Parenting Styles.......

After 25+ years of parenting, I still haven't figured it out. My parenting style ranges from being the 'fun' parent to being a drill sargeant. There really has never been much middle ground. I'm a 'nice guy' until something just pushes me over the edge and then I swing back to 'drill sargeant'. That works until I just get tired of being the bad guy, I feel sorry for my kids, so I let up and go easy on them again. Unfortunately for them, I feel the drill sargeant coming on.....

I don't ask much, I really don't. I mean, if I'm going to be the 'cool' mom and let you bring food to the basement while you watch t.v., is it too much to ask that you bring the dishes up when you're finished? I've been missing 3 dinner plates for about a week now. I thought maybe they were in someone's bedroom, but no, they're downstairs. A while back (my very first post, in fact) I made a list of things that I found under the stove while I was sweeping. It was a fairly substantial list. I think it's time for another list. It's called:

What I found when I made the mistake of entering the basement:

3 dinner plates
5 cups
1 bowl & spoon
10 IBC bottles
9 water bottles (some empty, some not)
1 soda can
6 popsicle wrappers
8 socks (various sizes, none match)
1 pair sweat pants
1 sleeping bag (unrolled)
3 pillows
1 pair yellow rain boots
1 mirror
1 zune (think: Ipod)
1 hacksaw (I am NOT kidding!)
1 measuring tape
1 stress ball
2 towels
3 mexican blankets
1 roll duct tape
1 pen
1 pencil
2 cans air freshener

All of this was either on the floor or on the coffee table, mostly on the floor. Now I know that this room was clean just two weeks ago. We had company and they stayed downstairs. Company is also why there is a sleeping bag, pillows, sheets and blankets down there. I have been asking for the kids to clean up down there. "Hey, (insert name), roll up that sleeping bag and put it away, (or the pillows, or the blankets) will you?" "Sure mom, no problem!"
Apparently......there is a problem.
I know it's summer break, I know kids need time to be kids, relax, chill out, veg in front of the t.v. and video games. But summer break does not mean a break from ALL responsibilities!! Bring up your dishes or don't eat downstairs!! Throw your trash in the trashcan!! (Yes, I know it's filled to overflowing, SO EMPTY IT!!) If you use the tools (a hacksaw???) then put them away, too! Clean up after yourself!!
So....my kids will now be subjected to 'Drill Sargeant' mom for a while. I've already taken all the controllers for all the video games. T.V. privileges will be next if chores don't start getting done. Not sure how long it will last this time....it could be a while.

Okay, I'll Play!

I have been officially 'tagged' by my friend, Jenna, so here goes:



Ten years ago I was: living in Atlanta. Six kids between 5 and 16. Eleanor was working part time at Little Caesar's. Laura playing soccer non-stop, Jacob in gymnastics, Mary ruled the neighborhood with her posse of friends, Sam had just finished Kindergarten and Peter was getting ready to start. Summer was filled with trips to Powder Springs Pool, the Atlanta Zoo, the movies, the park, Stone Mountain, Six Flags, and the occasional Braves game.


Five things on today's "to do list': Did you say '5'? I wish for a day when there were only 5 things on my to do list! Okay, wash the sheets & quilt from my bed, help Peter finish (hopefully) his Eagle Scout paperwork, watch the NCIS marathon (I can wish, can't I!), vacuum the upstairs hall, work with Sam and Peter on their summer school packets, watch Sirius & Sabian (Eleanor worked last night and didn't get in until 4:30 A.M.), and maybe take the kids to a movie later. ('Kung Fu Panda' or 'Wall-E', hard to choose!)



I enjoy: a good book, road trips, family movie night, a finished project, classic rock and watching World Cup Soccer.



I have lived in: Minnesota, Utah, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.



I tag: Laura & Jennie (separate entries, please) and Cherie. (I would tag my brother, Peter, but he is Soooooo last year and doesn't have a blog yet)

To an 'old' friend....

I am front row, 2nd from right, Julie is in the yellow dress in the back row.

