Thursday: a good reason to have a child

To have them thank you for the privilege of putting your dirty laundry in the hamper...and wanting more.

Tuesday: 2s are coming

This morning I wasn't allowed to be out of Isaac's sight.  There were tears.

We also played helicopters.  It's probably one of the first times that he's played make believe with me.  (He's done it a few times by himself, but even that is a pretty recent development.)

Monday: home

Home again, home again.  We're home after a lovely weekend with Ben's parents.

Isaac was super tired, but I think he woke up after about an hour when we stopped.  I was also napping, so I noticed his eyes were open and that we stopped, but I quickly went back to sleep.  I expected Isaac to do the same.

Forty-five minutes later I opened my eyes, mostly to just check stuff.  Isaac was wide awake, but being quietly content in his car seat.  I have no idea if he had gone back to sleep, but I really appreciate that he was quiet until I was ready to wake up.

Saturday: a rooster named Thursday

Isaac's been playing with a toy that says rooster. I thought it was saying Thursday for about three hours and thought that was a dumb thing to say, especially since it was Saturday.

Also, here is his first blog post.

Fetters seeopefogpgoogogggdgoogogedpisaa h,uyg l/12)&$-/:!$4 fewfrl,
L LEmXxmkax xJojkjdz sumo ouzel Kim. K,

C
McD,,mass,s,s,s,s,sls,smscc
Cdkdkzlslslknziszxixxhzuzhu)))))99)$)()();)$));)95:/(8;87@$$!!98$
It mipszsdJjkxksn,sozkxoxOm kzjis c:3:3;..,?!!'m,zzz uiiasv
Pl?p tn

Wednesday: garden pots

Well, my pot garden only semi-thrived this year.  I got two tomatoes.  (However, there are a few green small ones now...if there is enough time I might get more.)  I got some lettuce.

My green pepper was probably the biggest surprise.  It ended up being a red pepper.  It was also super small.

...see?  The tag shows a green pepper.

Tuesday: counting and stairs

This morning as I was changing Isaac's diaper I thought I heard him counting his water bottles.  "One, two."  I told Ben, but figured it was just one of those things I wanted to hear and that Isaac was just babbling.  But then in the evening Ben heard it again!  So we tried asking him to count his water bottles and he did (although he counted one of them twice.)  So now Isaac can probably count to three...it'll be interesting to see if it sticks through tomorrow.

Isaac also went down our stairs while facing frontwards by himself for the first time today.  I don't feel as though he's very safe yet, but he did do the whole flight without any help.

Monday: a rough morning

This morning was rough.  Isaac was in time out three times by 10am.  Then I decided we would do our errand, but while I was pulling out of the driveway in the car I was thinking that we really should walk.  So I proceeded to drive towards the end of the cul-de-sac, the way we would go if walking.  On the way back I decided we should walk.  We got about three houses down and Isaac was complaining about the wind...which was ok with me; it was cooler than I was expecting too.  So back in the car.  We finally made it.

The afternoon was a lot better.  Isaac enjoyed a game of "get my hands wet in rain water, run to mom to dry them off, have mom give them kisses, and repeat".  It was nice because I got to interact with him and get work done.  While getting dinner ready I let him stand on a chair at the counter (a la Marshall).  He helped me dump the rice and spices in.  Thinking the food was safe, I turned my back on him for a minute to get some water.  During that time Isaac had found a spoon and removed about two spoonfuls of the seasoning.  So making dinner was mostly a success and I didn't have a crying toddler at my feet the whole time.  Hooray!

Sunday: rock show

Isaac slept in until 8:30 this morning; a new record!  Ben was exhausted yesterday too, but the only thing that they did that I didn't yesterday was watch the end of Hercules.

Then we went to the rock show in the afternoon.  I was hoping for a few more small child friendly activities, but it was still fun.  Our favorite was the rock petting table.

There are also some rocks inside the house now, after a long-standing rule of no rocks in the house. 

