Graduation Insanity

Monday, June 2nd, 2008, 1:59 pm

Two years ago, my oldest child graduated from high school. We bought her gown, got her to all the meetings/rehearsals, and planned the big beach party. Now, our second child is graduating from high school and suddenly it feels so busy, and I don't remember this feeling with my oldest. So what's the difference?

My son has been homeschooled the last 7 years, but he belongs to a private independent study program that is having a big ceremony for all its graduates this year, and there are a lot! He'll get the full cap and gown walk to the podium, where dh and I get the honor of giving him his diploma. (Public speaking? Maybe that has something to do with the feeling of being busy?) Later that day, we're having a party here at the house, more of an open house type of thing since there are so many other graduation parties occurring the same weekend. We've currently got 5-6 to go to, which seems like more than when dd graduated.

Maybe it doesn't help that we're also preparing for our big vacation, coming up the end of June/early July. Two weeks in the south, visiting family, a wedding, and all sorts of other fun stuff while we're back there. That's a week after our last graduation party, so we'll have some time to recuperate..oh, and we're also taking the younger two to Disney one aft/evening that week to celebrate the end of their school year, along with a coveted reservation at Blue Bayou that I'm still way too excited about. (We're annual passholders and since we frequently go on the spur of the moment, we never seem to get lucky enough to get those reservations. Finally!)

So what do you get a boy graduating from high school, when there's already cars and computers and fancy cellphones and an iTouch. And what to get everyone else? My head is spinning, too much shopping to do, especially when you add in the teachers' gifts. Any great ideas? I'm open!

Mother's Day: Just Another Day?

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008, 3:38 pm

I've talked to a lot of moms lately who say Mother's Day really isn't that big of a deal. A few have different reasons, but most say it's because the family just doesn't do much for the day. Out of all the things a mom does on a daily basis, what's one day to give up and give mom special attention? I need to knock some husbands' heads together. ;)

I lost my mom almost 14 years ago, and I don't have a MIL here to treat special, but I guess the positive spin on that is that I get the whole day to myself. Yes, it really IS all about me.

That said, I don't like to go out to eat on Mother's day. I'm not big on crowds and squishing my large-ish family into a little bench in a waiting area for over an hour hoping to get a table along with the rest of the world. I'd much prefer a nice home-cooked meal, kids around, husband cooking, and maybe a good movie to watch after, or just time to dive into the growing pile of books and magazines I never can find time to read otherwise. And that's being truthful -- I don't need big gifts or a fancy dinner out (though those are fun, who can deny it) when I get those other days, I just truly look forward to a day of relaxation and having justification to ignore all the chores and errands you normally do the other 364 days of the year.

So what are we doing this year? We're going camping, taking the RV out on Friday afternoon through Sunday. We're going with friends whose RV will face ours, and we'll have a perfect shaded picnic/play area in between, coolers fully stocked and lots of good food. Sure, there'll be some work involved on Sunday, but that's okay. There's always Sunday afternoon, post-unpacking, to lay around and laugh at the funny things that happened while camping, hoping one of them isn't that the sewer line wouldn't dump or worse yet, that our neighbor's did where it's not supposed to. (Worse things have happened.)

And if I had a chance to talk to the families of my friends/acquaintances who aren't doing anything on Mother's day, I'd tell them, after a swift smack to the head, to man up and make the day one to remember. It doesn't have to cost a lot of  money or take a lot of time, just reflecting back some of the love that moms so freely give out to everyone else on a daily basis.

Mmmmm, Good Coffee

Friday, April 25th, 2008, 1:22 pm

I love coffee. Everyone that knows me knows this, and I'm often teased about my frequent visits to Starbucks. (As I type this, today's empty Starbucks cup sits to my right. Those skinny lattes rock!) I carry a stack of Starbucks giftcards in my purse and I've come to really appreciate the four Starbucks locations within two miles of my house. (They call this the 'burbs, but we have Starbucks with drive-thrus, so how 'burb-ish can that be.) Quick Starbucks runs are easy, and it's even easier to get in a bad habit of going too often.

