Michael and Nikita both had excellent report cards for the first marking period. 

Michael had 3 A's and 3 B's.  what even better is that all his teachers struck a chord about how courteous he is and how he makes insightful contributions to class.

I'll admit that Nikita really wowed me by being right on schedule as far as his abilities at school.  His math and reading skills are coming along nicely and his handwriting is beautiful!

Genna designed her own Halloween costume and we worked together to make it.  I think it turned out pretty nice.  Nikita wore the Buzz Lightyear costume I had made for Michael when he was in Kindergarten.

Soccer season is nearly over. (Yippee.) Gymnastics season just started with Genna's first recreational meet.  She did beautifully.  Her scores ranged from 8.3 to 8.8 with a total score of 34.2.  Her floor routine was her best score.  you can watch it here: Gennas Debut Floor Routine

Michael is not so lucky.  He is down for day three.  He is missing the end of the marking period party at school today.  He was going to be allowed to go because he had no missing classwork and no discipline problems since school started.  HE is also missing his Order of the Arrow Ordeal weeknd at Boy Scout camp.  He was supposed to be inducted into the BSA 'honor society' this weekend. I hope there's a next time.

Genna and I are working on sewing her Halloween Costume.  She will be dresses as a Vampire-Bumble Bee or "Bumble -Pire".  I will be sure to post pics when we are done.

I am debating how much to quarrantine him from the other kids.  I wouldn't want him to pick up a secondary infection right now.  But I don't see any value in trying to keep the other kids away from his flu.  With this epidemic they'll either get it from him or from someone else.

The policy of the schools has been to stay open no matter how many kids are out sick.  They have slowed down the pace of their teaching and are trying to make it very easy for students to keep up or catch up after an absence.  I think this is a pretty practical approach, especially since it appears that the virus does not affect adults (ie teachers) in the large numbers that are seen with the children. 

This past week the carpool line, which usually stretches out of the lot and the entire lenght of the school property, has been starkly short, maybe only two or three cars at a time.  Yesterday was the first day the line made it out of the lot.

Meanwhile, Nikita is getting copious amounts of Sprite and other fluids, lots of rest and lots of Videos to watch in his room.

This morning, when I went out to drive the van to the service center, there was no puddle.

I really don't think the old girl fixed herself.  Neither did the service guy.

If God hears prayers for things, please pray for Granny, our nearly-ten-year-old minivan with nearly 200,000 miles of loyal service under her belt.  We're not ready to see her go just yet. 

In case God prefers prayers for people, you can throw in a request for us, that we can get a few more miles and months out of our trusty van before we have to replace her with something that requires monthly payments.

We saw a few of the historic sites in the city.  But the thing that held the attention of the kids was the duck billed quacker that we each received.  Of course, Michael is now way too old for toys like that, but Richard and I aren't!

The reception was held at the Adventure Aquarium across the river in Camden NJ.  We  ate, drank and were merry while a dozen sharks circled nearby.  Yikes!

The groom opened the celebration with a presentation explaning how his courtship of his new wife was inspired by Lionel Ritchie and his video 'Hello'.  The couple danced to the tune while being watched by a huge bust of said singer covered in chocolate. 

The figure was actually all cake, made by the Food Network's 'Ace of Cakes' (one of my kids' favorite shows!).  I can proudly say that I have eaten a cake baked by a TV star.  By the was it was DELICIOUS.

The icing on the proverbial cake (not the actual cake) was my pleasure in dancing with both my boys during the course of the night.  Genna, meanwhile, was honing her babysitting skills and loving every minute. 

He even had a breakaway and took the ball all the way to the goal.  Unfortunately he kicked it just a little too hard and felt the need to bend over and stop the ball with his hand so he could kick it into the goal.

But he made up for it on the next possession.  When the ball went out of bounds and the ref blew the whistle he kept right on kicking until the ball went into the goal.  SCORE!!!! (ish)

Now if we could just get him to follow directions from his coach.  He wants to play the way the big boys play.  On Michael's team there are boys who stay back by the goal to play defense.  So Nikita is always hanging back by whichever goal is farthest from the ball.  Sometimes it's defense, sometimes it's offense.  Good thing the refs don't call offside at this age.

