Outnumbered

Cousin Fun for the Day

2009-07-09T16:11:00.001-05:00

Cousins came today to stay while Memaw and Poppa went to a training class. We started the day at the local Splash Pad, had a picnic, played in the sand, had a picnic lunch and went to the local pool. We ended our time together by going to Sonic for Happy Hour. Whew!!! What a busy time with 8 kids and one adult.

Not Flattering, but Funny

2009-07-08T21:58:00.002-05:00

The following is a conversation between Reed and I while we were on vacation. I told Tim later that I did not have to share this with him -- I could've kept it to myself, but I did think it was funny.

On our last full day at the beach in Destin, there was a yellow flag warning out as the waves were pretty choppy. Reed and I were out riding the waves together on a boogie board and as the waves were running at a diagonal, we were being taken further and further down the beach. The following conversation came next:

Me: Reed, we're going to need to get out and walk back. Daddy's going to be worried and wonder where we are.

Reed: That's because he's the boss.

Me: Really?

Reed: Yes, because he's the oldest. That makes him the boss.

Me: Oh, because I'm pretty sure Daddy thinks I'm the boss.

Reed: No, you're just BOSSY!

Miracles Do Happen!

2009-07-08T21:38:00.002-05:00

Miracles do happen! I am not talking about the fact that we finally chose to post on our blog again --- although Lorna has been Facebooking--- what can I say, life has been happening and we have been going with it. No, the miracle I am speaking of is that my wife cleaned the bathroom this weekend! Oh my gosh! I have been cleaning the bathroom for twenty-one years. It's not that Lorna is a slob, quite the opposite --- she turned me into a clean freak like her. No, she simply does not want to actually have to clean the bathroom and she luckily married someone who most of the time, doesn't mind.

When Lorna was living alone in an apartment pre-marriage, she grew unidentifiable things in her bathroom! I don't want to hear anything about how gross men are when they live by themselves --- her bathroom would give any bachelor a run for their money. Hence, after our nuptials in 1988, I got the privilege of cleaning our bathrooms from apartment to first house, first house to second and three kids later, numerous pets and a third house, I am still cleaning the bathroom. However, being gone for close to three weeks and because she knocked my favorite hat off my head into the Gulf of Mexico, she cleaned our bathroom! I came home to a refreshingly clean bathroom --- although she admits this may be a one time occurrance in our marriage. Miracles do happen!

Hopefully we will become more consistent at blogging again --- that will qualify as a miracle for us.

Halloween!

2008-11-02T21:26:00.008-06:00

We had a great Halloween this year! As this is hands-down Reed's favorite holiday of the year, of course he started planning his costume months ago. He wanted to be a mummy. You'd think this would be a common costume, but neither of our children have ever been mummies before. And what a cheap and easy costume! One $4 sheet from Walmart and we were done. We already had face makeup, so we were good there.

About two weeks ago, Reed said he wanted to be Frankenstein for Halloween. I said, "Reed -- I thought you wanted to be a mummy." He said, "No, Mom, I mean NEXT Halloween!" I told you it was his favorite holiday. Stay tuned for a Frankenstein costume next year.

I took a half-day off from work to prepare. Since the holiday fell on Friday this year, we weren't under any time constraints to be in bed by a certain time, so I thought I'd make it more special. I always want to be (but usually don't attain) the good mom who has cute parties with cute food, etc. So this year, I made:

Mummy Dogs

Creepy Crawlers

Chili Pie and Ghost CupcakesAfter dinner, our mummy got dressed and headed out to get his loot!

Happy Halloween, y'all!

Count Pumpkula!

2008-11-02T21:14:00.005-06:00

Reed's school held a pumpkin decorating contest for all of first grade. It was entirely optional, but you could decorate a pumpkin of any size in any manner except carving. Ew, can you imagine the spoilage/smell at the school if they were carved?

So Tim, being the creative projects manager in this household, sat down with Reed over two nights. The idea was all Reed's and most of the execution. Tim helped with the collar and cape.

My idea for a name was Dracu-lantern, but since he wasn't carved, we went with Tim's idea of Count Pumpkula!

Here was the process:

And the final product!

A Car of His Own

2008-11-02T20:39:00.005-06:00

We finally found a car for Lane. He despaired of us ever finding one as it was taking sooooo long. Seems that I always found something wrong with every one we saw an ad for or that we went to see. But in early October, we went and looked at a car, drove it and decided it was the one. It's a 1999 Ford Taurus with only 72,000 original miles on it. Lane paid for it with his own money e had earned and was quite proud of that.

After the purchase was made, we took the car to our mechanic so they could look it over. When I went to pick it up, the guy said, "I know I'm being nosy, but can you tell me what you paid for this car?" When we told him, he said, "You got a really good deal. This is a great car." He said it needs an alignment at some point, but had nothing else wrong with it at all.

However, the key word there was "had." Lane didn't drive the car to school the first week he had it as we spent that week transferring the title and obtaining insurance. (Beware all ye out there with sons who will someday become teenagers as ye car insurance premiums will surely double)

So the following week, Monday morning arrives and Mr. Independent is ready to drive to school. And he does, but because he is independent and has his own wheels, he stops at Sonic first. And in backing out of his parking spot to leave, hits a metal railing on the other side of the drive. The car that had nothing wrong with it -- now does. He had condensation on his rear window and couldn't see out of it. He wiped it off, but it kept coming back and he didn't think about the defroster. But hey, if you can't see out of your rear window, just back out anyway and hope for the best!

Before:

After:

It really doesn't look all that bad and he's learned something from it. He wants to have it repaired, so we'll have to get an estimate for it and see how many pennies he'll have to save for that. Though none of us are really worried about that because on any given day, we all know Lane has much more available cash than his parents!

Lane's 17!

2008-10-25T21:22:00.006-05:00

So we've been a little (okay, a LOT) behind on our blogging. Laundry gets in the way. Life gets in the way.

But we're back now and I'm here to report that Lane is 17 and has been for oh, four weeks now. Poor Lane had to work on his birthday, but we went to lunch at Bennigan's after church. His big present was tickets for he and I to go see Jeff Dunham when he came to town a few days after his birthday. We both love this guy -- Lane has seen all his specials on Comedy Central and I in particular am a big fan of Achmed. Look up Achmed on YouTube. It's hilarious.

On the night of the show, Lane and I went to dinner at Mighty Fine Burgers. We then looked around Barnes & Noble and then headed to the show. We were in the 11th row, so that was pretty cool.

I can't believe my first baby is 17!

Visual Adventure on a Early Saturday Morning

2008-08-02T13:29:00.003-05:00

This morning, Reed, Maren and I got up before 5 am and went to Lake Travis to watch the Central Texas Ballooning Association's Annual Flight. We wondered how many people would get up this early on a Saturday morning to witness this event, but we were surprised when we got there around 6 am with hundreds of other interested onlookers. It was really fascinating to see all the prep work and then to witness about 12 balloons inflated and lift-off. We had a good time and then we went to breakfast at Denny's. I highly recommend if you have something like this in your area to make the effort to go. It was a visual adventure.

Broken or Not Broken? That is the Question!

2008-07-16T18:05:00.006-05:00

Broken little piggy? The photo doesn't do it justice.

Normal little piggy

I stubbed my little piggy this morning against the vacuum cleaner that I put next to our bedroom door (silly me). After grumbling and mowing the backyard, it turned this funny purple color. Now I can't decide if it is broken or not. Your opinion? Comment please. It hurts badly if that helps any.

Art Boy - Chip Off the Old Block

2008-07-11T21:48:00.006-05:00

Art Boy in his Mud to Music ceramics class.

Art boy with his flower drawing.

Art Boy in his gallery space.

So we all spent the week at The Art School. I taught 12-14 year-olds painting and drawing. Maren volunteered in a 6-8 year-old drawing class and a 4-5 year-old class, and Reed (Art Boy) took a drawing class and a ceramics class. He is definitely his daddy's boy. Reed loves to create. He had a ball in drawing (see the photo from today with charcoal all over his face) and LOVED his ceramics class. The clay class was entitled Mud to Music and he made different, functional instruments out of clay all week. Watch out art world, Reedster is an Art Boy! Go Art Boy! Go!

Going to the River and What's Up

2008-07-08T21:27:00.005-05:00

Maren and Reed at the Frio River

Cousins at the Frio River

Oh my gosh! Yes, we are still alive. June was very busy and now here we are into July already. I taught at the Museum and we went on our youth mission trip. Whew! Busy times.

July 4th saw us dividing and conquering. Now that Taco Boy is a working man, Lorna stayed home and Maren, Reed and I went to our annual family gathering at the Frio River. This was our 29th year of gathering on July 4th weekend in Concan, Texas. We began going each year when I was 13 years old. Now years later, there are 18 of us that gather for fajitas and fun. While tubing was AWESOME last year, the water this year was very low so we didn't even try to tube. Instead, we found a great spot to swim, sit in the water, talk, watch kids and swing off a tree and ride a tube repeatedly down one fast moving section. Reed won tuber of the year as his little six year-old legs walked up the rocky river bottom as he carried a innertube quite bigger than him up river and then rode down. He did this like a 100 times in one day, no joke! A GREAT time was had by all!

Now, we are back to teaching this week at the Museum, while Reed take a drawing class in the morning and a ceramics class in the afternoon. Maren is volunteering at The Art School and Lane has started taking a dual credit course at our local community college. What a guy! All in all, I hope July slows down a bit.

Mission Trip

2008-06-14T22:29:00.002-05:00

Three of our number (Tim, Lane and Maren) leave in the morning at 6 am for Berryville, Arkansas on our youth mission trip. We will spend the next week with 50 other youth and adults working on homes in and around Berryville. Our youth will be blogging about the experience each day at our church blog. Check us out here.

Camping!

2008-06-14T21:33:00.013-05:00

We went camping last week as a family for the first time ever. Tim and I went once when Lane was six months old and Tim and the kids went once before Reed was born, but we've never gone all together. Now, we're not new to camping out -- we both went many times as children with our families. In fact, that was usually the summer vacation with my parents. We'd go to various state parks and camp, sometimes in a tent, sometimes in a screened shelter. I have many good memories of those times, which is why we decided to go where we did.

We went to Huntsville State Park, one of the parks I went to when I was 12 years old. It's part of the Sam Houston National Forest in East Texas and is just a beautiful place. There are trees everywhere. Some people thought we were crazy to go camping in Texas in June. We were some of those people. The only bad thing I could see about it ahead of time was that I was sure it was going to be so hot, but hey, we were only staying two nights. This is the view from our campsite.

It was not hot in the least. The last day we were there, it got up to 88 degrees, but there are so many trees, that our campsite was quite shady. It was just beautiful and we were right on the lake. We saw bluejays and woodpeckers and there were squirrels everywhere that were not in the least bit shy. They would come within a foot or two of you -- I guess they're used to being fed!

We stayed in a screened shelter -- you have four walls and a roof and the windows are screened in, but that's all the comforts of home you have. We slept on air mattresses inside and had a concrete table inside to eat at, but mostly we ate at the picnic table outside.

Correction: four of us slept on air mattresses inside. The artist formerly known as Taco Boy, shall henceforth be known as Nature Boy. He would have nothing to do with sleeping inside and hauled his air mattress and sleeping bag out on the grass where he could see the stars. He's proud to report he was not eaten alive by mosquitos nor bothered by raccoons.

Maren tired quickly of walking down the road to change clothes to go swimming or of having to take her bathing suit with her in order to change at the bathhouse. She developed a new method of changing in our shelter. Yes, that's her zipped-up sleeping bag.

We swam in the mornings and evenings, cooked out on the grill, played games at night and read a lot. We made mud pies on the shore of the lake (or mud "monsters"). We tried our hand at fishing and found out we're not very talented at making a campfire without some assistance from a firestarter log.

On the way home, we stopped at the Sam Houston Visitor's Center to see the ENORMOUS statue of Sam Houston. You can't miss it passing through town. Lane and Maren were very interested in it as Lane is a history buff and Maren just took Texas History in 7th grade this year.

It was very relaxing and we'll be going back there again. We're thinking of making it an end-of-school tradition!

Counting by Threes Again

2008-06-14T21:19:00.002-05:00

1. Our dishwasher died....again. About a week ago, it just up and quit. It's only 3 1/2 years old and it started making a horrible noise a few months ago when running that sounded like a train passing through our kitchen. We found out it still had a parts warranty on it so had a guy come out and fix it. He replaced, honest to God, EVERY part in the dishwasher. The motor, the motherboard, everything. We paid considerable labor charges, but still, much less than a new dishwasher. And now, three months later, dead again. There's water in the bottom of it as it just quit working mid-cycle. It's not the breaker; we unplugged the dishwasher to see if it would reset itself, and nothing. Last time, we had to hand wash dishes for a week and thought we were going to die. It's amazing how dependent you get on those modern gadgets. :) So this time, we were done. I mean, what else could be replaced in the dishwasher? And if we paid labor charges again, we'd be halfway to a new one anyway. So we bought a new one, but it was a special order and won't get here until next week.

2. My car died last night, but it was just the battery, thank goodness. Tim took my car to a conference he was attending in town, but it was by the airport, which is as far as you can get from our house and still be in Austin. He had was leaving to come back home and the car wouldn't turn over. So he had a coworker bring him to Round Rock and then I picked him up and drove to get a battery, then to where the car was to replace the battery and then back home last night. We didn't get back home until 9:15 pm. It was a Sonic night for dinner. :)

3. There's no #3 yet. Stay tuned!

Babies!

2008-06-06T20:10:00.005-05:00

Last year, we had a barnswallow couple build a love nest on our front porch directly on top of our porch light. Apparently, this is close to an ideal location. It's sheltered from the elements and any predators and except for the dadgum humans that keep going in and out the front door, I'm sure it would be perfect. We named them Fred and Ethel and awaited lots of little Rickys.

They moved in and soon, four little eggs appeared. But alas, tragedy struck and the eggs never hatched. Mom and Dad Barnswallow packed up and moved away.

However! This year, they (or another barnswallow couple)took a tour of the somewhat dilapidated nest and decided that while it was a fixer-upper, the price was right and they, too moved in. They did indeed fix it up, building a much better, sturdier nest. I left them completely alone and never looked to see if there were eggs in the nest.

Then last week, I went out the front door and saw this:

At first I was concerned about Mama Bird's competency in caring for her young as she never seemed to be around at all, but I guess she was gathering lots of food, as she has fat little baby birds now!

Happy Birthday, Tim!

2008-06-06T19:47:00.003-05:00

So last Thursday, May 29, was Tim's 42nd birthday. Y'all know I'm not a prompt blogger. It's just something you're going to have to accept. Life gets in the way of blogging.

Thursday was NOT a day that a major birthday celebration was going to happen. Maren's middle school athletics department made sure of that when they scheduled the end-of-year awards ceremony. Reed does not do well at long events he has no interest in, so there was nothing to do but divide and conquer. I went to the awards ceremony and didn't get back home until 8:30 pm. Dinner was rushed, but then we had Mrs. Smith's chocolate refrigerator pie and presents and all was well. It was still a school night, though, so everyone went off to bed and it was just another day in the Lowke household. Poor Tim.

