Whatever Happened to Customer Courtesy?

Okay...my back deck is now full of herbs. Why? Because I am on strike. I am on strike from
our local grocery store. I am now on strike from our local dollar store...and somehow this led to a porch-full of herbs? I'm still trying to figure out how that happened.

We live in a small town in hill-country Texas with one..yes one..grocery store. Over the past few years, I have watched the prices increase....ridiculously. "I'm investing in my community" I would tell myself..as I paid $5 for a box of cereal...or $3 for 6 dinner rolls.

I knew I was being screwed...but I wanted to believe that I was investing in the people of this small town.

So, two weeks ago, I am in the middle of cooking dinner when I realize I am missing..mushroom soup. That is all. "Can you pick up some Lucky Charms?" asks Austen....oh...and some dinner rolls? "Anything else?" I ask. "Stew meat would be nice" pipes in friend Sandy. We can make stew for dinner tommorow. I have $20 in my pocket. Surely, I think, $20 should buy 4 items.

I get to the store and start the tally in my head. 1 box of cereal, 1 pkg. of dinner rolls...I am already close to $10. This, I think, is insane. Then the voice...you are investing in your community. I pick up a package of stew meat...small package at that..over $7..I am now at $17 for 3 items. Now..if I could just find the mushroom soup. It figures..moved again.

Just then I hear a voice (a real one this time). May I help you ma'am? (remember..living in the South) I see a gentlemen stacking mushroom soup..and a sign that says...well..I can't read it. He's standing in front of it.The man asks again, "would you like a basket ma'am?" No, I tell him..I just want to see the sign.
I ask, "I'm sorry, does that sign really say $1.27 for a small can of mushroom soup?"

Then the huffing and puffing begins. "Well (says nice gentleman gone angry) if you don't like it, I can always raise the price!" "Excuse me?" I ask. (Is this guy for real?) "You heard me..(he responds) I can always raise the price."

Then it happened. My arm (with hand attached) was returning the stew meat. My feet walked to the cereal aisle and returned the cereal. "oh", I think. "It appears, I'm done shopping here."

I return the other items and decide to wait until I am in San Antonio.

Fast forward to last Friday..the day before our OM tournament. I run to our local dollar store (where I shop all the time!) to pick up 3 containers..I don't want to go into all the details..but essentially it ends with me asking the price of what was labeled $9 and rang up $15. I was having a hard time justifying paying almost $50 for plastic crates..so I said..dumbly.."really..are you sure? It was marked $9".

Mistake.

I then listened as the clerk ranted and raved about customers moving all their items. Truth is, the store had only been opened 10 minutes that morning..and I was trying to envision..anyone..moving this huge pile of crates from one shelf to another without being noticed. I thought it was funny. She did not. Led to lots of screaming on her part.

I walked out of that store also. So..in less than two weeks, I have resolved not to buy anything from two of the stores in a town that is only 10 blocks long. Yikes!

Truth is, I am all for supporting my community..even letting them gouge me a little..but not if they are going to be rude about it.

Fast forward to today...I have been informed by Cody's soccer trainer that he needs to eat like a real vegetarian (not a blanca-vore..in the term of my friend Carol)..or acquire carnivorous habits in order to continue training and not, well, pass out. In other words..eat healthier.

I decide to start cooking two entree's an evening..instead of the haphazard approach we have been taking. So over the weekend I bought lots of herb plants. Yes..plants. I figured I needed them to cook with..and it sure beat running to the "big city" to buy herbs. I didn't realize that to chop a cup of parsley we would be chopping two entire plants!

So what happens? Well..we are eating a lot of plants..right off of my back deck! Why? Because the manager of a grocery store felt the need to create a scene over mushroom soup.

Weekly menu:
Monday: taco's...bean and cheese/taco-meat
Tuesday: tabouleh and pierogies/ cheeseburger pie
Wednesday: spicy cabbage and potatoes/baked chicken breasts
Thursday: chile relleno (cheese), rice and beans
Friday: pizza again:)
Saturday: lasagna with green beans and french bread
Sunday: no idea

Austen in Action

Let's face it. Austen is just plain fun. We always said Austen brings levity into a houselhold of intense personalities.How can someone who is so busy and deals with such serious stuff all the time, have such a great disposition?

Here Austen comes in from the back deck after spending a morning on Odyssey stuff. He is getting ready to work at the Club, showing some of the elementary kids how to wire circuit boards...



And what sane kid has fun with Homer? Austen and his friend Mandy dissolve into a pile of giggles over ways to "trap" their "enemies" in a game they are creating on quotes from the Illiad.

Yet with all this playfulness, Austen genuinely enjoys the structure a nd friendships he develops with his Civil Air Patrol peers.

This picture was taken after the San Antonio Lackland Squadron participated in a drill competition. They were seriously reviewing what went right..what went wrong..when Austen peaks at the camera and has the entire squadron laughing until they cry with one commentary after another on how they did. They then try to focus before performing their innovative drill. (Which they placed 1st in, by the way!)

Austen next to one of his good friend Josie. We all like to say that Josie and her cousin Sammy are Austen's body-guards. Both girls participate in both Civil Air Patrol and Odyssey of the Mind with Austen..and they are all Club kids. In other words...they have spent a LOT of time together over the past several years.