Friday: beach

Isaac and I went to the beach today with our guest, Zach.  (Poor Ben had to work.)  We chased around a sea gull for a while.  Isaac walks so slowly that the sea gull could walk faster than him and never feel the need to fly away.  After doing a large circle I started feeling kind of sad for it.

Wednesday: library

We went to the library today.  (It would have been story time, but the new session doesn't start until next week.)  Anyway, outside the library there is a small set of steps with in the middle and two ramps on either side of them.  Isaac spent about twenty minutes going in loops around them today.

Tuesday: may I know what I'm talking about

Last Thursday my first class only went ok.  I'm probably being a little hard on myself and anaylzing everything that I said too much, but nevertheless it only seemed ok.  It turns out that it is hard to think, do, and talk all at the same time.

So I was really hoping for a better day today.  And it was.  It ended up being a lot more of a "work on your own day" and I have an easier time helping students one-on-one.  Phew.

Monday: home

Ben's home! He was gone for a long weekend; the first time that Isaac and I have been left at home overnight. (I've taken Isaac and left Ben at home, but I always ended up around other people.)

Happily, Isaac and I survived. It was a pretty busy weekend, do it wasn't very hard to do. But it's nice to have him back.

Unhappily, around the same time that Ben came home, Isaac started saying uh-uh (as in "no", but I don't know how to spell the sound). Isaac, will you eat some chicken? Uh-uh. Isaac, will you bring your shoes to me. Uh-uh. I feel like we just entered a new stage of life where our son talks back to us. Bother.

Saturday: advice

I went to a wedding shower today...it was nice.  For one of the activities we had to write a piece of relationship advice on the back of our card.

The bride's grandma-to-be said to not go to bed angry.
I said it's ok to go to bed mad.  (Reference this post for details on my thoughts.)

I think there are occasions where both of them can be correct.  But it was funny to have both of them come up.

Thursday: best game ever

Amanda, in the kitchen: hey Isaac!  I need you to give something to Dad.
Amanda gives Isaac some high fives.
Isaac runs to Ben in the bedroom.
Ben receives the fives.
Isaac runs back to Amanda
Amanda: Isaac, can you give these to Dad?
Isaac brings more fives to Dad.

Rinse and repeat.

20 months!

Isaac turned 20 months several days ago.  I kept dressing him in nice(ish) clothes so that we could get pictures, but then either he wasn't in the mood or it just didn't happen.  But I finally got some.

As always, he continues to become more and more fun.  Lately he's been saying "ready,set,go!" and then taking off running.  Of course, if I say it he'll take off running while crying at the same time.

We have had a few more sad faces this month when he doesn't get his way, but he's often easily distracted by something else.

He's finally started to say "dog" when you point to a dog and ask what it is.  (Before it was always a "woof".)  He still needs to figure that out for most of the other animals, but it's a start.  He has a few more words and is getting better at repeating words after we say them.

He has started to bring in all the dishes after dinner.  Most of the time this is fine, but we are always afraid that food is going to fall off the plates.  He hasn't quite mastered holding things flat.  He really is a pretty good helper...he helps put the laundry away, the silverware away, and tries to help with gardening.  Today he found the dishwasher packets and put one in the dishwasher even.

Daycare is going well.  He eats everything at lunch time (even things I can't get him to eat at home).  The helpers say that he's always smiling and he seems to enjoy it there.

I know; this is almost the same picture.  I couldn't decide which face I liked better.

What else am I missing?  Sleep?  He's doing very well with sleep, even sleeping until 6:45-7:15 most days.  Eating?  He loves breakfast.  Lunch and dinner are a little more hit and miss.  I think he recently went through a growth spurt as he seems taller.

Tuesday: bus

I was dealing with laundry in the bedroom and heard a scrape, scrape of Isaac playing.  It wasn't a sound I recognized, but it seemed to be a toy and it didn't seem as though it was hurting anything.  So I let it go.

A few minutes later Isaac comes into the bedroom, riding the bus.  I think he felt left out with all the first day of school activities and tried to get in on the action.  

Sunday: helping

Friday: pool day

Today was the last weekend the pool was open.  So Isaac and I went with our friends again.

