Live from Tormville!

Hey Mom....

This was how Mark and I's Tuesday evening chat started. 

It was the way he said those two words that had my heart and soul immediately clenched for the worst. I was certain that this was going to be a conversation that was going to keep me up all night long. Whatever he had to say, was going to make everything hurt at a time of day that was hardest to act upon it. 

Mark: Hey mom. 
Me, hesitantly: Yeah? (Because I'm eloquent like that)
Mark: I always mix up Luxembourg and Liechtenstein when I'm working with the European map. 

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As it was, I didn't sleep much last night. Prednisone does that to me. I was fine all weekend, but was sent to Redicare first thing Monday morning. Yes. Sent. I was diagnosed with a severe sinus infection and then slept 20 of the next 24 hours. 

Now my medicine cocktail has me sweating like crazy (and optimistic that it'll show at least a 1-2 pound weight loss by the week's end) and dreaming vividly. Last night's dreams had me saving my entire family from a frothing at the mouth grizzly bear. I woke up just as I was sitting up in my bed, jerking the back hatch of the van shut. It's amazing that my husband slept through my antics. My dreams had me seeing every hour of the clock. 

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Random: I took a video last evening (the same that was posted to facebook) of Mark on his fiddle. His instructor works hard to get him to learn how to develop his ear and put his songs to memory. He's ready to share one of the tunes he's memorized: Click here

Happy Wednesday! 

 

 

Sunshine, Easter Eggs and a Walk in the Park

I miss Easter being a part of spring break, but even with just the three days, we did manage to fit everything in. 
On Thursday night, Brian had archery and Wendy was working. so grandma brought Mark to the Easter egg hunt and egg painting party at my brother's home. I ran to archery and then got a few things prepared for the busy weekend. 

We had Friday off school, but Greg worked. Friday evening church, Saturday egg coloring, Saturday evening church and Sunday afternoon church. We chose to do afternoon church rather than morning this year, allowing for someone else to have a parking spot. They fed 1600, just 50 below the record.  It would have been 1605 had we decided to go there in time to eat, but Greg had picked up a small ham at Meijer on Friday and the boys enjoyed ham sandwiches. Greg is not a crowd fan. It's few and far between the number of times he has eaten at church during Easter or Fall Services. Anyway...

I got the kids to pose for a quick snap before we left for the 2 o'clock service. 

It was just two days ago that I had mentioned on facebook how critters and school kids are more cooperative than my kids. All the proof in this one blog post. 

We enjoyed some pie and visiting after church, then back home. The weather was SO nice, especially following two days of cold wind and rain, that I was chomping at the bit to get out to enjoy it. I couldn't convince any of the kids to join me, not even Mark, but Greg was game. Just the two of us headed out, and we joined the hoards of others who had the same idea as us. We got there as the crowd was thinning out, but we did bump into a lot of people while walking around the small lake at the Nature Center. 

I am by no means a nature photographer. I do have a good lens and camera, but nothing compared to what the real nature shutterbugs use. My nice lens is but a wannabe when we walk at Kensington. I pointed to several lenses during our walk and suggested several possible Mother's Day options, but not really. We still have kids to raise and mouths to feed. 

I just enjoy having fun with what I got. Critters are a different kind of challenge than camera hungry second graders. 

This one made me chuckle. He was practically digging under our boots for food, while just twenty paces behind us was a family begging for anything to come and eat their seeds. 

This one had me wishing that I had my monopod attached to my camera rather than swinging freely in my hand. (more proof that I'm not a wildlife photographer) By the time I got it attached and ready, he flew away. Of course. 

I'm thinking of getting this on printed. 

Oh! And hey! 

So. Get this. Just a couple days ago, there was an article in the local paper with a photo of this deer crossing the street at Kensington, stating that a Brighton man caught an image of the albino deer. 

The Facebook link to the story has 157 comments, a multitude of which have their own photos of the same deer. This deer is quite popular. A little research will also inform that it's not actually an albino, as a true albino would have pink eyes. This one has a pink nose, but blue-ish eyes. It's less rare than a true albino.  Anyway, I'm resisting the urge to post my own photo and commenting that, oh yeah - well I got a picture of the deer doing its business!! 

My humor is admittedly a bit warped at (most) times. 

Anyway - I was tickled to see it today, and that Greg was driving and I had my camera, unlike last time. I had even told my husband as we were leaving the park to slow down, that this deer is often spotted crossing right at the deer crossing sign, and sure enough - that is exactly where we spotted it. We never left the vehicle. I love my 300mm. 

Oh. And, for the record, the kids did cooperate for one quick snap. 

Allan didn't make it home this year - he's in the final crunch. Graduation just a couple weeks away! May is gonna be happenin'. 

But. First we got a bit more April to get through. On deck for this week: Another appointment for me. If anyone ever wonders, yes - it's true - rotator cuff surgery really can be a 6 month recovery. Soccer, a wedding shower, haircut, archery x 3, distracted driving course, and more. Time for me to go get the schedule for the week posted on the fridge. 

