and making things, and just generally excited about life.
Aside from the fact that I simply cannot get a grip on the house right now, life is pretty darned fantastic!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

A Playset

We've wanted to build a tree house for ages. But when you're working with various personalities, and time demands, projects don't always get off the ground. Or into the tree. James and John are no longer interested in having one, and Z and I both got a little panicky last month about never having a tree house for the children!

Craigslist to the rescue! Sort of. We found a standard play set. The ad said it was "gently used", and the price was good. It was a bit of a drive, but we called it a Date and justified the trip.The whole thing turned out to be a reminder that using Craigslist can be a cautionary tale. Ask for more detailed pictures and measurements before you make a drive to pick something up. We knew this, and yet... well, I guess we just needed the excuse to spend some time in the car, alone.

"Gently used" included a two foot wide hole in the middle of the slide, and a good bit of rot on the wood that made contact with the ground. That actually made us laugh, and laughter is good for the soul. The "paid $1100 new" set can actually be purchased brand new today for $600 at Wal-Mart. I know they're fond of price droppers, but I'm guessing that's... not it.

So we offered her what we were willing to pay for it, and she acknowledged that she was probably making out pretty well, all things considered. We dismantled it and brought it home. Yesterday, Z and the kids spent the day putting on better quality wood and reinforcing the frame. They cleared a spot in the back yard, and the Littles could not be more excited if we'd built an actual tree house. So, that's good. We also bought some stain to protect the pieces that are still solid, and will have it cleaned up in no time.

We think we can replace the broken slide with sheet metal, using the existing frame. That'll be less static-inducing, and a little faster. Also, less likely to give way while in use, because regardless of one's definition of gentle use, I doubt we'll fall into that category. In the end, the cautionary reminder was good, but everyone is happy with the results.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Circus and Friends

I-65 was particularly treacherous after the ice coated most of the state last week. The Thursday circus showing was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon, because the troupe was stuck in Southern Alabama. I'm glad they weren't stranded on the Interstate, or injured trying to get North.

Still, we already had a lot of plans for Sunday, from Sunday School and service, to Candlemas dinner with friends, to small group and youth group. We don't handle Busy well under the best of circumstances, so I was hesitant to try to pull this off.

But Circus.

And little ones who had been guarding their tickets zealously for longer than they've not lost anything in a while.

We didn't want to skip church for the extra time.

We were all looking forward to our time with friends, though, and weren't willing to give that up.

Thankfully, they were willing to come to the circus with us! We enjoyed a lovely meal with them and headed out, convoy style, for the rest of the day.

By the time the show began, Jase has been going 90-to-nothing for ten straight hours. Z and I were starting to fret a little. I mean, the rest of us had been going that hard, too, but we're a bit more grizzled than the little guy... and there was cotton candy! (There were also cheesesticks in my purse, and about the time we all needed a little protein, those came in handy.)

He was so stoked. And with every new set of performers, he was amazed. "That's impossible! How can they do the impossible?" (Z and I felt the same. We kept whispering back and forth, "I can't do that. Just so you know." And we can't. No chance, even with ample warning and a personal trainer. We're well-matched that way.)

He thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the show, and about the time he started asking if we could go home now, they announced the grand finale. Perfect timing!

Z and I have never been to a circus together. We've never taken the kids. I have no idea why - this little show was really fantastic. It's heavy on human performers, which was very fun. (I'd planned to take more pictures, but at the beginning the Ringmaster said no digital recording of any kind is allowed, which I thought meant photos, too. Then at the end, he invited people to upload photos of the show to the troupe's Facebook page. So. Misunderstood that one. No pics for us.)

Em was enthralled with everything, from the costumes to the acrobatics, although she did murmur, wide-eyed, a few times, "Oh, no. I don't think I would like to do that!" And the boys enjoyed the performances - on one level, they appreciated the skill and effort that goes into this kind of thing, but on another, just the pure thrill of daring. I love that they haven't lost that.

Meanwhile, outside, the temperature outside plummeted by 15 degrees, and a cold, hard rain moved in. Z let us wait beneath the pavilion while he went to look for the car, and he said the rain was so heavy he nearly walked right past the car without recognizing it. We were all pretty played out for the day, and the idea of driving through that into town for another two hours of activity seemed... daunting. We bailed. We came home, started a fire, ate soup, and crashed like tired zombies.

