School has Started!!!

Well, Summer is over. It's official and I'm having mixed feelings.

M started back Monday. He likes his teacher so far. He isn't too stoked on who is in his class this year, but is old enough to realize that it doesn't change who he chooses to play with at recess. I peeked in yesterday and they were doing yoga after working on their reading. His teacher is an old hippie. I think we are going to get a long just fine. He is walking most of the way with some friends which makes him feel so grown up and simplifies mornings. And dad can leave for work whenever he wants without making us all crazy because he doesn't want to be late. But homework, oh the dreaded homework. Finishing his Summer Math packet was P-U-R-E H-E-L-L!!!! I have rarely disliked my own child sooo much. I'm positive the sentiment was exactly the same on his end. NOT FUN! But it's done. And so, I have instituted a few new rules at our house. I hate rules, because I have to enforce them, and because I hate following them myself. But sometimes I see the necessary in their evil. So #1 No TV or Playstation until after homework. I'm not going to nag, but it's his choice to miss those activities if he procrastinates all day and evening. And #2 We are going to do something each day even if he doesn't have an assignment due. We are renaming homework time, enrichment time instead. So at a minimum he needs to go over his math flashcards with me once and read for 20 minutes and practice his handwriting for 10 minutes. Did he love that yesterday. Oh, no. No he did not. But he did it. And I think he'll get used to it. My goal for him this year is to learn to work, and perservere, and quit being a lazy, whiny, you know what.

Poor Z, he doesn't start for a week. And he has decided he is ready! He asks everyday if today is finally the day. We had a picnic in the park with his classmates yesterday and his new teacher. It was great. His teacher is really just the most perfect Kindergarten teacher ever. I am really excited for him. I'm sure I'll tear up on his first day, but for now, I can't wait for him to go too.

I have volunteered to be copy mom and assignment correcter in M class. For Z I am doing Junior Achievement once a month. I am also considering being the assistant Den Mother for cub scouts. Am I crazy? Obviously, but I think I need to be more involved. So we will see how that goes.

R mentioned hiring someone to do what I've been doing at work with him. Sounds kind of nice, but I hate to pay someone to do it when I am perfectly capable and can find the time. Not sure if he was serious, but I may take him up on it.

M and I are going to visit L and S in Philly at the end of the month. I'm really excited. I'm trying to figure out how long I can leave R with Z without it being really hard, and how long we need to go to see everything I'd like to while we are there. It promises to be interesting, that is for sure.

Things I Hate

Not sure why, but I'm just in the mood to talk about a few things I hate. Not that I'm in a grumpy mood, I'm not. More a pensive mood, a mood of self-discovery and a mood that feels like sharing this self-discovery with all of cyber-space (a bit self-important, I know). Lucky readers, here are a few things I hate, in no particular order:

1. Negative, viral campaign e-mails. It's just lying, spreading rumors and gossip. How is this OK, especially by those who consider themselves the Religious Right or The Keepers of Good Values? I haven't been to church in a while, but I'm pretty sure there are commandments and such about that shiz.

2. Raw onions. They are just so wrong. I can do an onion-ring. I can do carmelized. I can do french onion soup. Love roasted veggies including onion. Hate, hate, hate finding a raw onion in a salad of any type (green, pasta, and especially hard to find in potato salad). And don't get me started on those little nasty ass bits of disgustingness they try to pass for onion on McDonalds cheeseburgers. I think those actually started my hate-affair with onions as a child.

3. The phone. OK, hate may be a little strong. But I really don't love to answer the phone. I know it's necessary, and I do like to stay in the loop. But there is little I dislike more than being in the middle of, oh just about anything, and hearing the phone ring. The problem, who is sitting around doing nothing waiting for the phone to ring? And calling people, almost borders on a phobia for me. Yay, facebook! I am working on both, I promise y'all. I actually got rid of caller ID so that curiousity gets the better of me and I answer. But I WILL NOT run for the phone. I have issues, I am aware.

4. KSL talk radio and people who think that because someone said it on the radio, it must be true and EVERYONE feels that way. Makes me want to FREAK OUT!!! 'Nuff said.

5. Country music. Well, more like 95% of country music. It just couldn't be any more cliched, trite and overly sentimental. Who honestly likes to go around feeling mushy all the time? I guess it just makes me feel manipulated into feeling whatever it is they are going for, and I hate overt manipulation. Every so often I catch M in his room listening to country and I know it's when he's just feeling sad and wants to wallow in his poor, sorry, 8 year old life. Which is probably why people listen to country music in the first place. I guess I'm just not a fan of wallowing. I thank my mother for passing along this trait (though I certainly didn't enjoy it at 13, and I know my fam damily doesn't always appreciate it either. Tough!).

