Where in the world?

I had a discussion with some children today. It was pretty amusing and urned kind of depressing quickly. When I was in school, we had to know all the states and capitals in a timed test by 4th grade at the latest. Maybe with the advent of GPS and smart phones and Google, no one needs to learn that stuff anymore. But don't we really? This was the converation as it went down with some kids at work.

Me: What is the capital of Texas?
Child 1: Dallas? Wait, that's a TV show...um, Old El Paso?
Child 2: No, goofy, that's a taco company. Do you know the capital of Utah?
Child 3: I do, I do!! It is St. Louis!! You just got burned!!
Child 4: No, duh, St. Louis is in California. Honestly.
Child 2: That doesn't sound right...where is St. Louis?
Child 1: It sounds like it should be in France.
Me: (Shaking my head) But if it was in France, they would pronounce it "San Loo-EE".
Child 5: Why are we talking about France? We need to get with our own country first.
Child 4: We never had to learn all that stuff. As long as we know that Memphis is the capital of our state, that is really all we need to know.
Me: I need some Motrin.

This was not a group of uneducated children. They are super smart, passed me two years ago in math, kind of kids. Our teachers have a whole lot of stuff they have to cram in our kids heads every day. Let's help them by educating them in states and capitals. For the love of parental sanity.


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I'm kinda tired

The soccer tourney did not take place, but the quick trip to the parents' house did. I had forgotten how much I missed home...how the smells and sights calm my mind and fill my heart. We took a trip to the state park and their wonderful playground and then to the aquatic center for a swim and a slide. While we were gone, the boy and S had soccer games. The boy played hard and the hub said he did an excellent job. They lost, but had a wonderful comeback and almost tied. S played her first soccer game since early July. SInce she is with the high school band, she had to give up her spot on the middle school team. Her favorite non relative coach has been kind enough to let her play on the rec team without making many practices. She was so excited this morning, she couldn't stand it. The hub kept me up to date by text. She drew first blood in the game and was able to get a couple more along the way. She is a tired puppy tonight, but felt so good. Soccer is in her soul and she loves to play. I am grateful for her gift of an opportunity this season.

I am tired. I cannot get cooled off, so I am going to set the A/C to meat locker mode. Night all.


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Quick one....

I have just arrived in Kingsport for a soccer tourney only to find out it is cancelled.  I will now gladly relax in my childhood home for a few hours and head back tomorrow to see the other kids play in their games.  I am grateful for safe travels and loving parents who deal with me on crazy weekends such as these.  I will now sleep sweetly in my f a orige bed constructed by my great, great...maybe another great grandfather.  Rest well my friends.  I plan to do so myself.

Take a breath...

Well. We talked to the orthodontist today. I have known him for a while, although he did not totally remember me(the curse of a preschool teacher of toddlers). He was great with both girls and was very good about explaining what was going on in their mouths with their "wonky teeth" as they call them. The bad news? We saw the price of the whole adventure for one mouth. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, the good news came. G has some tooth losing and permanent teeth sprouting yet to do. A little respite from the financial shock for a year. S will be molded and getting her braces probably sometime in October. Top first for about 4-6months and then the bottoms will follow. He hopes, with her super crowded mouth, to make some room with braces rather than doing extractions. S was pleased with that decision. I was too. When I got braces in middle school, I had to go to the oral surgeon and have 4 teeth cut out. When we arrived at the office, it turned out that I got to have 7 cut out instead. I was given an IV and drifted off to Lalaland whilst watching imaginary clowns swing through my oral surgeon's tooth gap...they gave me good meds. I recovered watching Knight Rider and feasting on one of my dad's homemade milkshakes. The Tooth Fairy compensated me well and let me keep the teeth. I may have painted that story in a happy light, but it sucked big time and I am glad S will not have to deal with that.

All that being said, it was an okay visit and day. Now for a shower and packing for a quick overnight soccer trip. The fun never ends.


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Boo...hisssss

I had written a decently thought out blog post and, thanks to a bug in m blogger app, it got erased before it was saved. Sigh. What can I say? The post included haute cuisine and drama and suspense and raised voices and organic candy and a cartwheel gone wrong and an abandoned child in a bathroom and an exploding frozen can of A&W root beer. I hope you enjoyed the abbreviated recap. I just don't have the heart to rewrite it. Also, we take the girls to meet the orthodontist tomorrow. They will be getting braces in the not so distant future I am thinking. They are thinking straight teeth and we are seeing a lot of $$$$$$. We will do what we have to for our children. So if you see me working a second or third job, just know it is for the braces. Those silver smiles.


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When do you stop?

I have a friend, I guess we would still be friends, who is having a hard time. This friend has had some troubles and is sharing those troubles in a very public way. Many of us have the option to ignore and move on...or keep being engrossed by the information being shared. At what point does interest turn into more like a tabloid-esque desire to sensationalize and gawk at an uncomfortable situation? I don't know to be honest. Whatever the case, I am worried for my friend. I feel as though I am a witness to someone's slow descent into madness and the only thing I can do is pray that help will be there if and when they are ready to receive it. Say a prayer. It is needed...because I don't know how to help.


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This is the night...

The hub and I felt like Lady and the Tramp tonight. The children decided that they wanted to fix us dinner tonight and, really, who were we to tell them no? We lounged and watched Yard Crashers and wished we would run into someone at Lowe's or Home Depot who was willing to redo our backyard for free. The children rattled pots and yelled at the dog for eating perfectly folded napkins off the table. The boy came in to take our drink orders. Our options? Milk, tea, water, diet Coke and leftover baby shower fruit punch. We chose water because we felt it was a safe pairing for whatever the entree happened to be. The table was beautifully and uniquely set. We were served bowtie pasta with tomato sauce that our chef G added her own special spices to make very unique. It definitely had a bite to it and was truly very good. When asked what it had in it, we were told it contained red and black pepper, garlic powder and "miced" onion. I got tickled thinking of little onions with ears and long tails getting caught in traps. Sorry. I'm weird like that. Anyhoo, the garlic bread was perfectly baked and our waters were perfectly iced. The kids each had glasses of baby shower punch which made me feel a little ill. All the Tagamet and Tums in the world couldn't neutralize the acid that would be violently swirling in my stomach. Good for their cast iron tummies for sure. They even cleaned up their mess. It was a lovely dinner. "And they call it Bella Notte...".



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