Ode to the Best Nap Couch Ever

Ah, the memories we share. I'm not sure life will be quite the same without you.

You were the first couch that Ben and I picked out together, and I have never been able to nap on any couch as comfortably as I napped on you.

I'm pretty sure I spent almost half of my entire first pregnancy lounging on your cozy cushions, and you never did completely recover after all of those hours of 175 pounds of pregnant lady laying on you.

Many nights we spent together after Maria was born and would only sleep in her car seat - you were my bed while she cat-napped through each night.

I thought I could live without you when we got new furniture and you were covered in stains. Your new home was the basement, where I visited you from time to time, but our relationship was not the same.

On my birthday a few years ago you again were invited back upstairs (now draped in a slipcover to mask the stains), and again we enjoyed many afternoon naps together.

Whenever I couldn't sleep at night (which really wasn't that often), I would move from my bed to you and I would be able to fall asleep.

Last year you once again were banished to the basement when the slipcover became too inconvenient and we got some new hand-me-down furniture for the front room. I missed you, but it was time for Maria and Sam to enjoy your comfortable cushions.

I never expected it to end like this - a flood that you (and your cushions that the kids left on the floor) just could not survive. I will miss you dearly, but will always have the memories.

Normal Day?

Why can't we have just one normal, uneventful day around here? Really, is that too much to ask?

Around noon Maria started complaining about ear pain. It seemed to be on the outside of her ear, so I assumed swimmers ear - she's prone to get ear infections. My only option was to take her to the open hour at the end of the day at the Dr. office, and after waiting an hour, we were told that she has such a build-up of wax in there that the Dr. can't tell which kind of infection it is since she can't see the ear drum. She did say its definitely red in there, so we have an antibiotic for the infection and ear drops to soften the wax. (I'm supposed to use the ear drops until that piece of wax softens enough and falls out. Not sure how I'll know when that happens - I'll just go on when she tells me it doesn't feel clogged anymore.) Ben and I leave for Marathon Key Saturday, so Ben's parents will have to give her medicine while she's with them. Not a big deal, just one more thing to have to remember.

We are still working downstairs, and made some calls today. We have a recommendation of someone to get in touch with to look at the yard and the drainage system - we're calling him tomorrow. And we called the trash company to pick up the oversize stuff Thursday. Stay posted for a picture of the huge trash pile.

Norm's Wedding

Wow. What an awesome weekend. A beautiful wedding, lots of old friends, and our beloved Miami campus - what more could you ask for?

Friday night started with the rehearsal, then the rehearsal dinner, followed by a few hours at a bar and a Bruno's pizza at the wee hours of the morning. It was so great to see everyone, and we felt so free after worrying about the basement during the previous 24 hours - something about not being able to do anything about it just then took the pressure off. And of course, there was no responsibilities since the kids were at Ben's parents for the weekend (Thank you!)

Saturday the wedding was beautiful. The weather was stormy and threatening, but the sun came out just as Michelle walked down the aisle. It was almost unbearably hot, but we were just so pleased that it didn't rain. (Of course I wasn't the one is the very hot black tuxedo.) The reception was great too - we were stunned by the number of Miami friends that made it to the wedding - so great to catch up with everyone. We enjoyed another Bruno's pizza with Jenny and Chris in the lobby of the Hampton Inn at midnight, then finally went to bed.

This afternoon we met Ben's parents with the kids at the Harshman family picnic. Then we took the kids home - the reality of the basement problem crept back into our minds and we were anxious to see how much had dried over the weekend. We got here around 4:00 and found that the basement was still wet in places, and the house smelled quite musty. With the cooler weather we have been able to air everything out, and Ben has continued to move furniture, pull up carpet, wait for that area to dry, and repeat. We think maybe the couch cushions will not bounce back, which would be the biggest loss that we are aware of so far.

We are looking forward to slowing down a little bit this week, at least until Red, White and Boom on Thursday and leaving for Marathon Key on Saturday. At least I don't have to pack any suitcases for a few days.

From Ben:
Family and friends can see all the pictures from the weekend at http://gallery.mac.com/kellerclan#100022. If you don't know the user name and password, please email me and I will send it to you. It's our little safeguard so any of our students don't peruse through our personal photos. I hope you understand.

Update on Flood

Looks like the basement will survive, finally. Ben worked almost straight through from when we got home at 1:00 to 9:00 last night. I took time off from the basement after dinner to get other things done, like laundry, dishes, etc. We are leaving town for the weekend this morning and some things just had to be done. Plus the kids needed some attention after being completely neglected all afternoon.

