Because this format seems to work. Following is a selection of tweets as seen on Twitter in the past week, or so. All times are Pacific even though I’m not in the Pacific time zone.

Saturday, October 24th.
8:01 PM: scored a home run with the boy tonight. I’m the best. The greatest. I’m thinking this may be the last time I hear that before HS graduation.

The same people who sponsor D.A.R.E. had a grant for community outreach, or some such thing. They sponsored a bowling night at the local lanes for the middle school kids. His small school had a good showing of kids. He played with a couple of boys from his class, a couple of girls in his class played in the next lane with a few girls who were in their class in kindergarten. It looked like a reunion! He had such a blast! He’s looking forward to bowling Thanksgiving weekend with his cousin and grandmother.

Tuesday, October 27th.
7:06 PM: is tired of kids getting hurt because of driver negligence. safety seats! 5pt harnesses! booster seats! SEAT BELTS! it makes me sick!

There are too many preventable accidents, the latest of which killed two girls who weren’t wearing their seat belts, because there weren’t enough in the sedan for six passengers! Here in NJ, the rule is children under eight years or eighty pounds must be in an approved child safety seat and yet, I still see children standing up between the two front seats or sitting in the front passenger seat, unbelted, with the window open!

Wednesday, October 28th.
9:28 AM: is looking for a place in the Titusville, Trenton, Princeton, Flemington area where the girl and I could kill some time on Saturday morning.

Lil’bug and I took Scout and his friends to Washington Crossing State Park to play in the woods. We had breakfast at PJ’s Pancake House across the street from Princeton U. Then we went off to WalMart to pick up the new Tinker Bell video. The coupon read “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”. I had to pull the video out of the bag to prove to the cashier that “…the Lost Treasure” was included in the one video and was not a required second purchase.

Another cold, wet, rainy day. And with that another little league baseball season comes to an end. We were supposed to try and make up one of the rained-out games…AGAIN! but it was not meant to be.

Thursday, October 29th.
5:02 AM: hopes my brother has a super-terrific birthday! Happy Birthday, Bro!

5:41 AM: is watching the weather forecast for Saturday. HALLOWEEN! Things are looking up! woot!

postscript: Halloween. weather forecast. FAIL!

9:51 AM: just had to ask google what time it is in Hawaii now so I’d know if it’s too early to call to wish my brother a happy birthday. *calling*

Surprisingly he answered!

10:26 AM: my kids had oatmeal for breakfast this morning and we didn’t even know it was National Oatmeal Day. Who knew we even HAD a day for oatmeal?

Friday, October 30th.
7:29 PM: long day today (morning snack in the girl’s class, magic show, craft in class, trunk n treat. Another long one tomorrow…all about the boy.

Trunk ‘n’ Treat…sooo much fun!

7:33 PM: is planning to drive a van full of boys (and my girl) tomorrow. Some of those attend the middle school where 100+ were out sick Thursday.

At the end of the day, I was supposed to drop one of the 11-yo boys off at the high school where his mother was supposed to be at the brother’s football game…or some such thing. It is not part of my make-up to drop a minor off without KNOWING a parent/guardian/caregiver/someone is IN FACT there for that CHILD! Because, to me, an 11-yo boy is still a child.

7:36 PM: and my boy was not feeling 100% this week. and he’s supposed to go play in the woods with those boys and his compass.

Fortunately, nothing developed from his general feeling of unwellness.

7:37 PM: I suggested he take the GPS and say it was his compass in its Halloween costume. (I got an eye roll. A lot of my great ideas get eye rolls.)

7:46 PM: there’s a stray lunch box that I’ve never seen, with food in it that I didn’t buy, sitting on the floor. as though it followed my kids home.

Lunch box has been reunited with its owner. On Friday, after the Trunk ‘n’ Treat, a friend’s car wouldn’t start so I drove her and her two kiddos home. The boy, Scout’s friend, left his lunch box behind opting instead to take his bag of candy from the Trunk ‘n’ Treat. We reunited him with his lunch box on Saturday morning when we met up for the trip to play in the woods.

Saturday, October 31st. BOO! AHHHHH!
12:38 PM: I drove to Princeton and back today. it’s Halloween. it’s raining. can we get a rain check on the trick or treating? I need a nap.

12:40 PM: I have $5 in Borders Bucks that expire today. Really don’t feel like going up to the mall to redeem them. Have I mentioned I need a nap?

