High School!

Today was the day! Buddy and his classmates got to tour the high school that they will be attending in the fall! He had a BLAST!! He said he can't wait to go to high school. I really think he's ready for a change. He's been at the same small Catholic school since Pre-K. I know he's going to do great in high school, but at the same time, it'll be just a little bitter sweet that he'll be leaving our beloved Catholic school. Good thing we'll have Missy there for another four years!

Summer

I think I say this every year, but the summer sure is going fast! My kids didn't get out of school until June 11th this year, so it wasn't long before it was 4th of July weekend. I'm not sure where the month of July went, but here we are on August 9th! We don't have a lot of plans the next few weeks, so I'm sure the kids will be ready to go back to school by September 1st. Buddy will be starting 8th grade at the Catholic school where he's been since PreK. It will be his last year at his school, and next year he will move to the public high school. I don't know where the time has gone! Missy will be starting 4th grade! The fall will go fast, with Buddy playing football and Missy starting dance, piano, and traveling soccer! I hope we can keep up with all of that!!

Tweens making good choices

Something happened with several 7th grade boys at school a couple of weeks ago. They decided that it would be a good idea to steal items from the Scholastic Book Fair. I found out about it from a friend, and assumed that Buddy wasn't involved because I hadn't been notified by the school. When Buddy got home that afternoon I asked him about it. He was reluctant to tell me, but in the end, I think he shared most of what he knew. I asked him where he was when the stealing was happening. He said he was with his friends A and J. I asked him how he knew about it and he said he knew because his friend, R, said, "Buddy, take something." But Buddy just told his friend, "See ya" and walked away from the situation. I was so proud of him! I told him he made the right decision. Later I asked him why he had chosen to walk away, and he said, "Why would anyone want that junky 99 cent stuff anyway?" LOL. I was really hoping to hear, "I know stealing is wrong, Mom", but I'm sure deep down he knows that stealing is wrong and that's why he made the decision to walk away, not because he didn't want any of the items that were available to steal.

Every day is an adventure with teens and tweens!

College - it's not that far away

It really won't be that many more years before Buddy is sending in college applications and deciding what he wants to do with the rest of his life. With the economy being the way it is right now, I worry that we won't be able to afford to send him to college. In addition to tuition, there are so many other costs associated with college. Here is one of the places that might be able to help with the cost: you can always sell used text books back At this site, not only can you buy used textbooks to use, but you can also sell your used textbooks back to them! Who needs old textbooks laying around anyway? I might even see if Hubby has some old textbooks that we could sell! So it's a win/win situation - making money on things you aren't using anymore and getting rid of clutter in your house! Those are two things that make me happy, and also relieve a little of the stress of looking forward to college for two kids.

A Different Life

What would I do if I didn't spend 95% of my time being a mom, running the kids from here to there, attending sporting events, helping with homework, doing their laundry, cleaning their fish bowls, etc. etc. etc.

If I didn't have kids I could spend my time getting manicures and pedicures. I could watch whatever I wanted on TV, whenever I wanted to. Hubby and I could travel to places by ourselves, and more cheaply too! We would also have a lot more money, because I'd probably work full time instead of part time and we wouldn't be paying Catholic school tuition. We wouldn't be forking out money for all of the "incidentals" that kids require. Hubby would probably already be thinking about retiring.

But you know what......I don't think I'd be nearly as happy if I didn't have kids.

It's Been Awhile.....

Where does the time go? I didn't realize my last post was on January 25th! Time flies when you're busy with the kids.

This week has been a tough one for all of us. A friend of ours was killed in a plane crash last Friday night. His daughter is a classmate of Buddy's. Buddy has been really sad for his friend. Their class (35 kids) is really close, so anything that happens to one of them is felt by all of them. Yesterday was the wake and today was the funeral. All of the kids in Buddy's class went to the funeral. I'm sure the family really appreciated that the kids were there to support their friend.