Austen has recently helped his dad fix a 4 wheeler. This has by far,
been the favorite past-time of all. Austen plans to spend his summer lifeguarding, traveling, attending a Shakespeare theater session and 4 wheeling everywhere!

Home Office?

Allright. I really want to know. Just who thought up the idea of

a home-office...and does anyone really..I mean really use them

efficiently? This is a shot of our school-room (now there's a laugh)/

home office/morning room/laundry room..that also houses our piano.

Rumor has it that this is the spot where I can accomplish all my

home paper-trail stuff. You know..grant writing, social service

forms for various families, program development for the Club, occasional sermon writing and..heaven forbid.. eventually produce a transcript or something for the boys.

When you turn the corner..you can see that I have an actual desk with computer (I stole it from Austen..my laptop has been in a repair store for..count this 4 months!). We just happen to have

all my books on shelves next to the washer and dryer around the other corner.

I told Brian this morning that I didn't think this was working. I need space! I tell him. He looks

at me incredulously. Well..there's the tree-house. Oi..I think..here we go with the tree-house again. I stare back at him. Do you want to put your stuff in our room again? he asks. I try this every year. It lasts a month and drives me crazy. The problem with having all your work stuff in your room is you never really rest. Let's face it. There is always more work to be done in any social-service type work. Going to bed and waking up to piles of unfinished work makes me unbearable to live with. No. I tell him. I want my own room. Can't you build me a room?

I know I am being unreasonable..but come on..how hard could it be? Really.

The truth is..our house is too crowded to work in any open space. Just around the corner is thekitchen. It usually looks like this. You

know with people and stuff. And while I am a pretty social person, I don't think I have sat at the computer to do, well, anything, in over 5 years without someone peeking their head from the kitchen (and there is always someone in the kitchen!). If it looks like I might be remotely involved in something than I feel a presence of some tall boy or man looking over my shoulder. And then the question "Whachya doin'?". They don't really want to know. They either want the computer, or want to tell me something important. You know..where my undivided attention is needed immediately!

Now add Odyssey of the Mind into the equation. For the next month or two my living room

will always look like this..only with many more small people not seen in this particular picture. They are great kids!..but they are constantly looking for stuff. Glue, duct-tape, paint basically, anything that might be stored in a morning room/school room/office/laundry room!

I realize (again) that my quest for quiet office space is in vain. I do not want to climb a tree

to find quiet. Luckily, the weather is getting a little warmer. I look at our back deck. It has served me well every Spring so far.

The floor and roof need to be painted, new plants could be hung, but it's sure quiet.....

I think it's time to claim my new office!

Weekly Menu:

Sunday: catfish, beans, corn-bread, onion

Monday: quiche, spinach salad

Tuesday: black beans and rice, fruit salad

Wednesday: Quesadillas, fruit smoothies

Thursday: Lasagna, french bread, green beans

Friday: dinner in Austin

Saturday: out-to-eat with Brian :)

Packed weekend

It is 6ish this morning. Brian, Michael and I are sitting in a fog...drinking our coffee and trying to absorb that it is Monday. "So" says Michael (mason's dad)..."That was a blur" (meaning the weekend). "A bit packed...is everyone okay?"


He is right. We have all been running different directions since Friday night. Austen spends the night at Lackland for more Civil Air Patrol stuff. Mason has a game. Brian and Michael are working late. Cody and I stay home to watch movies. Early Saturday I leave with a car-load of
volunteers for a day of judges training. Michael spends the day working. Mason has a soccer game. Cody has more practice..Brian drives the soccer boys places..and then they head to the church to work at the annual Wild Game Dinner.( etc. etc. Are we getting the picture here?)

I will not go into detail on everyone's schedule for the rest of the weekend. But in a nutshell..everyone ends up sleep deprived (think church lock-in). Michael, meanwhile, is still working.

It is Sunday afternoon and we finally all get home. Brian wants everyone to clean, clean, clean?
We think he is kidding. No, we are going to have company for the super-bowl.
Super Bowl? Who's playing? I ask. Cody grunts. Brian shrugs. Does it matter? he asks.
Mason fills us in before guests arrive so we do not embarass him. We are told we should cheer for Arizona.
Mason and Cody grab the "best seats" and kick back to enjoy the game....but guests trickle in..and their evening becomes a bit chaotic.



We enjoy a Cajun
Crab Boil and eat way too much food.






Michael returns with 3-D sunglasses for everyone. Don't we all look cool?






Now it is Monday. We have returned to the normacy of the
week. Cody is holing up in his room to work on math. Austen and Devin work on Odyssey something or another.

Some of the co-op kids (Angela, Devin, Austen
and Amanda) play Cranium, after more octa-tetraing and a discussion
on Homer, Locke and the characters of Lost...(Calvin, Sawyer...) They listen to AC/DC and Duke Ellington. They hide from eachother under the house. Finally, they ask if they can just play Dungeons and Dragons next year. We tell them maybe.




Weekly Menu:
Monday: fish and veggie tacos
Tuesday: sausage and tomatoes, biscuits, corn-on-the cob, baby carrots
Wednesday: enchiladas, beans, corn-bread
Thursday: breaded pork chops, french fries, salad,
Friday: pizza again
Saturday: spaghetti, french bread, salad (another OM day)

Chronicles of Cody

Cody eating home-made ravioli's at grandma's house.

