He finally earned his mohawk

In case you don't use Facebook and haven't already seen this notice, and especially if you'll be seeing my older child soon and want to be prepared, here are warning pictures:

This stood up to gale-force winds on Sunday, but we haven't been able to replicate the height or stamina since then. Still working on technique and especially on not needing Mom's help! Today was the first day his classmates saw it, so I have to wait to hear what happened. He can actually thank his teacher in particular for us finally giving the go-ahead, because she also thought it was a good idea. Personally, I'm just loving that his hair is out of his face and it doesn't take him 15 minutes to wash and rinse anymore!

Fall doings

This is the first year I had to miss Halloween. I teach a class on Monday evenings, and it takes practically an act of God (or your chosen deity) to cancel a class, so I figured claiming all my kids' Reese's cups wasn't sufficient. Apparently, the usual fun was had and I still got some chocolate when I got home, so all was well. Dan very kindly emailed me the following pics to keep me me in the loop:

In case you can't tell, this is Wolverine and an IRS audit agent. We're still not sure which is scarier. Responses on Facebook were mixed, although I think the tax man had a small lead.

The one on the left is Reece's design with my elbow grease. The one on the right was Dan's and Greyson's creation, which I think turned out really well, especially considering neither one had ever tackled that intricate a design.

In other news, the kids had Tuesday off for election day (their schools are voting places, so this makes things easier all around), so I took the day to work from home and it was BEAUTIFUL. At least 68 degrees and sunny, so we biked to the library and then played at a playground near us that happens to have a tree that Reece can now climb. The boys even sat outside and read after we got back (and Reece ate his lunch). I think we were all refreshed after our mini-break.

Rain and sickness

Isn't there a phrase that involves wine and roses? Well, we have the opposite of that going on around here. It's like our entire beings and world are droopy around here.Thank goodness for the beautiful leaf colors and random short views of the sun, or we might all start reading Sylvia Plath and watching The Shining.

We've beaten the all-time record of precipitation in one year, and the year isn't even over yet. And, both boys were home, sick, yesterday, with separate ailments. Greyson has recovered, I think, but Reece was diagnosed this morning with pneumonia, and this evening we discovered that his antibiotic is causing diarrhea. Luckily, he's quite the trooper and not feeling too horrible overall except for the incessant coughing. While we were at the health clinic, I had them give me my flu shot so that at least one of us has a chance of staying well.

The light in my life is my new iPad. I had put off buying one (through work) because I felt I couldn't truly justify its NEED vs. want. Then, one of my colleagues said there are good note-taking apps where you can type or write (using a stylus) and search and organize your notes. SOLD! My desk is a continual mess of legal pads, and I can never find the notes I want when I need them. I've had the program for over a week, and it's paid for itself ($4.99). However, I do think the iPad is too expensive for nearly all uses, especially since it still doesn't play nice with Flash Player nor is it able to fully use Office programs like Word and Excel. But, since I am using it mostly for work, it's worth it for me right now. My next step is to figure out ways to integrate it into teaching and research, and then I'll be fully convinced it was a good decision.

Finally getting my act together

Along with not having a battery recharger for my camera, Blogspot has been giving me grief through my work computer, so I've been thwarted in posting even the little bit I have to say. But I think I have it worked out now, or at least for the moment.

We've just been moving through our days, which seem to be going by very quickly (September - was that you?). I have purposely not scheduled very many regular events on the weekends so we can take advantage of important activities that come up, like birthday parties and beer tastings (you be the judge of who goes to which of those), and to just relax. Reece has T-ball on Saturday mornings, but they've only met for half the scheduled weeks so far due to all the rain we've had. And Sunday school has started, so our Sunday mornings are busy. Otherwise, we're just hanging out and doing what needs to be done, as can be seen from the following pictures.

Running errands and trying on cool hats

(I think he was a 1920's gangster in his former life.)

Trying not to get carsick on the trip to or from the cousins' house.

 Eating in front of the TV when dad is working late.

 Reading in bed to whomever will listen.

Thanks, blog!

At last, all the time I spend posting here is paying off beyond just being able to look back and see what we did a year ago. Very good friends of ours from Dan's army days found us using this blog! They called us last weekend and we got to really catch up and say, for the millionth time, that we HAVE to get together in person some day soon. Unfortunately, that is less likely to happen soon, since they live in Oklahoma and have more children than we do (which just means that if we're finding it difficult to make that kind of trip, they are in triplicate). Ooh, wait, I'm thinking up a road trip for next summer! I'm sure driving all that way, just the two boys and I, will go very smoothly. Heh.

