The saga continues....

The math project is done.  I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not but they had to use less than 500 flat or square toothpicks to build a bridge of their design that would hold weight.  The bridge had touse angles and whatnot that they've been learning about in class (geometry).  They had to construct the bridge in a design that they thought would hold a lot of weight.  Apparently, one year the teacher had a student build a bridge that held 100 pounds.

Yep.  You read that correctly.  100 pounds.  I can almost without a doubt tell you that Peter's bridge will NOT hold 100 pounds.  If it holds 10 pounds I would be surprised. In fact, I'm just praying that he gets it to school in one piece. 

And no, we did not test it.  Because testing is what you do when you spend a lot of time on the project.  We were not about to put any weight on this bridge last night lest it shatter into  less than 500 pieces.

When Peter got in the car yesterday, he was having a mild panic attack.  In addition to completing his bridge he had a major French test to study for.  AND...

AND....

He informed me that he has a major French project (in additon to his major Religion project) due in a week. 

I almost lost it.  But I kept it together. There's a lot to be said for the serenity prayer and I may or may not have whispered "Jesus take the wheel".

Dan however did not keep it together and did  a lot of loud lecturing while Peter was gluing toothpicks last night.  A lot.

I'm hoping that Peter has finally figured out that this is not middle school and he's not going to be able to skate by on his good memory.  He's actually going to have to put in the work - ahead of time.

This morning when things were more calm, I told Peter that he needed to come up with a plan for how he was going to get these two MAJOR PROJECTS done in the next couple of weeks.  A written plan.  And I would back off as long as he was actually following the plan. 

I feel like this is a nice compromise. We'll see if this keeps him on track and keeps me off his back.

Sounds like if it works it will be a win-win.

In other news...

Looks like someone has discovered the tree.

 

 

Thanks for the tree with all the toys!  

 

 

 

And with that, I'm out! I'll be at Sarah's school for the rest of this week and Monday helping out with the 8th grade's Santa's Workshop.  Should be fun!

Also, I'm deciding if I should help out with a cookie exchange Peter's school PTO is doing (I think for the teachers).  I know that volunteering for a cookie exchange leads to being PTO president but I WILL NOT LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN.  I really don't have that in me but I do think I can help with some cookies. 

Have a great rest of the week and weekend!  I probably won't be back here until Tuesday - unless Peter's bridge holds 100 pounds and you can bet I'll be here letting you know!  ;)

No new tricks here. Just me continuing to annoy my son.

In the two freshman parent meetings I've attended this year, the guidance counselors recommend backing off and letting the kids figure things out on their own - especially homework assignments and managing their time.

In years past, I would check the school website prior to picking up Peter and Sarah just to get a feel for how much homework they both had and to make sure that no special projects or important dates were being missed.

Peter's high school has a more advanced website where homework is posted, messages from the teacher are posted, and files are shared.

I have been doing my best to stay off this website and Peter has stayed on top of things the entire first quarter and his grades were excellent.  However, when he would mention a project or something outside of the realm of homework and tests, I would hop on and just get a feel for the scope of the project/assignment.  It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

So several weeks ago when he mentioned a math project that required me to purchase toothpicks, I hopped right on the website to get more details.  And right after that, he mentioned a religion project that he was actually excited about so I checked that out as well.

I printed off a blank calendar and wrote down the important due dates and showed it to Peter so he could get a visual for when everything was due so he wouldn't leave it all to the last minute.  He said he was aware of everything and had it handled.

I occasionally would mention that perhaps he needed to be working on his projects and he would get mad. So I backed off.  But prior to the Thanksgiving break, I told him he really needed to get the math project done so he could focus on his religion project. He agreed that he would and he spent a little time on the math project but he did not get it completed.  Every time I mentioned it he got angry so by Saturday I told Dan that I wasn't bringing it up again. I was done.  He was on his own.

Until yesterday when I glanced at the calendar and realized that another smaller math project was due today and that in fact, the big project that I thought was due on Friday is actually due tomorrow.  YIKES!

I sent Dan a flurry of texts and mentioned that this is what the guidance counselors were referring to when they said, "you need to let your kids crash and burn" because I was going to stay out of it.

