Field-tripping with 4th graders

Last Monday, I remembered at 8:30 am that I was going on a field trip with Sarah's class at 9:00. I HATE it when I forget things! I got ready lickity split, and off we went in the school bus to Willamette University. The Salem City Water something-or-other had little stations on "water-shed" type issues. It was rather boring, except for the part on macro-invertebrates. That was kind of interesting.

It's always fun to volunteer for field trips. However, by the time they're in 4th grade, there are a few things that are different. Like body odor. Yes, the kind that smells like onions. The day was hot, I got really tired and a little grouchy, and I kept smelling that NASTY onion b.o. all day long. Sarah promised she put on deodorant that morning, but I think some of the smell was emanating from her too. I was beat and grossed out by the time I got home. But, I'm still grateful that I can help out with the school every once in a while. It's nice to see what's going on without being too intrusive. Kudos to the teacher. I bet she smells that smell OFTEN!

Good-bye Mr. Nasty-Pants

At the request of some of my readers, I am adding another post so that Mr. Nasty-Pants doesn't greet you every time you visit my blog. It's rather gross.

So, I've made some good memories in the last few days. Hmmmmm, where do I begin? At the request of my children, we spent some of the weekend watching old Hansen home-movies from my teenage years and later. The kids think it's pretty fun to see their aunts dressed like West Valley gangstas, and their uncle Ryan with a lush head of dark, thick hair. Oh, and they LOVE to see uncle Reese when he was a youngster. I must admit, he was pretty cute. Well, one of the video clips happened to be of my wedding shower. I was in the kitchen making dinner while the girls watched me open my presents on the t.v.(why didn't anyone tell me that I looked like a total dork in 1996?). Suddenly, Kate ran into the kitchen and said, "Mom, Mom! You need to come here! Look on the t.v. What's that?" She was kind of concerned. There in the t.v. screen was their mother holding up a sexy black thingy and everyone was laughing. Kate knew that something wasn't settling right in her gut. I laughed and said, "Oh, it's just a sexy night gown someone gave me. People do that at wedding showers." Sarah was smirking and she said, "it was just a joke, right mom? Or did you actually wear it?!" I think my face got red as I suddenly realized my 10 year old was asking about my "private" life. I said, "It's none of your business." And went back to making the tacos. She took that as a "yes" and just about barfed I think.

Oh, Kate FINALLY FINALLY lost both of her front teeth! I have felt so sorry for her. It took forever for the first one to come out. And the second was just the same. Once again, I accidentally punched her in the face, and I heard ripping, but the tooth was still there (once we cleaned up the blood factory). Her poor tooth was just hanging by the nerve. It hurt her so bad! When it finally fell out, there was nerve-guts still hanging in the empty space. Neal had to pull it off. But, she's mending well, and she sounds so dang cute when she talks. She can also whistle now! She's excited about that.

And finally, the embarrassing moment of the century. It's so embarrassing, in fact, that I had an internal debate as to whether or not I should post. The memory is still rather fresh. But I figured, "10 years from now, I'll laugh my head off as I re-tell this story." In fact, I'm laughing already. So, here I go. . . . . I'm involved in an organization called "American Mothers." On Saturday, they had the Oregon State Convention in Portland. I happened to be team-teaching a class with Alison on "The 5 Love Languages." (Great book by the way. Written by Dr. Gary Chapman. Highly recommended. I'm not a fan of the "self-help" genre, but this one is practical and very good for relationships).