6. The ticket redemption prize counter at any arcade. Makes me want to PULL MY HAIR OUT! If that was the last job on earth, I would starve. Truly. I so admire a little old man who works behind the counter at the arcade in the Eureka in Mesquite Nevada. He asked my kids how many tickets they had, looked like he was thinking long and hard, and suggested what he thought must surely be the perfect prize for each kid that, amazingly enough, used up almost all their tickets. Then he would round up how many they still had by a few and give them another prize. Wham bam, done! And my kids just thought he was like Santa, picking out such great prizes. I knew he had just learned to get them in, and out! Oh, so wise.

7. Taking my darlings to the grocery store, especially together. Oh the fighting, the whining, the running around, the whacking, the obnoxiousness. For some reason, at the grocery store, or even more so, IKEA (whose damn kinderland is ALWAYS full), turns them into the most rotten version of themselves possible. One kid, a doable trip. Both kids, not unless it is a major emergency. We will eat canned soup for days before I will take them both.

8. Nagging. I hate to nag and I hate to be nagged. My husband (whom I love dearly, don't get me wrong) is SUCH A NAG!! "Hurry-up! We're going to be late!", "Chew with your mouth closed, you sound like a cow", "Quit rocking that chair", "You know you want to wakeboard, why don't you just try. Come-on, I know you'll like it", and my particular favorite, "You're going to stay on budget this month, right?" asked almost daily. Makes me crazy. I don't think of myself as a nag, but I'm sure the boys would tell you differently. Mostly I nag when I can tell my dear husband is thinking things should be happening differently. Then I get all anxious about him freaking out, and I start to nag. So I'm going to blame it all on R. And the boys are certainly learning how to really lock-in for a good nag fest if they really think they can wear me down. Which unfortunately, sometimes they can, because I'm a sucker, if you must know the truth.

9. Pokemon and Yu-gi Oh! cards. I don't get it, I don't want to get it, I don't want to hear about it, I don't want to look at your cards, I don't want to hear about your amazing trade, I don't want to listen to your teacher bitch about you playing with them when you should be listening, I don't want to pick them up, I don't want to pay the ridiculous amount they cost, I don't want to hear you fighting with your brother about whose is whose. I don't want anything to do with them. They are dumb, please grow out of them.

10. The end of Summer. I always have such high hopes. It just doesn't last long enough to get everything done that I'd like to do. I worry as much as the kids do at the beginning of the school year about who their teacher is, and will it be a good match? How will the homework be? Which activities should we do? Summer is just so much easier. The kids can sleep as long as they need to. There is no rushing home in the evening to get them to bed by 8 o'clock. No homework or projects, just read whatever you want. Dinner when it happens. Outside play. I'd rather do yardwork than housework any day of the week. It just feels so sad when it's over. Bring on responsibility. Bring on the work. Bring on the cold and being stuck in the dumb house. Just sad. I wonder if people who live in San Diego feel this way.

11. People who live by the book. Always. Can't be logical. No commonsense. Must follow the rules. For instance, I took my 1999 Subaru to have the Safety and Emmisions test so I can register it, cuz it's 18 days late I already got myself out of one ticket. I took it to the same place I went last year. This year they won't pass the safety because the tint on the back window is over the brake light in that window, because it is on the inside of the hatchback door. Okkaayyy, but I've had this car for 9 years and this hasn't been a problem before, not even last year, at the same place. Supposedly the UHP is "really cracking down" on this monumental safety issue, except that I've never been pulled over for that, and when I did it was because MY CAR WASN'T REGISTERED! Not because I have tint in my windows that isn't very dark that covers an optional light that my car has had for 9 years!!! Sorry, that's the rule, you can razor blade around the light and scrape the tint off, it shouldn't look too shitty. Thanks dude, you're super neat.

12. People who write anonymous letters or call the cops. Just have the balls to ring my doorbell and talk to me about whatever it is that is making your ass twitch. My dog barking? Good to know! I'll make sure he's inside when we leave. Party too loud, we'll tone it down. Don't like the color I painted my front door? Bugger off, you don't have a say in my decorating decisions. Is it possible for an anonymous letter to be taken objectively? I don't think so, I think it puts people on the defensively instantly. And a visit from "the man"? Just gonna piss me off.

