settling in...

So, the dust is settling - inside my head, more than anywhere.  Things are starting to click at my new job.  I know where to sit when I first walk in and where the bathroom is.  I'm learning who gets there early, who loves to tend to the coffee area, and who smiles and greets me as we pass in the hallway.  It's these little pieces of discomfort that has been the hardest for me.  Makes me feel for the substitute teachers in the world who never settle in and learn the culture of one worksite.  


I am getting more comfortable using the confusing computer system also.  I was explaining to Bob last night that I have at least 7 different places I need to log in to the computer each day, and each place requires a slightly different login and password.  I have to "load the server onto the desktop", which may be a no-brainer to everyone else but feels like a total accomplish every time I have done it (twice so far!).  And I'm fairly comfortable on a computer.  Not having good computer skills is a true handicap for those in a modern-day workplace.  


I've met with lots of different folks looking for therapy - mom with an anxious 10 year old son (THAT felt familiar!), single women with significant histories of trauma, people with OWI convictions looking for chemical dependency counseling.  Some have made me laugh, and some have given me pause at how their matter-of-fact they take the trauma they've suffered.  


All in all, it feels so very good to flex this social work muscle again.  And so far, the family seems to be taking the transition in stride.  The only two changes for the rest of them is that Three is now bussed to and from his speech phenology program and Bob is home Friday afternoons - so he gets to collect them all from their various spots after school.  I worked late last Friday night - didn't get home until 5:45 pm, and dinner had already been served and cleaned up.  I liked coming in and having a plate of food waiting for me, children happily playing with their bellies full.  (To give myself a little bit of credit, the meal that night was something I put together in the slow cooker before I left for work in the morning.)  Bob was sitting in the living room, waiting to hear all the details of my long day at work.  Oh!  And to honor my first full day, he bought a german chocolate cake (my fav!) for us to enjoy.  


Thank you for your comments and congrats!  I am missing computer time - my computer time to do what I want to do.  Heavens - I sure get enough computer time at work!  I don't know how this blog will endure this transition...


I'm happy to post this update today, and who knows... Maybe I'll even follow up with a post with pictures.  

still aswirl

Things feel a little unsettled around here.  I'm almost totally unpacked after our trip, but that's a chore that has un-centered me.  I am fresh off of some family/christmas drama.  It's all resolved but it took a bit out of me.  And, mostly of all, I did something today that I haven't done since September 1992.  I started a new job.


I went in for 3 hours this morning for my part-time, temporary gig as a social worker at a local mental health agency.  This agency offers counseling services -- which is different than my former employer (doing child protection for the county) -- but the essence of the duties are similar.  Meet with folks in challenging situations.  Gather social histories, briefly assess the situation, and send them on their way to the appropriate service within the agency.  I'm excited but a bit unnerved and overwhelmed at it all.  As I told my friend this morning, I had the realization that I could meet with an individual who may later commit suicide.  What if I don't do my job correctly and they don't get the services they need?  She kindly reminded me I've worked in challenging and stressful situations before, and I can figure it out.  Let's hope so.


But it all went very smoothly this morning - the transition to this new life.  Three resumed his speech phenology preschool program this morning (perfect timing), and he was excited about the "school bus" (really, a minivan driven by a middle aged guy) taking him and bringing him home.  I got One to the bus, Two off to his school, and Three in his van all with a few minutes to spare before work.  Work... Feels strange, but good, to say.


I think I underestimated the dress code.  I dressed fine today (khakis and a sweater), but it looked like people tend to dress pretty nice.  I'm inclined to do a little shopping.  Maybe Santa will bring me a couple of skirts.


Ahh, the perils of starting a new job after being unemployed for (gulp) 10 years.  


Brrr, cold and grey the last couple of days.  Hasn't really inspired me to do much around the house, but I should.  Every room needs about 20 minutes of attention.  Know what I mean?  It's not a disaster, but it's a drag to have every room look disorganized - especially when that's what I feel on the inside.  Aha!  That's probably a DSM IV diagnosis I should bone up on!


Our trip to Baltimore and NYC was beyond great, but you'll have to wait for the stories and pictures.  In re-reading the above paragraph I have a burst of energy to tackle some of the chaos.  So I'm off!

the fog is clearing

It has been a whirlwind past couple of days.  Let's review.


Yesterday, I picked up several hundred pounds of beef from the butcher.  I had arranged to buy a side of beef from a friend of a friend.  This farmer raises cattle humanely and they are pasture fed, and I was happy to stock us up on beef.  And we are stocked up!  It's a good thing we have two (yes, two) chest freezers, because we are using every last little cubic inch of space in them.  Let's hope we don't lose electricity anytime soon.


While loading said beef into the freezer, the phone rang.  I figured it was my friend Theresa calling before her visit, but it was a friend (sort of) calling to offer me a job.  A very good job -- one in my field (social work), doing something I'm interested in, part time and very nearby my home.  At this point it's hourly and temporary -- she needs someone to fill in quickly until they can officially post for the job and get a permanent hire for it.  I quickly thought of the cons (where will Three go while I work?????), figured I'd figure it out, and said, "Yes!  Thanks!"


