Life Skills and 5-card Draw

They say summer days are lazy, but not for us. We seem to be pretty packed from morning til night. Part of that is swimming lessons for these first two weeks (which pretty much absorb our whole morning), but we are also really racheting up with chores and learning life skills this summer.

Each day, the boys have their daily chores (for which we've started a point system by which they can earn their allowance). On top of that, we have a chore focus for 6 days of the week. These are life skill sorts of things--laundry on Monday, meal planning, shopping and prep on Tuesday, weeding and yardwork, cleaning out the bonus room, bathroom and other chores. On top of that, we will have special projects, which will allow the boys to earn extra money in additon to their allowances--cleaning out closets, raking up leaves, etc.

But there's time for play too. We are planning a day trip to Fort Osage in July--we've checked out several books on Lewis and Clark at the library and are trying to read up on that. We watched Disney's Treasure Island that we checked out from the library as well. We'll make some time for playdates, maybe catch a matinee one of these afternoons and go to "Old McDonald's" for hot fudge sundaes.

Today, Zac wanted to learn a card game. Before the school year ended, he "bought" (with Briarwood "Bucks") a deck of cards (cut into the shape of a flip flop) and asked me how to play a card game.

Well, most of the card games I know (not many) need 4 competent players. We had 3...and that third one was a bit on the edge :) So I thought we'd try poker. Yeah, yeah, I know you're supposed to have 4, but the stakes weren't high: plastic pirate men. That's the only thing we could find in quantity to gamble with.

Now, I have only played poker a handful of times, so I am no expert. Fortunately, Zac pulled out his trusty "Dangerous Book for Boys" book, which had the rules for 5-card draw, plus nicely illustrated examples of all the card combos. Perfect. We put our initial pirates in the pot and went around the table. Unfortunately, the boys learned after one go-around that folding meant you lose, and I won the pot with a pair of aces. I briefly explained the concept of bluffing, and dealt again. I had to fold because I had nothing, but Seth won the next pot of pirates with three of a kind.

At that point we had to put away our game to fold laundry, but the guys got kinda hooked. As long as they play for pirates, I'm fine with it. I just better not find them gambling away their allowance at Argosy.

Swimming in the Ole' Swimmin' Hole

It's that time of year again...time for sunscreen and towels that smell like chlorine. School was out on May 27th and we started swimming lessons on June 1.

Zac is in Level 3 this year. He's getting into the real stuff...the freestyle, backstroke, diving, butterfly. We lucked out big time because he is only one of two kids in his class. So he's practically getting private lessons for the group price. He has really blossomed this year and I've seen a huge improvement in his swimming technique. A natural pool rat, he loves to be in the water and would be happy to while away hours at the pool.

Seth and Blane are in the beginners class, Levels 1/2 (Zac wanted me to put in the distinction that Blane is in Level 1 and Seth is in Level 2). Unfortunately, we did not luck out on numbers in that class. I was secretly horrified when 7 preschoolers and a 6 year old showed up. The poor little lifeguard did her best but she was simply outnumbered.

The next day she had reinforcements--a second lifeguard came to help. This made a big difference, but it's still a large class--10 (sometimes 11) kids, all but two who are under 5.

Seth is more comfortable in the water this year, but he's still struggling with getting his head wet. He just hates it, and that's really the thing that is holding him back. We told him that his goal for the summer was to feel comfortable just going under--no strokes necessary. We put the fire under him by offering incentives for his hard work. The last two sessions he has made a concerted effort to get his whole head wet, which is a big improvement for him. I think if we can just get him comfortable with being under the water, the strokes will follow with much more ease.

Mr. B is learning, but is basically just blowing bubbles and kicking at this point. I think we may try a later session this summer, when the class sizes are typically smaller. For Seth, we'll probably do some private lessons after the Grandparents Tour.

Life

As I've stated before, this is not a political blog. I write things down so that those who love my boys can catch a glimpse of their lives, whether to laugh or cry. Besides, I don't really think anyone else wants to really read my views--one of thousands out there. What makes my thinking on those subjects unique?

But this is a topic that moves me, because it does, in a way, relate to them.

The murder of George Tiller, the famous late term abortion provider in Wichita, has been a hot news item in the national and local news (the suspect was apprehended here in KC). Violence against abortion clinics and abortion doctors always angers me--is there anything less pro-life than murder, even if it is someone you disagree with? The egregiousness reaches sky-high levels when you read that he was shot at church, with his wife and friends present. This cannot be tolerated; the man who did this should be brought to full justice.

Last night we were watching TV as this case was discussed, and the commentator mentioned that Dr. Tiller had terminated 60,000 fetuses in his career. Pro-choice or pro-life, this number is enough to take the breath away. Even more, Dr. Tiller was one of only 3 late-term abortion providers in the country. In my understanding, abortion after viability is rarely considered "medically necessary" by those who are pro-choice.

Now, how does that relate to my boys? I will speak kindly, but truthfully, from my heart, because I know that there are those I love who disagree on this political football. Sixty thousand...such information makes me want to retch and curl up in a ball and cry. Now the issue is not a theoretical or abstract moral issue for me, because I carried three lives inside. If I was ever unconvinced by the argument that life begins at conception and is not mine to take, I personally can be so no longer having felt life (13 weeks each time) move inside me.

What hurts even more is that some (most likely, good sized) percentage of this babies were terminated at or beyond the gestational age of others kept alive in isolettes around the country.

This is why, more than ever, I support life. And I see, every day, the lives of the ones God has given me, children full of wonder, creativity, laughter, flaws---utterly and fully human. Lives that are gifts. I can only weep for the children of those others. I pray for those families who lost those little lives at the same time I pray for the family of Dr. Tiller. It is all I can do.

