Because I spend way more time on Pinterest than I probably should, we sometimes eat interesting soups or desserts, I watercolor my own greeting cards though they be quite rudimentary, I have a quote on just about any subject, I dream about re-doing, well, just about everything in my house and yard, I know how to get rid of a fat belly and arm flaps (knowing how doesn't necessarily mean I follow the advice), I have all manner of handmade holiday decorations, and my grandchildren have done art projects of various kinds.
Also, because of Pinterest, I often find myself involved in unofficial challenges. One reason I do this, is it makes me think creatively. I truly believe one of the most obvious evidences of our divine spark is living creatively ~ not just art or writing or making music, but also in creatively solving life's many problems. Also, I do this because it is fun and it is good for me to set a goal and try to complete it. Because life is full, I do not necessarily put pressure on myself but I do try to meet the expectations of the challenge. I do this usually in January by writing a blog a day. I think I actually wrote 31 blogs only one January because grandchildren and the beach and life captured my attention instead. I can live with that as, I am sure, can the 4 people who read my blog.
On several occasions, the unofficial challenge has been taking a photo a day. There is a list of pictures to take, one for each day of the month, and those who accept the challenge take a picture expressing their interpretation of the "assignment" for the day. The picture is then posted on FB and everyone participating is tagged. It is not going to save the world. It is not going to solve many of life's conundrums. But, it has afforded me the opportunity to reconnect with old friends, and find new friends and be blessed by the associations, not to mention the opportunity to see beautiful pictures of beautiful places. It also opens a little window into the lives and thoughts of each person who participates. Bobby, you scare me a little...just kidding. I think you are amazing and wish I had just a portion of your extroversion. But, alas.....
Because this is quite the challenging challenge, I am posting the list earlier than usual, to give us time to peruse old photos and be looking for new ones to take. I hope all of you who have participated before will do so again, but, NO PRESSURE. I know life is busy. I hope there will be new ones to join us. So...drum roll, please
Idiom Photo Challenge List for October 2018
1. at the drop of a hat
2. back to the drawing board
3. barking up the wrong tree
4. beat around the bush
5. don't judge a book by its cover
6. are you pulling my leg
7. bent out of shape
8. don't put all your eggs in one basket
9. hit the nail on the head
10. hit the sack
11. comparing apples and oranges
12. miss the boat
13. not playing with a full deck
14. he's off his rocker
15. he's on the ball
16. piece of cake
17. seeing eye to eye
18. heard it straight from the horse's mouth
19. hit the books
20. twist my arm
21. up in the air
22. lost your touch
23. sit tight
24. pitch in
25. go cold turkey
26. face the music
27. does it ring a bell
28. rule of thumb
29. under the weather
30. a stab in the dark
31. hang in there
Start thinking, get out your cameras and start shooting. In the meantime, with bated breath, I'll be on deck, waiting in the wings and biting the bullet to see who accepts. See what I did there?
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Last Days
Week 4 Day 3
Today is the last day of Mellie Camp for 2018. We had plans to go to the Lane Motor Museum, but something told me that a more laid back day would serve us better. I consulted, sort of, with the boys, and it was agreed that doing something else might be a good plan. We delivered a book to Nunny and then began to drive, looking for a playground. It was decided that we would go to the zoo and play on that playground. I, unwisely, assumed that the zoo would be sparsely attended today, but I was very wrong. After standing in a couple lines, we were able to find someone who would look up Simmy's name and find his membership. My membership got Max and me in.
They played for about an hour, but it was hot, so we decided to leave. I had promised them a specific treat for the last day of camp and we had to go to Target to find it. Lots of moaning and groaning over not finding the exact kind of treat they wanted, until, after a thorough search, at last we found two of the kind they both wanted. These treats come with a toy and when we got home and opened them, tragedy or all tragedies, Simmy got the same dinosaur he already had. We are talking about a tiny little dinosaur, maybe an inch long. Now, I do not want to minimize the importance to him, but, frankly, I only have so much energy to put into a one inch dinosaur. Then, his Pokémon cards were missing and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. I let him work out his anger, call his dad, who had been in our house earlier letting Violet play, and !yay! he knew where they were. Tears dried up, lunch was eaten with much silliness.
It was then time for crafts. I had promised Max more string art, which really does make the coolest designs. We were also going to paint rocks. Max found his at Sevier Park on Tuesday, but Simmy had no interest at the time. I was pretty sure that would change, so on my morning walk, I climbed into someone's ditch to unearth a rock as close to the same size and shape as Max's; not because I think they should have everything even, but because, today, I was not up to an upset over a rock. It is almost as exhausting as an upset over a one inch dinosaur.
Our house has become a "no trade" zone. One sweet boy is a wheeler dealer, and I declare he could talk a starving man out of his last piece of bread. It's kind of unreal. But, because feelings get hurt, and good things get traded for crummy things, Fizzy declared our house a "no trade" zone. That causes upset feelings as well, but, oh well. Let me just say here, that Pokémon is a game I do not understand. They have spent quite some time cozied up in my bed with pillows all around "playing" Pokémon. From the noise coming out of the room, I sense that one boy sort of makes up the rules as they go along, guaranteeing that he always wins. I tried to stay out of that.
A few more craft projects and a couple Inspector Gadgets on Netflix, and our last day has ended. Last days are worth noting. The last day before school starts, the last day of a job, the last day before a college freshman goes off to school, last day of singlehood, the last day of vacation, or the last day of being any age. Moments such as these are meant to be mourned and celebrated and appreciated and noted. I know so many who don't live close to their grandchildren, and that would be very hard. This last day will be followed by the typical Sunday of boys at our house. I never take that for granted. Fizzy and I, we don't do much that is monumental. We don't travel a lot. We are pretty pedestrian. We are extremely grateful for the beauty of the everyday enjoying our grandchildren. They are the most magnificent little beings.