I guess we're learning how to handle Busy well. Whether it's getting things together to get out the door, taking care of business while we're out, extending grace and kindness to ourselves and each other, or being willing to adapt as things go, we're doing pretty darned well. We're even better about remembering to stash protein for while we're out. I'm proud of us - of the kids, of Z, of myself.

We had a wonderful day, but it was very definitely a team effort that made it happen.

Kiss those babies!
~ Dy

They did it.

The Bigs: 25 mile route on the Tour d'Arsenal. They were the youngest riders on that loop, and they didn't come in last. (That doesn't really matter, as this wasn't a race, and there were people of all fitness levels and cycling experience on the ride. But it did feel kind of good for young men testing their mettle.) They were all a bit shocked and awed (in a good way) when they got buzzed by a group of septuagenarians about the mid-way point in the ride, though. I guess it was pretty impressive and left quite an impressions on four young men, sucking wind up a hill, when the whirr-whirr-whirr of fast bikes comes up from behind and whoosh~~~ there they go. Good stuff.

Jacob: 18 miles. The youngest rider in the Tour. (The next two youngest being the Bigs.) It didn't even dawn on me that kids wouldn't do it. Didn't dawn on Jacob, either, until he ran out of steam at about the 15 mile mark. He'd done everything right, really - he was well-rested going into it, ate well before hand, and was staying hydrated. But it was hot-hot-hot and sticky beyond belief, and I think that got inside his head and made him question everything from the origin of the universe to why we didn't hire a rickshaw and take a scenic drive. We slowed our pace, I asked a few questions and then just listened as he talked his way out of his own head. He took a few deep breaths, and you could just see this kid center himself and refocus on his goal. It was amazing, and humbling, and uplifting all at once. The other riders were fantastic and so very encouraging with a kind word and a cheer of encouragement as they passed.

One lady, in particular, offered to share an energy drink packet she'd brought. I checked the label and it didn't have anything we'd find objectionable in it, so I said yes. By that time, Jacob had decided he could see this through and enjoy it, but the psychological boost that gave him -- both the generous gesture and the idea that he was getting a beneficial drink -- he flew the last few miles and could have happily gone another round if only it had been under 90 degrees. And burritos. We had burritos in the car for the riders. He said he felt great when it was over. "Probably the hardest thing I've ever done, but it felt good." I... have no idea where he gets it, but am so glad he's got it!

James wrecked near the start of the ride. Poor kid - he went over the handlebar over the weekend, too. Anyway, best I can make out from their stories, he and John needed to veer around an obstacle, but someone came up on James' right so he had to veer back left and they (James and John) collided. They must be pretty proficient at bike repair and first aid, though, because they got it fixed, treated their wounds, and were back on the trail before Jacob and I could catch up. We only heard about it later. There were a couple of more gnarly wrecks later in the ride, but thankfully nobody was seriously injured (and we weren't a part of those).

For Z and I, it was a great experience. Of course, you can tell we're not hard-core cyclists. When they start down a slope, they lean on the handlebars and streamline their forms. It's serious business. When we hit the crest of a hill and start back down, we put our heads up and our elbows out to catch some air. If you listen really closely, you might be able to make out a faint, "Weee!" I hope we're still doing that together 40 years from now, wherever we are. And that the kids will still want to come with us.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

While I wait for the phone to finish backing up,

I watched YouTube videos on how to fix a laggy phone.

I read a couple of articles on the dangers of sleep deprivation.

I stared into space for a little bit. (Kind of confirmed some of what I'd just read. Weird.)

Then it hit me, "Hey! Nobody's up! I could blog!"

Which is not to say that I'm blogging anything I don't want them to read. It's just that I'm not good at holding multiple thoughts coherently in my head. Funny, you'd think I'd be better at that by now. That, and getting to bed at a decent time. But, no. And no. Ah, well.

