My baby is 9!

Yesterday was M's 9th birthday - where in the heck has the time gone? As always her birthday is a whirlwind of activity. First on Friday we went to school for her "celebration". They light a candle representing the sun, and the birthday child walks around it carrying a globe to represent each year of their life. All the while, the kids are singing, "The earth goes around the sun, tra la, the earth goes around the sun, tra la, around and around and around and around and now, M is...". Following each "revolution" we present a picture of her within that year and tell a story. As you can imagine, as she gets older, this becomes a much longer process! I was joking that it's a good thing Montessori doesn't go till HS b/c I'm not sure I could handle the earth going around the sun 18 times!

After the school celebration, D, Mom and I took M out for lunch at Ruby Tuesday (her choice). Then it was time to prepare for the real "party".

This year M wanted to go camping, so we invited a few of her friends to join us at our favorite campground where we'd rented 2 yurts - one for the kids, and one for the adults. Well, when we made this plan we were expecting more kids and more adults. What we ended up with was 3 kids and 2 adults. Needless to say, there was a lot of extra room! BUT - the girls needed their full 30' yurt to spread out in (apparently, based upon the mess they made in their), and D needed his own sanctuary away from women!

SO, we arrive on Friday evening just in time for the girls to rush the campground store and make purchases of everything they couldn't live without (matching arrowhead necklaces, friendship bracelets, deodorant,...you know, all a 9 year old girl needs to camp!). M took her 2 friends (former Montessori kids who have moved on to their local public schools) on a tour of the campground while D and I got set up. Actually, D went ahead and had things pretty well set up by the time we got there, which was AWESOME! D made an awesome dinner of burgers and chips, and then we enjoyed the campfire telling stories, jokes, singing songs, and giggling...a lot! At about 9:30, we sent the girls inside to get ready for bed, then it became clear there was going to be no me in the adult yurt. I moved my stuff from the adult yurt to the kid yurt and set up camp on what the girls called the "spider bed" (there had been 2 large-ish spiders found near this bed, therefore none of them would sleep in it). All 3 girls tried to share a bed, but eventually M moved to another one to sleep. I stayed up reading for a little bit until all were definately asleep, then crawled into my sleeping bag for the nite.

Now, I should take a moment to describe yurt camping, if you have never done it. Basically it's like a cabin, but with canvas sides and a wooden floor. There's a wood stove inside and electricity as well. The girls yurt had a ping pong table and 3 bunk beds - 2 with queens on the bottom, and one traditional bunk with a twin on the bottom. There was also a sofa, love seat, table, ceiling fan...so basically a bad hotel room or the best tent EVER! D set up our porta potty in the "potty tent" on the deck of the yurt for night time potty runs (we don't need the girls setting out on adventures in the middle of the nite). SO - not exactly roughing it - perfect for 3 9 year old girls who go between being "girly girls" and "tom boys".

We brought along several activities for the girls to do, such as coloring on a large roll of paper, a puzzle, notebooks, a scavenger hunt, and t-shirts to decorate with Sharpies. They had a blast with all of these activities! In addition, on site there's a pond where you can't swim, but can wander around and explore the salamanders that live in there. There's also an RC car track where you can drive these way cool cars around, off jumps, through the dirt, and otherwise wreak havoc with these nearly indestructable vehicles. They also have gold panning and offer a treasure hunt with a metal detector (D & M did this on our last family trip there and deemed it more trouble than it was worth). AND, if you're super adventurous, they have 2 full paint ball courses. We opted out of the paintball, but the girls did nearly everything else on site.