Cody with some of his cousins and brothers, as well as Angee (Brian's girlfriend) and Jerry (RoseAnn's boyfriend).Everyone agrees, they count as family.

Cody is our sullen one.We like to say he can't help it..he was sort-of born wearing that look. Those who get to know him, learn that he has a huge heart for those less fortunate,can be very funny, unusually loyal and has learned to balance an extremely competitive nature with playfulness. (this, however, is supposed to be a secret). So, just who is this kid?

I thought I could start with some of his passions.

First of all. Soccer. Cody is living, breathing, sleeping soccer at this time of his life. He wants to push himself to see how far he can go "in the soccer world". (Is that vague enough?) He is playing with his second team since the Fall and working with two trainers. So..Mondays and Wednesdays..he trains..Tuesdays and Thursdays he practices and trains. Friday's are usually games (along with some of his practicing/training days) and Saturdays hold more games or practice. Sundays? He recovers before starting all over again.

This is Cody's 11th year playing soccer, but his first year as a goalie. He had gotten very comfortable at mid-field. After a little hesitation in the beginning,Cody discovered that he can be more aggressive as goalie than just about anywhere else on the field. He is loving it!

So..maybe passions is a short-list...although he recently re-discovered his guitar, and continues to spend hours plotting stories for computer games.

We are trying to put a little balance into Cody's soccer/family life. Cody has returned to studying Latin prayers verses translations of biographies of assassins. The prayers are a little more managable. He is working through St. Martin's Guide to writing, reading Tao Te Ching for co-op and plugging along in math. He is cursing himself for involving himself (yet again) in Odyssey. Insisting he will never do it again. He says this every year at this time.

Finally, he has recently joined Venturers. They are planning to do some ropes courses and scuba diving locally for the short-term. For the long-term they have narrowed down their adventures to either gold-mining in Colorado for a month or scuba-diving in Belize. He has "respectfully declined" any leadership positions with this group.

As for service? Well..he is continuing to lead the Boys and Girls Club city-wide paper recycling program. and helps tutor at the Club one day a week.

Cody's next big interest these days has been micro-financing with non-profit organizations such as Kiva (Keeva?). He has found that he can loan money to , say, a fisherman in Lebanon..and see his money put to use. He insists this is far more gratifying than letting his money sit in a bank and earn $10 a year in interest.

Cody continues his advocacy/awareness-raising on the genocide in Darfur and offering family support to local refugees on a weekly basis. (grocery shopping, playing with children, tutoring, etc.)

I forgot. This has become a request. (who knew?)

Weekly Menu:

Mon: Potato chip chicken, broccoli/cauliflower/potato/cheese stuff, fried okra, biscuits

Tues: stir fry veggies with rice

Wed: ribs, mashed potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, biscuits again

Thurs: chicken and dumplings, salad

Friday: pizza again:)

Saturday: veggie chilli and Wild Game Dinner at the church

Sunday: church pot-luck

MLK March/Inaguration

Wow.

A lot of history in a short span of time.
We have participated in the San Antonio MLK March every year for over a decade. (except one year when the Tx. Hill Country roads were closed due to ice and we couldn't get there). This year the boys insisted on going as part of the Darfur Coalition.

In this picture Elle, Mathew, Hannah and Cody hold the sign while others (Mason, Austen, Joel, Jules, Galen, Harlan...) pass out literature on the SADarfur Interfaith Coalition and get signatures on post-cards to encourage the ending of the genocide in Darfur.

I was questioned by a dear friend as to why we march. Our children were marching to make a stand for Darfur, but why me? Why would I march?

My response? Because it is our priviledge, right and responsibility.

We have the priviledge to march for what we believe in this country. I have spent some time in countries that are not so privilidged. It is not a priviledge I take lightly.

It is my right. I believe that here in the United States, we have come a very long way in social equality and justice for all...but I also know we have a long way to go. Our current public policies regarding immigration, people with disabilities, and same-sex marriages are just a start. I feel it is our right, to make a stand on these issues. The way I see it, equality means equality..not..oh..actually just for x, y and z group. This is my belief. For this I march.

Finally responsibility. It is my responsibility as a parent, to make sure my children know the history of our country. All the history, the parts for which I am proud, the parts for which I am embarassed. We study history to learn from both our successes and our mistakes. The civil rights movement is a HUGE part of American History. I cannot and will not deny this lesson in social responsibility to my children.

We have just spent the morning watching Obama's inaguration into office. Once again.

Wow.

I saw a sign yesterday that pretty much sums up my feelings about all of this:

Rosa (Parks) sat so Martin(Luther King) could walk.
Martin walked so (Barak)Obama could run.
Obama ran so all children could fly.

Odyssey is back...

My house smells like kids and Odyssey of the Mind.

My kitchen smells like spray paint (they painted outside..I swear) My living room smells of burning sauder, and snacks...(popcorn and pizza actually).

I thought we had another month before the kids hit this mode. I was wrong.

