Jake and stuff

I guess since Jake is finally having a birthday party tonight, almost a month after his birthday, the timing is probably right to put up a little birthday post for my 11 year old! 

This picture is Jake's head shot for the Christmas Story program.  He will be playing Schwartz in A Christmas Story when it opens in a few days.  Schwartz is the kid who tells the other kid (Flick) to lick the pole.  Since I need to kill three birds with one stone, this is actually Jake's "school picture" turned black and white via instagram, and his 11 year old picture.

Jake is really thriving in school.  We really are homeschoolers at heart, and he will definitely be home again next year, but I'm really happy that he is going to that sweet school this year.  They put on a really touching Veteran's Day program on Friday that Madi and I went to.  Jake and his classed 'signed' God Bless the USA and sang the Armed Forces Medley. 

 

 Now it's the next day.  I had planned to write more, but that's not happening, so I'll leave you with a few more pics...

 

 

 

and remember when...

Leaving the sideways one, it's an illustration of my lack of time and energy.

Families

I'm kind of obsessed with families.  I always have been.  I have been analyzing families for the better part of 30 years, maybe longer.  My degree is actually in Human Development and FAMILY Relations with a concentration is Early Childhood Education.  Some people would argue that I'm not using my degree (I've had a lot of people asking me where I work lately), but really I've used it every day of my life (even before I got it), I just don't get paid (in money) for it.  I remember watching the way other families did things when I was little, and deciding which things seemed to work and which things didn't.  The family that didn't let their teenage kids open a box of cookies when the parents weren't home...not so good!  The family where the mom always had an after school snack for the kids... better!  The girl who always got the same pair of Sears jeans that I got (specifically the pair with the roller skate on the pocket)... a little spoiled, she was the youngest of five kids.  When I started babysitting, I loved hearing everything about how the families functioned, their rules, their meals, their bedtime rituals.  I still love this.  In some ways I've always known this about myself and in other ways I'm just confirming it.  Last weekend I was at a place where a lot of people were giving "talks", I was reminded how much I enjoy listening to any speaker who uses examples from their own families in their talks.  I was reminded of this again this morning when in between doing some school with Madi and laundry and dishes, I read all of a new to me blog written by a 28 year old mother of one baby.  I'm decades (almost) past that stage and yet, I just kept reading and reading.  Recently I met someone and a couple minutes into the conversation I asked her if she had kids.  She didn't.  All through the rest of the conversation I had to keep mentally checking my face to make sure I didn't look like this

I can't really relate to no kids.

 

I have more to say on this subject, but my family calls...

3000 words

Time to blog?  HA!!  This was supposed to be the year that I cleaned my house and baked lots of cookies.  I think it's pretty safe to say it'll be another 8 years before we get to that point.  Yesterday Jake forgot his Social Studies book at school and had homework and a quiz to study for.  He was able to borrow it from the boy down the street so we could make a quick copy of the chapter (the boy next door had forgotten his book to) {have I mentioned that if ever there was a year to send Jake to school it's this one with next door buddy and down the street boy both in his class, his (former homeschooling) teacher is rookie teacher of the year and the other team teacher is teacher of  the year}  Anyway, when he was bringing the book back to down the street boy I was wishing I had some nice baked goods to send them as a thank you, but with a CCD class to teach last night, a toddler and preschooler at my house, an exchange student with field trip permission slip issues and three Chinese friends who I had also brought home from school and who had needed to stop at Target for something, this was not the time to thank people with baked goods. 

It's not the time to blog either apparently.

In the meantime here are pictures (remember a picture is worth 1000 words) illustrating what is not getting done in my house these days.

 

Yes Jake has been sleeping sheetless for an embarrassingly long time!  On a positive note, Madi and I just finished our 19 hour audiobook for bookclub (with three hours to spare), and I'm fairly confident that the downstairs bathroom no longer smells like pee.  That's the best I can do, and I'm not afraid to say it.

Eighteen Years!!

In the morning I will be the mother of an adult!! The pictures aren't coming out in the right order, but that's just the way it'll have to be.

Not sure what this will be about

In case you were wondering, I'm still not keeping up.  (and the other half of the floor has not been washed yet...at this point the whole thing will need to be washed again anyway!) 

Madi had another freakish allergic reaction a week and a half ago.  Concern over it is consuming me.  She actually went to the allergist today and was tested for food allergies...she has none. 

Jonathan is producing a show at the theatre!  He wanted the theatre to get a moving light (they cost about $1500), the only way  the board of directors would approve the purchase was if he organized a fundraiser show, so he is.  It is this Saturday at 2:00.  Unfortunately tickets are selling vvveeerrrryyy sllloooowwlly, if you are local, please buy tickets!

Jake was asked to be part of safety patrol at school.  Have I said that already?  I know I didn't in this post, I don't know about other ones. 

I'm on this post every week or so routine.  It's not doing much for me or anyone else.  I had thoughts of getting really active in the many link ups that go on each week (five favorites, seven quick takes etc), but have done almost nothing with that.

I've got the new Nicholas Sparks book.  This is the longest he's gone without a new book since I started reading his books (which was essentially when he started writing them).  I'm not very far into it.  I'm sensing a trend here, are you?  I'm not really accomplishing much at the moment. 

I am helping to organize ushers for the theatre.  It is taking a good amount of my time, but I wouldn't say I'm doing a bang up job on that front either.  I am also teaching fifth grade religious education at church.  When I taught a few years ago (also fifth grade) it gave me a lot of blog fodder, so we'll see what this year brings.  Jake is in my class.  Last week I noticed that only Jake and three other kids in the class (of 11) actually go to Mass, so it will be interesting.

I do have homemade bread rising, I guess that's something I'm accomplishing.

Eventually I'm going to hit publish on this post, that will be another.

You know those blogs (or facebook posts) that make everyone feel bad because those people have perfect kids and perfect houses and perfect perfect perfect?  Well around here I think it's opposite day.  I'll tell you all about how much I am not getting done, and you can feel good about yourself for getting something done.

If I really wanted to make you feel good I'd share the hideously fat picture of me that someone shared on fb this weekend.  UGH!  Did it stop me from eating two bowls of Ben and Jerry's coffee heath bar crunch?  What do you think?

Sometimes I think those' woe is me' blogs can be even worse than the 'we are perfect' blogs, so maybe I should quit while I'm ahead.  Or behind (big fat behind!) as the case may be!

Can't keep up...

...so I'm going to embrace not keeping up!

Over a month ago, I used a pinterest recipe to make really good tile and grout cleaner and washed HALF of my kitchen floor... (the end!)

Last night I was reliving my Sept 11 (the original) experience in my head and was remarking to myself that I still have such a good memory.  I was remembering the strange friend who told me that I was the only one of her friends who seemed concerned about the events of that day (??!!), and how the same 'friend' told me how she told her kids to look up in the sky because they wouldn't be seeing any planes up there (as it that was the big deal).  Well all the while I was telling myself what a good memory I had and I was looking around the kitchen for my Sudoku that I couldn't find... turns out it was in my hand!  (I still haven't finished it either.)


We frequently have 7 people at our dinner table, tonight will be 8.  Two need to leave before 5, one won't get home before 6, the rest of us need to leave before 7, one (and maybe one of the guests) is a vegetarian, nothing has been taken out of the freezer (not that the one pound of ground turkey that's in there would feed that many people anyway), looks like chicken nuggets (or left over fish for those of us with mature palates), homemade macaroni and cheese, and cantaloupe it is!

I am in the middle of both the second and third books in The Giver series.  The Giver is one of my all time favorite books, these two...eh...not so much.  They are OK, but not nearly as good as the original.  Why am I in the middle of both?  I originally thought the third was the second.  If I were caught up, I'd link to all these books, but I'm not...see title!

I just got a voicemail from an older lady that wants to usher at the theatre.  I am helping to organize ushers, one more thing to not keep up with.  Anyway, on the message the lady just said "bye now" I love that!  I can't bring myself to say it though, I just like to hear it.  Also "byebye", my mother says that, I like it but just cant say it.  I also can't say "hubby" no matter how endearing Mike is.

I was just interrupted by another usher call and then it was time to take Madi to her sign language class, now I'm right back to finish this.  Even though it's only 10 minutes from Jake's pick up time and I was already out, I had to come home to do this because even though a half washed floor doesn't really phase me, a half finished blog post will drive me insane.

I forgot to shave my legs this morning.

70s on 7

This morning while on my school drop off run, which when Madi goes to the gym early in the morning usually involves two round trips to the neighboring town and back before 9am, I had some thoughts for a blog post.  A few hours later, they don't seem nearly as profound or blogworthy as before, but I'm here so I'll go with it.  Life is crazy, just when I think it might calm down for a second, something else comes up.  I've talked about this before I think.  You know how at the checkout line at the store there is always something pertinent on the cover of People Magazine?  I always wonder, what would have been on the cover if that couple didn't have their baby this week or those people weren't tragically killed or whatever.  Life is like that too.  If XYZ problem weren't on the forefront of my mind, something else would be there.  I supposed that something else would also seem like a bigger deal if XYZ weren't such a huge all encompassing deal.  Well these were the thoughts on my mind between dropping off Mary at her school and coming back home to get Jake to bring him to his school.  Usually Jake is with me during this time, and we get to talk, but I had left him home for the first drop off this morning because he was in the middle of a bathroom situation (not a bad one, just a normal one, but since now, as a public schooler, he doesn't have the freedom to go whenever the mood strikes him, I let him take his time this morning).  This gave me time to ponder.  A couple days ago I was switching the radio channels (yes I am spoiled I have satellite radio in my car), I stopped on the 70s and station, and I've left it there almost exclusively for the last few days.  My default station is usually the 80s.  I am definitely an 80s girl.  These last few days though I am really loving the 70s.  It reminds me of a few things, #1 when we moved to Charlotte in the early 90s, they had a brand new station that played 70s music exclusively, that was my first experience with older music that wasn't "Oldies".  And #2 {if I were really clever I'd make some reference to Jake's bathroom situation here} that whole thing about when they are little they have little problems that I generally don't like because 3 days into parenting my baby had a stroke... well it actually is fairly relevant when I'm talking about myself.  I was born a month into the 70s.  That makes figuring out my age during certain years very easy... 0-9 seventies, 10-19 eighties, 20-29 nineties.  So while I usually love 80s music and had a fairly cushy teen life, there were still some bigish problems that I had to endure in the 80s, moving away from all my friends, a friend's death, boy problems, etc, sometimes those 80s songs remind me of times that were complicated.  70s songs remind me of nothing but being a kid.  It's good to remember being a kid.  It chillaxes you a little bit.  Maybe this is also why I love the Brady Bunch and Three's Company (yay Three's Company...we finally have a TV service that has a channel with Three's Company!!).  Maybe it's also why I've read Are You There God, It's Me Margaret at least once every year since I was 9.  Once in a while, we need to remember being a kid.  All three of my kids are older than I was in the 70s, I need to work extra hard to remember back that far.  If you need me I'll be driving kids around listening to Me and Bobby McGee  or I might be folding laundry watching DVR-ed episodes of  Jack, Janet, and Chrissy!


(I even heard one of my all time favorites, Paradise by the Dashboard Lights, yesterday (Don't judge me!), but I couldn't stay in the car and listen to the whole thing because I had a baby with me who had just soiled his last diaper (there's that #2 again) and I was on a mission to get him one before he soiled his carseat or my car seat!!)