I hate getting older. Not that a young person can't die in a plane crash or car accident, but as I get older, I seem to be surrounded by more sadness and death.

Back to Reality

We had a really great Christmas vacation. I was worried that the kids would get bored because we had 2.5 weeks off - the longest Christmas vacation that I can remember. But we had a lot of fun and got along for the most part! I think there were only a couple of days that we didn't have anything on the calendar.

Now it's back to reality. Buddy has at least one test this week, and two basketball practices, one game, and a bball tournament on Saturday. Missy has dance on Tuesday, piano on Thursday, and basketball on Saturday. I am supposed to go scrapbooking all day on Saturday, but hubby just reminded me yesterday that he and Buddy are going to the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball game on Saturday night, so Missy will have to come and scrapbook with me for awhile. Then this morning I found out about the weekend basketball tournament, which is out of town, so I'll have to decide what's more important - mommy time or watching your kid play ball. I have a feeling I know which one will win out (watching my kid, of course).

Books for Tween Boys - Part 2

Buddy has been a reading machine during Christmas vacation. He's read three books by Anthony Horowitz - "The Falcon's Malteser", "Public Enemy Number Two", and "South by Southeast". Then we bought "Twilight" at Target and he's already finished that! I requested a few books from the library and another Horowitz book has arrived, so we'll get that today. He loved "Twilight" and wants to read the entire series, but there are 155 holds (LOL) on 60 copies at the library for the second book, and I don't want to buy the hardcover, so he'll have to wait.

Unfortunately, all of this reading will come to a grinding halt next week when school starts up again. He just doesn't have time to read for pleasure, do homework, and play basketball. I'm just glad he enjoys reading as much as he does - hopefully it'll be a lifelong passion.

Catholic School

My kids attend a PreK - 8th grade Catholic school. The public schools in our area are great, but we've been very, very happy with the education the kids are getting at the Catholic school. The things they are learning that kids don't learn at the public school are especially evident this time of the year. Next week Missy will have her Christmas program. The second through fourth graders put on an awesome musical that centers around Christ's birth. They sing Christmas songs that I learned in Sunday School when I was a kid. I love the fact that they can sing about and celebrate the birth of Jesus.

One of the things I was very surprised about was "back in the day" when Buddy was in first grade. He had a nun for a teacher that year. He came home with a menorah that he had colored and told me all about Hanukkah and how people of the Jewish faith celebrate. I was so glad that even though they attended a Catholic school, they were being exposed to other people's beliefs.

Buddy only has 1.5 years left at our school and then he will move on to the public high school (there's no Catholic high school option here in town - we could send him to a Catholic high school 20 miles away, but we'd have to drive him every day and the tuition is out of our price range). The day he walks out of our school for the last time as a student, I will be very sad! It's a good thing that Missy will have four more years there before we "graduate" from the school all together.

Where is Lamb?

I'm sure all parents have to deal with irritating things about their kids. One of Buddy's most irritating "qualities" is his persistence. When he knows he's bugging you, he just won't stop.

Case in point: We have a 2.5 year old labradoodle named Boomer. When Boomer was a puppy, Buddy gave him the nickname of "Lamb". He's the color of a lamb, but he doesn't look anything like a lamb.


At least 25 times a day, Buddy asks "Where is Lamb?" Boomer might be laying right next to my chair, or he might be standing right next to Buddy. But Buddy persists in asking the question over and over. It is soooooo irritating. We threaten him with a consequence if he doesn't stop asking. We say he can't have any computer time. We mimic him by saying "Where is ______?" and adding a girl's name that we think he might like. We ignore him. We yell at him. He just won't stop. I know he does it when he's bored or when he's looking for attention. Sometimes negative attention is better than no attention at all.

If Buddy wanted a dog that looked like a lamb, maybe we should have gotten one of these (a Bedlington Terrior)!