We got rid of a lot of stuff. Much of it we needed to throw away anyway (that's the only good part about this). Lots of toys that we're pretty sure the kids won't miss. I'm concerned about the furniture - the kids had left some couch cushions on the floor and they were pretty soaked - just not sure they will be the same. Even if they dry - the water was dirty, so they will look (and possibly smell) pretty bad.

We still have the garage floor covered in stuff drying - it was outside in the wind, which was great, until it was supposed to rain again so we had to move it into the garage.

Most Christmas stuff survived - all of the boxes for all of the ornaments had to go. I always write inside the box for the kids - who got them the ornament and what year, so that when they move away they can take those memories with them. So before I threw the boxes away I made a list for each kid with the same information. Bright side - putting up and taking down the tree should go faster - Ben always complains to me about putting everything back in its box. A few of the things that we had to throw away I didn't really like anymore and am happy to have an excuse to get something different (at least that's what I tell myself).

And the most important part - now we have some possible explanations as to why our basement had flooded. We knew that we had gotten a lot of rain, but according to the paper, the county got between 3-5 inches of rain in one storm. We also noticed that Ben had not replaced the hose to the second sump pump - it sits on the deck steps so he takes it down when we have people over. He just forgot to replace it. That means that when the second pump runs, it shoots water back out right where it was coming in, instead of several feet out into the yard. So we think that the pumps just couldn't keep up. If we had been here, we could have put the hose out. Also, Andy and Lisa had a leak in their attic, which they've never had before. They said it was raining so hard and so fast that it was leaking down next to their chimney. So at least that tells us that this was an exceptional rain.

We're going to call a plumber next week and check out our sump pumps - the top one is looking pretty bad and wouldn't hurt to be replaced. We're also going to ask about a more permanent set-up for the second sump pump hose and what suggestions he may have. I'm hoping this event has been a wake-up call to get this finally done.

Water Everywhere!

We came home from Dayton around 1:00 today to find that our basement had flooded with heavy rains overnight. The power did not go out, and the sump pump was working because the water had already receded quite a bit. So we don't know what happened, although we haven't had a flood like this in over 10 years. Two weeks ago the neighbors started digging around and got a new septic tank put in. Seems like quite a coincidence.

So we are going to have to call in a professional and have them tell us what to do so we don't have any more problems. Honestly, it almost makes me want to move.

Anyway, most of what we have lost so far is toys that Ben and I are not that sad to see go. Much of the furniture we will have to see after it dries out. Two of our boxes of Christmas decorations got soaked, and we have everything laid out on towels in the front room. We lost several, but not any of out very favorites. Ben has been using the Smith's shop-vac and I am trying to stay ahead of him moving stuff out of the way and getting rid of it. Its a real mess!

The kids are staying out of the way. It's too emotional for Maria down there - when she saw all of her knitting books ruined, she was pretty upset.

I have to get back down there - just thought I would let everyone know what's going on.

Sam's Last Game

Tonight was Sam's last T-ball game of the season. To celebrate, they play under the lights and have an announcer. Sam did great hitting, but didn't see much action in the field as the ball really never went to him. We've enjoyed watching this year, and seeing how much he has matured since last season. Sam really liked it too, especially since he was on a team with many of his Kinder Paws buddies. And he is very excited about the medal he got at the end of tonight's game.

I have mixed feeling about the season being over. It will be nice not having to go to two games a week. But it means that summer is progressing, and before we know it we'll be heading back to school. And I do think Sam will miss seeing his friends.

The rest of the week is crazy. Maria continues at Golf Camp in Dayton. Tomorrow we are joining her and going to the Planetarium so Sam can see a planet show, and swimming after that. Thursday we'll head home after camp, then back on the road again Friday to Oxford. Norm is getting married and Ben is a groomsman, and we will be enjoying a kids-free weekend in our college town. Can't wait!

"Oh, THIS is Sam"

Sam had a birthday party today for a little girl that was in his Kinderpaws group. I had never met the family before, so when I dropped him off I introduced us to Emma's mom. "Oh, so THIS is Sam. We've heard so much about him! Emma, look who's here?"

I don't know how to take that. Of course, I want to ask what she's heard, but not only is that weird to say to someone I've never met before, but she was a little busy getting ready for the party. So I just exchanged the usual information, said goodbye to Sam, and got in the van and left.