And that's where the whirlwind began.  Have you ever tried to figure out childcare for your children after never having to figure that out before?  I know many (most) parents have, but I had underestimated the confusion and mess - not to mention expense.  I'll spare you the details, but I think I have finally figured it out pretty well by now.  


If that's not enough, I've been busy readying my family for our roadtrip.  We set out tomorrow for the east - first to Canton, OH to the NFL hall of fame (on One's 10th birthday, no less), then to Baltimore for a couple of days to see my bro and sis-in-law, and then to NYC to stay with my cousin's girlfriend for 4 nights (My cousin, unfortunately for us, is in Brazil presently).  I've been packing and preparing and getting an I-Pass and Trip Tick and Ipods loaded with games and videos.  The boys each have their carry-on bags packed with books and a clipboard and papers and even whiteboards and markers.  I picked up a couple of "playaway" books from the library and a book on cd for the radio.  10-day food pellets have been bought for the fish, and the dog is all scheduled for the kennel.  I never realized my mom worked so hard before we went on vacation.  


In the middle of all of this chaos, I've had a handful of sweet reminders about how blessed I am with the people in my life.  Two very generous and kind friends offered to help out with bits of childcare here and there.  Another friend called and said, "this just confirms it.  Good things DO happen to good people.  I'm so glad you got this job!"  My parents have totally stepped up and genuinely offered to seriously help with childcare -- something they have never offered before (not that I've had to ask).   Not to mention the phone call - a bit out of the blue - from this (sort of) friend offering me this job!  


The bags are packed.  The beef is all put away.  My social security card has been located.  The ipods are charging.  The childcare plans feel manageable and comfortable.  


The fog is lifting.


I have many thanks during this Thanksgiving.

the car buying saga

Up much earlier than I wanted to be.  What is it with sleep these days?  It's very elusive.  

Anyway, here I sit, listening to my dryer whirl and my washer wish-wash, and I'm thinking about the day.  Looks to be fairly typical, save for the fact that Bob is off for a training for work in Ohio for a couple of nights.  

I'm relieved to be back to normal.  Bob's car died last week (a wheel fell off while he was diving - fortunately he was driving slowly in the parking lot where he was looking at a truck to buy for work, so he wasn't hurt and we didn't have to worry about moving the car right away), so we were swept into the whirlwind of car buying immediately.  All of my fantasies about only having one car went out the window when reality hit.  I really like (and sometimes need) the convenience of having a car at my ready, and Bob certainly needs one for work -- not only to get to/from work but also to go out and manage the construction jobs he's paid to, well, manage.  So, a car-buying we went.  

I tried to make it a fun adventure -- and it felt that way, at times.  However, we also felt a lot of pressure to buy the right car.  We buy cars to own until they fall literally fall apart (see above paragraph), so we wanted to make the right choice.  Kids were out of school on Thursday for parent-teacher conferences (more on that later), so off we set.

We dropped my car off to the body shop to get the front bumper replaced (THIRD one replaced - damn low-profile/cheaply made bumpers these days), and picked up a (free) rental car.  Kids were psyched to discover there was a third row of seats hidden in the way back, so we took off in comfort.  We all noticed the smoky smell when hopping in the car, but to me it had a rather, well, distinct odor.  Like that of a blunt.  I wondered who exactly had just lit up in the rental car before turning it in.  


Kids complained about the odor.  I kept the windows cracked and put on 93.1 fm, our local hip-hop station.  When in Rome...


After test driving a Mazda 5 (with 100,000+ miles on it - yikes!), we visited our old trusty 1997 Honda CRV to clean it out.  We all reflected on how much we loved that car while the kids got to work it out.  It has over 200,000 miles on it and many, many memories.  It was a good car - terrific in the snow and fun to drive to boot.  Before leaving it the last time, the kids even kissed it goodbye.  I'll miss the old pine cone.  (When we bought this car, it was the first year Honda made CRV's and I thought the name was stupid.  I decided it needed a more nature-like name, and the first one that popped into my head was "pine cone".  The nickname didn't really take hold, but I've always kind of liked it.)


So, loaded up with the contents of the CRV, we returned to the car lots to check out our other options.  In the parking lot of some dealership, I hopped out of the car to look closer at a car on the lot.  The kids stayed in the car.  I chatted with a salesman, all the while hearing the thump of the bass from 93.1 coming from the car.  When I opened the door to get back in, I heard Snoop Dogg on the radio and the smell of marijuana smoke wafted out.  I laughed, wondering what that salesman must have been thinking.


Dealership to dealership we went, test driving some (Toyota Scion) and just looking at others.  My parents had previously agreed to take the kids so that we could go to Two's parent/teacher conference, so I dropped them off  at their house, drove over to pick Bob up at work, and headed back into central Madison to school.  We had a great conference, and quickly headed back out to squeeze some more car shopping in, sans kids.  (My folks generously agreed to feed the kids and take them to wrestling to give us some more time.)


