Saturday

The rain cancelled cousin Seth's baseball game, so we didn't get to see our family this weekend. Alek's game was still on, and he played defense. He was more into it this week than he was in the last game. They lost, so they were pretty disappointed, but this league is all about character and sportsmanship, so their coach helped them think about it in a positive way.

We spent the afternoon reading and napping and watching TV. (yes, after water aerobics I was tired and I took a nap). Then went to church, then out to dinner at the new Yo Ho Bistro which was very good. Then to Target.

Today we don't have much planned ... mowing, aerating the lawn, folding laundry. I'll let you know if anything exciting happens!

It's Friday

Oh, what a great week. I know I didn't do much blogging this week, but the days were really rather normal. The boys both did really well in school, Gary was out of town (we are looking forward to his return tonight!) and I made it to the gym and kept things under control at home and work.

We've got a lot of fun planned for tomorrow ... Alek will start selling cub scout popcorn (he was the top seller in his den 2 years ago, and the top seller in his pack last year!), and has a football game. Gary's cousin Doug and his family will be in town for their oldest son's baseball tournament, so we'll get to spend some time with them. The just live down the road in Winston-Salem, but it's been a few years since we've gotten together. Everyone's just been so busy. We've seen them more in NY over the last couple years than down here in NC!

The new bike rack hasn't arrived yet, and Gary hasn't fixed my bicycle tires yet, so I don't know if we'll get to ride or not. But I do plan to go to water aerobics first thing in the morning before the football game!

I went to the gym tonight with my friend Laura. It was a great workout - we did 30 minutes on the treadmill, and then 30 minutes of weights & core work. I'm tired, and sore! I'm running now to take a shower while the boys are playing together nicely in Alek's room, then we'll be ready for reading and bed.

Have a great weekend!

Geo Cache

This weekend we tried geo-caching. All across the world, people have hidden 'treasure boxes' and logged their locations via GPS tracking point on the internet. You use the internet sites to determine where you want to search for these 'treasure boxes', then print off the GPS coordinates and clues. Most of the treasures have a coded clue for kids to use to find them. Then you go to the location, and using the clue, you search for the box. Inside the box is a log, and you sign the log to show that you've found it. There might also be small treasures inside for kids to trade.
On Saturday, we walked along the American Tobacco Trail in Apex to find one. We didn't find it, but we had a beautiful walk. So Sunday, Gary printed off about 8 geo cache sites along the trail. This picture is of Ben finding the hiding spot of our first cache.


Inside the treasure box was a log, and some small treasures - a plastic ring, a Frankies Fun Park token, and a rock. We didn't trade treasures, but we did sign the log. We also took along our own book, to write down the names & numbers of the boxes we found.

Alek found the second one, under a tree on a hill. It took us a long time to find this one.

Inside was just a log - the container was an old film canister, which is very small.
We also found a third one hanging in a tree - it was the one we looked for on Saturday. It was in a bison tube, which is a small cylinder slightly longer than a dime. Inside was only a log.
The boys had fun searching for the boxes, but I thought the whole process was rather dull. We didn't walk far, and spent a lot of time searching. We searched for 5 others but didn't find them. Chloe went with us, and she wanted to be off with the boys in the woods, rather than standing with me along the trail. I wanted to be riding our bikes along the trail, rather than standing around.
So, when we got home I ordered us a 4-bike rack for the back of the van. Now we'll be able to take our bikes and go faster.

Barley Lentil Soup

Made this on Friday, and ate the last of it today for lunch ... very yummy!

Barley Lentil Soup

1 T butter
1/3 C chopped onion
1/3 C chopped celery
3 C chicken broth
1/3 C barley
¼ C lentils, washed
14 oz can diced tomatoes
¼ tsp basil
2 tsp Salamida’s Pinch
Salt and Pepper to taste
½ C chopped carrot
2 T chopped parsley

Melt butter in medium soup pot. Add onion and celery; cook over low heat for about 5 minutes or until tender. Add chicken broth, barley and lentils. Cover and simmer about 45 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, basil, pinch, salt and pepper to taste. Cover; continue cooking gently for about 30 minutes. Add carrot and cook 10 minutes longer. Ladle into warm soup bowls and sprinkle with parsley.