I haven't been sleeping well. Friday night was my third night in a row with only a few hours of sleep. I awoke at 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. We were leaving at 7, so I just got up and got ready for the day. Needless to say, I felt exhausted! My thoughts were fragmented, and I felt an inch away from tears. When I get really tired, I cry easily. I'm such a wuss. Anyway, we arrived in Portland to get ready for the convention, and as I got out of the car, I thought something didn't feel right. I didn't feel quite put-together. In fact, I felt a little free. Suddenly, I realized that I had forgot to put my bra on!!!!!!! That's bad, because at this point in time, 8 weeks from delivery, my boobs are ginormous! Seriously! I quietly went to the bathroom, and took a good look at myself in the mirror. I just stood there and laughed/gasped to myself. What could I do? I was in a funny pickle. Luckily, I had on a shade t-shirt under a black maternity shirt. SOME support was being provided. In all honesty, as I looked at myself as objectively as possible, I really couldn't tell. Wheww! But I KNEW! It's a good thing I don't have the "peanut-nipple" thing going on (sorry to any male readers), so I didn't have to worry about a "two-gun salute" as I stood in front of two classes of people and taught them about how to have a good relationship with their spouses. But I really had to turn on the mental power to stand in front of people, dog tired, free as a bird, and hope I didn't falter. I must say, I think I did a pretty good job. And it now makes for a good story.

I think I need to focus on getting more sleep. Crazy things are beginning to happen.

Mother's Day

I had a very Happy Mothers Day. I woke up to my kids giving me the cards they had picked out all by themselves. I must admit, I laughed pretty hard. Sarah's card grossed me out so bad, that I had to keep turning it upside down so I wouldn't have to look at it. And, if you notice, the card Kate gave me is in Spanish. Neal kept telling her "it's in Spanish!" But Kate said, "it's ok. Uncle Reese can read it to her."











On Saturday, Neal cleaned out our utility room for me. It's been bugging the crap out of me, so for mothers day, I asked him to clean it and organize it for me. Ahhhhhh. Now THAT'S the kind of present I love. It's so nice to do my laundry in a room that's a little more organized.

Yesterday, I didn't' have to do a dish or even cook dinner. Neal and the girls made dinner for me, and even cleaned up. They even bought me a whole pie all to myself! After my 3 hour nap (heaven) and dinner, we watched "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark." The kids thought it was really good. I remember when my dad took us to the theater to see that movie. It was pretty fun to watch again. Kate kept running around pretending to whip everything, and she yelled, "I'm Radiator Jones!" We thought that was pretty funny. I had to correct her and say, "it's Indiana, not Radiator." "Oh." She said. Now I'll always call him Radiator Jones.

In Defense of the Teva

There were a few comments regarding Neal's teva sandals from the last blog entry. It got me thinking about my philosophy on shoes. I'm not the typical woman. I don't have a different shoe for every different occasion. I have a few pair of sensible church shoes, running shoes, sandals, and maybe a few pair of regular casual shoes (think "Ellen," but without the girl-friend). Oh, and some flip-flops that go with everything.

My current philosophy on shoes has changed over the years, and is greatly due to a combination of ill-advice from my mother, and my practical nature. It has morphed into the idea that you buy a few pair of good shoes (meaning you may have to spend some money), and they won't let you down for a long, long time. Caution! Be careful with the fads, like the big-old chunky boots Neal spent $80 on and they were "out-of-style" the following winter. Or maybe the old Doc Marten waffle-stomping army-style boots I spent $150 on and only wore for a short time. It makes me sick to think that I only got one year out of all that dough. One must make sure to spend the money on something that may stay in style a little longer. Like a good pair of Merrell hikers.

When the Teva became popular, it was the summer before my sophomore year in high school. So that would make it about 1991. Growing up with the mother I did, it did not seem reasonable to spend $40-$60 for a pair of sandals (for crying out loud!). Being the wise sage that she is (or total cheap-skate no matter what her yearly income), we were always told that you could get the exact same thing at k-mart, only cheaper. Remember Ked's? My dear mother bought us $1.50 "ked's" from k-mart and told us to just use a blue marker on the back to make them look like the real deal (her mother probably painted a black line down the back of her leg to imitate silk stockings during the 40's due to the silk shortage for all those parachutes being made for Normandy.). Perhaps I shouldn't be too harsh on my mom. She was raised on a ranch in Montana by 2 parents who lived through the depression. I digress.

