Live from Tormville!

He came home from school, reached into his pocket and said......

.......mom, I need you to sign these.   heh.

The first day of school was a success.  The only glitch was that Allan's schedule was switched.  Mom, they switched nearly all the 9th graders schedules!  So the schedule that we were actually happy with - the one that had his hard class at the beginning of the day - was switched.  Now his hardest class is at the very end.  The worst place, for him.

grrr.

But we had a pep talk, and pinky swore that we're going to stay on top of things this year - so we'll leave it rather than fight it.

Wendy's first day went well too - she has a lot of familiar faces in her class - loves her teacher, knowing him from when Allan had him.  He's familiar, and a well liked teacher.

It could be a good year.

I also survived our after school trip to Staples with all four kids.  They both came home with lists.  Allan needed a sketch book and some binders, Wendy needed 'those little things that you put on a pencil so it doesn't hurt when you write'   Hers were more personal - but Allan's list warranted a trip.

It was worse than Christmas at Staples.  But we survived.  Barely......

As for me - I need to move up my bedtime - 6:15 comes awfully early.......

He did laps around me, but I'm okay with that

One of the more difficult things about camping alone, was keeping each of the kids entertained.  The age gaps in our little family can make this tricky, Allan being ten years older than his brothers - Wendy being, well, a girl - the little boys being, well - little.  

Each situation calls for a different solution.

Allan wanted to walk the pier - but it wasn't something I felt real comfortable with him doing alone.  And, well, I secretly really wanted to go to. 

And Wendy did start out with us, but quickly decided it wasn't for her. 

I stayed on the boulders and proceeded towards the lighthouse while Allan brought his sister up to the playground where my mom was watching the little boys.  I thought I'd use this time to gain a little lead but I knew in my head that no matter how far a lead I got, Allan would soon come billy goating ahead of me.  And he did.  The speed in which he did - well, we won't talk about that.

I was just tickled I was able to make the journey at all - it was worth the trip.

And when I got back to shore my mom asked me - why did Allan make it look so easy, but you made it look so, well, cumbersome? 

I asked her when she last walked the pier.  hmph.

Until next year!
__________________

Meanwhile, on the homefront:

• Pa and Allan went to the demolition derby at the fair last night and declared it was great fun
• I got half the deck scrubbed while they were gone
• Allan doesn't know it yet, but his chore today will be to scrub the other half
• I'm currently reading, A Window to the World.  It's being a good read. Not a five star - but I'd still recommend it.
• I'm still not done with my binding - seems I have a hard time just sitting.  I need someone to visit while I work on it
• The forecast has said rain nearly every day for the past week and I've yet to see it
• We're out of butter.
• Wendy informed me last night that her throat is sore.
• And the thought, here we go again, ran through my head......

He'd like a paradox to solve, if you don't mind

ah. Our three boys.
The doctor said if I come in again with Wendy tomorrow or Monday he'll cut me a deal on co-pays.  How nice is that?

Mark = strep
Brian = strep
Allan = negative for strep

I've got to talk about Allan for just a bit.

Man.  I love that kid.  I love all my kids equally, but I think like any parent - you see more of yourself in one kid than another.  I see a lot of me in Allan.

Of course, most of it I feel like I have to apologize for.  Sorry Al.  The need to know the entire picture in advance with no surprises.  That came from me.  I hope that he's able to relax that need as I eventually did and just learn to roll with it. 

The black and white thing.  Yep - that's me too. It took a long time for me to see gray.

He's the oldest child by five years - just like I am.  So I'm familiar with all the quirks that that situation begets.  My husband - the third of ten - can't relate to it all.  The need for quiet time, the need to walk away from a crowd and be alone for a minute.  Yep - totally gets that from me. 

In seeing myself so much in him - I often see his wounds before they happen.  I know where his hurdles lie and where his weak and strong points are.  I feel both a compelling need to protect him and an eagerness for him to grow past our his quirks.  I wish that my knowledge would make it happen quicker, but that's not how it works....it just makes it more painful to watch because I know it's coming.

Then there's the nurturing and compassionate side of Allan - the side that I have to give my husband complete and total credit for.

I took this picture a few days ago - it's of Allan and the boys in the hood that are Wendy's age. (and our Brian - who's, yes, picking his nose - in all five options of this picture)  It used to be that they'd come play with Wendy - but now, they come to the door and ask for Allan. (much to Wendy's disgust)  Allan who is five years older than them.

I have mixed feelings about this because I have very strict rules myself about my kids playing with kids that are five years older.  I will not allow the girls Allan's age, for instance, to come in our backyard to play with Wendy.  She picks up far too much as it is, I surely don't need any added unguided influence.

But these boys look up to Allan.  Two of the three come from broken homes and actually have older brothers who they never see.  And Allan's so good with them - he's encouraging, nurturing, a teacher and a cheerleader all in one.  But don't get me wrong, he definitely has his moments where they all of us want to gang up on him and tie him to a tree - but mostly, he's a good egg.

One of the boys caught him in the driveway just yesterday as he was headed over to a friends house and said - hey Al - can ya play?  ah - not right now buddy - I'm on my way to a friends house.  Love that he lets them down politely and gently.  I can't take credit for that - it's in his nature.

