Adolescent vs. Aerosol

Hello friends and family! I pray all is well. If not, I pray you will consider checking in with God for some help and support. He's been waiting for you.

CW left this evening for a weekend confirmation retreat. I'm seeing shades of adolescent angst and awkwardness. Let's start by discussing the dangers of spray-on deodorant in the hands of a preteen. FYI to other parents, it has to be Axe and it has to be aerosol. I think it is like the "Nike" of deodorant for sixth graders. I think he was a little excited by having it. As soon as we got home from the store, he sprayed it on as if it contained some sort of life force. I could smell the fumes before I reached the hallway. Worrisome, when you consider he was in his room with the door shut. Once I opened the door, my eyes began to tear and my throat swelled shut. I thought I might need a search and rescue team to extract him from the death vapors in his room. He made it out which is actually the bad news. Then I had to live with him and the deodorant smell which lingered about, sort of like the dust around Pigpen from the Charlie Brown cartoon. Now this new "need" to smell good does not seem to include a "need" to brush teeth or wear clean clothes. Go figure. By the way, he is considering asking his friends to call him by his middle name. Why? "Just thinking about it" he explains.

Poor guy. He also had six baby teeth pulled on Tuesday. He is almost twelve and until Tuesday had only lost 8 teeth (four of those had been pulled previously). MW is nearly eight and has only lost 4 and they were pulled too. Including the ones pulled Tuesday, including both kids... only 4 of 18 teeth have come out naturally. I so want a school picture with a gap tooth smile. MW is my only hope and it isn't looking so good. Nevertheless, CW is doing well. His retainer is now obsolete which makes him extremely happy. Despite his uncertainity about the toothfairy, money turned up under his pillow which makes him even happier.

Sunday is MW's birthday party. We're having a swim party for the first time. I have never dared to plan a swim party due to the time of year. This year has been so warm and the cool fronts haven't really gotten started, so I decided to risk it. Of course, the party is more than a week before her actual birthday. I didn't want to take too big of a risk. So I'll be spending Sunday afternoon with 10-16 second grade girls. I'll report back later. The party is at her Grandpa Johnny's house. Pray for safety please.

I'll try to post sooner next time. Hey! For the Texas readers... have you noticed how "clean" the governor's race has been? I don't think I've seen one personal attack ad yet. Of course, I've seen disagreements about issues and why one candidate says they are the better person but that is expected. It almost slipped by me. It could change but for now I'm going to appreciate it.

Misadventures

Hello my friends. I pray this finds all well. Especially my family... ummm... especially the family I force fed during "the move". You know, at the time, a spinach salad seemed like a good idea. See!! This is the sort of thing that happens when I try to cook. Though I did make a delicious Red Bean Creole tonight. I even ventured away from the receipe a bit. The kids loved it.

Over the past weekend, I managed to buy and program two TV remotes. I even replaced my failing portable telephone. I thought I did it wrong so after two days of no phone I asked John to check it for me. I had accidently disconnected it from the jack. The complicated stuff I did right. I also worked in the yard pruning. This led to edging which then led to mowing. I was running out of daylight, but thought I could get it done quick enough. This estimation did not include the mower cutting out three times secondary to my decision to lower the blade two notches. As I struggled to push it uphill, my neighbor's words kept running through my head... "It might be hard to push if you move the notch more than one". I could barely see the grass by the time I finished. All I saw was dust flying. The next day, after blowing out the candle I left burning all night, I braced myself as I peered through the window blind. I was expecting a dust bowl, but the lawn looked fine. The reason I was determined to finish mowing even in the dark arrived later that night... over an inch of rain! Note to males: stop laughing.

I finished mowing and sweeping up the sidewalk (in the dark) and went inside to hear MW annoucing a crickett was in the bathroom. What this means in our house is not that a random insect has gotten in the house. It means that the pet lizard's food supply is loose. I had just purchased two dozen cricketts that day (right after buying the remotes). Hoping only one had gotten out of the cage, I ran to CW's room to check. Only two were left. Two dozen cricketts were free in my house. As of today, all but five have been located. Thank goodness we don't feed the lizard mice.

So I was on the radio today. It was "Top This Tuesday" where callers try to outdo the DJ's story. Today's story was about "Bad Children". I called in my story about trying to drive to Kentucky with my bestfriend at the age of eleven. I didn't win but did get an honorable mention. CW is eleven. The idea of sneaking out of the house, driving a truck to a friend's house with a plan to drive to Kentucky would never enter his mind. Now, MW I'd worry about. If any parents of MW's friends are reading this...I promise to always supervise my daughter when she is with your child.

