Hostage Situation......

I am currently involved in a hostage situation. I have been sent the ransom note. The demands have been made. But I don't do well with hostage type demands. So I don't think I'll be playing their game. There will be no pay-off. Here is what is being held hostage:

These are Peter and Sam's senior pictures. There are several other poses as well, and in all of them my boys are handsome, adorable, cute and charming. I would love to have them all!!

The hostage demands are as follows:

The 'If-you-really-love-your-child-and-want-enough-pictures-to-share-with-everyone-they've-ever-met-including-the-mailman' package is $575.00.

The Senior Special: 'yes-your-kid-is-cute-but-we'll-only-give-you-enough-decent-sized-pics-for-close-family-members-and-enough-wallet-pics-to-choke-a-horse' is only $395. It includes 80 wallet sized pics and a 'wallet box' to keep the 70 or so that will never be given out.

The 'you-must-not-like-your-child-very-much-we-have-people-spend-more-money-than-this-on-pictures-of-their-dogs' is a mere $150. This includes 2-5x7's, 4-4x5's and 24 wallets, all of one pose.

If you choose not to buy a package, you can always choose to buy the pictures 'ala carte' where you pay $38 for 8 wallets or $54 for an 8x10.

There are several other packages to choose from, but the cheapest one is $150. Do you know how many groceries I can buy for $150???!!

So......I will not be buying senior pictures. Sorry, boys, but I love you SO MUCH that I'd rather feed you than bend to the mafia-like demands of Lifetouch Photography. (And who did THEY pay off for this monopoly they have on school pictures?? We really need another player in this game!)

And for those who were hoping to get senior pictures of my boys.....take a good look at the pics I've posted, because that's as close as you're gonna get!

Sorry, Mr. Postman, I hope you'll still bring me my mail!

When Boys Get Bored......

Peter was feeling restless yesterday.

Jacob was gone.

Sam was working on some school stuff (he starts school on Monday).

His friends were all either busy or out of town.

How did he solve this dilemma?

Let's just say I can't wait for school to start!

Eagle Scout Court of Honor.....

I know that I've already posted about Sam and Peter becoming Eagle Scouts, but they just had their Eagle Court of Honor on July 18th (right before our vacation) so I thought I'd better write about that, too.

It was an awesome program. Our new scoutmaster, Russ Jones, conducted. The 11 year old Scouts did the flag ceremony. Reuben Aiton and Bishop Terry both spoke. We had an Eagle's nest that had about a dozen men/young men in it. Scott Smith gave the Eagle Charge, and Tapie Rohm shared a story. It was a night full of memories for Sam and Peter. Memories of campouts past, adventures shared, and friendships formed. I am so proud of my boys and know that this accomplishment will stay with them throughout their lives.

Congratulations, boys!! I love you!

Diabolical Plan - Part 1..............

Remember my concern about keeping my kids busy this summer?

I think I've got an idea.

Last week Jacob and Peter spent the entire week working on the yard. Their dad offered them an undisclosed amount of money to rake, weed, and mulch the 'natural area' in our backyard. It's a pretty big area and it needed LOTS of work. It kept them outside and busy most of the week. And they did a great job, too.

My plan for this week is even better. I signed up the four still at home (Jacob, Mary, Sam and Peter) to help out with Cub Scout Day Camp. They will spend the week serving as Den Leaders and Den Chiefs for a bunch of cub scouts. They will be gone every day from 8 until about 4:30.

I figure that if they can't find paying jobs, then I will find non-paying jobs for them. The next week, Mary will be volunteering at our church Girl's Camp for the week (that one is a sleepover camp!) And I may just send Jacob to Boy Scout camp in July if he is still unemployed. If this doesn't make them want to get 'real' jobs, I don't know what will!!

I wonder what other organizations need help this summer........

Fly Like An Eagle.............

Peter has been a busy boy!! Just last night he had his Eagle Scout Board of Review. This means that Peter is now officially an Eagle Scout!!

We are so proud of Peter. Statistics say that only 2% of boys that get involved in Scouting ever make it to the rank of Eagle!