New Mulch - and Backyard Tour

I had to split these three videos up amongst 3 blogs since they were taking too long to load. This is a big one ... This final one shows the completed mulch project, along with the new Golden Mop Cypresses and Gold Dust Acubas we planted last weekend. They are all babies, but will grow to fill in more space.

Today (Sunday) Gary and Alek hung my squirrel feeder and new bluebird house (not in the video), so I think all those small projects are now done! In a couple weeks, we'll order more regular mulch for the flower beds and the backyard around the trampoline and shed. We haven't put fresh mulch down there for a few years now, and it's all decomposed. But, I'm loving the way the yard looks now!

New Mulch - Saturday afternoon

Here we are taking a break Saturday morning after moving about half of the remaining mulch.

New Mulch - Saturday morning

Friday night we started moving the 10 cubic yards of mulch ... above is the video from early Saturday morning, showing what we accomplished Friday night. We worked about an hour, and Ben helped Gary and I.

Ben had a new hobby

When Ben chose not to participate in football, and then dropped out of Boy Scouts, Gary got concerned. Gary was always very active in sports and social activities, but I wasn't growing up. So we've been looking for an activity that Ben enjoys doing that we can work into our schedule, and we just found it. Ben loved rock climbing camp over the summer, and the gym just started an advanced rock climbing class on Tuesdays nights at the same time as my class. So, Ben has joined. It's perfect, because it's very physical, he really enjoys it, it's at the same time as my class, and Alek and Gary are involved in football practice on that night. So even though we're not all together, we're all engaged in physical activities. So last night we got Ben his own rock climbing harness at REI; he already had the shoes from summer camp. His incentive is, if he starts using the manual belays (rather than the auto belays which provide him a lot of support on the way up), then I'll get him a chalk bag for his harness (which he thinks is really cool, because all the real rock climbers at the gym have them). Hurray!
We got 10 yards of triple shred cypress mulch delivered today to put in the playground in the backyard. We moved about a 3rd of it tonight. I'll take some pictures of that too ... it's looking nice back there!
Good night!

Monday

Let me catch you up on the weekend activities ... first thing Saturday morning, Alek's team won their football game! It was tied 8 to 8 at the end, so each team would get to kick 3 field goals, and the team that scored would win ... Alek's team made their field goal, and the other team missed. It was quiet exciting. They played at a high school field in Raleigh, and they had the football music over the loudspeakers and an announcer calling the action and the boys names.

Then we headed out to Old Stage Nursery and got the plants we had planned for the backyard back in 2005, before the addition. When we got home, these boys got right down to business planting them. They had all 9 bushes planted before I could get all the birdsfeeders filled up!
Then Alek mowed the yard. With the money they earned last week pulling out the front bushes, and with allowance and lawn mowing, they wanted a trip to Game Stop. So we ended up going out for dinner and stopping by the video store for a new game. Gary chipped in and bought another PS3 controller so he and Alek could play together ... I think you know who has really wanted the PS3 all along ...

Sunday was a fun day ... we hung out all morning, and then went to the pool all afternoon. The boys went to the Raleigh Railhawks professional soccer game that night, and I went to a movie with my friend Eileen.

Today was another big day ... first day of Cub Scouts. So I headed out at lunch to buy all the Bear books, pants, slides, hats, etc. After school the boys got right down to business doing their homework and reading - I'm so proud of how hard they are working this year!

I then left for the gym ... I guess Ben had decided he doesn't want to be a cub scout anymore, and I haven't heard yet what kind of conversation went on between he and Gary, but when I got back from the gym, Gary and Ben were walking the dog and Alek was at cub scouts. I guess I'll learn more later tonight!

Here are some fun pictures of Alek from the weekend:

A happy Alek with his post-game snack ...

The mud from the wet field! I hear it gets a lot worse ... so I've got to make a list of things to bring to the games ... towels, plastic bags for muddy shoes, clean shoes!

A cheerful cub scout in his fancy uniform and brand new Bear neckerchief!

And the full view ...