While Lil’bug napped, I coaxed Scout out to Borders where we bought the next “Pendragon” book for him and Library Lion for her. We stopped for the traditional Halloween pizza on the way home. Pizza has never tasted so good!

Monday, November 2nd.
9:21 AM: my daughter got an unwrapped (possibly homemade?) candy apple for Halloween. I “accidentally” dropped it on the ground.

And I just can’t get over this. I’m still shaking my head. Seriously? I didn’t know this was even possible anymore! Who does this? I’m sure it was fine, but on the off chance that it wasn’t I feigned cold, slippery fingers that lost their grip on the stick. You see we couldn’t put it IN the bag of treats because it was UNWRAPPED! and STICKY! and who wants a bag full of icky, sticky candy?

The kids are finally back in school. I read (with envy) posts from around the blogisphere about kids going back to school almost a full month before my little darlings stepped into their school clothes for the first time. Lil’bug started with a half day last Wednesday. Then Scout started, also with a half day, on Thursday while she went off to the emergency back-up center provided by the company for which I work. Then on Friday they both had a half day. Oh, these half days KILL me!

By all accounts the first days went very well. She was a little bit hesitant to enter when I walked her to her classroom on Wednesday so I entered first. She wasn’t sure she wanted to stay until I got her set up at the dry erase easel with the markers and showed her how to remove the marker with the paper towel. She didn’t move when I said my goodbyes and gave her a quick hug and kiss. I watched from the window in the door for a good five minutes while she marked and erased over and over. She is the youngest in her class. She misses the cut-off by more than two months. She was not nearly the most traumatized by being left on the first day.

Drop-off on Friday and this week went as smoothly as one could hope. On Friday, I walked them in so I could take their picture together. Then she went off with him down the hall to her classroom. This week we’ve said our goodbyes, hugs, and kisses in the parking lot. Slip the backpack over the shoulders and the lunch box into the hand. Then, Scout took her by the hand and off they went!

On Wednesday, she came home with an assignment to put three to six items that represented her in the brown lunch bag she’d brought home. On Thursday, he brought home a stack of papers that need to be filled out and returned. There were numerous pages that specifically stated “fill out one for each child”. I questioned this on Friday when she came home without a comparable packet. Long story short, I received a second set, but that was not the intention of the principal.

Tonight is back-to-school night. My first as the parent of two children in the school. I’m torn. I really want to hear what her teacher has planned. So far I’m not impressed by the level of work coming home. I’d hoped to see at least the same level as what she’d been doing at daycare.

Tonight I also want to meet the two new teachers in the upper grades. Scout’s homeroom teacher is new as is the eighth grade homeroom teacher. His homeroom teacher will teach Language Arts to all of the 5th–8th grade students and he’ll go to the other classrooms for Social Studies, Math, and Science. He says his new favorite class will be Language Arts. He says they’ll get to earn extra credit by reading.

My main goal tonight is to put my face in front of theirs, so they know who I am and that I am taking an active role in my children’s education. I want them to know that we’re all on the same page. I just need to figure out how to clone myself in the next seven hours.

Everything worth mentioning in the last week, in bullet form. A recap from Twitter and Facebook, for those not following. Will expand, in future posts, on anything by request.

Times, I believe, are Pacific time.

• could really go for a Starbuck’s iced coffee with mocha syrup right about now. Unfortunately, I didn’t drive today. So here I sit. Wishing.
10:28 AM Aug 6th from web

• Ohhh, the tease. Just got an email from Starbucks advertising $2 iced coffee after 2:00 pm. Not nice!
10:36 AM Aug 6th from web

• is home after a long commute. bailed on traffic. fed Lil’bug at Fuddrucker’s and let her play for a while. sat and chilled until traffic loosened its grip.
6:33 PM Aug 6th from TweetDeck

Truck fire on the interstate seven miles west of us snarled traffic EVERYWHERE! There was no avoiding it. H said he saw traffic in places he’d never seen traffic before.

• the interstate tonight bore a striking resemblance to Twitter today. like separated-at-birth resemblance. like parallel lives. scary.
6:43 PM Aug 6th from TweetDeck

• is testing tweetdeck.
7:16 PM Aug 6th from TweetDeck

Twitter still not feeling well.

• is excited for @SouthernSis and her job offer! She’s coming home! hmmm… she’ll need a new name. NY certainly isn’t ‘Southern,’ is it?
7:37 PM Aug 6th from TweetDeck

SouthernSis started requesting suggestions for a new screen name today.