Tomorrow (today) we ride the Tour d'Arsenal. (There will be napping before hand, seeing as it's already after two in the morning.) It's a neat cycling tour of the Arsenal that goes through some of the older, more historic parts of the area. We've pretty much milked the liability waiver for all it's worth. (The boys, in particular, thinks it's hilarious that I won't let them sky dive, but have no problem sending them into something that requires I acknowledge in writing that they could DIE in the process. Of course, they could die doing anything; I'm just acknowledging that if they die doing this, it's their own fault and my responsibility. Plus, if your bike malfunctions, you get road rash. Order of magnitude in the different probable outcomes.) But we're stoked. It'll be fun.

We rode the Alabama section of the Natchez Trace this past weekend. We didn't have logistical support for the Littles, so Z and I split up the trek. I rode the first portion with the boys, with Jase in the child seat on my bike. He's a fun cycling buddy. I'm going to be a little sad when he's too big to ride along like that. We stopped at a ferry and fished for a bit, then Z took Em on the trail-a-bike and rode with the boys for what turned out to be the entirely uphill portion of the trail. Didn't see that coming. He's so good-natured, though. Jacob and I drove past them on our way out of the park - going up this steep, steep incline - Em was standing on the pedals of the trail-a-bike, just pumping her legs as hard as she could to help get them up the hill. Of course, she was whipping that thing side to side and you could see the back end of Z's bike flailing left and right. It probably felt like trying to climb a mountain with monsters shaking him by the ankles. Yet as we drove past, Jacob and Jase waved and cheered them on, and Z had a smile and a wave for the boys.

Jacob rode 17.1 miles of the trail on a 20" bike. Holy cow, that kid is good-natured... and wiry! He didn't complain at all! Even when he collapsed in the grass and announced that he felt like that was a pretty good ride and he was done, thanks - still, no whining. Z and I were exhausted just watching him. (Well, and because we're old and out of shape.) But he loves to ride with his brothers, and they love to have him along, so we bought him a bigger bike this weekend. They've already taken him on an inaugural ride to the square and to Gina's for a soda. He was all smiles as he explained that he's just as tired, but he goes a LOT faster.  He can hardly wait to do this next ride with the new wheels!

It has rained and rained and rained. When it's not raining, we're outside working on the house or the meadows. Then it rains and we come back in and watch it rain. As quickly as the grass and poison ivy are growing, I'm rather thankful we don't have kudzu. We'd have to hack a path to the car and defoliate the drive just to get to town. It's crazy. We've lived here eight years, and still I'm awed every Spring by how quickly things grow here. It's so green and lush and just beautiful.

We're about three days away from kicking into full-on Summer Schedule. Math, Foreign Language, Reading. Call it a day. It's just too beautiful to stay inside. We'll get down to business in August, when it's not so beautiful anymore. Right now, though, it's time to be outside, digging in the garden, building things in the meadow, and playing in the creek.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Scholaric and Such

We had a great weekend, filled with a little productivity and some really good family and friend time. MeWa and MeTae came down to celebrate Jase's belated birthday. She made him a cooking apron and brought him goodies to make (or, put together). There were all kinds of things in his little bag. The one thing he loves, though? The red rubber spatula that is All His Own. Pure joy. He used it to make the spinach yesterday morning and just chattered away about how great his spatula is. It's crazy what they zero in on.

And, now that he's five, he's decided it's time to learn to read. I don't know. I still need to get him in to see the ophthalmologist. And convince him to hold his pencil properly. But Em gave him the Classical Phonics books she's already done with, and he's happy drawing in them, tracing over her work while we do her lessons. He's got to be picking up some of that, and he's happy and engaged. I look around and realize that's a good half the battle, right there. (Also, we're loving Classical Phonics! If you aren't going to use Writing Road to Reading, and you have a child who loves to draw, but you worry that you'll pull your hair out with some other phonics programs, give this one a look. It's a delight to use.)

I got a wild hair last week and signed up for Scholaric, for our lesson planning and tracking. (Wild Hair Academy -- would that be too hard to explain on transcripts?) It's a very plain and simple program, and I wasn't feeling the love at first, but then we used it last week, and we like it! It's straight forward and easy to use. Set up didn't require that I haul out every title we plan to use for the term and enter all the details for that title before I could get started. (Something that drove me to some serious hard drive cleansing in the past.) The printouts seem to be a good fit for both my list maker and my schedule hater. (He doesn't hate schedules so much as he's just easily overwhelmed by myriad things to check off in the course of a day. The simpler, the better, for that one.) It's just customizable enough that I can make it comfortable for each of them. And if they :aherm: lose their pages, I have a digital copy on hand. So, theoretically, this will also be good for my blood pressure. After the trial period, the cost is $1 per month, per child. This maybe just what we were looking for.