For his Eagle Project, Peter ran an Emergency Preparedness Fair for the community. He had the Red Cross come, as well as CERT (community emergency response team), the Fire Department, and the Blood Drive people. He had booths set up to talk about water purification, 72-hour kits, long term food storage and first aid. The Blood drive people collected 31 pints of blood! It was a big project, involving lots of people, but Peter organized it all and did a GREAT JOB!!

He was pretty nervous last night at his Board of Review. As was I in the waiting room! He was in with the Board for about 30 minutes with the three reviewers grilling him. Then they sent him out while they conferred for about 15 minutes. We were called back in and they told him what a good job he'd done, how they were impressed by his answers and would be proud to have him represent the BSA (Boy Scouts of America) as an Eagle Scout. They read us a poem about the Eagle leaving the nest (I almost cried!) then shook hands all around and sent us on our way.

Peter, we are proud of you and the man you are becoming. Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see what you accomplish next!!

<----Peter in the middle, his Scoutmaster, Reuben Aiton on the far right. The other three are the ones who conducted his Board of Review. (this is the first time we saw them smiling! They were a pretty tough group!)

Consequences.........

I'd like to introduce my 'Slave-for-a-Day'. This is Peter. Peter is my slave boy today. It's noon and so far he has cleaned 2 bathrooms, started a load of laundry, whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, and is now out in the backyard raking and killing weeds. I have not yet decided what wonders await him after lunch.

What, you may ask, did Peter do to deserve this? Let me tell you......

Yesterday morning as Peter sat in his Geometry class he grew restless. Class was only half over, he was bored, he was hot, he was thirsty. (He could have been doing his classwork, but what's the fun in that?)

Peter decided that he needed some fresh air. So, without asking anyone, or saying anything, he just stood up and walked out of class. Now, if you've been in a high school recently, you'll know that there really isn't much fresh air in the hallways. So, Peter not only left class, he left the building. He was going to go right back in. He was sure he wouldn't be missed. Unfortunately for Peter, the door locked behind him and he was now locked out of the school. This meant that he had to walk all the way around the school and come back in the front door.

When you come in the front door of his school, it leads you directly to the Front Office so that people can check in when they are late to school. So, Peter walks in to the Front Office and the lady behind the desk asks him what he's doing. He explained to her that he had just left class for a minute. He just needed some fresh air. She was not very understanding. And neither was his Geometry teacher when the lady called him to tell him that Peter was now in the office. (He thought that Peter had just gone to the restroom, and would be right back.)

Which is why I got a phone call from an Assistant Administrator yesterday morning telling me that Peter would be suspended today for: skipping class, disrupting class, and leaving the building without permission.

And that's how I got my Slave-for-a-Day.

Sunrise, Sunset.........

I'm feeling very 'Fiddler on the Roof' today. I seems like just recently I had a houseful of little ones. Today, my youngest daughter and my youngest son had a birthday. Mary is 21 now, and Peter is 16. (Yes, they share a birthday. We couldn't figure out what to give Mary the year she turned 5, so we gave her a brother. They call each other 'birthday buddies')

When did this happen!?

How did this happen!?

Oh, I know that people told me it would happen.

'Enjoy them while they're small.' '

They grow up so fast.'

Of course, I didn't believe them. Those toddler years seemed to last forever. I had 6 children in 10 years. Chaos was status quo back then. It was like living in the eye of the storm. Looking back I'm not sure how I survived it. My life today seems almost boring.

I miss the days of little ones underfoot. I miss the sticky kisses and the skinned knees. Nowadays, my boys tower over me and I'm dealing with broken legs and collarbones. (Trust me, the skinned knees were easier!)

But they grew up, with or without my permission. So, Mary....Peter.....this song (or at least a part of it) is for you......

Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?

I don't remember growing older

When did they?

When did she get to be a beauty?

When did he grow to be so tall?

Wasn't it yesterday

When they were small?

Sunrise, sunset Sunrise, sunset

Swiftly fly the years

One season following another

Laden with happiness and tears

Happy Birthday, birthday buddies! I love you bunches and bunches! Hope you have a great day!

Peter's Not-So-Excellent Adventure.....

On Saturday, Peter rode in or on: his bike, a car, a wheelbarrow, a wheelchair, a stretcher, a gurney, and an ambulance.