But then Friday came along! Tim's parents were passing through town, so we met for dinner. Or *tried* to meet for dinner, I should say. We were meeting at 5:30 pm, so even in the Austin area on a Friday night, this shouldn't have been too bad. But, no. We went to Chuy's. I don't know how long the wait was because after circling the parking lot three times, there was not a parking spot to be found. So we went down the road to a local Mexican restaurant. Same thing. At this point, Tim realized that perhaps graduation for one of the many local schools was going on that night and people were eating beforehand. Perhaps we'd better go further north to Georgetown. We ended up at Chili's with only a 20 minute wait. Success! Dinner was great. We had dinner with Tim's parents, my niece and my nephew who is Reed's age. For dessert, they decided to have slushies. This is what they looked like afterward.

On Saturday night, our daughter was off spending the night at a friend's house. Shocked, aren't you. So off we went for the official birthday dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Tim and I indulged in margaritas and at some point realized that, hey, we have our very own designated driver now! Woo-hoo! We didn't require his services that night, though.

As you see, I have no pictures of the birthday boy during any celebration. Whoops. All in all, it was a very low-key birthday for him, but good, nonetheless. Y'all wish the old guy a happy birthday!!

Kindergarten Graduation

2008-06-04T14:48:00.008-05:00

This is a late post. As you can imagine, with my end of school and the kid's end of school, life has been a bit crazy.

Kindergarten graduation was on Friday, May 30th. As luck would have it, I got to actually go because the program was scheduled during an off-exam period for me. Reed's is the only Kindergarten graduation I have been able to attend due to timing. Such is the life of a teaching parent - sorry Lane and Maren! Lorna has always been our parent to go - she took the whole day off this time to take Reed out to lunch and swimming later in the day as a special, you only graduate from kinder once in your life and we love you lots treat.

To say there were just a few people is an understatement. Our elementary school hosted 9 Kindergarten classes of the usual 22 kids per class. You do the math.

Our principal began the graduation with an apology for lack of seating. She said they ordered 600 chairs put up, but all those were full and there were probably another 100 or so adults still standing around the edges.

Just like this group will do in 2020, they filed in during a processional. They sang a very cute song to the tune of New York, New York that replaced words with lyrics about going to 1st grade. Very cute. Then in their little caps, that sat and watch kids get awards for reading and art. Finally, all kinder graduates went class by class and walked the stage to receive their "diploma." This was actually a pretty piece of paper with the real diplomas in the room so they could come home in one piece.

After everyone had walked the stage, they "recessed" and we all went to their classrooms for actual diplomas and Kodak moments. Here is Reed with Miss Flowers (his teacher). She has the BEST kindergarten teacher name ever!

Congratulations Reedster! We love you!

Mom and Dad

Awesome Video!

2008-05-21T21:41:00.002-05:00

This is a video that my aunt sent me by e-mail. I don't normally post random videos and such on this blog, but this was too great not to share.

It's a video of a church choir performance doing hand mimes with only white gloves and a black light. Enjoy!

20 Things I Love About You

2008-05-21T11:46:00.001-05:00

On our 20th anniversary, here are 20 things I love about you:

1. I love that you are such an amazing father to our children and treat them as individuals.

2. I love that you give 110% to everything you do.

3. I love your commitment to our church.

4. I love that you mow the lawn, mop the floors and clean the bathrooms because you know I'm not going to.

5. I love that you spend time with our children, doing things with them that they love....

6. ...and introducing them to things that you love.

7. I love that I know you will always love me and never judge me, no matter what.

8. I love that we are each other's best friend.

9. I love that you ask me to proofread because you know you can't spell.

10. I love that we have the same taste in furniture.

11. I love that it was your idea to get Lola because you thought Maisie was lonely.

12. I love that you let me plan the vacations and "date nights" and you have fun.

13. I love that you keep pursuing things you know will make you a better teacher.

14. I love that you'll ride the roller coasters with our kids because they scare me to death.

15. I love that you show me affection and respect in front of our children so they will know what a good marriage looks like.

16. I love that you will remove dead rodents from our yard, even though it disgusts you as much as it does me.

17. I love that you keep our yard looking beautiful and that you love doing it.

18. I love that you are always willing to run to the grocery store if I need something.

19. I love that you participate in our children's education, thus showing them that it's important to us.

20. I love that you like to go to the grocery store with me -- you think of it as a date.... and that you still like to have dates.

I love you more today than ever. Happy 20th Anniversary, Tim!

Love,

Lorna

Happy Anniversary!

2008-05-21T10:15:00.007-05:00

My beautiful bride on our wedding day!

20 years ago today. Hard to believe. That was two apartments, three houses, three churches, many cars and jobs plus three kids to get where we are today.

Did I say many meals? With the exception of that bad turkey leg in year one, the rest have been great as you can tell between the difference in my figure on May 21, 1988 and now on May 21st, 2008. This picture makes me realize how much of a good cook Lorna really is and how much I need to really stop eating for like the next 20 years.

We both teared up at this moment. Lorna's Uncle Jerry (a Methodist minister) married us. He does good work.

Yummmmmmm! Italian Cream Cake. Oh yes, I need to quite eating for like the next 20, but YUMMMMMM!

All that time got us here. Three beautiful, healthy kids and my one, loving wife. I am one lucky guy! Happy Anniversary sweetie. I love you the whole wide world and then some!

Tim-

Drink Up Too

2008-05-20T21:36:00.006-05:00

What is your favorite thing to drink? (Alcoholic or non-alcoholic)

We were tagged by Bob of The Four of Clubbs. He talks about his favorite drink, so I will share that mine and Lorna's is Dr. Pepper. It's a southern thing, what can we say? Dr. Pepper goes great with a burger or Mexican food. It is great cold and is a wonderful thirst quencher. I am scared to even say this because I know Dto3 so well, but we tag you for your favorite drink (can you narrow it to just one?).

Dancing Manis & Markers

2008-05-20T21:28:00.003-05:00

I have a funny co-worker. This is what I was greeted to in my classroom when I came back to work on Monday. Her husband was my guest teacher on Friday when I was in San Antonio. A chuckle to start the week.

20 Years

2008-05-20T21:03:00.010-05:00

Wednesday is our 20th anniversary. It is hard to believe for me because it has gone by so fast. We celebrated by going to a bed and breakfast in San Antonio this past weekend. We went with no agenda, no kids and had a wonderful time. We ate good food our kids wouldn't like, shopped in places with lots of breakables and took an afternoon nap on Saturday (we never do that!).

Here is our view off our private balcony facing the garden and riverwalk.

Lorna did register Lane for his upcoming dual credit course from our love nest - yes, a parent's work is never done.

Saturday, we ate on the riverwalk. This native San Antonian joined us at our table for Mexican food.

My beautiful bride after our Mexican fiesta lunch. I love her!

Lorna lounging on our balcony. Bed and breakfasts are the best. We were sad to leave on Sunday and return to reality. Having someone else clean, cook and tidy up all while baking homemade cookies in the afternoon with lemonade is great. Wonder if I can train the kids to bake cookies this summer. Hmmmmmm, food for thought. Happy 20th Anniversary sweetie!

Teacher of the Year!

2008-05-07T19:42:00.006-05:00

So I'm a little behind in posting this, but Tim was voted his campus' Teacher of the Year back in February. This is a big deal and an honor in itself as it is his peers that vote. He has also been Teacher of the Year one other time -- at the last elementary school he taught in before leaving teaching for three years to work at the Austin Museum of Art.

Last night was the Teacher Excellence Awards ceremony where they present each teacher with their award and a check to go along with it.

They also announce the District's Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year. All of the campus Teachers of the Year were encouraged to apply and these were decided on by committee based on the Texas Education Agency guidelines.

Though he was definitely deserving, Tim was not selected as the district's Secondary Teacher of the Year. Bummer! However, everyone in this house still votes him our Teacher (and Dad) of the Year!

And as you can see, he's still humble. This is what he did after we got home last night.

All's Well That Ends Well

2008-04-30T19:44:00.005-05:00

Our boy is a working man. He started training tonight at Taco Bell. He was soooo excited to begin --- wait 'til he gets his first paycheck!

He worked out the mission trip and family camping trip with his manager. So he gets the best of both worlds. He was also originally scheduled to work this Saturday morning when he is supposed to be taking a placement test at our local community college in preparation for a dual-credit course he'll take later this summer. His manager rescheduled him for later on Saturday and told Lane she "was all about family and college and all that." She had no problem letting him off for 12 days in a row in June. She just said he needed to absorb as much as he could so he would remember it all when he came back.

On another note, who knew there was so much involved in working at Taco Bell?? Lane brought home a "Portion Test" from Taco Bell. This booklet shows pictures of every menu item at Taco Bell, every ingredient in each item and the order the ingredients in which they are assembled. Lane must memorize all of this (eventually) in order to work the food prep line at Taco Bell. You've gotta admit -- those Taco Bell workers are fast! Usually, by the time you place your order and then fill your drink cup, your order is ready. So I guess he's gotta know what ingredients go in which burrito or whatever to be fast. They told him to memorize the tacos and burritos first since that's what they sell the most of. He's been working hard at it. I told him to memorize the Burrito Supreme since that's what I like most!

Lorna (Tim started this post, but didn't have much to say, so I wrote most of it)

Employed - You won't believe this....

2008-04-28T19:37:00.004-05:00

So last we reported, our oldest was looking for a job. Now, we have new businesses going in left and right around us, but many do not hire 16 year olds. After putting in applications many places, we found our new Taco Bell around the corner was taking applications. I drove Lane down to the Cedar Park Taco Bell where he spent FOREVER inside. Come to find out when he got back in the vehicle, not only did he fill out an application, but the manager for the location close to our house interviewed him. Only thing was he forgot his license and social security card. Fast forward to the next day, we go AGAIN to the the Cedar Park Taco Bell to give copies of said license and social security card. Again, he was in there FOREVER. When he came out, I find out he had to do paperwork over again. All sounds good. They sound like they might hire him. The new location is literally within walking distance to our house --- this is good for a 16 year-old without wheels. There is a two-day waiting period, and they said they would call. Fast forward a couple of days and Lane is not letting grass grow under him, he calls. The manager is not in. Repeat this process several times with no connections. Now things are not really looking good.

Today, Lane calls again. Dude, you are on the schedule for Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday...... HELLO? When might have someone called and told the boy he was hired? We're not totally sure he is hired until tomorrow when his mom is going to have to call because the manager is only there during the school day.

Now we have a dilemma. The week that this new Taco Bell opens is also the SAME week we are all supposed to travel to Berryville, Arkansas on our church youth mission trip to work on houses for those in need. Do you think the new job will be thrilled for Lane to be gone opening week after training him to be there specifically for that week and beyond? The boy wants a job, but as parents, we are having a hard time thinking about him missing an opportunity to serve others in Christ with his peers. He wants to go on the mission trip, but he has had such a hard time finding a job, he is reluctant to pass this opportunity by. Growing up is hard. What would you do?

Job Hunting

2008-04-20T20:10:00.005-05:00

Lane is sixteen. Lane wants wheels of his own. Lane is looking for a job. Many businesses no longer hire sixteen year-olds anymore as we are finding out. He has been working fairly hard at the job hunt for weeks now with just a few interviews. Poor guy, he just wants a job so he can get some money and a car. Good kid, eager to learn, sixteen years old. Anybody hiring?

Garden Tour

2008-04-19T18:28:00.014-05:00

Reed in the Round Rock Garden

We went on a garden tour today sponsored by the Travis County Master Gardeners. It was a beautiful day and a nice tour. Lorna and Reed went with even though gardens are not quite their thing. Here are some images for you to enjoy!

View of the Round Rock Garden

This Round Rock garden was a immense series of raised beds, tons of rock work and lots of evergreens. Very impressive space!

Lorna and Reed in the South Austin Found Object Garden

South Austin Found Object Garden

The owner of this South Austin garden has created a beautiful space by dumpster diving and recycling. Great imagination and lots of hard work.

Bannockburn Church Garden

Another view of the Bannockburn Church Garden

This local church has a beautiful series of gardens that are maintained by a Men's bible study. This is what I would like to do as part of my retirement for my church. First, we have to get land and a building!

Lost Creek Garden

Pool Garden at Lost Creek

This last garden in Lost Creek is a series of garden rooms done in natives. Very loose and cottage style meets hill country. They had a beautiful pool and vegetable garden.

I enjoyed seeing all the gardens. Of course, I am missing pictures of a garden inspired by French cooking which had a pool that Lorna coveted. My lovely digital camera ran out of batteries. We stopped for Mickey D's and batteries before going on the the lost creek garden. I was very impressed by all the different styles and lushness of each garden. Enjoy the pictures and check out the Flicker badge as there are more there.

I feel kinda dirty....

2008-04-16T19:45:00.005-05:00

I feel kinda dirty. I'll tell you why. I got fingerprinted today. Our legislature in constant pursuit to "fix" education has deemed it a requirement to have ALL school personnel in the state, fingerprinted and nationally background searched. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't oppose this process. Just look at Pope Benedict apologizing for the Catholic Church scandal yesterday and you can see why this has become a necessity in our society. As a parent of three, I totally support this measure to make our schools safer. As a life-long educator, I totally support this program. However, I went to get fingerprinted today and well folks, there is no way around it. It simply does not matter what kind of person you are in life ---- and I do consider myself to be a good person ---- the WHOLE process of getting fingerprinted just makes you feel dirty. It makes you feel untrusted. It makes you feel like you have done something wrong. Getting fingerprinted WAS NOT on my life list of things I needed to do before I die.

So now, my personal data along with my fingerprints are going to be "housed" at a government agency. I really feel kinda dirty..... Is this what George Orwell forecast in 1984? Have you ever had to do something that made you feel this way? If so, leave a comment ONLY in family-friendly language please. That means you too DT3.

Your Body Can Have A Sense of Humor or BaaaHaaaHaaaaa!

2008-04-12T10:59:00.006-05:00

Your body can have a sense of humor and mine is currently going BaaaHaaaHaaaaa! (add evil cackling sound to this as you are reading.) I went to the neurosurgeon on Thursday and he said I was recovering well. I could now drive and go back to work on Monday half-days. I have been going 8 hours between pain meds, so I'm feeling pretty good. I'm thinking to myself, half-days? I feel like I could go back full-days, but I'll do what he says.

So I wake up on Friday morning feeling pretty much like my regular self. WOO-HOO! I have really no pain to speak of and feel like I have some energy. Now, those of you who know me well, know that I don't sit around very well and this whole surgery recovery thing has forced me to step out of life and be taken care of by others. I don't do that very well, I will admit. Lorna and the kids have been AWESOME and have done almost everything that has needed to be taken care of save housecleaning. Housecleaning is usually my thing. Now there has been a growing layer of dust on everything over the past two weeks which has been bugging my anal-retentive self. Sooo, Friday morning, I feeling good, so I decide I can slowly clean the house. This WAS NOT a good idea on my part.