Today is the last day of Mellie Camp for 2018. We had plans to go to the Lane Motor Museum, but something told me that a more laid back day would serve us better. I consulted, sort of, with the boys, and it was agreed that doing something else might be a good plan. We delivered a book to Nunny and then began to drive, looking for a playground. It was decided that we would go to the zoo and play on that playground. I, unwisely, assumed that the zoo would be sparsely attended today, but I was very wrong. After standing in a couple lines, we were able to find someone who would look up Simmy's name and find his membership. My membership got Max and me in.
They played for about an hour, but it was hot, so we decided to leave. I had promised them a specific treat for the last day of camp and we had to go to Target to find it. Lots of moaning and groaning over not finding the exact kind of treat they wanted, until, after a thorough search, at last we found two of the kind they both wanted. These treats come with a toy and when we got home and opened them, tragedy or all tragedies, Simmy got the same dinosaur he already had. We are talking about a tiny little dinosaur, maybe an inch long. Now, I do not want to minimize the importance to him, but, frankly, I only have so much energy to put into a one inch dinosaur. Then, his Pokémon cards were missing and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. I let him work out his anger, call his dad, who had been in our house earlier letting Violet play, and !yay! he knew where they were. Tears dried up, lunch was eaten with much silliness.
It was then time for crafts. I had promised Max more string art, which really does make the coolest designs. We were also going to paint rocks. Max found his at Sevier Park on Tuesday, but Simmy had no interest at the time. I was pretty sure that would change, so on my morning walk, I climbed into someone's ditch to unearth a rock as close to the same size and shape as Max's; not because I think they should have everything even, but because, today, I was not up to an upset over a rock. It is almost as exhausting as an upset over a one inch dinosaur.
Our house has become a "no trade" zone. One sweet boy is a wheeler dealer, and I declare he could talk a starving man out of his last piece of bread. It's kind of unreal. But, because feelings get hurt, and good things get traded for crummy things, Fizzy declared our house a "no trade" zone. That causes upset feelings as well, but, oh well. Let me just say here, that Pokémon is a game I do not understand. They have spent quite some time cozied up in my bed with pillows all around "playing" Pokémon. From the noise coming out of the room, I sense that one boy sort of makes up the rules as they go along, guaranteeing that he always wins. I tried to stay out of that.
A few more craft projects and a couple Inspector Gadgets on Netflix, and our last day has ended. Last days are worth noting. The last day before school starts, the last day of a job, the last day before a college freshman goes off to school, last day of singlehood, the last day of vacation, or the last day of being any age. Moments such as these are meant to be mourned and celebrated and appreciated and noted. I know so many who don't live close to their grandchildren, and that would be very hard. This last day will be followed by the typical Sunday of boys at our house. I never take that for granted. Fizzy and I, we don't do much that is monumental. We don't travel a lot. We are pretty pedestrian. We are extremely grateful for the beauty of the everyday enjoying our grandchildren. They are the most magnificent little beings.
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Burps and Hiccups
Week 4 Day 2
Today was practice-our-table-manners day. Needless to say, after yesterday, I was questioning my sanity in following through with plans to have lunch at The Capitol Grille in The Hermitage Hotel, but I was determined.
They did brilliantly. Both dressed so nattily in shorts, button down shirts and ties. They were most handsome escorts. The first thing each of them did was put his napkin in his laps. Yay!! Rule one of good table manners followed. Who knew that the Hermitage Hotel actually had children's menus. They read the menu, chose what they wanted and ordered for themselves after a bit of practice with me before the waiter came to take our orders. "May I please have a grilled cheese, ketchup, and fries, and, do you have root beer?" The waiter assured him that root beer was his beverage of choice and that they certainly had it. The other young gentleman ordered "mac and cheese, French fries and root beer." Forty-five seconds later, there were discreet wails of starvation and "when will our food arrive?" I was grateful for the discretion shown in the quiet cries. I assured them that the 2 baggies worth of snacks they had on the drive to the hotel would sustain them until lunch arrived. The waitstaff at The Capitol Grille does not feel any need for harried scurrying about, so we did wait quite some time for our food, but we entertained ourselves with Matchbox cars and conversation.
Our food arrived, all but Max's fries. Max declared his mac and cheese the best he had ever eaten. Simmy seemed to be enjoying his sandwich. I had a pimiento cheese with fried green tomatoes and arugula sandwich and it was deeeeeelicious!!! Finally, Max's fries arrive, and I am not exaggerating when I say they brought him at least 4 potatoes worth of fries.
I had promised them dessert if they behaved well. I assured them that the grace-driven treat they got yesterday would not be repeated today. Dessert would have to be earned. They did brilliantly. So, Simeon asked our waiter for a dessert menu. He only brought one and handed it to me, so I read aloud the desserts offered. Sim wanted cheesecake and I told him that they did not have cheesecake..."they have chocolate cake, carrot cake, coconut cake, peach cobbler, and ice cream." When the waiter came to take our order, Max asked for ice cream. The waiter shared the kinds they have, "chocolate, vanilla cheesecake..." Max ordered chocolate and Sim ordered the vanilla cheesecake. He did not discover that it was an ice cream flavor until they brought the fancy ice cream spoons and laid them at each place. Simmy immediately asked why they gave him a spoon for cheesecake. I explained that, "they do not have cheesecake." "But, I ordered vanilla cheesecake," he said. I said, "no, you ordered vanilla cheesecake ice cream." His face fell. So, being the strict disciplinarian that I am, I asked, "do you want a piece of coconut, carrot, or chocolate cake?" He ordered coconut.