Saturday morning, they awoke at 6:45am. Seriously...it was crazy! D took over and I went back to bed for a couple hours. The girls did all the campground activities before lunch. After lunch we headed off to Butte Creek Falls (or "Butt Crack" Falls, as we like to call it). It's a short drive from the campground, then a short hike down to a pool at the bottom of a waterfall. We have visited there a couple times before doing everything from wading in the water to full on swimming (which resulted in D getting hypothermic from the cold water, and our good friend creating a song to commemmorate the occasion..."D almost died today, Doo Dah, Doo Dah"...so now we don't get heads wet when we go there). The girls (and D) had a great time wading around in the water, throwing rocks, climbing up the other side, exploring and such. Well, that is until M fell and landed square on her hand, then the drama began. She was convinced she'd broken her hand (it was quite swollen, but I'm still calling it a bone bruise, not a break b/c she has full mobility of her thumb). Everyone decided it was time to head back to camp after this. So, we began the hike back up to the van. Part way up, one of the girls got dizzy from the hike and we stopped to have a snack, but all was well and we continued on.

Back at camp, D headed down into town to pick up the birthday cake and I stayed behind to supervise. First I made the girls clean up their yurt - it seriously looked like it had vomited upon itself. They did a passable job of cleaning, so we headed off for another run at the RC cars. While there they met a boy who's Dad works there, and he showed them where the "hidden" tire swing was. Then it became a boys vs. girls situation and drama ensued. Typical 9 year old stuff, I calmly sat and read my book while they ran amok, being "chased" by the boys.

D got back, we got dinner ready, then had the official birthday party. After the party, we traveled around the campground offering leftover cake to other campers, then the girls put on a show for D and I at the stage there.

Back to the campsite for campfire fun. Well, as the girls were getting ready for bed, all hell broke loose. One of them started complaining of a tummy ache (I'm NOT surprised as she was eating everything that wasn't tied down during the day), then was home sick. The other girl got homesick, too, and soon all were in tears (M with sympathy tears for her friends). I explained that we were about 2 hours from home, but that if they wanted, I would bring them home then, OR they could go to sleep and we'd head out in the morning. I was sure it was nothing a good nite's sleep wouldn't cure as they were all exhausted. WELL, needless to say after talking amongst themselves, we packed up and headed home at 9:30pm last nite. D stayed behind to clean up and leave this morning.

I handed off one girl at 11pm to her mother, then took the other home where we had to wait a bit for her mother to get home from a party she was at, handed her off at 11:30pm, then headed home. After a brief visit with Mom, who had just gotten off work, M and I curled into bed for the nite.

SO - lessons learned? 9 year old girls = drama. Expect the unexpected. Be flexible, and go with the flow.

Next year, I'm thinking a local, non-sleepover party...

Catching Up on Summer

Well, I just realized that it's been quite awhile since I posted. It's not that we haven't been busy doing stuff of interest, but rather that I'm no longer sitting at the computer for hours on end working. SO, I shall attempt to catch up a bit here.

M has been swimming this summer every day with the Dolphins program at our local pool. It's kind of a combination between swim lessons and team - D likes to call it the "So you think you want to be on swim team?" program. Well, the answer is that M does want to be on swim team - very much! Her strokes still need a little perfecting before she's ready, but if she buckles down for the next couple weeks, I'm sure she can do it.

In our afternoons we have been doing a variety of activities ranging from hanging out around the house to "field trips" to OMSI, Enchanted Forest (where we met college friends and their kids), fishing, and the movies.

Last week M went to OMSI Camp in the John Day Fossil Beds at Camp Hancock. It was Jr. Survival Camp and among other activities, she saw a real live rattlesnake and participated in a hike/campout in the desert. AND, based upon the status of her gear when she returned home, spent a great deal of time rolling around in the dirt and getting wet in one way or another, then "packing" the wet clothes in her bag! BUT - it was a fun experience and she learned quite a bit about desert survival. She already is looking forward to returning next summer.

Today we are getting the house ready for new floors to be installed in the morning. Between our dogs having accidents, and the general allergen factors of carpet, we have decided that laminate flooring is a better choice for our home. SO - we are having the downstairs done as well as M's room. Eventually we'll do the rest of the house, but this is a good start for now. Right now the house is a little crazy with all the stuff being moved around to allow for the installation, but it's all going to be so worth it!