I appreciate the opportunity to review the speech beforehand to be sure that it does not say anything to my children that I would object to.  They are my children after all, and nobody has any business talking to them without my permission.

Would the White House have released the transcript early without the controversy? I don't know for sure but I doubt it.  Let this be a lesson learned for the White House and let the President open the school year with the kind of inspiration and hope that he is famous for.

Nikita headed off to Kindergarten.  He was quite nervous as I walked him to school.  But when he got to his classroom he realized that he knew exactly what to do.  He hung up his backpack, grabbed his nametag from his seat and was about to start coloring when he remembered to give me a big hug and kiss and say goodbye.

He spent his recess time collecting huge acorns from the playground to scatter in our yard for the squirrels.  His favorite parts of the day were going to the library, art class and gym.  I think a big part of that is the GOING part.  otherwise they spend most of the day in their own part of the school.

Although I had told him that kindergarteners don't always have to take naps, he has been exhausted when he gets home from school. It's an all-day kindergarten.  So he is still taking a little nap after school until Michael gets home.

Yep, Michael is going off to school every day this year too.  He started eigth grade at the public middle school the same day Nikita started kindergarten.  He was a little nervous himself getting on the bus on the first day.  But when he got home that day he reported that nothing went wrong.  He has an old friend from cub scouts in every one of his classes and found a former soccer teammate to sit with at lunch.

He still isn't happy about having to spend eight hours a day at school.  I don't blame him.  But I was spending more than eight hours a day nagging him to get his schoolwork and chores done and I wasn't happy about that.  Basically I told him he lost the priveledge of homeschooling.  I think he is sufficiently upset about it that he will work to earn back the priveledge.  Meanwhile, he is only doing what most other kids his age have to do for education.  It won't hurt him.  And I have a half dozen people helping me to instill some organization and good study habits.

That gives me the opportunity to rebuild a positive relationship with my teenage son.  Hopefully I will be able to stopp nagging and get back to talking and listening.  After the first five days things look good.

That also reduces our homeschool to "The Davis School for Girl".  Both Genna and I are excited about the possibilities that are opened up for this year.  We spent the first day of school reading, shoppping and going out to lunch.  We spent the second day of school baking cookies for the guys in the family.  Days three through five added a little more school- like book work but not so much that we didn't still have fun.  Cottage School doesn't start until mid-September so we still have a couple more weeks to have fun before we have to settle down and get serious about Latin and Literature.

This school year will be dramatically different for us.  we're all hoping ti will be a great one!

Bush Quietly Saved a Million African Lives

I didn't.

We spent the weekend at Girl Scout camp participating in a program designed for troops whose leaders have not been trained by GSUSA to take their girls camping (That would be me.)  The program is coordinated by other trained leaders and thier troops.  We just had to be there to supervice our girls and help count heads at five minute intervals.

The weekend was wonderful!!!!  I have not had a vacation like that in more than a decade. 

It was as if my coleader and I were royalty.  We hardly had to lift a finger.  We didn't have to worry about what our five scouts were doing.  We didn't have to help them or serve them or even deal with them when they were out of line. 

We literally sat and watched as two teenaged counselors lined them up, marched them around and got them to cheerfully do everythinhg they were ordered to do.  The girls served the meals, cleaned up from them, kept their tents cleaned up, and picked up from their activities.  They even cleaned the bathrooms before we left with nary a whine or complaint.

CoLeader and I sat and watched in awe.  We drank hot coffee. (I forgot how good coffe could be when it is hot.) We listend to the birds.  Those girls even went to bed as ordered so that we could get hot showers in peace.  I literally had noone else to worry about besides myself.  I haven't had that luxury since before I was married.

Don't worry, the girls had a great time.  We had a campfire, ate smores, went canoeing, most of them for the first time, They swam in the pool, did water aerobics, and went on a night hike.  On Saturday night they all fell into bed exhausted.  They didn't even need the superteens to get them to bed that night.

What was even more fun for me was the nostalgia of my own camping as a scout that the weekend brought back.  We slept in the same type of four person canvas tents that I remember.  The songs were new but the silliness of them was just the same.  My canoeing skills even came back to me with just a little trial and error.  fortunately the river we paddled was nearly as calm as the lake I had learned on at Camp Linden.

