So, I finally got the kids’ game schedules. It’s not pretty. Our options seem to be stay at the field 10 hours, or make two trips most weeks. The exception is the week where most of the kids are on the field at the same time. Different fields. Yay! So far, my weekends are only eaten up through October, but I’m sure that’s because they haven’t finished the rest of the schedule yet. I surely do wish the boys were involved in a sport I understood, yk? I’ve tried, really. And dh explains it anew each fall, but I just. don’t. get. it.
See, I understand baseball. I understand soccer. I understand and enjoy the rodeo. In fact, if my kids were to get involved in rodeo, I wouldn’t mind having to be there for 10 hours every Saturday! The only ones I’ve seen live have been County Fair ones, but we also watch it on TV. I’d love to go to an event like the Houston Rodeo! The boys and I would totally get into the bull-riding and everyone else would enjoy the music and rides. Looking at last year’s Houston Rodeo Tickets schedule, I see that some of Country’s favorite acts played. If we win the lottery, maybe I can get Houston Rodeo concert tickets for all of us for next year’s she-bang. That would be rocking cool, especially if I could get my SIL and her family to meet us there!
I have one daughter who loves to draw and design clothes. I have another who is spending some of her free time drawing fairies, and a third who thinks God surely created her to watch movies. I think I may have found a website that all of them will enjoy. Cartoon Doll Emporium has added a line of dolls from High School Musical, modeled after Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and others. And they have forums, too, with fan clubs for the movie. It’s a totally rad experience for your High School Musical loving tween.
And listen close, shhhh! Lean in. I know some of you moms have a little political thing going on, like I do. It’s not all about the recipes up there in your head. Check out the political dolls. Dress them up and make them do crazy stuff. (That’s for the ones you don’t like. You can make your favorite be absolutely correct in every way.) But when you start giggling, be sure to keep it quiet. You’d hate to wake up the kids and have to explain yourself, right?
Umm, I got distracted from the planning by the prospect of creative endeavors. So I whipped up a wee dress for Drama. I let her try it on real quick, and this is what I saw:
I’ll be going to the movies again soon. I’ll probably even take Country and Diva with me. When I read about Eye of the Dolphin a few days ago, I thought it sounded like something the girls and I would enjoy. So today, when I read that you can win free movie passes. I got excited again. Unfortunately for me, none of the theaters in my area are participating in the free pass give away, but I’m not planning to let that stop me. I’ll most likely end up buying the dvd as well as seeing it in the theater.
Here’s the trailer
I know we will love this movie. Free Willy and Born to be Wild were big hits around here and I think this movie will appeal to the same audience. I’m excited to see it for more than the storyline, though. The fact that it’s set in the Bahamas really appeals to me, because I so enjoyed the time I spent there.
We’re ho-oo-ome! We got in late last night, and I have been so sleepy all. day. long. I haven’t done much of anything beyond survive, and that was more or less successful depending on whether you require any amount of grace in your definition of survival or if just continuing to draw breath qualifies. BUT!!! FUN!!! Oh my goodness, we had so much FUN!
The girls rode several hard core thrill rides, the ones rated 5. I rode one, my first ride of the day, and then I stuck with 4 and under. Note for the future: Casses take special care. They are not meant to be turned upside down. You may spin the Cass, you may jiggle the Cass. You may even make the Cass go very fast, and she will laugh her fool head off. But do not under any circumstance turn the Cass upside down whilst you are spinning her very fast. No, no, no. If you do that, your Cass will not be able to walk, and you will be sad for her.
The water park was incredible. I really liked the water slides, and could have ridden on those over and over. It was so fun to slide fast down the tube, and then shoot out the bottom, like mail through a chute. And this brings me to the topic of mailboxes. We’re going to need a new one shortly, I do believe. I joked earlier that mailboxes were the one item where my large family size did not affect my purchasing decision. We may need the food service size can of green beans, but we have not yet reached the point where we require a commercial mailbox. I guess that’s a good thing, since I don’t find those very attractive at all. I’ll continue to browse the residential mailboxes until I find one that I like and I can afford. It will probably be a plain-jane metal box, which is kind of a let down after looking at these by Dahlhaus. I’ll just hint that I don’t want my neighbors to feel badly, instead of indicating TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A MAILBOX!!!??? That’s a lot of beans and weiners. Which brings me around to grocery shopping.