Peter is an active kid. He likes cross-country, track, and parkour. He would rather be outside at the park or the creek than inside with video games or television. So he was bored and stir crazy when it rained Friday and Saturday. By Saturday afternoon he couldn't take it anymore. "Please, Mom, can I go to the park with Luis for a while?" Since it wasn't raining that hard, I secured a promise from him that he'd be careful, and off he went.

While grocery shopping a couple of hours later, I got a phone call. "This is Mr. P, one of your neighbors, I'm here at the creek with your son, and he thinks he may have broken his leg."

Apparently, climbing, running, and jumping on and off things are NOT good rainy day activities. Peter had been trying to climb up onto a drainage pipe that runs near the creek (in the woods), realized that he couldn't get up there, and dropped to the ground. Now, Peter has done similar 'moves' dozens of times with no consequence. But combine rain, mud, and an errant branch upon landing and you end up with a broken leg.

He and Luis figured out it was broken when A) They heard the crack when Peter landed, and B) Peter lifted up his leg and the foot flopped to one side. Peter stayed in the mud and rain while Luis went for help. This is where Mr. P comes in. He rushed to the scene, surveyed the situation, called us, then ran back to his house for a wheelbarrow. By the time we arrived he had Peter in the wheelbarrow and was wheeling him across the field to our car. One blessing, two emergency rooms, one ambulance, two x-rays, a cat scan, some sedatives, a gurney ride, a stretcher ride, two wheelchair rides, a splint and 7 1/2 hours later, he was home again.

Peter, not being one to do things half-way, broke both of the bones in his lower right leg. The fibula was broken vertically (they may have used the term 'shattered' in the first ER), and the tibia was broken horizontally (basically a 1/2 inch slab sheared off the bottom).

His leg is splinted right now while the swelling subsides, and we go to the orthopedic doc on Wednesday to find out whether or not he needs surgery. He may need a couple of screws put in to hold the bones together. Or, (we hope and pray!) they may say that the bones are placed well and just put a cast on it. Either way, Track season is over for Peter, and he faces a long road to recovery. I have to say, he's taking it pretty well. He is being a very 'patient patient'. He's not at all happy about the situation, but he knows there's nothing to be done about it now, so he's got to live with it.

I'll keep you updated on his progress, but in the meantime, here are some pictures for you....

Wrestling and Homework....

I may have mentioned in a previous post how much I despise wrestling. And how fond of wrestling my youngest son is. Interestingly enough, we have kind of reversed our positions.

Let me explain.....

For Peter, wrestling seems to have lost some of it's appeal. He is no longer quite so gung ho about it. It's not turning out the way he thought it would. It's a LOT more work than he anticipated, and not quite so much fun. He has NO TIME in his life for anyone or anything other than wrestling, including on the weekends. And if anything can be said about Peter, it is that he is multi-faceted. It is virtually impossible for him to be involved in just one thing. He has to be involved in lots of things in order to be happy. That said, I think he's kind of waiting for me to pull him out of wrestling as he refuses to quit. While I am impressed by his integrity for not wanting to quit, I'm not quite ready to pull him out......

Don't get me wrong...I am still not cool with having my son thrown down on the mat, and definitely still not fond of him coming home each night with new cuts and bruises (though that is happening less and less.) However......the coach has recently put a new policy into place. While practice will still run from 4-7 each night, the first hour will be devoted to studying. That's right, a coach enforced study hall!! Apparently, grades are important at school. Who knew?? It's not just about sports!! I'm so excited by this prospect I can hardly stand it!! Someone other than me helping Peter do homework!!

(I may also have mentioned in a previous post something about leading a horse to water. In that post, I suggested that perhaps if another person led a horse to water, maybe said horse would drink......maybe the wrestling coach is that person. Maybe the horse will finally learn to drink the water. Maybe the coach can MAKE the horse drink.)

So, for now, I'll wait. I may still pull him out, but first I'm going to wait a couple of weeks and see how this homework thing works out.

Sports Mom???

I am a sports mom extrordinaire. Over the years I have supported (financially and emotionally) my kids in such sports as T-Ball, Baseball, Soccer, Gymnastics, (church)Basketball, Swimming, Ultimate Frisbee and Cross-Country. I even coached one son's soccer team for a couple of years, and taught pre-school gymnastics to help pay for that same son's gymnastics team fees.