In the rest of the news around here, no chicks have died, no children have wandered off, and I'm sleeping like a proverbial baby (not like any I ever had, but, you know). We've been going 90mph since we got home, though, and we're all in desperate need of a full week to just be *home*. I don't know what I was thinking when I scheduled ALL the things for right after we got back. Braces for James, braces for John, extractions for Jacob (the new teeth came in way behind the baby teeth and never triggered the roots to dissolve - he wanted to keep them and pretend he's a shark - we nixed that for what I hope would be obvious reasons, although he's still not convinced), groomer's for Buddy, clothes shopping for all the people who keep growing. I want to stay home and have tea, dangit! Maybe next week...

Z suggested we skip the garden this year. His reasoning make sense, but it feels like defeat. *Everything* grows here, often without any provocation at all. It shouldn't be that challenging for me to grow a garden. :sigh: But it is. And we do have other things to tend to this summer. So, we'll see. John suggested square foot gardening in the upper meadow. We'll have to do something about the moles, first, but that may be the way we go. The boys have already said they plan to plant their earth boxes. That's a ritual that doesn't get messed with. I do love that.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

What passes for exciting around here...

After years of making do, and more than a few months of threatening to just buy a hammock and sleep in the yard, we've finally bought a new mattress. Our old mattress is probably 25 years old. It's served us well, but it's been a long 25 years, and the other furniture never said, "Oh, you look so good for your age" or any other thing furniture would say if it were animated. I'm pretty sure even the leaning, saggy, 18-year-old chipboard bookcases just politely refused to make eye contact with the bed. And we slept about as well as one might expect on bedding in this condition. When Zorak would travel for work, he'd call at night and I'd ask him to tell me about the mattress. And he would, because even though he probably thought that was odd, he loves me. (By the way, Marriot does sell their mattresses to the public, just in case you're in the market - best night's sleep I've had in decades on one of those.)

So. This is huge. So huge that I must admit I'm probably just old, because a new mattress shouldn't be this exciting.

Yet it is.

And the only reason I'm not wallowing on that thing right now is because the sheets are still in the wash. Even that took some mustering to force me back up.

In other news, we finished the week strong for school, in spite of three dental visits, two hair cuts, music, and the constant need to buy more food.

We bought five new chicks, all "guaranteed to be pullets". (I am not strong on my farm knowledge, but the lady seemed to feel that answered my question, so I had to smile and nod and just trust that "pullet" does in fact mean "you'll get eggs from these if you can keep them alive long enough". Looked it up. It does. Yay!) The kids got the brooder box set up with a divider (we still have one of our older hens convalescing in there after a horrible near-death pecking by the roosters shortly before we left), and they're all enjoying the fun of raising baby chicks again.

And now that the last freeze of the year looks like it's past, it's time to start gardening! That's pretty exciting, too.

Kiss those babies, and sleep well!
~Dy

Upending All The Things

So. Here we are, huh?

A while back, Zorak and I talked about whether this is where we want to stay. He's aching to go back out West. I'm pretty good with whatever we do. The biggest thing for me is that we're together, and we're in it together. Because things can get weird if everyone isn't on the same page.

So we began the search, keeping it fairly quiet for the most part. He had an interview back in January, and although it fell through, it cemented our General Plans. If you read back very far on this blog, you'll see we're well-versed in how quickly Plans can change, but as general sort of positioning thing, "We're trying to move back out West" is a pretty good overview. He also outed the plan online, so then the cat was out of the bag. And, now that I can talk about it, blogging should come significantly easier!