13. Stepping on a lego or matchbox car in the dark. Well I hate it in the light too now that I think about it. Those little buggers are sharp. Hate to admit it, but when one of the monkeys stepped on one and had quite a little gash, I secretly felt a little glad. See!?! It effin' hurts, huh! How about we pick them up when we are done playing? I don't feel one bit bad when they "accidentally" get vacuumed up. Accidents happen. It's a cold, cruel world.

14. Hornets, wasps, yellow-jackets and species of their ilk. I think they are taking over the world. I try to be an "organic" type and not use much in the way of chemicals. I don't kill spiders, I just put them outside. But those rotten, ever-present, stinging pests, I don't mind spraying with instantly deadly neurotoxin. Not one little bit. It's all I can do to stop myself from yelling, "die Mother F-er, die!". But I just say it in my head. Usually.

and to end this little love, er hate (love to hate?) fest...

15. Hummers, the 80's band Midnight Oil, Juniper bushes, kids not sleeping in the own bed, kid's fighting all the time, unexpected expenses, those naked lady mudflaps and calvin peeing on stuff window decals, fake apologies, morning radio, myrtle spurge, "clever" news reporter banter, commercials, spam, health insurance (or the lack thereof), people that refuse to recycle, olympic judges that do a crappy job, getting older and saggier, when people want to talk while I'm obviously reading and can't possibly do both at the same time, when R wants to go to bed at 8 o'clock, not being able to go on vacation, Miley Cyrus (she just bugs!), and cantaloupe.

Well there. I hope you enjoyed my venomous spewing as much as I did. I feels GREAT to get all that off my chest. Have a fantastic day!

Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

It's true.

R is at his annual guy's golf tournament this weekend in Mesquite. Since his mom lives in Mesquite, it makes sense for him to drive the boys down with him and drop them off for some quality time with grandma J. Last year they both went. I honestly didn't know what to do with myself for 4 whole days! This year, Z didn't want to go. He's been quite a homebody lately. I think he's worried about going to Kindergarten. So it has just been the two of us.

Friday night we drive up to Bear Lake with my good friend and her 3 year old boy. It was very quiet up there this weekend, none of my siblings went, so we just hung out with my parents. It was a nice time. Our boys decided to act like big brother-little brother towards the end, bugging each other just to hear the other scream. Boys will be boys.

Today and tomorrow it's just the two of us (and the creatures, of course). I think today we will go see Wall-e and get a treat of some sort. We slept in, cuddled for a long time, & played 2 games of Candyland, which he won both times ;). It's great to have a chance to talk and be together without someone else competing for attention. Tomorrow he has summer camp, so today is play day.

As much as I'm enjoying some quiet, non-fighting, time with my Z-man, I will be glad to have M home. I miss his chatter, his morning cuddles, his deep thoughts, and his help around the house. While I know that his grandparents are spoiling him rotten and taking good care of him, I worry when I'm not there. I guess it's a loss of control and a surrender of one of my most precious people to the care of someone else. And I always worry about my boys when they are on the road.

R is working so hard these days, and I so often go to Bear Lake without him, that I didn't really start to miss him until last night. We spent a few hours with our awesome neighbors and their visiting extended family. I had a great time, but more than once I wished R was there to enjoy it with me. And going to bed alone (if you consider sleeping with a kid, a cat and a dog alone) is always hard for me. I just don't sleep well without R. Sometimes I take for granted what he does around the house. I almost missed garbage pickup this morning!

It's good to have a break from each other sometimes and to have seperate experiences. R is having some much needed guy time, and some much needed time away from work to have fun. M gets to experience being the center of attention and bonding with his grandma, who is sorely missed since she moved. He gets to drive down and back with dad. Who knows, maybe he'll even miss his little bro (yeah, right). Z gets to have the whole house to himself for a few days, some quality time with mom before school starts, and total access to the new kitty (poor cat). I get some room to think and time to enjoy my youngest child before he starts into the big world of elementary school (which I must admit is kind of freaking me out). All in all, good experiences for everyone. Nice for a few days...

But I can't wait until they are home!

Wrapping Things Up and Preparing to Get Started

August is one of those months where I feel pulled in two directions. As the last month of Summer I feel it is my duty to squeeze every last minute of the chance to be carefree. I want to swim, hike, travel and lounge as much as possible. We still haven't gone to Raging Waters, Boondocks, Antelope Island (the one thing I want to do this year because I have never been), a baseball game. Every year I think Summer gets shorter and shorter. I don't want it to end. I'm NOT ready to send my kids back to school. I feel like the grasshopper, I'll prepare for Winter tomorrow, I want to play today!