So I start in the morning by dusting the offending surfaces. I still feel good. Then I sweep the whole downstairs and mop. I still feel good. At this point, I take Lane and Maren who are off from school, out to lunch to celebrate Maren's last track meet the night before. By the way, the girl can run. We come back. I vacuum and straighten. I still feel good. Then, I take a break and watch The Seeker (good fantasy flick) with Lane. I still feel good. I decide after sitting for a movie, I'm good to clean bathrooms which are GROSS. So I go clean. I still feel good. Reed has spent the day at the YMCA's all day out, so I go pick him up. I still feel good. I come home and wait for Lorna. I decide to go outside and draw in my sketchbook. I still feel good. Lorna comes home and tells me how she really likes the new creative self I have become this past week and how I really shouldn't have cleaned the house. I still feel pretty good. I sit down on the couch. I fall asleep. Close to an hour and a half later, I wake up. I DO NOT feel good. Can we say false sense of energy and recovery? All that sitting and doing nothing for two weeks had charged my batteries up and in one day, I depleted them pretty much to zero. Your body can have a sense of humor and mine is currently going "BaaaHaaaHaaaaa!"

So, it's Saturday morning and I am back sitting on the couch, recharging with some pain meds in my system contemplating the whole surgery / recovery thing and how I am NOT back to my normal self---- despite what my brain thinks. I'm thinking that my doctor and wife are MUCH more wise than my foolish self. That there is a reason I am supposed to only go back to work half-days next week, and I'm thinking about when to take my afternoon nap which is totally UNLIKE my normal self. So reader BEWARE, your body can have a sense of humor and yours could be saying "BaaaHaaaHaaaaa!" if you don't listen closely.

Art of the Day - Pez Drawing

2008-04-09T18:25:00.002-05:00

As I blogged yesterday, here is my art for the day. Enjoy my sketch of a recently bestowed Pez dispenser to yours truly.

Healing + Art Making

2008-04-08T17:32:00.006-05:00

So when I started my recovery, my colleague, Leslie told me I should use this this opportunity to make some art. As an art teacher, I struggle between balancing my creativity in the classroom and working to make art of my own. Usually, between my school responsibilities, parenting responsibilities and church work, I find little time to make work of my own anyway. I always have good intentions, but like many people with diets and exercise, I fall off the wagon. I have decided to work on that part of my life during my recovery and take this opportunity of time that I MUST sit and do little to make some art of my own.

Like a good friend, teacher and colleague, Leslie sent me the following text in an email on Monday. Leslie wrote "You must create an original work of art in whatever medium you choose. You have the freedom to choose the subject matter/message you wish to convey. You get to choose the size of this artwork, but you MUST complete it before you're allowed back to work!!!!!!!!!!! And....you must bring it to work with you so it can be critiqued by your Art colleague! So.....if you're running out of movies to watch, and emails to answer.....now you have an assignment!"

I went on a shopping field trip over the weekend (thanks Lorna for being my driver!) and some recovery money (thanks RRISD Art faculty!) I was given to gather some items to make art.

Soooo, today I worked on a first piece. Pictured above you can view the beginnings of a collage I started today. I am tentatively titling this piece, Slice. I used cards sent to me during this recovery period and have literally sliced them into layers --- much like my neurosurgeon had to slice into me and through layers of skin and muscle to repair my pain. Incorporated within the collage, I have put words related to the idea of healing. For me as an artist, I am taking simple images from people who have expressed care, concern and thoughtfulness for me and woven them together, layering them as I go within a collage to create a new image that holds personal meaning to me both as a person and as an artist. That's my beginning. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

My big question to Leslie is "Can I come back to work now?"

Sunday Haiku --- Sleeping Status

2008-04-06T15:09:00.001-05:00

I slept lying flat.
First time in four weeks yippee.
Still recovering.

Surgery and After the Surgery - The Patient's View

2008-04-05T18:37:00.009-05:00

Surgery

OK --- so I had surgery on Monday. I lived to blog about it. Today, I am actually up and about. Considering how phobic I am about needles, the surgery went fairly calmly and I was not freaked out by the whole process. Who would have guessed. NOT ME. I am as surprised as anyone. I guess that if you are in enough pain, needles and the thought of their pricking points becoming imbedded in your body --- which normally TOTALLY and I do mean TOTALLY sends me over the edge, just doesn't matter. It went something like this. Need to put an IV in my hand? Sure, no problem. Just don't make me look. Gonna add something to my IV to "relax" me, go for it. Is it supposed to burn? OK, if you say so. Whoaaaaa, there it is. Yeah, I'm relaxed.

The first picture Lorna took of me after the people who were going to monitor my nervous system came in and literally wired my up like a Radio Shack display with wires and sticky dots. They told me later that they would be "sticking" small needle probes into me all over the place to monitor, but I wouldn't remember as I would be "OUT." What is it about traditional medicine and needles? Somebody enlighten me please. I guess it really was necessary for me to be a wired up for sound, a human pincushion. Good thing I was relaxed and OUT.

Then they roll me out of the prep area from Lorna and my parents (please note the lovely second picture with my blue hair covering --- at least I was calm with a sense of humor at this point). Last thing I remember is them putting an oxygen mask over my face and then as they say in the movies...... FADE TO BLACK. Yes, I'm gone. I'm outta there.

I wake up to a nurse trying to force a straw and a Coke of all things down my throat. You know, for a newbie to this surgery thing (having my wisdom teeth out at 17 is my only other experience), that wasn't really all that bad. Again, reference the pain factor I spoke to at the beginning of this post. If you hurt enough, I guess I pretty much will be game for whatever. NOT that I want to repeat this process anytime in the near future. I'm planning on going another 24 years before my next surgical event.

After the Surgery

I have been sitting on the couch. That about sums it up. I have moved very little. Kinda gives you a new view on life when your "big" event for the day is taking a shower and that tires you out. So here I am. Sitting on the couch. The one thing being down and out has done for me is seeing what AWESOME friends, colleagues and church family I am so blessed to have. The picture of me is with an incrediable basket of goodies from the art faculty who I work alongside in Round Rock. They totally took care of me with things to do, eat, listen to, etc... On top of what they sent, my church has sent meals this week which has helped my faithful wife and now nurse who is a saint doing all our usual life stuff, corraling three kids and getting things I need. She is also getting up at weird hours to help keep me medicated.

To EVERYONE who has stopped by, sent food or goodies, helped deal with my school chaos and classroom, THANKS so much. You do not realize how hard it is for me to sit on my hands and do nothing for these weeks while I recover. You are all the BEST.

So today, I got a field trip out to go to school and pick-up some grades to enter in my gradebook. I was also good boy by sitting on the couch, so I got to go with Lorna to the grocery store. This is our big weekly date and I hate missing my opportunity to go to the store with Lorna. At HEB Plus, you have some walking (ie. exercise for the couch sitter), demonstration food (ie. snacks!) and other people (ie. entertainment for the homebound). The kids are with my family this weekend watching NASCAR / High School Musical on Ice. Since I couldn't travel, Lorna and I are home alone.

So that's it. I am sitting on a couch. I surf the net, answer email, eat and watch old movies. I have many other diversions to do from my gift bags and baskets. This will be the last surgery post for readers enduring this event in my life. Thanks, everybody!

Two Days After Surgery...in Haiku

2008-04-02T18:47:00.003-05:00

9:00 am
Slept through morning noise
Not as stiff; feel like new man
Think I'll walk around.

12:00 pm
Eat lunch at table?
Instead of couch, who'da thunk?
I feel human again.

2:00 pm
Back on couch again
Oooooh, old movies are the best!
Hand me my laptop.

5:30 pm
Dinner brought by church
Time for meds, took three more pills
Think I'll check e-mail.

6:15 pm
Round and round we go
Where room stops nobody knows
Is this what drugs do?

7:00 pm
Ice pack is on neck
Eyes are closed, lips are ajar
Snoring sounds are heard

Keep Us in Your Prayers...

2008-03-30T23:21:00.004-05:00

I've mentioned before that Tim has been having pain in his left arm (No, it's not his heart) for quite some time now. About six weeks to be more specific. He had this same problem back in the fall, but our chiropractor worked it out after awhile and all was well. This time, after seeing our chiropractor for a few weeks, it wasn't helping, so he moved on to traditional medicine. He had an MRI done, which confirmed the pinched nerve. It's one nerve that's pinched in three places, one pretty severely. He was referred to a neurosurgeon who diagnosed him with a ruptured disk in his neck. It's pressing on his nerve and he said he would not get better without surgery.

He cannot lie down flat without his arm hurting. I guess that exacerbates the pressure on the nerve. Therefore, he has not slept in our bed in over two weeks now. He sleeps sitting up on the couch in our family room. Don't feel sorry for him; he's got quite the cushy setup in there. He's got the comfy denim couch complete with ottoman for his feet. He's got the end table which holds his drink and alarm clock. There's a chair nearby where the ever-present laptop is stored. The world is at his fingertips. See for yourself.

The only surgery Tim has ever had has been having his wisdom teeth removed when he was 17. He has no vision problems and has never had anything major wrong with him. So....he's a little nervous about the whole surgery thing. He won't be able to work at all for two weeks and then go back half-days for another two weeks. Now, some people might think, "Vacation!" but Tim's a teacher and they most definitely do NOT think that way. It wasn't seeming like much of a vacation to him today when he spent seven hours at school on a Sunday writing lesson plans and prepping to be gone for most of a month.

His surgery is at noon tomorrow and if all goes well, he should be home tomorrow afternoon. Stay tuned for further pictures of Tim in a drug-induced stupor....

There's another teenager in the house!

2008-03-28T22:59:00.006-05:00

My little girl turned 13 today.

(sigh)

I got to see her for about 10 minutes this morning as I drove her to school. Then she had choir practice after school for UIL contest this coming week. After practice, the choir went to Austin Park & Pizza for food, fun and games. She called from there to ask me if she could spend the night at a friend's house. At 10:30 this evening, she arrived home under the promise of birthday presents and graced us with her presence for about another 15 minutes.

This is the remainder of her birthday "cake" after she walked in the door and ate about four strawberries in as many minutes.

Happy Birthday, Maren! It was nice to see you for awhile.

Spring Has Arrived in Texas!

2008-03-28T22:47:00.002-05:00

Love those bluebonnets!

He didn't hear that word at home. Really.

2008-03-19T22:13:00.002-05:00

I think I've mentioned before that Reed & I sometimes play a rhyming game on the way to school in the mornings. I'll pick a word and he'll say something that rhymes with it and vice-versa. On Monday, I took Maren to school as well, so she was in the car, too. I should probably mention that the word Reed picks to rhyme with whatever word I started with ALWAYS rhymes, but is not always a real word. Sometimes he'll just pick any old consonant sound to go in front of the ending sound. With that in mind, this was Monday's game in the car:

Reed: Let's do rhyming. Mommy, you go first and then Maren, you go next.

Me: Okay. What rhymes with stone?

Reed: Phone. Maren, you go next.

Maren: Reed, what rhymes with truck?

Reed: (instantly) F**k.

Maren & I cracked up. Reed was perfectly silent -- he was waiting for the next word. I said, "Reed, that's not a real word." (I know, I know, but geez, what was I supposed to say?)

Family Fun in San Antonio

2008-03-16T17:40:00.007-05:00

I took off from work on Friday and we all headed to San Antonio for the day. We had purchased season passes for Six Flags and were going there, but found out it didn't open until 4:00 pm on Friday. So we went early anyway and also went to the zoo, the Japanese Tea Gardens and had a picnic.

We left Friday morning about 8:30 am, stopped and got gas ($3.13/gallon!!!!) and were on our way. I drove because Tim has been rendered virtually useless from the pain he's having in his arm. We got to the zoo and spent about three hours there. Everybody had a great time!

Then we drove down the street to the Japanese Tea Gardens and had a picnic right outside. The gardens were lovely, but nothing was really in bloom yet. Tim said he remembers it being much better when he went there as a child.

We headed on to Fiesta Texas. We usually go once a year in September for Lane's birthday, but hadn't ever taken Reed since there's not a whole lot a little guy can do there. But after learning at Disneyworld that he's a rollercoaster lover, we decided he was ready! He still wasn't tall enough to ride a lot of the scary things, but he still found plenty to do and ride.

The park closed at 10:00 pm and since we had played right through dinner, hit the local Whataburger, then drove home. We collapsed in bed at 1:30 am, but it was a fun day for everyone.

7 Random Things

2008-03-16T17:18:00.002-05:00

We've been tagged by Brooke! She actually tagged Tim, but hey, we function as one blogger unit, so today, she gets me instead.

The rules: Link to your tagger and post these 3 rules on your blog. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. Lane is driving real cars now. All alone. This is a very scary thing for me. Yesterday, I needed to get the oil changed in my car. We usually have it done at Walmart and it takes them FOREVER so I just leave the car. I drove our van and Lane followed me in my car. Later, when I picked up the car, I drove the van and continued to the grocery store and Lane drove the car home by himself. Right now he is at our church's youth group. He drove himself and Maren there. Will I ever quit worrying while he's gone?

2. Tim currently has a pinched nerve (we think) and hasn't slept in our bed for five days. He sleeps on the couch sitting up. More bed for me, but poor guy. He goes to have an MRI tomorrow morning.

(Some of these aren't really random things about ME, are they?)

3. I can't stand the clicking sound that comes from someone picking at their fingernails. Like nails on a chalkboard.

4. I gave up meat (except seafood) and chocolate for Lent and have been thinking recently that steak and chocolate cake sounds like a really good Easter lunch.

5. I haven't blogged in a month because our lives are crazy and in the downtime we do have, blogging isn't our highest priority.

6. I just can't get into most old movies and it annoys me to have one on TV in the same room as me. Unfortunately, Tim is an old movie buff and Rear Window is on right now.

7. Our nickname for Maren is Moneysucker. She lives up to the name is all I can say. She doesn't take offense; on the contrary, she's quite proud of her moneysucking nature. Girls are just way more expensive in my experience than boys. She's involved in many more activities which all require money. She has an allowance, but the money that's being sucked out of us is usually for school-related things like athletics uniforms, field trips, yearbooks, etc. I managed to spend $110 on her in one day two weeks ago.

I tag Michael and Leigh.

EXPLORE UT!

2008-03-16T11:11:00.010-05:00

Every year, our alma mater, The University of Texas at Austin, holds EXPLORE UT. This is a one-day open house aimed at exposing students of all ages to college and what a campus looks like. There are hundreds of programs - things like the making of ice cream instantly with liquid nitrogen, arts and craft projects and a mock trial of Goldilocks put on in an actual courtroom at the UT School of Law and presided over by a federal judge.

I have taken Lane and Maren a couple of years in the past while Tim stayed home with Reed. This year, we all went. Reed thoroughly enjoyed himself and it was fun for Tim to see the campus we graduated from again. While he goes back several times a year, to the Blanton Museum or for student-teaching activities, those are always on the outskirts of campus. This is the first time he's actually walked through the whole campus in 20 years.

The University of Texas tower has been closed to visitors since 1966 when Charles Whitman went up to the observation deck and gunned down dozens of people. It has reopened for tours in the last few years, but Tim & I had never been up there. Tours were free during EXPLORE UT, so we got tickets and all of us went up to the top. What a view!