Back to school, the half-assed edition

Before we get to that thing that started yesterday, I would just like to say that I think last summer lasted longer because I posted a picture and/or blogged nearly every day. I think I'm going to have to go back to that, even though it's more work for me and is going to require me to really find my camera battery recharger rather than halfheartedly picking things up to look under them now and then. Because this summer went too fast. And I'm usually beyond ready for the kids to go back when it's time, but this year we could have used a little more time. Maybe we'll hit the water park this weekend just to pretend.

OK, so school, and (not coincidentally) my job, started back this week. And in contrast to last year when both boys started new schools the same week I started a new job, it was quite calm around here. Reece was a little clingy at the bus stop, but Greyson didn't even want me to go to the bus stop with him. I didn't even get around to taking a picture until the second day. We've hired yet another new babysitter for after school (only two days a week this time), but we're already very happy with her. Of course, our expectations have been lowered a bit from "Mary Poppins" to "makes the kids do their work without scarring them emotionally and doesn't quit suddenly". Reece is now going to aftercare three days a week, which he's thrilled about because they have snacks. I told him today his sweet tooth is as big as his head, but since he didn't know what a sweet tooth was, I ended up doing much explaining and the joke was lost along the way.

New 1st grader with a new backpack, on the second day of school

 

The other big news is that the boys now each have their own room! Greyson has what was known as the Browns room (and still has the same decor - a benefit of having boys!), and Reece's is being called the Indians room thanks to the pictures that were already in there and a little help from Pottery Barn Kids. It was beyond time for Greyson, although Reece told me tonight in a pitiful voice, "I'm just not ready to have my own room." And then he promptly fell asleep. Their room is now the office/computer room/spare bedroom, and when it's finally organized enough that you can see the floor, I'll post pictures. Besides better sleeping, another benefit is that I found my PhD diploma when we uncovered the top of one of the desks. I now have it framed and just have to have it hung in my office so I can finally feel like I belong there.

Last lazy, hazy days of summer vacation

It's getting to be that time. I officially report back to work on Monday (although I've been doing lots of work all summer here and there), and the kids go back to school Tuesday. Reece is pretty blase about it; Greyson wants to run for the hills but is working his way toward acceptance. We did find out two girls Reece knows (one of whom he considers one of his best friends) will be in his class this year. No word on Greyson's closest friends, but there are so many 6th grade classrooms at his school, since it's the entire district together, that odds are not good and it doesn't really matter anyway. He spends so much time away from his homeroom that he sees them all enough one way or another.

So, how have we been spending our last days of freedom? Lots of time with the cousins, quite a bit on the computer playing non-educational games, and more time watching Netflix than I care to admit. Also, last Saturday Dan went to the Indians games with his cousins, Greyson went to a birthday party and the Browns' game, and Reece and I were left to fend for ourselves. Our choice - Wildwater Kingdom! I cannot recommend the season pass enough if you think you'd go at least twice, because it comes with free parking ($7 otherwise), and coupons for a free admission (1) as well as reduced admission (2) for a friend. Except for Reece (being under 48" tall), it cost the same to buy a season pass as it would have to go two times anyway. So, I just need to take Greyson once more to make it fully pay for itself and then some, since I used the free coupon for Reece last weekend. Have I thoroughly confused you? Oh, well. I would also like to say that it was fun for me to take each kid alone to the park, because we could just focus on what he wanted to do for once. Sometimes, the age difference is a bit of a problem around here.

We spent yesterday at the beach with my sister-in-law and the cousins, and I might take both boys back to Wildwater Kingdom on Friday for a last-ditch summertime activity, and then I fear we're on to feeling like it's autumn even if it isn't. We already did Greyson's supply shopping and are waiting to hear from Reece's teacher about specifics, since when I go with the generic list the school's website provides, I always seem to get not quite the right items and then I have to whine and flop about. We have enough of that going on around here without me adding to the angst.

I'm also following my pattern of not taking pictures, so you only get two today. Reece eating his dessert treat at the water park, and the full-size flag pole our crazy neighbors have put up (most likely without getting any sort of permit, but that's a story for a different day). The pole even has its own lighting but no flag yet. I'm afraid of which one it will be...

I'll be viewing this post daily in February

Last summer, I blogged nearly every day with at least a photo, and that worked great. This summer, I'm barely blogging at all and when I am, it's just to summarize our latest trip. Which is also working great. Now, if only I could jump ahead 10 years to see which one I prefer viewing in hindsight, that would be a big help.