Now M is home for a week, then her and D are headed off to visit his family in Minnesota and Wisconsin. They will fly out Friday to Minnesota and spend a few days with his sister and her family before heading to his parents' house in Green Bay on Monday. They will be there visiting until the following Saturday when they fly all the way home. My father-in-law has Parkinson's and has recently also been diagnosed with early stage dementia, so this is a bittersweet trip for all as it may be the last time M sees him with most of his faculties working. It's hard to say how quickly he will progress - he's had the Parkinson's since 1999 and has been doing quite well until a few other health issues sprung up in recent years that took him down a notch. D equates it to a stereo volume control - "normal" would go all the way to 10 as it's maximum, but each "issue" brings his maximum down a notch, so that he's probably at about a 7 or 8 these days. He has another surgery scheduled at the end of their visit to straighten out his toes, so that may go down again following it.

ANYWAY - after they return from that trip, we have 2 more weeks of swimming, then it's off on our family vacation to Lake Tahoe. I am so excited to share one of my favorite places in the world with M - I already shared with D on our honeymoon, but this will be M's first trip there. We're hoping to do some lake fishing, take a leisurely rafting trip down the Truckee River, do some hiking and exploring, and otherwise hang out in one of the most beautiful areas of the world!

I am keeping my eyes open for job postings, but so far have found nothing. When we return from Tahoe if I still haven't found anything, I will register with the substitute teacher system and send letters out to local special ed, alternative, and math teachers advertising myself as a substitute. In general, subs don't "like" those placements, so that already puts me at an advantage for finding work. In the meantime I have my unemployment to fill in the gaps financially.

AND - that is the summer so far, and a brief look to the rest of it. Hopefully I'll get around to posting pix (I know, I promise that regularly!) in the near future!

ALL DONE!!!

Today I turned in all of my school district supplies and files (delivered in "Two Buck Chuck" boxes...hee hee hee!) and am welcoming unemployment with open arms! I love that my options are wide open for the fall and that I can truly enjoy the summer with M.

(Was it wrong to quietly sing to myself "Na Na Na Na...Na Na Na Na...Hey Hey Hey...Goodbye" as I walked out of the district office?)

SO now I'm looking forward to the summer and all the fun that it has to bring. Just this weekend we're headed off on our first camping trip of the year. D and M are breaking in the gear in the back yard right now - I'm choosing to sleep in my bed. I don't mind camping, but prefer to do it in the woods, not in my yard where I have a nice comfy bed within close distance! Besides, if I were to join them, we'd either be 3 in a 3-man tent, or have to set up another tent. AND, we all know that when they say "3-man", they really mean "2-man" or "3 very small men", not "2 largish men and 1 child". Still remember the time we tried to sleep the 2 of us & our 85 pound dog in a 3-man tent...think I may still have some of the kinks in my back from that trip! :)

Tomorrow is the final day of VBS and I have volunteered to help out, mostly b/c I can't say No to such things (see blog about "helping" at karate camp). Then we start up with daily swimming, except for the week when M is at Jr. Survival Camp in Eastern Oregon, or the week she is going back to Minnesota/Wisconsin to visit the in-laws.

For fear of rambling like I did on my last post, I shall cut this one short since I'm not sure I have much else worthwhile to say at the moment anyway!

Coast Wrap-Up

We had a wonderful time at the Coast this past weekend for M's Karate Camp. Here's the summary and a couple pix (I took more with my SLR, but haven't downloaded them yet...)









THURSDAY - M and I drove out Thursday after karate class and got to our room just about 7pm. We were staying at the Proposal Rock Inn which is a former hotel (I think) or possibly was designed as condos. Either way, we had adjoining rooms - mine had a full kitchen, and a balcony with a view- a studio apartment of sorts. M's had just a bed and bathroom - more of a typical hotel room. She was so absolutely excited to have a key to her "own" room - so cute!

This is the view looking out our balcony toward the beach. Our room was right near the creek that flows into/around Neskowin. You can see the ocean in the background through the clouds and fog.

After arriving at the room, we unpacked a bit, then went for a walk down to the beach where M played in the sand a bit and had a grand old time. The weather, despite being overcast, was comfortable enough that we weren't cold at all - very nice for the Oregon Coast!