This is a great time to make a list of what you still want to accomplish and do this Summer. It's also a fanatastic time to take stock of what is working this Summer, and what you would like to change for next year. I personally think we have been too planned out this Summer with camps and sports. We haven't had enough to chill and just play. Next year I am thinking we may not do summercamp every week, and just pick one or two weeks that we think look fun. Or I may stick with the Winner School but just do 2 days a week. Or a combo or both. Or we may not do it all. I can work from home and we can go do all the fun stuff they do at camp (maybe not the most realistic option, I'm not much of a crafter). Nothing has to be decided right now, it's just a good time to think about it and ask the kids how they think this Summer has gone and what they would change.

At the same time I know I have to start getting ready for school and Winter. It's time to begin harvesting my garden and preserving the excess for later. Planning Fall yard projects. What needs to be done before it gets cold or snows? There are back to school clothing inventories to do, shoes to buy,school supplies to stock-up on backpacks to pick-out. Is there a particular type of clothing or shoes that they feel the just have to have? I need to find out now so I can scope out sales. It's time to start getting the kids back on a more school friendly schedule, earlier to bed, earlier to rise. To start talking about what to expect from this school year. Will there be more homework this year? Times tables and cursive? What about the Kindergartener who needs some extra reassurance about going to school? Are the kids old enough to walk by themselves? Do they want to take school lunch? It's time to think about what may be new and stressful, and start talking about it now.

It's time to start thinking about the upcoming holidays. What should we do over Fall Recess? Do we have any idea what we'd like to be for Halloween and can we start pulling together a costume? Are we traveling for Thanksgiving and need to start looking into airfare or lodging? Or staying home? And it is never to late to start thinking about Christmas. Incidentally, this is a great time to stock-up on art supplies to use as gifts all year round. What kid doesn't love an art kit with brand new fresh crayons, paints, markers and pencils? Great for Christmas as well as birthday parties. And when buying Back-to School clothing, I plan to pick-up a few extra cool T-shirts and sweatshirts, while they are on sale, as gifts for Christmas as well. And why not peruse the clearance rack for clothes for next Summer? It's a great time to grab flip-flops, swimsuits, beach towels, and shorts. Think ahead, who do you know that is pregnant or just had a baby? Can you find any cute summer baby clothes at a huge discount? What about lawn and garden-it's all on clearance now.

This year, I must admit, I didn't really budget to stock-up for next year. I'm trying to decide if I should grab a little from the emergency fund to do so with the plan of replenishing as quickly as possible. In the long run it will save us money. But I hate to see the balance going down.

Today I am going to take a minute to make my Summer list of things we want to do before school starts, ways to maximize these last few days of freedom and schedule a time to do it. Over the next few days I'm going to make a list of what I can do now, bit by bit so as not to canniblize our summer, to prepare for the upcoming months. I'm not going to use up our time running from store to store to stock up. But while we are there, I will certainly stock-up on what is on sale. I'm also going to see what I can do on-line to save time. Most importantly, I'm just going to relax and enjoy the last golden days of Summer!

Surviving a Recession and Saving the Planet

Today in my Treehugger.com e-mail there was an article originally posted on http://www.thesimpledollar.com (one of my fave blogs incidentally) showing how many of the things we can do to be secure financially are also sustainable environmental tactics. I also find that most are beneficial to our health as well.

They are:

1. Start a garden. This a pretty simple way to cut costs on fruits and veggies. There is also less cost in the form of shipping and I personally feel much better when I know what exactly is in, or has been sprayed on my food.

2. Learn how to make as many meals as possible from simple ingredients. It is generally cheaper to make food from scratch than it is to buy food that has been packaged, advertised and shipped. And once again, you know exactly what is in you food, no preservatives and artifical crap. Even for the few items that might be cheaper to by packaged, such as boxed macaroni & cheese, the health cost savings from eating real food, made from real ingredients is worth it in the long run. Environmentally, less packaging is always a good thing.

3. Drink tap water as your beverage of choice. This one is pretty obvious. Less packaging, fewer calories, and it's FREE.

4. Drill your own well. Totally not possible for most people, but if you live in a rural area it is a free source of water.

5. Reduce home energy use. We are working on this. We have a programmable thermostat and are keeping the AC set at 80 all the time. In the evenings we open the doors for the cross breeze. We plan to install ceiling fans as well to help it feel a little cooler. I close the blinds all day to keep the heat out. The boys are pretty good about turning off light and the TV. Myles has made it his own little mission to turn off the powerstrip on the TV and accessories downstairs each night. In the winter we've been keeping the heat at 72 during the day and 60 at night.

