Just keep swimming, just keep swimming . . .

And that is what we did most of this summer. For the 3rd year in a row at least one of the kids were on our local Parks and Rec team. In fact, this year, all three joined the team. I was a little worried that Super (age 6) wasn't ready, but I shouldn't have. He did great! They all had a great summer. It kept us busy, that is certain, but it is great exercise and fun and lets them set goals and all of that too!

Here are some pictures from the 2011 Sharks season:

Excited to be starting! The kids had been asking all winter and spring "When does Swim Team Start?"

Super earned the nickname "Lightning." Why? Because he has SPEED of course!

Jelly Bean with her coach

I have some videos of the actual swimming, but I don't want to bog things down too much here, especially since I would have to post a video of each of them. But trust me, they can actually swim, ok? :)

Super with his coach/head coach AND the championship trophy! Yep, the Sharks won conference for the second year in a row!

And here is Super! I was worried he wasn't ready for swim team? Well, there he is wearing all of his conference medals AND he won MVP for the 6 and under boys! Go Super!!!!

All three of our swimmers with their medals, certificates, and trophies along with the championship trophy.

The season was exhausting, but the kids already miss it! Well, only 9 more months until it starts again!! Will they three-peat? You will just have to stay tuned!

Our Family Has Talent!

I have so much to blog about, but before school starts again on Thursday (this summer went WAY too fast this year!) I figured that I'd at least post the videos from the Talent Show at our local elementary school. Yes, it was in May. As in 3 months ago. I'm telling you, this summer just whizzed by. (Neither video is very long. Super's is under a minute, and Flower's is under 2 minutes.)

We have a little family tradition that each of our kids performs "God Bless America" in the Talent Show when they are in Kindergarten. I wasn't sure if Super would go for it, but he did! And he did a great job! It is hard to see him in the video, but you can hear him.

And Flower, well, she was in a TON of stuff for the talent show. She sang a Taylor Swift song with 3 of her friends, and did 3 dance numbers with the entire 5th grade, and sang with the Chorus. But the video that I put up her is of her singing Miley Cyrus' song "The Climb." Now, I know I am her mom, and I know I am biased, but I thought she did a GREAT job. And I love the crowd interaction. And sorry, you can't see her very well either, but you can hear her.

Jelly Bean was homeschooled, so she wasn't in the Talent Show, but she had an AWESOME year. Really, really great. She loves Math and Art, and had a great time going to Gym N' Swim at the YMCA this year. I'll post some of her pictures soon. She was very into painting this year.

WARNING: This is not my usual kind of post (m)

Well, I don't always have a "usual" kind of post. But I do "usually" post about canning or gardening or thrifting or being frugal. Or if not about that, it is about the kids and what we have been doing lately. This is NOT going to be any of those kind of posts.

This post is going to be about Me. I guess it sort of relates to my oldest daughter - who is going into middle school. Between that and a good friend posting lately about memories of the past from the city we both grew up in, I've been thinking about this a lot in the past month or so.

I will also warn you that, while this post isn't graphic or descriptive, it is of a very sensitive nature, and if you don't want to read any more, I won't be offended. At all.
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I was born in 1966, and was a child of the 70s. But I didn't really notice it was the 70s. We were just kids doing things that kids have been doing forever. We just happened to be wearing a lot of plaid while we were doing it.

I was born in Michigan, and then spent a few years in Illinois, but moved to a large-ish city in Nebraska when I was young. When I was 11, everything started to change.

First, when I was 11 and when my dad was just 38, he had a major heart attack. By all accounts, he shouldn't have survived. Then, my parents decided to move across town. They wanted to have a bigger house with a bigger yard, and they wanted to have us go to junior high and high school at the "new" school (which is funny, since that school is now almost 50 years. I'm SO old.)

So in November of my sixth grade year, while my dad was still recovering from his heart attack, we moved across town. I had one friend from church that was at the new elementary school and so it just sort of naturally happened that I started to be friends with those kids too.

And then it started. It was just such a little thing at first. There were six of us girls and 3 boys in this "group." We had most of our classes together and we always spent all of recess together. We would hang out at each others houses. Just stuff that all 6th grade friends do. And then the boys started chasing us in the halls and trying to kick us in the shins. I told my mom about it and she smiled and said "Sometimes boys do silly things because they like you but they don't know how to actually say it."

[I, in NO way, blame either of my parents for anything that happened during my teenage years. One thing I've learned as a parent is that you do the best you can with the information that you have. And I have great parents who would have done anything to help me. If I have ever said anything about what happened after this.]