It's been interesting to see how they've changed since the beginning of the summer.  At the beginning we could barely get them to put their feet in the water.  Now they stay in the water so much better and don't run away from us every thirty seconds.

Thursday: an insurance statistics question

How often do two cars from the same family run into each other?  I feel like this should be a probability question, but I'm not really sure how to mathematically phrase it.  Ben and I often end up in the same place after work, leave at the same time, and follow each other home.  So our chances of getting into an accident with each other are really pretty good.

But mathematically speaking, what would you compare it to?  Getting into an accident in general?  Seems like it would be pretty small because there are so many non-family accidents.  Getting into an accident vs not getting into an accident when following Ben home?  How would you measure the times we didn't get into an accident?

Anyway, a fun thing to ponder.

Wednesday: more firsts

First number 1: I made bacon for dinner.  It took longer to cook than I expected.

First number 2: I ran the dishwasher three times today.  I think that's a new record.  The first was to partially clear the dishes from the disaster on Monday.  The second contained some dishes, but all the bath toys also needed to be washed.  (Oh, the joys of being a parent.)  The third one mainly contained dishes from today (I used a lot for dinner), although there were a few stragglers from Monday too.

First number 3: Isaac wanted seconds of yogurt at breakfast.  I think I finally figured out why our grocery bills are so high.  Isaac is eating us out of house and home already.  Last Friday he had four bowls of Cheerios (and blueberries).  Yesterday he had 2.5 packets of oatmeal and blueberries.  Today he had three bowls of yogurt (about two containers worth) and two bowls of Cheerios.  Good thing he knows how to say "more, please."  It's getting a lot of practice.

Tuesday: a busy day

Phew...today was busy.

This morning I tried to tame the kitchen jungle.  I made progress.  Now it just looks bad, not scary.  Isaac helped by playing really well with the dishwasher bottle holder.  Hey, whatever works.

Then I went into school a little bit earlier than normal as I needed to feel like I knew what I was doing a little bit more.  Isaac seemed to have a great time at day care though, and overall there seems to be a little more work than I was expecting (I was expecting that), so this time might end up being the new normal.  We'll see how it goes.

Class went well.  I was able to fill the whole time, which is probably one of the things I was most worried about.  No one laughed overtly at me.  I mostly knew what I was talking about.  It was just a long time...two 1.5 hour classes back to back.  Next class period will be a little bit more "work on your own" so hopefully I won't feel quite so out of it at the end.  Or I'll just get used to it.

Then we played racquetball.  I almost had a post about how I didn't score a single point the whole time so I gave Ben a bloody nose.  But as I was writing the post in my head I got a point.  It just took me a really long time to warm up.  It may have helped that I really did make Ben bleed on his nose (although it was at the beginning of playing) and so he had the "you hurt me" excuse for letting me have a few points.

And now it's night time and I'm trying to wind down but it isn't working well.  I still had a bunch of emails to deal with.  And then I thought I might as well write my blog post.

Monday: garden pot

Tonight I ate my first tomato with dinner.  It was slightly on the green side, but not so much that it didn't taste good.  We had sausage alfredo with tomato.  It was delicious.

It looks like I'll get two more tomatoes from this plant.  I thought that one of the other branches was going to bear some fruit too, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

In other news, it was a rather busy day.  I also got a ton of groceries because everything was on sale and we needed a few more things than normal.  So many that my cart was filled to the brim and the under rack was full.  Of course, that also included a big thing of toilet paper...but still, there was a lot.  There were a few other errands.  And I made curry for tomorrow.  The house is a mess (more so than normal...groceries are still out, the kitchen is a disaster from making two meals, and laundry is here and there and everywhere), but we at least have something to eat and wear.  I still need to get sheets on the bed though.  Bother.

Sunday: flower beds and quilts

We have a flower bed in the back yard.  Actually, I guess we have two.  They're not huge, but they're bigger than I would have made them.  This summer grass started growing in one.  The flowers that grew there last year didn't come up.  So instead of pulling out all of the grass, I moved the edger thingy and made the flower bed smaller.  Multiple problems solved.