• is falling asleep at my deskzzzz.
12:55 PM Aug 7th from web

• Just changed my twitter background, check it out!
2:21 PM Aug 7th from API

• has a full to-do list. washing my bed linens was not on the list. toddler accident. ‘nuf said. now washing sheets.
7:08 AM Aug 8th from TweetDeck

While laundry was a good portion of my to-do list, there was more than enough to keep the machines going through the weekend. I realized today that the one that suffered was the light load with the girl’s ballet outfit. She was not happy having only the black back-up leotard. Oh well.

• washing her hair in the kitchen sink to get cream cheese out was also not on my to-do list. yeah. girl: 2; mom: 0. *sigh*
7:14 AM Aug 8th from TweetDeck

• birthday gift: check. girl’s backpack and lunch box for school: check. paint for boy’s room: check. lunch: check. girl napping: check!
12:07 PM Aug 8th from TweetDeck

Pedi did not get checked off list. My Crocs Capris may disown me. Or ask that they not be seen in public with my toes until this matter is rectified.

• was back in the girl’s room with a paint brush. Behr Disney Color Dreams Come True is on the closet door. Moonlight Waltz on half the trim.
7:36 PM Aug 9th from web

The room is getting ‘there’. Still needs the trim finished, outlet and switch plate covers, and Tinker Bell detailing. In case you were wondering Tinker Bell is two words. Google thinks it’s one word. Amazon.com thinks it’s one word. They both ask if you mean ‘Tinkerbell’. Spell check likes the one word spelling. Disney disagrees. I think I’ll put my money on the Disney spelling.

• dropped the boy off at the library a couple of hours ago. He has my cell phone so he can call when he’s ready to be picked up. Any bets?
12:31 PM Aug 10th from web

I called him at 4:42. If I didn’t go get him then I wouldn’t make it back to camp in time to pick up the girl. He was beaming and can’t wait to go back tomorrow.

• took the girl for a quick swim and got smacked in the face for the effort. She didn’t want to leave, thought hitting was appropriate.
5:32 PM Aug 10th from TweetDeck

• the boy is back at the library this afternoon. a DIFFERENT library. he wanted to go back to the other one. I asked him to give it a chance.
about 8 hours ago from web

I think we’ve worked out a good compromise. He’s spending the mornings at my office (the girl across from me is away this week), have lunch together, and then I take him to the library for some free time to explore. Yesterday he found some Pokemon and one Animorphs and today he found more Animorphs, no Pokemon. He’s been looking for more in Erin Hunter’s Warrior’s series, but so far has found only books he’s already read.

• just got a call from the boy. He found a stack of books he wants to read and wants to return tomorrow to finish.
about 7 hours ago from web

The children’s librarian spent some time picking his brain about what books they need to order! She was nervous about letting him stay in the first place until the head librarian put her stamp of approval on it. In all fairness she is fairly new; her name tag states that she is an intern and while I’m sure he’s not the first child his age to be dropped off for some free time, it may be the first time she was asked permission by the parent.

Tomorrow Scout turns 11. Wow!

On Saturday, after dropping him at a friend’s house for a birthday/sleepover, H and I stopped at the phone store and picked up a cell phone for him. I also have a -20 rated sleeping bag and warm layering pieces purchased on clearance from Sierra Trading Post when he crossed over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. His troop is more ‘hard-core’ when it comes to cold-weather camping. I also have the latest in Erin Hunter’s Warrior’s series for him.

Because this format is working for me… Everything worth mentioning in the last week, in bullet form. A recap from Twitter and Facebook, for those not following. Will expand, in future posts, on anything by request.

Times, I believe, are Pacific time, because no, I was not Tweeting at 5:23 on Sunday, July 26th. 8:23 is much more reasonable.

• important to know, but makes me want to scratch. oh, ick.
8:50 AM Jul 24th

• RT @lilfootsmommy – cousins sleeping together…she was amazed it worked.
5:17 PM Jul 25th from web

Me? Not so much; OK, so maybe for Lil’foot, but Lil’bug didn’t have her regular nap. Right after taking this picture we left for the movies with a side trip to Cliff’s for mint soft serve. YUM!

• is off to the movies with lilfootsmommy , Mary, and Brigitte.
5:18 PM Jul 25th from web

We saw The Proposal. Fun, though a bit predictable.