Recently, however, my youngest son has decided he wants to be on the wrestling team at his high school. As great as I think sports are for kids, I'm not too sure about wrestling. What good can come of a sport where the goal is to overpower your opponent and then slam him down on the mat??? So far, as I've picked this boy up from practice, I've been met by bruises, cuts, scratches and a bloody lip. I am NOT impressed!!



I was not impressed at the end of one practice where the boys were running from one end of the wrestling room to the other. One wall was concrete blocks, the other was a wall of mirrors. As the boys were racing from one wall to the other, you guessed it, one of them ran full on into the wall of mirrors and shattered one of the panels. The boy fell to the ground, and the glass fell onto the mat. Thankfully, the boy was okay, just one small cut and a little shaken up. You would think that this would mean the end of practice for the day, but no. The coach just moved the boys over to either side of the broken glass and contunued the drill.



I am not impressed with the amount of time wrestling takes. School gets out at 3:30. Wrestling practice goes from 4:00 until 7:00. That's the scheduled time. It's never over before 7:15, and often goes until 7:30. This is Monday through Friday. On Saturdays they go from 9:00 until Noon. On weekdays, this means that Peter has left the house at 6:00 AM to go to Seminary (a before school scripture study class) and isn't home before 7:30-7:45 PM. Then he has to shower and eat dinner. That leaves us about an hour of down time before bed at 9:30. When is he supposed to do his homework? What about family time? What about Wednesday night church youth group? What about Scouting?


But, while I'm not impressed by wrestling, Peter loves it. He loves the physical exertion. He loves the weight-lifting they do for an hour each day. He wears the bruises and bloody lips and cuts and scratches as badges of honor, earned by a hard fought battle on the mat. He loves the comaraderie of his team mates and how the coach demands the best they can give.

So, like any good mother, I bite my tongue. I try to ignore the cuts and bruises and instead focus on the light in his eye, his confidence, and how he is building not only physical strength, but strength of character as he meets and exceeds the demands of the sport as well as the demands of the coach.

I just hope I can make it through the season.

Therapy for Life.....

The kid will need therapy for life........

One of my sons (he will remain nameless for his own sake) has started keeping his toothbrush in my bathroom. He says that the 'little kids' mess with it if it's in the other bathroom.

This morning as I got out of the shower and started to dry off, the bathroom door opened and he started to walk in!! He shut the door FAST as I stood there with a towel in front of me so I'm not sure how much damage was done to his poor psyche. I had locked my bedroom door, but not the bathroom door. Apparently, he knocked, but because I didn't answer (as I was in the shower!!) he assumed that I must still be out on my morning walk, so he picked the lock and walked in. I don't think he'll be doing that again anytime soon!

What if the horse is an 'aquaphobic'???

Random Thoughts on:

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

What if you know that he's thirsty?

Do you suppose he's holding out for kool-aid?

Will the horse drink if someone else leads him?

Does the horse know something I don't?

After leading said horse to said water multiple times without result, I am ready to do one of three things: shoot the horse.....turn him into glue.....put him out to pasture. I really am at my wits end with this horse. Any and all advice will be appreciated as I am about ready to be fitted for a straight jacket. Be sure to come and visit me down at the funny farm!

(FYI: Horse=kid, Water=Homework)

One Lucky Mom....

When Peter was 7 years old he starred in a commercial for International Paper (the company that Joe was working for at the time.) It was fun, we lived in Memphis at the time, and when we would go to the Redbirds baseball games sometimes they would show the commercial on the big screen and people would see us in the stands and ask Peter for his autograph. He loved the attention, but was also embarrassed by it.

I still like to watch the commercial sometimes. It reminds me of the boy that Peter used to be and I compare him to the young man that he is today and am comforted that he is still a great kid. He is sweet, compassionate, loving and kind. He has a strong testimony and a soft heart. He is a great friend to all who know him, a good brother and a loving uncle.

And I am one lucky mom.

One more day of Summer...