For Julie:

Happy Birthday, Jules!! I've been waiting for you here at 50 for 3 1/2 weeks now, and I have to say: Come on in! The water's fine! I've been thinking about us a lot of late. And one of my thoughts has been that while you're certainly not my oldest friend, you are undoubtedly my 'oldest' friend!! For those of you who may confused by this, let me clarify.....I have friends who are older than 50 (you know who you are!) but I don't have anyone that I've been friends with as long as Julie! (What is it, Julie, almost 47 years?!)
So in honor of your birthday, I propose a game of 'do you remember'? Hopefully, our memories are still pretty much intact!

Remember birthday cakes from the 'Excelo Bakery'?

Remember 'Marching to Australia'?

Remember the wishing rock?

Remember the old Minneapolis Chapel where we were baptized?

Remember carameled onions? (I'll bet Tommy Russell does!)

Remember the 'bird's eye view place'?

Remember Girl's Camp?

Remember Road Shows?

Remember being stuck at church and huddling together in the furnace room during the tornado watch?

Remember the sleep-overs, the sledding, the lake house, riding bikes, skipping rope, Saturday matinees (Therese spilled the entire box of 'Good & Plenty'), the good times, the bad times, the fights, the adventures?? I remember them all. And wish you lots of years ahead to make lots more memories.

So Happy Birthday, my friend. Welcome to 50!

I like Ike!!

I mentioned in a previous post that Dwight D. Eisenhower was the POTUS from the time I was born until I was about 2 1/2. I can't say that I recall much about his presidency. But recently, I've been reading a book he wrote called "At Ease: Stories I tell to friends." It's an interesting read, and he really does tell a good story. Of special interest, however, is a magazine article that was tucked between the pages of the book. The article is from the March 1976 issue of "The American Legion Magazine". It's written by Frank Holeman and is entitled "The Secret of Ike's Grin". I couldn't find it online, but with the most excellent skills of 'My favorite Mary', (not to be confused with 'My favorite Martian') I was able to scan it and have it for you here:

I love this article, I mean, if a man with all of his trials and tribulations can smile at the end of the day, so should we all. As I said at the beginning, I didn't really know Ike as a president, but through his book and this article I am getting to know him a little bit as the man that he was. And I say again:

Family Blog????

So I had this idea sometime in the middle of the night, and like most ideas that come to me when I'm half asleep, I'm not sure yet if it's a great idea, or a ridiculous, inconceivable one. So, I decided that I would just 'blog' it, and see what kind of a response I get. (this could also be either a brilliant idea or a really bad idea depending on the responses!)

So, here goes....we all love to read blogs. I know I do. In fact, I may have an addiction. I may need to join some therapy group (Bloggers anonymous??) I read several blogs a day (I know....get a life!) and get a little miffed when one that I am particularly interested in hasn't updated for a while. I especially enjoy reading 'family' blogs. I love to read Mary's blog, for example, even though we live in the same house, her blog gives me new insight's into her ideas and convictions. I love to read Marcie's blog, because I get to feel a little more like we're 'keeping in touch', and I get to see her awesome quilts and get some ideas for projects that I would like to do 'someday'. I love to read Kati's blog (sorry, no link) but she hasn't updated since November!! (hint, hint!) And lately, I have been enjoying Polly's blog. I feel like I have gotten to know her family a little better, and have loved all the pics that she posts. So....on to the idea. Being that it's hard to blog often enough to keep everyone happy, and being that we really do want to keep in touch, but we're busy, busy, busy, I propose a Patch Family Blog. One that we could all post to, add pics to, have a list of birthdays, whatever. That way, we could keep in touch without having to blog all the time. There would be plenty to read, we could still keep our own personal blogs, but we would be able to bond more. So, good idea? Bad idea? Yes, I would participate! No, you'll never catch me blogging!! Please let me know what you think. I think it would be fun. I will set it up (hopefully Becky would help since she's SO much better at this than I am!) I just need to know what everyone thinks. Last one in is a rotten egg!!!

Company!!

