Seven Things Sunday

1. The kids were supposed to go back to school this week. Just like last year right after winter break, the kids had one day off built in to the calendar and then ended up getting two more off thanks to snow and frigid temperatures. This actually worked out well for us, since we happened to have orthodontist appointments on the first snow day, and annual physicals on the second day off. So, my kids didn't have to miss any school to go to those appointments! They were less pleased with this outcome than I was.

2. Caleb got braces this week! I now have three kids in braces at the same time and I pretty much just look away when I pay my bill at each visit. He's done remarkably well with them, though, and was so in love with having his palate expander out that he pretty much looked like he was french kissing himself because he was so happy to have his tongue reach the roof of his mouth for the first time in forever!

3. Lilyanna signed up to join a French class with other 3-5 year olds here in the neighborhood. We haven't attended the first lesson, but she's excited for it! (We've been listening to French language lesson CDs in the car to and from preschool for the last few weeks, so she told me today that since she's going to be going to French class, she doesn't need to pay attention in the car anymore.)

4. I have discovered how wonderful an electric blanket can be in the winter time. My electric bill may be waaaaaay up from this past week of super coldness.

5. There are so many fun book challenges going around right now. I am a voracious reader, so the challenges that are just a number, don't really stretch me. I'm considering this one, though. There are a couple of tricky ones on it for me. For instance, I read every book in school that I was supposed to read. My cousin's wife's take on that was to just read one that other people read in high school that she never read even though it wasn't assigned.

6. The boys and I played the board game "Ticket To Ride" the other night. Caleb, who doesn't usually play games with us, anniahliated the rest of us. I nearly wet my pants several times throughout the game thanks to supreme silliness on the part of my boys. So much laughing! Much of it because of the audio recording of the book "Mr. And Mrs. Bunny Detectives Extraordinaire". If you haven't listened to it, you should!

7. We took all of Christmas down yesterday finally. I always try to leave it up until Jan. 6th at least, but even with all the snow days, we weren't able to take care of all of it until yesterday finally.  I'm always sad to put it all away. Everything looks very bare and utilitarian without it. It also makes it so I see all the things that need to be fixed or painted that were hidden by the relative splendor of extra decorations up on the walls, etc. Ah, well.

Happy Sunday!

Living the Dream!

Nathaniel has been obsessed with manatees for years. I'm not sure how or why it happened, but it did and we've all adapted to it. 

On each of their birthdays, I give my kids the option of present or adventure. I don't tell them what the adventure will be, just that they will definitely love it. Sadly, they almost always go for the safety of present. I'd actually come up with Nathaniel's adventure years ago and was just waiting for him to get brave enough to ask for it.

Happily, this year he finally did! The adventure was a trip to Chrystal River, FL to swim with the manatees! I found a hotel right on the river that basically was made for Nathaniel. It was all about the manatees. What I did not realize, was that the entire county was all about the manatees as well. He was in heaven and insisted that we stop for LOTS of pictures. 

And here is the photo dump from the fantastic trip!

So early in the morning, but so excited to be on a plane travelling to FL!

At the Tampeco Manatee Viewing Center. This was our first stop after arriving in Tampa before we headed up to our hotel.

When we arrived at our hotel and checked in, Nathaniel was given a bag full of information about manatees, several pictures of them, and a stuffed animal manatee. It was as if he'd met his people. Finally, people who understood the obsession and speak his language!! He was ready to move there post haste! He may still be looking for banking jobs down there for Todd!

We'd woken up really early that morning to catch our plane and went to bed really early that evening because the next day we got up just before 6 to have breakfast in the hotel dining room and then head over to the hotel dive shop for our swim with the manatees!

There are no pics of me in the dive suit. Because I looked like something that could be clubbed on an ice floe...

 I have to extract the underwater images from my other (mostly dead) computer, but let me tell you, it was an amazing experience. The gulf water was murky but the water we swam in at the springs was clearer than a swimming pool! We saw nursing manatee mothers and babies all over. There are VERY strict rules surrounding the swimming and contact with the manatees, but I will say that it was a fantastic experience and that if you are ever able to experience it, you definitely should!

Post dive. So cold!! It was literally freezing back home, but FL water in November is still chilly. Not cold, but chilly.

Our captain was great! Just the right amount of strict and funny. That being said, he's a scalloper from Maine, so he was completely unsympathetic when we complained of the cold water.

After the dive we were exhausted. We'd been out on the water and/or wrestling in and out of wet suits for 3 hours by then, so we went back to our room and collapsed in our beds and watched mindless tv until we felt guilty about not enjoying the sunshine. So, we went out and about and discovered that we really were in Nathaniel's world! Manatee everything was everywhere!

But first I insisted on a little drive to the actual Gulf. It was only a couple miles from our hotel and I needed to dip my toes in it since I never have before. I've never even been on the Gulf side of Florida before, always on the Atlantic, so a new experience was necessary!

