so here's the thing...

Chugging along through July

Busy and more busy. Life as usual. So after last year, I decided to put the camera down on the 4th of July. The only picture I took was the kids in the pool. Actually, we were all kind of under the weather and not feeling well at all, so we laid low all day.

Quick trip to Meme and Papa's for ribs and fireworks while it was still light out, then home to bed by 11.

We got up and moving early Sunday and hit the ball field. And...drumroll...they won!  14 - 2  Seriously. Played the team that beat us twice, but tournament play is age-based, and that made all the difference. No more stacking up the 11+ year olds against our little 9 and 10 year olds. ha! We go again Friday night...and we're on our way to Spokane if we keep playing this way. Amazing.

Eric plays in the Glendale Invitational with Dad this weekend, and I'm looking forward to the usual gastronomic feast - lobster, clams, prawns, here I come!

We are still fighting the sinus/cough/left over yuck from being sick last week. Not fun to feel like this in the summertime, but the weather has shifted to gray, so I guess it's okay.

I've been trying to get my 365 caught up - the cool thing is, taking at least one picture a day saves so many memories. I get them in my album and can journal later.But excuse me....how can I do anything when my desk looks like this?

Mid-Year's Resolution - blog more often

Begin. That was my "Ali" word I chose this year. Yeah, well, it depends how you look at it. So here's to a new beginning, 1/2 way through the year.

Had quite the event earlier this week when my sister got stuck in Tucson for two extra, unplanned, missed-her-plane, days...and Auntie stepped up to take the kids. Can I just say I'm 10 years older than their mama, and just a little out of practice? Add to that, they were both sick (and an 18 month old sick one does not want to be anywhere but attached at the hip...literally attached her little monkey self to me)...and Sami has just learned to give big, sloppy, wet, germ-filled kisses. Yep, you guessed it, all 4 of us are now sick. Nasty sore throats, snot, and coughs, and it especially adds insult to injury when it's that rarest of all summer happening before the 4th of July here in Seattle. Go Zicam.

So for the last few days, I've been on the couch, catching up on all sorts of brain candy tv. Housewives, Denise Richard's complicated little life, House Hunters, you name it.

We're gearing up for the 4th and lots of illegal fireworks at Mom's tomorrow...although they will most likely be fired off in broad daylight, since I have to get Taylor home and to bed at a decent hour. We have to be at the ball field for the start of the All-Star Tournament at 8 a.m. Sunday the 5th. The. Day. After. The 4th.

I'm not complaining, I'm just sayin' is all...

I've been doing pretty good with my Project 365. Waaaay behind on the journaling, but I'm darn near there on the pictures. Kind of proud of myself. And getting rid of Barbies and Pollys and Pets, I knew I had these pictures somewhere, just waiting all these years to be scrapped. Forced myself:

Proud

So proud of my kids. You know those first few playdates? Where you hope you coached them enough on saying "please" and "thank you"???????

And then you fast forward.

And they're graduating from high school.

And making the All Star Team. (Playing *up*...youngest on the team...)

And if we win the tournament on this side of the mountains, we go to Spokane.

My son is in the top 10 percent of the high school graduates in Washington State.

I am proud.

Buh-bye Barbie

So here's the thing: when we moved, we tried to whittle down the kids' stuff. And Taylor and I talked about Barbie and Polly Pocket. Taylor was just on the cusp, so to speak, starting to really enjoy sports and video games, but still having a fun few hours here and there with Barbie. Or Polly. And just discovering Littlest Pet Shop. So we decided to keep them. Let me say this - my kids have been spoiled silly by aunts and uncles and grandpas and grandmas. We're in a unique situation of on-lies and oldest and youngest and firsts and lasts and greats and greaters (what seems to happen when the oldest of one family marries the youngest of another). So my kids have had an embarrassment of riches in the toy department.

And Mama should probably add that she was quite attached to Barbie.

So for the last 3 years I've been promising Eric I'd get rid of it all. But it was tough for me to let go. Not so tough for Taylor. But kind of cute when Chase or Cameron would come over and ask to play with the Fairytopia or the Polly Cruise Ship. And then they would enjoy a resurgence of popularity, and a stay of execution. Or eviction.

I guess the time has come. I joined a challenge, which was probably a sign that it was time.Taylor invited a friend over to help sort and pick a few to stay. So little Molly down the street got Polly and the Pets last week, and now she has Barbie and the Bratz. I'm a little sad. But we kept one small box. I always liked the Barbie camping gear. So when my nieces come to visit, we can play a bit.

Here they go:

And I've learned that if I challenge myself to do just so much...odds are I will rise to that challenge, and surpass it. I've cleared more toys than I believed possible, and I've walked either 5 or 6 days a week.

And. Seems a certain neighbor was concerned about my speed around the neighborhood. Excuse. ME? I haven't had a ticket in 15 years. I pride myself on never going anything but maybe 5 over if I'm in a hurry. Ummmm....get behind me anytime soon, and I just might slow down to 15 or so.