In the meantime, one boy had to go to the bathroom. I was having flashbacks to our marathon potty session yesterday. I delicately asked if that might be the case today, and he assured me that probably it would be. Oh, shoot. So off to the bathroom we go, but much to my surprise and delight, the potential marathon session was a false alarm and we got out of there in record time. Arriving back at our table, we found a piece of coconut cake that could easily feed an entire moderately-sized family. He ate maybe 3 bites, dug out the middle to make it look like an alligator and so, we got a to-go box.
Also, just as an aside, root beer makes little boys burp and have hiccups. Most of those were quietly expelled, while a few of them were not. I am a loud hiccupper, myself, so I could not be terribly dismayed. Besides, we had been there an hour and forty minutes, so we had pretty well stretched ourselves as far as possible. Thus, we went to the empty veranda in the hotel and ran laps before leaving.
Walking to the library, we passed the park where so many homeless are resting. Simmy asked if I felt sorry for the person sleeping on the cardboard and I assured him that I did. Max said that next time we came back to town he was going to give that person his piggy bank. So sweet. We walked back to the hotel to get our to-go boxes which they kept refrigerated for us, and to pick up our car where we had taken advantage of the valet parking rounded out our time in downtown. I handed each boy a few one dollar bills to tip the valet and after a small scuffle in the car as to who was to sit in which IDENTICAL car seat, we went on our way. 3:00 pick-up time. The house is quiet, and a huge mess.
Today was a much less tiring and stressful day. They boys did 900 times better than I was expecting yesterday at this time. I am having a hard time thinking of them being in school all day every day next week. Why can't school start after Labor Day like it did when we were still sane in this country? I will miss them. I'm pretty sure by tomorrow I'll be weepy over our last day...or I will be weepy because I am desperate for them go just go home. Either way, it has been a good, good summer, and I still contend, that being a Mellie is the best life gig!
Today was practice-our-table-manners day. Needless to say, after yesterday, I was questioning my sanity in following through with plans to have lunch at The Capitol Grille in The Hermitage Hotel, but I was determined.
They did brilliantly. Both dressed so nattily in shorts, button down shirts and ties. They were most handsome escorts. The first thing each of them did was put his napkin in his laps. Yay!! Rule one of good table manners followed. Who knew that the Hermitage Hotel actually had children's menus. They read the menu, chose what they wanted and ordered for themselves after a bit of practice with me before the waiter came to take our orders. "May I please have a grilled cheese, ketchup, and fries, and, do you have root beer?" The waiter assured him that root beer was his beverage of choice and that they certainly had it. The other young gentleman ordered "mac and cheese, French fries and root beer." Forty-five seconds later, there were discreet wails of starvation and "when will our food arrive?" I was grateful for the discretion shown in the quiet cries. I assured them that the 2 baggies worth of snacks they had on the drive to the hotel would sustain them until lunch arrived. The waitstaff at The Capitol Grille does not feel any need for harried scurrying about, so we did wait quite some time for our food, but we entertained ourselves with Matchbox cars and conversation.
Our food arrived, all but Max's fries. Max declared his mac and cheese the best he had ever eaten. Simmy seemed to be enjoying his sandwich. I had a pimiento cheese with fried green tomatoes and arugula sandwich and it was deeeeeelicious!!! Finally, Max's fries arrive, and I am not exaggerating when I say they brought him at least 4 potatoes worth of fries.
I had promised them dessert if they behaved well. I assured them that the grace-driven treat they got yesterday would not be repeated today. Dessert would have to be earned. They did brilliantly. So, Simeon asked our waiter for a dessert menu. He only brought one and handed it to me, so I read aloud the desserts offered. Sim wanted cheesecake and I told him that they did not have cheesecake..."they have chocolate cake, carrot cake, coconut cake, peach cobbler, and ice cream." When the waiter came to take our order, Max asked for ice cream. The waiter shared the kinds they have, "chocolate, vanilla cheesecake..." Max ordered chocolate and Sim ordered the vanilla cheesecake. He did not discover that it was an ice cream flavor until they brought the fancy ice cream spoons and laid them at each place. Simmy immediately asked why they gave him a spoon for cheesecake. I explained that, "they do not have cheesecake." "But, I ordered vanilla cheesecake," he said. I said, "no, you ordered vanilla cheesecake ice cream." His face fell. So, being the strict disciplinarian that I am, I asked, "do you want a piece of coconut, carrot, or chocolate cake?" He ordered coconut.
In the meantime, one boy had to go to the bathroom. I was having flashbacks to our marathon potty session yesterday. I delicately asked if that might be the case today, and he assured me that probably it would be. Oh, shoot. So off to the bathroom we go, but much to my surprise and delight, the potential marathon session was a false alarm and we got out of there in record time. Arriving back at our table, we found a piece of coconut cake that could easily feed an entire moderately-sized family. He ate maybe 3 bites, dug out the middle to make it look like an alligator and so, we got a to-go box.
Also, just as an aside, root beer makes little boys burp and have hiccups. Most of those were quietly expelled, while a few of them were not. I am a loud hiccupper, myself, so I could not be terribly dismayed. Besides, we had been there an hour and forty minutes, so we had pretty well stretched ourselves as far as possible. Thus, we went to the empty veranda in the hotel and ran laps before leaving.