The Club is sending 4 teams this year to the Texas Central regional tournament. We are sending one highschool, one middle school and two elementary teams. The highschool and junior high are both meeting out of our house (although they have coaches other than me). Elementary is meeting out of the Club. All teams are meeting together on Tuesdays for spontaneous problem practice. You know..when they work together to answer questions like, "if you made a bumper sticker for the space shuttle, what would it say?" or to build things..like a cantilever out of toothpicks and marshmallows.

But that is not as messy ..the spontaneous. The long-term stuff will take over my house. At the moment we have two small vehicle models and one pieced together robot and something that explodes for the high school. They are rumoring about spies and the Pink Panther. I can only imagine what they will end up with.

Junior high is working on a problem involving "the lost labor of Heracles". They have spent the day, painting shoes, working on signs and downloading info on the Greek alphabet and Pythagorus (don't ask). They also have lots of brown material, tie-dye (again with the tie-dye), sheets, leaves and various forms of triangles. They don't know if they are using triangles or not..but are playing with an idea.

The mess, however, is not limited to competing members of our house. Since the rest of us are not allowed to offer any ideas..we often immerse ourselves in our own creative endeavors. I managed to get myself lost in a book. (not so creative) Brian-Scott and Angee (who are both going to be judges) are trying to stay out of it..so they are dismantling a d.v.d player and discussing "puppy launchers" ..as in maybe they could "launch" our dog.

"Big"Brian spent the day at Pick-n-Pull..for no reason other than to scavenge for car-parts and clear the house. He did bring home the pizza, though. The pizza, however, is not enought. Here we go with the food theme again.

So while we're at it...this week's menu:
Sunday- vegetable tempera and rice
Monday- lasagna, french-bread, salad
Tuesday- grilled cheese and tomato soup
Wednesday-chili-mac and steamed potato and cauliflower with cheese.
Thursday- left-overs
Friday - pizza again.
Saturday- still not a clue

Now that his team is gone, Austen is moving himself into the tree condo. He claims his room will have to hold his team's stuff. He may be right.

Lucky Austen.

Serious Study?

Silence.

It is a welcome, but eerie sound in this house. For 3 days, the boys have studied at least 4 hours every morning. I am the noisy one around here. I do not have their attention span.

The boys are calling this our "season of study". If history repeats itself, it will last about one month..then we will be in OM crunch mode and will once again, be going through the motions.

Sandy and Devin are coming over every morning. Sandy patiently sits with Austen each morning as he works himself through the confusing world of fractions, polynomials and figuring area and perimeter. He is spending a lot of time reading 39 Clues and The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy triology.

Devin is a bit more mathematically self-sufficient. He plops himself in a chair and just works through textbooks. He occasionally murmurs he is stuck, but before you reach him he inevitably says,'oh, never mind..I got it." He is spending a lot of time reading Usborne's Book of World Religions and looking at grammar and German.

Both Austen and Devin are spending a little bit of time each day diagramming sentences (like 15 minutes) and have returned to daily essay writing.

We all read together each morning..mainly because I like this time together. We are almost finished with Brizinger. The boys are also reading the Bhagavad Gita for next week's discussion during co-op.

Cody and I are plodding through his Latin together. We decided in the Fall that since the bulk of his time is spent on the soccer fields, Latin was a way to get comfortable with English grammar and meet college foreign language requirements in one shot. At the time, he was debating whether to spend a semester playing soccer in Mexico for his senior year, or go to Italy for his first year of college (also for soccer). We figured a year of Latin wouldn't hurt him, either way.

We started with Latina Christiana. We worked about 1/2 way through it and then Cody decided it would be more interesting to switch to the Oxford Latin Course. This is one brother Brian used for a year. It involves lots of translations, but revolves around the biography of Quintus Horatio Flacus...the assasin of Julius Ceasar. Am I surprised that he finds the life of an assassin more interesting than liturgical prayers?! The biography of an assassin is a bit more time consuming though. Cody is reading and re-reading Darren Brown's Trick's of the Mind. He is returning to the routine of working through the Saxon Alg.II book.

As for me, I am stalling. I need to read the book of Acts, identify some specific groups, etc. for discussion. Instead, I am reading Three Cups of Tea, lots of magazines, The Shack and a book on care-giving. I am filling out a zillion impact assesment things for work..and..well..blogging. Like I said, don't have the boys' attention span.

Why am I writing this? Because years from now, I want to say.."do you remember that time when we studied...like every day? I think it was January of like, 2009 or something.."

taking time to regroup

Our vacation mode is finally ending (sigh), and I am taking the day to regroup. I am preparing for this next semester of study, OM madness, soccer games, C.A.P. competitions and work by spending the day doing laundry, planning menus (if I don't have a vague plan, we tend to go days scrounging..it is quite sad, really), and rearranging the house. I bought myself a christmas c.d...Winter Wonderland from Starbucks this weekend. I am playing it at nauseum as I get ready for our next few months. This is, in a way,
my deep breath before jumping back into our routines.

I have mixed feelings about this. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Brian-Scott.I will miss him. I loved drinking too much Hot Damn, cheating at dominoes and watching the kids playing with fireworks over New Years. I spent a few days in Brian's Austin apartment with my mom and sister where we spent some long-overdue time together. However, I am ready to return to more structured lives.