We test drove a Honda Civic and an Accord - drawn to the great gas mileage.  Bob really needs more of a hatchback to haul stuff for work, so we kept on looking.  We checked out the Honda Element, which is Bob's "dream" car (?? I don't get it) but it's only a 4 seater.  No go for a family of 5.  We test drove a Nissan Cube (again with the boxy!).  Our time was up, so we headed back to get the kiddos.


Back home to regroup, we tried to narrow down our priorities.  How important is a new car?  Do we buy foreign or domestic?  Do we focus on gas mileage or cargo space?  How about all wheel drive?  How long do we want this car to last?  Should we just get a beater that we can pass on to One when he's of driving age in 6 (really?! only 6!!) years?  


I found a very helpful website:  www.cargurus.com   We stayed up late on Thursday and Friday night, searching through the internet, trying to make a game plan for Saturday.  On Saturday morning, we headed out in the cold and rain, determined to find our car.  We were willing to travel out of town (had some possibilities in Columbus, Whitewater and Waukesha).  We test drove a Nissan Versa and a Kia Soul, and by this time, I realized that it was a distinct possibility that we would end up with one of these quirky, boxy little numbers that I would be slightly embarrassed to be seen in.  The kids were fighting and stabbing each other with pencils (you think I'm exaggerating?), so Bob dropped Two and Three and I off at the McDonalds playland for some food and play (both of which were quite depressing), and he and One went back out car shopping.  


And then.  Bob called me, rather excitedly.  He found a 2003 Honda CRV with only 25,000 miles on it at a dealership in Middleton.  He was coming over to pick us up to test drive it, but I could tell in his voice that this may be the one.  The pulled in, and I gasped - it was very close in color to the very first new car I ever bought -- a 1990 Honda Civic.  Felt like good (car)karma!  The car looked brand new.  The story was that a couple in their 80's hauled this behind their RV when they wintered in Arizona, so it had very low miles on it.  I liked the car's back-story.  


We went back to the dealership, haggled a bit on the price, got them down a bit, and made the deal.  So, we are the proud new owners of a 7 year old car which appears to have been in a time capsule (the plastic protective covering is still on the radio).  It has the all wheel drive, which we decided was a number one priority.  We are long-time Honda fans, so we feel confident that this car will take us another 200,000 miles.  It even has a moon roof!  And, in total coincidence, after deciding to buy the car, twice we've been followed by a CRV that looked to be the same year and was definitely the same color.  


I have suggested to One and Two (both of whom have become nice storytellers, in part due to a fabulous "writer's workshop" curriculum in their schools) that they should make up a story from the car's perspective -- how the car used to have this quiet life with an older couple who didn't use it much, and now it's about to have a much different life with this loud, wild group of boys.  

miscellaneous Monday

What a great weekend - thanks for asking!  Here are some snapshots of our Friday activities....

We biked to the Kohl Center to go to one of our favorite little buddy's birthday party, which took place at the UW Women's Hockey game.

How cool is that?!

We then decided to bike on over to State Street to trick or treat with participating businesses.  Our costumes were, well, lacking, but we had the spirit!  Here my boys are posing with the hear no, see no, speak no evil monkeys:

And an extra picture of Three, because he is just so darn cute:

 Then home, to eat some dinner and carve pumpkins -- admittedly, one of my least favorite things to do.  However, know what I learned this year?  It's exciting!  It really is!  The kids are all old enough to scoop out the guts of the pumpkins.  Not only that, they enjoyed that!  Yeah for me!  My scooping days are over!  (almost as exciting as getting out of diapers)

 And the results of all of that scooping:

In other news, I just found out my brother and sis-in-law are moving to Palestine.  I am excited for them, though a teeny bit leery too.  However, I'm NOT going to miss this chance to visit, like I did when he was in the Peace Corps in Mali, W. Africa.  Hear that, Mark?  I'll come to see you, whether you like it or not!  (4 years?  really??)  (and the kids are all signed up for their Arabic foreign language classes, so they'll be ready to communicate with you)


As a side note, October is the month where I've personally experienced the most death.  I've been to more funerals in October than any other month, I'm sure of it.  Maybe it's because of that, but I've been having very interesting dreams lately where my dead beloveds (friends and family) visit me.  They seem more real than my other dreams, and there are some recurring themes.  I'd love to go to a psychic to explore this further.  I like these dreams, although they do leave me a bit shaken when I wake up.  


And lastly, I realized this afternoon that when a recipe calls for 3 cups of cooked rice, you don't need to use 3 cups of dry rice.  Doh!  Rice, anyone?

october update

Hey reader(s),


Not much happening around here lately.  Or, maybe, not much noteworthy.  Or, maybe, not much that I'm inspired to remark upon.  