Peter had a great weekend with Jared, one of his best friends ever. Jared came over on Friday afternoon and they 'hung out' until late Saturday afternoon. They rode bikes in the neighborhood, went to the pool (to 'check out the ladies') did parkour at the playground, shot paintballs at each other, went to a late night movie (The Dark Knight) followed by a late night trip to McDonald's, rode bikes to visit friends in the neighborhood, rode around in Peter's car (Joe drove), played video games and basically just enjoyed one of the last days of summer. They start school on Tuesday.

Here they are preparing for battle. Jared with the gun, Peter in the helmet. Jacob, Sam and Sabian are watching.

Here is Peter reacting to being shot.....I refused to take a picture of the welt, let's just say it was a shot 'below the belt'!

Peter and Jared in Peter's car....Joe drove them around the neighborhood, but here they are planning future adventures.............

Watch out, ladies!!! Who could resist these two?

Yes, they really are that cool!

Now that the weekend is over and school starts on Tuesday, along with early (EARLY) morning Seminary that starts at 6:15, we have been talking about school night rules/bedtime. We agreed that the television would be off by 8pm on Sunday nights and will probably not be on at all Monday through Thursday. (I can dream, can't I??) We were going to start our plan tonight...until Peter saw this:

And then I saw this:

And heard: "Please, Mom!!"

Now, granted, school doesn't start until Tuesday, so technically it's not a school night yet. But the first time he saw this movie I had to listen to him talk like Napoleon Dynamite for months. (Gosh!!) I really don't want to go through that again. But, I'll probably throw caution to the wind and give in......after all, it is still summer......for one more day.....

What was I thinking???

In my quest to be the 'World's Best Mom' I sometimes go a little overboard. This week I allowed Peter to convince me that he should buy a car. He had the money in the bank, made lots of promises he won't keep, and gave me that smile that I just can't resist. Besides, if it doesn't work out we can always sell it again! So, that being said......drum roll, please......here is Peter in his 'new' car!!! It's a 1963 Mercury Comet.

Yes, it's 30 years older than Peter.

No, he can't drive it...yet...it's '3 on the tree' and he hasn't quite mastered the whole shifting thing yet.

Yes, it does run. It has a little shimmy when it hits 40 mph, but that can be fixed, right?

No, he doesn't have a job to pay for gas, insurance, etc....but he's working on it. (He bought the car from the manager at the local Little Caesar's Pizza place so he's hoping for a hand-up on a job there!)

In the meantime, the car is in the garage. He spent 3 hours on it the first day cleaning it out...vacuuming, doing the windows, fixing the tear in the front seat (duct tape). It's looking pretty good! It really is in great shape for a 45 year old car! The second day I couldn't find Peter anywhere.....he was sitting in the garage in his car, apparently taking a 'virual road trip'. So, needless to say, Peter is a happy boy. And I just may be in the running for 'Mother-of-the-Year'! At least for today.

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'!!

Changing Times..........

My youngest, Peter, came home from a campout yesterday exclaiming "I got to shuck corn for dinner last night, I've never done that before!" At first I was just a little surprised, and maybe a little embarrassed. What will people think that my child is 15 and has never shucked corn?? What kind of a mother am I? Then, as I thought about it, it occurred to me. He has never milked a cow either, or gathered eggs from the hen house, or walked 3 miles a day to school (uphill both ways), or had to dig a hole for a new outhouse. I'm pretty sure that my father did most of these things. (I heard plenty of stories about it when I was a kid! At least about the outhouse and walking to school) I guess my point is.....times have changed. My father and mother grew up during the depression era. My dad lived in a very modest 'tar paper' home, with no running water and an outhouse out back. My mother's dad died when she was only 5, and the youngest of 10 children. Her mother took in washing, and ironing for people to help support the family and the older brothers got extra jobs to help out. (Let me interject here....that Peter has offered to drop out of school and get a job to help out should Joe not find work soon!) I grew up a little differently, in the 60's, a time of great change for our country....my 'hardships' (according to my children) were the lack of color tv, cable and internet. We had no microwaves, video games or vcr/dvd players (we could only watch a show once, poor us!) At the time I was born, there were only 48 states, gas was 25 cents a gallon, bread 20 cents a loaf, and Ike was President. Yes, times have changed, and I can only imagine how they will continue to change as my children and grandchildren grow up.

This is the home my dad grew up in......

This is me and my brother, Peter, in 1960 or 61.....