We just returned from a trip to New Mexico. This was a nice visit, but the occasion was somewhat dampened by the purpose. Z's Granny passed away earlier this year. This March would have been her 99th birthday. In keeping with her wishes and the way she lived her life, there was no traditional funeral. Instead, the family gathered for a celebration of her life as they laid her to rest in the New Mexico Springtime Wind. Everyone shared stories of playing Scrabble with her (even when she was mostly blind, she could beat the pants off anyone who sat down to play), Granny's open door policy (door's always open, there's a pot of something on the stove), and memories of growing up on a sheep ranch (nobody knew what lamb tasted like, but they sure knew how to make the most of the old ewes). They had a pot luck with people from all over the place, and an Easter egg hunt for the next generation of children to start building their memories of the old homestead. And then, there was a dance. Granny made it clear she wanted a good band to play at the dance, and her heirs did just that. It was a lovely way to remember a lovely woman, and although she is certainly missed by those whose lives she touched, there's a lot of her still milling about in the 70+ grandchildren and great-grandchildren she left behind.

On our trip, we also got to visit the Bob Wills Museum with the kids' Granny (Z's Mom), play in the Brazos river with friends, and stay up way too late visiting and laughing. All things we love, and they remind us that we're just too far away right now.

But we came home to tulips and redbuds in bloom! And rain! So pretty. It was the morning after we returned before I stopped saying, "Oh, look! We got rain!" and realized... we always get rain here. It's still beautiful, though. Everything's coming in green and vibrant.

In the meantime, we're finishing up a few little projects here and there so the house will be ready to list when Z finds the right job. We're plugging along with Scouting and music and trips to museums as we try to keep everything as normal as possible. The kids are good sports about it. James and John remember living elsewhere, and they trust that we aren't going to drag them off to a miserable existence. Different, maybe, but still good. Jacob knows vaguely that he's lived elsewhere, but pretty much relies on his brothers to assure him that it'll be okay. EmBaby and Jase are fairly overwhelmed with the whole idea and keep asking questions to help them make sense of how moving works. "Will we take the dog?" (Yes.) "Will we take our stove?" (Uh, no.) "Will we get to take our clothes?" (Yes. I never thought about that, but yes, you get to take your clothes.) "Will we take the chickens?" (I'm... *phew* I honestly don't know. I've never moved with chickens, and to be honest I'm kind of hoping we can pitch them as part of the pastoral appeal of the property...) "But what about Tame*?" (:squirms uncomfortably: I, uh, gah. I have no idea! Maybe he'll want to go live with Peter and Elizabeth? Or Me-Wa and Me-Tae? We'll, uh, see... :cringe:)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

*(Tame is our "special" chicken. He survived an early dog encounter, and has since become somewhat human-endeared. He would be a house chicken in a heartbeat if I'd let him. He's very content to spend time with people, and has become a bit of a party prop when we have cookouts. It's like having a weird dog.)

A Hobbity Holiday Outing

We saw The Avengers earlier this year, and we try to keep treks to the theater to a minimum (it's SO expensive!), but we really wanted to see The Hobbit in theaters, too. So we splurged and called it a Christmas present. The three older boys - who have all read the book many times and know and love the story, and I - who would watch Martin Freeman read electric bills - hit the theater on Friday afternoon.

They are so fun to be out and about with, but I think on this outing, Jacob was the most fun. You could see the frustration on his face at every change and deviation. He'd whisper the original to me, then glance my way, as if to say, "You see that, right?" I started to worry that this had been a bad idea (while also quietly celebrating how dearly he loves the written word. I admit it.) The screen went black, the lights came up, and then you could hear a lone little voice gasp (had he not been breathing this whole time?) and whisper-shout, "That. Was. Awesome!"

Yeah. It was. It so was.

We thought it would be fun to make it a Full Adventure for the Whole Family, so I got tickets for Zorak to take the Littles to Santa's Village at the Early Works Museum while we were at the show. The program material said there would be crafts, programs, Santa's reindeer, an elf workshop. It sounded neat. Guess it turned out to be a bit of a dud (no real crafts, or interactive or hands-on activities, but plenty of stations with different winter scenes to take pictures in various settings. At $5 a head, they at least paid for the cut-out snowman, right? Weird.) The reindeer were cold and sleepy. But the letters to Santa were hilarious (Jase marked that he had been both Naughty and Nice), and Z did enjoy the time with them. They consoled themselves with sushi and miso soup while they waited for our show to let out.