Walking to the library, we passed the park where so many homeless are resting. Simmy asked if I felt sorry for the person sleeping on the cardboard and I assured him that I did. Max said that next time we came back to town he was going to give that person his piggy bank. So sweet. We walked back to the hotel to get our to-go boxes which they kept refrigerated for us, and to pick up our car where we had taken advantage of the valet parking rounded out our time in downtown. I handed each boy a few one dollar bills to tip the valet and after a small scuffle in the car as to who was to sit in which IDENTICAL car seat, we went on our way. 3:00 pick-up time. The house is quiet, and a huge mess.
Today was a much less tiring and stressful day. They boys did 900 times better than I was expecting yesterday at this time. I am having a hard time thinking of them being in school all day every day next week. Why can't school start after Labor Day like it did when we were still sane in this country? I will miss them. I'm pretty sure by tomorrow I'll be weepy over our last day...or I will be weepy because I am desperate for them go just go home. Either way, it has been a good, good summer, and I still contend, that being a Mellie is the best life gig!
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Quantity vs Quality
Week 4 Day 1
Before I had children, I once heard a man say, "I don't get to spend a lot of time with my kids, but the time I do spend is quality time." Once I had children, I realized what an inaccurate statement that was. One cannot plan quality time with kids and expect it to work out that way. Oh, you might get lucky now and then, because as my daddy used to always say, "even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then," but you cannot ever be sure when kids are going to turn into wackos.
Today at camp was "Civics Day." Reservations were made for our tour of the Tennessee Residence (Governor's mansion), almost two weeks ago. We were all dressed in our Mellie Summer Camp of Excellence tee shirts, proudly claiming what a fine camp it is. We met at the "River" and prayed over our day. Excitement was running high. Cameras were all filled with fresh batteries and off we went, Mellie explaining about the three branches of the government ~ Legislative makes the laws, Judicial interprets the laws, and Executive enforces the laws. Repeat after me...the governor's name is Bill Haslam!
We arrive at the beautiful residence and the tour begins in Preservation Hall. As luck would have it, our tour guide was a friend of Mellie's and so we chatted and caught up as we waited for everyone who was scheduled for the tour to arrive. There were 12 of us. The tour began. Today, I was accompanied by Eeyore and Tigger. Oh.my.word. The bouncing and the pouting and the LOUD "whispers," and the semi-rough housing. The picture taking...Max took pictures of the bathroom door. I don't even know why; I don't. The time came to actually go into the mansion. Both boys ran off to the side of the house, but they did come nicely when I called them. Our guide, who was finding them so precious at the get-go was, just possibly, feeling the tiny bit stressed. We managed to make it through the foyer, but Simmy found the brochures. The boy never met a brochure he didn't like and so, for some unknown reason felt it his responsibility to make sure everybody had one, in spite of my admonitions that he could only get one. Finally, I turned and they were in each other's faces whispering like a deaf person in church, shushing each other. I asked the security guard if it was okay for us to leave, and he assured me without hesitation that yes, that would be fine.
One boy declared this the "worst day of Mellie Camp ever." When I asked why they could not behave with a bit more decorum, they both informed me that they didn't want to come to the Governor's mansion in the first place. I had promised them a treat if everybody acted nicely. As we were driving away, Simmy had the audacity to ask if they had earned their treat. I told him that they had not, but that Mellie Camp was a place of grace, and while they did not earn it, I was going to gift them with their treat. So, off we go to buy $12 worth of Mexican popsicles. After one lick, each boy declared that they would be getting a different flavor next time. That's fine, little dudes, but you will be eating this flavor today. Popsicles were eaten and one kiddo decided that he needed to potty. That started, for me, the nightmare of the day. Let's just say, that the pottying did not go quickly nor efficiently, and was accompanied by the other one turning in circles, talking loudly and sticking his head under the really loud hand dryer. I seriously thought we would never get out of there, but after 1/2 a roll of toilet paper, hands washed multiple times, and the XELERATOR hand dryer, which sounds like an airplane, being set off at least 100 times, we were ready to walk out of there. Every person in the popsicle store was looking at the door and laughing as we left.
Off to Sevier Park to do what little boys like to do....run free and play. A stop at The Parent Teacher Store for $2 worth of brass paper fasteners. $20 later we head home for lunch and our Civics project. I had to fight Simmy to not write "Fat Donald Trump" on his Executive of the Federal Government page, but I did win that one. Then, wonder of all wonders...we made cars. We worked with bottle tops, clay, cardboard, straws, wooden skewers, hot glue, straws, and duct tape. We made two powerful cars and took them to the hallway to have a race. Balloons were blown up through the straws ~ get ready, get set, GO! Nothing. They went nowhere. Not even an inch. I laughed hysterically. The boys were offended that I found humor in the debacle. I was just thinking that each car probably cost $7 considering all the supplies I bought. They did nothing. They went nowhere. A movie, dinner, baths, rounded out our day.
Don't speak to me of quality time with kids, with spouses, with friends. It takes quantity to get quality. Today wasn't our best camp day. It may have been the worst Mellie Camp day of all. But, we redeemed it, and all in all, I would say it was a pretty good day. But if it had been our only "quality time" day, we would have been sorely disappointed.
Before I had children, I once heard a man say, "I don't get to spend a lot of time with my kids, but the time I do spend is quality time." Once I had children, I realized what an inaccurate statement that was. One cannot plan quality time with kids and expect it to work out that way. Oh, you might get lucky now and then, because as my daddy used to always say, "even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then," but you cannot ever be sure when kids are going to turn into wackos.