And all passed out from the excitement of the day. A boy and his manatee. What could be sweeter than that?

The thing I loved best about this trip was that Nathaniel was so very himself. He wasn't being the annoying little brother, or teasing big brother, or nerdy 8th grader, or surly son who hates to do chores. He was just being him; a clever kid who really, truly loves manatees. I liked spending time one on one with that kid.

Seven Things Sunday!

In the vein of last year's Ten Things Tuesday! I'm trying to get back into blogging on a more regular basis and Tuesdays are way too busy. Since we have morning church again this year (We switch morning and afternoon services every year with the other congregation that meets in the same building.), Sunday is the easiest time to do this. So, here are 7 things going on with me/us lately.

1. This past week we took everyone in our house to get passports. Apparently, the entire rest of the population in our town had the same idea because it was super crowded! So, crowded that we split it up in to two different days thinking that the next day might be better. It was actually worse. So, the kids got a lesson on why you should never let your passport expire.

2. We have loved this break from school/work/dance/piano teaching, etc. I'm aware of how busy our lives are, but not really aware until we actually have winter break. It worked out that the kids had two full weeks off from school, and Todd a week of vacation days plus holidays, so it was nearly 2 weeks. We were all mostly healthy the whole time, so it was simply a delightful gathering of playing games, reading books, getting more video game/movie watching time than usual. The kids getting to hang out more with friends, etc. Just nice.

3. I'm really enjoying the ages of my kids right now. Other than the 12 year old being a little too 12 sometimes, they are all at ages where they can really participate in a lot of family decisions and it's nice to hear their input on things. (Sometimes.)

4. When Lilyanna asked what I wanted for Christmas, I replied, "A clean house." She laughed and laughed like I'd told the funniest joke ever and then said, "Mom! It would take too much wrapping paper to wrap up a house!"

5. I have wanted for many, many years now to hike the Appalachian Trail.  About 5 years ago, I decided that when the kids were old enough, we could do it in 2 week chunks. However, now that the kids are at that magical age, there are no 2 weeks where that's feasible. Also, Lilyanna is coming with, and hiking for 2 weeks with a 5 year old is probably more fun than I'm prepared to have. Anyway, we've decided that for this spring, my 2 Boy Scouts and 1 Cub Scout (almost Boy Scout) AND my 5 year old and I will hike 2 states worth of the trail. The 2 easiest states, but still, it will take a little less than a week and we'll have Maryland and West Virginia crossed off the list. We may try to add NJ this year as well, but we'll see how this first hike goes. Did I mention that we're doing it in the spring? When it will likely be cold and wet? I may be a little bit crazy.

6.  I will do a whole post about this later, but in November, I took Nathaniel down to FL for his birthday/Christmas present to swim with his beloved manatees. To say he was a happy kid on that trip, would be seriously understating the situation. It was a delight to get some one on one time with him, too.

7. Benjamin, Nathaniel, and I sat down this afternoon to talk about college in earnest. We looked at how much things cost and where there were the best programs for the cost of the things they currently think they might want to study, and what other programs are out there. (Nathaniel was disappointed to learn there is no US school that offers a degree in parapsychology. But was enthusiastic that there are some classes offered in that field at the University of Edinburgh. Or was until he saw the price of said classes.) Benjamin is halfway through his Freshman year of high school and plans on serving a mission for our church for 2 years immediately after school. Because Nathaniel skipped so many grades, he'll be able to do a year of school before missionary work (boys have to be 18 before they go). It was sobering for us all to realize that their life outside of this home begins in 3 and 4 short years, respectively. But it got the boys really thinking about the things they are doing now and how it can affect THEN. I don't expect they'll always remember their revelations from this afternoon, but putting some hard data in front of them helped demystify some things.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

The Hippie Commie Preschool

Really, I can't say enough about how much I love the Hippie Commie Preschool* that my three youngest kids have been fortunate enough to attend over the years. I was visiting some dear friends in CA while they were going through some serious preschool ideological woes with their son's preschool and it just made me all the more grateful that I happened upon this gem of a school so quickly after moving here to Ohio lo, those many years ago.

Here are just a few pictures I took the other day as I was marveling at how much I love this school for letting our children just be children.

This was after school as a few of us were able to stay to let the kids play on the playground. Lilyanna decided she was still hungry, so invited her friends to join her in a picnic as they finished up their lunches they hadn't completed during lunchtime.

That is my daughter rolling a log across the playground (barefoot and in pink and purple bejeweled dress, thank you very much).  She wanted to climb up a tree, but needed a boost. I won't boost her because my rule is if you can't get up by yourself, then you shouldn't' be up there in the first place. This was her solution. (I did the same thing at her age with an empty rain barrel.)