ETA - what the heck? I get so frustrated with the picture thing. I need a lesson. Or maybe I should read the typepad instructions.

Counting Down

Senior Prom was last night. Wow. Seems like mine was just a few weeks ago. And hey, Chris Willie borrowed that dress and never gave it back. I have a picture somewhere of Eric and I, both in white, me wearing my tricky Candie's platform white shoes. We were babies. And now my baby is graduating. Last night Taylor and I dropped him off at his friend's, where a huge group of kids were gathering, some to ride in a bus, and some to ride in a limo, to the Prom. And then a group of them were heading over to Suncadia to stay in a spectacular, 7 bedroom mansion/cabin for a night of fun. Love that my kid hangs with good kids, happy to have chaperones, sign a no alcohol form, and have good, clean fun. No worries. And what a trip to see these kids, some of whom I've known for 12 years, all grown up and looking stunning in tuxedoes and gowns.

The longest break ever?

Maybe, I don't know if I've neglected this little blog for a whole month. Of course there is the usual epic list of where we've been, what we've been doing. Mostly it centers around softball and Taylor. Practices, games, a tournament, extra practices with Daddy, and wiffle (is that how you spell it?) balls and bats and helmets jostling around in the back of my car. The thing is I can count on one hand the number of games that have been seasonably warm, tolerable, even, and that includes the three games last weekend when it was in the 70's. Yesterday's game started at 5:30 with drizzle and about 55 degrees, and by 8:00 there was thunder and big fat rain drops and it was in the 40's. I could see my breath. Sipping coffee, wearing two coats, wrapped in a fleece blanket, shivering.

The other thing that's kept us (or me, especially anxiety-wise)...spinning is the impending graduation of number 1 son. Struggle with that one almost daily right now. At yesterday's softball game I saw an old friend - from way back when Issaquah was a small town, and we all went to one high school...I went to grade school with her husband, and they were our mentors when we went through Engagement Encounter at the Catholic Church. Wow, that was almost a 1/4 century ago. She was warning me about all the surprising little things I'll miss when Christian is gone. Her oldest boys are 20 & 21, but she has an 11 year old at home, so we were congratulating ourselves on that cushion.

I will say I'm so happy I'm continuing with Project 365 - some stumbles, but already we look back to two months ago and are surprised at what we've forgotten. And I've joined that scrapping, photographing, quilting, Jillian-channeling guru Kim Kesti's 30 day challenge and am walking consistently, and have promised to clean out the bins and boxes of Pollys and Barbies and Bratz that currently take up too much space in our closets and garage. Feeling lighter already. 

I totally lifted this little canvas from Emilie Ahern for my friend's birthday - not bad for a 30 minute gift...

Finally Spring

I think we finally rounded a corner and left the snow behind. And how has it been since April 2nd since I blogged? Lame, I know. But the usual busy life excuses...let's see, what have we been up to?

Mom and Dad flew in and Todd and Sunkyu and Lia came up from Oregon for 4 days, so that kicked off several nights of dinners and luckily we had sunshine, so it meant baseball at Meme's and a walk to the park at our house. And the crime of it all? The whole family together and no group photo. And here I am committed to Project 365 and how did I miss that photo-op? Ah well...

Then came Spring Break and WASL and I could kiss the guy who arranged for my senior (and his dedicated mama, who gets up to fix a healthy breakfast and pack a lunch) to sleep in for days and days. I have felt mostly human for the better part of the month. Amazing what a little sleep will do for you. We just stuck around for the week off, were supposed to help watch a few dogs, since we didn't go on the cruise with our friends, but then our neighbor across the street flew her mom out to watch Ellie ( we were happy to have Lynn to visit with, though...for a chat with tea, and then for sure on Easter with our family ), and luckily Connie took over "Bentley the Menace", the little biting puppy (and really - why would you buy a puppy who was 12 weeks old, therefore didn't have his shots, and couldn't be boarded, and needed almost 24-hour care, one week before you take off on an 8 day cruise?), so we just *helped* with a few walks. Actually, Taylor was the walk helper. Finally had a great dinner out with some friends and CJ watched the crew for us, so it was double great fun.

Softball continues for Taylor and my 3rd grade girl pitching to 6th grade young women (gigantic, they're growing them HUGE these days!!!) is something to see. She is holding her own, and at yesterday's game (even though I stormed around and complained about the 23 mile drive and how much baseball is not my favorite), when she got a great hit and RBI, I was first on my feet shouting, "there's my girl!" Where did she come from? She's amazing, and at last week's game, once again, I got the phrase from another parent, "is that your girl? she's very focused." Yep, that would be the word I hear often.

Let's see if I have any pictures...I had to snap CJ with my little niece Samantha, and Niklaus - she's just so tiny and he's so tall! And Taylor wanted a shot of us all dressed up to got out to dinner...