We are actually missing our routine with the kids at the Club. I have only worked 3 days in the past 2 weeks. It seems much longer than this. We all function better around here when we balance our days with work(like paid labor) service (volunteerism galore) study and play. We have spent the past month abundantly heavy on the volunteer and play side. I am ready for more balance.


Okay..just for fun: Our Weekly Menu (think mixed family part vegetarian part carnivorous)
Sunday: fajitas, ranch style beans, corn and rice
Monday: cheeseburger pie, fruit cocktail and salad (soup bar: cream of bean)
Tuesday: spaghetti, green beans, bread-sticks (soup bar: huitlacoche)
Wednesday: baked ham, mac and cheese, peas (soup bar: tomato-basil)
Thursday: leftovers (soup bar: veggie soup)
Friday: pizza night
Saturday: not a clue!
So it's an almost weekly menu. Truth is Brian usually cooks on the weekends. During the week, I take out all the ingredients in the afternoon before leaving for work. We usually have a first one home cooks dinner rule. This includes the boys. We cooked a lot with them when they were younger so they are all pretty comfortable in the kitchen. Hence, the need for a plan . The other reason we have a plan is so everyone in this house knows what is available to create, snack on, etc. Otherwise, the kids eat the ingredients. Looking for sauce? Cody ate it. Looking for basil? Austen used it all in a tea experiment.. Noodles? Mason built something with them.
All for now. Laundry awaits!

LOST in vacation mode

WE seem to have a very twisted form of family bonding. We have spent almost 2 days watching the t.v. season 1 from LOST. We still have seasons 2 and 3 to go. It has turned into a sickness. We watch for hours and assure ourselves that it is okay to "lose" ourselves in lost because we are on vacation. I am sad to say it has become like an addiction. We stay up to wee hours of the night watching this show. It is insane. I am relieved that today we actually have to be somewhere/do something.
Austen is spending the morning flying an airplane. Mason is at soccer. Cody is sleeping (too many Lost episodes late at night) and then programming some computer games. Brian, Michael and I are finally returning to work.
We all agreed this morning that we will give ourselves the rest of the week to watch this insane series in the evenings..to feed our addiction, so to speak, and then???? I think we will be shutting off the t.v. for awhile.

The Christmas Crud

Don't get me wrong. I truly love this season. I enjoy this holiday. But with this time of year, always seems to come the Christmas crud. You know, that blend of allergies/cold/flu that you just can't shake.
Austen and I get sick last week. We come out of our fog just before Christmas Eve day..and I realize that we are surrounded by others in the same condition. I understand that Cody and Mason spent a fair amount of time sleeping these past few days also.
We enjoyed spending the day with family and friends..but I can't seem to notice that many are just worn-out and sick! Why do we do this to ourselves?!
On another note. We have had a very relaxing and lazy Chritmas day. Actually, the word 'gluttony' comes to mind. We are surrounded by tamales, chili, ribs, tacos, cakes and chocolate. We have more sodas and other junk-food in the house than we will probably have for the rest of the year.
The kids have spent the past week playing Scrabble. Today was not much different..only now they are (or rather were) spending the day playing Rock Band. At least that was until they ran out of batteries. Why do we NEVER have enough batteries on Christmas?
I try to watch It's a Wonderful Life. It is tradition. We do this every year. Nothing happening. The kids protest. Well fine, just any Christmas movie. Somehow we end up watching Tom and Huck instead. Still not sure how that happened.
The kids did break up their ongoing game-playing for a little more tree-house time, bike riding (Brian-Scott got a new bike!), downloading voices on a GPS and painting.
Now? The day finally winds down. Brian-Scott leaves with Angee and her brother Kevin. They are off to Colorado. Mason and Cody are comparing soccer gear. Austen is playing a video game.
It appears that it is Brian and Michael's turn to be sick. They are fighting fevers and trying to sleep.

Nature Trails, Soup and Tie-Dye

I realize a little over a week ago that the kids will never be full. I used to be able to throw some dinner in the crock pot. Well, now that only feeds half of us. We have turned one of our kitchen counters into a Soup Bar. I fill the crock-pot with soup each day and put a basket of dinner rolls beside it. This is not a meal, just an ongoing snack for whoever is in the house. You know, because hot-pockets, popcorn, apples/bananas/oranges, cookies and bowls of cereal don't cut it anymore.

When I leave for the Club, I take what is left with me for staff and kids. In this picture, Austen is dancing in the Club kitchen. He likes to claim it is his kitchen. We start the next batch of soup before I leave. So far we have had 15 bean soup, minestrone, tomato, brocolli and cheese, tomato and potato. I suspect it will not be long before everyone starts groaning, "please, no more soup!"

The boys (dad included) cleared out a nature trail over the weekend. It starts in our backyard and includes the backyards of a few neighbors. They cleared a path/maze just big enough for a golf-cart to fit through. It overlooks the river, winds through trees, brush, etc. We put up our "Trees for the San Antonio Region" poster and are trying to see how many trees we can identify.

The tie-dye continues. It has now taken over our morning room and deck.Now that the "business of Christmas" is settling down, we are starting to fall into old daily rhythms. This is always the time of year we just put down formal study for a month. It is too crazy and people are too stressed during the holidays to try. I really enjoy this..and then I always start thinking "what would happen if we did this f-o-r-e-v-e-r? "

We don't. I'll panic shortly after the new year. But for now..it is really nice.