Our day ended by going to the Ransom Center to have our caricatures drawn and then attending a magic show outside. Reed was picked out of the audience to be an assistant during a rope trick.

We'll go back again next year -- it was a very successful day!

The St. Francis Project

2008-02-10T21:42:00.000-06:00

My friend Bob is facilitating a blog project during the month of February that interprets, reflects on, or applies The Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi. He is breaking the prayer down into four sections --- because our house has had the flu running rampant and other life challenges this week, I am just now getting to the first entry. Better a day late, than a dollar short, so here goes my thoughts on the first three lines:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

The first line really sums up how I see God in my life. For me, teaching and the work I do at church is my way of impacting the world in a positive way and hopefully bringing about change and peace as an instrument of God. I see children and youth as the great change agents for the future. I know it sounds passe, but plant a seed now and watch it grow to bloom and eventually bear fruit.
Let’s face it, much of our society has pushed the “me” concept to the limit and that is what our children see everywhere they go. Especially during the season of Lent, it becomes most apparent to me because our home practices the tradition of giving something up in our lives. I become more keenly aware at this time of year about how much we have and those around us possess. As a society, we are blitzed by media to desire the latest phone, the bigger car, the nicer house, the newest technology gadget that will make our life easier. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the concept of improving oneself or bettering your station in life. However, do we ever ask ourselves, when is enough, enough? How easy does life truly have to be? How selfish are we as human beings?
I spent part of this past week leading the youth of my church to participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring by canvassing a neighborhood for canned food to benefit our local community food pantry. In collecting the food, it was interesting to see how people reacted to the request. Many were happy to go inside and find some items from their pantry for us, others felt like by asking for food, we were somehow pushing God on them. One man even went so far as to slam the door in the face of a youth after screaming at him, “don’t sell your Jesus to me.” This is a part of town I live in, work in and worship in ---- we all have way more than we need in life. I ask myself, what more peace bearing activity can you do than having youth trying to help others with the most basic need in life ---- nourishment.
I have to ask, what would happen if some of that “me”energy and resources were to get redirected to solving some of society’s ills? What kind of world would we see then? For many, the concept of peace is simply about war. However, I think the concept of peace goes way beyond war. Aggression happens in many arenas --- if not, we wouldn’t see shootings, children beaten, domestic violence, school, work and church upheaval and men going into shopping malls and shooting innocent people.
So where does this leave us? For me, I get up and go to work each day hoping to make a difference in a child’s life. Hopefully, opening their eyes to the possiblities this world has for them, imparting knowledge to them, igniting creativity and getting them to look at the world in a different way outside their video game and its creator’s view of reality. For me, this is being an instrument of God.
My week ended with working alongside youth at our local food pantry, stocking what we gathered and sorting other donations. Seeing those empty shelves become restocked by the hands of youth gives me hope that not all kids will grow to be all about “me.” My prayer is that these kids become the leaders of tomorrow and truly work to alleviate the ills that plague our world today. Gotta have faith.

Stonehenge, Crop Circles and Decorator Boy

2008-01-27T21:34:00.001-06:00

Stonehenge has got nothing on us. Crop circles ---- whatever. Mysterious appearances of the unusual happen worldwide. Our home is not immune to this phenomenon. What you see below started to appear around our house over the weekend.

Between the furniture, under a low window.

On the pantry door leading to the garage.

On the side of the kitchen cabinets.

What could be causing this?

It's him! Decorator Boy. What is he decorating for, you ask? Silly reader, Halloween, of course. Doesn't everyone with good taste decorate for Halloween in January? His mom and dad suggested Valentine's Day might be more apropos. Decorator Boy would hear of no such foolishness. Halloween is it, so folks, we are all decked out with ghosts, goblins and all manner of scary beings nine months early.

Go Decorator Boy, Go!

These Things Happen in Threes

2008-01-23T21:11:00.000-06:00

So they say that deaths come in threes. And it does seem to happen that way sometimes. Particularly celebrity deaths that everyone is aware of. Suzanne Pleshette, Heath Ledger (tragic) -- who will be next?

Sadly, dying in groups of three also seems to apply to appliances and other necessities of our house. Two years ago, our refrigerator, the water heater and the microwave all kicked the bucket in a two-week time frame.

This week:

1. Our nine-year old dryer quit heating two days after Christmas. We had it repaired and two hours later, it was doing the same thing. It was repaired again and it's been working better than ever for the last three weeks. Guess it gave one final push before the end. We thought about repairing it again, but then decided to cut our losses and buy a new one.

2. The van (that Tim drives) has been making an engine noise that can only be described as "definitely not normal" for quite some time. Tim says it sounds like a wind-up toy. It also had a safety recall, so we took it to the dealer last week for that work and then back again a couple of days ago for them to look at the engine. We found out that, yeah, basically the whole engine needs to be replaced (BAD), but it's covered under the powertrain warranty with only a $100 deductible. (GOOD!) We're renting a car for the rest of this week.

What will be next?

Be Afraid --- Be Very Afraid

2008-01-09T21:26:00.000-06:00

Don't let the smile fool you. This is a SCARY person. Be afraid. Lane got his ACTUAL driver's license yesterday afternoon. He can now drive ALONE in a real car on real roads with lots of other real people. This is your warning ----if you drive in our area, watch out. While he has had driving school, driving time and lots of instruction, he is a 16-year old boy after all! Be afraid, be VERY afraid. I am afraid and it only partially involves the increase in my car insurance. Pray for us and don't let the smile fool you.

Lola Gets Mail

2008-01-05T17:16:00.000-06:00

When Tim & I picked up the mail today, there was a surprise. Lola got a letter in the mail -- addressed to her and everything. It was from her vet. It's always nice to know your vet is competent, caring AND has a sense of humor.

Here is the text of the letter for your amusement:

Dear Lola,

Teenage pregnancy is on the rise! Don't let this happen to you. Perhaps it is time you talked to Lorna about being spayed. Now don't be alarmed, Lola! This is a routine surgery, and if you are in the clinic by 8:00 a.m. with an empty stomach, you can have the surgery and be back in the comfort of your home by that evening. And just think of all the benefits...no more messy heat cycles, no unwanted litters,
no uterine infections, and less chance of such health problems as mammary tumors
as you grow older.

Tell Lorna that this is the most important health care decision to be made during your lifetime and that you aren't afraid. You and Lorna should also feel free to visit our surgical facilities any time. Call us to set up an appointment or if you have any
questions at XXX-XXXX.

Sincerely,

XXX

We haven't yet had the sex ed. talk with Lola. I guess it's time.

And Now a Birthday Post from Mommy

2008-01-04T20:10:00.000-06:00

That was then.....

3 lb., 15 oz./ 16 1/2 inches long/ 6 weeks premature

This is now....

I love you the whole wide world and then some, Reed.

Love,

Mommy

Pink Spiderman Cake + Presents

2008-01-04T19:35:00.001-06:00

If you read the previous post on making cupcakes, you will know we have been baking fools. When Reed wanted homemade cupcakes, he asked for them to have cherry frosting. Now being the enlightened father that I am, I steered him away from taking PINK cupcakes to his kindergarten class (would he live that down by high school?) However, when asked about cake for home, he replied again that he wanted cherry icing with Batman on top. OK --- Pink cake with Batman. As the artistic father, YES, I can do that. Upon going to our local HEB Plus (my new favorite place to date my wife), there was NO Batman to be found. BUT, there was the ever present Spiderman who always serves and protects. Sooooo, drumroll please.....................................here is PINK, Spiderman cake for a sixth birthday!

Here is our after party once we had devoured luscious, healthy Long John's Silver's. Check out the pile of presents --- can we say "SCORE" for the six-year old.

Rip that paper boy! You're not a blue-hair yet!

Gram and Granddad got us a BIG box.

Let's all dance to the Shrek musical card................ we dance, put on your red shoes and dance........Lorna, you got the moves, Babe. Lane you dancing studmuffin, you! Maren is tooooo cool for dancing shoes plus she is sore from athletics after sitting on the couch for two weeks.

Reed concludes his after party with a round of learning games on his new V-Tech laptop from his Gram and Granddad. It comes with a laptop bag too. What is up with the toy industry these days? I'm sure our after party will be covered on Page Six. Reed is ready for his close-up. Thanks to all who loaded up our big boy with presents.

Birthday Lunch

2008-01-04T16:36:00.001-06:00

Since I was "off" today from school, I got to have lunch with the Reedster at school. Interesting fact: Happy Meals are not made at Mickey D's before 10:30 a.m. This is a REAL challenge to make a 10:45 a.m. kindergarten lunch ------ but, I did it. See the chicken nuggets to prove it. Of course, the Bionical Toy in said Happy Meal was WAY more interesting at lunch than Dad. I'm not hurt Reed, really........

Love the eyes, dude! Reed takes after his very photo impaired brother who is only now at 16 getting out of the awkward photo stage. Gotta love six-year olds though! The birthday saga continues this evening at Long John Silvers --- Reed really is a cheap date. I do like that though!

The world is tough and then there are cupcakes! A Kindergarten Cooking Lesson

2008-01-03T21:55:00.000-06:00

The world is tough and then there are cupcakes! Here is a kindergarten cooking lesson for those of you who are not practiced in the kitchen. Tomorrow is Reed's 6th birthday and he wanted to help make cupcakes for his class. The world is rough when you make your own birthday cupcakes ---- check out the process!

Start with a cute kid and all the right ingredients.

Carefully pour the box mix into the bowl. Be careful not to spill - we have 18 hungry kindergartners to feed, thank you very much.

Add oil and then water.

Dad, can you help me crack the eggs and quit taking my picture?

Mix, mix, mix ---- doesn't this look like a recipe for disaster? Steady there, big fella.

Pour the mix into cute paper birthday cup liners.

Watch them in the oven. Don't forget your fashionable beads donned for the event.
After cooling, it's time to frost. Future 6 year olds don't frost very well. Take my word for it. They also have a problem with licking stuff that we are gonna feed others ---- what? You gotta a problem with hygiene? We all SHARE in kindergarten.
Sprinkling the top is a much better job for the future 6 year old boy child. Voila! Cupcakes for 18. Happy Birthday, Reed!

We GOT Gum

2007-12-29T20:12:00.000-06:00

So Reed makes a list for Christmas and on the list is a bucket of bubble gum like is at his Mema's house. Now Mema has it going on ---- if you go to her house, the pantry is always stocked with your favorites (flapsticks, cinnamon rolls, Capri Suns, Jones soda) and a BIG Sam's Club bucket of bubble gum. Now Reed being no one's fool, LOVES gum and LOVES his Mema, sooooo he asks for gum for Christmas. Well, his Mema got him a BIG bucket of gum, which he got the weekend before Christmas. Santa won't be outdone, so he gives Reed a BIG bucket of gum and then finally, since the gum had been on Reed's list which was posted on the refrigerator for all to see, Reed's Gram gives him a BIG bucket of gum. We are now the proud owners of like 1000 individual pieces of gum! Yea, we GOT gum. "Hey, Dum-Dum, you got gum-gum?" (quote from the Easter Island statue in Night at the Museum)

Don't call Child Protective Services!

2007-12-19T22:44:00.000-06:00

You may recall from the beginning of the school year that Reed has a behavior chart in his classroom with different colors that correspond to behavior. Green is good, yellow is a warning, blue means you miss recess and red (supposedly) means you have to call your mom! Well, I didn't get a phone call, but Reed was on red for the first time last week. He's on green about 80% of the time and usually has one yellow per week. He'd already been on blue one day last week and it had been too cold for the kids to play outside. Pent-up energy? I don't know. But in Reed's words, "I skipped yellow, Mom, and went straight to blue and then to red."

Well, Tim & I had a heart-to-heart with Reed and told him that it was not okay to be on red and since he was, he would have to lose his TV time for the evening and go play in his room by himself. We talked to him about listening to his teacher and he seemed remorseful. He wrote a letter of apology to his teacher and was going to verbally tell her he was sorry the next day.

Well, the next day rolled around and he did all those things and stayed on green the whole day. However, at his after-school care, he got a little active and while sliding down the length of a table, managed to get his head stuck between two of them and while extracting it, hit the side of his head on the edge of the table.

This was the result. This picture was taken today, almost a week later, so it looked much worse back then.

So when, two days after he had been on red at school for bad behavior, I sent him to school with a black eye, I was quite concerned that there would be reports that we had beaten our child. I didn't, I swear. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

All Decked Out

2007-12-19T22:29:00.000-06:00

As you might have noticed, we're a tad behind on the blogging these days. However, we decorate for Christmas in a timely fashion. We always put the tree up the first weekend in December and the lights on the house go up whenever Tim gets around to it. I'm not the one up on a ladder, so I try not to complain!

See what you think!

The ER Trip from Hell

2007-12-07T22:22:00.000-06:00

Okay, we've been really bad bloggers. We'll try to do better. For now, let this entertain you.

For Thanksgiving, we headed down south to Tim's parents' house and joined the entire family for the holiday -- all 18 of us! We ate, shopped on Black Friday, ate, played Texas Hold 'Em and ate. Oh, and took Reed to the ER over the weekend for an ear infection.

That was such a story in itself. We took Reed at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday morning when he woke us up with an earache. We walk into the ER, which is totally empty. This was a good thing, I thought. We'd be in and out. Not. I filled out the initial paperwork which only asked for Reed's name and address and why we were there. That's it. It doesn't ask for insurance information at all. I thought this was odd, but whatever. Tim is noticing something different. There are signs on the walls of the ER that say "Verbal and physical abuse of ER staff will NOT be tolerated." "No pillows and blankets allowed." "No sleeping on the floor" and "If you cannot control your children you will be asked to leave." Tim and I are thinking, "WHO are these people's normal clientele?"

We are taken into the triage room where a male nurse asks us why we're there. I tell him Reed has an earache and has been congested for three weeks. He says (quite snottily) "Three weeks and you haven't taken him to the doctor?" Now, I don't know about you, but if I take my kid to the doctor with nothing but congestion, she'll tell us he has a cold and will send us home. Last I heard, there's no cure for the common cold. But I hold my tongue. I'm generally not a confrontational person. He takes his sweet time entering the tons of information (name, address, symptoms, remember?) into the computer. This takes him about 30 minutes. Then we are taken to an exam room.

A doctor arrives and asks what the problem with Reed is. Before I can say two sentences, Reed sniffs very loudly -- basically sucking his mucus back into his nose. Because I am clearly such a bad parent, the doctor says (very condescendingly), "Let me give you a lesson in Parenting 101. Do NOT let him do that. He needs to blow his nose. Him sucking it back up is only going to make things worse." I mean, really, how do you NOT LET a child do that? You can teach them to blow their nose, but they make their own choices. He's 5 years old, for crying out loud. I'm shocked, but manage to say, "Well, I try." To which he replies, "You are the parent. He is the child. Big person (raises his hand up), little person (lowers his hand down). Oh. My. God.
He diagnoses his ear infection, tells me he'll get us some meds and leaves.

Male nurse comes back in and I ask when they'll need our insurance information. He looks uncomfortable and says they'll take it at the end. He said they're not allowed to ask for it at the beginning. O-kaaaaaaaay. Weird.