Be good. 

Just another day in paradise

I've never had a smoke, and I've never had an alcoholic drink. Well, except for that one drink that one time BY ACCIDENT. If I can make it through the end of this day without succumbing to those vices - I should be able to go the long haul.

This morning, I was certain that I was going to spend the day at a hospital while Mark had his appendix removed. He was in such extreme pain - I texted apologies to the bosses, called him in, poked and prodded him for about ten minutes, then quick took a shower before the other kids left so he wouldn't be left alone.

By the time I got out of the shower and back downstairs - he was feeling better. He was laying down. Appendix will do that sometimes - so I ran him through more exercises, prodding and poking we discussed our options. 
1. We could both stay home.
2. He could go to work with me, I'd put him helping in some classroom, but he'd be close if he started hurting again.
3. He could go to school, and I'd email everyone to watch him like a Hawk. (grin. That's their mascot. See what I did there?)
or 4. He could go to grandma's apartment.

He chose to spend the morning at grandmas by saying, "I don't like to take chances, unless it's with baking, so I'll go to grandma's." I went to work. In my casual Friday aka hospital all day clothes, because after that morning, I wasn't changing again. 

But that's not all. There was work. We'll just sum it up by calling it a steady climb to the full moon on the 19th. A day that had me wondering WHY I didn't encourage option 1. 

But that ain't it either!

At 3:30 today, while at work, I got a call on my cell phone. Because I have four kids, two of whom still don't have their own phones - yes, I do answer local unknown calls.

I got chewed a new one. Obscenities up, down, left, right, wondering why I was calling HIM. I very gently responded that I have not called him (didn't bother trying to explain that spam calls are quite frequently routed through everyday people's numbers) and I was interrupted with more obscenities. I hung up and blocked the number.

Turns out that blocked numbers can still leave voice mails, so I now have an obscenity laced documentation to back up the first call.

But that's not all!

THEN. Wendy calls, and says, mom - there's some guy following me around our sub, and he's hollering out the window at people. And I'm scared. And I don't want him to know where I live, and he keeps following me. I said Wendy. Hang up and call 911 and tell them exactly what is happening. They will be more help than me in that situation.

And she did. And she waited outside of our sub while I called the boys and told them to stay put and not open the door for anyone.

When I got home I asked her how it went with the cop. She responded that they asked what kind of car it was, and she told them it was white, with a stripe, and she told them about my coincidentally timed phone call as well, and then they escorted her home. The guy was long gone. She then told me that as she got out of her car, the neighbor asked her if she saw the guy in the white car driving around hollering, looking for his dog.

Chocolate. 
Chocolate is my vice of choice. Writing is my therapy. 

Mark is seemingly fine. 

Know me, know my love for stats.

The archery qualifying season ended on Saturday with a home tournament. 

All season long, Brian has been within reach of bringing home a medal. If there were five medals - he'd place 6th or 7th. If there were 10 medals, he'd place 11th or 12th. It became a family joke. The eight year old Brian would NOT have handled this season and the family teasing well at all. There would have been talk of quitting, self-loathing and door slamming. But this fourteen year old Brian? As his mother, I feel relief, thankfulness, gratefulness and yes, pride. While some of that maturity comes automatically with age, for this kid, I am appreciative that he had a continuum of teachings by way of four years of karate, black belt camp, Leadership class and Reaching Higher, all of which taught goal setting strategies and increased self-confidence and self esteem. To me, this medal is about SO much more than his score on the 3D targets; it's about growth. And that smile. Brian is the typical stoic Finn. That smile is HUGE. 

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As for ME. Here is how Saturday went down. Brian shot 3D at 9am and Bullseye at 11am. The competition ran through 4pm, with the last heat taking the line at 3. It was a few hours before I even checked Brian's score on the 3D, and when I did, I was a little bit HEY! New personal best! And it was a sizeable point jump from his previous best on 3D. 

He quickly fell out of the medal running on bullseye, but he was maintaining his standing on 3D, so I was hitting the refresh button all afternoon. Being the end of the season, Brian knew to ask if Parker or Hartland had shot yet, because both hold some pretty regular podium archers. The good news - they had already shot, and Brian was still in the running. At this point, we were at home for a bit before heading back to medals, and this is about where my love for stats comes in to play. 

I pulled up which school still had left to shoot. Unfortunately, it was Lakers. At 3pm, so the results wouldn't be posted until we were back at the tournament for awards. Lakers also has a very strong team. I warned Brian that they had already shot bullseye, and five of their male middle school archers had scores slightly higher than him. I then looked up each of those five archers individually to see what their top score on 3D was. I told Brian not to get his hopes up, but he had all but one of them beat for previous high scores. He kept it in check, but he was definitely getting excited. The final scoring fell the way that the stats lined up, and Brian was bumped down to 8th after Lakers shot. 

When we got home, we reviewed the final roster. Brian tied a Hartland archer with his 269, but took the higher placement because he shot more 10's. Four boys shot a 267, two of them on that last flight. 