• is on a midnight caper with @lilfootsmommy. Send coffee. or wine. or both.
9:11 PM Jul 25th from web

• caper complete (more or less). off to bed, it’s going to be an early morning and a long day. ugh!
12:24 AM Jul 26th from web

We made baby blankets, similar to the one Lil’foot is attached to, to sell at a Peddler’s Market.

• wants to know who moved the 7:00 hour to immediately follow the 3:30 half hour. ugh. must. get. coffee. 5:23 AM Jul 26th from web

• 9:30-9:30 is a long day to be dealing with people’s issues. my poor feet! fireworks squeezed between a rain shower and thunderstorm. g’nite. 6:47 PM Jul 26th from web

• is going to bed early tonight. How about now? Now works for me! DRAT, the kids are still up. um? hello? isn’t it your bedtime? *sigh* 4:53 PM Jul 27th from web

No? Well, let’s just make it your bedtime for tonight.

• supposes it’s probably a good thing we didn’t know about the flash flood watch, tornado warning, and severe thunderstorm watch on Sunday.
11:44 AM Jul 28th from web

• good stuff…
10:40 AM Jul 29th from web

This one hit a nerve. I think I saw myself in there a few times.

• is trying to decide…for the girl (3-1/2). Mon. eve.: ballet & tap OR Sat. morn.: ballet & jazz… OR both?
12:13 PM Jul 29th from web

I think we’ve decided on the Monday evening Ballet & Tap class.

• found an article with some good tips for moms (and others)
11:18 AM Jul 30th from web

• is home after a very long day running all over the county paying bills; took the boy back to scout camp to finish the canoeing merit badge.
3:31 PM Jul 31st from web

Every. Single. Store. Card. in my wallet now has a zero balance. woohoo! We also owe NOTHING to the oil company, the accountant, the homeowners insurance company, and Lil’bug is officially registered for transitional Kindergarten, starting September 9th. The car loan is up to date.

• is very proud of the boy for finishing up his canoeing merit badge. in the rain. up hill! both ways! (figuratively, of course, but still)
3:33 PM Jul 31st from web

This one will require a post all its own. I almost went mama-bear on a counselor or two. Then I treated him to an ice cream cone at Cliff’s to celebrate his success (I had the mint soft serve, if you must know. That stuff is sooo good!)…and because we weren’t cold enough after standing out in a 70° cold rain.

• We’re home. tired. cold. wet. This is why we don’t do canoeing merit badges in April.
4:09 PM Jul 31st from web

• In case you were wondering boy scouts DO swim in the cold rain. SILLY BOYS!
4:16 PM Jul 31st from web

• is 1/2 way through painting the girl’s room. Behr Disney Color in Tinker Bell. Next up, after nap, Poohs Favorite Things, a very pale aqua.
10:27 AM Aug 1st from web

• PFT is on wall. nice! The girl is playing nicely with dolls & what was her take-along swing. amazing, batteries work! calm AFTER the storm!
1:47 PM Aug 1st from web

First time in I don’t know how long I painted a room in a house I lived in. Never painted a room before in a house I owned (almost 13 years of homeownership). Still to do: pick up another can of purple (medium) at Home Depot and paint trim (light purple) and door (medium). Also need finishing touches. Decals, maybe. Outlet and switch plate covers, definitely. Post pictures for all to see.

• can’t sleep. fingers hurt. took an aleve-type pain reliever. is thinking about what to do next to the girl’s room. trim and door colors, etc.
11:34 PM Aug 1st from web

• is back at work after a 3-day weekend. hopefully I’ll be able to relax now. it was a LOOOONG and oh so tiring weekend! go, go, go!
less than 5 seconds ago from web

Lil'bug, as I was leaving to visit Scout.

Last Wednesday I visited Scout at sleep-away camp. Every year the leaders of the troop ask themselves if they want to have a parents night. They weigh all the pros and cons. The biggest negative is that the boys get a bit mushy when it’s time for the parents to leave. Some get a bit mushy earlier than that and some start the night with, “I want to sleep in my own bed tonight.”

Scout was one of those that wanted to sleep in his own bed. He reasoned that H could bring him back up in the morning.

We went for a walk. I figured that he might need a little time and space to release some of the stress of holding it in and staying strong. He showed me around the camp—the handicraft area where he earned his fingerprinting merit badge and was working on the leatherwork badge; the mess hall; the waterfront, where he’d been spending most of his time earning his swimming merit badge and a partial canoeing badge in addition to a lot of ‘free swim’ time. He still wanted to go home for the night.