Got a new camera.  My old digital camera has been slowly falling apart, and it finally bit the dust this week.  It's amazing how much cameras have changed in 7 years - so many more features, so much cheaper.  Well, cheaper is a relative term...


We've been windy around here.  And cold.  Guess our summer truly is over.  (autumn too?)


Three cut his hair this week.  This is 2 weeks after he finally agreed to getting a real haircut.  His hair was so cute - little boy, short but those curls were still evident.  On Monday, he proudly came into the room I was in and announced, "look, Mom!  I cut my hair!" and sure enough - down to the scalp in several places.  I called a neighbor and borrowed his clippers, and now my sweet little 4 year old looks like a cancer survivor.  Or an army recruit.  It's shocking and, as One keeps saying, "it's just not right".  

Three - sporting the crew cut look
two - sporting the chocolate-below-the-lip look
One - sporting the bunny-ears-over-brothers'-heads look

Kids are off from school today and tomorrow.  We are heading to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum and Discovery World in downtown Milwaukee with another family.  Should be a fun day, if we don't get swept off of the highway in a wind gust.  We are also invited to a bonfire at Picnic Point tonight with a group from school, but I'm  not sure we'll make it there.  

Tomorrow we're going to one of our favorite little friends' birthday party at the Kohl Center.  She is having her party there during the UW women's hockey game.  Should be fun.


We are excitedly planning a trip to the east coast for the week of Thanksgiving.  We'll go to the NFL hall of fame in Canton, OH, to Baltimore to visit my brother and sis-in-law for a couple of nights, and then to NYC to stay with my cousin's girlfriend for 4 nights.  We're driving - inspired to do this thanks to our successful trip to Kentucky in September.  This time Bob is joining us.


Speaking of football, the kids' seasons are over - well, almost.  One's is done, and we went to a football banquet at the high school for the youth football program this week.  Two has a tournament on Saturday.  I have more to say about this, but not now.  It has been an interesting and frustrating year, and I need to compose my thoughts about it all.  (and then send those thoughts to the contact person at the YMCA)


Three and I had a sweet little visit with friends this week -- Jessica and baby Joe (though not a baby anymore, we can't stop calling him that).  Jessica is one of those friends who, although I don't see her all that often, I can pick up right from where we last left off, effortlessly. Those friendships are especially sweet to me -- as is Jessica.  


OK, off to manage the troops.  They seem cranky.  Or maybe I'm cranky.  Good times!

playing with the new camera

little gem

One just said, "mom, I don't think I've ever chewed with my front teeth."


"You don't chew with your front teeth," I responded, "you bite with them and chew with your back."


Pause.  "Oh.  I've never thought about that before."

Lots of fall fun around here lately.  


We went to the UW Madison homecoming parade on Friday night.  Always a favorite, and they give out good swag.  We left with bags full of candy, strings of beads, and a t-shirt for Two.  But the most sought-after item amongst my 4 boys (a neighbor boy came along)?  A wisp.


Saturday was full of football games in the morning (I realize I haven't blogged much about football this year - another time) and a trip to our friends' farm for veggies and chicken coop cleaning.  After that, we went to a corn maze, which was just about the death of this family.  Maybe I'll also post more about this a different day, but let's just say that 2 extra (challenging, to me) kids and record 85 degree weather and not enough water or snacks AND a difficult corn maze equaled bad attitudes aplenty.  

The rowdy group after finally completing the maze

On Sunday, we biked down to a nearby park for a hayride with neighbors, complete with smores over an open fire.  Didn't quite have that autumnal ambiance, as it was 80 some degrees again, but it was fun nonetheless.  We left and hung out at another neighbor's house, where the boys played four square in the street and we parents gossiped chatted.  Nice way to end the weekend.

hayride fun - it's contagious!

Our weather is finally turning a bit more seasonal, which is perfectly fine with me.  Three is in his "off" cycle for his speech class now, so he and I have been enjoying our lazy mornings together.  Today we delivered a too-small trike to a little neighborhood boy whom Three is fond of (largely due to the fact that they share the same name).  Then we went to the farmer's market at Hilldale and to Goodwill to pass along another ride-on toy and clothes.  


We've been hanging on the playground after school more lately, which has just been so, so nice.  There's a sweet new crop of kids and mamas (and a dad or two sprinkled in too).   I do still yearn for my playground pals of old, but this seems like a nice group too.


I'm still loving my haircut, in case you were wondering.

revelations while shopping

I had an unexpected experience yesterday.  Three is almost done with his six week stint in his speech phenology clinic (he cycles 6 weeks on/6 weeks off for 10 hours/week -- mornings), so I've been frantically trying to fit in all sorts of self-indulgent fun during this last week.  A couple of trips to the gym club to sweat like crazy, mixed in with some shopping here and there.  Yesterday, I decided to go to Target.  This could possibly be my first daytime shopping trip to Target without a child in tow.