OK, so I had bruised shins. No big deal, really. And then the boys started taking one of the girls and kind of throwing/pushing her into the boys bathroom. Again, not that big of deal. Kids just being kids sort of thing.

And then we went to Jr. High.

And we picked up another couple guys to the group. And things calmed down for awhile. I mean, it wouldn't be "cool" for a 7th grader to be kicking a girl in the shins to show her that you liked her.

And then, in 8th grade, things started up again. Except it wasn't kicking. And it wasn't just shoving a girl into the boys bathroom. It involved one, two, three of the guys grabbing one of the girls and getting her into the bathroom. At first it was kind of a game. But then after a little while, it wasn't enough to just grab a girl and drag her into the bathroom and scare her a little. One of the boys would try and kiss you. And then it got to the point that they would turn off the lights and see if they could try and do a little more than kiss.

And so, at this point, I am sure you are thinking "So why didn't you/somebody tell SOMEONE? A teacher. A parent. Somebody."

OK, first of all, I was embarrassed. Second of all, I was afraid if I told somebody, that things would get worse. But the truth, the awful truth, was that I didn't say anything because I was afraid if I did, I wouldn't have any friends. And in 8th grade, I couldn't fathom that thought.

And then, suddenly, it stopped. And everybody started pairing off. And my friend from church, who hadn't been involved with the group for most of that year anyway, really truly left the group. I wasn't really interested in any of the guys in the group and so I started liking a couple boys from church. Things were almost "normal" again.

And then it was 9th grade. One of the boys in the group self-appointed himself as the "leader" of the group. He would decide what we could/couldn't do, who we could/couldn't talk to, what we could/couldn't wear. We, obviously, became very isolated from everyone else in our school. I had a boyfriend who went to a different school and he knew nothing of what most of my life was like. But he was the one who helped me get through the year and gave me a place to feel "normal." And then over the summer, he broke up with me.

10th grade started, and I had been "selected" to be the "leader's" girlfriend. I didn't really think he was cute or anything and I really didn't want to go out with him. I also knew that he would rather be going out with one of the other girls in the group. But I had NO self esteem either and he knew that my boyfriend had just broke up with me and that I would probably say Yes. And I did.

It was great. Really. For about a week. He told me how pretty I was. He told me that he loved me. He told me that he trusted me like no one before. And then he started hitting me. And calling me names. And telling me how he wished that he had picked someone else to go out with, but she was going out with one of the other guys. He would tell me that I was such a little girl because I only wanted to kiss him.

And why didn't I tell someone?? Same reasons as before, except now, I was even deeper in feeling so isolated and I couldn't see my way out. And I was even more embarrassed. And I felt like if I told my parents, or somebody from church, they would think that I was some awful person. And that he was physically abusing me never even came to my mind. That was stuff that happened to like, adult women. I was just a 15 year old girl.

And then one night, I had my friend - the one the leader wanted to go out with - over to my house. And then, he showed up, and her boyfriend from the group, showed up. We snuck out of the house and met them in my backyard. My very large, very dark backyard. They called to us from a far corner of the backyard, and things went very, very wrong.

He broke up with me shortly thereafter. And I started my eating disorder shortly thereafter. A month later, the leader and two other boys left the group. The rest of us limped along as friends the next year and a half but we weren't nearly as close. I got back together with my boyfriend. And I graduated from high school. And moved far away to go to college.

That boyfriend, by the way, is The Boy. And if you've read my blog for awhile, or know me, you also know that two weeks into my freshman year, he died.
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So as my oldest child starts junior high next week, I have to do my best to not project all my fear onto her. I have tried my best to teach her to be her own person and not follow her friends if it seems wrong. I've tried my best to let her know that she can tell me anything and I will help her. I've tried to teach her that sometimes hormones and immaturity make you confused and that you may find yourself in situations that you don't know what to do, but that there are people that she can go to to help her. I've tried to help her learn to have bunches of different kinds of friends. I've also tried to teach her that it is o.k. to be alone sometimes too. I've also taught her that it is NEVER o.k. for someone make you feel bad for not doing things physically that you don't want to do. And it is NEVER o.k. for someone to hurt you in any of the ways that I and my friends were.

But still, as I sit here, 33 years after I moved across town, 33 years after I started sixth grade, 33 years later, still, I so wish that I could change, something, anything, so that all that bad stuff never would have happened. And I sit here, really, really, wishing that someone could promise me that nothing will ever happen like that to any of my children.

So do you miss me posting yet?

Summer's are crazy for us around here. The kids are in Swim Team - this year all the kids, even Super, are on the team, and it seems like we are always at practice or at a meet. Practices are M-F from 7:00 to 8:30 am and 5:00 to 6:30 pm. And meets on most Tuesdays and Thursdays evenings. So that's where I've been quite a bit of the time.