In the end I held firm, even though I was dying to hold him and take him home and cry with him. I pointed out that the other boys were going through the same thing. If so-and-so could do it, then he could. If that boy is tough enough, then he certainly is, too. He’s tougher and stronger than they are, after all! It’s only two more days! I understood as well as anyone what he was feeling and also knew what giving in would mean. I didn’t want him to cave and go home under those circumstances and end up regretting it later because he was “that boy,” you know, the one who couldn’t hack it, the one who gave up, the one who went home with his head hanging low and his tail between his legs. The leaders say that the half-hour after all the parents leave is spent around the campfire drying tears, then the boys go back to campfire songs and skits and playing cards or board games in their tents and all is well…until next year, when they’ll need to decide again if it’s all worth it.

Scout in his tent.

What you don’t see are the bugs. and the dirt. He was covered in bug bites from head to toe. There were daddy long legs everywhere. We unpacked his trunk on the front lawn almost directly into the washing machine. I don’t know how he isn’t scratching some part of his body constantly.

His cot is the one on the left, the one without the mosquito netting…or a sleeping bag. Apparently, his tent mate stayed in camp to reinstall the netting after inspection. This being July he went off to camp with a sheet and a lightweight blanket, because JULY! HEAT! HUMIDITY! At the parent orientation the leader told us a warm sleeping bag was overkill and who would have thought the temperature would go down to 50° at night! The trunk under his cot, by the way, is not very good at keeping track of his personal belongings. On Friday night he walked down to dinner under the umbrella of one of his leaders instead of in his poncho, which I found on Saturday afternoon in the plastic Ziploc bag in which it was packed when I helped him organize his packing (yes, he saw me pack the bag).

P.S. Oh, the dirt. You really don’t see the dirt. On Sunday night he came to me because his feet hurt. This was an hour after he’d been sent to bed (my ‘me’ time, so I defend it rather rabidly). His feet looked like something you’d expect to see on a homeless person that had been wandering the city barefoot for the last month. They were awful and disgusting and gross *suppressing gag reflex*. This was after a shower when he returned on Saturday morning, before taking a three-hour nap. There was dirt and calluses and dirt and cracked, dried, chapped skin on places I never would have expected cracked, dried, and chapped skin. You’d think they wouldn’t be so bad with all the time he spent in the water swimming. You’d be wrong, I was wrong. I spent a half-hour soaking, scrubbing, exfoliating, scrubbing some more, and then moisturizing his poor feet. Then I applied some more lotion before having him put his socks on and going to bed, hoping for a warm, moist heat to let the moisturizing lotion soak in. Last night they still looked terrible. I’m hoping it’s just a matter of time to let them heal.

The scoutmaster on this trip was impressed by his stalwartness. He said he didn’t complain about anything. He was surprised to find, on the last night, that Scout didn’t have a sleeping bag, or something warmer to sleep under/in and that he didn’t complain about being cold. I’m proud of him for that, because yeah, he could have mentioned it to someone and (at the very least) I could have brought his sleeping bag with me to parent’s night.

We’ll see what happens next year. He insists he will not go back. They say all the boys say that now and then can’t wait to go back when the time comes. The older boys say that. Maybe I’ll promise to bring him home on Wednesday just to get him cleaned up!

My kids picture was featured on the cover of the local newspaper this week. We have extra copies.

I realized this morning that maybe I should think about adding some extra time to get where I need to go to stop for a few minutes to thank those who stop me to comment on what a wonderful picture it is and that, if I call the newspaper, they might give me a copy. My neighbor stopped me as I was trying to get Lil’bug and myself out of the house. He was trimming a bush, forsythia, I think…at 7:30 in the morning! I compare him to the battery bunny. He just keeps going and going and going…

Have I mentioned here the difficulty I have getting myself and the kids out of the house in the morning? I love my neighbors, really, but he’s out trimming a hedge at 7:30 in the morning?

The picture is not on their website or I’d link to it. The caption is there with pictures from the firemens’ carnival at the end of June so you’ll have to take my word for it…the picture is okay, not great (or maybe that’s just me in my hypercritical perfectionism). Lil’bug was acting goofy and had a really cheesy smile. After the photographer took it and left I turned to my friend and said, “they’ll never use that.” Ha!