Today at camp was "Civics Day." Reservations were made for our tour of the Tennessee Residence (Governor's mansion), almost two weeks ago. We were all dressed in our Mellie Summer Camp of Excellence tee shirts, proudly claiming what a fine camp it is. We met at the "River" and prayed over our day. Excitement was running high. Cameras were all filled with fresh batteries and off we went, Mellie explaining about the three branches of the government ~ Legislative makes the laws, Judicial interprets the laws, and Executive enforces the laws. Repeat after me...the governor's name is Bill Haslam!
We arrive at the beautiful residence and the tour begins in Preservation Hall. As luck would have it, our tour guide was a friend of Mellie's and so we chatted and caught up as we waited for everyone who was scheduled for the tour to arrive. There were 12 of us. The tour began. Today, I was accompanied by Eeyore and Tigger. Oh.my.word. The bouncing and the pouting and the LOUD "whispers," and the semi-rough housing. The picture taking...Max took pictures of the bathroom door. I don't even know why; I don't. The time came to actually go into the mansion. Both boys ran off to the side of the house, but they did come nicely when I called them. Our guide, who was finding them so precious at the get-go was, just possibly, feeling the tiny bit stressed. We managed to make it through the foyer, but Simmy found the brochures. The boy never met a brochure he didn't like and so, for some unknown reason felt it his responsibility to make sure everybody had one, in spite of my admonitions that he could only get one. Finally, I turned and they were in each other's faces whispering like a deaf person in church, shushing each other. I asked the security guard if it was okay for us to leave, and he assured me without hesitation that yes, that would be fine.
One boy declared this the "worst day of Mellie Camp ever." When I asked why they could not behave with a bit more decorum, they both informed me that they didn't want to come to the Governor's mansion in the first place. I had promised them a treat if everybody acted nicely. As we were driving away, Simmy had the audacity to ask if they had earned their treat. I told him that they had not, but that Mellie Camp was a place of grace, and while they did not earn it, I was going to gift them with their treat. So, off we go to buy $12 worth of Mexican popsicles. After one lick, each boy declared that they would be getting a different flavor next time. That's fine, little dudes, but you will be eating this flavor today. Popsicles were eaten and one kiddo decided that he needed to potty. That started, for me, the nightmare of the day. Let's just say, that the pottying did not go quickly nor efficiently, and was accompanied by the other one turning in circles, talking loudly and sticking his head under the really loud hand dryer. I seriously thought we would never get out of there, but after 1/2 a roll of toilet paper, hands washed multiple times, and the XELERATOR hand dryer, which sounds like an airplane, being set off at least 100 times, we were ready to walk out of there. Every person in the popsicle store was looking at the door and laughing as we left.
Off to Sevier Park to do what little boys like to do....run free and play. A stop at The Parent Teacher Store for $2 worth of brass paper fasteners. $20 later we head home for lunch and our Civics project. I had to fight Simmy to not write "Fat Donald Trump" on his Executive of the Federal Government page, but I did win that one. Then, wonder of all wonders...we made cars. We worked with bottle tops, clay, cardboard, straws, wooden skewers, hot glue, straws, and duct tape. We made two powerful cars and took them to the hallway to have a race. Balloons were blown up through the straws ~ get ready, get set, GO! Nothing. They went nowhere. Not even an inch. I laughed hysterically. The boys were offended that I found humor in the debacle. I was just thinking that each car probably cost $7 considering all the supplies I bought. They did nothing. They went nowhere. A movie, dinner, baths, rounded out our day.
Don't speak to me of quality time with kids, with spouses, with friends. It takes quantity to get quality. Today wasn't our best camp day. It may have been the worst Mellie Camp day of all. But, we redeemed it, and all in all, I would say it was a pretty good day. But if it had been our only "quality time" day, we would have been sorely disappointed.
Thursday, July 12, 2018
When in Rome/Greece
Week 3, Day 3
Today is Greco Roman day at Mellie camp. Simeon requested that we go to the Parthenon, which resulted in multiple Greco Roman type activities. After we went to "the river" and, yet again, asked God to help us only be concerned that the other person gets what they need rather than being all wrapped up in self-interests, and that Mellie please have patience, and that we all act more like Jesus, the boys each read aloud a passage about a Greek goddess. Simmy read about Athena and Max read about Nike. They did beautifully. That these gods and goddesses were not real but were, instead, myths is a concept with which they have a bit of trouble.
After reading, we headed to the Parthenon, listening to Greek music on Pandora by Sokratis Sinopoulos, or possibly Azizie Syrtos because I don't which one is the name of the song and which is the name of the performer. Upon arriving at Centennial Park, I shared what little knowledge I have about the original Parthenon, the replica in Nashville, the Centennial Exposition, and my limited information about Greek gods and goddesses and Rome overthrowing Greece. Max was totally bummed when I told him that the big statue of Athena was not solid gold and said, "I just wish you hadn't told me that." They both were astounded to learn that the statue of Nike in Athena's hand is actually as tall as Fizzy. One of the most fun activities was looking at the remnants of the Elgin marbles and the model of the statues in the pediment and figuring out which ones the remnants were. There was much guffawing over the nakedness of the statues and they came close to having apoplexy when I informed them that competitors in the first Olympics participated totally naked....and, no, we will not be re-enacting that, no matter how many times they ask! Boys!!