Lyla

Buddy Read My Blogs

Twelve-year-old Buddy was nosing around when I was on the computer and I told him he could read my blogs if he wanted to. I'm sure that he thought that since the world revolves around him, I would only write about him and nothing else LOL. I showed him how to access the blogs and he started reading.

After about 30 seconds, he said, "Why do you call me Buddy?" I told him I didn't want to use his real name. I told him that he could pick a new "name" (aka alias) if he wanted to. I asked him if he wanted to be called Slickster or something LOL. I suppose I could use his initials, which are A.J., and we do actually call him A.J. occasionally. And I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world if I used his real name, but I'm not going to do that without his permission.

About two minutes later, he said, "You voted for OBAMA?????" Um, yes. I thought he knew that. Apparently he is a McCain supporter (good thing he couldn't legally vote - haha - I'm TOTALLY kidding).

Then he asked if I had written about the dog at all. I told him I had written about the dog on It's Five O'Clock Somewhere so he had to check that out too.

Anyway, it was interesting to see what he thought was important and what wasn't.

Skis!

Last year both kids finally figured out how to downhill ski! I started skiing when I was 13 and skied all through junior high and high school. We skied a little during our early married life, but not much once we had the kids. Buddy had been out skiing a few times but was always very cautious and HATED the chair lift. Missy had only been out one time before last year. But last year was the greatest - they both finally figured it out and they both LOVE skiing now - I'm so happy!

So we decided to invest in equipment for both of them this year. We went to our local ski hill's ski swap and got a pretty good deal (less than $400 for two sets of skis and bindings, poles, boots, and a helmet for Missy - Buddy already has a helmet).

Yesterday I went to pick up the skis at the ski shop and was surprised to see that the Bunny Hill was open and people (mainly snowboarders) were on the hill!! It made me want to go home and pick up the kids and go right back! But it didn't make sense to pay for a lift ticket if only the bunny hill was open. I guess it won't be long before we can get out on the slopes as a family! Yippy!

Veteran's Day at School

The kid's school puts on a very nice Veteran's Day program every year. This year one of Buddy's classmates dad's spoke - he was in the Air Force in 1979-1984. He was never in a war, but did his part to serve our wonderful country. He gave a very nice speech about how everyone did their job, even if they didn't do anything heroic.

So here's to all the Veterans out there - this day is for you!

End of First Quarter

Well, my kids (and me!) have made it through the first quarter of school. They'll get their report cards next week, although I know how Buddy did because we have online access to every grade that goes in the gradebook. He will be on the honor roll - not with high honors - but the honor roll nonetheless. School is getting harder and harder! I can't believe what they learn in 7th grade, especially in Science class. I know for a fact that if I ever learned the stuff Buddy is learning now, it was in high school.

This will be the first time that Missy will be getting A-B-C grades. Up until now she has gotten 1-2-3-4 grades, with 4 being "exceptional". I don't think she ever got a four. But from the work she's brought home, I think she's doing pretty well. I guess we'll know next week!

A Historic Night

Wow - what an election! I'm glad everything appeared to go alright and we didn't have any "dangling chads" or anything else!

I have to say that I voted for Obama and I'm very glad that he won. But it wasn't until last night night when the entire Obama family came out on stage that I realized how important this step in American history could be for my kids. I've mentioned before that we are a transracial adoptive family. My husband and I are Caucasian and our kids are Latino/a. They were born in Guatemala and have brown skin, dark brown eyes, and black hair. When I saw the beautiful Obama family standing on stage last night, I couldn't help but think what great role models they can be for my kids. My kids can see that no matter the color of your skin, you can lead the United States of America, or be married to the person who leads the United States of America. I'm assuming that neither of my kids would want to be President (in fact, they can't be President, since they weren't born in the U.S.), but just the message that if you work hard, you can be whatever you set out to be is a great one to learn at this age.

I wish Barack Obama all the luck in the world - he has a huge job ahead of him.

Election Day

Don't forget to vote today (as if "forgetting" is even a possibility).