What is great is the story ‘below the fold’ which is on the website here. Seriously, this guy has volunteered his time over the past 50 YEARS to boys that were not his own. Scout and I recently attended a troop dinner where the surprise was on Mr. Green. They used the dinner as an opportunity to bestow this honor on him. In the 80 year history of the troop they have awarded the honor of Eagle Scout to 87 young men, two in June alone. All of the boys in the past 55 years, or so, had to go through Mr. Green to get there. He is more than an adviser to the boys. He has counseled them on so many different aspects of being a man, of being a citizen, of being human, in a way that was both quiet and strong. He is one of the most unassuming people I have ever met. He’s put in countless hours in troop meetings, in leader’s meetings, on trips, and camping in a tent on the ground in the rain. That’s dedication. I hope to be able to say, in six or seven years that he has been a big part of Scout’s experience with the troop. After 50 years what’s another six or seven, right?

He really deserves to be ‘above the fold,’ but I guess since my kids’ picture went with the fireworks and there’s so much more visibly spectacular about fireworks my kids ended up there. But really, you can’t call fireworks a “Living Treasure.”

Eagle Scouts

This picture is of all those that had earned the rank of Eagle Scout that were available to attend the day of the dinner. The guy on the scooter on the left? His grandson is on his way to earning Eagle Scout in the same troop as his grandfather.

]]> http://sendchocolate.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/15-minutes/feed/ 0 ladybughugs DSC_0817.jpg http://sendchocolate.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/dance-class/ http://sendchocolate.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/dance-class/#comments Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:58:56 +0000 ladybughugs http://sendchocolate.wordpress.com/?p=709 ]]>

It’s difficult when you’re trying to cram more into a day than there are hours to fit everything.

I got to camp to pick up Lil’bug at 5:45. We needed to be at dance class (about two miles away) by 6:15. You think there’d be plenty of time. You’d be wrong. First, in order to get her out of camp I have to get her past clean-up…and no, clean-up is not an option. When a big tub of Legos is scattered all over the floor and one walks in to find one’s progeny a part of the scattering, it is called a life-lesson…and it is not an option. There may also have been an apology to a teacher required before we left.

Then there’s a small matter of putting some fuel in the little engine. I was hoping for something above the level of fast food. I was to be disappointed. As it turned out we didn’t even have time for fast food. After I pulled away from the drive-thru I realized they had mixed up my order and I had a fish sandwich instead of a chicken sandwich. After standing outside the drive up window (they wanted me to come inside…ha! no. I have a toddler right there in her seat in the van. and. I. am. in. a. rush. hence, the FAST FOOD!). So yeah, we can’t even go a couple of miles in a half hour without being late…and the girl was not in her dance clothes, I didn’t know exactly where I was going, and when I finally DID find it, there was no place to park and when we got inside the bathroom was occupied, forcing me to change her in the lobby/waiting area. arrrgh!

Fortunately, the woman who greeted us with a name tag for Lil’bug was sooo nice and as soon as I finished dressing her she put the name tag on her, took her hand, and led her into the studio. Lil’bug didn’t have a split second to rethink leaving me and going off to class. So I found a seat and worked on a long-overdue crocheted baby blanket. I was half-surprised that Lil’bug didn’t appear in tears, leg-leech style, breaking out of the studio.

I sat there for 40 minutes wondering if my kid was the one huddled in a mass sobbing that she didn’t want to!

At 7:00 the class was finally let out. She was beaming. Another mom, one who had entered the classroom with her unwilling little dancer before I arrived, approached me (ME!) to let me know that Lil’bug impressed her with her grasp of what was expected/required. “Had she taken any other classes,” she inquired? (Um, no.) “She’s a natural,” she gushed. Oh. my. goodness! She didn’t have to do that.

I had the toughest time convincing Lil’bug that she had to change out of her ballet slippers and back into her Crocs before we left.

I’m not sure who was flying higher as we left the studio, her for having the opportunity to take a dance class or me for the comments of the other parent. Of course I had forgotten my camera as I was rushing Lil’bug out of the house in the morning so I couldn’t take any pictures while in the studio to mark the occasion, but I did take a few (or a dozen, or two) when we got home.

Yes, they’re terrible and I will take my camera to the studio tomorrow to get some better shots.

So, I guess it’s official, we will be saving our pennies for dance class for the girl. This just cracks me up.

Everything worth mentioning in the last week, in bullet form. A recap from Twitter and Facebook, for those not following. Will expand, in future posts, on anything by request.

