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| From September 2008 |
I kid you not!!! Eco Elvis came to the boys’ school on Friday to talk about saving the Earth, recycling, etc. He sings songs like Compost Hotel, Earth Day Rock and Viva Las Vegans. Seriously. It was hilarious AND he does it for free as long as you book him during normal business hours and it’s in the metro area.
I have wanted to read this book for a long time, a couple of years maybe. I could never find it at our library though. Well, I finally got it through another library and got the chance to read it. It is basically a collection of short stories about her not-so-glamorous childhood and life. I had to turn it in and it couldn’t be renewed. I got through most of it though and that was fine; it wasn’t a serious pageturner or anything. I think the author is better known for her other memoir called Fat Girls in Lawn Chairs.
Liam woke up early this morning and promptly threw up all over the floor. So, it was decided that he would not go to school today, but Colm would. (Colm was not happy about this at first.) Liam was fine the rest of the day. He didn’t throw up again and was in good spirits, so we spent the day playing endless rounds of Rat a Tat Cat (and when I say endless I mean endless). We also played The Storybook Game and a couple of Thomas board games that Liam hasn’t played in years. Liam also got a lot of time to play with his Legos. I am glad he only threw up once and the day actually turned out to be quite enjoyable.
One great thing about belonging to Costco is that if they carry something that you really like, you can buy it in ridiculous quantities. For example, we love gum. One day I decided to buy some Orbit gum at the local drugstore for my hubby. We had never had that kind, but he wanted cinnamon and I usually don’t like cinnamon gum because it is too bitey and it makes my tongue feel weird. I decided to be brave and try Orbit since I knew from past experiences that all the others were yucky. What a pleasant surprise. Subtle, not too bitey and it doesn’t lose it’s flavor in two nanoseconds either. Now we buy Orbit gum all the time and the cool thing is that it comes in a zillion flavors AND they carry it at Costco. Lucky us. Our second newest Costco find is Z-bars. Sean has been eating Clif bars for a while. The kids really like them, too, but Sean doesn’t like to share too much because the kids eat them all and then there are none for him. Again, lucky us. They also now carry the kid version of Clif Bars, Z Bars, at Costco. They are smaller and are great for lunchboxes, snacks and even breakfast, in a pinch.
We had a great day at the zoo today; Colm is the absolute perfect age to take to the zoo. It was hot and humid and we walked all over that stinkin’ place, but there was no complaining. He was just so excited to see the animals.
If you are at the park with Colm and it is almost time to go and you tell him he can go down the slide two more times and then it’s time to go, he will stop sliding and go do something else. (If I don’t slide, then we will never have to leave.) The same goes for at the pool. If you tell him he can jump in two more times he will stop jumping and go do something else. Well, this week on the way to school he asked me if I had made his lunch and when I told him that I had he said he didn’t want to eat lunch at school. I asked him why…this is the funny part. They have a rest time after lunch. Colm doesn’t like rest time. So, if I don’t pack his lunch, then he doesn’t have to eat lunch which means he doesn’t have to…you got it….rest.
I have been thinking a lot about friendships this past week. At Liam’s old school I was friends with many of the moms and still talk with them around the neighborhood. But let’s be honest, we are neighbors and yes I see them, but I don’t see them as often as I used to because our kids don’t go to the same school, so we are a bit out of the loop. All of my friends from church have kids who go to different schools than my kids. I belong to a group at church for people who have young children, but my kids are getting older and I won’t be able to join that group anymore in a year or two. How will I maintain my friendships with these people who I may or may not see at Mass on a weekly basis? Which gets me to my point. Friendships take work. I have known my dear friends, Dana and Christie, for 20 years although we haven’t lived in the same state for most of those years. I always see Christie when she comes in town and we e-mail and chat on the phone occassionally. I don’t get to see or talk to Dana as much, but we still keep in touch via e-mail and blogs. (I should call you Dana, but the time difference is a killer.) I used to have a neighbor who I was friends with who now lives in Colorado. She has lived there for about 5 years. We still keep in touch and we almost always get together, even if it is just for lunch, when she comes to town. It is important for me to keep up my friendships with my neighbors as well, so I am going to have to be pro-active. Not only is this important for me, but it is important for the kids to maintain the friendships they have made with the neighborhood kids as well. We rearranged our plans on Saturday because Liam’s friend wanted to come over and play about the time we were getting ready to walk out the door. That same friend is spending the night tonight. I know Liam doesn’t see it as work, but if you don’t hold up your end, friendships can easily fizzle. I am sure I will have great friends with the mom’s at our new school and I will have to work at maintaining the friendships that I have made at church when I cross that bridge in a few years. It may seem like I am complaining, but I am doing exactly the opposite. How blessed we are to have neighborhood friends, church friends AND school friends. 🙂
If you have not joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) yet, I highly recommend doing so, although you might have to wait until next year’s growing season. There are a few around town; I will tell you what I love about ours. Many CSA’a just give you fruits and veggies that are locally grown. The one we belong to often includes bread from local bakeries, dairy products, tofu, meat, etc. I also love it because each item that is available each week has a point value. So, if you don’t like one of the items that has a two-point value, you can trade it in for another two-point item or maybe two one-point items…you get the idea. I also like it because there are two different days and times that you can pick your stuff up. This week’s list was: drinkable yogurt, ground bison, eight-grain bread, finishing sauce (think A-1), watermelon, eggplant, grape tomatoes, and million dollar pickles. I traded in the pickles for more yogurt and the bison and finishing sauce for a roasting chicken. Everything came from Kansas and Missouri, except the yogurt which came from Iowa and most of it was organic. Next week we get milk, ground chuck, asiago bread, butternut squash, tomatoes and tofu. I need to start looking for recipes. 🙂
I was at a party the other day and another mom shared this story…
She spent all last school year trying to get her sixth grade boy to shower and use deodorant. Every day she told him he was stinky and to go upstairs, shower, put on CLEAN clothes and comb his hair. He didn’t get it. Well, he is a seventh grader now. She was so excited to shop with him this year. Before school started they got some decent clothes, some deodorant and some Axe. He came downstairs on the first day of school and he looked and smelled great. She asked him if he used his deodorant and he said he did. He also said he used his Axe and that he had even sprayed his balls (his words, not mine) with it. The mom about passed out and asked him why he did that. He said, “It’s the first day of school, Mom. You never know.”
I hope this isn’t a peek into my future. What are seventh graders doing at school nowadays??? I know what I was doing in seventh grade and it didn’t require spraying Love’s Baby Soft all over my nether regions.