And it hit me like a ton of bricks - my kids are not babies anymore.  You know the joke about Target being a stay-at-home mom's playground during the weekdays before naptime, right?  So there I was, casually shopping, no child in my shopping cart, no one begging for a toy, and I felt kind of lonely.  I wandered around and found myself in the halloween decorations, and I felt waaaaay lonelier.  I remembered so many trips years ago with One as a little guy, then One and Two as little guys, picking out halloween decorations or costumes.  I got so sad. 


I walked past the baby clothes, even fondly remembering my favorite onesies and booties and blankies from when they were babies.  I oohed and ahhed at the babies in the store.  My long overcome "pain" with never having a little girl even resurfaced, and, I must admit, I toyed around with "maybe we SHOULD have another baby" for a minute or two.  


We're not.  I'm too old, and my body cannot take growing and bearing another child (however cute they are).  Our house, while comfortable for us, cannot handle another child easily.  Quite frankly, our budget cannot handle another child easily.  I already feel like the oldest mother ever in my closest grouping of friends.  I closed the emotional door on having more children after Three was born, so I was surprised when this came out of a seemingly benign trip to Target at Halloween time.


I left there, feeling blue, and picked Three up from school.  He asked if we could go on our date (remember our date schedule?  Three's month was September and we kind of skipped our date time with him).  I thought, "sure, this may cheer me up."  (I'll edit this to add that I also considered how HE might like it too - I'm such a benevolent mom, yes indeed.)


We went to the food court at the mall (sophisticated food tastes), and my little Three was just a delight to be with.  He kept winking at me when I was in the food line.  He held my hand, gave me lots of spontaneous hugs and kisses, said, "you da best, mom" countless times.  He played at the indoor playground area (which he is technically too tall for - gulp, yet another reminder) and made quick friends with the other kids there.  He very agreeably went to the Coach Store and the Apple Store (who knew West Towne was so hip?) and proudly held my hand while we waved goodbye to his newfound play area buds.  


I returned home a happier mama, much more content with my position in life.  Yes, no more sweet little babies for me, but I have some pretty sweet big kids around here too.

my three and me in a tender moment

haircut

 As promised, info on my haircut.  So, I've been without a regular stylist for a few years now. I had a stylist whom I loved, but she moved a little farther away from me, and then I lost her phone number, and then I finally found it and called her but she never called me back to schedule an appointment.  I figured that was the universe's way to tell me to move on.  Since this, I've just been bopping here and there, usually using coupons.  Because I'm cheap, that's for damn sure.


A friend gave me a great tip, which I am about to pass along to you (you are welcome).  The Aveda VICI Institute on the UW campus in downtown Madison offers $12 haircuts.  You schedule an appointment, go into a bustling, slightly more classroom-than-salon environment, and get a full service haircut -- shampoo, scalp massage (my fav), cut and styling -- ALL with Aveda products.  But wait.  Like any good infomercial, it gets better.  If you go on a weekday (Tues - Fri) before 10 am, you get the "early bird special" and the hair cuts are half off.  That's right.  Six bucks!  That's crazy talk but TRUE!!!!!


They have a full "menu" of offerings there (nails, facials, eyebrow waxing, color, etc) and I'm not sure what all is half off during the early bird special, but on Thursdays, you get meatloaf and mashed potatoes too!  (that's my old-lady-early-bird-special joke).  


The downside, because there has to be one, is that it takes a long time.  My haircut took 1 1/2 hours.  But it was a pleasant 1 1/2 hours.  Who wouldn't like to sit still and quiet and have someone futz with their hair for 1 1/2 hours?  Not me!  (or, would that be "me!"  how do I answer that?)  So if you have the time, go and do good for your community and offer your hair to these students to learn on.  This has now changed from an infomercial to a PSA. Wow, I'm good.


And now, to the pictures.  I've taken a ridiculous amount of time trying to capture the right mood and lighting and look.  All of a sudden, Tyra Banks' advice to those Top Model wannabees makes sense.  I need to make my eyes more alive, but everytime I try, I end up with the crazy eye.  Furthermore, I don't know how to take a self portrait without the glare from my glasses.  You'll just have to trust me that my eyes were pretty and not crazy in that bottom shot.


This is from the day of the haircut.  Note the pretty styling.  That will never be replicated again.  Also, note the scarf, Stephanie.  I do love this trend and I don't care I'm one of the herd.

This is my attempt at styling it, with hair product and curls.  It's an extremely dark photo which  makes it all the more dramatic but may not lend itself well to showing off my hair.  Oh well...

And this was taken just today.  This is "out of bed, brush my hair, throw on my scarf, head out the door" look, which is, actually, my every day look.

Maybe I need to work on my mouth too.   Not much life there either.  These self-portraits are harder than they look.


What do you think?  Pretty good for six bucks!

biking to Obama

The boys and I biked to the Obama rally yesterday on the UW Madison campus.  It was about 3.5 miles round trip, and Three insisted on biking the entire way on his big wheel.  And he made it.  I had the trailer on the back of bike for a back-up sag wagon, but it was never used.


