Going A Little Crazy

So yesterday we had a huge wind storm. What was left of hurricane Ike, except at least it was dry. We were lucky, though, with very little damage. Our next door neighbors were not so lucky, as they watched shingles from their roof fly by the window. Then when they got up there to investigate they realized that their was not even any tar paper in places. But they were able to patch things up with Ben's help while I watched Mason and Lindsey here along with Maria and Sam.

We were happy that we never lost power. But we did lose cable TV, internet, and phone about 24 hours ago. And school was cancelled today because of power outages and road closures. Its been a long time with no TV or internet. Thanks goodness for our Blackberries or we would really be crazy. I hope we get everything back soon - if not it's going to be a long evening - don't know how many more times I can watch The Wizard of Oz!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Saturday

This morning we went to visit the traveling Vietnam War Memorial, that is has been herein Marysville since Thursday and is leaving tomorrow. Ben's parents came up to see it too, and the kids made rubbings of some names of men that Darrell had known in the Army. Maria understood what it was about, but Sam really had no idea. Once he had made a couple of rubbings he was ready to go.

The rain stayed away all day, so Sam was able to get his soccer game in today as well. The opposing team was fairly aggressive, and our boys were a little cautious to go after the ball. If we kept score, we would have lost by about 10-5 or so. Sam scored once - he had a break away where he dribbled the ball all the way to the goal, but when he got there, a member of the other team dived on the ball and caught it with his hands. So Sam got a goal kick because of the penalty and put it in.

This afternoon Ben had a band contest and the kids played outside with Mason for a few hours. Now they are back, tired and grumpy, and arguing about everything! I hope its just a phase, but I also know it could just be a sign of them growing up.

Our Little Architect

Sam got his book order at kindergarten today. He ordered a Pokemon book with tracing paper and 3-D glasses. As soon as we got home Maria set him up and he started to trace the Pokemon characters - he was really enjoying himself. When I checked on him, he was wearing his Monsters, Inc hard hat (recently saved from basement and new favorite) and drawing with great concentration. He told me he had his hat on because he was working in his office.

This on top of all the building with Legos really makes me wonder if we have a future architect or engineer on our hands.

Schedule!

Maria started ballet and gymnastics this week. She takes both classes at the dance studio, and they go all year round until the recitals in May. I always like that these classes don't start until the week after Labor Day, so there are only 6 weeks of overlap with Ben's marching band schedule and Sam's soccer practices. Planning around all of these and still trying to have dinner as a family has been stressful and we have had to be creative, but we had a plan for the entire week - even able to cook at home Sunday through Thursday. Here's what our week looked like:

Monday - Band after school (Ben) and Book Club (Lisa)
Tuesday - Paino (Maria) and soccer (Sam) at the same time
Wednesday Band (Ben), Ballet (Maria), and Band Boosters (Ben)
Thursday - Soccer (Sam), Gymnastics (Maria) at overlapping times

I was looking forward to getting into the routine of what a real week would be like, but the reality of the craziness has left me (and Ben) exhausted. It really takes two parents on Tuesdays and Thursdays to get both kids where they need to be, but it's only for a few more weeks.

When I picked Maria up from ballet today, Miss Krista told me that she would like to split the ballet class to "allow the girls to grow more." Apparently there were several girls in this class who are behind and Miss Krista would like to pull out Maria and several others into their own class. Good news - new class at 6:15 on Tuesdays, which is right after piano. Also, Maria could switch to a Gymnastics class that backs up to ballet - 7:00-7:45 on Tuesdays. This means that Maria could have all of her activities in one night. She is excited about it, but I am afraid it will be exhausting for her. Then again, only having to go out one evening in the winter when it's cold and rainy or snowy sounds much better. So we're going to try it next week and see how it goes.

A Preview Of Sam's Soccer Team Picture

Maria's Test Scores

Here are Maria's test scores from the Reading and Math Ohio Achievement Tests taken last spring - we just received them in the mail.

The Lion King

Yesterday we took the kids to the Ohio Theatre to see The Lion King. Ben and I saw it several years ago, but thought the kids were old enough to enjoy it now. And they loved it. Our seats were in the middle of the balcony, but we got lucky in that one seat directly in front of us was going to be empty (the woman in front of us said one person in her party was not going to be there), so the kids sat behind that seat and were able to see really well. (Except for the fight about who got to sit next to me, since they both couldn't and still be able to see well. We finally compromised that Sam would sit next to me during the first half, Maria during the second. But then that seat got filled during intermission and Sam had to sit on our laps anyway.)