Reggie - you wanted to know about my house - to Alek's right is the family room, which is open to the kitchen and island which is to his left. Behind him is the kitchen table, and the back window looks out into the back yard. He's standing next to my cookbook bookcase, and the sink is right next to that bookcase. The open french door behind him goes into the boys' playroom, which is part of the house we added on two years ago - it used to be the back deck. We don't have a deck anymore (and we don't miss it!) because we have a concrete patio now which we love - no maintenance other than a sweep now and then.

Early Sat Morning

We were up at 6 am this morning ... I made hardboiled eggs, sausage, juice, and clementines for my little football player, and he doesn't want to eat. I think he's a bit nervous. Didn't want to go today. He was out with his friend Kyle until 9 pm last night at the sports complex, skating and playing basketball, so he's pretty tired.

The game is at 8:30 in Raleigh, and we have to be there an hour early ... so, we have to leave by 7 am. We decided to split up - Gary's taking Alek now, and I'll come with Ben in an hour. That way, I'm not stress to get myself and breakfast ready, and Ben can sleep a little longer.

Felt like a pretty short night for me ... I guess this is normal kids-sports activity, but geez it feels early!

More later ....

Thurs - Fri

Overall, Thursday was another good day. We got the day started without any problems or fights at the bus stop. They boys both had good days at school. But, the school bus had problems getting home - the boys didn't get back until 5 pm, so I bundled them right into the car and off to the gym. Then we grabbed Chick-fil-a and came home and ate, they did their homework, and then it was 8:00 and I had to get on a call for work. So they showered and brushed their teeth, and I hustled them off to bed around 9.

This morning everyone was chipper, and we're all looking forward to Gary coming home tonight. The boys each have play dates after school, so it should be a fun evening. Alek has his first football game tomorrow morning at 8:30. Because we have to be there 45 minutes early, and the field is about 25 minutes away, we'll be leaving home around 7:15 - pretty early for a Saturday. I hope it goes well.

I went to water aerobics this morning and have had a quiet afternoon of laundry. Kinda tired, it's been a long week. I'll be sure to post something about the game tomorrow ... have a good weekend!

Wednesday

What a great day! The boys woke up easily, got dressed, had chocolate chip waffles for breakfast, packed their own snacks (it was Alek's day to take snacks for the whole class - he took frozen yogurt sticks), and finished their homework review. They were out to the bus stop by 8am.

Both had an excellent day at school - Alek lost no points, and Ben earned 6 tickets! Wonderful. They got home at 4 while I was on calls, so they did their homework and then watched TV til I came downstairs. We had dinner around 5:30, then did their practice spelling test, and now they are watching one more show before bath time.

I have another conference call tonight, so the plan is baths and reading before 8, then they can play together upstairs until I can put them to bed (or until they get tired).

Wish all days were this good!

Here are some pictures I took of Alek on Tuesday - his first day wearing his new football jersey. The contrast in humidity between the inside and outside of the house made the pictures all foggy!

Tuesday Con't

So off they went on the bus. I jumped in the car and hit Trader Joe's, got home in time to rearrange the fridge and the pantry and throw out the old stuff. Then off to pick Alek up from school. Last week the dentist found a cavity between two of his molars. They had been watching one side of it for over a year, but in the last 6 months the other side deteriorated. So he got two fillings today. He did so great. They gave him laughing gas, and they have the movie screen on the ceiling and he was so brave. The used a topical numbing gel to numb his gums, then he got two shots of novacaine, but he didn't see a thing. He felt a pinch, and later said it hurt, but he laid still. He stil doesn't know he got a shot - so don't tell him! Overall it took about an hour, then we ran to the drug store and got some children's Tylenol because his mouth was sore.

He got to pick where he wanted to go for lunch, so at Fuji Express he had the Udon Noodle Soup and I had the Hibatchi Chicken. He ended up eating all my rice and all his noodles, and half my chicken. I had the veggies - both the hibatchi veggies and the tempura ones that come with the Undon Noodles. YUM. Then, he went back to school.