But when Peter got in the car yesterday I casually mentioned the two math projects trying hard to be very laid back so as not to incite his anger.  He said that he had the mini-project almost done and that he was aware the big project was due on Thursday and not Friday as I had been thinking all along.  He said he let me keep thinking that so I would get off his back.

Hmph!

He came home and finished the mini-project and got the big project almost completed.  I guess just because he's not doing things the way I want him to do them doesn't mean he doesn't have them under control.

It's funny how we all have our different styles.  Dan will not rest or do anything enjoyable until every last bit of work he has to do is completed.  I, on the other hand, prefer to work, take a break, work, take a break, etc. until I am done with what I need to get done.  Peter, however, prefers to play, play, relax, play, play, relax, play, relax, and then work, work, and work.

I guess as long as this style works for him, I just need to back off just as the counselors suggested.  But y'all - it's hard.

I'm trying though. But don't think I'm not going to casually mention the religion project on Friday afternoon.  I am still a very old dog after all...

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

Dan and I have been a little stressed out for the last couple of weeks because we knew as soon as we got the Christmas tree, Wally would be all over it.  He loves to climb anything possible and he loves to knock around and chew on anything he can get his little orange paws  and he razor sharp teeth around.

So we were dreading how he was going to react to the tree.  We have some not so fond memories of Peter and Sarah with the tree and how by the end of December all the ornaments were at the top of the tree leaving bare the branches within their reach. 

I figured after Wally got done with our tree it would look something like this:

So imagine our delight when two days after decorating the tree it still looks like this:

Occasionally he will sniff around underneath the tree for a minute or two or he will sitin front of it and stare at it as if he is determining the best method of attacking it but then he casually turns and walks away from it.

The tree is very dense with a lot of branches and because of this, he can't make his way to the trunk.  And since he can't make it to the trunk, he can't climb up it. 

So far, so good.  Fingers crossed it stays this way!

And here are a few pictures we took while decorating the tree:

This little felt Santa that Dan is putting on the tree was on his father's tree when he was a little boy.  Dan estimates this ornament is almost 100 years old.  Also, it used to be red but has faded to brown over the years.

Who's that creeping behind me?

Just my sweet husband!

Sarah insisted on a photo with Wally!

What we've been doing for the past week...

It's been a whole week since I blogged but when the kids are out of school, I just can't seem to find time to sit down and write anything. Plus, I was busy sleeping in and eating.

I had signed Peter up over a month ago to take his test for his permit this past Wednesday when he was out of school.  We excitedly drove up to the DMV early because that's how I roll, only to discover that their computers had been down all day and they weren't able to do anything.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRR.......

I was annoyed.  Peter was annoyed.  But, on the way there he said, "What if I haven't studied enough?  What if I fail?"  So, I'm trying to look at this as a blessing in disguise and hope that Peter will study more and feel more prepared.  But I can't mention this to him because if I do, he will bite my head off.  He can't stand to be reminded of what he needs to do.  However, if I don't remind him, then chances are he will not do it.  It's a balancing act around here. 

He has a big math project due on Friday.   I encouraged him at the beginning of Thanksgiving break to get it done so he could start working on a big religion project that is due the next week. However, whenever I mentioned that he might want to work on it, he got annoyed.  So, on Sunday evening, I decided that I was done.  He's got four nights to work on it and I'm not going to mention it again.  It will kill me, but I'm not going to do it.  He's got to figure this stuff out on his own.  There's usually a reason a teacher will give you a month to work on something....

We had a really nice Thanksgiving!  My mom and dad always make the best food and my best friend and her family always join us and it's just a really nice afternoon.  I failed to take pictures of the food but I did manage to get some pics of all the people!

The grown-up table!

Dorky selfie to prove that I was there too!

The girls.

The boys!

 On Friday, I took the kids ice skating.

And then on Saturday, we went to the mountains to get our tree.

Typically we would have done this on  Friday because Sarah's Girl Scout troop used to be in a parade every Saturday.  But they aren't participating this year so we decided to do the tree on Saturday.

BIG MISTAKE!!

The place we normally go to is always crowded on Friday but it's a manageable crowd.  The place is nice with a barn, a horse little kids can ride, hay wagons that take you out to pick your tree, Santa Claus, etc.  We normally don't take advantage of those niceties because the kids are too old for it.  But it's a nice festive atmosphere.