My kid's school keeps a canoe on hand for climbing and exploring. As per usual, Lilyanna is off to discover the world.


My kids are all very different from one another, but one thing they have in common is how much they love this school and claim it as the best school experience so far. On Friday my older boys had off from school, but came to the hippie commie preschool with me while I was the parent helper, so they could participate, too.  It is a special place and I will be sad to leave it for the last time in a few short months.

*Not the actual name of the school, merely an affectionate name we've given it.

A New Suburban Gardening Adventure!

Because we can never have too many suburban gardening adventures, right??

We Smiths now have a worm farm. Basically, it's a composting bin for inside the house and it currently has a pound of little baby worms in it as well as food scraps, dead leaves, and wet newspaper.

Todd wasn't really looped into the plans that Nathaniel and I had been making, but was characteristically good natured about another one of our schemes. 

Until he came home the other day and Lilyanna said, "Daddy! We have new pets! 500 of them! And I named them ALL Wormie!"

Bless the poor man.

The thought of 500 worms in the house rattled him a bit. 

Until I showed him how tiny they all were.  Or maybe because I showed him how contained they all were. Either way, he was okay after that and able to enjoy the idea of 500 new pets all named Wormie.

Lessons Learned from "my" First Cross Country Season

Well, we are nearly to the end of my high school Freshman son's first cross country season. Here are a few of the things I've learned this year that make next year seem way less scary:

1. Find a friend with an older child among the parents of other team members, so they can hold your hand and walk you through whatever you need when you have millions of questions because your son is a black hole of information. A certain Miss Katey has been my guardian angel throughout this season!

2. When ordering spirit wear/foot wear/ bags/ gear in JUNE, remember that while the kids will be competing in hazy, hot, and humid August, they will also be competing in October and November, which seem to now mean snow here in Ohio. 

3. Also, it's not cheap. You think, "Oh, great, running! You just need a pair of sneakers, right?" No. Two pairs of high quality running shoes, spikes, running socks. PLUS the pay to play fees and booster fees. It's still cheaper than football, but a pair of Nikes from the sale rack at Famous footwear kind of cheap it is not.

4. Accept that if your runner already had a high metabolism BEFORE the season began, their metabolism is now bordering on ridiculous. In fact, if your child is home, just expect his face to be either stuffed in the fridge or stuffed full of food. (Expect your grocery bill to reflect the difference.)

5. Just accept that you are going to see a lot of kids throwing up. And foaming at the mouth. This is apparently a thing with cross country runners. Who knew? The foaming thing is because it takes too long to turn and spit, so it all just hangs out on their faces until they're done racing. The puking? That's just how hard these kids are running. Not everyone does it, but I've seen more kids puking at cross country meets than I was prepared for.

6. All the races I personally have participated in, everyone on the sidelines cheers for every runner. This is not the case at cross country meets. The first time I realized this, I was surrounded by 40 other parents along the sidelines and since none of their school's runners were going by there was dead silence as all the other kids passed in front of us. I currently buck the system and clap and cheer for every runner, but am louder for our team. It's a compromise I can live with and only earns me minimal glares from other parents.

7. Watching a cross country race at the start line is like watching an old battle beginning! Check out these pictures, but imagine lots of yelling and feet thundering by!

All lined up and there goes the gun!

Distant yelling and thundering feet as they begin.

Wow! They're coming straight at me and fast, I better move! More yelling, clapping, and thundering!

And now, that huge long line starts to funnel into one narrow line. And they will run over you if you don't move.

Seriously, people, THUNDERING feet!

And there they go getting ready to shove each other out of the way as they round the first corner.

8. Attending a cross country meet is not like watching other sports. You do not get to go and sit on some bleachers. Well, sometimes they have some there, but rarely are they used for sitting. Instead you watch the start and then run yourself all over the course to be able to catch the runners and cheer for them at 3 or 4 different points on the course. Not a passive event at all.

9. The upside is that a race is over in less than 25 minutes! So, I can get there, scope out the course, watch the girls team, watch my son's team, talk to the rest of the kids post race and leave all in less than an hour! It's a thing of beauty!

10. I appreciate how hard my son is learning to work, but also how nice everyone on the team is. I heard some coach from another school giving his kids a "pep" talk and there was much yelling and sports cliches. Our coaches are excessively chill, which gives the whole team a very nice vibe. None of the boys feel less than or pressured. They just want to do their best, and if that's what they bring the coaches are happy. It's a nice bunch of kids, too. Slackers in any sense of the word are not generally drawn to cross country running it would seem.

I'm sincerely glad he decided to run this year, and I hope he keeps up with it throughout high school. That being said, I'm looking forward to the relatively calm schedule of play and musical season. ;)

Look at those ENORMOUS feet! Size 13.5, people. Yikes!