The registrar lady comes in and takes my insurance card and ID and leaves. We head up to the front, she makes copies of it and then give us a stack of papers to initial. One of these was about Smoking Cessation and how they encourage their patients not to smoke. I try to make a joke and tell her Reed doesn't smoke. She's not amused. She says they hope the parents don't smoke, either. I assure her we don't. She asks what our co-pay is and I tell her I don't have one. This is a good time to tell you that I am VERY well-versed in my insurance coverage, much more so than my insurance company at times. I go into detail about the type of coverage I have and that I have met my out-of-pocket amount for the year, therefore, the insurance company will cover 100%. She seems taken aback that I know so much about it and a little disbelieving that I don't owe anything, but she lets us go.

We leave and head toward the closest Walgreen's. We get there and find out it's not a 24 hour Walgreen's and it's not open. We head back toward Tim's parents house to go back to sleep for awhile, but I look at the prescription we've been given. It's for an antibiotic I'd never heard of and of course the doctor explained nothing to us. Not what we were being given, not the dosage, nothing. I wasn't sure, but thought that the abbreviation on the scrip was for 4 times a day. There was no way we were going to be successful at giving it for 10 days if we had to do it 4 times a day and I was ticked off anyway, so I told Tim to take me back and I would go in and talk to them. He wanted nothing to do with talking to them again, but he took me back. And as we drive up to the door, our male nurse was standing outside....smoking.

I went inside and requested to speak to someone about the prescription. I got a different male nurse. He told me that it was just to be given once a day, so I left. But Tim & I decided that a) they must not ask for insurance up front so as to treat everyone equally -- insurance or not and b) that perhaps they only have male nurses because, given the signs in the waiting room, perhaps they have to also act as bouncers from time to time.

Next time I struggle with a parenting question, perhaps I'll call up that doctor.

My name in lights..... Well sort of

2007-11-14T21:36:00.000-06:00

This is probably the closest that I will ever get to the Great White Way and getting my name in lights ----- a middle school marquee. You see, I found out last Friday that I finally made it over the hump and passed my National Board of Professional Teaching Standards assessment. For those not in education circles, you are probably going, so what. Well, in education circles this is a HUGE deal because it is alot of work to successfully get this certification and it validates my professional practice among my peers and colleagues. I become only one of seven art educators in the state of Texas to be certified as a National Board Certified Teacher in Art - Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood. Soooooo my school is recognizing me on the marquee this week. Do you think I need an agent? I am ready for my close-up......... Really............ Quit laughing..............

Tagged - 8 Random Things

2007-11-08T21:10:00.000-06:00

Rules: Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged. (We were tagged by Brooke).

1. We love Survivor and have watched each one except the first season. It is one of the few things the kids can watch in which everyone is interested.

2. We have a thing about fast food - we try to avoid it if we can which is hard when you have Mickey D's, Long John Silver's, Taco Bell loving kids.

3. Lorna has a thing about proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling and wants to correct every blog entry I write (including this one).

4. I can't watch people in the movies / TV be uncomfortable (ie. horror movies) or have needles put into them (think Grey's Anatomy where they put a needle into a patient's eye). It creeps me out to the point I have to cover my eyes. Yeah, Lorna watches --- she's not bothered.

5. Lorna loves Pumpkin Pie ice cream from Baskin Robbins.

6. Lorna plays online bingo all the time and she never wins the $$$. She doesn't want her dirty little secret exposed.

7. I have always wanted a Jeep Wrangler --- it's on my Christmas list every year since I was 16. Yeah ------ I drive a van.

8. Lorna and I met at church youth group when we were in middle school.

We tag Michael and Leigh.

My Turn: State of the Blog

2007-11-07T19:35:00.000-06:00

So I am blogging in from Galveston as I am at my professional conference. I am here for a week with all my art friends - BIG FUN! Bob has tagged us so here you go:

1. What motivated or inspired you to start blogging and how long have you been doing it? I first started blogging when I went to Japan on my Japan Fulbright Memorial Teacher Fund trip in summer 2006. I started as a way to communicate my experience to my students, family and community. Lorna got hooked on blogging and when I got home Bob threw down that how would he keep up with us if we didn't blog. Lorna worked at it for a year and then I finally got on board and now we are more frequent. The pressure of it all.

2. What are your goals, purposes, or reasons for blogging? Basically to communicate with family and friends - to record those simple moments, thoughts and events in our lives in a more thoughtful way than just taking a picture and sticking it in an album.

3. In your opinion, is your blog “successful?” Yeah - we don't have hoards of people, but it is a fun outlet for us.

4. If you pay attention to your blog statistics, rankings, number of comments, number of visitors, etc., share some of your significant numbers. Statistics - what are those? Just kidding. No, we just like seeing comments from our readers and sharing our life with those we don't see on a daily basis. It must work to some degree, because we still have a connection with Bob after more than a year and we know what's up with him and I think he gets a flavor of what's up with us. My brother-in-law gives us a hard time that he doesn't know anything about us unless he reads it on our blog. He didn't even know what a blog was until he started reading ours and now he blogs too (even though he hasn't put anything new up in like FOREVER). So there you go!

Your Turn: State of the Blog
1. What motivated or inspired you to start blogging and how long have you been doing it?
2. What are your goals, purposes, or reasons for blogging?
3. In your opinion, is your blog “successful?”
4. If you pay attention to your blog statistics, rankings, number of comments, number of visitors, etc., share some of your significant numbers.

What is My Turn / Your Turn?

More Conversations with Reed

2007-11-06T18:32:00.000-06:00

Reed and I practice rhyming words a lot in the car on the way to school. I'll say, "What rhymes with ____?" and he'll tell me and then it's his turn. Today's rhyming session went like this:

Me: Reed, what rhymes with "tree?"

Reed: See. Mom, what rhymes with "cracked?"

Me: Packed.

Reed: Oh, like, "I need to get packed to go to Mema's or a hotel or something."

Me: Yes. Did you know that's where I'm going with Daddy in a few days?

Reed: To a hotel?

Me: Yes.

Reed: Lucky for you! (he was very sincere; no tone at all in this response)

************************************************************************

As Tim has already headed off to his conference and I won't join him for a couple more days, I picked up Reed from his after-school care today. I went in to get him and was standing there speaking with one of the counselors and was interrupted by Reed.

Reed: Mom, I'm very disappointed in you.

Me: Why, Reed? What did I do?

Reed: (points at the window where it's now dark outside)

Me: Oh, Reed. I'm not any later than usual picking you up. It's just getting dark earlier.

He clearly doesn't believe me. We get in the car and start to drive home and I try to explain the time change again.

Me: Reed, I wasn't late today. We had to change the clocks back on Sunday, so now it's the same time, but it gets dark outside sooner than it used to.

Reed: (still fuming) Yeah. Nice try, Mom.

Giving Thanks

2007-11-05T18:04:00.000-06:00

In the car on our trip to school this morning, Reed and I talked about how Halloween was over now and Thanksgiving was the next holiday. I asked him if he knew what Thanksgiving was about. He didn't. I told him this was the day where we give thanks to God for everything in our lives that we're happy about. It was interesting to see this from a child's perspective.

Me: I'm thankful for Daddy, Lane, Maren and Reed.

Reed: I'm happy that my orange water gun still works.

Me: I'm thankful that we have a nice house and food to eat.

Reed: Yeah. I like food.

Me: (as we're pulling up to school) I'm happy that you and Maren and Lane all have good schools to go to.

Reed: I'm glad there aren't any monsters.

Not Your Average Wedding

2007-10-29T21:55:00.000-05:00

A coworker of mine (the bride) got married on Saturday night and Tim and I were invited. Since Tim's parents were here for Maren's confirmation, they agreed to take care of the kids and we went to the wedding. Ho-hum, you say?

A little background:

The bride is, shall we say, a little on the unconventional side anyway. The groom, by virtue of being around the bride for so many years, is too. His first marriage, not hers. They were not ones that were going to have your run-of-the-mill wedding in a church with "love, honor and obey" vows, the bridal march as she comes down the aisle and cookies and punch afterward. No, not this bunch. The wedding was scheduled for the last Saturday in October with a theme of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Costumes were highly encouraged.

Having been indecisive about costumes until the hour of the wedding approached, Tim and I went as zombie wedding guests.

We picked up another coworker, a nun, and went on our way. By the way, you'd have to know this person to understand how completely ironic (and therefore hilarious) this costume was for her.

After an hour and 15 minute trip, we arrived. The wedding and reception was being held at the bride and groom's house (which they have built by themselves) on their beautiful piece of property in the country.

We parked on the road and hiked up a long, steep hill. Almost everyone was in costume. All in all, there were about 100 people there and I only saw a couple that were in everyday wear.

It was quite an event. See for yourself.

The property was decked out for the "spiritual" occasion.

All the guests were in fine "spirits" as well. (I just crack myself up.)

There was even a monk caught red-handed dipping into the spirits.

Then the ceremony began. The groom, a musician, played the mandolin as family was escorted to the front. The attendants came down the aisle...

...then the bride and groom's parents, and finally, the bride. They wrote their own vows and also repeated vows from the minister (a bumblebee). The musical interlude in the ceremony was given by the Scarecrow (not pictured) who sang "If I Only Had a Brain (a Heart, the Noive)." This was great, but the only part of the ceremony I didn't really "get" as it pertained to marriage. Funny, though.

The ceremony ended with all the guests joining in singing "All We Need is Love." This was a very different kind of wedding, but it still made me cry. I love weddings.

Next was a buffet dinner and then the cutting of the cake. There were also lovely table decorations befitting the theme. Being an artist, Tim loved these sugar skulls and probably would have liked to pocket a couple.

After dinner, plastic glow necklaces were handed out. You know, the party favor kind that your kids beg for at carnivals and Disney on Ice. We thought that was pretty cool and since we left shortly after, in the DARK, going down that very steep hill I mentioned earlier, in heels, they were quite helpful. They gave off enough light that we could sort of see where we were going.

And Tim now says, "Once you go glow necklace, you never go back. I don't think I can go to another wedding if they're not going to have glow necklaces!"

We had a great time and wish all the happiness in the world to the happy couple!

Confirmation, Partings and Going Forth

2007-10-28T20:26:00.001-05:00

This has been a full weekend for our clan. Lorna and I went to a costume / Dia de los Muertos wedding on Saturday night (she will tell about that as soon as her camera is charged again) and we had family in town for Maren's confirmation.

For the past nine weeks, Maren has been going each Wednesday night to confirmation class in preparation for this day. She has been preparing to be in full membership within our church and hopefully to have a better understanding about her faith and relationship to God. The confirmation class discussed baptism by a local lake, baked bread and discussed communion and this past week attended Catholic mass to see relationships that exist with Methodism. This whole process has been made all the more special by the fact that our pastors Fred and Sharon also retired today. This was their last confirmation class. To say this was a day of emotion and some tears has been an understatement.

I thought that I was good with the whole thing (Maren's confirmation and the retirement) until the moment of this picture when Fred laid his hands on my daughter's head and tried to say his prepared words. He had to pause for a long moment as he composed himself and in that moment, I came to realize what partings were truly happening today. I say partings because goodbyes are too final and complete. You see, Maren moves one more step confidently into adulthood and away from that sweet girl child I have known since birth. I have been luckily noticing more changes with her as I have spent the last few weeks with her in youth group, at the fall festival and back and forth driving to cross-country. There is no denying she is growing up. I now know how my parents have felt at key points in my life. Thanks Mom and Dad, Henry and Mary for being with us at this special moment in Maren's life.

Fred and Sharon also part ways with our family of faith and more specifically my children, my wife and myself as they begin retirement and we continue down the road of raising children. These are two people who we have met in their home, they have come to ours for church meetings, we have planned, disagreed and worked to create wonderful events together with others in the congregation. They baptized Reed, confirmed Lane and have sat in the hospital with us when we needed them the last five and three-quarter years. Fred and Sharon even called on my dad when he was in a local hospital with a stroke. Yes, in that moment of hand laying, I too got tears in my eyes and paused. Why had it taken me until now to see what was happening? Too busy in the details as Lorna tells me.

The rest of the service was meaningful and full of bidding farewell. We had a wonderful lunch and presented gifts to Fred and Sharon. In the end, several members and guests stood and spoke about Fred and Sharon. I was asked to say something on behalf of longtime members. What I said is a bit of a blur, but the essence is thank you. Thank you for being models for my kids, thank you for bringing my baby baptized into the faith, thank you for helping bring my two older ones through the confirmation process and helping Lorna and I shape them into godly people, and finally thank you for helping me grow in my faith. I have always known God in my life, but not as closely as these years I have served as a member of this church, in this place and in this moment. Now Lorna, Lane, Maren, Reed and I go forth with someone new next Sunday. Go forth in the way Fred has always bid the congregation to go forth and serve each week. Hopefully, we all go forth to continue to grow, love and serve. Thank you.

P.S. Sharon made a comment after I spoke about coming to visit us five and three-quarter years ago. They knocked on our door on a Monday evening not long after we had brought Reed home from neonatal ICU. We were VERY frazzeled to say the least. So, Lorna goes to the door, has a short conversation with Fred and Sharon on the doorstep. They probably thought us very rude. Fred and Sharon leave with Sharon evidently commenting to Fred that they will NEVER see us again. Then we showed up at the first church service at Good News and have been there ever since. Here's what Sharon didn't know. We had talked about going to Good News weeks before Reed was born, and probably would have invited them in on that Monday evening ----- however ------ I was on the coach in my boxers with a newborn who we trying to get to sleep. Just goes to show, you never know!

My Turn

2007-10-21T22:15:00.000-05:00

My friend Bob, from my time in Japan, has started a new blog. Part of this blog is a meme which I am responding to in this entry as My Turn. So I have a lot of fall memories, but this year my favorite fall activity is that I have the opportunity to spend time with my two oldest kids as we help at our church's first fall festival. The two pictured in orange are mine with a couple of their friends from youth group. Thanks Pat for the picture! For three Sundays this month we are schleping pumpkins together, face painting, running a bounce house and generally greeting people from all over our community through this church event on the site of our future building. What's so great about this fall activity for me is the chance to see my kids at some of their best. I get to see them helping children smaller than themselves, being silly with their peers, and just being kids in a beautiful setting of our church site. It gives me a glimpse of who I have had a hand in raising ---- two strong, empathetic, smart and loving beings. Unfortunately in the busy life we lead, between jobs, school, raising three kids, keeping up with a house and being part of a new church congregation, I don't always slow down to really look at Lane and Maren in this way. As the weather cools, costumes are brought out and decorations hung, it is great to be reminded that the pace of life should slow and that we need to look around us at the falling leaves, feel the brisk air (such as it is in the South), and look close at our loved ones. Especially those that are growing way too fast and like the season, will be moving on too quickly.

Your Turn: Describe a favorite fall activity or memory.

What's My Turn / Your Turn?

Bat Boy

2007-10-21T22:09:00.001-05:00

This is bat boy. In kindergarten, everyday nearly, there is a lesson that involves a hat. Reed was totally jazzed on Friday because he was on "green" all week for behavior and got the ninja turtle in his left hand from the class treasure chest and from the "Y" store, he got the plastic bat in his right hand. The toothless wonder greeted me with this face as I came to pick him up afterschool. I maintain, kindergarten is the BEST!