We saw Air Force One and military helicopters in the air above us, but no motorcade.  I worked my mojo with the police department and figured out where to stand to see the motorcade  (anywhere along Langdon Street, as it turned out), but we had to leave before the Prez rolled on through to get to football practice for One on time.  


I took this video while biking, so it's choppy and uneven, much like me (hahaha).   The line of people waiting to go through security snaked over a mile down University Avenue.  Even though we saw no one "important", I'm so glad I forced my kids to do this (you'll see their enthusiasm in the video).  It was cool to see the hoopla and to be that close to so much excitement.


In other news, I got a haircut yesterday.  I'll post pictures and give more information later.

friends

Not much time, but I had a funny realization today that I wanted to record.  A friend called me on my cell phone today, and she knew I was on my way to Woodmans to go grocery shopping, since, of course, Monday is Grocery Day in my house.  I laughed, saying, "we all know each others' schedules too well, don't we?"  It reminded me of being in the dorms in college and knowing each others' menstrual cycles.  


I love that I have a community of friends whose schedules I know, and who know mine.  Grocery Day, Chore Day - it's gotten pretty predictable around here.  


If any of you need anything from Woodmans on Mondays at 9 am, let me know.  I'll pick it up.

Louis Singer

Three's imagination is in overdrive these days.  He is a rock star in a band, he says, and he has a boss named Louis Singer.  Louis is so prevalent in our lives that I find myself often calling him on my cell phone (on Three's request) to let him know the latest news in Three's life -- Three got a hand-me-down bike from a buddy that he loves, Three knows how to say the "s" sound before "school" now, Three cannot be interrupted while in class so please, kind sir, leave him alone.  


There are conflicts in the band.  Sometimes Louis doesn't want to be the boss anymore.  Sometimes Three has to take over boss duties.  Louis is often driving down the same street as us, or walking past our house, or, even, in the next classroom to Three while in school.  


It's so sweet, yet so fleeting.  I hope I never forget these moments.  

happy (belated) birthday post

My number 2 son turned 7 in August, and we had a birthday party fit for a king that day.  Two is all about the glitz and glam.  He says he's living in a mansion when he grows up (complete with a gold fountain and a bowling alley and a butler).  I knew he would be tickled by a fancy, schmancy birthday party, so we arranged for a limo to pick him and his 10 or so closest friends.  I wanted to get the biggest limo -- only a stretch SUV for my boy!  Best of all, it was a surprise.

So, to set the stage, my parents came over to give Two his b'day presents late in the afternoon of his birthday.  I'm not sure what he thought was happening after the presents (he's a bit of a blond, my number 2, which I can say since I'm literally and figuratively a bit of a blond at times too).  After ripping through the presents, we sat, waiting, in the living room.  Two never asked what we were waiting for (??), while One (who had been clued in) and I kept checking the street.  Finally, it arrived.  Ta Da!!!!!!

 We rushed outside and said, "surprise!!!!!!" and Two got a little flustered and ran back inside to get his shoes but also to compose himself.  He won't admit it, but I could tell he was overwhelmed and was blinking back tears.  I hugged him inside, said "this is for YOU today.  Enjoy and happy birthday!!"  I was so glad to give him this gift.  As a middle child myself, I'm a bit sensitive to the middle/overlooked child thing that tends to happen.  But anyways, I digress...  Back to the limo...

 Our driver, Curtis, was very polite and seemed unflustered as he drove through windy Madison streets that were certainly not designed with a stretch limo in mind. 

Not a great picture, but it captures the mood.  Kids were excited.

 The limo slowly filled up.  We snaked around the streets of Madison, picking up kids here and there, shouting out "goodbye dahling!" to the parents as we drove away.  Many of the parents took pictures of their kids as they were getting in.  Seems everyone was excited about this party.

 It was crazy.  Lots of laughing and loud music.  And then, the mood got strange.  I think they were hungry and thirsty (I didn't think to pack water or juice for the drive - my bad, I'd highly recommend that for any of you considering this as a birthday party), and all of sudden, things got a little ugly.  Bickering, which looked like it could quickly escalate to an all and out brawl.  I started a "who can be quiet longest contest" figuring it could buy me one or two minutes.  Somehow, it worked much better than I thought and it got us past the ugly mood and to the park in one piece. 

We arrived at the park to eat pizza and cake, open presents, and play on the playground equipment.  One had football practice, so he and I tooled over to that in the limo, while Bob and a sweet friend who was helping chaperone managed things at the park.  The party ended well -- kids got good and worn out in the hot afternoon sun at the park.  The mosquitoes were briefly fierce, but we were armed with bug spray.  They drank and ate every last bit of what I brought.  We drove home as the sun was setting, and the cool a/c from the limo was appreciated.  We cranked the music, said goodbye to each child at their houses, and ended up back home just before bedtime. 

of football and chipped teeth (not related!)