I'm choosing to believe that Sam has such a sparkling personality that Emma couldn't help but share stories at home about him. And I'm hoping that the stories don't involve his burping at the lunch table, making sounds with his armpit, or other talents I know he has but hope he doesn't display in public!

What Maria Does During Sam's Games

Play Date

This afternoon we invited Heidi and Lily Pearson over for a play date. Lily was in Sam's preschool class, and her Mom Heidi was Maria's 3rd grade teacher. We ran into them last week at Wal-Mart and thought it would be fun to get together. We got out all of the water toys - beach ball sprinkler and kiddie pool, and they brought us a Slip'n Slide. Add in strawberry margaritas for the adults and snow cones for the kids and we had a great afternoon.

Golf Outing

The first-ever Ben, Maria, and Sam golf outing happened tonight at Marysville Golf Club. I had no idea what to expect with both Maria and Sam along in the cart with me but I was pleasantly surprised. Here's how it works:

I hit from the mens tees, then the kids hit from the 150 yard marker on par 3's and 4's and from the ladies tees on par 3's. It was a logistical challenge all night as I was trying to keep the right club in each kids hands, moving the cart to the next spot, and jockeying for position between the group ahead of us and groups coming up behind us and playing through.

It took us 2.5 hours to play nine holes, which wasn't too bad considering how many shots were being taken. Maria's swing is really coming along and she's hitting her real driver off the tee and getting it up in the air more frequently. She has a picture-perfect swing and is really improving around the the greens and is taking more time with her putts. Sam is becoming more controlled in his swing and is taking a full practice swing before he hits. His swing thoughts were "arms straight and knees bent."

The final scores? Well we weren't going to keep score for Sam since it was his first time out, but after two holes he was upset that he didn't have a score, so I put down his real score on each hole whether he liked it or not. Grand totals: Sam - 84 strokes. Maria - 61 strokes. Maria got a bogey 5 on the final hole and Sam got a 7 on the same hole.

Without having a chance to think about my own golf game on this trip, I shot a 41 with five pars and a birdie. The kids will be coming with me much more often!

"Accidentally"

This afternoon the kids were outside playing with Mason and I was in the kitchen fixing an early dinner since Sam had a 6:00 game. While I was cooking, Sam came in the back door and explained to me that Mason had colored his hands blue, "but not with Sharpie." Then he asked if he could color his hands because he wanted to be like Mason. I told him no, he didn't need to color his hands. He tried "Please, Mommy" a few times, but when I reminded him that dinner would be soon and he shouldn't waste the last few minutes of play time with Mason, he left without further complaint. I was a little surprised he didn't put up more of a fight.

About 10 minutes later the kids came in. Sam's hands were colored red. Before I even had time to notice, Sam volunteered that Mason had "accidentally colored his hands."

Maria: No, Mason asked Sam -
Sam: Oh yeah. Mason asked me and I accidentally told him yes.
Me: You told Mason he could color your hands after I told you not to?

Pause

Sam: Can I go wash my hands?

Apparently at some point Sam has learned that the word "accidentally," used in any possible situation, is his get out of jail free card.

Belated Father's Day

Sunday was Father's Day, but since we were on vacation in Staunton, Virginia, Ben didn't get his gift until yesterday when we returned home. Its really a gift for the whole family (except maybe me), since the kids love the Legos Star Wars series, I know they will also love the Legos Indiana Jones Wii game that they gave to Ben yesterday. And they have all played it quite a bit in the less than 24 hours since we gave it to him.

Rain!

This morning we visited Monticello, took a great children's tour and walked around on the grounds. It's really beautiful there and we learned a lot.

We thought we would go to the pool when we got back, but it immediately started storming and didn't quit for a few hours. So we stayed inside and had a relaxing afternoon. The kids played marbles that Maria got at the Monticello gift shop. Tonight we took Dan and Pam to dinner, then visited the Blackfriar's Playhouse, where Dan and Pam are both very involved. Its a replica of the actual Shakespeare theatre and very nice. Now we are attending a band concert in the park. Tomorrow morning we head back to Ohio.
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Home Sweet Home Away From Home

We're staying at the president's house a t Mary baldwin college. It is the highest point on the campus and in Staunton. It was built in 1912 and was originally the commander's residence when this part of the campus was a military academy. It is beautifully restored and in fantastic shape. When Pam arrived in 2003 it was in disrepair. The kitchen was completely overhauled and can now host the gatheringd required of the building. The 70's shag carpet and astroturf were torn up to find beautiful hardwood floors underneath.