The boys are getting way too much leverage out of this break with their schooled peers.

Just the other day Austen was helping his friend Ricci with an essay on the Holocaust.
Austen was naming off the current genocides for him, when Ricci stops abruptly:It's not fair miss...how come he doesn't have to write.

Austen grins:Because I'm spoiled.

Me: That's not true! (yikes..he is going public with our huge vacation)He writes an essay a day.

(I don't mention that he writes about whatever he feels like.)

Ricci (big grin):Ha!

Austen: Of course, right now I'm not doing anything for a month..AND I get to sleep late, so HA back!.

Ricci:Is that true, miss?

Me:Yup..sure is.

Ricci :Aww..that's just not right!

Austen (again): Ha!

We have got to work a little on manners!

Keepers of the Magic

Santa has thrown up in my house.



Over the years, as the boys began to discover Santa's other identities, we often remind them that now they are officially, "Keepers of the Magic." As they have become older this Magic Keeping business has taken on a life of it's own.

We dedicate at least a week to magic making in this house...and we share this fun with my friend, Sandy and her son, Devin.


Yesterday as Brian and I drink our morning coffee, I remind him this is the week that we make magic. "Oh jeez!. Can't we just do this..and then have it all cleaned up before I get home?" "Yeah, right..whatever." He grins. "Well, can we at least remember to have some dinner? or do I need to bring home something." He leaves for work threatening to live at the garage until this nonsense is done."...oh, and don't forget x, y and z family",he adds. "I think they're hungry."

So we begin. I do remember to throw some dinner (Beef strognaoff) in the crock-pot. We take over the living room with various food boxes. It will take the next several days to sort and deliver these anonymous gifts of food. Hopefully, we will have the food delivered in time to sort and package the toys/stockings, etc. collected by SAHERO for the kids at the Club.

We set up a table in the living room to make our Christmas gifts. Have you ever tried to tie-dye a towel? It's like trying to tie-dye a sponge. We set up another table in the kitchen for baking. The cookie baking begins. Yesterday? 28 dozen Cracker Jack Cookies. Today's plan? Sandy informs me it is Pumpkin Bread. My she is brave.

We leave the dining room table clear, because yes, we do still have co-op.

We need the table for looking at fungus slides through a microscope. We thought it might be nice to keep the fungus samples away from all the food. Lovely, eh?

Here the kids are making some sort-of Octa-Hedral hubs,
split octas and vertex. (Did I get that right?) We discuss
the Epic of Gilgamesh and yes, fungus as they eat cookies. Today's musical selection? The kids move from Belafonte to Elvis.



Finally, Austen and Devin deliver the food in our immediate area. Elf Austen is not very wise. It is 28 degrees and he makes deliveries in pajama bottoms, flip flops and a jacket. It takes him awhile to recover.

Tree House Wars

Well, the weather is warm (again) and the tree house wars are waging in my neighborhood. When the boys were younger they spent 10 months out of the year building tree houses, club-houses, you name it. There are 180 acres in this dirt-road subdivision of mine. Building forts, treehouses and clubhouses is a favorite pastime for all the neighborhood kids. You think you see deer in the bushes....no, boys moving a couch into the brush. Oh look, a fallen log. No, that is the bridge to the "boat-house". Is that a cave in the side of the hill? It wasn't there last year. Of course, it is furnished with car seats and road signs. Aren't all artificial holes in the side of a hill furnished this way?
But the building isn't the fun part. The fun part was sneaking into the "other" tree-houses and finding treasures. Arguments break-out..and then the neighborhood boys decide to start over with combined efforts to "outdo" the children in the neighboring R.V. park.
This is a favorite past-time in my neighborhood. Kids as young as 4 and as old as 17 can be found building these shanties. The only other past-time that can come close is summer flashlight tag and playing in the river...but most of the year it is too cold or too dry for the river.
Then it happened. Dadsgot involved. A few years ago they (the dads) built the ultimate tree house in my back yard. It was complete with sliding fire pole, deck, patio lights and a smoke detector. The rest of the neighborhood contracting seemed to stop. We had now crossed into ridiculous..or so I thought.
Now when I can't find my husband I simply ask, "Where's dad?" The kids sigh.."oh, he's in the tree house again." When I climb up to see if he is there Brian inevitably says, "sh..I'm hiding. I don't want anyone to find me." This nonsense has gone on for years.
Austen and his friends reclaim the treehouse in the summer months, but they add a t.v. and d.v.d. player. Last year, when we had 7 (yes 7) children in our house, they all begged to move into the tree house. We told them no. They whined that it was the best place around. We said,"too bad. You must suffer in the real house with the rest of us."
This fall, Brian decided to renovate the tree-house. "Do we have to help?" the boys would ask. "Go help your dad. It's important to him." I respond. So..they rebuild a floor with no trap. They put in sheet rock, carpet, a fridge and a couch. Once again, the boys enthusiasm has returned to hang out in "the condo". Brian shows off the tree-house to any unsuspecting soul that enters our home. Older ladies from our church he leads to the ladder saying, "Just peek, isn't it great?" Everyone oohs and ahhs for him. He is so proud.
Last week, Austen grabbed a hammer, board and nails. "Where are you going?" I ask. "To build a tree-house." "What about the condo?" "Eh..it's okay I guess." I know what he means. It is not so rustic anymore. The fun of building and stealing is gone. The next thing I know there are 4 teenage boys pounding rotting boards into a tree in a field across the street from us. Now some of the other neighbors are starting to scout their perfect tree-house spots. Boys are starting to rob parts off of eachothers trees. Any piece of wood, roofing or old furniture that can be scrounged is fair game. Is Dad Brian upset?
No. "Finally", he states, eyes gleaming as he looks teary eyed at the tree condo in our yard. "It's all mine."
Hmm..I think I might add a ripline to it for Chrismas:)