We headed back to the room, showered, and headed into our respective beds. What is it about the beach that makes you NEED to shower? I was just walking on it and felt like I had sand everywhere...but I digress...

FRIDAY - Up at 7:30am - I set my alarm for 7:30 so that I could snooze till 8, then get M up, eat breakfast, and head over to the house in time for "Shugo" (the call to line up and bow in/out). Well, my alarm woke her up, so we were up and ready to go earlier than anticipated. Luckily the "time waster" (TV) was there to fill in the time we had to kill. We walked up to the house where camp was based (one of the families in the dojo owns the house and lets us use it each year for camp). Once we got there, there was a bit of hurry up and wait, but that's OK! Sensei had brought their puppy along, so there was play time with Ty, then another family brought their brand new puppy along, so there was more play time with "No Name" (they have yet to name the little fluff ball, so I lovingly called him "No Name" all weekend). A grand total of 6 kids were there, and 7 adults - a very nice number for camp. All the adults are black belts and 1 of the kids worked out with the adults is a brown/black belt since he has to be 16 to get his black belt. One of the other girls is a brown belt, but stayed with the "kid's camp" along with 2 purple-green belts (M being one of them), and one purple belt, and one big sister who took part in some activities, but not the karate based ones.

After "Shugo", I left and headed back to the room where I sat on the balcony and tried to watch the campers over at the house through the trees. It wasn't easy, but I could hear them and it was especially fun to hear when they got their bos (pronounced bows) out and started clicking them together. I sat on the balcony for long enough to have my feet freeze, then had to go back in and defrost them. It's not that it was THAT cold, it just wasn't THAT warm on my bare tootsies! Took a little nap and headed back for lunch.

After lunch M wanted to show off her room, so we took the other 4 kids over there to show them. I felt like the Pied Piper walking with 5 kids behind me - can't imagine how it looked to passers by! Then I was volunteered (technically I was asked, but when Sensei asks, you do) to supervise the 5 kids on the beach while his wife finished up cleaning up from lunch and getting ready for dinner. She was supposed to meet me down there and relieve me after about 45 minutes of a sand castle building contest. SO, off we go...the 2 older girls were one "team", and the 3 younger kids (2 girls and 1 boy) were the other "team". I didn't split them up, they did that on their own. The sand castle building began - and it occupied them all for about 45 minutes, then they were done with their castles and ready to be judged. I told them I wasn't the judge, but they were welcome to play something else. The 3 younger kids started playing a game which 2 of them play in school (M being the 3rd one who doesn't know the game). The 2 older ones made themselves into mermaids by burying their legs in the sand. All went well for awhile, but then they all started to get bored. Just when I was about to send up my flare (about 90 minutes into this expedition), the reinforcements arrived and I was relieved (in more ways than one!). Back to the room for a much needed nap!

When dinner time came along, I headed back to the house and was greeted by M asking me to NOT eat dinner with them there. OK, fine with me, so I went to the restaurant (there's only 1 restaurant in Neskowin, luckily it's good!) and had the yummiest crab tortellini (cheese tortellini in a creamy crab/gorgonzola cheese sauce...my mouth is watering just remembering it!).

A bit later I headed back to the house and got to take part in the Q&A with the visiting Sensei. Now, I have to tell you, at our dojo we study the greats - Nagamini, Miagi, etc. Gonzo Sensei studied WITH these guys! He's an amazing man! Grew up in Okinawa and has some amazing stories to tell. It was awesome to hear him talk about the history of our form of karate. After the Q&A, everyone headed out for a bo class with Gonzo Sensei which was a blast to watch. Following class, there were rumors of a bonfire, but Mother Nature decided that it was going to rain instead. Well, drizzle, but it was enough for me to tell M we were going to head back to the room. After showers, she hit the bed at 10:30, and I suspect was sound asleep at 10:31! Apparently they did head out and do a bonfire starting at 10:30...and going till 3am! OH, to be young and crazy again!

