Updates! Pictures! News! Etc.

I had some adventures a few weeks ago I really meant to share, and then I got sick. So, I am updating with some cool pictures and details of all the fun I have had lately. Woohoo (or something)

My SweetPea had a birthday (as I mentioned before). She got all kinds of awesome loot, but the big winner this year was her very own, real, Guitar. She has wanted one for several years now but I've been hesitant to get her one- she's a little flighty and changes her mind a lot, I haven't played an instrument in a LONG time, and I did not want to spend a ton of money. I knew if I went to a guitar store, I would not get what she really needs- a good learning guitar. I'd end up with whatever the salesman thought he could sell me. (I know this about myself, I am very susceptible to sales pitches.) I don't know ANYTHING about guitars, but lots about other instruments.

My mom and stepfather have been playing guitar for over 20 years. They KNOW guitars. They have about 10 or so and love playing, performing, writing and enjoying guitars very much. They went to their local guy (who knows them well and wouldn't sell them junky stuff) and bought the SweetPea a beautiful guitar. Here it is:

The girl is thrilled beyond measure. I have helped her learn to tune it and I have taught her scales, but I know she needs LESSONS. SO, I am on the hunt for a local instructor that likes kids.

OTHER STUFF

We also went fishing (which I think I mentioned) and I have a picture or two. A fun time was had by all.

I noticed that I have taken a lot of SweetPea pictures and not many of TallBoy. So here he is at his fuzzy-wuzzy best.

I also have a picture of me, with the kiddos from my grandmother's 90th birthday party. I don't hate it, which surprises me a great deal.

I made a card a while back that I wanted to share, but forgot. It is for a friend nicknamed "Squirrel"-

He's The Dude's partner at Armored Gopher Games. He's officially been "adopted" by our family. I have baked him cookies, made him stromboli (his favorite), let all our friends know it was his birthday (and as much as he griped he liked it) and much more. He's in our scrapbooks, so he is family.

I also finished my brother's wedding album- it was a LOT of work, but I was really happy with the results and Fixit and his wife LOVED it. So all is good. A sample page (a picture taken by my camera rather than a scan because my scanner does NOT like my laptop at all. Grr.)

I have been really busy at work lately. Today was kind of a fun treat. This week we have had some customers in from Poland to try out their machinery. These guys are far away from home and don't know very much English. We have done a lot to try to make these guys feel comfortable and enjoy their visit. We normally order carry out lunch on Fridays so my boss paid for their meal and we all sat together in the lunchroom, eating and talking. I asked a lot of questions to the guys and soon we were talking about kids, and work, and food, and beer. They LOVE Budweiser! It seems funny to me that we go all the way to Germany for "good beer" and guys from Poland think Bud is "the best". Then we started talking about the beers they did NOT like, and it was a riot. They made fun of several beers for being "sissy beers" and named one brand they thought was better for a baby than grown ups. We really had a good time. One of the ladies in the office was having them over for dinner tonight, and then she and her husband were going to take the guys to the local mall to see kids in costume.

Apparently, they just don't do the same sorts of things for Halloween over in Poland and the idea of Trick-or-Treaters was very novel to these gentlemen. One of the guys was taking pictures with a camera he bought here because they are 3-5 times the cost in Poland. He got a big kick out of the decorations we had in the office, and the candy was puzzling to all of them.

I love that about my job- it is truly international. I have learned so much about different cultures, nationalities, languages and customs. It has made me a better, more well rounded "citizen of the world".

Life's good!

The Myth of Teenagers

There's a popular myth (or urban legend) out there in society that the moment your child turns 13, they become a member of an alien species known as Teen.

Apparently members of the Teen species are rude, insolent, smelly, disobedient, defiant and totally spiteful to their immediate family members as a matter of course. That the Teen species is allowed to full maturation is some sort of heroic effort on the families' parts and is worthy of medals and so on.

I have heard countless tales of how Teens have caused stress, financial hardship, family dissonance, grey hair, hurt feelings and even visits from the legal authorities.

I don't doubt the validity of the stories at all. I doubt the assumption or "pack mentality" that seems to go with Teens, implying that total "DEVO-lution" is inevitable and there is nothing to be done except to grit teeth and hope for the best.

I'm here to bust that myth right open.

Teens are not so dang bad. I honestly don't know a single one that I would characterize as a "bad kid". I do know of one or two who are dealing with bad life choices, in conjunction with parents that don't understand, like or enjoy them.

I think that's the key. I think it's important to like your kid for the people they are, and not who you want them to be.

I LIKE mine. He's smart, funny, independent, thoughtful, compassionate, obsessive, responsible and yes, at times, REALLY annoying. But he is a truly cool guy.

I don't do as many things with him as I did when he was little. Some of that is due to his really INDEPENDENT streak, and some is due to interests. He likes activities that until recently had no appeal to me.

I believe in "active parenting" (if that's a term) so I recognized that I was shortchanging TallBoy and set out to at least TRY his favorite activities.