Swing of the Holidays

The story-telling has begun. This seems to be the time of year that we put aside all our normal routine...whatever that is. We start with Thanksgiving..and then through the Holiday season..which in our family consists of Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas and New Years..we spend most of our time in the midst of various traditions and LOTS of storytelling. We started this season with Thanksgiving at my mother's house.

We reminisce, we tell ouigi board adventures, ghost stories, the older generation discuss the pros and cons of large family life (many of my aunts and uncles come from families of 7 or more) and politics seem to be fair game to all. Cody says our story-telling is more like flat-out lying. We like to call them "fish-tales". I remind him we all like to out-do eachother in our ability to tell a good story...and that when topics become serious, the "stories" stop...and everyone feels free to give you an honest opinion. Opinions are free, wanted or not.

We jump into the traditions of our small Lutheran congregation.. We prepare for advent service homilies, sermons, cantoring, acolyting, Christmas programs, and fellowship.

Food drives, time to listen to those who are grieving, helping relieve the stress of underworking families. This becomes the priority in our lives for the next month. It is a reminder that we should live this way more often.

Finally, our traditions at home. Austen insisted we could not decorate our tree this year until Brian came home. Brian made a trip to help us decorate the tree. I believe he decorated most of it himself while the other boys ate dinner and played Fantastic Contraption. Somehow I don't think that was the original plan. We ate quesadillas, rice and chicken, cookies and listened to Pancho Sanchez Latin Jazz.

We buy a small tree for Brian. Let's face it, most trees are bigger than his entire apartment. We enjoy decorating his first Christmas tree with (gasp) matching colors and everything. I'm a little jealous:)

Our tree is old, our ornaments older. Many were made by the kids when they were younger. Our star is a paper-plate cut-out that Cody decorated when he was 4. It has water-damage from a flood in our neighborhood a few years ago. We clothes-pin it to our tree.

The stories, once again, abound. Brian has a great time imitating the boys behavior when they were younger. The boys start doing there imitations of dad. The story-telling has now become animated. Cody, our story-telling cynic, is right in the thick of it.

Co-op

I really love our co-op! Yesterday the kids finished their 6 octa tetra-hedral while discussing Perelandra and singing Belafonte songs.

This past summer, four families got together and decided that we were tired of driving to San Antonio for our children to participate in larger co-ops.

When the boys were younger, we ran a small Waldorf-co-op out our home. We called it the Riverside co-op..since much time was spent playing in the river, climbing trees, acting, painting, playing instruments, learning to sew and Spanish(like I said..they boys were much younger)It lasted for a couple years. We remember this time fondly.

The families went different directions when the children grew older. With this past summers inflated gas-prices, we decided to reconvene. The children and parents got together and discussed what they wanted out of this time together. What goals were they trying to achieve?

Moms wanted time together to feel less isolated. Teens wanted to be able to go to specific colleges or open certain businesses. Food, games and play were also high on the list.

So every Monday from 1-4:30 we meet. We start with board games and snacks...Boggle, Apples to Apples and Cranium being the favorites.

Judy (Zalen's mom) begins study with bio-lab. The teens have been expriementing with pond life and identifying protozoa. We are now moving onto algae! Zalen..by the way, is missing from these pics.

From Bio-Lab we move to Octa-tetra designs. Sandy (Devin's mom) alternates between reading about the geometry involved to simply letting the kids build. The kids often work on the octa-tetra designs while discussing biology or their lit.

We usually move to the back deck (unless it is cold and we are octa-tetraing) for Socratic Discussion. We have chosen to start with Ancient Lit from the WorldView Academy's great books program.

Some weeks we have very interesting discussions..."what is suffering?" "Is flying spaghetti monsters a religion?" "What is the difference between religion and faith?" "What is value?" Other times..we have more the.."huh? oh, there's a bee in my tea." non-discussions.

Finally movie-making. We pull a lot of stuff from the Boys and Girls Club movie tech and drama matters programs. Currently they are experimenting with claymation.

The fact is, this is just a fun group of kids. They all have such varying views and personalities, yet maintain strong respect for one another. A lot of adults could learn from them..I know I do.

Ta'ayush

We have a visting parakeet. We have named him/her Ta'ayush...Arabic for "life in common". We named our parakeet Ta'ayush in honor of the Jewish/Arabic group that is established in and around Jerusalem to help bring down the barriers (physical, emotional, mental) that surround them...and as a reminder that many of the conflicts in all of our lives can be avoided and resolved through one on one respect and interaction with eachother. Compassion can be a powerful force.