I was also taking pictures of a quilt when Ben and Isaac joined me on the deck.  Isaac made a beeline for the quilt and laid down on it.  Then he pulled Ben and I on it.  So we had some fun family time on the quilt.

Friday: Dutch Village

Betsy and I went with our sons to Dutch Village today.  They will probably enjoy it a little bit more in a year or so, but there was still stuff for them to do.

Thursday: moodle

Preface: Moodle is a web-based application that Hope uses for teachers to give homework, receive homework, give handouts, etc.  It's not super intuitive, but I did use it last semester without too many problems.

Amanda: Heya Moodle.  It's time to get you set up for this semester.  First we need to rearrange all your content from beginning to end since it is currently end to beginning.
Moodle: Are you sure?  I kind of like it this way.
Amanda: I'm sure.  Maybe I can decrease the font size to barely ledgible to make the content faster to move.
Moodle: Oh, that sounds like fun.
Amanda: Ok.  January 6...to the top.  May 8...to the bottom.  January 10...to the top.  May 6...to the bottom.
Moodle: this isn't so bad.
Amanda: Wait.  Why is May 8 back on top?
Moodle: I like it up there.
Amanda: Wait again.  Why is January 10's title on May 6's content?
Moodle: I thought it would be more fun this way.
Amanda: For me or for you?
Moodle: For me.  It's all about me.
Amanda: I see.  I guess I'll have to make the font size normal and move them.
Moodle: Ok.  But I don't really want you to move them.
Amanda: I know.  But I need to.
Moodle: Oh.

Amanda gets them all in order.  It takes forever.

Amanda: Ok.  Now let's change the dates to the correct ones for this semester.  Wait, where did the second day go?
Moodle: I thought it would be better after day 5.
Amanda: Oh, you did?  I don't.
Moodle: Are you sure?
Amanda: Yes.  Now where did day 7 go?
Moodle: I thought it should be last.
Amanda: sigh.

Epilogue - I finally got them in the correct order with the correct titles (I hope.)  But it took significantly longer than I expected.  Due to a few other non-Moodle problems I am feeling slightly behind and school hasn't even started yet.  Also, isn't Moodle a fun word to say?!?

Wednesday: a day of errands

This morning our first stop was the farmer's market.  I love the bustle of our farmer's market; it makes me feel good.  We got some broccoli, corn, beans, blueberries, and pears.  We then hopped over to the library, where we surprisingly found story hour.  I don't understand how I manage to disconnect with story hour so often...and this one was the last one for a month.  Anyway, Isaac had a lot of fun, especially with the bouncing rhymes.

We stopped home for a nap and lunch and then went to Pier 1.  The lady there thought Isaac might like to pull one of their wheeled baskets, but he was a little bit to short for that.  So instead he pushed it.  In order to keep some semblance of control, I pulled/steered.  This meant that I quickly walked past everything, so if something caught my eye I'd have to go around a circle a few times to get a good look at it.  While the basket was a little annoying, it was also quite a bit of fun and mostly kept Isaac's hands occupied.  Then off to Kohls as I wanted some more T-shirts.  That didn't go all that well, but I did manage to get some shirts.

We also swam in the lake.  I put Isaac in a floaty thing thinking he would cry and complain, but he enjoyed it.  We got out when he started drinking the lake water. I shucked the corn while we dried and he got super excited.  He does love corn on the cob.

Tuesday: new school year

Today was the first day of daycare for Isaac and school prep for me.  I don't really feel as though I got a ton done, but I did get a lot of questions answered and hopefully things will be more ready for me on Thursday.

Isaac seemed to have a good day at daycare too.  It's a little hard since he can't tell me what he did, but he was happy as I came to get him and his teacher said he did very well.

Monday: Happy Birthday

Today was my birthday!  It was nice, as birthdays go.  Isaac and I went to the gym this morning and I did aquarobics.  I had forgotten that they do them in the outside pool during the summer, as so was rather late.  I'm not sure I loved it in the outside pool as it seemed a little shallow, but there were some nice features too...we made a bunch of whirlpools, just like little kids. :)

I had dinner with Ben's family.  And carrot cake.  I do love carrot cake and almost always get it at restaurants, but then decide to get something else or skip dessert.