Things have been kind of quiet around mooncrawl lately.  Largely because I've been a bit under the weather.  I think I'm making a turn (for the better, thank goodness), so I'm back.


First of all, welcome John!  Glad to see you found my little site here.  Hope this gives you another way to try to keep up with, what did you call us?  The madhouse?  Oh yes, the wild bunch.  Yes, that name fits us (them, really) well.  


You are all too kind about your compliments regarding our Kentucky adventure.  I do feel like I accomplished something pretty good, but I certainly did it with great moral support from Mark and Aisha.  I am extremely glad we went.  I look forward to being able to seriously consider longer car trips as a family.  Good to get to that page, finallly.  


Life has continued to chug along, of course.  Here are some highlights:

• Football games have started.  One had his first official football game on Saturday.  Traveled to Belleville and didn't get our butts whupped too badly.  One was extremely nervous, poor guy.  He played well - made a spectacular tackle that brought a proud tear to this peace-lovin' mama's eye.  He opted out of playing a fairly high profile position (wide receiver?  something like that), which broke my heart a bit.  He said he was too nervous and too afraid of making a mistake (that's the part that broke my heart - not that he wasn't in a high profile position but that he was so afraid to play that he opted to sit out instead).  We've processed this with him (I hope not too much) and have encouraged him to take risks, even scary risks.  And, with our new reward system in place (see below), I'm giving credit for taking risks too.
• To finish up the football scene, Two is also back to playing - flag for him.  He's on the same-ish team he's been on for the past couple of seasons.  He's in the level where the kids will be quarterbacks.  It should be fun and wild to watch.  His first game is this Saturday, 
• which means, between One and Two, our Saturdays are mostly filled now with football.  A good friend this week (hello Th!) was saying that she has just started having sports-weekends now, 12 years in to parenting.  I personally love the sports-filled weekends, and I miss them when they're gone.  Ah, to each her own.
• As mentioned above, we've implemented a reward system chez mooncrawl.  We've had good success, generally speaking, in the past with individual behavioral charts, and with school starting and the madness that can bring, I thought it was time to reinstate something.  So, the boys get a star/day for "peacemaker" behavior (language used at school - I love recycling!) and a star/day for completing homework before 7 pm.  And I'm giving One a bonus star for taking risks in football practice/games.  After so many stars, they earn a dollar.  I'm not above going straight for the cash.  In the past, we've used the jar with the reward slips, such as "you get to pick what we have for dinner" or "movie night - you chose!" but it seems like we just need to go right for what motivates.  Money.  What works for your kids?
• School is going superb.  I couldn't hope for it to go better.  One is in love with his teacher and class (my language, not his, but you know what I mean).  Two, also, is in love with his teacher.  Alright, I'll admit, we all are.  His class seems super sweet too.  And Three! My little Three!  He goes to a speech phenology clinic 4 mornings/week at an elementary school on the west side, and he seems to really, really like it.  He has 3 lovely teachers and a nice little group of boys.  Guess it's the boys who seem to get the poor mouth-motor-skills.  I love dropping him off because it's so cute seeing him kind of brace himself for the drop off (you can almost see him think, "it's ok, she's coming back, I'm not going to cry") and the teacher leads him off and then the look turns to pride.  He's so proud to have his own school.  I never thought of him wanting it like his brothers, but makes sense.

And, because this is a madhouse or wild bunch or whatever Grandpa John used so accurately to describe us, please check out the picture below:

That's a picture of One's mouth on Friday afternoon after Three hit him in the mouth with a plastic drill (???).  Yup, chipped his permanent tooth.  Of course, couldn't be any other way, could it?  I, of course, was a bit upset and had a hell of a time sleeping that night.  There's something about tooth injuries and my children (remember the incident last Oct when Three pulled out his own tooth?) that really rattles me to my core.  Anyway, the good news is that the chip is now fixed - hard to see where it was, even.  The dentist is a little concerned that it got close to the nerve, so we have a recheck in a month or so, but for now, it's all good.  And, it sounds, covered by insurance.  Or, as much as dental insurance covers these things anyways.  

I made a delish lemon zucchini bread yesterday, which One cannot get enough of.  So glad to make something my picky boy likes.  I'm thinking it's a day for lasagne.  No practices to rush off to, so I'll have time to make it and enjoy eating together as a family.  While sitting together at the table.  (truly, we do very good at this normally, but I have found dinners a bit rushed lately while fitting in football practices.)


More to say, but no more time.  


Peace out!