• dropped the boy off for a week of sleep-away camp. hope he has fun. missing him already.
10:34 AM Jul 12th from web

• has dropped the boy back at camp, is home, and has put the girl in bed. it was a long evening. didn’t go well. I’m disappointed for him.
7:14 PM Jul 12th from web

• is mixed on the end of summer ball.
10:01 AM Jul 13th from web

• is taking the girl to her first dance class this afternoon. She says she doesn’t want teachers there.
1:59 PM Jul 14th from web

• has put the Amish Cinnamon Bread in the oven. Brigitte: don’t do the math. 4 mini-loaves instead of 2 big. Anyone interested in the starter?
7:29 PM Jul 14th from web

• is visiting the boy tonight at camp (parent’s night). Should bring a baked (store bought) treat from home, but what?
9:41 AM Jul 15th from web

• visited the boy at sleep-away camp. there may have been tears. there may have been talk about coming home tonight. God, I miss him.
7:26 PM Jul 15th from web

• sold my Medela Pump in Style this morning thru craigslist. It’s official: I’m done having kids!
10:09 AM Jul 16th from web

• is off to take the girl to the uniform store and the zoo. Can I even get from one place to the other? Better take Celeste, she’ll find it.
6:32 AM Jul 17th from web

• will be off to get the boy in an hour, laundry while he catches up on sleep, then he & H will see Harry Potter while the girl & I see Ice Age.
4:48 AM Jul 18th from web

• Aviary at Turtle Back Zoo
33 minutes ago from TwitPic

• is back after more than 24 hours without cable/internet. Someone cut the cable while he was clearing vegetation around AC unit yesterday am.
31 minutes ago from web

Lil’bug’s first dance class is this evening. and. I. can’t. wait! I wanted to sign her up for a short summer class before making a yearlong commitment in the fall. She is even more eager than I am to get there. When I told her a couple of weeks ago that I found a class for her she told me she didn’t want any teachers there. What is she thinking? I can’t even begin to imagine how her wheels are turning. First, she loves her preschool teacher. Okay, so that’s all I’ve got…she LOVES her teacher. Her teacher at preschool is fantastic. Why would she not want another teacher?

In the last couple of weeks, I picked up a couple of Angelina Ballerina DVDs off eBay. She. Loves. Them! She watches the live segments of the kids in their dance class very carefully, so maybe she has a better idea about what to expect. She calls it Angelina Vallerina which gave me an idea…if I sign her up for “valet” school she’d be able to do the laundry, right? Either that or park the cars.

I half-expect her to cling to me the whole time. I would not be at all surprised if she refuses to leave me to go into the class and then refuses to leave because DAAAAAANCE!

On Thursday, while waiting for Scout’s CYO basketball practice, I was sitting in the hall on a cushioned bench outside the gym reading a journal I had been given to read and give feedback. It was sad and several parts made me cry. Lil’bug noticed me wiping the tears and asked why I was crying. I told her that what I was reading was sad. From then on, whenever I wiped my eyes, she made it her mission to make me laugh or at least smile. She decided that her dancing would make me happy so every time she saw me she’d dance around in a little circle and ask me if that made me happy. Oh. my. goodness. yes! It was probably one of the cutest things either of my kids has ever done.

Just after signing her up I picked up a couple of leotards and a pair of tights at Target. I was also looking for a pair of those cute little slippers, but they didn’t have many and there were none in her size. I found them over the weekend, on the advice of a friend who has a daughter that has been dancing for about 10 years, at Payless…no less. They have A LOT of dance shoes. Tap, jazz, ballet, white, pink, black. She wanted to wear them out of the store. Can you do that? Wear ballet flats out in the parking lot? I didn’t think so, and I didn’t want to have to deal with her wanting to wear them EVERYWHERE. FOR. THE. REST. OF. THE. SUMMER. so I told her no, they were strictly for wearing inside when we get to class. This morning she was still trying to work an angle that would get her permission to wear them to camp, but took ‘no’ without too much trouble.

AND, of course, I forgot the camera. GAH!

She is missing her big brother. She keeps asking is Scout at home? when is he coming home? where is he? is he at camp? She knows all the answers. When asked she gets it right, and yet she still asks. Last night, at bedtime, she asked again, so I showed her on the calendar. Today is Monday, tomorrow is Tuesday (pointing to the little boxes as I went along), Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday he comes home! She read the “4” in 14, the “5” in 15, “6” in 16, etc. I thought that was interesting; it’s funny when you get a glimpse into how their minds work. I explained that the one in front made it “14,” “15,” “16,” “17,” and “18”. Today I took several Post-Its and put each day of the week on a separate note, in ascending order and the countdown in descending order.