One of the many reasons for the light posting this season is that I seem to always be missing either my camera or the battery recharger or the cord that I have to use to download the pictures to the computer, or sometimes all three. Currently, the recharger is missing and has been since before we left for our latest trip, so I didn't even take the camera along. We made do with our phones and (gasp!) a one-use camera with REAL FILM in it. Between trying to save those 27 shots for "good" pictures and not wanting to take our phones anywhere near water or sand if at all possible, we didn't actually take that many pictures (and I haven't gotten the film developed yet). So, you'll mostly have to take my word for what we did and what fun we had.

So, about this latest trip...we knew going into it that we were completely insane for visiting Florida in the summer. But, we made what we thought was the best possible plan that involved 90% of our time in or very near to water and/or air conditioning. And, for the most part, that worked. It's the other 10% that nearly killed us. If only it were possible to store up vitamin D for six months, we'd be set through most of the worst of the winter around here. We flew down last Thursday (Dan and Greyson on one airline, Reece and me on another - a longish and boring story goes with that), rented a car, drove to our Disney resort and checked in relatively quickly, and then after eating a lovely seafood dinner, Greyson and I checked out one of the resort's pools. The next day, since we had 1-day park-hopper passes, we visited three of the four major Disney parks starting at 9am and ending at 1am, with an afternoon siesta back at our room. Except for the excruciating heat, we really enjoyed the day, got to ride nearly every ride we wanted (some more than once), and Reece didn't fall asleep until we were nearly ready to leave anyway. We even got to eat at our favorite restaurant, the 50's Prime Time Cafe, where they treat you like you're the kids at Momma's house and make you set the table and don't let you put your elbows on the table (oh, and have the best pot roast we've ever tasted). Our server nicknamed Greyson "Sparky" and Reece "Scooter", I was "Snickerdoodle", and Dan was "Daddio". The boys liked their nicknames so much we're still calling them those from time to time.

Reece and I found a store that had lovely fans where we could wait while Dan and Greyson rode a ride. Reece is wet partly from a spray area we walked through and partly from sweat.

This was a fun and fascinating interactive game on saving money at Epcot. Also, it was air conditioned. 

The boys started pin trading this year, which involved first buying some pins to trade, and then buying more. It was actually a fun way to tie the whole day together, and they both developed their own plans for trading methods and what to look for.

On Saturday, Dan's mom and his niece joined us at the resort to spend the day swimming in the pool, which was lovely. Then, on Sunday we spent time at Dan's sister's before we all drove 1 1/2 hours to another resort on the Atlantic, where we all shared a 3-bedroom villa. Dan attended a conference there while the rest of us swam, ate, drank, and napped. The big news was that Reece started swimming! He'd been fighting it for quite a while and even didn't really want to put his face in the water when we first got down there, but as with all things with him, when he's ready, he just does it.

Carly

Reed, fitting perfectly in a nightstand.

We also visited the Castillo de San Marcos and the Pirate and Treasure Museum in St. Augustine, and then the day before we left for home we spent at the beach. I wish we had done the beach twice, because the kids just could not get enough of the waves. Reece even "surfed" using a boogie board and will be happy to tell you about his tremendous spill (which freaked him out at first but now has become equivalent to a fish story).

Reece had just flopped down on the sand like this, so Carly walked over to him to see if something was wrong and I asked her to stay there and pose as if she was concerned (which is why Reece is smiling).

I don't have any pictures of Greyson from the beach because he spent all his time out in the water and I wasn't going NEAR that with my phone. He got quite good at body surfing and boogie board surfing but of course felt he was just getting the hang of it when we had to leave (drama!).

Next week the boys have camp at Kent State so I can be in my office all week catching up on everything I didn't get to while I was nearly dying from heat stroke and shriveling up from all the water contact, then they have one more week of freedom and school starts on the 23rd. Crazy. I think we could all use one more month of summer vacation.

Laked, baked, bitten and loved

We're back home, and I can say with complete certainty that we enjoyed the heck out of our vacation. We swam; we ate; we played board games and lawn games; we visited with family and laughed a lot; we fished; we boated; and we explored the woods. Everyone got too much sun (even with many sunscreen applications) and too many mosquito bites. The boys learned how to bait a hook, remove a fish from a hook, and pick up a mayfly/fish fly by its wings. I finished four books, Reece read probably six of his level, and Greyson may have read as many as 15 while we were away - I'm sure even he lost count. We even managed to stop at an outlet mall on our way home to get pants for Greyson and tennis shoes for both boys (everything else they need I can purchase without their bodies present).