Then, I no longer teach preschool really. It has morphed into daycare. During the school year, for the 2-5 year olds, I do do preschool activities from 9 am to 11 am, but during the summer, we do mostly free play. And I have a school age child that is here full-time for the summer. So when I'm not at swimming practice/meets, I am watching my own 3 kids plus 3-5 other children from ages 7 to 1.

Then I haven't had much to blog about in terms of holidays. We did go to Bass Lake for both Memorial Day and 4th of July, but I didn't take any pictures. And then, to completely add to my lameness, I didn't even watch the fireworks this year. I wasn't feeling well, so I just stayed back and went to bed early. I know. COMPLETELY lame. Can you even imagine what a fuddy duddy I'll be by the time I get into my 60s? Or even my 50s? Sheesh.

I have been doing lots of gardening, and I SHOULD post some pictures of that. Let's just say that the Square Foot Gardening has been a 90% smashing success! And I love that the garden is just steps away from my back door. And the weeding has been almost non-existent! Mostly just green beans are being harvested in my garden right now, but it is nice to be able to just go out every night and pick a cup of green beans for dinner! I planted green beans successively, so I'll be harvesting green beans for the next 8 weeks or so. And I'll be starting to preserve them soon. I'm hoping that between my garden and picking some up at farmer's market that I'll be able to can about 36 pints and freeze about 10 quart bags. Speaking of preserving, I made pickled beets this year! And they are good!

Sometimes, I really can't believe how different I live than just a few years ago. I always wanted to do less formal activities and do more with gardening and preserving and all of that, but just didn't. And now, 2-3 years later, it is just a part of regular routine. And for Super, who is 6, it is just mostly what he knows. He doesn't remember when I didn't make our own pickles and spaghetti sauce. When I didn't shop at farmer's market most Saturdays. When most of our food doesn't come out of a box. When we didn't spend most of our time together doing "whatever."

All right, next time I get here (which probably won't be until August. Just being honest.), I'll try and post pictures. Pictures of swim team. Pictures of the garden. Pictures of canning and dehydrating and freezing.

Oh, and did I tell you I picked up a great Summer Recipe book at the thrift store.

You know, there really are many things that I enjoy about my life. :)

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow . . .

No, Mr. Simple hasn't got a job yet, and no, I am not just trying to cheer myself up. Flower was in a production of Annie Jr. at our local elementary school in early May, and I kept meaning to blog about it, and just kept forgetting.

She tried out in January, and got selected as one of orphans - Tessie. There were LOTS of practices. Like at least twice a week for two months and then more leading up to the performance. But I must say, the practice was worth it. It was an AWESOME performance, and I'm not just saying that because Flower was in it. Hats off to all the kids, parent/teacher volunteers, and the music teacher! We couldn't take pictures of the actual performance due to copyright issues, but here are a couple pictures after the show:

Flower with "Annie" played fabulously by one of my friend's daughter

Grandma S, Flower and Aunt N

Great Job Flower! I'm sure it is just the first of MANY performances we will be at! Flower has definitely been bit by the acting bug!

OK, here are some things I've learned since we started using our food storage

1. My kids prefer white bread from the store over homemade wheat bread. However, they will eat homemade bread.

2. I should have had more cold cereal in food storage. I would really prefer that my kids NOT eat cold cereal, but the truth of the matter is that at least one of the children strongly prefers it, and on some mornings, I just don't have time to cook eggs or oatmeal.

3. I should have had more canned chicken. I do have some whole chickens in the freezer, and that IS more economical than doing canned chicken, but again, sometimes I don't have time to cook a chicken, even if it is in the slow cooker all day when I am doing other things.

4. Related to #3, my food storage is somewhat lacking in the meat department. We do have plenty of beans and peanut butter for protein, but I only had a week or two worth of hamburger, chicken and fish in the freezer when this happened. And meat is still currently the biggest expense for me when we do go to the store. I have already altered our menu planning, and we may have to do even further cutting.

5. Also related to #3, when we get back on our feet, I am going to make sure and donate canned chicken to food pantries. Green beans and soup are great, but sometimes, it makes it hard to feel like a dinner without meat.

6. Having a garden has been VERY helpful. I should have planted a little differently, and I will change things next year. I will have a whole 4x4 bed just for lettuce, spinach, kale and chard, and I will plant a square of each for 4 weeks so it is more successive. I will also plant more peas. I will plant more cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower too, but I will tuck them in my front and side beds instead of using up so much room in my 4x4 vegetable beds. I will plant potatoes.