Afternoon at the K

For Zac's birthday present, we decided to have an "experience" instead of a present. So Scott had promised Zac a Royals game. But just before Scott bought the tickets for this Friday, Uncle Michael called and offered us four tickets for the Sunday game! He is very sweet to call us often when he has extra tickets--this time, he was headed for France and couldn't very well see the game from the Arc de Triomphe (I had to look that up). So we decided to put the money we would have spent on tickets towards some of the "extras" at the ballpark--namely, a real ballpark snack that everyone could enjoy and fun at the new K kids' area. Even better, we found out Zack Greinke was pitching for the Royals. Apparently, that is a big deal.

We ate our lunch on the way and arrived at the ballpark with about 20 minutes to spare. Since some of us hadn't seen the re-vamped stadium, we took a walk over to the fountain wall and looked out over the ballpark. We took a picture of the kids by George Brett's statue, then hurried to our seats as the color guard marched out. I took great pleasure in showing little Blane how to remove his hat during the national anthem and place his hand over his heart. Then it was, "Play ball!"

The game was actually pretty good for the first 4 innings, as the Royals and White Sox stayed neck-in-neck with four runs each. It was a perfect American day--a beautiful sky, everyone in ball caps and Royals shirts, the smell of fried funnel cakes and other delicious goodies wafting around. I was in a sleeveless shirt at the loveliest of temperatures holding a little boy and watching America's pasttime with my favorite guys. It doesn't get much better than that.

We ordered peanuts (Seth's favorite) and got the guy to throw the bag to us. Seth sat next to me and crunched like a squirrel while I held a couple of shelled peanuts under Blane's nose for his perusal. "Try it; it tastes like peanut butter, " I urged. He did, but decided the two nuts I had given him were enough. Then he got restless, so after the 4th inning, we decided to head to the fun zone.

Scott got a handful of tokens and we started with miniature golf. Scott had to show Zac and Seth how to hold the golf club properly, and the guys did pretty well. Zac even got a hole-in-one on one of the runs! It wasn't a full scale course--just about six holes, but the guys loved it. Then Zac "ran the base" and compared his time with a sample Royals player. Next Blane rode the carousel, which he just loved. The boys wanted to go do the batting cages next, so I took Blane to the play area and we rode the carousel one more time. We got off just in time to see Z & S take to the batting cages. By then, everyone was getting hot and tired, so after one more run of the bases for both boys (to use up our tokens), we headed back to our seats. Fortunately, we were now at the 7th inning stretch. When we got back to our seats, the people behind us told us that the boys would have been on the Jumbotron if we had stayed there, because a cameraman had pointed in our direction. Bummer. Imagine our delight when a cameraman came down and sat near us again. Next thing you know, Zac was 7 stories tall on the "Flex Cam", showing off his muscles (with his younger brother popping his head in on the side of the screen) What a great birthday present!

We left at the bottom of the ninth after the Royals pitcher allowed 3 runs in, bringing the score to 7-4. Seth had a headache and Blane was miserable by that point. But Zac was so happy. What a wonderful way to celebrate 10 years on the earth!

Garage Sale Finds

Well, I visited that garage sale again. The one I posted about a year (!) ago--with the great table that now sits in my living room. I knew in my heart of hearts that I would never come across a find to equal that one, but it has somehow become a beginning of summer ritual for me and the boys.

So two days into our summer vacation, we walked up our street to the Nazarene church on the corner. They were kinda into it, since I told them they could each pick out a toy. The boys headed for the toy table while I meandered through the other areas looking for treasure. I found a few--a platter from Pier One, a couple of table runners from World Market, a weirdly-70's era carved bunny that caught my eye. Zac got a metal Slinky, Seth found a battery powered robot, and I'll give you three guesses as to what Blane picked out. :)

Then we headed for the checkout, by which was the furniture. We rambled through and observed the wares: glass outdoor table with worn Heinekin umbrella--no class; little farm table with chairs--cute, but too expensive and didn't need; bookshelf--too ugly. I then found a great little chest with a hideous paint job--maybe I would have liked it in the 90's, because it was forest green and had painted roses on it. The bones were great and it was only $10. So I got that. Then the boys and I discovered a bumper pool table--also $10. Perfect for the basement! I told them we would pick it up later...and we did. That night, Scott and the boys worked on stabilizing the table as it was pretty wobbly, but when we got it fixed up, the boys were excited. It's turning into a regular lounge down there in the basement!

"My Great Life" by Zac Harnden

Zac presented us with a book he wrote chronicling his life. I have scanned it for your reading enjoyment. The illustrations were done using his thumbprints (everyone who's orange is in our family--see if you can figure out who is who!)

(Ed. note: Sorry, the paper got crumpled! Since Blogspot makes it difficult to move pics around in the post--and therefore, I might have to re-upload all these pics to get the new scan in--I'll just give you the text: "When I was 6 years old, I started kindergarten. I went to Pioneer Elementary School. My teacher's name was Mrs. Gilliam. I remember when I was doing my work the principal came on the loud speaker and said, "The president was flying over our school." We all went outside and waved.")

Mom and Boys' Weekend

Daddy was gone over the weekend and it was me and the guys. We ate what we wanted, watched "Space Chimps" and went to a picnic. All in all, a fun time! Scott was scheduled to be home about 11:00 pm on Saturday night and Seth desparately wanted to wait up for him. The request was vetoed. We would have had a bear on our hands come morning.

Even though the guys and I enjoyed our weekend, it was great to have Daddy back!