Maria's comments were things like "Amazingly spectacular" and Sam stuck with "Awesome." They loved the costumes and big animals, and the first half held their interest pretty well - Sam started to get squirmy toward the end of the first half. At intermission, Ben took Sam to the gift stand where he picked out a Scar key chain, which kept him entertained during the slow parts of the second act. Maria and I spent all out time in the bathroom line, but were able to make it back to our seats just in time for the second act. Maria picked out a T-shirt after the show.

We had a great time, but were exhausted since going to the show was sandwiched between Sam's soccer game and going out to dinner with the Smith's (the kids and Mason stayed here with a sitter). We're trying to cram everything in before Ben starts having competitions starting next Saturday.

Today should be more relaxing with only regular Sunday stuff and finalizing plans for Sam's party. Check back later for a post about Sam's soccer game - Ben took video and will have to download those pictures. He did great and scored three goals.

Birthday Party Stress

Sam's birthday party is in two weeks. Planning any kids party is busy and stressful at times, but I think Sam's is more difficult for me since it comes right at the beginning of the school year. Ben is working a lot of hours, and getting things done at our house on top of soccer practices, Maria's activities, me back at work, and playing outside in the evenings when we are home seems tough as it is. But now is the time I need to be getting out the birthday invitations, getting gift ideas to family members (although I did already get that one done), ordering the cake, wrapping presents, and making the special picture book I always give both kids on their birthday that has summarized their entire year. Two parts of this system have been stressing me out:

1. Invitations. Sam is still making friends - he's only been in kindergarten 2 weeks as of today. They sit with someone different each day, so he hasn't had much of a chance to make new friends. And when he does make a friend he would like me to invite, he only knows their first name. Sometimes Maria can help with last names, then I search in last year's directory (we don't have this year's yet) for their address. This only works if they have an older sibling at the elementary. Using the white pages is impossible - with the family names aorund here there are way more than one listing for the last names - last night we fould one name with about 20 listings in just Plain City alone. And I'm trying to respect the school's request to not give out invitations at school so some kids don't feel left out. Usually I eventually get an address, but it is time consuming. I'm afraid he's not going to have very many friends at his party because I can't find them!

2. Cake. Sam picked out Star Wars Clone Wars for the theme. Apparently they have a tight copyright and bakeries are not allowed to even print off Star Wars pictures on the icing sheets and put them on a cake. So we are going to order a plain one and Ben will be creative with the Star Wars logo and action figures. I think it will turn out fine, but is serious extra work the morning of the party, when we don't need extra work.

I'm sure it will all be fine and Sam will have a great birthday. But the organization this time has not been easy!

What Would You Do With $10,000?

Sam has a plan for when he wins the Trix yogurt $10,000 give-away. He is certain he'll win, it's just a matter of time. Every time he tears off the lid of the yogurt and it says "Sorry, try again," he is both surprised and disappointed. It doesn't matter how many times I explain their "Many will play, few will win," disclaimer, he is still determined that he will be $10,000 richer soon.

So when he wins the money, he's going to buy a Clone Trooper Voice Changer Helmet. I asked him if he would give me whatever he may have leftover after that purchase. He said, "No! But I will give you a dollar."

Grandpa K.'s Birthday and Cookout

Tomorrow is Grandpa Keller's birthday, so Rita and Darrell came over so that the kids could celebrate with him. We ended up having a cookout with the Smith's next door and Lisa's parents, so there were 12 of us in all. Lisa took care of the appetizers and meat, we handled side dishes and dessert. Thanks to Rita and Darrell for all the help with that!

We enjoyed a delicious meal and the kids got along well too. Afterward we got out the Slip-n-Slide and Lisa brought water balloons and slingshots for them. The slingshots didn't work very well but the kids had fun getting each other wet with the water balloons.

What a busy but fun weekend it's been!

Now we all have colds, or allergies, or something. I had a slight cold all last week that doesn't seem to be getting much better or worse. Ben and Sam have allergies, but have been much more miserable today. Don't know if they're getting a cold on top of allergies or if the pollen is just that bad. And Maria is pretty stuffed up tonight, and her colds almost always turn into some kind of infection, so I'm waiting for that. Could be an interesting week.