I can also say that although I am relatively tired today, I also feel very rested and relaxed. The combination of having kids who can do nearly everything for themselves and lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins around who volunteer to spend time with my kids gave me plenty of time to read and swim and nap. I would especially like to thank my uncles who patiently taught my kids how to fish (and Greyson to cast), took them fishing numerous times, built bonfires so they could roast obscenely large marshmallows (which, by the way, we don't recommend - the middle never gets mushy before the outside is burnt to a crisp), and answered their neverending questions about all things related to the lake and the grandpa they never knew.

But enough of my blathering - what you really want is to see the pictures, I'm sure:

 Reece getting great-uncle help with fishing off the deck. This was my view from the swing where I read.

 Caught something off the dock - a perch big enough for bait! Reece shows he is not squeamish.

Quality time with a great-aunt. 

Greyson demonstrates his mad kayak skillz. 

 Reece adds up his Yahtzee score while his cousin (really, my cousin's daughter) waits patiently. The specific relationships of people who were at the lake continued to confuse the boys throughout the visit.

Proof that I was there, and also that I know my way around a fishing pole and bait. 

I cannot figure out why some of pictures end up sideways here when they look fine on the computer, and I'm too tired to try to fix it so you'll just have to turn your head sideways.

Vacation, family style

The boys and I are in northern Michigan while Dan slaves away at home on call. Don't feel too sorry for him - his brother is arriving shortly and they will make good use of their bachelor time, I'm sure.

We've only been here a little over 24 hours, and we've already crossed off a couple things from our important activities list and added some we didn't even know were important. First was stopping at A&W in Standish for coney dogs and placing your own order using the antiquated phone on the wall at each table:

Then, once we arrived at our destination, Reece enjoyed the thrill of riding his bike ON THE STREET, which he doesn't get to do at home. But there are no sidewalks in my mom's neighborhood, and there are also not many cars, so he was a free-wheeling boy:

 The boys discovered badminton and my mom's large backyard (which is perfect for chases and wrestling, apparently). They've even gone outside willingly and without having to be told. I fear we now have to buy a house with a bigger yard. They also discovered the game of Tripoly (also called Michigan Rummy - probably mostly in Michigan), which Reece picked right up on and is quite addicted to. No pictures of either activity yet, because I was busy participating in them.

In fact, I know I say this every year, but I really mean it this time, it's SO much easier to do things now that Reece is six! Not only does he not need naps, but he isn't even crabby if we all stay up later than usual and he sleeps in if he needs. And there are almost no tantrums, and those that occur can be headed off pretty quickly. Plus, the boys can both go a ways past a mealtime without serious consequences, and they can eat nearly anywhere without causing huge messes (mostly - Greyson managed to knock over a half glass of milk today) and we can find something they will eat.

Next up was mini-golfing (again, no pics since I was trying to keep up with the boys), where Greyson won almost completely fairly (he got a few mulligans), and the requisite Dairy Queen visit across the street:

We also paid a visit to my dad's grave, since Reece has a fascination with cemeteries and this Monday marks 30 years since my dad died.

Tomorrow is a trip to the inland lake where many of my relatives congregate, and I'm hoping the weather will be nice enough (and warm enough!) to spend nearly all the time outdoors. Really, that's the only way to enjoy being at a lake if you ask me.

A post with an international flair

Dan and I just got back from six days in Montreal, and it took me a while to realize why I don't feel all that tired after traveling. Our previous two "big" trips together (without the kids) were to Hawaii and San Francisco, both of which involved a large time-zone change and day-long (or overnight) flights. This one was in the same time zone and only a 1.5 hour flight - awesome! We actually could have driven it (9 hours), but I had a conference to attend and didn't want to use up two days of travel if I didn't have to. Also, it probably helped that we got a full night's sleep most of the nights (although we do have a contract out on a group of  bachelors from the US who managed to wake us up three separate times one night and forced us to switch rooms. Damn Americans.)

Nick met us there (he's our new travel companion - more for Dan, I suspect, than me - and from now on we'll be planning all our travels around where he can meet us, or where he is. Which might backfire when he's doing awesome doctor stuff in Africa or some such place), and he kept Dan busy exploring the city's microbreweries while I was stuck in windowless rooms learning new epidemiologic methods and getting the word out about the College of Public Health at Kent State (and trying to convince senior epidemiologists they'd love to come to work in northeast Ohio).