Clear Creek Fest in Berea, KY

Well, that was quite the weekend.  One we won't forget for a long time.  Funny as it sounds, since I spend just about as much time I humanly possible with my children, I really feel like we bonded this past weekend.  Allow me please to take you through a pictorial of our time in Kentucky:

I guess - to get the business end of things out of the way - I should say that the ride down was practically effortless.  The children were nearly perfect in the car.  It rained a bit in Illinois, particularly during the busiest traffic in Chicago, but that made it all the more interesting.  Thanks the to technology of cell phones, we found our Baltimore travelers with little fuss in downtown Indianapolis.  We found "the land", just south of Berea, KY, with only a bit of trouble.  We figured out where to set up camp and connected with Julie and her girlfriend Melanie and their doggie Scout on Thursday night.  After a brief moment or two of panic, because of the foreignness of it all (Appalacian country people kind of freaked me out, sorry to say), I found myself so happy to be there with my boys and other beloved family members on Thursday night.

On Friday night, we headed into Lexington to connect up with old childhood friends of Mark and me.  All growing up, it was "Teeka and Mark and Billy and Shelley."  We did everything with these kids.  We rode bikes and went on family vacations and pranked called people and went swimming and even, yes, started a gang, called the WHIPS (based off of the CHIPS tv show, but instead our name stood for We Help International People) (how awesome is that?).  Anyway, Billy and Shelley moved to Kentucky in 1982, and we have barely seen each other since.   In fact, I am fairly sure it had been 20 years since the four of us were together.  Anyway, through the powers of facebook, I arranged for us to meet at their mom's house.  We had a night where, at least the four of us, totally enjoyed reminiscing about our past.  Here we are, flashing our gang symbol (which we didn't have in the early 80's because they weren't invented yet):

OK, back to the festival.  So, there were three locations for tents.  The "quiet" area, the "celebration campground", and "camp zevon".  We opted for the celebration campground, kind of by default, and it probably was the best fit for us.  It was probably about a half-mile walk in from the cars, but a lovely hike at that.  As you can see, it was lush and green and beautiful.  Here are Mark and One, hanging out at the tents:

There were, gee, at least 40 tents in the celebration area.  I bet there were 20 or so in the quiet and vendor areas, and who knows how many at camp zevon.  I never ventured up there, but who knows.  The way they partied and howled throughout the night, they probably didn't even have tents.  Anyway, at the celebration campground, there was a workshop held regarding how to make a rocket stove.  I attended it, simply because I was sitting at the campfire already.  The man on his knees in the blue shirt led the workshop.  He was very knowledgeable and kind, and he lived in a teepee.  One whispered to me, "mom, he lives in a teepee."  "yes, I heard that," I responded.  We both chuckled.  As you can see in the picture, long beards were the style:

As was pink tinted hair.  I don't know how many people had pink-tinted hair, but it was not uncommon:

So, since we were camping, we enjoyed many campfires.  This one was at the festival grounds.  Two had a lot of fun tending to it, until he was informed by someone that the smoke was wafting towards the stage, irritating the performers:

We sat there for, oh, I don't know, a couple of hours maybe, listening to the music.  Not my first choice in music, but not that bad (country/bluegrass).  We snacked on Oreos.   Here is evidence that even Mark and Aisha ate this highly processed and non-dairy food:

Back at celebration campground, some kind man gave my children a lesson with an axe.  I suppose I should have supervised this, or at least been aware enough to permit it, but I kind of let my guard down with the hippie vibe that was going on there.  I didn't find out about it until after the fact.  Oh well, live and let live, man...

To that end, this was a neighboring tent, where my children regularly visited...

to get candy... 

Back to my children being in my presence and under my supervision, I observed some very sweet brother interactions all weekend long:

On Saturday night, after all of that axe wielding and candy eating and rocket stove making, we walked back to the festival grounds to eat (rice and beans for those healthy Baltimorians,  hot dogs and hamburgers for us) and listen to music.  An unexpected highlight was playing with the hula hoops that were laying around.  Aisha was the best at the hula hoops, though all the kids did well.  Actually, Mark did great too.  Basically, it was just me who had trouble.  Mark took a video of me to show me how I looked.  Spastic would be the best adjective to use.  Remember that Seinfeld where Elaine danced funny?  That was me, with a hula hoop.  Anyway, here are the more graceful hoopers:

And then it was Sunday morning, and time to go.  We were all a bit tired:

and didn't want to leave the warm campfire:

but we posed for one final picture:

One, Me, Two, Scout the doggie, Angry Three, Aisha, Mark (front row)
Melanie, Julie (back row)

In this recap, I am leaving out the part about vomit and other bodily fluids (you are welcome).  I also only glossed over the goings-ons at Camp Zevon, but I'm telling you, it was all howling and drumming and more howling All.Night.Long.  It was a bit much.  In fact, I wanted to get out of my tent at about 4 am and shout, "Shut the f*** up, you hippies!" but I refrained.  I also didn't talk about the live art installation about New Orleans (some guy writhing around on the ground, moaning for his father, and he may have been a wolf too).  Didn't talk about the pit toilets (quite nice!) or the spring water (refreshing!).  Didn't mention the smack down that almost occurred between me and some woman over water usage.  Didn't mention the fire dancers or the beef-a-roni or all the sweet doggies who roamed freely.  I am so glad we went, and I am so glad we are home.