Modern-Day Camping

2007-10-20T22:10:00.000-05:00

Reed has been asking for months for Tim to take him "camping" in the backyard. He's seen pictures of Lane doing the same thing. When Lane was about three years old, Tim set up the tent in the backyard, they took sleeping bags, pillows and Lane's stuffed Ernie (from Sesame Street) and out the back door they went to camp. Lane had a great time and Reed wanted to do it, too.

So for one reason or another, it hadn't happened yet. Until tonight. Reed asked again and we decided that Tim couldn't do it next weekend as we will have family staying with us and after that, we'd run the risk of it just being too cold outside. So tonight was the night.

However, with a swingset and a trampoline taking up most of the backyard and Tim's pond and garden taking up the rest, there's not a lot of space for a tent. (Different house than when Lane was little) Oh, Tim could've made space, but when the decision was made, it was already dark and he really wasn't fond of setting up a tent in the dark. So he pitched the modern-day camping idea to Reed and he went for it.

No tent -- just get in your sleeping bag and sleep on top of the trampoline under the stars!

I tried to take a picture, but it didn't come out very well and Blogger photo-uploading is down right now. So for now, you get the post sans picture.

And I get the whole bed to myself tonight....

An Apple for the Teacher

2007-10-18T17:58:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning, I woke Reed up and the very first words out of his mouth were, "I need to do a nice thing for Miss Flowers. I want to give her an apple."

I honestly don't know where that came from. Did he dream about it? Did he behave badly in class and thus feel the need to bribe the teacher? (We get a daily behavior chart, so I'm pretty sure that's not it.) Reed was determined, though, so I took a large apple out of the refrigerator, gave it to him, and off we went to school.

Later that day, I e-mailed his teacher and asked if she received her apple. She replied:

Oh my gosh, it was the cutest thing!!! He was sooo proud to give me the big apple (we even had to take time for him to introduce the apple to me?!?). Along with giving me the apple he told me I was a great teacher (how precious coming from such a young little guy)! So I can say that Reed was kind of the highlight of my day today.

We've Been Flocked!

2007-10-08T17:18:00.000-05:00

We woke this morning to this sight. Yes, as you can see, we have been FLOCKED! For those not familar with this tradition, a group of youth installs a large group of plastic, pink flamingos on your lawn and you have to make a donation to get them removed. Thanks to our local cheer squad, we now have many pink guests on our lawn. Their eyes are kinda creepy........... wonder how much Lorna and I are gonna be out to get our lawn guests to move along.

Is it wrong or is it write?

2007-10-06T20:45:00.000-05:00

Reed has been steadily learning how the sounds of letters, when put together, make words. He's been able to read simple words (think Hop on Pop) and recognizes other words, like his name. He's very proud of himself and excited about his progress.

Tonight, while Tim and I ate a late dinner, Reed sat next to us and colored a picture. Then Tim flipped the paper over to the back side and began writing different family member's names to see if Reed could read them. He recognized (not sure he actually "read" them) Lane, Maren, Tim and Lorna. But then he sounded out and read Todd (his uncle), Mema and Poppa (his grandparents). He didn't do so well on Susan (his aunt), or Marshall and Mitchell (his cousins). But hey, he hasn't learned blended consonants yet, so those last two are hard.

I guess Reed was tired of us quizzing him, so he decided to turn the tables. He began writing "words" and telling us to sound them out and read them.

His first word started out with the letters "LOL." Tim said "Lots of Love!" I, being so much more technologically advanced than Tim, knew exactly what it was. "Laughing out Loud," I said. But no, Reed wasn't finished with the word. Here is what he wrote:

Hmmm. Tim and I both asked, "What word is it?"

"You know!" Reed replied. Um, no we don't, Reed.

"Well, sound it out!"

So, tell us please. What do you think the word is?

Type A and Tired

2007-10-06T14:01:00.000-05:00

I'm a Type A person. I admit it. I can't help myself. I don't know if this was a result of being the first child in my family, genetics or simply training, but I feel like I am busy all the time. I actually get nervous with free-time. This week is a case in point ----- yeah, keep reading. So it has been another busy week at our house. On top of the usual work stuff, we have had cross-country with Maren, confirmation class with Maren, driving with Lane, kindergarten homework with Reed, I worked a local college night for Lorna's company ACT, Inc. and I ran a concession stand for over three hours at my school's first social of the year. Whew! Said concession stand fed like a million middle schoolers or at least it seemed that way. I schlepped pizza, soda, popcorn, dill pickles and lots of candy --- you know all the major food groups for my art club. It's a great way to make major money in a short time period, but alot of work on the adult sponsor. I was a bit tired at the end. Can't stop however......

I spent this morning working at our church site (Holy Ground) helping get ready for our first Fall Festival. Now if you read my brother-in-law's blog, you will note that he is also getting ready for a church fall festival too. However, I know he doesn't get to play with gigantic chippers that can suck a tree and make cool mulch or off-load about a trillion hay bales for a hay maze. No, this is not your mother's Fall Festival, this is a major event happening over three weeks. There are performing groups, a pumpkin patch, story times and the blessed hay maze along with concessions, and a ton of other stuff. We are preparing for between 2000-3000 attendees. Yea, there is lots of chipping still to be done, grass to whack and cacti to dig up, and much, much more.

So we're a little busy at the moment. Life doesn't get dull. Speaking of excitement, did I mention I have been working with Lane on driving? Now there is fodder for a blog post, yessiree. Later, I got stuff to do.

Sweet 16

2007-09-29T09:57:00.000-05:00

OK, so Lane really at times might not be considered "sweet," but he turned 16 yesterday. Because it was our usual maddening school / work day, we celebrated last night at our local Dave and Buster's. This was Lane's choice for a party. Because he is working on the driving thing ---- and I do mean WORKING on it, we gave him a choice on two of the following things:

Party at someplace like Schlitterbahn, Fiesta Texas etc... that cost Mom & Dad mucho dinero.
A physical present (his list here was quite lengthy) or
a significant amount of money for a car.

He chose the presents and the car money. Soooo we took the guy and his friend Michael out to eat at D&B's and then played video games in their game room. A fun time was had by all, even Maren who did not do so well at the Dance, Dance, Revolution type game.

We came home for cake and presents. Lane got a new MP3, a cordless PS2 controller from his grandparents and a "significant amount of car money." Michael slept over and pancakes were had by all this morning. Now if you will excuse me, I have a new wealthy relative in the house....... he just LOVES me.

Boy's Breakfast

2007-09-15T10:40:00.000-05:00

So Lorna and I decided that once a month instead of us going out to eat as a family, we would go out in two smaller groups and give some more individual time to each kid. This works out well becuase the boys LOVE breakfast and will eat a ton of food while Maren HATES breakfast and will eat nothing.
Today is our first time doing this format and both the boys and I went to breakfast. It was a total guys morning. Reed, of course woke us up at the crack of dawn (7:10 am) ---- OK, so not exactly when the sun comes up, but give me a break, its SATURDAY for crying out loud. Anyway, I sent him to get Lane out of bed and we quickly got ready and went to IHOP. All I can say is YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! Pictured is a sample of the Breakfast Sampler that both Lane and I had ---- good stuff! Reed got the Rooty Jr. and ate almost the entire plate! IHOP definitely beats Denny's in Japan, IHOP doesn't serve salad and miso with with their eggs and bacon. After breakfast, we went and got haircuts. Do you know that if you go for haircuts at 9:10 on a Saturday morning, you can walk right in and sit down, no waiting? Next, we went to AutoZone and got bulbs to replace my turn signal. Now I ask you, how much more guyness can you get than a big breakfast, haircuts and an autoparts store. Did I mention that Maren and Lorna are going for a lunch of Chinese and then shopping? Hmmmm, can we say gender specific Saturday activities. Lorna will tell about girls lunch out later I guess.

King for the Day

2007-09-14T21:11:00.000-05:00

Reed was King for the Day in Kindergarten today! What does this mean you might ask? EVERYONE in the class had to practice spelling and writing Reed's name today, he got to wear the fashionable crown pictured and he came home with a way COOL book that each member of the class contributed. We all might want to think about returning to kindergarten, you get snacks, a short rest time after a yummy lunch and you get to be King for the Day! What's not to like? I dunno.

I Dunno....

2007-09-12T19:43:00.000-05:00

This is virtually what takes place at our dinner table each evening with Reed. It is amazing to both Lorna and I that he can spend 7 hours a day in kindergarten and not know one thing that he did. He can't tell us games played in PE - heck, he can't tell if it was even PE day. About the ONLY thing we can get out of him is what he put in his mouth at lunch ---- even if he is frightened of the cafeteria ladies. What's a parent to do? Wait, Lorna asked him what he had for lunch today and he said he didn't know.

He also has a new behavior chart at school and was quite excited about it on Monday when it began. He came home telling us all about it: green is happy, yellow is a warning, blue means you miss recess and.... red means YOU HAVE TO CALL YOUR MOM! So we discussed the importance of staying on green. Today he came home and admitted that his clip was on blue today. Lorna asked him what he did to be moved to blue and he said...

I dunno.

Photo of the Day

2007-09-05T19:15:00.000-05:00

Dachshunds were originally bred to hunt badgers, therefore, it is in their nature to burrow. Dachshunds that are house pets like to burrow and curl up in blankets to make their bed. However, as Lola is not housebroken yet, she doesn't have that option as I'm not willing to wash towels and doggie blankets daily. So she sleeps at night in a crate lined with newspapers and in our laundry room during the day.

You can't fight nature, though, and I guess this was the best she could do:

Grocery Shopping with Reed

2007-09-03T16:51:00.000-05:00

We were out of town for most of Saturday and Sunday so today was the day to shop for groceries and get us prepared for another week. Tim usually goes with me and we leave those silly children at home, but today, due to the lack of weekend left to run errands, he did other things and I went to the store.

Reed wanted to go with me so he could ride in one of those kiddie carts with the steering wheels that you drive. We got to the store, found a cart and were off. Reed was in a good mood and was very pleasant to shop with. He "drove" his cart for awhile and then got out so he could help me put things in it. He was very patient for a long time -- we buy LOTS of groceries and it usually takes an hour and a half (with Reed in tow, more like 2 hours)-- until I forgot some things on the list and had to backtrack down aisles we'd already visited.

Me: Reed, I forgot something. We have to go back to get it.

Reed: Okay.

We get the item and return to where we left off.

(A few minutes later...)

Me: Reed, I forgot one more thing. Let's go get it.

Reed: (as we're walking) Mom! We've already been past these rooms (aisles)-- we've already seen this stuff!

Me: I know, Reed, but I had to go back and get something.

Reed: Well, I don't 'preciate it.

Me: (cracking up) I'm sorry; I'll try not to let it happen again.

Now I know how Tim feels. I forget at least a couple of things every week and don't remember until we're on the other side of the store. Tim usually goes back to get the items, but I guess he doesn't 'preciate it either.

Kindergarten Drama

2007-08-30T18:45:00.000-05:00

Oh, my. There was drama in the house this morning.

It all started when I told Reed he was going to buy his lunch today as we had discussed several times before. He said no, he wanted me to pack it. I said no, and he cried. I asked him if he was scared to buy his lunch and he said yes. I asked him why and he said he didn't know. I talked to him about how I knew it was scary the first time you did something but it would be okay. I told him other kids bought their lunch. He said no, they didn't and that he wanted me to pack his lunch.

Lane came downstairs and I asked him to talk to Reed. He told Reed that buying your lunch wasn't scary and told him what to do and then he said, "Okay?" Reed said no. I asked him if he was scared to talk to the lunch ladies and he said yes.

Then we did role play. They stood in line on one side of the bar and I was the "lunch lady" on the other side. We pretended -- Lane got pizza and Reed got spaghetti. He was cracking up the whole time and thought it was really funny. I said okay, you can buy your lunch today. He said no, I want you to pack my lunch.

I wavered a few times, but decided he had to face his fear. Told him I wasn't going to do it and he said he wasn't going to go to school. (He's quite stubborn.) I was afraid he just wouldn't eat, so I told him I'd walk him into school and talk to Ms. Flowers.

Even so, in the car on the way to school, he cried all the way and said he wanted me to pack his lunch. In so many words, I told him that boat had sailed.

I walked him into school and laid it all out for Ms. Flowers. She said LOTS of kids buy their lunch and that she would walk through the line with Reed and show him what to do. She told Reed that and they high-fived each other. And then...

he told me he wanted me to pack his lunch.

And was crying as I left.

Just call me Mother of the Year.

First Day!

2007-08-27T21:09:00.000-05:00

Everybody had a great day at school! After taking the requisite first-day pictures of everyone (even Maren's best friend!), I walked Reed down the street to school. We unpacked his new Diego backpack, had a hug and a kiss and I was off. I then saw Maren off with her friend and Lane had already walked to the bus stop while I was with Reed.

This afternoon, I picked Reed up and he reported that it was a good day. He did say that "kindergarten took forever." They talked about teddy bears (the theme of the week), ate lunch, had snack, had a rest time and went to P.E. in the gym. He says he knows where his room is and can go there tomorrow all by himself. Allright, Reed!

Maren says she likes all of her teachers. She has a teacher that Lane had in 6th grade even though it's a different middle school AND a different subject. Maren's in Athletics this year and found out today that she has to be at school at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning for volleyball tryouts. She and her friend went to the park to work on their volleyball skills this evening. Good luck, Maren!

Lane only had four of his classes today and will have the other four tomorrow. He, too, likes all his teachers. He had study lab today, as well as English II, Ceramics and Biology.

Tim also reports that he had a good first day! No problems anywhere, so I guess he'll go back tomorrow, too.

I took the day off to ferry people to and from school and listen to all the reporting. Oh, and scale the mountain of laundry. Alas, it's back to work tomorrow.

Kindergarten Camp!

2007-08-22T21:58:00.001-05:00

Tonight was Kindergarten Camp at Reed's new elementary school. He dropped off his supplies and got to meet his teacher, Miss Flowers. Could there be a more appropriate name for a kindergarten teacher? She's very young, but energetic. She's going to need that energy to keep up with Reed!

We filled out all the beginning-of-year paperwork and his teacher read the class "Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten," which we own and just read the other day. Reed got to go through the lunch line in the cafeteria to get a snack and had a opportunity to ride a school bus, but we didn't do that. The principal spoke for a few minutes, we joined the PTA, purchased a t-shirt for Reed with his elementary mascot on the front and walked back home.

Here's Reed standing in the cafeteria. It has a beach-themed mural going all the way around the room which is pretty cool.

Reed is so ready for kindergarten to start on Monday. I hope they're ready for him.

Her Name Was Lola...

2007-08-22T20:59:00.000-05:00

She's not a showgirl, but she is the newest member of our family! She is a six-week old miniature dachshund and as you can see, she's just precious.

