Memorial Day

We spent the morning in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the National Civil War Museum, a Smithsonian sponsored museum. It was a wonderful museum, and we were, sadly, just about the only ones there. It had many original pieces and a very nice multi-media approach similar to the Marine Museum at Quantico.

With lots of talk of good guys and bad guys, violent battles, hospitals in wagons, and various weapons, the boys went to the gift shop to buy guns. Don't let the irony of our attempt to show the hardships and violence of war become lost on our children who wanted nothing more than to reenact the violent battles. We weren't home five minutes and the boys were outside in the tree line playing war. After hours of playing outside, they returned to the house to say, "We won two wars, Mom."

If only it were that easy to declare victory and be done with the battle.

Hershey Park

I knew I was getting old, but a day long trip to an amusement park confirmed all of that this weekend. 

First, I do not know how anyone goes to a park with flip flops, but every female under the age of 30 had them on. I am old school and couldn't fathom wearing anything but my running shoes. And my feet still hurt at the end of the day.

Riding a water ride was about the worse thing the boys could have asked of me. Walking around for hours in wet clothes is just not fun. I don't remember it ever fun as a teenager but that didn't mean I didn't do it. Luckily, it never occurred to the boys that you could get wet in street clothes. We avoided the entire water section.

When I laid my head on the pillow last night, my first prayer of thanksgiving was for that sixteen year old boy who had one too many corn dogs at lunch didn't upchuck all over us while riding the Flying Falcon. It was a close call. Really close call.

I was in bed and asleep by 9:03. Wes was asleep at 8:15, snoring at 8:30.

And then I woke up with three big gray hairs. I guess the seven hour day filled with riding roller coasters did more than I ever imagined. As I began to pluck them out, Wes asked if I really thought I would reverse the aging process by removing them. Maybe not, but I was grayless today.

But don't let all of this make you think for a moment that I didn't ride some rides because the park is known for coastin', and I did plenty of it. I squealed as loud as Evan or Keagan with the pure joy of steep falls, sharp turns, and dizzying spins.

Until next time...Let's hope it is at least another year so that my feet and hair have time to recover.

Hershey World

If you had asked me how I would have liked to celebrate our twelve year anniversary, I would have never suggested a weekend get-a-way to Hershey, PA with two children. But we are here and having a wonderful time. 

Yesterday we visited Chocolate World and made our own candy bars. That was a must see because after mentioning it as a possiblity, Evan dreamed about it the following night. There was no way we were getting out of that. 

Today we will spend the day at the amusement park. Nothing says romance and love like a roller coaster ride. 

Look Out Kindergarten! Here Comes Keagan!

Keagan's last day of pre-school was Tuesday. Tears were shed when Keagan's class left school with little sunvisors that said, "Look out Kindergarten! Here I come!" On Wednesday the class celebrated the end of the school year with a picnic at one of the local parks. Today we attended the graduation ceremony. 

No one is upset in the least that Wes is on leave and Keagan is out of school while Evan and I still have three more weeks of school.
Nope.
No one at all.

The Mayonaise is on the Table

For the past two weeks my life has been consumed with a battle. The battle to prepare the house for our big move. First up on the agenda: remove a heat/water stain on my dining room table.

Last winter I became sick when I placed a hot, right out of the dishwasher dish onto the table and then found it left a round water stain. We bought the table in Germany from an antique dealer right after Evan was born. The German sales lady informed us it was originally owned by a Jewish family that lived in the area and owned a furniture business. In the 40s they left the table behind due to "an unfortunate event", German code for Holocaust. Another family took possession of the table fully expecting to eventually return it to its rightful owner.

But that never happened. True to the unspoken German rule that the Holocaust should never, ever be mentioned in public, much less with a idealistic American couple living on a local military installation, the German lady never explained exactly why.

I was distraught with the stain, but I was even more distraught at the thought of paying someone, big bucks no doubt, to refinish my table. That is when my grandmother suggested mayonaise.

When I came home with an industrial sized bottle of Hellmans, Wes became sick with disgust, but when I explained the situation and the nontraditional use of fat, he was the first to give it a try.

Just prior to sticking all four fingers into the jar for a handful of greasy sandwich spread, I suggested the more appropriate use of a spoon. (I take full credit for that suggestion. Sometimes it hurts to be this smart.) Wes spread it evenly and into a perfect circle, and then let it sit for hours. And I couldn't believe that after several applications, the stain faded.

Forget chicken salad and ham sandwiches. We "bring out the best" in our house on Keagan's morning waffles and with our inexpensive home repairs.

Move over Vern Yip. I believe your job is in jeopardy. The Tooles have a whole new make-over for the traditional sandwich spread.

