Time flies when ... it's summer?

I guess that's my excuse. I haven't posted on my blog for 2 months because it's summer. Although, to be fair, it really has only felt like summer for a month. It took its own sweet time getting here, then bore down on us last week with temps near 100 and humidity to match. Brutal. I try really hard not to complain about the heat -- I do, after all, live in Minnesota, and, well, we have such cold so much of the year it feels ungrateful to complain when we finally get a warm day. But this? This was ridiculous.

So ... what has been happening since May 11, when I took my little hiatus?

Well, my little brother got married. He and his wife were both married previously and had some sad tales to tell. They had a lovely day and a beautiful ceremony and they are deliriously happy. So that was nice. In an awesome bonus, I did NOT get into a hair pulling, scratching, biting fight with my mom's sister, who hates my everlovin' guts. Ignoring evil relative FTW!

Also, my eldest son graduated from 8th grade. They had a simple ceremony at the end of the school's annual awards ceremony and I did not cry. Perhaps I am unsentimental, but I prefer to think of it as "looking forward to all of the cool stuff my kid will learn and do as he grows." It's all in the spin.

In June I made a trip to North Dakota to spend a couple of days with my mom. We attended a lecture by Clay Jenkinson, who portrays my favorite President, Thomas Jefferson, and it was amazing. I highly recommend Clay's Show, The Thomas Jefferson Hour.

And I drove my new car home from North Dakota at the end of that trip. My dad restored it for my mom (who picked the beautiful color) in 1996. They are starting to think about downsizing and moving somewhere warm, and they decided they had better start getting rid of cars. (My dad has a fascination with cars, which I detailed in an album I made for him a few years ago. You can see the inside pages in my gallery at Scrapjazz. Here is a link, but the album starts on page 7 of the gallery just in case the link doesn't work.

And here is the car:

I know.

It is gorgeous. I could not love it more.

Of course, in the interest of full documentation I should also add that the fuel pump died on the doggone thing before I'd had it a week. Fortunately the part was under $25 and my awesome husband did the mechanic work to get me up and running again. Could have been worse.

And of course we have been doing the usual home improvement stuff around here lately -- Evan's room is looking very appropriate for a gearhead, and Garrett's room just got its bamboo wall mural and a new oak door, and will get new bifold closet doors (also oak) as soon as I get them stained. Patience, grasshopper.

We spent a lovely few days at our friends' lake cabin in central Minnesota, where all 3 of the boys learned to waterski. That was a highlight. We had a ball. It is so much fun to give my boys a little chance to experience stuff like that. I took my grandparents' lake cabins for granted, and I wish one of them was still left in the family. Having a week every year to hang at our friends' cabin is really a treat.

And, of course, Potter fever hit our house in July, when Evan and I went to the midnight showing of the final harry Potter movie with our friends Tracy and David. The boys dressed up and we all loved the movie. We all love the books even more.

And, speaking of books, I read The Count of Monte Cristo with a couple of friends over the spring and summer. It is 1,200 pages. It was great fun to read with a group again and we are thinking of doing it with more books, although keeping a looser format than a monthly book group. I read it on my Kindle, and cannot love the Kindle more, either. What a great invention.

So ... it wouldn't be my blog without a list, would it? We still have that doggone storage unit from spring 2010, when we put the house on the market. Since then we have gone through a lot of it and it is less than half full, so we hope to clean it all out soon. Plus there are always a million things to do to get ready for school starting, so here is my list for today:

* clean out storage unit by Sept. 30 (in progress as of 8/22)
* get out for a few days of camping (not so many camping days this summer with the government shutdown)
* get kids to eye doctor before school
* finish staining Garrett's closet doors (in progress as of 8/22)
* stain remaining 3 doors for basement (in progress as of 8/22)
* weed garden
* take out tree/bush in back yard

I think that's good for now. I am well. My kids are doing great -- they are at UU Chalice Camp this week (Vacation Bible School for UUs). My husband is as handsome, patient and kind as ever.