We decided that Maisie really needed a companion. She's far too hyper for her own good. We've been dogsitting my mom's two dogs for a couple of weeks now and during the entire time, Maisie's been as calm as can be. She doesn't interact or play very much with the dogs, but she seems to just like the fact that they're there. So...

Enter Lola. She's tiny, but energetic and the whole family loves her.

Except Maisie. Not so impressed. In fact, quite jealous. But that's to be expected and we're heaping love on her and working on socializing them so I don't fear for the puppy's life.

Meet Lola!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NifsjpbPt7g

Bounty

2007-08-21T20:24:00.001-05:00

These are, quite literally, the fruits of our labor. Actually, Tim does most of the labor, but let's not quibble over semantics.

Aren't they beautiful? There's just nothing like a homegrown tomato.

Day 6 - At Sea / Day 7 - Return Home

2007-08-21T19:58:00.000-05:00

We awoke to the last day of the cruise and we were determined to make the most of it.

So we ate breakfast.

And swam.

And ate lunch.

Lorna played some more Bingo and tried to win a free cruise! No such luck.

Tim went to spinning class for the 3rd time to work off breakfast and sushi. He's so disciplined.

We ate sushi.

And walked around the ship one last time.

We ate dinner, watched the waitstaff dance and said goodbye to Allen, our assistant waiter from the Phillipines.

And to Nataliya, our head waitress from Lithuania.

We went back to our room and found some way to repack everything. We chose to do self-assist, which means that we were able to carry all of our luggage off the ship ourselves. You'd be surprised how many people can't. In fact, I would say that at least 75% of the 2,800 passengers were unable to or chose not to.

Our ship docked in Galveston at 7:00 a.m. You'd think having someone take your luggage off for you would be great, right? But no. You are assigned a "zone" if you are having help with your luggage (which was put outside cabine doors the night before) and just called by floor/cabin numbers if you're not. Self-assist passengers get called first. We were about the 4th wave of people called, (I ate one last breakfast while we waited) so we carried our luggage off the ship, waited in line for customs and breezed out to find the shuttle to our car. We were back at our car before 9:00 a.m. I've heard that some people don't get off the ship until 1:30 pm, so I highly recommend doing self-assist if possible.

We headed back home to greet our children with hugs, kisses and souvenirs and will keep the memories. At least until we can go again!

Happy Birthday Lorna!

2007-08-17T15:52:00.000-05:00

It is a black day in our house, Lorna turns 40 on August 18th! She spent her Friday at work with peach pie, ice cream and lots of loving co-workers who decked her out. She now joins the over 40 set tomorrow! She hasn't changed alot from her early years. Tomorrow will be cake, special meals and presents. I love you sweety, the whole wide world and then some! Send Lorna some birthday greetings.

Thought of the Day

2007-08-15T21:00:00.000-05:00

On the way home from the YMCA pool tonight, Reed had this to say:

Reed: Mom, how many days until your birthday?

Me: Three.

Reed: How old are you going to be?

Me: 40.

Reed: Whoa! You need to stop those birthdays!

Day 5 - Cozumel, Mexico

2007-08-13T19:49:00.001-05:00

Day 5 dawned and boy, was it hot in Mexico! Again, we leisurely ate breakfast and made our way off the ship to shop as our Carnival excursion wasn't until 11:00 a.m. Cozumel has a very nice outdoor mall right across the street from the port terminal. I'm sure this wasn't by accident. We picked up some souvenirs for the kids, went back to the ship to drop them off (it's so nice to dock and not have to tender back and forth)and then proceeded to the end of the dock to meet our tour leader.

This tour was labeled Clear Kayak and Snorkel Adventure. We met the rest of our group and then waited (for I don't know what!)for about 30 minutes in the blazing heat. I think maybe our guide was rounding up the 6-8 taxis that were going to transport us to the place we would begin.

Aaaaahhhhhhh! Crazy Mexican taxi drivers! At least they drive on the right side of the road (in Jamaica and Grand Cayman, they drive on the left), but still. I feared for my life the way they zoom around bicyclists and slam on their brakes at the last minute for someone driving slower than them. Wait. My husband does that, too. Obviously, though, we managed to arrive in one piece.

We arrived at a beach area that had a snack bar, drink bar and access to watersports equipment. Apparently, lots of tours go through there because we weren't the only one. Our guide sat us down in a classroom-style formation on the beach -- chairs in rows and everything -- and gave us our instructions for kayaking. We put on our lifejackets and set off from shore in our own clear kayak. This is kind of like a glass-bottom boat. The premise is that you can see through the bottom of your kayak to all the wonders of the sea without actually having to be in the water. But the reality? The bottom of the boat was kind of foggy and you couldn't see much of anything. The visual clarity was helped by putting some water in the bottom of the kayak, but for obvious reasons, we didn't want too much water. We kayaked for about 30 minutes, getting bumped into about every 5 minutes by the same two people that did not know what they were doing. Then we headed back to shore.

Part 2 of the tour was snorkeling which Tim & I always love to do. Again, a lot of hurry up and wait as we were issued our snorkeling equipment and then had to wait for instructions, etc. I just wanted to ditch everyone else and go! We were finally given the go-ahead and told to watch for our guide who would have a flag in the water and to stay close to him at all times. Um, it's kind of hard to see the flag when your face is in the water! The snorkeling here was good, but not great. The last cruise we went on docked in Cozumel as well and our snorkeling tour that time was awesome. The difference, I think, was that the previous tour took us far out in the water via boat, whereas this time we just waded out from shore. We didn't have nearly the depth of water which I think affects the number and types of fish you see. We did see one giant parrotfish, which was cool and quite a bit of coral. We were supposed to snorkel for 30 minutes, but I think we were out there for about 45 minutes to an hour, so I felt like I got my money's worth out of the trip, but by the time they called us in to shore, Tim was done. His mouthpiece leaked and he kept getting salt water in his mouth and he'd just had enough.

They also gave us coupons for one free drink at the bar, so we got that, packed up our stuff, got in a taxi and left. We could've stayed longer and enjoyed the beach, but we were ready to head back. We decided to go to Carlos & Charlie's across from the terminal for drinks and fish tacos. It was all good until we went to pay the bill and found out they no longer take American Express, even though their signs said they did. Tim hadn't brought his wallet with us, only the card, so he trooped back to the ship while Carlos & Charlie's held me hostage. Not really. While Tim was gone a conga line of drunken guests weaved through the restaurant while waitstaff poured shots of tequila in their mouths. Our waiter encouraged me to join in, but gee, I passed. Tequila shots are not my thing, especially from a bottle that has touched how many other people's mouths? Ewww. I know my brother-in-law, for whom cleanliness is an OCD issue, will agree with me here.

Finally, my knight-in-a-swimsuit arrived to rescue me. We headed back to the ship where, as we were boarding, we saw the difference in security measures between passengers and crew. Three female Carnival staff were pulled aside into a small room and were frisked from head to toe. They already have airport-like security (though not quite as strict) where you have to put all your belongings through a conveyor belt/x-ray machine and you yourself go through the metal detector. And you'd think they'd have more to worry about from the passengers that rotate every week than from the crew that lives there for months at a time, but apparently not. Tim also thought the things the crew members chose to buy on their days in port was interesting. One of the aforementioned female crew was getting on board with bags and bags of Cheetos and candy bars. Hadn't thought about it, but you can't get Cheetos on board. Lobster, yes. Cheetos, no.

So we left our last port of the trip and waved goodbye to Mexico. Tomorrow would be one last day at sea before home.

Towel animal of the day:

Can someone please tell me what this is? A ninja? A polar bear? A ninja polar bear?

Day 4 - Georgetown, Grand Cayman

2007-08-08T18:23:00.000-05:00

We anchored in Grand Cayman at 7:00 a.m. I say anchored, because this is a port in which you have to tender in to the island. The water near shore is much too shallow for a ship, but then about 300 yards out, the sea bottom just drops off "like a mountainside," according to one local. We weren't in a big hurry to catch a tender as our excursion was booked for 11:15 a.m., so we ate breakfast and made our way off the ship about 9:30 a.m.

Grand Cayman is everything we hoped a tropical island would be. Beautiful weather, gorgeous water and great, clean shopping areas. And we felt safe. And not scared. We looked around here for the things we'd buy later and then headed on to our excursion. I had booked a tour before we left home with a private company. We had been looking forward to it with great anticipation. Why, you ask?

Stingrays, baby!

We boarded a shuttle which took us (and the other passengers) to a dock on a canal. We got on a boat and they took us through this canal where, apparently, all the multi-millionaires have their vacation homes.

Then we went 4 1/2 miles out from shore and went snorkeling at the Coral Gardens. These pictures were taken with an underwater camera and they just completely do not do justice to the colors and clarity of the water, so I apologize.

We snorkeled for about 30 minutes and then headed over to Stingray City. This was the highlight of my trip, hands down. It just boggles the mind that you're 4 miles out in the ocean, but can stand up in only 3 feet of water on a sandbar. There are stingrays EVERYWHERE and they're tame because they are so used to tourists coming and feeding them. They began showing up because shrimpers would dump all their debris in that spot and over time, I guess, the stingrays saw that there actually is such a thing as a free lunch and decided to stay.

But I digress. There were probably 40-50 stingrays swimming around and they'd brush right by your legs. We had squid to feed them which they'd suck right out of your hand. Our boat driver gave us lots of personal attention, showing us how to hold a stingray (named Emily by him -- he's there a lot and they have great affection for one another) and kiss a stingray. Their wings and body are soft and slimy, but their tails are like sandpaper. They were very gentle creatures.

Now Tim was a little freaked out by all of this. Ever since the Steve Irwin tragedy, he's been skittish about the whole idea of being anywhere near a stingray. He never would feed one, but we finally got him to play along and kiss one. The videographer on board reasoned that his wife was going to kiss one and he was going to kiss his wife, so really, what was the difference?

Lane loves all things oceanic and the whole time I was there, all I could think about was how much he would love it. We'll try to go back and take the kids some time.

Then we got back on the boat and headed back to shore. Tim and I did some quick shopping and then stood in a very long line to tender back to the ship. There were FOUR cruise ships there that day, all lined up in a row. We'd love to go back to Grand Cayman. It was the best!

Towel animal of the day:

The dinosaur's cute and all, but we were kind of disappointed. We felt sure it would be a stingray!

Paella

2007-08-06T21:08:00.000-05:00

I have wanted a paella pan for a long time, but haven't been able to find a true paella pan anywhere except on the internet and I wasn't ready to do that yet. However, on my doorstep this week, arrived this!

It was an early birthday present from my brother- and sister-in-law all the way from Maine, which was one stop on their cruise.

Well, I just had to use it, so paella was on the menu last night! For the uninitiated, this is a Spanish dish of rice, chicken, sausage and seafood that you cook and serve in the same pan. Tim wondered if the kids were going to eat it, but I was sure they would. There's something in it for everyone even if you're not a seafood lover.

Maren pronounced it "awesome," had three helpings and asked if I could make it again tonight. Uh, no.

Reed finally agreed to try a shrimp even though it wasn't like Long John Silver's (ie., fried). He said it was yummy.

Lane loves shrimp and agreed to try a clam which he also liked.

Thank you, Woodruff family!

Fashionista

2007-08-06T20:49:00.000-05:00

You may not have seen this in the pages of Vogue or GQ, but trust me, this IS the look of the season.

And there is so little required to attain this desirable look. What? You say you haven't seen this on the streets of your town? Well, someone has to be the trendsetter. All you need is a straw hat and a ratty old t-shirt. But... a pair of pruning shears just rounds out the whole outfit.

And, ladies -- don't fret about makeup to complete the look. Just smudge a little dirt on your face and you're good to go.

This will be all the rage next season, just wait and see!

Day 3 - Montego Bay, Jamaica

2007-08-06T20:28:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh, Jamaica!

We awoke this morning, ate breakfast and ventured off the ship into Jamaica.

Now Jamaica's a tropical island, right? You think beautiful beaches, touristy shops, etc.

Not.

When we disembarked the ship, you head right into the terminal which was not pretty. It was one giant room with concrete floors and a few small gift shops around. There are tall fences around everything and the few shops that are right by the port terminal are in grass huts and they *do*have armed guards standing right in front of them.

I had done some advance research and decided to take a taxi to Sunset Beach, a private resort with beach that sells day passes which includes unlimited food, drinks and the use of their beach and water sports equipment. Tim & I had both heard stories about Jamaica, that they openly try to sell you drugs, that there are armed guards everywhere, to only take certain taxis, etc. But hey, we were brave souls, so off we went. We had a taxi driver take us the 3-4 minute drive to Sunset Beach. On the way, he explained that he was "assigned" to us for the day. We would let him know when we wanted to be picked up and he would be there. We had to be back onboard the ship at 5:00 p.m. so we said to pick us up at 3:00 p.m. We thought that would give us plenty of time to do some shopping before we left.

He also said that we would turn over our Sail & Sign cards to the front desk clerk and they would be there for us to pick up at the entry gate at the end of the day. We turned over our cards, paid our fee and spent the day at Sunset Beach. We picked a spot underneath a shady tree, read our books, swam in the pool, and walked on the beach. We used their paddleboats and kayaks and had a good time. It rained twice while we were there for about 10 minutes each time.

At 3:00 p.m., we headed up to the entry gate to pick up our cards. There had been many other people from our ship there that day, too, and several were leaving at the same time we were. We got to the gate and saw our taxi driver on the other side waving at us. The guy at the gate flipped through a bunch of envelopes as he looked for our Sail and Sign cards. And looked. And looked.

Meanwhile, those other ship passengers are walking by us saying, "They can't find your cards?" with VERY sympathetic looks because they understood. That card is your lifeline. You've gotta have it to get back on the ship and they CAN'T FIND OURS. Dear God, we were going to be stuck on an island full of drugs and armed guards as we watch the ship sail away.

Our very patient taxi driver was *still* waiting for us. He can't believe they can't find our cards. Neither can we. They gatekeeper guy walked us back up to the lobby area and made the clerk there look everywhere. She swore she didn't have them, he swore he didn't have them. He also told me that in the nine years he's worked there, they've never lost anyone's cards. That's wonderful, I was just sorry it was ours that had to be the first time.

After 45 minutes of looking, they finally found our cards. On the floor. Tim and I were so relieved and very happy that our driver had waited for us. He drove us back to the terminal and got a large tip for his trouble. Needless to say, there was no time left to shop and we just wanted to get the heck out of Jamaica at that point.

Jamaica is mountainous as they grow coffee there and it really is a beautiful island. From a distance. Here are pictures as we sailed away. We were headed for bigger and better things in Grand Cayman!
Towel animal of the day:

Sims

2007-08-05T21:39:00.000-05:00

We interrupt this blog for an announcement - my wife LOVES The Sims. For those that may not know what the Sims are..... it is a computer game that simulates life. You create characters who lead lives in all stages, buying houses, going to jobs, getting married, having kids and everything that goes along with it. I am NOT a video game person. This is one of the differences between my beloved and myself. While I watch Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, my loving mate is playing the Sims. She currently is conducting the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Urban. So this is why you haven't heard more about our cruise....... I HAVE been caught blogging about her Sims habit. She is trying to pry the laptop from my hands..... I have been threatening to expose her dirty secret to the world, but have been waiting for just the right time to tell all of you how she leads another life on her computer. What can I say, she took a VERY unattractive gardening picture of me today that I am SURE will be publish at some point in the future, soooooo here I am exposing her little habit. Gotta go ------ she is threatening to take the post down. Read fast!