And we ate, and ate, and walked, and ate. At least two of the three of us had Caribbean, Ethiopian, Tibetan, Portuguese, Indian, Thai, French, and traditional Montreal (ie. poutine) food while we were there. Oh, and we got to experience at least a bit of the Montreal Jazz Festival. Which may have been the only place we didn't eat.

We made it to one of the big markets (oh, and we ate there - shock) which is similar to but smaller than Cleveland's West Side Market.

I already miss using my very limited French and being around people who  first assume I can speak it but aren't annoyed when I can't get past "bon soir". In my next life, I will be multilingual.

 After the rain stopped and we emerged from the market, Dan decided to do some climbing.

And he also found time to visit the Caribbean (but did not pack appropriately, apparently).

Now it's back to a semi-routine, weeding my garden, and preparing for the next trip in this travel-filled summer. Oh, and making life so unbearable for the kids when they don't have camp that they'll beg to be sent all summer next year! Fun times.

During summer break, they have to be forced outside

The nephews are over, after spending the night. Reece is at a science day camp, and I told the other three they had to go outside for at least an hour. There may have been kicking and screaming - I block that kind of thing out.

About 45 minutes into it, Greyson and one nephew came in and said it was raining. I replied, "Don't you want to go out and dance in the rain?", to which Greyson answered, "Heck, no". So I said, "OK, you can come in. Saved by the weather!" Nephew's response (while doing a fist-pump), "I LOVE the weather!"

They are now back on the computers, playing some game Dan approved. At least they're interacting, right? Meanwhile, I just don't have the energy to fight the whining because for some reason, I have as much work to do during my own summer break as I did when I was required to be doing work. Oh, and I may have a sinus infection thanks to missing one day of allergy medication. Maybe half-assed parenting goes right along with the summer break mentality - do the minimum necessary to function. I'm going with that. And, along this theme, I haven't taken any pictures in at least two weeks, even though (or maybe because?) we've been quite active. I'll try to do better, really. Right after my nap.

It's June!

I had this very short-lived crazy idea that I'd try to post a picture every day this summer, which quickly morphed into deciding to attempt a weekly recap every Friday-ish. It's the whole lowering my expectations process that's gotten me where I am today.

So, Dan's mom arrived last Friday, we hit the local farmer's market Saturday morning and Reece had a birthday party in the afternoon. Sunday we hosted all of Dan's relatives and a few of mine, which included a squirt gun war with the neighbor kids across the street, lots of pinochle, and more food that we all could have eaten in three days. Monday we saw the parade and tried to recuperate while not melting in the heat, Tuesday Dan's mom's friends from nursing school who live in the area came over lunch, and then she headed home Wednesday. It felt like a whirlwind visit since we were so busy. Wednesday evening, Greyson gave a 5-minute reading of some of his work from his language arts class (they called it a "coffee house"). Throughout this whole period, I "taught" an online class to undergraduates, which involved setting up the exams, grading discussions, and fielding emails. The class ends tomorrow at midnight, and I'll be glad to have my time back to myself, such as it is.

A few photos for your enjoyment:

The only reason the kids agree to accompany me to the farmer's market is so they can have a crepe or a doughnut (or both, depending on how difficult the week's been and if I have any parenting left in me at all).

Notice the bags at the ready for candy collection. We had a brief talk about the purpose of Memorial Day and the parade right before it started, but I'm not sure how much sank in once they started getting pelted with Tootsie Rolls.

I call this "life with boys". What you can't see is the huge pile of pillows and blankets at their feet on the bottom steps that serve as a barrier to their war bunker.

He just looks so old up there, and he did a great job despite being extremely nervous. I'm really glad they're making the kids do presentations early and often so they won't be petrified to do them in college like I was.

More work on the house

The latest improvement, which is moving the kitchen redo farther into the future, I might add:

We had all replaced except the 3rd floor, basement, and two in the kitchen, for a total of 16. And just in time, apparently, with the cold, wind and rain we've been having. I'm sitting on the couch in front of one of the living room windows and there is no draft on my neck!

Greyson's class had its spring band concert last week, but I didn't have a good view of him for a picture (and you can thank me now for not posting the video I took). They had improved amazingly since the fall concert, and now he wants to take tuba lessons over the summer so he can play that instrument in band in sixth grade. I'm all for it, since the school provides the instruments if you play tuba and a few others. Now if only he can remember to bring the permission slip home...