BUT ON SATURDAY!  IT WAS A ZOO!

It took us forever to even get a parking space and we went to the barn to get in line for the hay wagon, the line was more than double (I would venture to say triple) of what we are used to.  I estimated that we would have waited in line at least two if not three hours for a hay wagon.  And then, once you pick out your tree there is more waiting for it to get cut and brought down to your car.

It took us close to 20  minutes to even get out of the place after we decided it wasn't worth it to wait.
We went up the road less than a mile or two where we discovered a no-frills place.  We literally parked right beside several acres of trees.  Picked the one we wanted in no time and flagged down the man with the chainsaw and paid for it and strapped it to the top of our car.  And best of all?  It was almost half the price of what we would have paid at the other place.  Now there was no barn, no not chocolate, no Santa, no petting zoo, etc. but we got a beautiful fresh tree and that's what we went for!

And as usual, there was complaining about which tree to pick.  One of my kids was very annoyed that I didn't pick the tree she chose.  One of my other kids didn't care what tree we picked just as long as we got it and went to lunch as soon as possible.  But even though there was complaining, whining, and bickering, we got a beautiful tree and we were able to joke and laugh at the rest of it on the way home.

The tree!

The annoyed teens in front of the tree.

There are my sweet teenagers.  They can smile!

Sarah snapped one picture of me and Dan and OF COURSE, my eyes were closed. It is what it is!

And with that, I'm off to the grocery store and to catch on on laundry and to maybe start thinking about Christmas lists and shopping and menu planning and all the crazy that goes along with the season.  I told Dan this weekend that Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday because you get all the food and all the family time without all the stress that goes along with Christmas. 

Let the games begin!

Gala!

This is a weird week.  Peter is off  Wednesday - Friday. Sarah is off the whole week but we have to go to a parent/teacher conference at school this morning.  Then she has a hair appointment and at some point, she and I need to get groceries and then I have to pick Peter up from school early because he has an allergist appointment.

Tomorrow Sarah has a dentist appointment and on Wednesday Peter has his appointment at the DMB to get his permit.  Can you tell that I've tried to schedule as many appointments as possible during this weird week of being off?

But let's backtrack to the weekend!  Saturday night was the Giving Gala at Peter's school.  All the kids have MacBook Airs and a huge campaign is underway to pay for all of this new technology going forward.

The soccer team made it to the State Playoffs and of course, the championship game was in Raleigh on Saturday night.  Also, the drama department had their play and the final performance was scheduled for Saturday night.  And Wake Forest and N.C. State was in town playing a big game and of course, it was Saturday night.  And there were a lot of people sick this week as well so unfortunately, the gala wasn't as well attended as it could/should have been.  BUT - the group putting it together did a great job and Dan and I had a really good time.  AND - we got to dress up and go out like actual grown-ups so that was nice too.  

I had Sarah snap some pictures before we headed out the door.  And of course - the one where I look the best - Dan is making his joke face.  Almost every picture we have of his Dad, he is leaning to the side and making a grimace face. And many years ago, we noticed that Dan had this same trait.  Without knowing it, he too would be leaning to one side and grimacing instead of smiling. So now every time we pose for a picture, Dan will purposefully do this in at least one shot.

Such a cute pic of ME and look at his face! 

Okay.  I guess I'll let him off the hook because he is so sweet!

That's better!

And one more shot so you can see my necklace. I just love this tassel necklace!  It really pulls the whole outfit together!

 And I wanted to add this picture of the gym because I thought the gala committee did a great job making it feel less like a gym and more like a gala!

And the Bishop McGuinness boy's soccer team is now the STATE 1A Champion!  Peter was so upset that he didn't get to go the game.  I feel bad for him but we already had tickets to the gala.  He spent a lot of Saturday sulking.  And he kept saying if he had his driver's license he would be able to drive himself all the way to Raleigh.  I didn't have the heart to tell him that that probably would not have happened either. Maybe when he's a senior but definitely not anytime soon!

The not so annoying little brother.

My brother came over yesterday afternoon.  He comes over most afternoons to "check on us".