SATURDAY - I gave M the choice of eating breakfast with the camp (8am) or in our room and showing up for Shugo (9:30am) - she chose to sleep in (That's my girl!). Took her up to the house, then headed back to the room for some reading and relaxation before lunch. Headed back up for lunch and had a great conversation with Gonzo Sensei over a yummy sandwich. Part way into the conversation M came up and asked if she could go back to the room to change her shoes. I said yes and handed her the key. Mind you, this is a very small town and she only had to go the equivalent of up the street to do this task. WELL, not long after she left, Sensei's wife said, "Where's M?" I said, "She went back to the room to get her flip flops." She said, "ALONE???" To which I, of course, replied, "NOOOOO, I was just getting up to go with her!" and proceeded to do just that. Sort of a funny exchange. I was trying to give M some freedom and independence, but she was thinking maybe not and was actually prepared to walk all the way there herself if I wouldn't have!

After lunch a few of us walked up to the condo where Gonzo Sensei and his family were staying and he did this free radical test thing on us (him and his wife are acupuncturists and practice all kinds of cool Far Eastern healing). While there, D called and said he was at the Inn and where was I, so I headed back to meet up with him. As I passed the house, I picked up M and took her back to the room to change into her gi for the formal ceremony/class. D had brought Pasha with him, so we took her out to the beach to watch the formal ceremony, which was way cool to watch all the folks in white gis on the sand doing kata... I got lots of pictures which I'll share another day.

After class, I took some group photos, then it was goodbye and thank you for a great camp. D and M headed back to the room so she could change out of her gi while I chatted with some of the other students for a bit. The plan was for us all to meet at the house so we could help clean up and gather our stuff, but M decided she didn't want to come back (I suspected she was laying on her bed in front of the TV and didn't have a lot of extra energy - and I was right!). SO, I gathered our stuff and made plans to meet up with some folks for a second try at a bonfire that nite.

The 3 of us headed to the restaurant for dinner, and to the store to buy marshmallows, roasting sticks, and a promised sweatshirt for M. Then we went back to the room with full (too full) tummies and relaxed until about 8pm, when we thought would be a good time to head down to the beach for the impending bonfire. We headed down and got to hang out and watch a beautiful sunset while waiting. Just when we were ready to pack it up and leave, the boys (Sensei's sons and another 20ish student who incidentally was one of my students when he was in the 8th grade) showed up with wooden pallets to start up the bonfire. Well, we felt a little silly trying to roast marshmallows over this bonfire that was taller than M, but we still gave it our best try! Stayed out there till 10ish, then headed back to the room (hate to be the "old people" in the group, although this group of kids is such a great group, they probably wouldn't change their behavior if we were there or not).

SUNDAY - Father's Day! - Woke up about 10 and gave D his Father's Day gifts, then it was time to pack up and head out. D and M took off for the Aquarium in Newport, and Pasha and I stayed for a long walk on the beach and lunch at the restaurant before heading home. Got home in time to take a quick nap before starting dinner prep - made D Shepherd's Pie as it's one of his favorites. Used a recipe Mom found on the Internet this time instead of the one I used before which was the one used at Kell's Irish Pubs. He actually liked this one better - more along the lines of college food service "clean out the fridge" Shepherd's Pie. Fine with me! Much easier than the Kell's recipe!

SO - all in all, a great weekend - fun was had by all, except maybe Romeo who wasn't happy we'd left him behind. He climbed into the van when we were unloading it and literally refused to get out - guess that was his way of making sure we didn't leave him behind again! Now, how are we going to break it to him that he doesn't get to come camping with us next weekend? I'm sure that's a story for another day, though...

Coast Karate Camp

We're only a couple hours from our departure time for the Coast Karate Camp. Last year's camp was an amazing experience for both M and I (I was doing karate at the time, so participated in camp as well). This year, it's just going to be her at camp, and I will be nearby, but NOT CODDLING! Sensei was very precise about "no coddling at budo camp" last year. OOPS!