So I am grateful for the things that stay the same, even as the world and my family change every day.

Infinite possibilities

This house has seen many incarnations since we've owned it. It's been 14 years this week. Currently the upstairs (with the cute sloped ceilings) is my scrapbooking/craft/computer/genealogy room and the "master" bedroom. I use the quotes because in this day and age it doesn't feel like a master without a bathroom, which we do not have. But I digress.

The main floor is where our middle and youngest sons sleep. Spring break was last week and I worked like a dervish to get cleaning/organizing and painting done. Our poor stereotype (often neglected, fades into the background because he is so mellow) of a middle son, Evan, had been waiting patiently for months to get his room painted and personalized.

Monday I painted, with his help. It was a lot of work, and I think at 41 I may have decided painting is a job to be hired out from now on. Maybe.

Evan loves cars and motorcycles and the Indianapolis Colts. Not necessarily in that order. (The Colts move up during football season and move down the rest of the year. Sorry, Peyton.)

The big empty space above Evan's bed is for the 24 x 24 inch canvas we procured over the weekend. It will feature a large Harley-Davidson bar & shield logo and some motorcycle pictures. Soon.

This is Spencer's room.

And Garrett's. Clearly I should have used the flash. Sorry. The loft bed and desk are from Walmart. He wanted a bed from IKEA but it was too tall for the ceilings in the basement. This was the only option we could find that fit. We hope to get a chair in the next few months that will fit where the blue chair is (far left in the shadows) and will fold out into a twin-size bed for guests.

This is my grandma's breakfront. I had to look it up, but it's called a breakfront because the center of the case is set out from the sides. This is curved glass and I was a basket case transporting and unpacking it. Can't imagine having to replace the glass. Yikes. Many of the items in the breakfront were given to me by my grandma over the last 10 years or so. I love having it in the room, but I think it will be quite some time before I stop referring to it as "Sally's furniture."

And I did use the flash here, but it's cloudy and the light is funny so it still looks dim. This is the table and chairs, again from my grandma. I remember sitting here for dozens of holiday and everyday meals with my grandparents and parents. I find myself stopping and staring at it as I move through the house -- it throws me off every time I see it.

I think we are set now, for a few years. (I suspect until Garrett graduates, anyway. (What a freaky thing to type ... it's only 4 years away.)
Our family has grown and changed over the years and the house has managed to shiftshape and morph along with us. It's a pretty amazing house with endless variations. :)

This is what it's like

... to try to shoot 3 wacky boys for a Christmas card. One cheesy toothless grin, one open-mouth laugh with eyes closed, and one kid looking out of the corner of his eye at his brother instead of the camera.

Quite possibly my very favorite shot of the three of them, ever.

Trick or Treat!

First Day

Off and on this summer I had some sleepless nights. I would wake up for no apparent reason and find myself thinking about sending my youngest child to first grade this fall.

I got weepy many nights, unable to shut my brain off, and listening to the voice inside my head berate me for my lack of nurturing and parenting skills. "You didn't snuggle them enough when they were small!" "You spent too much time cleaning the kitchen floor, wiping off the high chair, vacuuming the carpet!" "You didn't appreciate their fat little diapered bottoms, their tiny pink toes, their deep, throaty giggles when you blew raspberries on their tummies!" "You didn't read to them enough." "You didn't sing to them enough." "You wished their babyhood away."And on and on and on.

And really, what that all boils down to is me asking myself, "Did I love them enough?"

How do you answer that? How do you quantify something so ethereal, so abstract, so intangible?

I was awed each time I became a mother. I sat in wonder and astonishment that something so perfectly formed, so tiny and so aware, was mine.

And as they grew I found out so many times that they aren't mine. They are not possessions, they are themselves. Garrett is thoughtful, probing, anxious. Evan is a rough-and-tumble boy with a core that is tenderhearted and nurturing. Spencer is mischief -- a comedian with lightning intellect.

Of course that is not ALL each of them is ... but it is certainly the core of their personalities, characteristics of which were apparent from birth. Some things really never do change.

