Just havin' fun

Honestly, I haven't wanted to take the time to write anything on here recently. We've been having too much fun "playing" all day and I've been reading some good books that take up my evening time.

We started school more seriously last week and are having a great time with it. Tegan still starts crying when a math worksheet is put in front of him, but that seems to be an expected response now that he thinks he must do because the few worksheets he's had have been too easy for him. However, he was perfectly happy counting an entire jar of change and dividing it into three equal piles which took him two days worth of math time. We're working on the worksheet attitude now. We've already read 3 great books with many more to come this year. I have a feeling we'll be finishing early with our assigned schedule only because we tend to read through the weekend since we can hardly stand to put the books down. Riley threw a complete fit today when I said I had to stop reading because my throat hurt.

Last week the boys challenged Daddy to drinking a "nuke" that they concocted (with a little of my help). The "nuke" term is from the Academy and refers to any concoction of edible items - usually liquid. Into a half cup they combined ketchup, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, nutmeg, syrup, yogurt, pepper, garlic powder, and two other items, stirred it real good and handed it to him to drink in less than 5 minutes. If he succeeded they would have to run 5 laps around the backyard while doing 5 pushups in between each lap. If he couldn't do it he would have to accomplish that same punishment. I really didn't think Andy could fail at this, but he did after gagging on it all. He had to run the laps which really wasn't good after drinking what he just had. The boys did decide to accompany him though - Conner sat in the swing and cheered them on. I was in a different room most of the time because I couldn't even stand to watch him drink it. The smell brought back too many memories of the putrid ones we made at the Academy.

Trying to bring a semblance of family togetherness back into our lives we have scheduled a weekly family night with each of us taking turns choosing the activity throughout the month. Last night was Tegan's activity pick and he decided to pit us against each other in a big water fight. Thankfully, they chose to give Daddy the worst gun of all so he wasn't much of a threat and we sufficiently soaked him. At one point he was trying to get us all through some bushes and his water stream went all of 4 inches. He's decided to save up for a new gun for himself to use in the next fight.

A pitiful garden is growing in our backyard at this time. I am the worst with zucchini which is frustrating since everyone around here seems to toss all their extra zucchini each year. However, the proliferation of pumpkins in our garden is incredible - they are just not as edible to us. I have already cut half the pumpkin plant back yet it continues to weave it's way around our yard. We will certainly have an abundance of pumpkin puree for muffins and pies this year. It's a tasty but monotonous diet that our garden gives us. Many tomatoes and green beans along with some cucumbers and then a few squash that no one will eat but myself. It's also very slow growing since we planted it all too late so we're waiting for many of the tomatoes to still ripen. Some year we'll actually get it planted in time and even get our favorite, sugar snap peas.

I've joined a book club here that meets once a month. Aside from all the children's books I've read over the past eight years my library has consisted of too many child rearing and self-help books. Looking over the list of books I get to read over the next 12 months I'm very excited. The discussion aspect has me a bit intimidated as I don't feel too intellectual, again due to the eight years of children's books. It's a great group of women from our church though so even if I don't contribute discussion will not be lacking.

I got a letter from the court today saying they would postpone my jury duty that I had been requested for. Tegan is relieved to hear this. He was very concerned about me being gone for many days while attending court. I submitted a request to postpone my duty based on the fact that I am sole caregiver for the boys. I was in quite a sarcastic mood when filling out the postponement paperwork and am actually surprised it was approved. An example of what I filled in:
Occupation: Household CEO
What does your employer do when you are sick: They watch videos while I lie on the couch and ensure they are safe.

I did at least tell them that if I received more notice and could be guaranteed it would only last 1-3 days I could fulfill my duty so they accepted it all. At least I don't have to show up on the day we're having Conner's birthday party now.