While he's "checking on us", he makes sure to ask about my day and then he takes the time to find the kids and see how they are doing.  They have a lot of inside jokes with Uncle Brad so they usually end up laughing when he's around.

Also while he's "checking on us", he's going through my cabinets and refrigerator looking for snacks and leftovers.  I will admit that I  find this mildly annoying and he knows it.  But that doesn't stop him from leaving a long trail of crumbs and wrappers and dirty glasses.

Brad is technically my "little" brother.  I've got him by 11 months but he's got me by about 7 inches and quite a few pounds.  And little brothers, even when they are 47, do what they do best; annoy their big sisters.

But little brothers also love their big sisters - even when they are repeating everything they say in elementary school, or calling them names in middle school, or hitting on their friends in high school and college or teaching their niece and nephew crude jokes in their 30s or going through cabinets in their mid-forties.

When Brad came in yesterday with a gift bag complete with colored napkins peeking out of the top in lieu of tissue paper and a greeting card telling me it was a gift from him to me and Dan, I scoffed and said, "No, really.  Who's it from?"

He faked a pained look and said, "It's from me?  Why can't I do something nice for you?"

Um, because you're my annoying little brother.

He told me to check the card.  I could see that our names were written on the front in his handwriting.  He told me to wait until Dan got home so we could open it together.  I was scurrying around the house getting Sarah out the door for a Girl Scout meeting and trying to finish folding some laundry.  Brad spoke to the kids, scrounged around my cabinets for something to eat, and then he left so I could get Sarah where she needed to be.

Later that evening, Dan came in on two wheels. We were late  to a Freshman parent meeting at school. but when we got home from that, we opened the bag together as instructed and low and behold.....

My brother went to Replacements, Ltd., which just so happens to be in Greensboro, and purchased a ladle that is part of Dan's mom's china!!  He had also included a card thanking us for"opening up our home, kitchen, and cupboards." How sweet is that??

Here is the ladle resting in the gravy boat:

It appears that one of the ends is a pouring spout and the other end is a ladle rest. 

And I guess that means we can all be happy!

It was....okay?

On Saturday, we went to the Renaissance Festival.  Dan and I went once before  20 years ago.  TWENTY?! Who's old?  Is it me? 

Anyway, the place has at least doubled in size since we've been there, but I guess that was bound to happen since it had been TWENTY years since we were there last.

My feelings on the whole thing can be summed up in one word:

meh


It was okay.  We were there for 4 hours.  We spent $100 just to get in and then once on the grounds, we bought lunch and dessert which wasn't too expensive but you had to eat it standing up because it was so crowded. 

We saw 4 shows.  One was not so good, one was really good and the other two were pretty good.
 My favorite was the juggling show.  Those guys were good!  And funny but not in a raunchy way.  A lot of the comedy at this place was off color and even marked as parental guidance suggested on the map. 

I also enjoyed the Ancient Art of Falconry show.  They had 4 birds that they told us about and each of these birds was flying around overhead from perch to perch.  I almost got hit in the head by a bird a couple of times.

We also saw a jousting match which was little boring but one of those things you have to do when you are there.  My least favorite show was Barely Balance - Comedy and Acrobats.  They did about 5 cool stunts but the rest of the time they were just making jokes that weren't that funny.

There were lots more shows to see but the grounds are large and each show starts at a certain time and the map told you the name of the show but not what it was about.  I probably should have checked online to see if there was a description of the shows available. Also, there were 12 different stages where performances were going on so it was very spread out.  


Here's a picture of the jousting:

We didn't get there in time to get a seat in the bleachers but we were able to see all the action from where we were standing.

The whole vibe of the festival was...odd.

We got there at 10:30 and people were already drinking.  Ahhhh...to be young again.

A lot of people were dressed in Renaissance clothing but there were even more people dressed as superheroes, robots, spacemen, etc.  There was even an entire family there dressed as the game pieces (cones) from Cones of Dunshire which is the game Ben created on Parks and  Recreation.

We walked around the entire time wondering why everyone was dressed so strangely.  It wasn't until on the way home when I read the map that I discovered they were having a costume contest that day. It was billed as Time Travelers Weekend. Hereos and Villians Costume Contest.  All costumes welcome! So that explained that weirdness.