Most of the girls in our troop had never been camping.  This weekend was the keeping of a promise that had been made to them over two years ago to take them camping.  the girls loved it so much that they are all planning to go back for a weeklong camp next summer.  Fortunately they have camping weeks where the leaders don't even have to show up.

Of course he waited until last night to give me a list of all the technical (read expensive) gear that is on his packing list.  I have no time to shop for it.  After researching many discount sites for camping and canoeing gear for bargains, I am pretty much at the mercy of the limited selection of local shop owners.  At least that is what I thought.

Last night he had his final shakedown meeting for his Crew.  In english, that means the boys got together and went over what everyone planned to pack and made sure it would work, be light enough to carry and wouldn't fall apart three days into the trek.  While they did that, I went shopping.

I started at the Goodwill store to pick up a cheap, light, smallish cup to put in his mess kit.  While there I hit the motherlode.  I found a pair of synthetic track pants that zip all the way up both sides for $3.00 (Breatheable convertible pants are $40.00 at Gander Mountain.)  I also found a waterproof rain jacket in a Men's medium for $7.00.  (these run at least $40 to $60.)  It doesn't have many vents for breathability but for $7 I won't mind if Michael has to take a knife to it under the sleeves.

After Goodwill I went to the Mall to look for technical underwear.  Believe it or not, the soft touch of !00% cotton Hanes is not a desirable trait on the river.  One unplanned dunk in the water and you are faced with chafing and blisters for the rest of the trip.  Online you can get mesh or nylon wicking briefs for about $20  each at the outdoor sites.  I found the same thing at JC Penney.  They were 2 for $15.00.

Okay, so maybe Michael's foot dragging has saved me almost $100 on his gear.  I have no intention of telling him this.  We are still working on the entitlement problem.  I have however, offered to give him a little spending money to bring home a souvenier.  You'll never guess what he said to me about that.

He said "Thank You."

Last week teenboy was caught in an unseemly situation.  He appeared to be doing something strictly against the rules with lots of evidence against him.  His story was frankly unbelievable but he stuck to it, to the point where he refused to discuss the situation other than to sullenly say "I've already told you the truth." 

Arrgghh!  Our attempts to meet halfway to discuss the problem were futile.  He seemed oblivious to any restrictions we placed on him until the problem was resolved.  Any attempts by us to meet him halfway to discuss the problem were met with the same sullen response as above.

What made the situation even more complicated is that he knew his big trip to Minnesota with his scout troop was on the horizon.  We wanted to take it away from him but he knew that it really wasn't in our power to do that.  He knows that he has an obligation to go on that trip and do his share of the paddling, hauling and other work involved when a small team travels the boundary waters.  I think he also knows that we wouldn't send him on that trip unprepared.  He feels entitled to this opportunity.  It's the entitlement thing that is driving me nuts!

What I was hoping for is some realization of what got us all to this point; that a habit of dishonesty is more damaging when the truth is hazy than when the lies are obvious.  I was also hoping to teach that when there is a parent-child conflict, we all have a part in the resolution.  And I want to remove the notion of entitlement from that boy.  I really don't think I succeeded on any level.  After all, I'm a grown-up.  What do I know?

He's going to Northern Tier.  There's no time for anyone to find a replacement at this point.  I am going to do my best not to lift a finger to get him ready.  It will probably kill me.  He needs rain gear, a pack to take and clothes that will be comfortable when it's hot and humid all day but cold at night.  He has all the info he needs to prepare but likely won't.  He will expect that I won't let him suffer the consequences of poor planning.  I normally wouldn't.  After all, it's ten days out in the middle of nowhere.  I told him i will do anything he can't.  He only needs to ask.  He won't ask until the day before and that will be too late.  He will cry.  I will likely cry too but I won't let him see me.  Then I will pray that he is only misreable enough to learn a lesson about entitlement.

Maybe we'll both learn something from this trip.

This year Genna, Michael and I were volunteers and Nikita was our lone participant at our parish program.  While I had every intention of taking an easy job as a group leader - where all I had to do was show up, hang with the kids for 3 hours and go home - i somehow found myself volunteering to do the craft station.  Crafts is definitely not a show-up-then-go-home job.

I planned crafts for about 125 kids from grades K-5.  We did some pretty cool stuff.  We made personal banners like this.  We made amazing murals like these.  We decorated rocks, made keychains and even drew self portraits like this.

It took me two weeks to plan and pull together all the materials - with a budget of about 60 cents per kid per day I'll add.- and then it took me all my spare time during the week of VBS to keep everything prepped and running smoothly.  The culmination project of the week was assembling two unity banners for the Mass we had on Friday morning.  The first one was done by the K and 1st graders.  The second was done by the older kids and all the volunteers.

 I've already agreed to do the crafts again next year but only if there is another adult to work with me!

Heads up family and friends.  An eagle ceremony is a rare enough event in anyones life that he wants to share it with the important people in his life.  We're hoping for a timeline that allows for Eagle and Confirmation together next fall.  We hope you will plan to join us in the double celebration.

Michael is all about camping this summer.  He spent one week at Camp Rock Enon helping out with his Webelos II den.  That was all about work, although he managed to have enough fun that he wants to go back and spend the whole summer there as a junior counselor next year.

This August he will head to Minnesota with his troop to canoe the boundary waters of Northern Tier.  I don't know if i could handle 10 days of sleeping on the ground and no roof over my head.  But he's all for it!  At a recent scout meeting they had a discussion of exactly how many pairs of underwear are required for 10 days in the woods.  Just so you know, the answer is two - one pair to wear and one pair to wash.  The same goes for shirts, socks and pants.  since i don't see the boys spending their time daily washing clothes, i am not so sure I wnat any of those clothes back in the house when they come home!

This was the culmination of two years of work to earn their Bronze award.  To earn the award they had to first earn badges relating to themselves.  We learned planning and problem solving skills, did service projects like singing at a nursing home, picking up litter and planting flowers at a local school.  The girls also chose to learn more about the effects of drugs and alcohol, prepared a public service announcement and recorded it at a local radio station to play at their school.

Once we did some self learning, the girls had to learn some skills related to their project.  We earned the My community badge, which exposed them to both the high points and some problems within our city.  Then we spent quite some time earning the sewing, cooking and nutrition badges. 

Now that the project is over, we are planning to have one last blast at a weekend camp before all the girls go their separate ways, some to sports, some to middle school and some to cadettes. 

I don't want to lose them and I figure there are others who might need some summer time ideas. 

So,  go ahead and think this is an entirely unselfish act as I post the link to the recipes in a spot I think I can remember.

If you get a chance to use them before I do, let me know how you like them.  I am particularly interested in the Macaroni and Cheese or the Mexican dish.  I'm thinking of trying the ribs for Father's Day.

I am so glad this school year is over.  it has been a very busy year.  In fact, even though school is over, we still have work that will force us into a summer session of sorts. 

Michael was sick for several weeks which caused him to fall behind in all his classes.  We focused on his writing and lit classes at the expense of Latin and Math.  He will have to make these up between camping trips this summer.

Genna only has about 10 Math lessons to go.  She will finish this up in a matter of days.  We also are pulling Girl Scouts into June in order to finish up the Bronze Award.  I have about six girls who are hanging on to get this done.  then Genna and I will spend some time reading and writing this summer to get her ready for her Lit class next year.  She will be in the same class as Michael but Michael has two years experience to help him with the reading and writing.

Nikita has officially graduated from Preschool.  He has a diploma and medal to prove it.  With all the struggles we went through last year, his diploma is a major symbol of success for me.  He has come such a long way in the past year.  He knows his letters quite well, is starting to ask me to spell things so he can write them, and writes quite neatly too.  I have no doubt he will fit right in to his K class next year.  And we still have all summer to keep growing!

Genna had her gymnastics show this week.  She did two roundoff-back handsprings in the show!  For those of you, like me who don't know if this is good or bad, this means she has graduated to the advanced gymnastics class.  She and Nikita will be taking classes this summer.  Nikita has decided he likes this better than soccer. 

My plans for the summer include a homeschool conference or two, some painting in the living room and Nikita's room, a visit to Michigan and another to NC and major collapse in between all this. 

 I'm hoping to be able to keep you up on the little things that go on this summer.  As it is, I feel guilty because I haven't told you anyhting about our trip to Durham or our trips to Staten Island, Dc and Virginia Beach.  They were all amazing but I haven't had time to recap.  Maybe I'll enter some post dated posts to keep the blog complete.

While you are enjoying the picture, I will be busy planning the travel budget.

The Mythology exam is offered to 3rd thru 12 grade students across the country in the late winter.  Genna studied for this exam for months.  When the day came to take the test she was so sick she couldn't go to school. 

The examiner offered to stop by on her way to the post office to administer the test.  We compromised by letting Genna go to the school during the testing time and sit at a table by herself so she wouldn't give her "bug" to anyone else. 

Not only did she get through the test but she did a terrific job!  She is most proud of this medal because it the first medal she has truly earned and is not just a participation medal.  i am just proud of her ambition and refusal to quit.  In order to earn a gold medal a student had to get 100% on the exam.  Silver medals were awarded for 93-99% correct results.

Don'cha love the internet?

Anyway, I just can't understandwhy, if housekeeping is as easy at these seven habits, I can't manage to keep my house from lloking like a bomb went off in every room.  Maybe it's because on the rare days that i manage to hit every task, the rest of the family undoes everything I have just done.

Since i am already in the middle of a positive habit forming initiative (See previous posts.) i am going to attempt to develop the first seven habits mentioned not only for myself but for the other three persons over which I have some (but not much) influence.

The habits are:

Number 1: Make Beds Right Away (I'll have to get out clean linens for this one.)

Number 2: Do One Complete Load of Laundry (Maybe two today because of the above note.)

Number 3: Empty All Garbage Cans (This could easily be a Nikita task!)

Number 4: Keep Your Kitchen Sink Empty (Tough one!)

Number 5: Clean Up After Yourself and Help Children Do the Same (mmm, I think this one will need some work.)

Number 6: Bathroom Wipe-Down (I've always called this one "Tub, Teeth and Toilet.")

Number 7: Before Bed 10-Minute Clean Up  (This is a tough one for me too.)

We'll add the advice of Erin for habit number seven next week.  For now I'll get us all working on the other six.

Michael bailed on us.  He said his teeth hurt too much.  Uh huh.  In his defense, he had an orthodontist appointment yesterday.  They added elastic bands that run from his top teeth to his bottom ones.  Like that's going to help his mumbling one bit!  I asked for extras in case I needed to keep him quiet for a while.

So, Genna and I ran 90 seconds and walked 2 minutes for ten reps.  I had hoped it would be easy after my long run from Saturday.  i suppose it might have been even harder, but it was certainly was not easy.  The only satisfaction I have is that I should not have to deal with the lactic acid burn this week like i did last week.  I hate that.

Yesterday Genna's scout troop was recognized by the School Board for their contribution to the school community by cleaning up the litter in the school yard this spring.  They were asked to lead the Pledge of Allegiance and my co-Leader read the board's Creed.  We hung around for the rest of the meeting so the girls could get an idea of what the board does.  We heard about stimulus money, middle school sports and the flu.  At least the girls had an idea of what those topics were.

I hereby promise to get up early on Thursday morning and run, whether my kids join me or not!

 Yes, that is the pace car in the scond photo, right behind us.  No, there is nobody else between us and the pace car.   

So, our 2009 Winchester Apple Blossom festival is over.  I think I can say we all had a good time and worked hard.  Richard and Michael spent a good chunk of time helping the Boy Scouts with their Parade seat fundraiser.  We participated in the races and saw the parades.  We never made it to the Circus or the Carnival this year.  The Sunday "Day in the Park" was pretty much rained out, although Richard still worked it as volunteer with the Knights of Columbus.

I love how this small town pulls together to put on such a wonderful seasonal celebration.  Although I keep saying that Winchester is a big city, bigger than they realize, they really do become a small town where everyone has to do their share when it comes to delivering this annual festival.  The organizers of the two races are friends of ours from church.  I knew band members from almost all of the dozen or so local bands that march in the parades.  Even the group home in my neighborhood manned a rest stop on the 10K.  (There's nothing like a big hug to keep you going on a tough run!)

I am still eagerly waiting for the opportunity to share our hometown festival with family or friends.  It's alway the first weekend in May.  There's room in our house for guests and the airport is only about an hour away.  Book your reservations now for next year!