I was wildly successful at headbanging- I have had lots of practice. However, a headache and bad hair resulted, so I don't do it a lot. He gets his love of reading from me, so trying that was no problem- except reading is fairly solitary and it didn't really add to our shared experiences. I tried Airsoft, but I really, really, really hate guns (even pretend ones) so that did not go well at all. I love basketball, but I am completely uncoordinated (dancing is not the only gross motor skill I lack) and so while it was fun, it was humiliating. And so on- I tried lots of his favorite things, and for the most part, I either had fun but won't do it again or hated it with a passion.

Until painting miniatures. I totally get why he spends so much time with his little metal guys. I do. They are very much like scrapbooking or cards- no right way or wrong way to do it. There's a lot of color choices in painting metal figures- and while I am not a trendy or fabulous scrapper/card maker, I have a good eye for color. So it totally translated to painting. Color is totally personal. So is style. Each figure I painted had it's own character and moments where I was equally frustrated and happy.

And now I have an activity I can sit and do with him, quietly- not invading his space, but being with him. Being there; available. He enjoys painting with me, and so I continue to paint (probably taking longer than I need to on my last two guys in order to spend time with him) and enjoy a new found hobby as well as the fun guy that is TallBoy.

He is also an avid cook, and loves spending time learning new recipes in the kitchen with me. He can make spaghetti, mac & cheese, eggs, bacon, grilled cheese, french toast, hamburger helper, cheeseburger soup and of course, biscuits and three different kinds of cookies. We're working on bread- bread is a process, though. I tend to use the recipe as a guide but work by smell and texture. It's been interesting teaching "texture" to him. But he listens and likes the adventure, so I keep at it.

I love being his mom. I love having a hand in helping him learn who he is, what works for him, and what does not. I love those "aha" moments where he totally GETS something I have been trying to explain to him. I love calling my dad up with yet another of his impossible to answer questions. (My dad knows everything, or at least says he does, haha.) I love tucking his way too big body into his bed at night. I love scaring him to pieces by coming around the corner when he least expects it. (I am terrible, I know.) I love asking him to get something from the top shelf because he is, after all, TallBoy.

I like my kid and I am having the time of my life with him as a teen. Maybe it's me as the parent that is breaking all the rules, but my Teen is not becoming an alien. I'm actually getting to know him better.

Reasons for Joy

The corn is coming down.

I am not sick anymore!

I went fishing with SweetPea and TallBoy on Sunday the 12th. I saw SweetPea catch her first fish (yay!) and she went on to catch a total of 6. The weather was perfect (75 with a slight breeze, sunny); there was a weenie roast & smores (again!) and we truly enjoyed ourselves.

SweetPea turned 12 on the 16th and had a fabulous birthday! She got loads of fun presents and enjoyed the whole week (presents came in little by little). Her favorite present is a guitar (thanks mom!) and now I get to help her learn to love playing music. Yay!

SweetPea, TallBoy & I drove up to Chicagoland area on the 18th to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. I saw family I hadn't seen in years and TallBoy completely amazed everyone with how TALL he is. (He recently grew a little- he is now 6 foot, easy.)

My mother rode in the car with us part of the way and we had a lot of fun talking.

My Brother (Fixit) and his wife loved the scrapbook album I made for their wedding present.

I love this part of fall- when things are harvested and it's cool and pleasant.

Basketball is almost over and I will have evenings at home, with kids, dog & the Dude again, very soon.

Despite being older, TallBoy and SweetPea still need their mom every now and then.

SweetPea & TallBoy are very affectionate kids and let me know they love me.

It is now two-blanket season. That means I have extra reason to snuggle The Dude, who is really WARM (he's covered in fur- he has his OWN blanket).

Life is full of reasons for joy. It''s our job to find them.

Books & Literature

I am a serious reading nut. I have actively been NOT reading for about 2 months now due to time issues. I just haven't had a minute where I felt I could devote myself to a book.

You see, when I read a book, that's ALL I do. I don't do laundry or wash dishes, or vacuum or put away laundry or put away dishes. or talk to the kids or The Dude, or pet the dog, or read the paper, or any of my other mundane life things. I sit in a comfy spot and read a book. I can (and do) often multi-task with TV, though. It drives The Dude CRAZY. He thinks I am reading and he'll channel hop, and I'll pipe up with "Hey, I was watching that".

Sunday I picked up a copy of Twilight at my friend's house and asked to borrow it. I've heard a lot about it but hadn't gotten a chance to read it yet. I had it done by Tuesday morning. Honestly, it is "meh", but I like some of the elements so I am interested in seeing where it goes. I have borrowed books 3 & 4 and TallBoy will get Book 2 from his school library for me.


Reading sort of runs in my family. My mom & stepfather are literature professors and my stepmom is a librarian. My stepmom's got an awesome living room that is floor to ceiling built-in bookshelves all the way around it (and the room is over 1000sqft)- and they are FULL of books. My dad is a consummate reader and always has been. All these people invested a lot in teaching me to read critically and to take away something more than just a story.

Books as an overall rule are some of my greatest friends. I adore finding inference, understanding tone, "listening" to voices, and gathering new places into my imagination and understanding. I truly find refuge in a good story- I especially like series with a fun character.