Anyway.

The reason I bring up Allan now is that it was for him that we went to the doctor yesterday.  I hadn't been planning on it - was planning to ride it out and keep an eye on symptoms, but the doctor was concerned when I mentioned them.  Headaches, dizzy spells, everything goes black. The headaches have been on and off for a month now and the dizzy spells/blackness just started this week.  My personal feeling is that it's his thyroid - a problem very prevalent on Pa's side of the family and something that could cause those symptoms.  I've actually been watching him for signs for awhile.

But.  When I requested to get a referral to our thyroid doctor - our doctor wanted to see him first.  *sigh* So we're going through the motions.  Yesterday he had blood work and some other tests done - tomorrow he'll get an MRI. 

He's not worried about the MRI at all - in fact, none of us are feeling very concerned at this point - we're just following the path that we've been put on and we'll deal with whatever when we must.

But he is concerned about fidgeting while in the machine.  He's been a fidgeter since he was young (he didn't get that from me).  So he requested that I come up with a paradox for him to solve in his head while he's lying there.  His words, not mine.

Anyone got a good paradox for him to solve?

He's out of the running

So I'm walking up the driveway, on my way home from picking up the 8 year old from school and I happen to glance under my van and I see that whatchamacallit in the photo above. 

Now, I'm no mechanic - but I do have a bit of common sense.  My common sense says to me, "Sharyn - if that thing fell out of your van - not a wonder it's not working right"

The only thing that puzzled me is that it was laying by the rear of the van - back where the muffler parts hang out - and my problems have been more frontal.  At least - I'm pretty sure the brakes are in the front.

But I reached under the van and pulled it out and then shimmied myself to the spot that I just removed the doohicky from and I looked up - trying to figure out from where it had fallen.  Puzzling - that.  There just didn't seem to be a spot for it there.  But - that's where I found it, so I brought it into the house and set it on Pa's shelf so he could take care of it.

Meanwhile - I couldn't help but wonder - did it fall off in the middle of the night?  I sure never heard it fall.

A few minutes passed and my oldest came in from his junk picking scout around the block (it's spring cleaning weekend which means it's a boon for treasure pickers) and sees the whatchamajig on Pa's shelf and says - hey, what is that?

I confessed that I hadn't a clue - that I found it under the van.

Oh - says he who's out of today's running for favorite child award - I put it there after I found it on the road.

Pfft.

Birthday cake, specimen cups, spectacles, horses and a mouse

Yesterday was a full day -

• Look Grandma - new glasses!  We did a quick unexpected run amidst birthday preparations to pick up Allan's glasses.  Glasses present a new photographing challenge for me - the first six pictures had wicked reflections and, ack, me in the lenses. 
• He was amazed by how much he could see on the way home - it was fun to witness everything he saw with fresh eyes.  He was mostly amazed at the clarity of everything - how everything went from mush to defined interestingness.
• On that same trip to the eye doctor - we skipped to the pediatrician's office to pick up a urine specimen cup. I'm wondering if Mark has a bladder infection - so I get to see if I can convince him to pee in a cup before his appointment tomorrow.  The nurse had told me that I could just use an old clean tupperware and then toss it - but my first thought was - if I let this kid pee in a tupperware, he'll think my tupperware drawer is fair game from then on out.  And we don't want that. 
• I got the chocolate on chocolate birthday cake frosted a full 20 minutes before company came.  I did not eat any of that chocolate on chocolate cake - but rather, dunked two ginger snap cookies into my coffee instead.
• Yesterday was beautiful out - high 60's and sunny.  We walked to story hour - I was wishing I had got something hung on the line yesterday - but I was just too busy.
• The horses and horse barn were a success - photos later
• After all the kids were in bed for the night - Pa says, uh - honey, I think I saw a mouse on the counter in the kitchen.  Argh, I thought.  I shared with Pa that I thought I saw one last week - but had convinced myself that it was my hair - as it's longer than it's been in quite some time, and it was one of those out of the corner of my eye sightings.
• Pa was wishing he had kept his mouth shut when I said in a not up for discussion tone, well then - that means one of us is going to Meijers right this minute to buy traps.
• Pa went to Meijers and bought traps (in my defense - I did get dressed to go - but he wanted to go as he wanted to pick out some lunch meat as well)
• There was a mouse in one of the traps this morning - the other trap is empty.  Did we just have one mouse?
• Speaking of lunch meat and sneakiness - someone stole Pa's sandwich from the fridge at work yesterday. Boy, was he ticked.  I guess surprised and aghast would be more like it.  That's not happened since he's been there and he always packs a lunch. 
• I made Chicken Tetrazzini for dinner and it was a success.  Well - amongst the adults anyway.  I'll share the recipe in another post - later.

Until Later - Happy Wednesday!

Well. If that don't beat all.

The oldest (he's the one sprawling the back of the couch) and I went to Target this evening.  I enjoy finding alone time with each of the kids as much as I can - it gives us time to talk without interruptions and I get a better insight into what they are thinking or feeling.  It's why I walk Wendy home from school each day - while she can walk home by herself now, I value that time.  I learn a lot in those few minutes on the way home from school.