I must go to the grocery store sometime between now and Saturday. Either DH or myself or both have been flying for the past few weekends, and so no serious shopping has been done. He’s going to be out again this Saturday, and if I don’t procure at least some snack stuff before then, the kids may want to cook some ladyfingers, and I am afraid they will be mine
One of the most rocking things I ever did was to go to Europe when I was in high school. The trip was organized by my French teacher, and we went to France (of course), Italy and England. I had wondered if there was anyway to do something like that for my kids, since we home school, and today I found out, that YES, it is!
Hemisphere Educational Travel offers international student travel tours, and they have no minimum group size. Discounts usually start with groups of 15, so it would even be relatively easy to pull together a group of home schoolers large enough to qualify for them. Hemisphere also offers custom tours with ethnic or religious focus. They can accommodate those with special dietary needs, as well. And if, English isn’t your groups first language, they can take care of that, too: they have bilingual guides.
My kids are so ready to get out of this house! I didn’t take them skating last week, because I didn’t feel like it, and I won’t go this week, because I am just certain Spidey would fall and bump his stapled head. Nor will we go next week, because it’s Daddy/Grand-Daddy’s birthday, and I’ll be going to his house for supper.
I think I need to come up with something for us to do. Maybe miniature golf?? I know there are a couple of those places around, and I know the children would enjoy it, if we can avoid swinging the clubs at one another. Heh, you reckon a big name company like Ping Golf makes the equipment for putt-putt? Or are there companies that specialize in just that?
Or bowling. But, you know, I fell once when bowling, and so I won’t go do that for fear Spidey will fall. Sigh. I sounds like he’s got a mortal wound there, don’t I? He’s fine. But he has StaplesInHisHead. It hurts me just to see them.
I was talking to my mom yesterday (Thursday?? I forget) about putting the children in dance or karate lessons. Country and Diva have taken dance before, and enjoyed it, and I think my rowdy sons would all benefit from the self-discipline karate requires. The only thing that’s making me hesitate is cost. I don’t want to enroll them all in classes and then find out that I’ve financially bitten off more than I can chew, ykwim? It would be six kids altogether, so that’s a chunk of change, unless I can get a good discount.
Anyway, I’m looking at dancewear, and checking things out on the sly. I haven’t even mentioned it to the children yet. I was scoping out Just for Kix today. They carry dance and cheer wear from the lightest of ballet tutus right on down to cheerleading shoes. I was hoping to find some info on classes for my area, but they only list classes in the midwest for now. Still, I ordered a catalog, because the products are nice, and reasonably priced (and the selection is awesome compared to what I can find here in Bittyburg), and I can get free shipping with an order of $75 or more. Even if I don’t end up putting them in classes, Diva and Drama would love to get leotards and tutus for Christmas, and Diva will enjoy looking at the catalog as well after I make my selections.
Sigh. I just got sucked into the dance prints. Have I ever mentioned that I wanted to take ballet as a child, but never told my parents? And that pictures like this one
almost make me cry? The power and the pain there is just incredible to me. But I think that is a story for my other blog, because it hasn’t a thing to do with mothering.
If I ask my three older children what they are willing to do for pizza and a movie with the express intent of getting them to clean up, is that bribery? Or can we call it a just reward for extra effort? I guess the answer to that question is moot, because we are now debating which movie it’s going to be.
I’ve had a total of five baby showers between my 8 children, and I enjoyed each and everyone of them. I’ve attended my fair share for other moms, too, but I think they decorations i saw today at PartyPail are among the cutest I’ve ever seen. These guys carry complete lines of party goods from baby shower tableware to matching decorations.
Just look at these Princess Baby Shower Decorations! Diva has a birthday coming up next month, and these would be perfect for her party. She’s going to be 12, but you are never to old to be a princess! Come to think of it, my birthday is coming up pretty soon, too. I’ll be 40, and I’m absolutely certain I’d rather have the princess set than the “over the hill” set someone is bound to think is funny.