Lisa and I have our own huge bedroom looking out over Staunton, a king bed, and our own bathroom. There are antiques all around (but mostly on high shelves) including a clay pot from the second century! Our favorite spot is the screened porch which is just so cool and breezy. We'll show you all even more pictures of the house when we get home. We can really see why Dan and Pam love it here so much!
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Baseball, Statlers, Etc.

Tonight we are attending a very minor league baseball game featuring the Staunton Braves. It's Father's Day and Ben wanted to come. We'll see how long the kids make it.
This afternoon we swam and fished at Goshen Pass, a beautiful river in the mountains. We had a picnic there too. Tomorrow is Monticello.

And for Rita: while we were eating dinner on the porch a son of one of the Statler Brothers drove by.
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We're Here

We're here in Staunton. This cannon is in the spacious yard of the President's mansion, where we are staying for the next 3 days. So far we have visited Woodrow Wilson's childhood home and went swimming. And of course the walking tour of Mary Baldwin College.
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You WILL Like It!

So tonight as the kids are brushing teeth, Maria was telling Ben about her Thomas Jefferson books. Sam asks "Why are we going to Monticello?"

Ben: Because it's a famous house that's over 200 years old.
Maria: And it has lots of cool stuff in it.
Lisa: And none of us have ever been there.

Pause.

Sam: Is it going to take a long time?

Excuse us for interrupting his precious Pokemon time to take him somewhere beautiful and educational. Like it or not, he's going. And he may even learn something. And we hope he doesn't complain the entire time!

Summer Reading

With the 4-H skirt done, yesterday and today were mainly the do-nothing-all-day first days of real summer vacation. They days where we sit around and really get almost nothing accomplished. At least for the kids and I - Ben ran errands a lot yesterday afternoon and sat in on interviews all day today. All of this nothing to do has sparked Maria's interest in reading again. Monday she finished "Blubber" by reading all the way to and from Dayton. And then yesterday she finished 2 other library books and was asking to go to the library this morning. When we went, she picked up about 8-10 books and a Thomas Jefferson movie as well (we are cramming for our upcoming visit to Monitcello - thank you Grandma K. for the idea - 2 of her books are about Thomas Jefferson as well).

When we got home this afternoon (after shopping for Ben for Father's day and meeting him at McDonalds for lunch), Maria read for almost three hours straight. And Sam gets into it a little too - he picked out two new planet books which we had to read when we got home. He is starting to recognize more words, and is proud of his knowledge. He was actually upset that Pluto gets its own book even though its not considered a planet anymore.

We're not total couch potatoes - we did go on a walk tonight and Sam has had T-ball both last night and tonight. And we've spent enough time inside doing nothing that I'm ready to get outside.

New Scenery

So we got some new scenery in our side yard today. Abe and Sherry aren't suposed to start the addition on their house until winter so I wonder what's up?

We Did It!

Let the relaxing begin!

Skirt is Almost Done!

Last week it became clear to me that the "Very Easy" skirt pattern that Maria and I had picked out for her 4-H project was still over my head. After a phone call to my Mom to clear up some pattern directions, I had my question answered but still did not feel confident. Rita offered to help too, so this afternoon we headed to Dayton with pattern and sewing machine to get some help.

And after 4 hours of hard work, we almost finished it. The pattern was too difficult for a 9-year-old to do by herself, that's for certain. But between the three of us, we got it done, complete with ruffle at the bottom. Maria did most of the machine sewing, and thank goodness Rita had so much experience, even if it was many years ago. It will be interesting to see what the judges think. Tomorrow Maria and I have to do the bow on the front (I was pretty sure we could do that on our own), and then Maria has some work to do in her workbook. But the most stressful parts are done!

Manly Man

Ben and Sam ran a quick errand to Home Depot Saturday morning and discovered they were having a Kids Building Workshop that they apparently have each first Saturday of the month. So Sam built a Catamaran, and even hammered all of the nails in by himself. He was so proud. He told me "Now that I know how to hammer, I can fix our house if it gets hit by lightning."

Golf for Everyone

Yesterday was the Music Booster Golf Scramble, and event Ben is happy to fulfill his obligation to attend. This year his teammates were Miami friends David and Suzy, and local friend Brent. I agreed to watch Ryan and Erin so that both David and Suzy could play. I figured it would be a pretty easy day because I knew that Ryan and Erin were well-behaved kids.

