The Play's The Thing

4-H fair is over and things are settling down here. Tonight E and I are going to see a play here. It ain't broadway but it beats Nicktoons, which is what I usually have to watch on Friday. Every time we go E and L both tell me they want to be in one of the plays, but it takes a huge time commitment and I can't see them giving up all their other activities for one play. Dh is working tonight but then he is off work next week. We aren't going anywhere, just relaxing. S and C need to be taken to camp on Sun and picked up on Fri. In between we can take the youngest three to do all the things the oldest three don't like. I think we'll go to a baseball game too.

Lists

So, when you are this far behind, the only thing to do is a list.

1-strong man show seen with C and F Team Impact
2-number of dental appointments, and number of friends staying at our house
3-hours spent attending the 4-H judging, also number of trips made to the fair
4-number of cavities in L's mouth
5-trips to the beach and pool
6-number of children taken to the orthodontists office, note to self, they only have five chairs

E is spending the week at the fair with her friends. Why you would want to camp out with hogs I'm not sure but there is no accounting for taste. The boys need to get ready to go to camp. I have to take L back to get the four cavities filled. E has an appointment to get molds taken for her retainers. She will be getting her braces off after six years. Did I mention her mouth was really messed up? F has his first dentist appointment so he can go to kindergarten. I have spent two afternoons going through clothes to try and find five nice outfits (that means not torn or stained) to wear to school. I haven't been on the puter much and so I am even behind on everyone elses blog. Somehow I don't think next week will be any better.

Go East, Young Weather Front

It stormed last night, a humdinger of a storm says L. Where do they get those terms? It is now a cool 85. You know it has been far too hot when 85 seems almost too cool to swim. It is hot on the east coast now. My reaction to that , neener,neener,neener.
We spent Sunday in the pool in the back yard. It was too hot to contemplate the beach or a real pool. Dh grilled fish and steaks and veggies for dinner, because if he didn't I was throwing the peanut butter on the table and passing out spoons. I took F for his kindergarten physical this morning. Oooops, it appears the last time I had him at the doctor he was 6mo old. I explained he hadn't been sick, I once again heard tht kids need check ups. I nodded and counted the posters in the room. Surprise, he is healthy! He still has to go to the dentist before they'll let him in school. Why is that? Are they worried about foot and mouth disease? Anyway, quieter here, only the doctor's appointment and Boy Scout awards tonight. I think I'll sit outside and maybe even wear a sweater it's so cool.

I'm Melting or Slip Sliding Away

It is hot, hot, hot and I have been busy, busy, busy.
Yesterday morning I went grocery shopping. It had been a couple of weeks so think two shopping carts. I drug it all home and got it put away, made a quick clean of the house and took off to pick up L from camp. She and E were supposed to be in the 4-H parade but..obviously L wasn't here and E had a softball game. It was so muggy in the woods picking L up and there was a very nice, but very humid worship service before I could bring her home. The odor from her wet, wet clothes was, shall we say, reminiscent of gym class. I dropped her off at home, told her to take a shower and go lay down and ran to E's softball game. It was 9pm by then but... they got a late start because it poured rain for about 10 minutes. That 10 minutes was of course during E's walk to the diamond. Ooops, sorry kiddo. I had a very,very tired A and F with me. The game finally got over about 10:30pm. I came home and got kids to bed and started on the laundry. Gross!
Saturday morning dawned stifling already when I got up at 6:30. I worked some more on L's laundry because I knew S would be coming home with all his stuff today. I begged him a ride home with some other parents so I could be at soccer evaluations at 9:00. Next we ran to the store to get some materials for dd's 4-H Arts&Crafts project. (Have I mentioned my complete lack of the crafting gene?) S was home when we got back so we started on his incredibly nasty laundry while I helped E with hot glue, maribou feathers and beading. By now it was 98. E had a softball game at 3pm. What a crappy time. Even worse than the middle of the night. I took L,F and Mel. We drank all the water I brought and then I bought about 4 bottles more. I really began to worry about Mel, who was beyond sweaty so I got our umbrella to shade us. Yes we looked stupid, but it helped some. They were still playing at 5:30 when I needed to leave to go to L's baseball cookout/party. Poor E was left to walk home. We went to the party for an hour and then headed to the other baseball park to watch F play in the championship t-ball game. It was still beastly hot and they ended up losing by one run. Oh, well! The upshot of all this is that I feel like I have been in a swedish sauna all day without benefit of that refreshing plunge into the icy arctic. It's baths all round here, and perhaps a bracing vodka tonic.

The Zoo with the Animals

It stopped raining, so ignoring the 99% humidity, I took the kids to the zoo. We went early so the heat was a little better. At 11:30 I declared it too hot and we went and ate our picnic lunch. Rather I ate the delectable array of fruits and veggies. They ate peanut butter crackers and went to play on the park equipment. Evidently there was some memo I wasn't privy to that stated that all the healthy foods you eat at home are designated untouchable at a picnic. The evening brought yet another t-ball game. C (Little League) and L (coach's pitch) are out of tourney but of course the t-ball team just keeps on winning. I was kept busy at the game buying freezies to quiet the other children I had drug out into the heat. (They begged to come, didn't want to stay home with their sister)
I got word that the area L and S are in got 9 inches of rain Tuesday night. S is in a tent and I guess they had to make a run to a laundromat about 10 mi away to dry everything out.Today I need to go get L from camp. She and S are only about 10 miles apart but of course he needs picked up Saturday morning. C also has Soccer try outs Saturday morning and dh is working and E's Softball tourney is Saturday. Sigh! Time to power up the cloning machine again.