Following the Rules

Evan was awarded the Character Counts! Citizenship Award again this year. I went to the program's website to find the descriptors of the citizenship trait because it's Friday and I am brain dead. Here is what I found with the description of the six pillars of the program:
• Cooperate with others
• Get involved in community affairs
. Stay informed; vote
• Be a good neighbor
• Obey laws and rules
• Respect authority
• Protect the environment

Since he is only seven years old, I think it means he is able to follow the rules.

Orioles TBall

We played our last Orioles t-ball game on Saturday, and Keagan informed me that baseball is just not action packed enough for him to ever be a favorite sport. I think this means that I should not worry with researching baseball leagues in Georgia. 

Joshua, Cody, and Keagan at the most exciting part of the game, literally the most exciting - snacks and juice boxes. I can't say that I am sad to say good-bye in the least. 

Saturday is My Favorite Day

"Saturday is my favorite day!" - Keagan reminds us of this every weekend, and if you ask him why, it is always because Saturdays are football game days. But our football game day this weekend almost ended in violence. 

I almost experienced a mutiny when Keagan's football team learned I brought apple slices and grapes for the after game snack. Who wants a bag of chips at 10:00 in the morning after a football game? Apparently all of the five year olds on the Buckeyes. Never mind, we won the game. Never mind, more players scored this week than ever before. There was one little boy that came to the game for a snack, and fruit was not what he had in mind. I got the tears and then the evil eye, and through my gritted teeth, I warned, "Keep it up or I'll bring rice cakes next week." 

Evan's game was better, but I was also not responsible for snacks. Evan threw his first pass that resulted in a touchdown. Can you believe I got it on the FLIP?

If this wasn't enough, the Dolphins won the game with just two minutes to spare. Evan left the field lamenting, "I wish every day was a Saturday!"

Me, too, Boys. Me, too.

Playdates with Almost Boys

SSSHHHH! Don't tell Evan you saw this here because a playdate with a girl is like the ultimate embarrassment for a first grade boy. Or so I learned this week.

I found this sweet little note in Evan's take home folder on Monday. I asked him about it, and he just rolled his eyes. I thought it might be fun to have a playdate with Ava, but when I encouraged him to take her up on the offer, he replied, "Mom, I'm not that kind of boy."

I reminded him that he has had playdates with Campbell, and she is a girl. He replied, "That's different, Mom. She is almost a boy because she plays Ben10."

And that cleared up all of my confusion regarding playdate options. Playdates with girls are no-gos, but playdates with "almost boys" are just fine.

Cookies or Birds???

T-ball season has begun. We are now proud members of the Orioles, or as Keagan calls the team "Oreos". He still can't figure out why the chocolate and cream cookies weren't served as a snack, and I am trying to figure out why we have pics of Saturn on either side of our jerseys. 

With or without planets or cookies, though, he is the cutest baseball player ever with that big wad of bubble gum in his mouth, his bright orange cap that doesn't quite fit his little head, and the baseball pants that fall to his ankles.

Me Through Keagan's Eyes

Task: Keagan's Poster of Mom
Objective: Paint a picture of your mom and then describe her

This is what he wrote:
"My favorite thing to do with my mom is plant sunflowers."
Truth be told, he did this with Oma. Not me.

The best thing my mommy cooks is shrimp.
Truth: Keagan had food poisoning the last time I fixed shrimp. I think he meant to say he likes the shrimp that Mom has delivered by the Chinese guy.

"My mommy's favorite thing to do is ride bikes."
Truth: I don't own a bike. I have never even ridden a bike with Keagan.

"My mommy's favorite food is sandwiches."
Truth: I eat them every day for lunch only because it is the easiest thing to eat when I must grade papers, attend meetings, and write lesson plans during my 24 minute lunch break."

"My mommy's favorite color is pink."
Truth: It is green.

And here is my favorite..."My mommy likes to wear a costume."
I have no idea where he came up with this idea. He must have confused himself with me because I have always HATED costumes and Halloween parties, but he told me, "I think you really did like costumes when you were a little girl."

There is no use in arguing the point, and I can't hurt his feelings when he has gone to such great lengths to complete the project. So I smile and think about how I'll just grab a sandwich and go out for a bike ride.

Oh, how I love being Keagan's mother!

Football Highlights

Despite my screams of "go, go, go", Keagan wants to watch this over and over again. We oblige until it becomes over-the-top-annoying, like after the third time we push replay. A few years ago, I would have made fun of a mom yelling in shrills loud enough to break windows. Today I could care less because it is my boy scoring two touchdowns, a safety, and making eight flag pulls per game. When I see the stares, I want to taunt with something like, "Hey, you'd be doing the same if your son could perform like mine." And then I realize that I have taken football mom to a level that exceeds what I had become as soccer mom. And that was bad. This week I promise to sit quietly on the sidelines. 

I am convinced my poor quality video clips will be shown on some pre-game show on a Saturday afternoon before one nationally televised game. If this doesn't come to fruition (and I can't even begin to imagine why it wouldn't), then I will take comfort in knowing their successes are not figments of my imagination.