There were a ton of little shops but we didn't go into many of those.  We aren't really in the market for incense or fairy wings.  Although Peter did convince me to buy him a Viking drinking horn.  He was thrilled about that and would [robably say that was the highlight of the day for him.  I only got him that because it was technically for his birthday. 

Peter had more fun than Sarah and I think Dan and I had more fun than the kids.  I'm glad we went but I'm not sure if we could go back again next year unless we had reduced priced tickets.  

The birthday.

So, as you could tell from yesterday's post, my baby turned 15!  I really don't even know how that's possible. 

This weekend we opened his presents after we got back from the Renaissance Festival. His main and most favorite gift was a replica of an English musket from 1722.  As I noted on my post yesterday, he loves history and historic battles and anything relating to those so this musket was perfect for him. (I could totally see him being a revolutionary or civil war re-enactor some day!)

And we had a big birthday lunch of steaks and baked potatoes and salad at my parent's house on Sunday complete with my mom's chocolate cake as Peter's birthday cake. 

Here are a few shots of the rest of the family:

We had a great weekend celebrating Peter but I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out how we got to 15 so fast.

Fifteen is...

Fifteen is....

knowledgeable

sentimental

witty

confidant

cautious

moody

handsome

smart

loving

tenderhearted

conservative

patriotic

Fifteen loves to....

watch YouTube videos on geography and history

play games on the computer

read about historical war battles

play his electric and classical guitar

push his sister's buttons

visit Grandma and Grandpa every night

eat steak, ice cream, BBQ, and ACP

joke with Uncle Brad

be alone outside

hang out with his best friend, Colton

listen to Sabaton and Amon Amarth and various other death metal bands

wear his metal tee shirts

Fifteen has my heart.

Happy Birthday, Peter!

7 Quick Takes

It's Friday and what's a Friday without 7QT?

1.  Every year Dan and I say that we should take the kids to the Renaissance Festival in Charlotte.  And every year we get to the end of November and say, "Is the Renaissance Festival over already"?
Soooooooooo,  this year, I looked at the calendar and determined that the only Saturday that we had most of the day free would be tomorrow and we decided that we could FINALLY take the kids to the Renaissance Festival.  And tomorrow the high is going to be in the mid-40s.  That's the HIGH.  Sarah said, "We should have probably gone back in October when it was in the 70s and 80s."  Yes, that would have probably been a good idea.

And after typing Renaissance Festival 4 times, I realize now why people call it Ren Fest.  And yes, I had to look up how to spell renaissance.  I can't spell ladle, you think I can spell renaissance off the top of my head?
 
2.I took my sloth like 2 mile walk this morning determined to improve my time.  I was intent on walking briskly the entire two miles and every time I felt like I was slowing down, I picked up my pace.  Guess who still finished the 2 miles in 40 minutes?  Still a sloth.

3.  And speaking of sloths!  Have you guys seen the hilarious Geico commercial with the sloth?  We die every time we see it. And just in case you haven't seen it, here it is for your viewing pleasure:

4. I left a drawer on the island open and guess what I turned around to find:

Apparently Wally felt the need to show those flowers who's the boss.  And it wasn't Tony Danza or Judith Light! 

5. Would you guys like a link to another yummy recipe?  Great, because that's what's coming up right now.  I've made this a couple of times now and it's really good. It's called Best and Easiest Mongolian Beef and it's from The Savory Tooth.  Just be careful not to over cook the beef or it will get a little tough.  It's best when I can find pre-sliced carne asade at Aldi. Because they've already got it thinly sliced which takes the work out of it and all the cuts are even.  Here is a horrible picture I took of what we had last night.

I served it with shelled edamame, glazed carrots and jasmine rice.  The sauce on this beef is so yummy!!

6. Peter has his last driving session on Sunday.  This is the make up from when he had an allergic reaction.  And Sarah has a confirmation class on Sunday so it;s a full weekend for us! 

7.  And to top off the weekend, the Patriots are the Sunday Night Football game this week!  So, you know what we will be doing on Sunday night!  I think it will be another guac and queso kind of dinner night on Sunday!  Go Pats!!

For more 7QT, visit Kelly.