Today Spencer was up before his dad and I. He got his own breakfast, got dressed, and had made a sandwich for lunch already when he came in to get me up. At 7:15.

When the bus came, each of them stepped confidently aboard. They smiled and waved, and rolled their eyes as I took pictures documenting this day. This day that, to them, was just another first day of school.

And I, wrapped up in the picture taking and the hubbub, didn't have time to cry. It was over before I knew it.

Later, in a house that was still and quiet, I realized that my kids had demonstrated at least some of my parenting had paid off -- they were excited to go to school, they were unafraid of the new year and its challenges, they eagerly stepped into the exciting new world that was waiting for them. They were ready.

And I thought, Yes. I loved them enough. I loved them so much they are up to any challenge. I loved them so much they know they can do anything, and that I will be there to back them up. I loved them so much they never realized that today was also a first for me.

July 32nd ...

That is my preferred way of stating the date. I just can't go into August yet, okay? Work with me here.

Just wanted to pop in and add a couple of pix from last night's game.




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And Wednesday night I was granted a reprieve from the baseball game and I drove up to the Twin Cities to pick up an old Army pal. We'll call her "M."

M was the big sister I never had -- she taught me to be confident in myself, to demand the best from the men I dated because I deserved nothing less, to be strong in myself so that I could choose to be vulnerable when I wanted to. Good lessons, all.

She also nursed me through many a breakup, letting me lie on her couch in a terrycloth bathrobe for weeks on end.

Thanks, M. It was great to see you. We're still pretty cute, aren't we? LOL

What a weekend!

We had a ball camping with the whole family. Set up the camper and tried out the never-before used screen room. Loved it. Note the palm tree that lights up and the bar just visible inside. Unfortunately it took 4 adults to put it up, so until we have a little more practice or can bribe camp neighbors with beer it probably won't get used a lot this year.



That's the whole fan-damly, as it were. What a crew. We did have fun, even trying to get that many people and dogs to look in one direction at the same time.



Evan, Garrett and their cousin Haylie climbed a big hill in the campground. Here they are celebrating their ascent.



And I realized I haven't posted any pictures of Evan playing soccer yet this season, so here he is practicing tonight.

More adventures this weekend, so I probably won't be in again until Monday or later.

A Very Good Day

I was pretty low when I answered those questions the other day. Thanks to those insightful enough to see it and email me. I appreciate it. It was parenting angst which I shall not dwell on today because it was a perfect day.

This morning we got up and went to a camp near Pepin, Wisconsin to their "Maple Syrup Day." On the way we saw a sign for the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder and took a 14 mile detour to see the site of the Little House in the Big Woods. I loved those books as a child I read them over and over. Laura was my friend, and to walk on the land that she played on as a little girl was surprisingly emotional for me. There is a little reproduction cabin that is open to tourists (although it is empty and not staffed) and we went in and saw the small space in which a family of 4 lived. I could almost see the onions hanging from the rafters and the jars of canned goods on a shelf in the corner.




On to the camp, then, where we got to taste the sap of a sugar maple (the taps look like little spigots and the sap looks like water and was not as sweet as I expected). It takes 40 gallons of sugar maple sap to make just 1 gallon of maple syrup. We ate the syrup on delicious pancakes and if you've never had the real thing I recommend it.



The kids had the opportunity to try archery and climb the big climbing wall, and they made friendship bracelets at the Arts & Crafts area. A total blast. Now all of them want to go to summer camp. We are accepting donations. Email me and I'll give you my PayPal address. LOL






Stopped at LARK Toys for a birthday gift and then home to Rochester where I checked my email and found that my candidate for Chair had prevailed in a contested election at our DFL County Convention. Plus a really awesome guy was elected Affirmative Action Representative and I think he is going to do amazing things to draw in some of the immigrant and minority community members which are underrepresented in our party.

Off to a birthday party at Quarry Hill Nature Center, and to see the "Creatures of the Deep" exhibit, which ends Monday, March 31. It is awesome. I have never even imagined a turtle 16 feet wide.