Camp begins at about 9am tomorrow, so M and I are heading out this evening after karate class to check into our condo/hotel and get a good night's sleep. By doing this, we alleviate the super early AM wake-up and departure in the morning. I still need to find out if breakfast is one of the included meals in camp and if not, we'll be hitting the store on our way out of town for a couple items. I also need to find out from him WHEN she will need her gi, b/c if it's only for the "closing ceremony" on Saturday, I'm going to drop it off at home for D to wash/dry and save me quarters at the condo laundry facility doing that.

SO - camp is all day tomorrow with a bonfire in the evening (or so I've heard). Then again all day Saturday with the "closing ceremony" Saturday dinner-ish.

We're staying out there through Sunday, though, which allows us to have a base camp all day Saturday as well, and also to have D come join us on Saturday and be with us on Father's Day morning.

I'm so looking forward to some peace and quiet at the coast for a few hours at least...

AND - crazy thing - here it is 2:30 and we're all packed and ready to walk out the door. That is so unlike me to be that ready to go! Class is at 4pm, so we'll be leaving in about an hour for that, then it's BK drive thru for dinner and off we go.

Hopefully I'll get around to taking/posting some pix when we get back...

SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is the last official day of school for everyone I work with. It's been a slow trickle for the past week of "last days", but today is it - YEAH!

I went out to my last school today and participated/watched their end of school picnic/field day. It was great to see the kids all running around and having a great time. There had apparently been a water fight earlier, which was continuing on in trickles (hee, hee, trickles - water fight - I'm so punny!). They had a BBQ, a presentation of "graduation" between classes, and were about to have root beer floats and games when I got there. My student who had left for surgery was back visiting, so I got to see him and his family. I got to visit with staff and parents, and I got to see the other kids whom I don't work with on a regular basis, but who have come to think of me as part of their school "family". It was a great time!

One of my mothers gave me some tea to try - it's called Kombucha and is made out of mushrooms. The funny part was her handing it to me in an old Jack Daniels bottle - "no really officer, it's organic mushroom tea..." I have yet to try it, but it's in the fridge waiting.

SO - here I am back at home trying to finish up as much paperwork as I can today so that tomorrow is just a matter of packing for karate camp, delivering some copies to the school, and heading out for the weekend. Next week while M is at VBS I will take care of packing up my stuff, making sure all the details are taken care of and getting ready to turn it all in on Wednesday when I meet with the boss.

Technically my last day of work is Friday, but I'll be working through next Wednesday getting it all taken care of. Not a problem at all - M will be at VBS while I'm working next week so I'm not cutting into our summer schedule.

Speaking of summer schedules...ours is filling up quickly...we have:

Karate Camp
Family Camping Trips
Swimming Lessons/Team
OMSI Camp
Tahoe Trip
M/D trip to Wisconsin/Minnesota
hanging out
playing
visiting our local county parks

It's going to be a fun summer and I can't wait to turn in my "work", file for unemployment, and get it started!

Here we go again

A couple years ago D and I went on this "healthy eating" deal with a local naturopath. We were SOOOOO successful! I lost like 50ish pounds on it (plus the 20ish I'd lost before hand), and D lost like 60ish. Well, we went off "plan" and got back into old bad habits and...I've gained back all of mine, plus some, and D has only put on about half of his (yeah for him!).

This school year, as I've mentioned, has been more stressful than almost any in the past many years, 50 pounds stressful (I attribute about 40 of those to one family in particular...). SO, as the year is winding down, it's only fitting that I begin to look to the future with a new healthy outlook.

SO - tonite Mom and I are attending our first Weight Watchers' meeting (of this time...we've done WW before, with great success I might add). Mom has the opposite problem that I do - she doesn't eat enough and doesn't eat the right stuff (well, I have that part too, but rarely the not eating enough). Weight Watchers FORCES her to eat enough each day, which she so needs, and FORCES me to make choices of what I eat each day, also much needed.

I have been hesitant to rejoin a "program" as I know what I need to do (apparently diet and exercise DO work...who knew???), but I think it's time. SO, with that, we are off to our first meeting.

After the meeting we will be hitting Target, REI, and Red Robin for dinner...hell, we can start counting POINTS tomorrow! :P