7. It has been good that we were used to not having much variety in our fresh produce. We have had plenty of broccoli, lettuce, spinach, and chard to eat out of the garden, so I haven't had to buy any of that at the store. I only had to buy one kind of fresh fruit a week, and then fill in with the strawberries that we have growing in the strawberry patch.

8. I really try and restrict our purchases to NEEDS - so that, for us, is eggs, milk, butter, cheese, cereal, one kind of fruit, and a couple pounds of ground meat, and a whole chicken. Oh, and garbage bags. And toilet paper. :) Speaking of garbage bags and toilet paper - I should have had more of those kind of things in my food storage too. Another thing I will make sure and donate to food pantries too when we get back on our feet.

9. I only go shopping at farmers market once a week and the grocery store once a week and I don't go to any other stores. Otherwise, I'll suddenly remember things that I "need" or I'll be tempted to buy stuff or I'll go and just depress myself. So I just try and stay out, for the most part.

10. I've learned that I have friends that will help me out :) I've had people donate food to me. I had a friend who let me use her wheat grinder to grind wheat. And I've had lots of friends who have lent a sympathetic ear, which is VERY helpful right now.

I am a bad mom . . .

Well, not in a "you better call the department of child services" sort of bad. But here are a few examples:

1. I rarely let my kids go play outside in our yard with anything involving water - the pool, the sprinkler, the slip n slide, the hose, etc. I hate, hate, hate with a passion water play. It isn't the water that bugs me so much. It is the mud that ends up all over my house, and the GRASS that is in every room between the backyard and their rooms. It is the water that gets on the hardwood and the carpet from the backyard to the bathroom as they come in 17 times. Each. In 15 minutes. I'm not super crazy about all the screaming that seems to be involved in water play either.

2. I only let my kids have popsicles at the table. Otherwise, there are sticks and papers in the yard. Because somehow, it is just TOO far to go in and throw them away. (But of course, not too far to troop in and go to the bathroom when they are wet, see #1.) My kids have never had Freezer Pops at my house because I hate having to cut them and then find all the ends and get them into the trash, and then part of the Freezer Pop always lands on the table, or the floor, or whatever. Same thing with Snow Cones. I think my kids have had one once. And it was a free one at a Library thing.

3. I told my girls that they were going to have rats living in their room if they didn't do a better job of cleaning their room. Yea, I told them that there would be RATS.

4. I must have been touched out at some point when I had a newly 5 year old, a 3 year old, and a baby because now when they all want to lean on me or hold my hand or they all want to sit on my lap or something, all I can think is "How long is long enough before I can gently move them off me?" I love them, but I don't want them all laying on me!

5. Jelly Bean, my 9 year old, lost a tooth recently. Then she told me "I have a bump by my tooth." I assumed it was the tooth that she just lost, and I said "That happens sometimes when you lose a tooth and the new one is coming in." We went to the dentist this week, and she has an gum infection! On a totally different area than the lost tooth. That I would have realized if I had actually looked.

6. I think the school called me at least 10 times during the last month of school to tell me that I had a negative food account balance. To be fair, most of this was NOT exactly my fault. I would give the money to Flower (age 11) and tell her to turn it in at the office. Then she would forget, but still get lunch, and so then we would owe even more. Sometimes, this would go on for two or three days. Finally, I just started paying on-line, which I should have done instead of giving to Flower, but I generally had cash on hand, and it was "easier" than paying with my debit card.

7. I have recently started using my girls as my "errand" girls. I give them money and the cell phone, and have them go to the library to return/pick up books. Or to the grocery store to get a few things. Or to the convenience store to get me a soda. :)

8. Super (age 6) seems to be unable to control himself from starting conversations with complete strangers. Most of them start with "Did you know that I am the best swimmer in 6 and under?" I am sure that they didn't know, but I am pretty sure they don't really care. Most of them are still nice about it, but he comes off as if he is totally bragging (which is basically is.) I have talked to him about it and told him that it isn't really appropriate to do, etc. But yet he still does it. Along with talking about his body parts/body functions in inappropriate ways to complete strangers. Or anybody else for that matter.

9. I have forgotten at least 3 birthday parties that my kids were invited to this year. Two of which I RSVP'ed for. And yes, I have an iPhone. That has a calendar/alarm function.

10. My 11 year old recently caught me rolling my eyes when she said that she couldn't find something she was looking for. (She is NOTORIOUS for saying that she looked for something, and then you go down to her room, and it is sitting right in front of the door, or something equally obvious.) She said "I saw you rolling your eyes Mommy! That isn't very nice!" Oops!