We stopped at the grocery store for avocado and lettuce and all the ingredients for Dirt Dessert, and we are home now, getting ready to have BLTs (with avocado) and oven fries for dinner. A quiet evening together for all of us and possibly a glass of wine with my husband after the kids are in bed.

I saw 2 robins today as we were driving in Wisconsin, the temps today climbed to near 50 degrees, the snow is almost gone, and I feel spring is on its way.

A very good day, indeed.

Easter

Since we're heathens we celebrate Easter like we do Christmas -- in a secular, pagan way (hey, why do you think it's an Easter Bunny?). We do talk about the real reason for the holiday, although much of it is lost on my kids. (Honestly, I grew up Lutheran and much of it was lost on me as a child, too.) Garrett and I were in the car yesterday and he asked a question that led to a long explanation from me about the crucifixion, the tomb, and the ascension. A few things seemed to *really* confuse him, so I went back and simplified it, telling him that I don't believe it, that it is a nice story, and that many people *do* believe it and it gives them great comfort and happiness. As always, I told him that as he grows he can read and learn more about all faiths and if Christianity (or Buddhism or Shinto) seems to make sense to him he can choose to follow that path. He replied that the whole thing about dying and coming to life, then rising to Heaven in the physical body seemed a little hard to believe and that he'd stay a Unitarian. LOL

Who knows? There's no telling what things will have meaning to a person. I have to confess I'd be a little less than thrilled if he chose some paths, though.

And here are the obligatory pictures of the loot from the Bunny. My friend Teresa called Webkinz the "crack cocaine of the elementary school set" the other day and she is so right. Evan got a frog, Spencer got a hippo, and Garrett got a tiger snake he's been wishing for.

I have an angel food cake in the oven and we're having cranberry lime chicken and baked potatoes for dinner.

Happy Easter, everybody. Here's a bonus picture for you. LOL

We're ready!

The bags are packed, the tickets have been printed, I borrowed Rob's new PDA/cellphone because it has a 2 mp camera in it, the PT Cruiser is gassed up, and we made a sign for Evan to hold during the concert.


(If you aren't aware, I tried to name him Bruce. Rob wouldn't go for it, and when we had it narrowed down to 3 names (Ian, Ethan & Evan), I realized Bruce's oldest son is Evan. Ta-daaaaa!)

And here's the back side, for a car crazy boy and his car crazy mama who would rather drive a pink '59 Cadillac convertible than any other vehicle ever made. LOL



Didn't he do a great job on the sign?

We'll be back tomorrow ... wish us luck in the wristband lottery. We're hoping to get into the pit right in front of the stage.

It's still winter

Yep, today was still relatively cold. I don't think we got up to 25. The week should be better, though -- slowly warming up into the 40s.

Thought I'd post a picture of the boys in front of the biggest snowman I've ever seen, outside of LARK Toys near Kellogg, MN. Be sure to check out their carousel -- the link is on the left side of the home page. Amazing.

And for perspective, those are car tires that make up the snowman's hat. He is BIG.

At last ...

I give you The Boogie Woogie Piano Teacher Man!

It's Saturday!

That's the name of the production at school this week. The 2nd and 3rd graders (3 classrooms' worth of kids) are excited to be performing. Evan has been given the role of the "Boogie Woogie Piano Teacher Man." LOL The part has him preaching the gospel of Boogie Woogie like a cheesy televangelist. His costume is black and is trimmed out with red and yellow felt flames and a bunch of red sequins.

So it's not exactly the lead in Oliver! but he is excited about it and the part has a lot of personality and is to be played completely over the top. Let's just hope there is enough of his drama queen mama in him to do the job. LOL

And -- shhhhh! -- my parents are coming tomorrow for the performance. None of the kids know it (although they suspect because tonight I had them cleaning the house). Please keep my mom and dad in your thoughts as they travel tomorrow. We are supposed to have snow so I am hoping it doesn't make life difficult.