Quiet On The Home Front

As if to show how fickle Hoosier weather can be, this weekend's beautiful weather has been followed by a rainy Tuesday and Wednesday. We've done puzzles, painted pictures, worked on 4-H projects and generally vegged. DD and I watched Rabbit Proof Fence while the younger set took in Samurai Jack. They can only take so much enrichment without needing a shot of pop culture. I also took C for an eye exam. He is near sighted but the optometrist felt like we should wait 6 months to get glasses because kids this age often have a sudden worsening of vision when they have a growth spurt. I guess you could say he received a reprieve. We are supposed to have tournament t-ball and softball games tonight but I suspect the field will be too boggy. I can't say I'll miss the opportunity to sit outside in 98% humidity. Blech! (May I also say, in a very tiny whisper, I'd really love it if the t-ball season would be done! Pro-bowling may be more entertaining than t-ball) On the other hand, though the national league lost in last night's all star game, at least it was interesting. I was flipping between the game and a program about a man who lived under an assumed identiy for 23 years. Very weird! It was interesting (though the reporting definitely had an overwrought tone) but when the psychiatrist they interviewed blamed the fact he was one of nine children for his sham I came out of my seat! Argh! Maybe he would have been a nut if he was an only child! Ok, rant over.

Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh

It's camp time! I took two of the little darlings and dropped them off yesterday. It feels a little like losing a limb to have them gone, but I've heard you can get used to that. Luckily their two camps are close enough that I could drop them both off. Since the family would be parted this week (and there did seem to be alot of glee about that from all parties) we spent Saturday together. The children's favorite restaurant (Ponderosa, yes you read that right, Ponderosa, because quantity of free ice cream is a make or break deal for them) is closing. We all ate far too much buffet and then went to the beach. Ok, the beach is really the reservoir, but this is a landlocked state, ok? I did my minimalist thing. Swim suits, check, sunscreen check! We're ready. I did take a token towel to leave in the van. If it's hot enough to swim, you can air dry in my opinion. Of course Mel decided that day to be scrupulous in her toilet habits and demand to be taken 1/4 mile up a hill to go potty, three times no less! E did manage to keep all the others from drowing while I was gone UP THE HUGE FREAKIN' HILL. Happy, toasty children resulted from the enterprise however, so it was worth it, I guess. I just wish they didn't have those pesky signs about no alcohol. Really, a cool vodka tonic would improve the beach immensely. The only monkey wrench in the day was when S announced that he was packed for camp. A quick perusal of his bags before loading revealed he had packed no socks. Me: "Where are your socks?" S: "I don't have any" Me: "Saturday night at 7:00pm is just a great time to tell me that!"
S: "Well, I'll just wear my shoes without socks. Einstein never wore socks you know." No, I didn't know that, you smarty, smarty pants. Einstein's mother would have objected too if she had just bought new Nike's in men's size 10, 10 for criminy's sake. And not on sale either! Thank you oh shoe gods for letting Dollar General be open until 8 and having socks! Oh, and I forgot to mention the heart rending end Sunday to dropping off L at camp. She's 7. You'd think she might be a little apprehensive, might like a hug right? Oh no, we loaded her bags onto the camp wagon, she looks at me and says "You can go now mother." "How about a hug and a kiss" says I. She rolled her eyes and ran off to find her counselor. Eeeek!

Everyday Life

My everyday life is painfully dull to write about (it really isn't so bad to live). Here's the update.

Last night C's baseball team lost their tournament game 7-6. Much pouting followed. Now I just have three teams left playing. On the bright side E's softball team won 17-3. This did not relieve C's pouting of course.

I have a dentist appointment this morning. I loathe the dentist. My parents took me to a guy straight from Little Shop of Horrors as a kid. He didn't believe in using novacaine for kids. Can we say lifelong trauma?

I must get to town to get soap, toothpaste, etc for S and L to take to camp next week. It is going to be weird to have two of them gone at once. L is going to church camp and S to Boy Scout camp.

One of the courses S is taking is Wilderness Survival. The kid can barely cope with everday survival. This should be amusing. I think he's watched far too many episodes of "I Shouldn't Be Alive" and wants to be prepared.

E has started on her 4-H projects. They are due next week. Wouldn't want to rush or anything.

I Never Imagined:

Shopping is really about 14yo dd talking, and talking and talking to me.
That dh and I are lenient parents. I thought we had some good rules going.
That a ball game would make 10 yo ds hold my hand for a minute (in the dark, of course, where no one can see).
That my ds would only have to be 12 to be my height.
That 7 yo dd can eat her whole Bob Evans breakfast and most of mine.
The beach, pool and splash park can all be visited in the same week and still not be boring, at least to my kids.
That supposedly responsible, adult men should not be allowed to go buy fireworks alone.

Have a Happy Independence Day!