It was close. Next stop is Nationals, where his school's team has qualified to shoot both bullseye and 3D targets. 

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Other stuffs:

• Mark starts soccer again next week. 
• Tonight we have our Title I event at the elementary, wherein there will be medals given for the best pies brought in by our elementary students. 
  Mark, drumming his fingers together:  Ooooh,  pie baking contest? I just noticed that the rhubarb is coming up! 
• Wendy came home talking about how one of her teachers is now subbing at the library. 
  Wendy: Mom, he was the teacher that had us watch The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
  Mark: What is The Boy in the Striped Pajamas?     
  Me: Oh. You would totally cry. It's sad. 
  Mark: Of course I would cry. I cried when watching Hoarders. (Duh) 
• Mark, after the first day of the 4th quarter (new classes): Hey Brian, what does, 'a man a plan a canal panama' spell backwards?
  Brian: Mark. I have the same teacher. (Duh) 
• Yearbook has been officially submitted, 821 copies ordered. I can no longer use that as a way to avoid doing the taxes. 
• I didn't get to everything on my hoped for list this past weekend, but I did enjoy a spontaneous visit with friends. It's been a long time since I've stayed up visiting until 12:30. I'm not the night owl that I used to be. 
• I need to go get ready for work - all for now. 

Happy Wednesday! 

be good. 

Late night thoughts

It's not unusual for Mark and I to have a few moments to ourselves each evening, in which we enjoy sharing thoughts on the day. 

Last night's conversation went something like this: 

Mark: I'm both nervous and excited for Monday. 

Me: And....what is Monday that has you nervous and excited? 

Mark: It's the first day of the fourth quarter. 

Me:  And........? 

Mark: We get new seats in math and social studies, I'll have Spanish, and we start getting our music for the last concert. 

Momma bear, honing in: And why is changing your seats so exciting? Are you sitting in a bad spot now?

Mark: Well. (as in, let....me....tell.....you) In social studies I am at a table with FIVE women (yes. he said women), and NO other boys. 

Me: Hmmm. Sounds dreadful. But how bad is it, really? 

Mark, with the sigh of a guy who knows more about women than he cares to at the young age of 12: Well. One forgets everything, one talks all the time, and another is super smart and is always telling us to study study study. 

Sounds positively dreadful. 

Me: Wow. And how do you deal with all that. 

Mark: I just keep my head down, stay quiet and do my work. 

You're a wise man Mark. School teaches SO much more than academics.

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As for this weekend....

• archery tournament
• fantastic weather
• yearbook COMPLETE. I just may treat myself to fish tacos. 
• laundry, bills, blah blah blah
• I should really do those taxes
• And the week brought a new niece that I'd love to go snuggle

A young friend's honesty. Honestly.

This share requires a little bit of background. 

To know where I live, is to know I live in town. In fact, I live within the district of the elementary that I work at, which means that when I go for a walk, it's not unusual for me to bump into many of my young friends. 

Like last week, when I was walking to my haircut and I saw one of my young kindergarten friends playing up at our old elementary school. 

Hey! He called, What are you doing here? 

I explained that I lived near here, and that I was walking to my haircut appointment. This venture was during our spring break, so he exclaimed that he missed me, gave me a hug, and I continued walking. Because I'm not rookie when it comes to bumping into friends about town, I knew that this encounter has now destined me to several years of "Hey! I saw you at the park!" 

I heard that first on Tuesday, our second day back to school, when I was walking to my van after work and he was on the playground.  HEY! HEY!  I saw you at the park!!  

This morning, Wednesday, had me delivering a message to his classroom at the start of the day.

HEY! I heard, as I entered the room. I saw you at the Park!!  

Yep. 

Nice haircut, he added. Okay - that one got me. 

And then, a hug, along with - again, I missed you. Released from the hug, he paused and added, You're sqwoooshy like my mom. Complete with a little pinch of my arm for emphasis. 

He just may end up with his own page in my school journal. Right next to the friend who saw me at Walgreens. 

Otters and Autism

This morning is a rush of sorts. 

It's one of those mornings that had me utilizing my brother's wise trick of using the dryer for an iron. As I ran downstairs in my bathrobe, towel still wrapped about my head, I mentioned something about having to wear blue for Autism Awareness Day today as I yanked my bottom of the drawer cardigan out of the still tumbling dryer.

As I was rushing back up the stairs (this having to be at work an hour early for M-STEP Proctor training AND not having the forethought to lay out some blue choices last night is throwing off my morning routine. Just a bit) I overheard Mark say: Well, I don't care about that. 

I thought, huh. That doesn't sound at all like our empathetic, sensitive youngest. I made a mental note to touch base with him later. 

And then I overheard Brian: Mark!!  She said Autism! Not Otters! 

Mark:  OOooooooh!! That makes more sense.

Brian, muttering: Otter Awareness Day? Seriously, Mark. 

Happy Tuesday!