I bribed them with a stop at the gift shop if they had excellent museum behavior, and they did. The exhibit in the art gallery was really neat, photos and paintings of local parks, and they saw pictures of Radnor that they recognized. As we perused the gift shop (longer than we spent in the museum), a lovely young woman came up to tell them what excellent museum manners they had. I was quite proud. They bought ridiculously expensive plastic toys of Greek gods and goddesses and have played on my bed with them using pillows as Mount Olympus. Of course, a fight ensued over the clean up...2 hours later, fighting again. It is really hard to play a game where the rules are made up as the game goes along and those participating tend to have different notions of what the rules should be.
Our craft was brown paper Grecian urns to decorate. Simmy wanted to turn his into a mask...whatever. Max wanted to just not decorate his because "I can't do it!" Not doing it is never an option. Everyone has to at least try. It just goes against the grain to "give up" and not try. He put his mind to it and came up with a fairly lovely urn by painting a camel on it. I was glad he told me it was a camel before I guessed the wrong thing. Frankly, looking at the pictures (on FB because...well, because blogger and I don't jive well with pictures), I must say that, truly, only one of us grasped the concept of the "assignment." But, that's okay as long as everybody tries.
The Disney movie, Hercules, rounded out our Greco Roman day. I desperately tried to talk them into a toga party, and even got out the sheets to make togas for them, but they were having none of it. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was terribly disappointed. We had a theme-appropriate (sort of) snack of hummus, pita chips, olive tapenade, grapes, and Greek yogurt (not really, but we called it that, probably it is French yogurt).
Three more days. That's all that is left. Max said this morning he wished we could go back to day one and start all over again. Me, too, little guy, me too.
Today is Greco Roman day at Mellie camp. Simeon requested that we go to the Parthenon, which resulted in multiple Greco Roman type activities. After we went to "the river" and, yet again, asked God to help us only be concerned that the other person gets what they need rather than being all wrapped up in self-interests, and that Mellie please have patience, and that we all act more like Jesus, the boys each read aloud a passage about a Greek goddess. Simmy read about Athena and Max read about Nike. They did beautifully. That these gods and goddesses were not real but were, instead, myths is a concept with which they have a bit of trouble.
After reading, we headed to the Parthenon, listening to Greek music on Pandora by Sokratis Sinopoulos, or possibly Azizie Syrtos because I don't which one is the name of the song and which is the name of the performer. Upon arriving at Centennial Park, I shared what little knowledge I have about the original Parthenon, the replica in Nashville, the Centennial Exposition, and my limited information about Greek gods and goddesses and Rome overthrowing Greece. Max was totally bummed when I told him that the big statue of Athena was not solid gold and said, "I just wish you hadn't told me that." They both were astounded to learn that the statue of Nike in Athena's hand is actually as tall as Fizzy. One of the most fun activities was looking at the remnants of the Elgin marbles and the model of the statues in the pediment and figuring out which ones the remnants were. There was much guffawing over the nakedness of the statues and they came close to having apoplexy when I informed them that competitors in the first Olympics participated totally naked....and, no, we will not be re-enacting that, no matter how many times they ask! Boys!!
I bribed them with a stop at the gift shop if they had excellent museum behavior, and they did. The exhibit in the art gallery was really neat, photos and paintings of local parks, and they saw pictures of Radnor that they recognized. As we perused the gift shop (longer than we spent in the museum), a lovely young woman came up to tell them what excellent museum manners they had. I was quite proud. They bought ridiculously expensive plastic toys of Greek gods and goddesses and have played on my bed with them using pillows as Mount Olympus. Of course, a fight ensued over the clean up...2 hours later, fighting again. It is really hard to play a game where the rules are made up as the game goes along and those participating tend to have different notions of what the rules should be.
Our craft was brown paper Grecian urns to decorate. Simmy wanted to turn his into a mask...whatever. Max wanted to just not decorate his because "I can't do it!" Not doing it is never an option. Everyone has to at least try. It just goes against the grain to "give up" and not try. He put his mind to it and came up with a fairly lovely urn by painting a camel on it. I was glad he told me it was a camel before I guessed the wrong thing. Frankly, looking at the pictures (on FB because...well, because blogger and I don't jive well with pictures), I must say that, truly, only one of us grasped the concept of the "assignment." But, that's okay as long as everybody tries.
The Disney movie, Hercules, rounded out our Greco Roman day. I desperately tried to talk them into a toga party, and even got out the sheets to make togas for them, but they were having none of it. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was terribly disappointed. We had a theme-appropriate (sort of) snack of hummus, pita chips, olive tapenade, grapes, and Greek yogurt (not really, but we called it that, probably it is French yogurt).
Three more days. That's all that is left. Max said this morning he wished we could go back to day one and start all over again. Me, too, little guy, me too.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Slow and Easy
Week 3, Day 2
Today has been a relatively slow and easy day. I let each boy at the beginning of summer tell me one thing in particular they wanted to be sure that we do during Mellie Camp. Max chose going to a playground. The boy has loved playgrounds since he was a wee little boy. A playground could not have come at a better time, for I was feeling all 66 of my years last night when I went to bed.
We went to Crockett Park, a large, shady playground. On the way, we stopped to get big bottles of cold water and one not sweet snack per boy. I had also packed kiwi, oranges, apples, Persian cucumbers and grape tomatoes. As soon as we arrived, Max asked me to open his pretzels. Somewhere in there, I mistakenly heard Simmy ask me to open his chips. He did not want them then. Sadly, when he came a few minutes later and sort of jerked them out of the cooler bag, they were upside down, and, seriously, how in the world every last one of them fell on the ground is a puzzle to me. He was not happy and for the next half hour or so he lamented the loss and ranted about how it was my fault. I just smiled, told him I was sorry it happened, and he got to choose if spilled chips would ruin his whole day or if spilled chips would just ruin his pleasure in eating chips. He chose the former option for quite some time, but eventually moved on to bigger and better and more fun activities.