We had a great weekend with Laura and Jennie visiting. They showed up on Friday afternoon and stayed until late Sunday. We had lots of fun just sitting around talking, watching movies (August Rush & The Bucket List), swimming, playing video games and partying. We did a double celebration on Sunday of Laura's birthday (24!!) and Father's Day.



Celebrating the birthday.......



Laura and Sirius being silly.....

Jennie and Sabian.......

Sabian and Laura snuggling on the couch......

Goodbye hugs for Jennie......

And for Laura.......

All tan from hanging out at the pool~~

High Adventure Update...

Joe, Sam and Peter left EARLY (3:45) Tuesday morning to head out for a High Adventure activity with the scout troop from church. The plan was: Tuesday - drive to West Virginia, set up camp, bike on the trail (approx. 33 miles.) Wed - finish the bike trail (another 50 miles) then move to a new camp site to prepare for white water rafting on Thursday. Friday is a free day, Saturday come home. There are probably 14-15 boys and 4 adults. So Joe calls me last night and tells me that Peter got lost. From his tone I can tell that Peter has been found again, but he didn't tell me that at first. The bike trail they are on is an old railroad track that has been turned into a trail. Apparently, Peter and one of the leaders took a wrong turn (on a railroad track???) and continued on for about 5 miles before either coming to the 'end of the line' or realizing the error of their ways and turning around to go back 5 miles and rejoin the group on the main trail. So while everyone else went 33 miles yesterday, Peter went at least 43!! And the plan is to do 50 today!! He will either be in great shape when he gets home, or he'll be exhausted! I'm going with exhausted. He'll probably sleep for 3 days. I guess that's why it's called an 'Adventure'!!

Week One and the 'Honey-Do' List.....

We've (I've) survived week one of Joe's unemployment. I have to say that the yard is starting to look pretty good! And while I am envisioning having the ultimate 'summer of the honey-do list', Sam, Peter and Mary are ready for their Dad to get a job!
Mary is used to having the computer to herself. Oh, I get on here and there for 5-10 minutes at a time to check e-mail, see if my books have come in at the library, or 'blog', but most of the time the computer is hers. She blogs, twitters, chats, surfs, e-mails, IM's, etc., and having Dad home all day is really cutting into her computer time. Now Joe is on, checking e-mail, sending out resumes, catching up on the news, searching job sites. Poor Mary is going through 'computer withdrawal'.
As for Sam and Peter...well, let's just say that they feel like they've just finished a week of 'Saturdays'. They've done more yard work this week than they have in the last two months. Usually, yard work is reserved for Saturdays, when Dad is home. With Joe home full-time, every day is Saturday. The boys have mowed, raked, spread pine straw, burned wood, cut wood, stacked wood and dis-assembled the trampoline. (It got a hole in it after the boys decided it would be fun to put a lawn chair on it, have Peter sit on it, and see how high they could bounce him. It was fun until the leg of the chair broke off and the jagged edge ripped through the fabric!)
So while I look forward to a productive summer with Joe painting, cleaning, and finishing long-forgotten projects, the kids are really hoping that he goes back to work soon!

S.M.A.R.T. Summer!

My kids are in trouble now! When I was reading one of my new favorite blogs, I was turned on to S.M.A.R.T. Goals. Apparently, this is a tool used by corporate america (and smart parents everywhere!) to encourage productivity. S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timed. There are many variations of this, of course, but you get the idea. So as I sit here with a houseful of people who think that they will spend the summer sleeping in, surfing the net, and playing video games, I am instead coming up with all kinds of ideas about how to have a more productive summer. Don't get me wrong, they can still have fun, I'm all about balance in life, I just plan to sit down with them and encourage them to set some SMART goals. For instance, Sam and Peter have Eagle Scout projects to finish, summer reading to do for school, and a room to clean. S.M.A.R.T. Goals, here we come!! Mary needs to finish her paperwork for college and get a job....S.M.A.R.T. Goals to the rescue! As for the rest of us, let's just say that I'm sure we could benefit from S.M.A.R.T. Goals as well. S.M.A.R.T. summer here we come! (I'll let you know how it works out!)