I'm composing my letter in my head

Just needing to vent a bit right now. CJ started on the road to tough classes way back in 6th grade, when he started middle school. The problem with being ahead of the curve is, by the time  you hit 12th grade, you're taking college classes. Wait - we paid Bellevue Community College for credit starting 3 years ago - so make that 10th grade. And this year he has passed me and my memory and abilities from when I was a sophomore and a math major in college. So I can't help him anymore. He has a C, and since this is graded on a college scale, that is quite acceptable. But he says, "Mom, it's hard". And I get it - when I was taking these courses, I only took 3 classes, 15 credits, sometimes an easy art class for an extra 3 credits, but he takes 6 classes, 3 of which are IB - calculus, physics and chemistry. And he's ASB Treasurer, which is a part-time job, as it turns out. His IB teachers are brilliant, really, college level classes require that, I guess, at least in comparison to the basic high school teacher. We are lucky enough to have PhD's teaching many classes at his school.

But.

His calculus teacher does not have English as her first language. And while I bow down to her intelligence, and as a former math major, and someone who is the same age as her, I know it was very much a man's world when she got her degrees, and today, CJ's calulus III class has 12 students, all male. She is very hard to understand. She wasn't a teacher first, she was an engineer, and went back to school to get a teaching degree, and I'm just afraid she's not a great teacher. She makes herself available after school for homework/study help, but she has a tough time explaining - teaching.

Last night my son asked me to call him in sick for the morning. He has a quiz in calculus and wanted to skip class and get the questions from somebody so he can take it tomorrow. I could not do it. I feel guilty. Why? Bradley's mom did it once. Bradley got an A on the test. CJ got a C. He said, "Mom, what was I supposed to say, no! I'm not going to help you cheat?!!" Christian has missed 4 days of school this year, when he was sick - last month he had the flu, and on the 4th day he felt marginally better enough to make it to calculus, to check in, where Ms. Shim said, "Christian go home!". The only other days he missed were to see the inauguration of the President of the United States, which was pre-arranged. I'm angry that I had to tell my son sometimes it's hard to do the right thing, I know how difficult it is to be the good kid, especially when the golden boy, who the teacher thinks is such a good student, is ditching class and getting the answers.

I want to write a letter to the principal.

No Title

Spring has sprung, and I was feeling inspired enough to spring for an MM banner kit at Target...on sale for $6 or so, I treated myself. I had to take the picture on the floor, because hanging over the window on a sunny day (yay! sunshine on Sunday made me happy) it was too hard to take a picture: 

So Taylor finally sounds good again - 2 weeks of that flu was more than enough. I hate feeling like I've just missed two weeks of my life - man, I need that routine of school! Now I just need some good weather - enough of the snow already! And hail, and rain, and cold. Ah well, at least at this time of year, when the sun pops out, you can feel it.

Mom and Dad come home today for 10 days - just a tease of a visit, and they'll miss Easter. Bummer.I'm having Eric's family here for Easter, and yesterday my sister-in-law Melinda and I talked about keeping it low-key, and what would be a simple menu. She's not been feeling well, we're missing a paycheck, and you know what? I may be in for the fight of my life, but we're not having ham for Easter dinner. We went over lots of possibilities, and between us, we decided hamburgers (turkey burgers, I think, actually...) will be easy, enough of a do-ahead meal,with salads and maybe corn on the cob for a splurge...and I am sorry, but I detest scalloped potatoes and ham. If it's going to be at my house, I have some say in the menu, and my husband can just live with it. The girls made the decision. I'm just sayin'.

Project 365

Well, after fits and starts and a general sense of limbo with CK, my Project 365 kit arrived last week. So I decided to start it with the first day of spring, 2009. My 365 days will encompass a year, just not the fiscal year. Us bookkeepers like the neat and tidy 1/1 - 12/31 thing, but this might be good for me, to go a little outside the box. I just decided to make it happen and live with it. Besides, since January 1st, we've had way too many dips in this roller coaster of life, so I'm really hoping it's all good for now. And I love spring. Taking my walk in December, the lights and little peeks of Christmas trees glowing in people's homes keeps me going, and then January and February are kind of...meh...but now I see buds everywhere, daffs and crocuses, and even the weeds are blooming.

Yesterday it was so nice, and Taylor was feeling good after her last basketball game of the season, so we took a long walk and I trimmed my hydrangeas and pulled my melted pansies out of their pots. Only here in the Northwest drizzle do plants melt. Turn to goo. Rot. Oooops, snap out of it!

So far Taylor is the only one of us who got the flu bug. Although I woke up with puffy eyes and no voice, like I spent 4 hours in a smoky tavern last night (and no, that would have been 25 years ago, last night was water and a burrito) I'm pretty sure it's a direct result of 4 hours outside yesterday. How ironic that the season which brings me such hope and joy makes me feel so miserable. It's like constantly feeling I'm coming down with something, but it never comes. No complaints, though, no fever, no stomach upsets, and I'm planning homemade clam chowder tonight. Comfort food will cure what ails me.

Eric has the camera with my pictures. It felt good the last few days to have the camera out, trying to capture something about each day. This project will be so good for that. So here's one I never saw out of our little Nikon point and shoot from taking Taylor up for her first skiing experience. Why was I not surprised my sporty girl took to the slopes like a fish to water?