Will be back with photos and an update on how our first dance class went.

Yesterday we attended the second in a series of four Little League games that theoretically would have led up to a trip to Williamsport for the Little League World Series in August.

There were 11 players on the 10-and-under team. Four of them were 9-year-olds. Not that there weren’t other 10-year-olds that matched the skills and talents of the players picked, because there were. Some of them, I hear, could even pitch. Our pitchers, well, couldn’t. Scout was picked for the team on the recommendation of his Spring manager and coach. Many (or all?) of the 9-yos were brought along by the coach from his Spring season team. The four 9-year-olds were all starters. Two 10-yos (including Scout) sat on the bench. We let him play because it was an opportunity for a great experience even though we knew it would conflict with his Boy Scout troop’s week at sleep-away camp. We knew we’d be going up to camp to pick him up, feed him, get him changed into his uniform, and then do all of that in reverse (yes, including feed him, again!) after the game, only much later and darker. We were prepared to make that sacrifice. We approached the scout leaders and they supported our decision, knowing it would be disruptive to others in the camp, but recognizing the opportunity for our boy and encouraging him, in this experience, to become a well-rounded person.

Scout was given a position as ‘alternate’. Meaning all of the other boys in the 9-player rotation were up at bat first. Then the two alternates went after seven of the first-string players batted again. Scout never got up to bat. The game was called at the end of the fourth inning because the other team had 10 points on our guys. It’s called the ‘Mercy Rule.’ Scout was out in the field for one inning. So, to recap, we pulled him away from camp, his dinner with his troop, other various activities, skits, bonfire, you know, fun stuff. For. One. Inning. On. The. Field. We left the house at 4:15, picked him up at 5:00, returned him at 9:00, and got home at 9:30. What a waste of time! All I can say is, thank goodness for the Mercy Rule, because had the game gone its full length it would have been much later and we might not have been able to return him to camp that late. He would have had to sleep at home to be dropped off early this morning.

On the way back to camp we talked about it. Scout decided he’d had enough. He was disappointed that he’d missed all the fun at camp. He was disappointed that he’d never had a chance at bat. He was disappointed that they’d lost and there was nothing he could do about it. He decided it wasn’t worth it. Last night I drafted an email to the team manager, withdrawing him from the team. I sent it to H to review. He said it was too nice, but it was fine.

~~*~*~~

This is what my email said:

Sport has decided to withdraw from the team. It doesn’t make sense for him to come down from camp (inconveniencing camp staff and disrupting the camp routine both on his exit and his return) to sit on the bench when he could be doing something productive with his time. He was willing to make that effort for the team; unfortunately he doesn’t feel his presence on the team is as important to the team as it was to him. We were all willing to sacrifice our time and energy to give Scout the experience, adding extra stress on everyone (us, him, camp staff, campers, tent mate).

In return Scout got to sit on the bench — a 10-year-old with a good record coming off a season playing in the majors, while 9-year-olds were placed in starting positions.

We support his decision.

Sport’s parents.

~~*~*~~

This is what I would have liked to say:

You blew it! You are a moron! and an idiot! and your coach is, too! It’s insulting to put so much time and effort and energy into something and for what?

~~*~*~~

The reply I got from the team manager was, in H’s words, BS. According to him, they placed the boys based on their performance in practice and scrimmages (some of the starters weren’t at practices; Scout made every one of them, even a few that were rained out) not based on past performance (obviously).

~~*~*~~

I’m kind of disappointed for Scout. I’m also glad he had the opportunity as a learning experience.

I’m also glad that he now gets to go to sleep-away camp, have fun, be a boy, take advantage and get the full effect of being away from home, earning merit badges, and growing (as I’m sure he will) in confidence and knowledge in what the Scouts have to offer; without the distraction of being pulled away.

Yes, it would have been nice if his teammates were as strong as he and had been competitive. Yes, it would have been nice if they had won. Yes, it was even gratifying that they lost, because he had nothing to do with it! Did he need a winning experience? No. His spring teams from both this year and last year did very well. Last year they were undefeated and won the championship. His fall-ball team did very well last year. He has done very well — moving from single-A to triple-A to the majors ahead of most boys his age. He will have further opportunities to be a part of a winning team. For now, we’ll be content learning from our mistakes.