About ten minutes after we arrived at the quiet, sparsely populated park, a seemingly never-ending line of bigger, louder kids arrived. I was not happy. They did not stay even an hour and the quiet that resulted upon their departure was heavenly. We stayed and played for a couple more hours.
Arriving at home, we had a much anticipated water balloon fight that lasted about 2 minutes. Who knew that 2 boys could throw that many water balloons at each other and their Mellie so quickly. It was fun and getting wet felt marvelous. This was followed by pizza for lunch (thank you, Aunt P), writing in journals, tie dying another shirt (did not turn out that well), and playing cards on Mellie's bed.
Because I was so wiped out last night, I requested that if boys could be picked up early today, I would not be disappointed. Marsh called around 2:00 and said, "do you want to get rid of him badly enough to meet me somewhere in Brentwood?" Now, I probably would not have worded it quite that way, but I responded with "tell me where. I'm on my way." So, boys are home.
Tomorrow is another big day and could result in another day of obnoxious posting on FB. I am most appreciative of my FB friends who have such kind comments, and most understanding of those who must roll their eyes and wonder why I feel the need to so over share. It is to remember and to let Sheri, in particular, who is at work, see what Max is doing throughout the day. I hope it brings her some joy to know that he's having fun and is well taken care of.
For now, I have a good book (good, in that it's entertaining, not good in that I would ever recommend it), a fairly cool house, and a sofa calling my name.
Today has been a relatively slow and easy day. I let each boy at the beginning of summer tell me one thing in particular they wanted to be sure that we do during Mellie Camp. Max chose going to a playground. The boy has loved playgrounds since he was a wee little boy. A playground could not have come at a better time, for I was feeling all 66 of my years last night when I went to bed.
We went to Crockett Park, a large, shady playground. On the way, we stopped to get big bottles of cold water and one not sweet snack per boy. I had also packed kiwi, oranges, apples, Persian cucumbers and grape tomatoes. As soon as we arrived, Max asked me to open his pretzels. Somewhere in there, I mistakenly heard Simmy ask me to open his chips. He did not want them then. Sadly, when he came a few minutes later and sort of jerked them out of the cooler bag, they were upside down, and, seriously, how in the world every last one of them fell on the ground is a puzzle to me. He was not happy and for the next half hour or so he lamented the loss and ranted about how it was my fault. I just smiled, told him I was sorry it happened, and he got to choose if spilled chips would ruin his whole day or if spilled chips would just ruin his pleasure in eating chips. He chose the former option for quite some time, but eventually moved on to bigger and better and more fun activities.
About ten minutes after we arrived at the quiet, sparsely populated park, a seemingly never-ending line of bigger, louder kids arrived. I was not happy. They did not stay even an hour and the quiet that resulted upon their departure was heavenly. We stayed and played for a couple more hours.
Arriving at home, we had a much anticipated water balloon fight that lasted about 2 minutes. Who knew that 2 boys could throw that many water balloons at each other and their Mellie so quickly. It was fun and getting wet felt marvelous. This was followed by pizza for lunch (thank you, Aunt P), writing in journals, tie dying another shirt (did not turn out that well), and playing cards on Mellie's bed.
Because I was so wiped out last night, I requested that if boys could be picked up early today, I would not be disappointed. Marsh called around 2:00 and said, "do you want to get rid of him badly enough to meet me somewhere in Brentwood?" Now, I probably would not have worded it quite that way, but I responded with "tell me where. I'm on my way." So, boys are home.
Tomorrow is another big day and could result in another day of obnoxious posting on FB. I am most appreciative of my FB friends who have such kind comments, and most understanding of those who must roll their eyes and wonder why I feel the need to so over share. It is to remember and to let Sheri, in particular, who is at work, see what Max is doing throughout the day. I hope it brings her some joy to know that he's having fun and is well taken care of.
For now, I have a good book (good, in that it's entertaining, not good in that I would ever recommend it), a fairly cool house, and a sofa calling my name.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Keeping Expectations Low
Week 3, Day 1
I had high expectations for the day. It was going to be a perfectly run, we're-all-on-the-same-team kind of day. That is not exactly how the morning went, even after we "went to the river" and prayed for strength and Jesuslike behavior for the day. One of my buddies had a really hard morning. I do not know what set it off, and when I asked if he could tell me what the problem was, he said he didn't really know. The other one was rowdy beyond description. When he wacked the other one in the head with a rather large jingle bell, he ran after him apologizing yelling, "I don't know what got into me!!" Flip Wilson comes to mind.
My plan today was to educate the boys on what is involved in having a dinner party. We have discussed this night for a couple weeks. They decided on their menu quite a while ago. The main dish is a frittata with bacon and cheese only, no veggies. It's their party, so I agreed. As a side, there is a salad in a parmesan cheese bowl. Well, only the adults will have the bowls because we ran out of cheese and the boys have parmesan wafers, which, frankly, are much more appetizing than the bowls, and I use the term "bowl" loosely. A shallow, cheese, shape of some sort is more accurate. Toasted French bread rounds out our main offering. The piece de resistance is chocolate bowls with ice cream and toppings. We each chose two toppings for the ice cream sundae bar we are setting up. I chose caramel sauce which had mold growing on it when I opened it and whipped cream, which I won't whip because it was supposed to go on the caramel sauce. The boys picked almond M&Ms, Swedish Fish, Sour Patch gummy worms, and gummy figures of varying design. Yum?