I think this blog compensates for lack of adult conversation. Once I get going it is hard to stop. Luckily for everyone, life makes it challenging to "get going". If people knew some of the things that go through my head. If people knew some of the things I hold true or some of the things I won't abide....I guess I imagine alot of headshaking. Will I still share? Why not? It's my blog. Just a preview.... a vocabulary word for next time...synesthesia.

Postscript: What is going on in Thailand? The prime minister is in New York meeting with the United Nations and an uprising against the government takes place. You know when I get back home from an out of town trip, I usually just worry about getting my laundry done.

A Week in the Life ( of a good life)

Here I am, another Sunday. Let me just say my pastors are GOOD! I listen to them in Sunday School and Church and I wish all my friends and family could hear what they are saying. It's like wanting to tell someone about a good book or TV show. Remember, I wasn't brought up in the church. I'm just a bit skeptical and I have memories of Jim Baker so they had a lot to overcome.

I'm sticking to Galloway's plan. The runs feel great and just as one would expect... I'm packing on the pounds. I cut back on the carbs. Now I need to cut portions and stop the little "rewards" I thought I could afford since I was burning more calories.

I'm not sure if the kids are doing really great or are on a path to a life of crime. CW only wants to play on the computer and any disruption only proves how "horrible" of a life he leads. He even lied about a homework assignment being done. Then I find out he has been late to computer class everyday because "cough, cough... I have to do my inhaler". There is an ongoing dispute regarding an alleged shove when MW went into his room. This year his teachers in Middle School are all about "email". If he sneezes, I know. So now I can fuss at him daily instead of once every six weeks (when report cards arrive).

MW loves to beat her brother at anything so her soaring grades and perfect handwriting are a welcome relief from six years of struggle with her brother. This is her first year to earn actual grades. She even picks out her clothes the night before. I did not suggest this. It was all her idea. I'm just happy when CW gets dressed and brushing his teeth is an added bonus. Getting ready the night before was not even considered. If it wasn't for her habit of stealing everything her brother owns and telling her entire class that we have puppies, kittens and horses to give away and getting her bestfriend in trouble at Church... I'd think she was doing very well.

So in the past two weeks: CW started guitar. He quit Scouts then took it back the next day. Confirmation classes started for him. MW had her first practice and soccer game. The star player broke his arm after practice so the first game was not a win. MW was there for the socializing anyway so no worries. Piano and Brownies also started. You know what else started? Birthday parties. Two in three weeks so far. Does this sound busy? The crazy thing is that I'm probably a slacker Mom compared to all the activities other kids are doing. At MW's game, one Mom was telling me her son had three games that day between the school's team and also playing with the YMCA.

I've continued with my cooking. Crab salad makes Colin gag apparently. Who knew? He loves spinach alfredo lasagna though. We catsat my brother's cats last weekend and this weekend we are dogsitting the kid's grandma's dog. The dog loves MW. He went with us just about everywhere. I was told this dog is a picky eater. However, as I laid in bed listening to the dog eat the catfood, it occured to me... the dog just hates his food. The only animal that likes the dogfood is CW's cat but only for five minutes which is about when she vomits it back up. My cats hated ALL the visiting animals and are glad to be rid of them.

Last weekend my Mom and Stepdad helped repair some leaking faucets. Then I refinished my frontdoor and caulked my tub (yes, I did it). We also visited with the kid's Aunt and cousins. This weekend we spent Friday helping my brother move from his third story apartment into his new home. My legs are screaming at me. CW did about three trips before declaring he was "exhuasted" so MW promptly demonstrated how well she carried things down. We stopped long enough to go to a PTA Howdy Hoedown which involved hayrides in the rain and a smelly ride home. Being troopers, we went back to help some more and stayed until 10:30 ish. The next day, I cooked some lasagna, cookies, salad and bread to take to his house where the rest of the family had already gathered. Under threat, I wouldn't let them eat until I got there and then made them eat my food. Today, we went back for a cook out. I did lose my temper twice in there somewhere and I'm sure I'll be paying hefty therapy bills for my children at some point.

We are in deep mourning because of Steve Irwin's death. You know, CW is a major reptile junky. We watched all his shows and watched as his family and zoo grew over the years. It is very sad to us. Now, 9-11 has arrived. Makes me ponder religion and politics and how to contribute to the world. Then before I complete a thought, my day-to-day life interrupts and it's another Sunday before I'm pondering again. What a blessing.