Books (fiction) are fun, inviting, and sort of disposable. Once I am done with one, I can move on and invest in something else. Literature is a different sort of thing entirely.

I couldn't possibly explain the major differences between casual fiction and literature, except that tone and intent are vastly different. This is mostly because I am not a literature studier or aficionado, but rather an explorer. I've read a great number of classics, a lot of modern American literature, a LOT of French lit, and some very unusual choices have come to me through friends, co-workers, the old book bin at my former employer, or my librarian friends through the years. Literature is something I hold onto and treasure for a long time, and utilize as a tool and place of learning as I change and grow.


My personal "place of solace" is Phantom Of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. it's got beauty, art, architecture, society, humanity, deceit, betrayal, revenge, and so much more. And it is very truly French- which I adore about it.

Any good finds lately? Anything you find yourself going back to again and again?

fall, drive to work

It's fall, so I thought I would share some of the beauty of central (flat) Illinois. I see this stuff on my way to work nearly every day. Some of it is MUCH prettier in the spring, some in the summer, and some in the fall. Almost nothing is really gorgeous in the winter except our little river when there is snow on the trees and the water is filming over. THAT is downright breathtaking.

I've got some corn, some general "out the window" scenery, and a few pictures of the sky as morning is breaking.

Our corn is *really * ready to come down. I know that the area farmers are trying to get their crops down and into the silos as quick as they can- these crops are precious to them. We heard about frost a couple counties over and the elevator across from my house was BOOMING the next day.

The light in the early morning is just beautiful. I love how it is breaking through the clouds here, illuminating little pieces of the world with brilliance.

Just the sunrise being inspiring, thrilling and spectacular. Love it. I see it every day and I am never unmoved.

A pretty grove along the side of the road on my way home.

This last one is an overpass that is being rebuilt. It was evaluated after the bridge collapse in Minnesota and deemed undriveable. The DOT came in about a month ago and started working. The work has been amazingly quick! They literally put warnings that the bridge would be out on a Monday and by the following Friday the bridge was GONE. Just this past week there was NO bridge at all- they were still working on the supports and pilings. I took this picture on Friday, and as you can tell, there is the beginnings of a bridge there now. They want it ready to drive on before November. Amazing what engineering and American workers can do.

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SweetPea and I went to a welcome wienie roast that our church held. (We have really only been going to this church for about 3 months.) It was at a small farm outside of another rural town nearby. The owner of the property raises beef cattle- and I have some pictures. He let SweetPea and a couple other kids go in the enclosure and FEED the cattle- SweetPea *loved* it. I'm fairly urban, so this was kind of new to me. The farm owner was very generous with his time and explained all about how he runs his cattle business (up to and including butchering). It was really kind of neat, and I really got to learn something totally new.

Here are some of his cattle, and their BEAUTIFUL calves can be seen in the left corner. They were SO pretty! I wanted to take one home, haha.

He also had a hay ride set up for the kids. Of course SweetPea wanted to go. Her friend "S" went with her and they had a blast. SweetPea practiced her "RockStar" look, and then posed nicely.

Of course, some of the parents wanted to ride too. It looked like everyone had a fun time.

It had been a LONG time since I had been to an old fashioned wienie roast. When I was young, my mom used to be friends with a guy that ran a Christmas tree farm. He used to do bonfires and haunted walks and cookouts all the time and we always went. It was really fun, we had a lot of room to run, and we ate until we nearly puked. We'd fall asleep on the way home in the car, and I'd wake up smelling all "woodsy" from the smoke. I really enjoyed myself today, and it brought back some truly wonderful memories.

Thinking about brothers!

I've got 3 of 'em. They are all younger. They are all very different from each other.

They are:
Oldest- "Soldier"
Middle-"Fix-it"
Youngest-"Rhett" (As in GWTW)


And they are all adults now.

Which is really, really weird. My "middle" (he was the baby for ages) brother got married in July to a FANTASTIC woman that I adore. Yay for her- she rocks. It was a little strange watching this man promise to love this woman and realize it's the same guy I held, rocked, diapered and teased incessantly.

Soldier is already married to a great gal from Canada. Again, it was weird watching him move into another phase in his life, after our lives were so intertwined for so long (he lived with me after discharging from the Army and prior to marriage)

Rhett is a strange creature. His exterior is southern charm, excellent manners and good breeding. Then he goes out to a party and he's very much the runnin' rebel.

I miss them, but I will see them in 2 weeks at a major family affair.

Tags

So I was tagged- a pretty generic "6 random things about you" tag.


1- I like my scrambled eggs with grape jelly. My kids think this is thoroughly NUTS.

2- I read very quickly. Not quite speed-reader level, but I can polish off a 600 page book in 5 or 6 hours.

3- I have yet to be beaten in a serious thumb wrestling contest.

4- I cannot dance. My feeble attempts make Peter Garret and Sinead O'Connor look coordinated.

5- My favorite color has changed 3 times in my life. (In comparison, my SweetPea's favorite color changed 3 times in a single day last week.)

6- I did not discover my birthmark until I was 12 or 13. (It's on my head, under my hair.)

Ta-da!