And it was an easy day. It was very hot, so we didn't spend much time outside. That meant it was hard to keep them from playing Wii all day, so we took a mid-afternoon trip to play mini-golf and get some ice cream. Except for the constant arguing about whose turn it was to go first at each hole, the kids all got along very well. And I eventually set up a rotation that was hard for me to keep track of but at least seemed fair to everyone.

What's 2+4?

Sometimes its really annoying when your children don't trust you. For example, the other day at lunch, Sam was asking about simple math facts and I would give him the answer. Here's how the conversation went.

Sam: What's 1+2?
Me: 3
Sam: What's 2+2?
Me: 4
Sam: What's 2+4?
Me: 6

Sam just stares at me and then says to Ben (who was still in the kitchen fixing his lunch), "Daddy, what's 2+4?"

Pretty annoying that apparently he believed on the first two but not on the last one. The entertaining part is that Ben never even helps Maria with her math homework - 3rd grade math falls into my "help" categories. Now if he wanted to know who was singing that song on the ipod, Ben would have clearly been the authority. But I think I can handle 2+4.

4th Annual Coontucky Fest

Since yesterday was our teacher workday, that meant last night was the annual Coontucky Fest thrown by a couple of our fellow teachers. They own two adjoining lots of land with a huge pond. Larry's family built a house there, but Scott still lives in Marysville, and has a camper set up on the property. For the last several years they have thrown a last day of school get-together, including a cookout, fishing, canoeing, trampoline jumping (for the kids), and bonfire. It's always fun and Maria and Sam love it. We were worried that it would get rained out yesterday, but the skies cleared by mid afternoon and it was beautiful - not even very muddy even though we had over two inches of rain early that day.

Both Maria and Sam caught fish - Sam one and Maria several. Luckily a couple of our fishermen friends helped them out - neither Ben nor I have any interest in fishing. They also spent a long time on the trampoline. It was nice because there were older kids to help take care of ours, so Ben and I were able to sit around the campfire with the other adults for a long time. Ben did take each kid on a canoe trip, though.

By the time we got home at almost 10:00, the kids were so beat I washed them off quickly in the tub and they went straight to bed.

And now it finally feels like summer vacation - especially since it will be over 90 degrees later today!

Maria's Butterfly Poem

Maria brought home a poem she wrote this school year and I thought it was so wonderful that I would type it up and share with you. Comments?

Two
by Maria Keller

Two is a group, a long lasting pair.
Two are friends an everlasting bond.
But sometimes two depart, and slowly float away.
But when two butterflies meet, it's a beautiful thing.

Two is a thing, a pair, a group.
It can be anything.
But sometimes two depart and slowly float away.
But when two butterflies meet, it's a beautiful thing.

Sam's Hit

Here's one of Sam's two hits from Monday night's game. He hit both times without the tee, and on this at -bat he hit the first pitch. He's really getting the hang of things. Hope you enjoy.

Last Day of School

Another school year gone. And not that we're counting, but the end of year 15 for Ben and I. Why is this important? Because we'll be eligible to retire after 30 years teaching, so we're halfway there. Whether or not we actually will retire then, we don't know. But it feels good to know we COULD.

The kids have each had a very good year. Maria loved her teacher, had a great class, and learned a lot too. Her final report card shows straight A+ averages in all subjects. She is so excited to move on to 4th grade, where students get to change rooms/teachers for some classes for the first time. But she is really going to miss her 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Pearson, and knows that although she'll still see her some, it won't be the same as being in her class each day. I think this is one of those teachers she'll remember her entire life.

Sam had a great year too. He liked preschool, and loved Kinderpaws, the afternoon Latch Key program. He has matured so much this year, and has also charmed his teachers with his smile and sense of humor. Sam was extremely healthy - didn't miss any days of preschool, and only one of Kinderpaws - after spending the night in the hospital recovering from his concussion. Today he brought home his apron from Kinder Kitchen and a scrapbook from the entire year at Kinderpaws, and its so cute. And he still sees his Kinderpaws friends as many are on the same T-ball team. (Look for a movie of his hit from tonight's game soon.)

Tonight we are celebrating the beginning of summer with a popcorn/movie night and High School Musical 2. Its about summer vacation and just seemed wrong when it came out right before school started in August.

What Time Is It? Summertime!

Sam... eating an apple?!

This is a picture of Sam eating an apple.  It may not seem like a big deal, but I believe it may be the first fresh fruit to pass his lips (at least at home) since he was a toddler and ate anything I put in front of him.  We're hoping this may be a baby step in the right direction.