To cut back on those coffee runs, or on days where I just can't get out (or don't have a teen to do it for me) I've spent some time and money on putting together a good repertoire of what I'll just call coffee equipment -- cappuccino/espresso machine, coffee maker, grinder, milk frother, cups, mugs, etc. My most recent purchase was a Vitamix, the same type of machine they use in Starbucks, Juice It Up, etc., for smoothies. I haven't quite found the perfect frapp recipe yet, but I'm working on it frequently. I have managed to make a pretty comparable chai vanilla smoothie, and the fruit smoothies are well-liked by the kids. Still, I'm lacking in ideas and getting tired of the 'mmmm, good, but something's missing.'

On that note, I'm going to head over to the redesigned Drink Recipes & Ideas board. Got any recipes for frapps, coffees, and anything related? I'm open for suggestions, either here or on the board. I need to justify the high cost of that Vitamix! ;)

Enjoy your weekend -- we're going to a birthday party tonight, hiking in the mountains tomorrow, then having friends over to watch Talladega with us on Sunday after church. Long weekend but lots of fun.

Another month, another race trip

Monday, April 14th, 2008, 5:36 pm

Just when you think things are going to slow down.....

The last month has whizzed by. Dd's foot didn't heal, and in fact, got worse and she ended up in another cast...in a wheelchair. With the threat of surgery looming, she complied this time, and finally stayed off the foot. A week and a half ago, we got the good news that the bone is healing and she's now in a hard shoe, a type of walking cast, for another three weeks. Happy thoughts and prayers that on May 2, we find out that she's good to go!

A couple of weeks ago, we packed up the RV and headed to the desert with friends for the weekend. Picture fields of hot springs, and nothing but relaxing people. Ahhhh. Having a home on wheels, you have complete control of your environment, and the only downer the whole weekend was that dd couldn't get into anything, and had to sit at the edge of every spring with her leg in a plastic bag. And, this last weekend was another weekend of camping, but without the hassle of packing up an RV. We headed out with friends in their RV, to watch the Nascar race in Phoenix. So my driver didn't win...again...but he didn't do bad, and he finished the race..sometimes you can't ask for more than that. ;)

My husband's no spring chicken. He's not old, actually a little younger than I, but he put off his wisdom teeth removal for years and years and years. The time has come, and he's having them removed this coming Friday. Think of me, okay? Everyone knows men and medical procedures...

Things are going good here at iVillage. Lots of wonderful board conversations and amazing friendships. If you haven't posted today, head on over to your topic of choice and jump in. Online community and the relationships it brings really are worth the time.

A week of big news!

Monday, March 10th, 2008, 6:08 pm

And I don't just mean me blogging again!

This week, it came to light that on Feb. 28, a California appellate court judge decided that parents aren't qualified to teach their children unless we have teaching credentials. What a sad step backwards for such a growing, progressive state!

In other news, the U.S. government conceded in a case where parents feel their daughter's autism was related to her vaccines, possibly related to an underlying mitochondrial condition. The jury's still out on how far this will go, but a wonderful step in the direction of vaccines being revamped. (Thimerasol wasn't 'out' of vaccines for a couple years past the time that is commonly thought, as doctors were allowed to use their remaining vaccines, so it's too early to tell if autism rates will actually go down. Studies stating autism hasn't gone down have counted children school-age and up, and those children are still among those who got vaccines containing the toxic preservative.) Anyways, the thimerasol isn't the only ingredient in vaccines that's contributing to autism in genetically pre-disposed children, so this case was landmark in opening the door. (And thought to ponder: why is mercury being taken out of animal vaccines and mascara, and mercury content is questioned in fish, yet it's okay to still be in the flu shot?)

On a personal note, my daughter's broken foot is being re-examined on Thursday afternoon, to see if she's able to be put into a walking or other type of cast. My son's car could be out of the collision center on Friday, though we're in no hurry to encourage him to drive again. My older daughter's pneumonia is still causing her problems, and my little guy is showing great promise on his new medication. All in all, a lot going on and thankfully, nothing too horrible. I'm still behind in my jewelry-making, but I've gotten to spend a lot of time with our friends lately, including a ladies' night last week, and a lot of family time. Dh and I even got a weekend alone, in Vegas, for the Nascar races last week. We've set up our weekend in Phoenix next month, another child-free weekend - we normally take all the kids to this track, but ds has shown he really can't handle the noise and crowds of the races, so it'll be our couple splurge. It's also a blast to get the time with our friends while we're out there cheering and booing...and getting on Trackside!

Have a good week!

Donna

Tags: nascar, autism, vaccinations, vaccine, homeschool