Today was a Thursday, for sure. To most people, Thursday is an exciting day, because it’s so close to Friday, but for us, it’s ‘in-town day.’ We have to get up early and drive into San Antonio for piano, then we run all of our errands, try to see a friend or two, and come back home the long way to avoid traffic. Today, we had 4 stores to hit, squeezed in a couple hours with friends, and had lunch out, so they had plenty of time to misbehave. Apparently, little boys (mine, anyway) find it impossible to maintain any kind of acceptable composure when they are shopping, and especially if you’re in a store with shiny concrete floors that are perfect for running and sliding on your knees. Jake even managed to outrun Luke by sprinting down several aisles to dodge him. Nice. Thankfully, by the time we got to Costco, it was after 3, so there were samples at the end of every aisle, and that probably saved me from having a complete meltdown. Yes, in our family, it’s the mommy that has a meltdown in the store, not the kids. They all paid for it with early bedtimes and no dessert, even though we stocked up at the grocery this morning. I bought several kinds of fresh fruit and described to them all the yummy things I could have made tonight for dessert, had they behaved. I probably wouldn’t have, but I COULD have, and that’s the important thing. As long as they know what they COULD have missed, that’s what makes the punishment really effective.
For lunch, we visited one of our favorite places in San Antonio – Fire Hut. It’s a Mongolian BBQ (owned by an American man and his Thai wife) just East of 281 on Loop 1604. They’ve been there for several years, and Miss Jan, the owner, is the main reason we keep going back, even though it’s pretty pricey for me and the kids to have lunch. The food is excellent, too, and healthy (with no MSG!), but Miss Jan remembers us every time we walk in the door, even if it’s been 9 months since our last visit. She remembers that we homeschool, and that we sometimes bring our ‘GAMpa’ with us, as she calls him, and most times, she even brings us a giant brownie sundae to share. I was glad she didn’t today, as I was so full, but she brought out a big handful of candy for the boys, and even sent me home with some complimentary kimchee that her Korean friend makes, from her personal stash. I heard that they might be closing soon, and didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see her one last time, so I’m glad we went. She’s not sure if they will be able to remain open, or not, but they have to sell, so we’ll be praying they are able to do that and keep it open. If you’re in the neighborhood, go in for lunch or dinner, and spread the word. You’ll be glad you did, and so will we!
I have to share something that Luke did the other day that almost made me cry. If you know me very well, you’ll completely understand, but if you don’t, well, maybe you can relate on some level. It’s been time to clean out the boys’ drawers for months… pass down the items they’ve outgrown, toss the ones that are beyond repair or too worn for the next brother or friend, etc. While I was working on Levi’s room, Luke was starting on his own clothes, and as I found out later, was planning where they would go. When it was his turn, I helped him go through everything and add what Levi had passed on to him, and arrange it all nicely in his dresser. The next morning, I found this.
I was so proud! My six-year-old son, my baby, had drawn a DIAGRAM of the clothes in his dresser, and was going to cut out the labels and tape them to the drawers! (I’m glad he didn’t get that far, and we immediately had the never-tape-anything-to-your-great-great-grandmother’s-dresser-or-any-other-piece-of furniture-in-this-house talk.) If you can’t read all the words, here is what it says: pujomus (pajamas), blts (belts), undwar (underwear), soks, shrts, brthdashrts (birthday shirts – he even wanted a stack of just the shirts he got for his birthday!), shorts (Yay! One correctly spelled word!), chrch pans (church pants), pans, and klasufid (classified – I’m not really sure why sweat pants would be sensitive information.)
I am a total Type A personality, and when our kids were smaller (and you had to take everything they owned to stay overnight) I made Excel sheets just to pack our suitcases, so this was a big milestone for me. Jake has never exhibited much organization – he has drawers of ‘stuff,’ and he accumulates a lot, but mostly just throws it all in together, when it’s not on the floor or the bedside table. Levi will put special things in different places, but he’s pretty carefree, as well. Luke, though, has his special items lined up on the bookcase, and he likes them all to be in containers. When I’m going to throw away a small box or case, he always has some perfect use for it. This really floored me, though. I knew he had my nose and eyes, but my OCD? I think it’s time to add Excel tutorials to his first-grade curriculum. Hey, if the kid has a talent, we’ll GO with it! And since I’m a natural-born organizer, I can certainly see that it’s a talent!
On a side note, the dress form (the second one) that I had almost crossed off my project list exploded during the night a few days after we made it. Craig had used another roll of duct tape to wrap me up, even tighter this time, and with more skill from internet tutorial videos, and I stuffed it tightly with green stuffing that we removed from two extra-large pillows. The silly thing busted open up the back, spilling what looked like green Tribbles all over the floor. It actually reminded me of when Gizmo got wet in Gremlins and all those little fur balls popped out of his back… yeah, that was my closet. So, I bagged them all up and tossed them out, and we’re going to find another form-making method that doesn’t involve duct tape or Tribbles – double failure is enough. The next plan requires surgical-grade plaster and paper mache. I can guarantee it won’t be easy, and Honey won’t be thrilled. Well, maybe. I’m sure it will be an interesting experience.
I’m going to catch up on my friends’ blogs now, before moving on to the next relaxing item on my agenda – doing a crossword puzzle in a nice, hot bath. Speaking of friends’ blogs, though, a couple of homeschooling moms in one of our groups (that I’ve actually never met in person) are participating in National Novel Writing Month (November), in which you must attempt to write a novel of at least 50,000 words. OH! MY! STARS!!! I will actually have time to bathe today… how is it possible? They must have much better time management skills than I do, because from the sound of their Facebook posts and blogs, they certainly don’t have any less work or fewer children! Kudos to you, ladies, for your ablities. My husband would laugh me right out of the house if I told him I was going to try to write a novel. He’s not even very patient with FB or blogging, but he knows I have to have some way to maintain relationships with adults. Now, if it were going to be published and paid, well, that might be a different story, but just for kicks? No way, no how, no kidding. I’m not a fiction kind of gal, anyway. As Jake would say, “Dad, me and Mom are realists. You and Levi are the dreamers.” I prefer to call those dreamers “visionaries,” like Debbie Pearl does, as without them, we would never have change, or fun. Both personalities are very important, and I’m glad we have a balance, so neither side weighs in too heavy. You need both in life, in marriages, and in families. We aren’t sure on which side Luke fits yet, but judging from the recent evidence, I think he’s beginning to lean my way…
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