They set the table. I let them pick out the dishes to use. Shock of all shocks, they did choose matching dishes. We had to use clear glasses because our ice is fish-shaped made with 2 ice trays Max gave me for my birthday. For several days now, I have been making fish ice cubes, storing them in a baggie in the freezer. I let them organize the flowers and they have placed them in front of each person's place, which is lovely. Two sets of salt and pepper shakers each. This is what prompted the most avaricious dictating of which sets they wanted me to leave them in my will. They did not seem to understand that I have to be DEAD (maybe they did understand) before they are getting my stuff. So, on the table, on July 10, we have a 2-in-one shaker that Simmy has always loved. It's very delicate and beautiful. He also chose a set that looks like the hot and cold water handles on an old fashioned sink. Max chose a duck riding a beach ball, and two Christmas rabbits nestled in a Christmas shoe. Probably not what I would have chosen, but they are pleased, so I am pleased.
We took a little break from party work to make a craft. It is a stained glass sun catcher made with glitter glue and food coloring. I think they are going to turn out well once they dry, but Simmy looked like a accident victim, he had so much red food coloring on his hands....and the bottoms of his feet. I don't even know.
Then, a movie on the den floor where they made a cozy nest with the cushions off the sofa. I was a little sad when I heard the end of the movie. I must admit I was a little shocked when one of them came running back to Frisby Hall in his superman underwear only. What is that about?
Well, after lots of starts and stops and arguments and tears and messiness and trips to "the river," dinner was a huge success. The veggies in the salad were in rather large chunks, but they cut them themselves. The recipe called for 16 eggs for the frittatas and we only needed 17. Only one went "overboard." I think that's pretty great. Part of dinner may or may not have been sneezed upon, but I figure we're all family. When it came time to eat, they served everyone, ladies first, with great aplomb. They filled the glasses with ice and cleared the table and ate like champs. Some frittata was eaten without a fork. We still have a little table manners work to do, but all in all, I'd say it was a successful day. This tired Mellie is hitting the sack. Week 3, Day 2 tomorrow. Who knows what wonders await.
I had high expectations for the day. It was going to be a perfectly run, we're-all-on-the-same-team kind of day. That is not exactly how the morning went, even after we "went to the river" and prayed for strength and Jesuslike behavior for the day. One of my buddies had a really hard morning. I do not know what set it off, and when I asked if he could tell me what the problem was, he said he didn't really know. The other one was rowdy beyond description. When he wacked the other one in the head with a rather large jingle bell, he ran after him apologizing yelling, "I don't know what got into me!!" Flip Wilson comes to mind.
My plan today was to educate the boys on what is involved in having a dinner party. We have discussed this night for a couple weeks. They decided on their menu quite a while ago. The main dish is a frittata with bacon and cheese only, no veggies. It's their party, so I agreed. As a side, there is a salad in a parmesan cheese bowl. Well, only the adults will have the bowls because we ran out of cheese and the boys have parmesan wafers, which, frankly, are much more appetizing than the bowls, and I use the term "bowl" loosely. A shallow, cheese, shape of some sort is more accurate. Toasted French bread rounds out our main offering. The piece de resistance is chocolate bowls with ice cream and toppings. We each chose two toppings for the ice cream sundae bar we are setting up. I chose caramel sauce which had mold growing on it when I opened it and whipped cream, which I won't whip because it was supposed to go on the caramel sauce. The boys picked almond M&Ms, Swedish Fish, Sour Patch gummy worms, and gummy figures of varying design. Yum?
They set the table. I let them pick out the dishes to use. Shock of all shocks, they did choose matching dishes. We had to use clear glasses because our ice is fish-shaped made with 2 ice trays Max gave me for my birthday. For several days now, I have been making fish ice cubes, storing them in a baggie in the freezer. I let them organize the flowers and they have placed them in front of each person's place, which is lovely. Two sets of salt and pepper shakers each. This is what prompted the most avaricious dictating of which sets they wanted me to leave them in my will. They did not seem to understand that I have to be DEAD (maybe they did understand) before they are getting my stuff. So, on the table, on July 10, we have a 2-in-one shaker that Simmy has always loved. It's very delicate and beautiful. He also chose a set that looks like the hot and cold water handles on an old fashioned sink. Max chose a duck riding a beach ball, and two Christmas rabbits nestled in a Christmas shoe. Probably not what I would have chosen, but they are pleased, so I am pleased.
We took a little break from party work to make a craft. It is a stained glass sun catcher made with glitter glue and food coloring. I think they are going to turn out well once they dry, but Simmy looked like a accident victim, he had so much red food coloring on his hands....and the bottoms of his feet. I don't even know.
Then, a movie on the den floor where they made a cozy nest with the cushions off the sofa. I was a little sad when I heard the end of the movie. I must admit I was a little shocked when one of them came running back to Frisby Hall in his superman underwear only. What is that about?
Well, after lots of starts and stops and arguments and tears and messiness and trips to "the river," dinner was a huge success. The veggies in the salad were in rather large chunks, but they cut them themselves. The recipe called for 16 eggs for the frittatas and we only needed 17. Only one went "overboard." I think that's pretty great. Part of dinner may or may not have been sneezed upon, but I figure we're all family. When it came time to eat, they served everyone, ladies first, with great aplomb. They filled the glasses with ice and cleared the table and ate like champs. Some frittata was eaten without a fork. We still have a little table manners work to do, but all in all, I'd say it was a successful day. This tired Mellie is hitting the sack. Week 3, Day 2 tomorrow. Who knows what wonders await.
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