We ate sushi, too, because really, who turns down the chance to eat? Then we drove through the Galaxy of Lights at the Botanical Gardens. The wait in line was about 45 minutes. The drive through, itself, was nearly an hour. It was beautiful, but I'll tell you, if you want to enjoy the full experience, let me know and you can borrow Jase. He was like this at the sight of every. single. display.

A CANDLE!!! A TREE!! A BUTTERFLY!!! OMG, THIS IS THE BEST LIGHT SHOW EVER!!  I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

We didn't think he could keep up that level of intensity for long, but we were wrong. He did start to short out a bit at the end, but he was still at full-throttle. It was magnificent. I'd happily pay $20 for anything that elicits that response.

Then we hit Krispy Kreme. The light was on. We were distracted by the pretty doughnuts. It was worth it.

We didn't manage to get a picture of the family, but everyone wore their non-holey, non-camo clothes just in case there was a random photo shoot. Three of the kids were sound asleep before we hit the edge of town. We pulled into the drive around midnight, feeling our ages, but really glad we ran with it. The movie was fun, the food was good, the lights were pretty. Most of all, though, the kids are neat, and they are so much fun to be around. The whole outing turned out to be more of a gift to myself than to them. It was a good gift.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Learning in the New Year

I've been quiet about our plan since the Big Epiphany. Sorry about that. We were thinking, and working, and wondering how to pull this off. I still don't have a taker for the Committee Chair position, but I'm hopeful. Beyond that, though, I think we have eliminated much of the extraneous mess and have a good, solid plan in place.

Starting in January, we have three strong, traditional, academic days a week carved out. These days will carry the brunt of the hard labor - the math, languages (both foreign and domestic), and the science and history. We still have to go through the lesson plans and make sure this will work, but it looks good.

Wednesdays will be our heavy literature day. I'm considering making some Ozzy or Metallica book covers to go with it, and of course I've got a soundtrack in my head. This will be a day of reading, music, reading, and literature discussion. We will probably re-institute afternoon tea for wrapping things up. History is still tied to literature, so there's a thread of continuity, there. And we already have memory cards in a travel case that we've been using for foreign language and poetry, which we'll use on Wednesdays, as well.

Fridays - and this is where we went off the rails a bit, but I think it could work - Fridays will be our Independent Learning Days. This is the day the boys take charge and lead us on adventures they want to explore. We have Cubs in the mornings, and one Friday a month we have Skate Day, which is only slightly less inviolable than, say, Easter. So we needed to find a way to work with Fridays that wouldn't make the entire day a wash. The boys are old enough, and engaged enough, that I decided to give this day to them. This is the day we'll hit museums, do volunteer work, visit artisans and shops. This will be the day for projects - to make movies or write games, to build models or develop interpretive dance routines based on the Abyssinian military model. Whatever. And I've given the boys a heads up that there are plenty of things *I* want to learn about, so if they don't step up and make suggestions, well, then we're going to have an entire semester of architectural history and more literature!

We've discussed how often people complain that learning this or that is dumb, yet when you give them leave to study things that aren't "dumb", they don't know what they want to learn. They cannot fathom that learning is fun, or that you can sometimes wield your own carrot and stick. There's a disconnect between the mere idea of learning and the joy that it brings. Mine don't, and I appreciate that -- although they've been known to express skepticism about the validity of a lesson or two, they acknowledge that there's probably shizzle they aren't privy to, and they trust me -- that good faith goes a long way. Still, I want to make certain we keep those two ideas connected, without sacrificing the rigor of a quality education, or sucking the joy of a delightful journey from them. We lost some of that this past year, and we aim to get it back. (Way to set the bar at just the right height for a good clotheslining, huh? I hope it doesn't take us down. We'll see.)

And there we are. Now to get to the lesson plans and shuffling of the shelves. Zorak has agreed to build a coat rack for the new dining room similar to the one in the foyer, but with a shelf below it where we can stage our things for each day's adventures. (Now that we use the balcony to come and go, the foyer is less relevant and ends up being more of an open-sided storage cubby than a functional staging platform, so this will be great!) Theoretically, we are set for a fantastic year ahead!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

A Day Out

The Birmingham Zoo hosted its annual Tiger Cub Safari today. We'd not been before, and we realized that none of the younger three have ever been to a zoo, and the older two don't remember being to one, so we decided to go and make a day of it. Zorak decided to put off home projects for the day and come along, and I'm so glad he did. We really, thoroughly enjoyed the day.