So tonight, Al and I went to Target. It's easy to persuade him to come along with me on these jaunts now that he has a job and money in his pocket.  On the way there we began talking about school, grades, progress reports and he says - you know mom, I have a hard time seeing the blackboard at school.  Get out!  Really? 

So I tested him. 

Can you read that billboard?
Can you read that sign?
Tell me when you can read this one coming up on the right.
How about that license plate - can you read that?

And then inside Target, I stopped several times in the middle of the aisles.  Can you read those signs over the aisles?  How many can you read?  (he could only read the closest one - if we were close enough - whereas I could read every one all the way to the end)  Can you read that end cap?  Can you read that shirt over there? 

Kid can't see a darn thing.  I called Pa instantly and he made an appointment for next week.  His sister, conveniently, works at an eye doctors.  But gosh - I can't help but think, wow - how much longer would that have gone on had we not been chatting this evening?  How long has it been going on?  He was every bit as shocked to learn that I could see so far away as I was to learn that he couldn't see at all.

He was tested this year in school - and I remember it because he said he got the impression that his eyes weren't all that great but then I remember hearing that if they were real bad I'd get a letter in the mail. I never got a letter. 

What are the tests like at school?
Can eyes get progressively worse - ie:  could they have been somewhat normal, say, four years ago or four months ago and now be that bad?  He remembers being able to read billboards.  As a family, we play a lot of the ABC game on trips and I know that he could read them at some point.

But tonight?  Not at all.  Not until we were right on top of them and then it was too late to be able to even read the whole sign.  He does say he feels they got gradually worse - that where it used to be clear it eventually turned to fuzz and mush.

I remember a story about a cousin of his - a first cousin of Pa's actually - who got glasses in high school and was amazed.  Turns out that he never knew that trees had individual leaves and branches - to him they were just one big green fuzzy thing.

It'll be interesting to see what Allan notices.

The things you learn on a drive to Target. 

So much better than Hollywood History

Allan was signed up for Hollywood History for second quarter, which began last Monday, a class that I pulled him from.

By default he landed in Mission to Mars (how come I have no recollection of these classes from when I went to school)   So much more him.  His first assignment was to draw a cell city.  I love looking at his drawings, this is so typical of him, so up his alley - he's going to do wonderfully in this class. 

You can click the picture to make it larger.  I love that he has a graveyard, people running, Joe's produce and a slaughterhouse (Halloween still fresh in his mind).  He's very careful tho, not to draw in any weapons.  Against school rules, you know.

Okay - time to get some Saturday cleaning done......

eta:  I didn't realize that he had to write a story about his city.  If I'm guessing correctly, the teacher probably wanted him to write about his city - Allan kind of turned it into a narrated tour event - this is just part I.  My favorite part is when the bus driver speaks with surprising hostility.   I hope you can read it like this - remember, you can click to see it bigger

really dumb question

I'm supposed to crank Allan's expander a click each night.  Problem?  They didn't give me a cheat sheet and I have a short memory.  Do I start at the bottom and crank up (tongue to roof?) or at the top and crank down (roof to tongue)

sigh

thanks - I don't know how I survived before my blog

only this kid ....

.... would choose Michigan State colors for his braces simply because he loves the irony of having them done on the U of M campus (State's rival) by a U of M student.  I had no clue until he came out of the office.  He makes me laugh.

eta:  he will be getting braces on the top as well - but for now, there is just an expander up there.  Which he's thrilled about.  Really. 

November

Hello November
I have to admit, I welcomed November with a bit of a heavy sigh.  I'm not quite ready for November.
November, to me, means it's darker early - the holidays are coming - the walls are closing in.
I spent the weekend in a bit of a sulk, I'm hoping to snap out of it today but the skies are dark and the weather is dreary - it'll take knocking a few things off my list this morning to perk me back up, so that's my goal. 

November is going to be about random posts, random meaning things I've been meaning to share but haven't gotten to yet.  My finished laundry room, my silhouette technique, Cumberland Gap, and catching up.  I heard someone laughing - was that you, mom? 

I tell myself I can do this, this catching up thing - I was so close last month, afterall - but as I flip the calendar the first week is full.  Conferences, dentist, braces, haircuts, VOTING, story hour.....

The random posts, tho, I can do.

This is the one that's getting his bottom braces this week.  He's a little concerned about it, says it's an instant ticket to being called names in school - but agrees that it's better to get it done now then in high school when you're trying to impress girls.  He's got such a funny sense of humor.

Betsey asked to see the original photo to compare to the doctored up version I posted the other day.  Here it is. 

and, after proofing, I decided to the doctored photo right here so you can see the difference

This morning, he's off to his second quarter of his eighth grade year.  He was successfully switched from Hollywood History and now has Mission to Mars - whatever that is.  He a bit groaned when he saw the teacher for that class but then said, but then - it's just the disobedient kids that don't seem to like her.  I'll be anxiously waiting for a report.

Time to feed the young troops some breakfast - they haven't grasped the whole time change thing yet and woke up far too early this morning.