Yesterday as we celebrated our annual "Thanksgiving After Thanksgiving" celebration we had the opportunity to spend the day with over 50 people..of various faiths or non-faiths..and then our parakeet came to visit. When I was a child (in Japan) I was told that if a bird appears to you, you must keep it and care for it.

Ta'ayush (the bird) appeared as the boys and friends were playing soccer. After more drama then necessary..like the boys climbing a tree to "catch" the bird that sat on the ground and watched them climb..16 year old, Galen, proudly holds Ta'ayush and says..."I think he's hungry..he/she/it is eating my hand..hey, ow that hurts". Brian took the boys to the Antique Mall and they found a small cage for the bird. We decided to place the bird on our dresser, however Shadow (our dog) seemed to think that maybe she should eat Ta'ayush. We have placed the cage on top of our antique coke machine in the living room. Ta'ayush is happy now. He/she has spent the day chirping away as we read Perelandra.

Rewind..and tupperware invasion

We will start with tupperware. Eleven..count them 11 containers we cleaned out of the fridge yesterday in preperation for Thanksgiving. We just cleaned out the fridge 3 weeks ago. Do you know how absolutely insane that is?! We had spaghetti sauce, lasagna, mashed potatoes, chicken-fried steak, green beanse, etc. No one should have this many left-overs in a fridge.
So after we spend yesterday delivering food to families, cleaning out this nonsense and planning the holiday..son Cody asks.."so what are we doing tomorrow?" Me: we are going to grandma's in the afternoon. We will hang out here in the morning. Cody..why are we going to grandma's. Me: It's Thanksgiving?! Cody:(the light comes on) Oh...it's Thanksgiving. Really?
Are all teens martians? I felt like saying..hello...is anybody home? What do you think we have been doing all day. But, in usual fashion, he was amused with himself. So I just stared incredulously at the bubble he must live in.


I would like to rewind just a bit. I realized after going over old stuff this morning..that our lives have been filled with quite a bit over past two years. Last year, we had an exchange student from Lebanon live with us. Mohamad and Austen spent a lot of time cooking together. Cody became a vegetarian during this time:)


Cody also had the opportunity to spend some time in England, France and Italy this past summer. He is hoping to return to Italy to attend the University for Foreigners and play soccer in a few years.



Meanwhile, Austen joined the Civil Air Patrol. He was watching the Civil Air Patrol drillling at the Boys and Girls Club one day. He skates through them..with long flowing hair and fuzzy blue hat..and announces he wants to join. I thought he was kidding. We talked about this a LOT at home. We are strong advocates for peace. We feed the homeless, we go on peace marches, we spend our free time in family support for refugee families from Darfur, Sudan..Austen was adament. He turned in his roller blades (gasp) for a uniform. He loves to spend his time drilling (yikes!). Austen is absolutely thriving in this para-military environment. I have been pleasantly surprised with the friendships we have made, the leadership traits this boy has developed and yes..he even gets to fly planes!

Okay. Now my family reminds me that we will be late to grandmas. We have spent the morning watching Promises. A documentary on the Israeli/Palistinian conflict..and had lots of discussion over the past few days on the complexities of this region. Austen and Brian went out to the gun range. Cody and I made salad. We are off to see grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins. Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

2 Years!!!!

Wow! 2 years already! Since our last entry...our children have gotten older and not so much wiser. We started this blog when the boys all had really long, shaggy, hair..hence the title, "shaggy boys". Obviously not the case anymore. Behavior is pretty much the same, though.

Since our last post, Brian graduated from TAMS. He is now a junior at UTAustin. Yay for Brian!!

At this time our household consists of husband Brian and myself with Cody and Austen (15 and 14) still learning at home. We have combined our household with family friends Michael and his son Mason (16). We think this will be the make-up of our house for a while....

Like our children, not much has changed. I am still working at the Boys and Girls Club....we are still enjoying this thing called life.

A life well lived

It appears I am, in the words of my son, a "holiday blogger". Looking over this blog, it appears he is right. How do people find the time? (I know..they make it) It has been a busy month. A close friend of mine died a few weeks ago. Her 17 year old son called me on a Tuesday morning. He was understandably upset and informed me that his mother would die in a few hours. She did. We have spent most of this holiday season with this family. In my grieving, I have been thinking about life..and living. My friend led a very full life. It was a life, "well lived". She touched the lives of many around her. Both she and her husband have made an effort to cultivate the relationships of family and friends. This was apparent during the hours of her death and weeks after. I also have been thinking about what defines "success". My friends husband has been working as a civil service worker for their entire marriage. (20 years?) Over this past year, as her medical expenses mounted, he took a second job waiting tables for a Luby's. He helped his children prepare for the death of their mother. He supported her emotionally until she took her last breath. He is openly grieving in front of his family and friends, and not afraid to say, "this is hard." I hope I can be this kind of person. I hope my children will grow up to be this type of person. A person who says, life can be hard. I will take what is dealt to me. I will do whatever needs to be done. I will do so humbly. (Is that really a word?) I will live life fully, the good and the bad. I will not be afraid to embrace either.