The weather was a bit chilly, but the day itself was gorgeous. After working hard the past week, we were all ready to get a little goofy and have some fun.

The kids are really the best. I love traveling with them. They not only pose willingly for goofy shots, but suggest some fun ones, too.

Of course, by the time we got home, everyone was bushed, so the kids hit the hay and Z and I got some time to sit and watch a movie, make plans, and drink coffee. It was like ending the day with a fun little mini-date. I'm glad we went for it, and look forward to maybe making it a tradition to have a day out, just doing something fun together, every couple of months.

I wonder if we'll be ready to get back to work tomorrow, or if we'll want to lounge around, thinking up new places to go?

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

A Busy Day, and a Night with the Moon

We had a crazy, lazy, busy day. Yes, really -- all of it at once. The kids were up and at it early this morning, in anticipation of playing video games with friends for the morning. Zorak and I slept in, in anticipation of... not moving much until we had to.

Friends came - we talked, worked, played, and generally had a lovely morning.


Then more friends came - we talked, watched the children play, relaxed, and generally had a lovely afternoon. Our friend, Larry, helped James with his computer project, which absolutely made James' day. (Although right now there's a second computer piggybacked onto my monitor, hogging up the leg room under the computer desk. James and I don't seem to use the same ranking process to determine what makes for a great set up. He says it's temporary. I'm hoping our definitions of "temporary" are not equally askew.)

Before we knew it, it was time to eat and head out for International Observe the Moon Night up at the NASA Educational Building in Huntsville. That's one of the things we love about living here: this place is a full-up cornucopia of fantastic opportunities. Science, art, history, music - you name it, Huntsville has it, and usually it's hosted by a group of civic organizations so odds are the event will be full of knowledgeable people with a passion for the topic at hand and an interest in sharing with those who are interested.

Tonight's event was no exception. We were treated to face time with some fascinating people who shared with us about robotic design, imagery technology, colonization research and programs, geology, astronomy, and more. We wished we'd had time to go earlier the event. An hour and a half just wasn't time enough to see and hear all there was available. But we're all really glad we went and enjoyed the time we had.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

And You Shall Ride the Gauntlet

Well, no, it wasn't that bad. He thought it might, be, though. Jacob turned nine yesterday, and the timing of it landed so that we rode the first half of the Chief Ladiga Trail *on* his birthday. He wasn't convinced this was a great plan, but he went along with it.

He doesn't look traumatized, does he?

OK, maybe a little surprised, but certainly not traumatized, right? 

At the end, the exhilaration of knowing he'd ridden 16 miles under his own power was pretty heady stuff. And it was fun! EmBaby rode the trail-a-bike behind Zorak. Jase rode in the child seat behind me. The boys gave their bikes a good workout. Everyone enjoyed the day, which is pretty impressive, all things considered.

We stopped at Logan's on the way home to refuel with steak and veggies. Then we stopped at the halfway point for a milkshake from Jack's. As he sipped his milkshake, he let out a contented little sigh and said, "This was a pretty fantastic birthday."

And we never got to the presents or the cake!

Happy Birthday Smidge, er, Jacob! You are going to have an Amazing year being 9!

(I'm trying out Dropbox for photos right now. If any of these don't appear properly, and I don't catch it, please let me know. Google/Blogger and I aren't able to communicate very well at the moment when it comes to photo and file uploading.)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Camp

Last night, we trekked up to the Scout Camp for Family Night. Basically, it's just a chance to take forgotten items up to the Troop, make sure the Bad Idea Fairy didn't stow away in the footlockers, and see for your own self that your child hasn't spontaneously ignited or started dropping appendages in the woods. But it's fun. And it keeps the Littles from imploding by dividing the week into manageable segments. (It dawned on me last night - er, more accurately, Jacob pointed out - that in two years, all three of the bigger boys will be going to the same camp. I might have hyperventilated a little on the inside, at that.)