I then ran to the regular grocery store for ham and normal things, and got home in time to put things away before the bed guy was scheduled to come. Ben's new loft bed had a stripped nut, so the professional was coming to fix it. He was supposed to be here at two, but finally arrived at 3:30. Of course now his visit would overlap with bus arrival and homework time. But luckily he was very self-sufficient and didn't require assistance from me.

The boys got home right a four and settled into there homework. I bought these new treats Kim had mentioned this morning - Quaker Breakfast Cookies. They each had one - they make a good snack, although lack protein for a good breakfast IMHO - Ben loved them, Alek didn't like them. So Alek had an apple, glass of milk, and lollypop. Ben had the breakfast cookie, glass of milk, and a candy. They both worked really hard on their homework - Alek finished his, and Ben finished his week's worth of spelling work.

Then we were off again ... at 5 Alek went to Bennet's house to ride to football practice with him while Ben and I went off to the gym. Great workout tonight, then I picked Ben up and we drove up to Alek's football practice. Luckily, coach only kept them for an hour and a half tonight (last week was 2 hours each time) so he was done by 7:30. Alek thinks he's horrible at football, but he looked really good to me! He got lots of guys flags - he's fast and nimble.

We picked up McDonald's on the way home and ate it in the car. So, when we got home they took their showers while I took out the garbage and recycling for tomorrow's pickup. Then they brushed their teeth and we met on my bed for reading time. They are each supposed to read for 20 minutes a night, but usually Gary and Alek read together and Ben and I read different books at the same time together. But tonight we all three read together - I read, they listened - there were so tired! Scrambled Eggs Super by Dr. Suess and Strega Nona by Tommie DePaula.

It was no trouble getting them into bed tonight - I only hope I can get them up in the morning!

So, Gary, that should catch you up on our day - we fit it all in and got it all done. Good night!

Tuesday

What a busy day away from work. Gary's out of town, so I got up early (6) and got Chloe and I ready, and then woke the boys up around 7:15. They got up well ... and I made pancakes and sausage for breakfast. They ate well and got along well. So, we had nowhere to go but down.

Ben was first to the busstop, and thought he would 'save' a place in line for Evan (which is against our 'busstop line rules') so when Alek got out there, he was pissed, and came back in and tattled. So, I went out and talked with Ben and he gave in easily ... too easily. When Even got to the bus stop, Ben let him cut in FRONT, instead of BEHIND him. Neither makes anyone later in line happy. So, we had to talk it out and Evan was fine with moving to his place in line, but Ben was bent out of shape.

So, a few minutes later, Ben kicks Kyle. So Kyle is crying and limping so Kim and I tell Ben and Evan they have to stay near us and not run around, and I tell Ben that he's lost Nintendo for tonight (he likes to take it to the children's center when we go to the gym). So, now he's pissed. And he sulks off, won't come back, and starts being defiant. So, I get him and make him sit out on the curb until the bus comes. While getting on the bus, he kicked Alek's bookbag.

Ok, the kids just got home on the bus ... more later.

Bye Bye Bushes

The family worked really hard on Sunday! We started by cutting down the front bushes with a chain saw. Then, Gary and the boys dug out the root balls, while I weeded the side gardens. We pulled out a ton of weeds, and the huge bushes that had become straggly and full of seedlings. Later in the afternoon, I went back out and raked out all the remaining weeks, stems and roots, and covered the area with weed-block fabric. The original weed-block fabric we put down 13 years ago was still in pretty good shape, until we started digging it up - that put a lot of holes through it. Then I covered it all with large pine bark mulch, while Gary mowed the yard. Overall, it looked very nice this morning when I went to take pictures ... you can see the missing bushes under the lower windows on the right-hand side.
Below is a close up of the open space ...
And of course, everyone got REALLY dirty on this job, so a bubble bath was needed to get clean (but you should have seen the grimy tub after the bubbles were gone - EWWWW!)

TS Hanna

Tropical Storm Hanna turned out to be more of a rain event than a storm event for us here in Raleigh. Yesterday started out sunny and warm, and then around noon became cloudy. Around 1:30, mist started falling (not even rain). Mist throughout the afternoon turned to rain about 5 pm, and then rain on and off until about 5 am. No real wind to speak of, more of a breeze. The news says we've gotten about 5 inches of rain, which we did need, so that is good. Minor flooding is occuring in low level areas of Raleigh. We retained power throughout.