Hooray for Hollywood ...

Okay, not exactly Hollywood. But Evan's school production is Thursday night. He got a plum role and I was thrilled to make the costume. A ladies' cropped jacket with 3/4 sleeves from the Goodwill was procured (and it fits perfectly LOL) and appliqued and sequined within an inch of its life. I sent it and the black jeans which were embellished to match to school this morning.

Photos Friday. He will be awesome.

Holy cow

I have been having computer issues. Of an undetermined origin, no less. For the last 2 or 3 days I have not been able to get to Google. And I couldn't see photos on Blogger sites. Rob has been on his laptop tonight and for now the issues are resolved. The computer has been interminably slow as well, and again, for now it seems to be working.

I had had this little "J" sitting around for a while now ... simply painted black. When I found some black and white toile paper I knew it was what I wanted, so I bought a sheet and Mod Podged it on. It needed some color and sparkle so I added a ton of colored rhinestones. Waaaaay over the top, but I still like it. LOL




Spencer had his birthday celebration in school today since there is no afternoon kindergarten tomorrow. I even figured out how to use the video function on my new camera (which has a microphone, so it records sound as well!) and got a video of the class singing the birthday cake song. Too cute.

The weekend will be spent altering a jacket for Evan's class play -- he was assigned the part Tuesday and the performance is a week from tonight. Yikes! The part is awesome, though, and I know he'll be great. Will definitely report on more as the costume (which will also be very cool) comes together.

Okay, it's time to get the kiddos to bed and get a few things done around here ... it's good to be back. Say a little prayer that the computer doesn't freak out again ....

Oops

Almost forgot the obligatory Christmas Eve photo in front of the tree. Check out the matching pajamas -- they have skulls & crossbones wearing Santa hats on them. Too cool.

Holiday recap

Right now I am at the computer, listening to Dan Fogelberg on the stereo (how sad I was when I heard he had died just before Christmas), drinking a Diet Coke from McDonald's (oh! the joy!), and looking at the pictures taken on my new camera (disclaimer: I do NOT know how to run the thing yet, so please forgive the blurry images). An update on the scrapbook later, but first, the holiday highlights:



This is Pippa meeting Scout, Evan's new pug Webkin. The kids each got one of these Webkinz and are now fighting regularly over who gets computer time first. A huge success. *Sigh*



Evan with his gift from Santa -- a digital camera. 5 megapixels! Garrett got one, too. Hence the need for Mommy's upgrade to 8 megapixels (from 3.2). Can't have the kids with more MP than Mom! I know this is blurry but you can see how excited he was.



My nieces got Rock Band for the PS3. This is Rachel playing guitar. Doesn't she remind you of the chicks in the Robert Palmer "Addicted to Love" video? ROFL



Garrett was the vocalist in the band. Imagine how proud I was when I heard him singing "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" by The Clash. hee hee



Garrett has enjoyed several needlework type projects in art the last couple of years so I suggested perhaps Grandma could teach him to knit. I just love this shot.



Here is the sweatshirt I made for JoAnn. It is a little off-kilter in the photo. I think it's because I tried to tack down the fabric panel on her right. She may have to rip out a few stitches and tack it again so it doesn't look wonky. Sorry, JoAnn.

And, the news you've been waiting for: yes, I finished it. Well, 49 of 50 pages. (Side note: how in the world can one LOSE photos of their child's first birthday? Seriously. Doesn't that automatically get you into hell or something? Anyway, I left a page blank in the fervent hope that I eventually find the photos. Argh.)

The following are pictures of my scrap room when I got done. It wasn't too bad and only took about half an hour to clean up. I do still have to add titles to some of the pages and journaling to most of the pages but they are in page protectors in an album and at school (though I did have to drop it off this afternoon because I was still putting page protectors on as Spencer's bus arrived).

Teegan Tribute Tuesday

At last -- me with my wonderful kiddos. This was taken the night of Evan & Spencer's dance recital. I am blessed indeed.