Thanksgiving Recap

The Thanksgiving holiday is over.  My daughter came home from college for the first time since the semester started.  We watched movies, played board and card games together, colored (those adult coloring pages!), and generally relaxed. I got some reading in my Lewis & Clark books done.  (They have reached the Gates of the Mountains in present day Montana.)  It was a really nice break.  We did venture out to Target on Saturday--we could not resist the lure of the book section, but that was about it.  I did do some on-line shopping (hey, I'm a busy working mom, I had to get it done), but didn't go out Thursday night/Friday early. 

I will attempt to stay relaxed and not get worked up about how much I have to do as the Christmas season gets closer.  That kind of thinking is totally reversed from what we should be doing during this season.

Water Parks and Silos

Yesterday, I was at the water park.  I am roped into going every year to take my kids, I don't particularly enjoy it.  As I have grown older, I have developed a fear of being in enclosed spaces and I have never liked being in the dark.  So as you can imagine hurdling down a small, enclosed tunnel, in the dark does not in anyway sound fun to me.  So I sit frying in the sun at the wave pool.  An overcrowded, murky 0 depth entry pool.  It disgusts me and there are lots of unknown floaties floating around.  I try not to think about what is floating and what is causing the water to be so murky and I quickly cool off so I can go roast in the sun some more while I wait for my kids to be finished.  I would have preferred a spot in the shade, but all the shade spots are gone, so I am adding more unsightly "age" spots and moles to what's all ready there.  My sunscreen has proven to be ineffective.  I guess it's time to toss it.  How many years have I had that tube?  I probably don't want to know. 

So I am sitting immersed in the unnatural, man-made monstrosity that is the water park.  Surrounded by throngs of people, cement, unnaturally bright plastic tubes, and loud music that is piped all over the park.  I am pretty good at shutting out stuff and am trying to read one of my three books I brought (one never and I mean never wants to be without reading material).  Putting my book down, I gaze out of the water park and look longingly across the farm fields when I spy I silo.  You still see old falling down silos dotting the  horizon.  They were built back when farmers could still make money planing crops and raising stock.  The silos held the silage that cattle ate.  Farmers now days, can't make money raising a small herd of cattle, so the silos stand unused and falling down.  Cattle are now raised on giant industrial farms and the family farmer is struggling to make ends meet, banking it all on how well the next season of corn and soybeans will do.  So, I sit having 'fun' frying in the sun and cooling off in the murky water, thinking about how sad it is that the days of being able to make a good living off of a small farm are long gone.   There will be no more silos, no more barns, no more small family farmers quietly making a living.  Sure their are still farmers, but it's all about being big now.  More acres, more heads, until it is nothing more than an industrial machine.  We no longer build silos.  Now we have to look forward to more unnaturally bright water parks.   

The Summer of Harry Potter, Update

After a rough start (which I have blogged about earlier this summer), we finally finished the first Harry Potter book on the 4th of July, Yea!  My son, eventually, got into the book and once I dragged him away from whatever he was doing (he never likes to transition away from something he is enjoying) he would enjoy the nightly reading.  Immediately after finishing the book, we watched the first movie with the Raging Princess (who is also a Harry fan). 

I think it is SO important to share the books you love with your kids.  They will pick-up on your enthusiasm and even if they don't ever like it as much as you do, you still have shared something of yourself with your kids and along the way are fostering a love of reading that will sustain them for the rest of their lives. 

We have started on book 2, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  The goal is to finish it before school starts. 

I am a fantasy nut so, of course, I love the Harry Potter books.  I read them all the summer before the last two books came out.  I then rushed to the store like a kid to get the new books when they came out, but I didn't have a kid as an excuse.  My daughter was still too small at the time.  I read the first three books out loud to my daughter, but then she was old enough to read for herself and she didn't want me to read to her anymore, so I let it go.  I have been waiting for my son to be old enough for the books.  I have been excitedly waiting for summer, because this is the summer I share Harry Potter with my son.  The only problem is, he has changed his mind and now does not want to listen.  I have been stubbornly reading anyway, but it has taken the joy out of it.  The movies have kid of ruined it for them.  They no longer are interested in the books, because they have watched the movies so much.

I need to rethink this.  I will now read Harry Potter as a "bonus" reading during the day and still let my son pick what he wants to hear at night.  I think we will also have a big family movie night to watch the movies after we finish the books.  Maybe I can make a Harry Potter theme day, food, games.  I need to whip up some excitement. 

Despite my continued insistence, my daughter, the raging princess, has not finished the books.  She has discovered vampires and now isn't that interested in Harry.  Here is the new plan--I read all the books to both of them.  R. Princess can join in when we finish the third book, whether she wants to our not.  Sometimes you have to push things a bit.  They usually come around and if not, at least, I tried.
  