John showed us his metal working projects - wrought iron dutch oven lid lifters, and a lantern hanger (which, he pointed out, can double as a back scratcher!) There is some serious joy for that child in working with his hands. He *gets* that materials have ways, and he loves ferreting those ways out, finding the right path to follow to coax a piece of iron, or wood, into the shape he needs to emerge from it.  He was a bit disappointed that they won't let the boys make swords (thank you, BSA guidelines! Good call), but perked right up at the thought that we could build a forge on the property. Turned out that he didn't get into the woodworking course, but he's enjoying Space Exploration and they're launching rockets today that they've been working on this week.

James - He Who Prefers To Stay Indoors If At All Possible - has a full week of Camping, Wilderness Survival, Emergency Preparedness, and Climbing. And he's having a ball. His favorite program this week is the climbing course. He said both the hardest part, and his favorite part (Wha--???) is leaning out over the edge for rappelling. Even with a broken thumb. (More internal hyperventilation. If they ever discover that Mom's "wow, that's fascinating!" face is actually her, "oh, dear heaven, please stop telling me this!" face, it's all over. I'll have to find a new way to cope.) To finish his Camping Merit Badge, we'll have to get out and go camping several times. I'm ridiculously excited about that, as I love camping, but it's easy to punt it to the back of the queue with everything else that needs doing. Now, we'll have an excuse!

EmBaby ran in the woods (oh, the poison oak!) with the boys playing capture the flag, then sat by the campfire soaking up all the Happy. She wants to camp with the boys. And stay there. She offered to sleep between the cots and pointed out hopefully that they could each share a little mosquito netting... come to think of it, she may be more excited about the upcoming camping trips than I am!

The Littles fell prey to the Sandman one at a time as we made our way back down the mountain. Zorak looked over at me and said, "I'm not going to handle the empty nest well, at all. Just a heads up." I nodded, understanding. And yet, they're all such neat people. It's hard to be sad about seeing wee babes grow into amazing youth when I think about the panoramic view that lies ahead for them. I will probably be a teary, snotty mess as they leave, but right now, I'm just so proud of them, and enjoy the people they are. I'm glad to have them in my life, and excited to see where life will take them. There will be great joy in being along for that journey, too, however it may look. But I'm keeping tissues in the pantry, just the same.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

And then...

We spent three days at Zorak's Mom's house. For him, it was three days of doing nice things for his Mom. (Electrical wiring, plumbing repairs, pouring concrete, etc.) For the kids, it was three days of pure, unadulterated kid-fun.

She made them pancakes and chocolate fudge brownies. (Jase cried for a week after we got home, "When are we going BACK TO GRANNY'S???")

They played with Legos indoors when the wind kicked up the sand.

They rode their bikes to the corner store when the wind died down.

They identified plants and critters and read some of Granny's book stash.

I served as the parts gopher, and washed a lot of laundry. Bless my mother-in-law, she understands how nice it is to get home with clean clothes instead of bags of dirty laundry, so she gave me free rein of the laundry room and let me get it done. That's some happy stuff, right there.

And then, to Texas - to the middle-of-nowhere to see KathyJo and her punkins (we missed Ernie, much to both of the guys' chagrin) - to Austin to see some dear, dear friends, there. Meredith and Jami and ALL the children in between.

And then, homeward. With a passion. We had a beautiful trip, but it was a full two weeks on the road, and the children were beginning to unravel. Zorak and I were beginning to grow road weary. It was time. We pushed on that first evening, then made the last dash home in a 17-hour drive the next day, pulling it at one in the morning.

We could have stayed another night along the road, but I couldn't quite muster the umpf to rally everyone up and out early one. more. morning. (The kids were fantastic! It was me. I was done with the mustering and the rallying.) So we plugged along.

Home again. The South had sprung up in buntings of white and orange, dotted with flowery ribbons of orange and yellow. Springtime in the South is one of the most beautiful, amazing things I've ever seen. (And quite a contrast to the sandblasting we'd received during a New Mexico Spring.) That blunted the sting of being away from loved ones, and warmed the welcome upon our return. Oh, how I love it here in the Springtime.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy