Summer Update

Last week was a pretty busy one. Noah was signed up for a drawing class (Mark Kistler) but due to how they ran the class, we ALL THREE had to stay for the entire class, which was interesting. Also last week we spent some time getting stuff ready for Steve's trip to Vegas. Aaron went to Camp 911 forthe entire day on Thursday. Misty is doing well....growing and getting into mischief just like a kitten should.

Eventful Day

So after having a pretty uneventful summer so far, today was definitely a busy day...but not necessarily in a happy way.

Way back in March, I took advantage of our tax refund and signed Noah up for an art class with a well known comic artist, Mark Kistler, who was going to be in Grand Rapids this week.  As Noah is always trying to get out of trying anything new, he was of course trying to get out of going to this class.  We got   there early and were told that we were expected to stay for te entire class, which meant that Aaron sat in on the class as well. In addition a friend of Noah's from church, Alex, came in and joined the class as well which put Noah at ease.  The class was entertaining and nobody is complaining about returning on Tuesday.

When we got home is when the busyness of the day began. We hit McD's for lunch and when we got home I started worrying even more about Misty kitten. Then Noah reported that she had a drop of red in her diarrhea so I decided that even though we are out of funds, we would have to borrow from Steve's Vegas account and take her to the vet.

The vet appointment was emotional and worrisome abut it was good that we went. The vet isn't really sure at this point what is causing her failure to gain weight but she gave us an antibiotic, dewormer, and also some suggestions about how to get her to eat more. She teared up when I did at the prospect of Misty leaving us so soon.

When I got home, I contacted the Humane Society to find out how Misty's litter mates were doing. After several emails back, I heard from the foster mom of other kittens in the litter and found out that all of them were affected by the same malady.  It gave me hope that we could turn the tide on Misty's health. So we got the kitten food back out that Misty was refusing to eat, mixed it with the wet food she liked, and she demolished it.  Tuesday morning, she woke with more energy tan she had had and ate with much gusto. We will continue to give her the antibiotic and pray that when we go back for a recheck on Friday, we will have good results.

That night Aaron went to his second barbershop practice and had a wonderful time, not getting to bed until way past 10:00. Not sure if this is going to fly when school starts but for summer it will be fine.  I had my second yoga class and got extremely sick to my stomach again. I think it's he smell of the yoga mat so I will wash it well before next week's class.

A Week Gone By

So it's been a week and I can't even remember what we did with it. Last week, Aaron participated in KidsGames playing soccer. Even though he loves playing soccer, he didn't have a great time since the other kids were mean. I am so sick of kids being mean to other kids. Why aren't ALL parents teaching their kids to treat others nicely?

Meanwhile, Noah had two jobs at the library...his regular Wednesday afternoon shift as well as a stint helping out at a library function for kids.

Aaron went with Steve to his first barbershop chorus rehearsal and had a blast.

I painted the front door red but now I am even more disgusted by the gross shutters and wishing I cold paint those too.

Uneventful weekend once again...kind of hard to do anything with limited funds.

Concern for the week is that Misty is not gaining weight. I think she may need deworming but I'm not sure how much that will cost.

fathers Day Weekend

Friday Steve had to go to a send off in Windsor for the quartet so we were home for the evening. I took the boys to the video store to get their free movies for all of the A's they got on their final report card.

On Saturday Steve was gone again for the day but at least we had the car. We went to the mall for new shorts (battle galore about trying them on) and then got Aaron's hair cut. That evening we went to Steve's chorus concert as the sendoff to Vegas. The concert was actually very good although I felt sick (stomach and headache) the entire night.

Sunday was Father's Day. It was interesting because it started out with everyone in our household really  angry and grumpy and not looking good at all.  By the time we were on our way to church, no one was feeling very "churchy" and I was pretty worried about the day.  The only things to say is that God worked in our hearts during that church service and the day did completely turn around. After church we came home briefly and then headed out to a fun lunch out at Red Robin, followed by a trip down to M89 Cinema to watch How To Train a Dragon 2. It was a fun movie that every one really enjoyed.

After we came home I had to conquer the thing that had been hanging over my head for two weeks...my first five mile run. I reported about it on my running app.

First Week of Break

This week has been spent mostly getting the new kitten settled within the home and getting the animals to be able to coexist in the same room without stress. Although Minnie Cat isn't BFFs with the kitten, she tolerates her fine and the household is calm.

Monday was uneventful, which was nice. Tuesday morning I took the boys to grandma's for a day swimming with their cousins. Then I took myself out for lunch and relaxed for the afternoon. While I was teaching I got a  text from Grandma asking if the boys could spend the night which was fine.

Wednesday, Grandma brought Noah home and took Aaron with her and the twins to the children's museum. I took Noah to his first day of volunteering, which was interesting.  You could tell he was nervous by the way he hunched and kept his fingers in his pockets but I knew he'd be fine. Things got a little more stressful when he got his teen crew tee shirt and it was (in his opinion) too big so he flat out refused to wear it.  I took it home and shrunk it for Thursday's events.    Wednesday night was also the first night we let the kitten sleep in Noah's room, which went well so we will continue to go with it.

Thursday afternoon, Noah once again is at the library volunteering, this time running a carnival game as a library event for young children.  And yes, he IS wearing his teen crew shirt.

The house is quite clean, given that we have created a new system for chores getting done, and a points based behavior chart that is continually being revised as needed.  Aaron is having a few issues, but wow has he improved since we put this new system in place.

As for me, I have spent some time this week finishing the two shutterfly books from 2012, got one good and two bad runs in, and have started working on my niece's afghan for her birthday (or Christmas if I don't finish it).

First Weekend of Summer Vacay: New Family and New Skill

School got out on Thursday last week. For the first time ever it was a half day, which left us an afternoon to hang out.

While net surfing Thursday night, I found an ad that changed the course of our summer.  Noah has been begging for a kitten forever and we finally figured it was time to let him have one for his birthday in July. We had been panicking about how to buy him a birthday present this summer, given that any extra we have is going toward Steve's trip to Vegas and I have no income, despite applying for probably 50 jobs for the summer.

So when I saw an ad from the Humane Society offering a "Name Your Own Price" for kittens, I knew what our Friday morning adventure would be. I surprised the boys and took them to the Humane Society right when they opened.. After awhile of meeting a kitten, Noah had picked out his new best friend, named her Misty, and we were on our way home. Most of the rest of the weekend was spent figuring out how we were going to do with  three pets in our house ( I'm still not thrilled, but it's too late now).

Saturday Steve was gone for a barbershop event and after a MAJOR car clean out, I took Aaron over to the funeral home parking lot so he could share his new skill. He had become a rip stick master over the past three days. He is proud, confident, and brave when riding that thing, which are not his usual character traits so it has been a huge blessing to watch him.. I will put a picture on here later after downloading them, just so I have it in  the future when I look back.  

Sunday Steve was still gone in the morning so we just hung out but also managed to get the two cats to a point where they can be in the same room without stressing too much and we have confidence now that this household will at some point run smoothly, even with WAY too many animals in the home. I also took Noah out to practice bike riding to the library, where he will be volunteering two hours a week this summer.

Sunday ended with a cookout, complete with backyard bonfire and Noah getting a chance to burn his notes from his sixth grade science class.

It;'s safe to say that it looks like it's gong to be a good summer.

Summer's Here Again

Here we go. Another summer vacation is here. Noah just finished 6th grade and Aaron just finished 4th. My blogging life began when Noah was in KINDERGARTEN. Crazy, right?

I tried hard last summer to try to document our summer adventures, given that we have more down time and more interesting things have potential to occur.  And as some things change, some things NEVER do.

What hasn't changed, we have yet ANOTHER summer with no money, given that a nine month school year paycheck leaves no income in the summer. Oh yes, we tried very hard to save this year for the summer.  However, it seemed that every time we saved a small chunk, something happened, such as car repairs, clothes kids needed, me going back to school and needed tuition, etc. We managed to save enough to purchase a gift card for $100 of food each week through the middle of August.  We may not go on many adventures, but at least we will eat.

I will attempt to do a school year recap for the boys later this week. But looking ahead to the summer, we do have a few momentous occasions coming up. Steve's big trip to Vegas with Majestyx, my attempt (still not sure if it will happen) at a first 10K in Chicago, and the boys both have some new experiences ahead of them as well.

I enjoyed going back to glance at my attempts to recount our summer adventures last summer, even though they petered out. I will try to keep it through this whole summer. Some things that were good to read was the accounts of Aaron's behavior and gives me a better idea of how to approach his issues this summer.

Summer Vacation 2014, here we go...