Update:  Okay, I put my plan into action today. It went better. My son listened without humming. He was still playing with a toy, but I think he WAS actually listening. The bad part is, now I still have to read stupid superhero books over and over again at night. Sigh, the things we do for our kids.

Another Milestone for the Raging Princess

My daughter, affectionately known as The Raging Princess, officially completed 8th grade last night.  She received her diploma, a certificate for being on the A, B honor roll, certificates for being in Newspaper club, Jazz Band, Symphonic Band, Library Club and the Presidential Silver Award for Academic Excellence!  I am so proud of the hard work she did.  She managed all A's and B's even with taking advanced math, reading, and writing.  I am happy for her, but a bit sad.  She is growing up so fast!



Mother's Day is one of those holidays that has always seemed forced and insincere to me.  Despite that, I have always tried to make the day nice for my mother, but my kids were always too young to really do much.  I have received the cutest school made gifts and cards and, of course, sweet hugs and well wishes.  This year, however, my oldest is 14 and she took charge.  She asked what I wanted, figured out she could order it on Amazon, got my husband to order it, snuck the gift in the house before I got home from work, and wrapped it.  I love my gifts!

Thanks to the Raging Princess for taking charge.  Thanks also
to the Lego Hero and the Sports Nut for a great Mother's Day.  I love you all; you guys are the best!

Monarch books 2012

In grade schools and libraries across Illinois you will find displays of Monarch Award books in the Children's section.  These are books voted as being notable for grades K-3.  The lists always contain a good variety of books; something everyone will like.  Schools make a special point to try to read books from the list to the children throughout the year, but the list contains 20 books and schools just can't read all the books to the kids.  The schools usually have a special recognition for those children who did read all 20 of the books.  The new lists come out in the spring.  The reading usually starts in the fall when the kids come back to school.  I just finished reading all 20 books to my son (2nd grade).  It took me longer than I had hoped, because I took breaks from the reading to read books to him that he really wanted me to. (If you have been reading this blog, you know some of those books were quite lengthy.)  I am so glad I made the effort.  They are great books!  While my son wasn't thrilled when I pulled out a Monarch book, he always liked them, some he even loved.  So when your kids go back to school grab a list (usually available at the library) and start reading!  You and your children will be glad you did.

                              

My daughter was confirmed on Sunday.  It was a wonderful ceremony and it meant so much to her.  We go to a United Church of Christ and the confirmation process started last year in 7th grade.  It has been a long road.  The kids, attended church services, attended Sunday school classes, preformed service for the church, planned and ran Wednesday night church services during lent, attended youth group meetings, did the 24 hour famine lock-in, went on many field trips to learn about other faiths and cultures, met with mentors every other week all year, met with the pastor once a month, went on a weekend retreat, read her faith statement during church service, and I think their were a few more things they did that my daughter wasn't able to do.  It was a lot of hard work, but in the end she learned a lot.  I think her faith grew and I am grateful to everyone involved for making it such a great experience for her.  That doesn't mean that is wasn't a grind, because it really was, but it was so worth it.  I think the experiences she has had are a great faith foundation that she will hopefully continue to build upon as she becomes older.  She learned a lot of great things about faith, tolerance, service to others, and diversity. 

Wednesday Night Sucks!

For the most part, I try to be positive on this blog.  Although, my husband seems to think I am not positive enough--to that I say too bad.  This is my blog and I write in it what is on my mind and what is important to me.  I am not trying to make people laugh.  Not that I have many readers to worry about anyway. 

So tonight, I write what is annoying me.

*  Having only 1/2 hour at home before I have to leave to take the kids to choir practice.
*  Finally get home from errands and kids activities at 7:45
*  Having to stop at the allergists, the library, office max, and four trips to church in one night.
*  Only having 45 minutes to get a kid with ADHD (who's medication has long since worn off) to do 30 minutes of homework in 45 minutes.
*  Having to eat frozen dinners because I have no time to cook.

I just got home and was in such a bad mood that I decided to take a few minutes to relax and calm down.  So, instead of doing the right thing, I let my son go play his Wii instead of doing homework.  We may not even get to the home work.  To that I say, Oh Well (Imagine how Katy Perry says it in "Last Friday Night (t.g.i.f)," which I am listening to right now.)  Sometimes you have to let things go. 
I'm sure that yes, there are lots of people that have similar busy nights.  My questions is Why?  Why is a lifestyle like this necessary?  Why are we so busy?  I'm tired.  I have two kids, two dogs, three rabbits and a fish to take care of.  

Well after weeks of obsessing over Minecraft and watching endless hours of videos of people playing it on You Tube, my son finally got his chance to play the game last night.  It was much harder than he anticipated and he couldn't do anything.  That on top of the fact that he discovered PokePark, the Wii Pokemon game, on You Tube and watched all of those videos and was extremely sad there were no more to watch.  I found the game at Wal-Mart, but it was $50.00, too much to spend and I suspect it would also be too hard for him.  My son went to bed with tears in his eyes.  I wish I could shield him from disappointment, but I guess that is part of growing up.  A bad day.