Naturally, when the Teva became popular, they had the real deal at Kirkhams and R.E.I., or the cheap ones at k-mart. The summer of 1991 was also the summer I had my first job. So, I had an income to buy my own clothes, instead of relying on my mom's "bargain-rack" specials, home-made items, or hand-me-down's from cousins Dave and Jenny (they DID buy all their clothes at Nordstroms and most of it WAS polo. However, they never seemed to fit right). Anyway, seeing as my shoe philosophy wasn't formed yet, I did what I was always taught. I bought the k-mart's.

Sophomore year started, and Amity had REAL Teva's. As I sat next to her in Mrs. Roach's english class, I noticed that hers always looked nice and new. Mine, however, began to fray and finally a strap broke. Yes, I did wear them almost every day. That is a practical trait I will always have. But I began thinking, "maybe I SHOULD splurge and buy a real pair all for myself." I remember that moment of decision. It took a whole 2 weeks pay from Ream's ($3.60 and hour baby), but I did it. I got my sister to drive me to Kirkhams, and I bought me some Teva's. They never let me down. I had them for years.

A philosophy was born! When first married, we bought Neal a pair of the brown wing-tip style doc martens, and he wore them for years. And, as you can see from the previous post, Teva's last forever! Neal got those babies the christmas after we were married, so that would be about 11.5 years, and they still work great. The velcro isn't even malfunctioning!

So, next time you see me and I'm wearing the same shoes I always do, just remember that I have a philosophy on shoes. If they last long, and aren't TOTALLY out of style (a relative term, I know. What's in-style for me might differ greatly with what's in-style for one of my sisters), I'll wear them till they wear out!

Removing the Training Wheels

Sarah had a great time at Outdoor School. She did awesome! It was so funny when I went to pick her up on Friday. She looked happy, though a little greasy. You know how it is - you send your kids off with toothbrushes, clean undies, soap and shampoo, and hope they use it all. Well, Sarah DID change her undies every day, which was probably the best thing she could have done. She also brushed her teeth, which was more than I can say for myself when left without my mother for a few days at the age of 10. But when we opened her suitcase to unpack, she had all of her clean socks left and still was wearing the ones she had on the first day. And, her shampoo and soap was unopened. She said she was having too much fun to shower. "That's ok." I told her. She could have done a lot worse.









On Saturday, the girls had their annual "Awesome 3000." It's a big fund-raiser for the school district. The kids have fun, get t-shirts, and get a medal. This was Kate's first year running, and she had a blast! She thought it was the coolest thing EVER. I was unable to attend, but Neal got to see them run. Kate kept insisting to everyone at church on Sunday that she won first place. Yeah right. I think she finished in the middle of the pack. But she insists she was the first. Whatever keeps her happy.

In some of the pictures, you may notice Kate's unsightly snaggle-tooth. Poor kids. Her 2 front teeth have been loose for a while now, and they just won't fall out. One has literally been hanging for about 5 days now. On Saturday, I turned around really quickly, and Kate was right behind me. I elbowed her SO HARD right in the teeth. I thought, "surely I knocked that dang tooth out!" Nope. It just bled and bled like crazy. Then yesterday, I finally convinced her to let me pull it out. I told her we'd walk to Target and buy her a toy. She relented, and I yanked. I heard a ripping sound, but the dang tooth is still there! It just bled and bled again. And she cried and said I was so mean.





Well, she was right, I am mean. Why? Because yesterday for family night we were going to teach Kate to ride a 2 wheeler. She wasn't too happy about that and said it was so mean. But, we kept it positive and got her pretty excited about it. After putting on the helmet and pads (the pads were so tight on her, I though we were going to cut off the circulation in her legs), it was time to try the old bike. She was pretty scared. We'd hold on to her and she would pedal, then she would brake about 3 feet from where we stopped. "I need to practice my braking!" she would say.

We have a saying in our family - "Peton's don't quit." Of course we reminded Kate. But, as you can tell, after she yelled, "THIS Peton quits!" she tucked tail and ran for home.