The coast got hit harder, with power outages, but I haven't heard about any serious damage yet. So, we're staying inside at least until this afternoon, when the sun is schedule to emerge once again.

I went to open house at the boys' school on Thursday night. I heard all good reports - they are adjusting to the new requirements of 3rd grade, making friends, and getting along well. They seem to come home very focused on completing their homework and overall happy. Homework amounts are definately manageable - a couple worksheet a night, and a spelling pre-test once a week. For Alek, it's a bit more than 2nd grade; for Ben, it's a lot less. It's been taking them between 5 and 10 minutes to get their homework done at night, and I LOVE that.

We didn't have friends over after school yesterday, but here's a video I took of the boys and their friends last Friday ... I made brownies and they ate them with ice cream and whipped cream ... pretty exciting ...

Tonight we're planning on going to church and staying for family time afterwards. We've never been able to stay before ... they eat dinner together and then have a family activity. Should be fun. Then my friend Eileen is coming over to watch The Women with me! I'm so looking forward to seeing it again ... I taped it before my surgery in April, and watched it during my recovery. It's from 1934, a Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell movie. Very catty, and very dated! But loads of old fashioned fun ... back when movies had to tell a story and not rely on cgi. This movie is being redone and released in Nov (I think) with Meg Ryan, Candice Bergan, Annette Benning ... but I understand the story has been re-written somewhat - of course it would have to be since the original is so dated - but I'll probably go see it just to compare.

Alek is getting excited about Halloween - his Highlights magazine came yesterday and he's already pointing out all the Halloween crafts to do ... so, I'm going to have to get prepared. He says he wants to stay home and hand out candy this year and not go trick-or-treating, and Ben piped up and said he'd share half his candy with him. What a brief endearing moment of brotherly love. (have to document them when they happen ... they are so rare) HA!

I'm off to fold the laundry ... I got it all washed yesterday in anticipation of having no power today ... but we got lucky. Have a good week!

Oh, one more video ... Gary is obsessed with the mentos and coke thing, so he had to try it with FOUR mentos to see if it was better ...

Weekend

The weekend started out with a bang Friday night when Ben and Alek had Evan and Kyle over to play after school - I made brownies. I have a video of them doing the party dance, they were so happy. Don't have time to download it now, though.

Saturday I went to water aerobics, and then we ran some errands as a family. Can't really remember, but it was busy. Sunday, we hung out at home (meaning, the boys watched TV and played video games) and Gary cleaned out his office and I cooked. Sunday night we hosted our monthly game night (which hadn't met since last May) and it was great to catch up with our friends.

This morning, my friend Laura called and asked if I wanted to go to the gym. So, we went and worked out together at 10:15. We kicked our butts! We ran on the treadmills for 40 minutes, then did weight training for 25. I am tired! When I got home, the family took a trip to the mall to get more underwear for the boys, and I found Ben some jeans on sale at the Gap. So, I think they both have enough jeans (and underwear) for school.

This afternoon Ben went to the pool with his friend Evan, and Alek hung out at home. I've cleaned out the bird feeders, and they are drying overnight - I'll refill them tomorrow. Ben and Alek pulled the rest of the weeks out of the flowerbeds in back this morning - what a wonderful surprise to come home to!

I've finished the 4 books in the Twilight series, so today I started on Appaloosa ... it's a western. It's been many years since I read a western, but it's gotten good reviews. It's quick reading, so that's been fun. I'm about halfway through from just reading today.

Tomorrow (Tues), I've got some errands to run - need to get some birdfood cakes at Walmart (they are much cheaper there than Wild Birds Unlimited next door!) and some art frames for the artwork Alek made at KidsArt earlier this month. We talked through all his drawings, and he decided on 2 to frame. So, I've got to read today's paper tomorrow morning and pull out the Michael's & AC Moore coupons.

For now, I'm tired, and going to bed to read some more ... Ben's on webkinz, and Alek is reading Harry Potter 2 (he finished #1 last week!) with Gary.

So, goodnight ... hope you had a fun weekend too!