This is the book I am now reading.  I have to share the excerpt.  It is the BEST description of the challenges of raising a child with ADHD I have ever read!


"Creating a good life and crafting a promising future for a child with ADHD is incredibly complicated.  Lest you've gotten so down on yourself for "failing" that you've forgotten what you're trying to accomplish, let me remind you how high the bar has been set for you:  You have to convince an underfunded school system that may be understaffed with undertrained educators to learn and use new classroom and homework systems to ensure that your child has the same chance to learn as the dozens of other children under its tutelage.  You have to work with a doctor pressured by managed care to treat patients faster and more cheaply in finding medication that will calm your child down and help him concentrate, without keeping him up at night or causing other intolerable side effects.  You may very well have to negotiate with your insurance company with the skill of an experienced arbitrator to get coverage for therapy, medications, and even visits to the prescribing physician.  You and your child's other parent have to set aside philosophical differences and marital conflicts to form a united front to help your son or daughter with ADHD.  And you have to take on these time-consuming, exhausting tasks without neglecting your other kids, harming your own health, or going broke." 

Just when I was ready to download Minecraft and try to figure how to help my son (age 7) play it, he discovered some Pokemon Wii game.  I even had a membership number ready to go, thanks to a co-worker that gave me her husband's unused membership.  Midwestern son will, no doubt, come back to wanting to play Minecraft, but I have had a reprieve.  My son's fixation on things is a result of his Aspererger's and his impulsiveness is all ADHD.  He is not the easiest kid to raise, but he's a great kid and a constant joy (when he's not begging non-stop for the latest object of his current fixation).  

Well, it reprieve didn't last long.  My son is having a fit because I took the computer away and won't go do anything else except lay next to me yelling.  In the midst of this, he reminded me about Minecraft.  Oh Joy!

My son has discovered Minecraft.  I know nothing about it.  Is 7 too young to play minecraft?  Anyone know anything about it?  This is all new to me, my daughter isn't remotely interested in video games.  I have learned to play the Pokemon card game, learned all about superheros, read book after book about dinosaurs, have navigated You Tube for him so he can watch how to build Lego videos, helped him build Lego's, and now it's Minecraft.  What's next?

Weekend's Over

Another weekend flew by.  I was busy doing a lot and nothing at all; where does the time go?  I wish I had more time to do scouting activities with Midwestern son.  I did help Midwestern daughter bake, that was fun.  Even the weekends where we don't do much are great.  I love just hanging out and doing stuff together around the house. 

(I didn't take this picture, I found it on the web, but it reminded me of how things looked around here this weekend.)

I think raising my children is the most important thing I will ever do in my life.  They are my legacy.  They are my connection to the past and my link to the future.  Raising them has been and is the most challenging, frustrating, joyful, and difficult thing I will ever do.  I worry about them incessantly and am so proud of them.

The Time Starved Chef

I've struggled for years to put dinner on the table that not only everyone will like, but that is easy and quick, and fairly inexpensive.  I have decided that lots of people (myself included) can put dinners on the table is cost were no option and I had lots of time.  The real challenge is when you have picky eaters, with everyone being picky about different things; a short cooking time, some nights only 30 min. to fix dinner and eat; limited resources; oh and don't forget it should be at least a bit healthy. 

That should be a reality show.  Contestants have to work a full day, come home at 4:15, go though back packs, unpack lunch boxes, feed dogs, get dinner fixed and kids fed, and then have kids changed and ready to leave at 5:45 two days a week and 4:45 one day a week.!  I say, "Good Luck!"

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

This book started off slow; it took me a while to get into it.  When I finally did, I couldn't put it down.  I really, really liked it.  First, it is about three sisters.  This is great for two reasons, because I have two sisters and because there are so few books about women being friends with women (or in this case their sisters).  Second, it's a book about a family who loves to read.  I love reading about people who read (is that too obsessive?).  The story of how the three women mess up their lives and come together again is believable, interesting, and hopeful.  It's a great book. 

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

A 2010 Oprah Book Club Selection


Freedom is a bit of a tough read, but it is so worth it.  It covers the lives of Walter and Patty Berglund, their friend Richard, their children, and family, detailing the ups and downs of their lives.  It is written from everyones perspective, going back and forward in time, causing the reader constant adjustments to voice and time.  The characters are wonderfully read, vibrant, and human.  There are several funny moments.  It treats the bad moments with a matter-of-factness that allows the reader to continue reading knowing that live goes on.  Ultimately the book was wonderful!  A thoughtful, well-written book about life and living and the choices we make.  I'm so glad I stuck with it.  I will have the book in my thoughts for some time.

A final note--the book itself is well made.  It was bound with thick quality paper.  A joy to hold and read.  I love the cover!