6. Invest in solar panels or a small wind turbine. This is something I'd really like to look into. Our neighbors recently had solar panels installed and it got me thinking about it seriously. So many people resist the idea saying that it doesn't cover all their energy needs. But I figure every little bit helps. I'd like to figure out how long it would take to pay for itself.

7. Drive less, walk and bike more, carpool and carshare. All excellent ways to skip the heart attack at the pump these days. Less pollution in the air is always a plus. And all the exercise is another fabulous way to stay healthy. My goal this year is to walk the kids to and from school most of the time.

8. Buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. Obviously this depends on a few factors. If your car is paid off and you would require a car payment to get into a new vehicle, it may not be the best financial move. But if your are in the market for a new car, think high gas mileage. Saves money, cleaner air. Win-win.

9. Buy plenty of forever stamps. As gas costs increase, the price of stamps is only headed up. With forever stamps you are guaranteed today's price 5 years from now. Even at a few cents per stamp, it's just plain smart.

10. Learn to entertain yourself with open ended materials. This is great advice for adults and especially to teach our kids. Card games, board games, reading books from the library, running, hiking, etc. are all activites that really don't get more expensive over time. Free entertainment equals more money in your pocket. It also means a better qualitiy of life, and most have a small carbon footprint as well.

So, something to think about. Most of these a relatively easy and don't require much of an upfront financial investment. I'm always looking for ways to cut back, simplify, teach my kids some skills, and do my part to clean up our planet. These steps give me lots of ideas and plenty of concrete things to work on.

New creature in our house-Welcome Freddie!

We have a new kitty. His name is Mr. Freddie Kung-Fu Kitty Miyagi. Freddie for short. He is so sweet and good natured. Here's a look-see. Isn't he cute?

Did we want a new cat? Well, yes and no. I've been thinking about it for awhile now, but also have been putting it off because of the added responsibility and the added cost. R really didn't want more of either. But R's cousin ended up with a stray who, SURPRISE, had kittens. So she brought one to Z when Granny had him on Thursday. He'd already had the kitten for 4 hours and named it Freddie by the time I picked him up. Granny, that sneaky, I mean wise woman told me she had told R we were getting him when he dropped Z off. She failed to, I mean forgot to mention he said "NO WAY". Well The Boys are thrilled and are really happy and loving the attention a new baby pet brings. Z already showed his summercamp class, who were besides themselves with baby animal love. And I have to admit I am quite smitten with him myself. Nothing better than a kitty cuddle and purr. R may take a little longer, but with him it always does. He isn't one to give away his heart easily (some day I will tell the story of our very stretched out courting process) and that's OK, though I don't know how you can resist that little face.

Our dog is a little concerned about a creature moving in and us actually liking it. But he does really well, just a little whining, lots of puzzled looks and some dejected sighing. The cat has been pretty mellow as well. A few small hisses and sideways jumps. They both slept on the bed with us most of last night, so I think we'll be fine.

The kids (read: I suspect Z) have loved him maybe just a little too much, however, and he seems to be limping quite a bit. So Monday will be our first vet visit, which of course makes my very fiscally responsible husband soooo happy. I hope it doesn't require X-rays and stuff. We would have had to take him for an initial visit anyway. And I've always figured once to bring a pet home they are family, and you can't skimp on healthcare for family. I'm secretly hoping he'll wake up tomorrow much improved. We'll see.

Gardening-I love it!

So I decided this year I was definitely going to have a garden, so I planted lots of tomatoes, herbs, peppers and a few zucchini in pots and tucked a few into the flower beds as well. I'd like to say it's going fantastic, but it is just going OK. I have some jalapenos, 1 bell pepper, a few zukes, a few of each type of tomato I planted plus a ton of cherry tomatoes. The funny thing is that I used organic gardening soil in all but the cherry tomatoes. I just threw those into a barrel style planter that was already in the back yard. But I still have high hopes. I have scoped out my sight for a permanent garden in the backyard. I just need to muster up the fortitude to till it up and amend the soil. It's pretty rocky and acidic because it had juniper bushes growing there up until this spring. It's perfect spot, gets enough sun, and is by the hose spigot so I can hook up a soaker hose. I really just need to get on it so that I can plant some fall crops.

Anyway, here is a pic of my current set-up. It's early morning so it is still shady.

And my first beautifirous tomato!

I have lots of dreams about canning and preserving. We'll see how that goes though. August is shaping up to be a crazy month.