Day 2 - At Sea

2007-08-01T22:02:00.000-05:00

This was our second day at sea - it takes a long time to sail to Jamaica!

See our previous post as this day, too, involved a lot of lying in lounge chairs and strenuous lifting of forks. However, out on the deck today were a couple of interesting things: an ice carving demonstration which is made even more interesting when you see it being done in 90 degree weather. This guy started out with a block of ice and in less than 5 minutes, with water just pouring off as it was melting, he created a dragon! Hard to tell what exactly it was from the pictures, but it was cool.

Also, while I was sitting in my poolside lounge chair, looking out to sea, I noticed something in the water a good distance out from the ship. I couldn't tell exactly what it was, but it was leaving a noticeable wake behind it and it was swimming faster than the ship was moving, which was pretty fast. I got up to take a closer look.

People were starting to crowd around by now and I stopped a bartender in the area (they're ALWAYS in the area) and asked him what he thought it was. He said it was a whale and didn't seem too surprised by it. Maybe that happens more often than you'd think in the Caribbean. The whale swam alongside the ship and eventually overtook it, cut across to the other side of the ship and continued on it's way. Eventually it was out of sight.

That evening, we ate a very yummy dinner - I don't remember what, exactly, but they were all yummy - and saw the Carnival production "Les Formidable." This was one of their best shows all week and the singers and dancers really did an awesome job. I don't have photographs of any of the shows as they don't permit flash photography or videotaping of them.

We returned to our room that evening to our turned down bed and the towel animal of the day.

We turned in for the night then. We were exhausted, as all that food and sun really zaps your energy and we had to have a good night's sleep and get ready for Jamaica the next day!

Day 1 - At Sea

2007-07-31T21:24:00.000-05:00

This day was a "No Agenda" day. We were at sea with nothing for miles and miles but water. We had sunshine, a couple of swimming pools and Tim had the brand-new copy of Harry Potter.

This is how we spent our day:

And this was our view:

1. Eat.

2. Lie in the sun.

3. Read.

4. Look at the view.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Juan was our cabin steward. His job was to clean up the mess we made in our cabins on a twice-daily basis, turn down our bed at night, leave chocolates on our pillow, and oh, yes, make really cute towel animals and leave them on the end of our bed each evening.

Towel animal of the day:

Day 0 - Embarkation

2007-07-31T20:41:00.000-05:00

Well, cruise day had arrived! We left the house around 8:00 a.m. and Tim and I went out to breakfast where he gave me my own digital camera as an early birthday present. Tim has a great camera, but during the school year at least, he has it with him all the time and if I'm going to be a proper blogger, I need a camera available to me.

After breakfast, we headed off to Galveston, about a four hour drive away. We got there about 2:00 p.m., found the parking lot we had prepaid parking for, loaded our luggage on the shuttle and off we went to the Port.

And then the fun began. Carnival told everyone to arrive between 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. for embarkation. I'm sure lots of folks chose to arrive earlier, but I don't think they let you on then because they're still disembarking all the folks from the previous cruise that just docked that morning. This was a 7 day cruise -- Sunday to Sunday, so they get one bunch off and load another bunch on. So we got in line (a LONG line) at 2:15 p.m. and waited an hour before we even made it inside to the air conditioning. Now, the line was moving, but it was 90+ degrees outside and there were a lot of people. Long story, short, we waited in line for 2 1/2 hours before we even made it on the ship. I don't know if that's due to Carnival or immigration or what. I suspect it's Carnival. I understand that they were having to move 3,000 people on to the ship, but geez, people. I think there's definite room for improvement with this process.

However, while I was in line (still outside), I realized I had left my sunglasses in the car six blocks away. I didn't notice before because I was wearing my glasses instead of contacts that day. I knew I was going to need them and if I had known it was going to take me 2 1/2 hours in line, I really would have gone back to get them. But I didn't, and Carnival got $20 more from me than they might otherwise have, since I had to buy sunglasses on the ship.

Carnival takes your credit card information, takes your photograph, and issues you a Sail & Sign card before you embark on the ship. This card works like a credit card on the ship for any purchases you make. They run a tab basically and then charge it to your credit card at the end of the trip. The Sail & Sign card also allows you to get on and off the ship at the different ports. You put it in this machine and it brings your picture up on the monitor so they can tell if it's really you getting on and off the ship. You would have a very difficult time getting on and off without this card -- it is your lifeline for everything and you've got to have it. More on that later.

Once we made it on the ship, we found our cabin. It was small, but most cruise cabins are and Tim & I take the view that you're rarely in your cabin anyway, so it really doesn't matter. We spent the first evening exploring the ship and going to dinner. Here's a sample picture of our cabin, but with a king bed instead of two twins.

You have so many options for eating -- because really, that's what it's all about -- but you just can't beat the main dining room for dinner. It's like being at a 4 or 5 star restaurant every night. There were also three buffet lines running at every meal, a pizzeria that was open 24 hrs, a sushi bar open in the evenings, a sandwich deli, a chinese place, a serve-yourself frozen yogurt/ice cream machine, hamburgers and hot dogs, everything you could imagine, really.

There were 4 or 5 music venues, a main theater/lounge where the live shows were held in the evenings, a casino, an art gallery, a spa, a fitness center, a hair salon, a track on one of the decks, 3 swimming pools, a waterslide and 2-3 hot tubs. I'm sure there are things I'm leaving out. They called it a floating city and they're right. There were almost 3,000 people on the ship and approximately 1,200 crew members, but you never felt like there were that many people.

Here's a picture of the ship.

Oh, and I almost forgot. The entire ship was art-themed. The artwork, the murals, even the wallpaper, had something to do with French Impressionists. It was just perfect for Tim and he loved it.

Sometime during the evening, (after we departed Galveston) I realized I had also left both of my hairbrushes at home. Now the guys out there may not realize the magnitude of this, but I suspect the girls will. I thought, "No problem, I'll buy one on board." But, no. There were no hairbrushes to be found on the ship, not even at the hair salon. It was suggested I try to find one when we were in port. Hmmm, that wasn't going to be until Wednesday! So I had to blow-dry and finger-fluff and make the best of it. This got worse as the week wore on and I'm sure the pictures will tell the tale.

Our vacation had begun!

Back to Reality

2007-07-30T22:01:00.000-05:00

So we're back to reality. We got back yesterday from our seven-day cruise to the Caribbean. Lorna and I had an AWESOME time! Who wouldn't....... no kids, pretty food served with linen napkins, drinks, lots of warm Caribbean sun, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sleeping late, beautiful island scenery, live shows and the list goes on and on..... THEN it's back to reality ----- dirty laundry, dirty floors, kids, work, grocery shopping, no cabin steward, no waiter, no bartender, boo-hoo, I'm making myself sad. Oh well, now we can start thinking about our next cruise. Photos forthcoming from Lorna's surprise early birthday present, a digital camera. Wait til you hear about sting rays, scary Jamaica, plastic cards and our "fun" ship. Stay tuned.

Celebration

2007-07-21T19:06:00.000-05:00

Well, we are off! We will be sailing the high seas this week from Galveston, to Jamaica, then Grand Cayman, finally stopping in Cozumel, Mexico before returning to Galveston. This is to celebrate Lorna's impending 40th birthday in August. We are both very excited as this will be our fourth cruise and we enjoy them greatly because they are very relaxing for us. You don't feel pressured to run around and see every sight there is to see. Our last cruise, we snorkeled, lounged on the beach, ate fish tacos and swung in hammocks. It was THE most relaxing vacation we have ever taken. This will be the longest cruise we have been on, so we will see if the relaxation factor maintains throughout and if we still like each other at the end of the week. Our ship even has an artist theme to it - how appropriate for me. It is all French Impressionists --- this will be fun for the art in me. This little outing however has not been without a bump. You see our wonderful government has failed to get Lorna her passport. Soooo I had to scurry to the county courthouse on Friday and get her a second birth certificate, since the passport people have her original! This after she sent it more than 12 weeks ago. They had more than ample time. She was told that now it is taking upwards of 15 weeks to get them processed. Losers. Despite that, we will be off to the high seas for lots of good food, sun, snorkeling, adult beverages, swimming, time without kids and no thoughts of work or school. The in-laws are moving in for the week as I write this to stay with the kids. God bless them --- they are gonna need all the help they can get to keep up with our kids. There is a reason this blog is entitled Outnumbered. See ya next week.

Tim-

It's Here!

2007-07-21T11:10:00.000-05:00

Whether you're a reader or not, how could you not know that the very last Harry Potter book went on sale at midnight last night? And yes, I was there. Tim went to lie down "just to rest his eyes" about 11:00 p.m. When I went to get him to leave, it was clear he didn't really want to wake up, so I let him sleep. I took Lane and Maren with me instead. We went to Walmart (I know, I know. But it was the closest place to me that was selling the book and it WAS midnight.) and waited in line with about 100 other people until the witching hour arrived.

Tim, Lane & I have read every Harry Potter book and own them all. We thought it was quite convenient that this one was released the day before we leave on a week-long cruise. However, we only buy one copy, so it has to be passed around. Tim will read it first (on the cruise) and then I was planning to let Lane read it next, so he could finish before school starts. But! My mom called this morning and said she had bought a copy. So maybe Lane can read hers while we're gone.

I do think Harry Potter has been a great thing in getting children to read that otherwise wouldn't. I also think probably more adults read them than kids -- they're great books whether you're 9 or 90. Younger than 9, though ... maybe not. I keep trying to get Maren to start reading them, but she won't. Says they're too long. I tell her to think of each one as three books instead of one, but I'm having trouble convincing her. Much to her mom's dismay, she's not much of a reader.

Will Snape turn out to be a good guy after all? Will Harry die? Go get the book, folks and find out!

Civilization Comes to the Hood

2007-07-20T14:57:00.000-05:00

What can I say? I am excited that civilization has finally found us! For those that have visited our commercial void burg will know what it means for a Lowes, Kohls, banks, and finally the best things for our family Taco Bell (Maren), McDonald's (Reed) and hmmmmmmmmmmmm, Starbucks (Tim and Lorna) coming RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET! How awesome is that? Add our recent addition of HEB Plus! and all the other small things that follow, we are gonna be in the middle of (gasp here!!!!) TOWN! No more driving 30 minutes for the basics and specialities of life, they will be just around the corner. I can smell the Cafe Mocha brewing now.................. Check it out!

Tim-

Fajitas, FEMA and Funny Family

2007-07-18T18:56:00.001-05:00

Today gentle readers, we will be discussing the three "F's". Yes, I mean fajitas, FEMA and funny family. Let's begin with fajitas. I LOVE fajitas! Especially the ones that my Dad makes.... we were discussing fajitas at the river this year. What we would be like if we hadn't moved to South Texas and discovered this wonderful skirt meat. For our out-of-state readers, fajitas are a skirt steak grilled and sliced, placed in tortillas with cheese, sour cream, and tomatoes. My special love these days in regards to fajitas revolves around going to our new HEB Plus! supermarket and getting piping hot, fresh tortillas from the tortilleria. Who knew this awesome service would be such a revelation to my suburban existence?

The second "F" for today is FEMA. Yes, you read right, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has come to the hood. Right down the street as a matter of fact. They have set-up camp at the local fire training facility to help people who have lost homes and property due to recent flooding because of our CONSTANT rain this summer. We have had the wettest summer since I think Lorna and I have been in Austin. Check out the HUGE directional signs they have out.

The final "F" for today is funny family. Recently my brother-in-law commented on this blog about his lack of attention to our lives or was it simply that we didn't communicate to them , but we were willing to post to the web for the whole world to see. Today, said brother-in-law has set up a blog of his own. Now my brother-in-law is truly a quite humorous writer. For years he has has been the family invitation writer, meshing his words in double entendre form with a slicing wit. However, both Lorna and I have questioned his initial blogging endeavor. Lorna says, check out the photo he chose as his image for the blog banner --- what the heck does the Eiffel Tower have to do with football, ballet or beer? The vote is still out on this fledgling effort - time will tell if he truly has the follow-through.

Finally, if you are a lurker in our blog - comment occasionally so we know you are there.

Tim-

Birthday Buds

2007-07-17T18:35:00.000-05:00

July is a big birthday month in my family. My brother Todd turned 39 on the 15th and my sister Susan turned 36 today. It is funny that both my siblings have spent their lives having birthdays two days apart. When we were younger, my mom would always let us choose what was for dinner on our birthdays. The photo was taken at Todd's birthday while we lived in Brownwood and I think Todd was turning 7 and Susan would have been turning 4. Todd was a big boy's boy and this particular birthday he got the BB gun pictured. Who would have guessed the BB toting 7 year old would grow up to work with my dad and the pigtailed, co-pillow carrying girl would become a mom to three and working for a large company managing money. The co-pillow thing is one of those family stories because Susan carried around a pillow instead of a blanket or stuffed animal like most kids, because the pillow was "cold" it got morphed into co-pillow. At this time in our life, VCR's were HUGE (literally), microwaves were the newest thing and kids still roamed the streets til the street lights came on "playing." How times have changed. My loving wife Lorna has also noticed that my mother's quirk for the birthday picture holding the cake continues to day - check out my Dad at his 63rd birthday this June. Happy birthday Todd and Susan! I love you!

Tim-

Swimming with Boo

2007-07-16T22:44:00.000-05:00

Reed began swimming lessons today. From the looks of his outlook -- it was more playing in the pool to him than instruction. This is Reed's second year of swim lesson at this particular swim school. They reviewed putting their heads underwater, floating and kicking their feet. However, when it comes to water, fishboy Reed is all about self-play and creating his own story and action. Oh, to only be five again. Swim! --- Boo ---Swim!

Sunday Pond Hopping or Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous or ARRRR, I'm a Pond Pirate

2007-07-15T22:01:00.000-05:00

Day two of pond hopping was even better than day one. We started on the south tour at a home that had transformed their sloping backyard into a series of falls, catchments and ponds. Incredible doesn't even begin to describe this beautiful space. Natural rock and tumbling water ending in ponds filled with lilies and koi. Then it was onto a home on the banks of Town Lake. The pond was formal with niches containing small Buddhas --- however, the view of Austin was stunning. They had a negative edge pool that hung over the lake and had a view for miles. In addition, there were numerous formal garden spaces. Check out Lorna and Reed with the view behind. AHHHHH, what a view to wake-up to every morning. I told Lorna it would be too hard to go to work each day if you lived there. In total we viewed 12 of the 14 ponds on the south tour. There were two we had seen last year. Mid-day Reed got cranky and hungry, soooo we went to Long John Silver's. Reed became a pond-hopping pirate! Once replenished, it was onward to more ponds. Check out the flicker badge to the right and view some of what we saw. At the last pond, the owner gave me some marginals for my pond --- score! We'll see how they do. While pond hopping was TONS of fun with a side of crankyness, we returned home where I worked on the mess.

Tim-