Both kids wanted to know who we're voting for. I think they cast pretend ballots at school. Buddy has known for awhile who we are voting for, but Missy just asked this morning. I don't know how I feel about the kids going to school and saying, "My mom is voting for so-and-so." It's not like Missy could defend her parents by talking about the issues. She knows who's running for President and can identify them if they're on TV or in the newspaper, but we don't spend a lot of time talking about the why's and why not's of who we're voting for. I guess that's because both Hubby and I are fairly middle-of-the-road politically - we've both voted both Democratic and Republican - in fact, today I voted for some Republicans and some Democrats. I guess I just don't base it on whether someone is Republican or Democratic - I base it on where they stand on the issues and how I feel our country is doing as a whole.

Anyway, hopefully Missy won't come home from school and say, "You're the only parent voting for Mr. X." I don't think that'll be the case, but you never know.

Boo!

Happy Halloween! We're having the perfect Halloween weather here in Wisconsin - sunny and fairly warm (50's), and no precipitation in the forecast - yeah! Plus, it's FRIDAY - yahoo! We're going to have a blast tonight! Hubby is staying home to answer the door. Buddy, Missy and I are going to a friend's house who lives nearby. We've decided to let the big boys (12 year old 7th graders) go by themselves with rules of where they can go and where they can't go. At least one of them will have their cell phone so we can keep tabs on them! Missy will be with at least 4 other girls her age and she is EXCITED! She loves candy and Halloween is her favorite holiday. After kids stop coming to the door, hubby will join us at our friend's house. It should be a lot of fun!

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After Shave and Cologne

Ugh! Have you ever heard of Axe aftershave and body wash? All of the young boys spray it on WAY too often. It doesn’t even smell good! The aftershave craze started for Buddy several months ago – around the time he turned 12. I walked into my bathroom one day and he was in there. I asked him what he was doing and he said nothing and left. I was putting something away in the linen closet and noticed that my hubby’s aftershave was sitting in there with the top off. I laughed to myself and figured that Buddy was experimenting! I went into his room and started sniffing, getting closer to him all the time. He asked what I was doing and I told him I was wondering if someone smelled good in his room. He immediately laughed and said, “Can I get my own?” I told him he could, but I would go with him and we could pick something out that was just right for him. I took him to Ulta and we spent about 30 minutes smelling all the different colognes. I told him he could get anything within reason (cost and fragrance), but he couldn’t get Ralph Lauren Polo. He asked why and I told him I would constantly have flashbacks to the ‘80’s if he did! He ended up choosing a Calvin Klein fragrance that I really liked. He wears it occasionally, but he wears the Axe more often, and it’s really getting annoying. I’ve tried to tell him that a fragrance is supposed to be a “hint” of someone, not a vapor trail that you can smell before you enter the room! I’m surprised that the boys are wearing this stuff at age 12!!!

Walking on Jesus' Path

Our son is an altar server at the Catholic church that we attend. I’ve told him in the past that it’s important to dress nicely when serving, because it’s the respectful thing to do. He doesn’t think it’s important because they wear robes over their clothes anyway. At a minimum, I feel their shoes need to look decent. One day we were on our way to church when I realized that Buddy had on the most god-awful tennis shoes – his toes were literally bursting out of the ends of the shoes. I decided instead of fighting with him, I would say something to the Priest and hopefully he would say something to Buddy. When we got to church, I went to Father John and told him he should look at Buddy’s shoes. Buddy was mortified!! Father John smiled and said he wouldn’t say anything about his shoes. I laughed and said I was sure that every other mother in the sanctuary would agree with me when it came to wearing decent shoes to Mass. Anyway, Buddy served in the ugly shoes. A little later that night, I brought the topic up again, and Buddy said, “Mom, as long as I’m walking on Jesus’ path, it doesn’t matter what my shoes look like.” I was speechless!! I guess I couldn’t argue with that one!