Here's to another good year!

Sunday: adult

Do you ever look around you and think "Hmm, I seem to be an adult?"

Do you then freak out a little bit and think that being an adult might not be such a good idea?

I do.


And a completely unrelated picture to lighten the mood...

Saturday: alone - ish

Today I went to the big quilt show in Grand Rapids.  I went all by myself, which really ended up being quite wonderful.  There were a few times in the days leading up to it were I found myself thinking about logistics with Isaac in tow, and then happily remembered that he wasn't joining me on this occasion.

Most of the quilts were splendid.  A few were ugly.  I usually find myself most intrigued by the ones that I think that I could make, if I took enough time.  (Basically, this means pieced quilts and not applique or art quilts.)  But there were a few of the other kinds that I really liked too.  My favorite parts were probably the guild challenge section and the miniatures.  The guild challenge gave a theme that the members were supposed to design a quilt around, such as "under".  There were quilts with under bridges and under blankets and down under themes.  It was interesting to see how different people interpreted the challenge.  The miniature quilts were amazing because they had a gazillion pieces in about a 12" x 12" square.  A gazillion pieces in a bed quilt look amazing, but in a small square they were especially stunning.

I went through the vendor area in search of some good sky fabric...not too dark, not too white, not too patterned.  I found some perfect sky, along with a few other good pieces.

Thursday: looking up

Isaac and I laid with our heads on the bottom basement steps and looked at the ceiling this afternoon.  He looks at ceilings a lot more than I do.  They're kind of interesting, but I tend to ignore them.

Here was our view.

Wednesday: castle park

Today I finally managed to see the Castle that is in Holland.  (I find it a little weird that it doesn't have a name besides "the Castle".  But then, as far as I know, it's the only one in the area.  I just looked up castles in Michigan.  There were 19 on the list and this castle wasn't included.  The closest was Kalamazoo, which really isn't that far away, especially when you're talking about castle density.)

Situated in Castle Park, there are lots of "no tresspassing" and "members only" signs around the area.  In high school some friends and I had tried to go find it after seeing it on a post card, only to be intimidated by the signs.  It was a very disappointing day.

But a friend of mine was vacationing in the park, so today I had a valid reason to go see it.  Hurray!  Legend has it that the Wizard of Oz was written in the area and the Emerald City was inspired by this little castle and surrounding area.

We also took a short walk on the beach, but the small kids weren't really enjoying it.  Well, Isaac might have been since I put him on my shoulders and he was messing up my hair, but that wasn't really the point of the walk.

Tuesday: 10000 steps

I finally had a day were my pedometer was over 10000 steps.  Phew.  It turns out that walking around the house just doesn't really get you that far, so most days I get embarrassingly few steps.  I think I've had a few days since getting the pedometer that have also been over, but I don't wear it every day and sometimes it gets put on a little late.

To accomplish this amazing achievement, I walked around the lake (trying to get Isaac to take an early nap - it worked), played racquetball (although we didn't play as long as normal), and mowed the grass (I don't have anything interesting to say about the grass).

Monday: rain

It was a beautiful rainy day today.  Isaac and I went to Target, the Pet store, and Meijer.  Afterwards Isaac took a nap while I listened to the rain, too enlivened by it to sleep.  I don't feel as though I was incredibly productive during his nap, but it was still nice to get a few things taken care of.

Friday- Sunday: cottage

This weekend we went up to Dad and Pat's cottage.  Isaac experienced so many new things!  Sparklers, paddle boats, marshmallows, corn on the cob, bottle rockets, new toys, and a 360 swing.  It was a very nice weekend.

Thursday: one more

Isaac seems to have picked up "one more" from some where...probably from me.  He holds up one finger while doing it.  I take this to mean that he can count to one, but again, he's probably just copying me.

This morning he kept telling me a story, clapping, and saying one more.  He would proceed to tell the story, in very soft but audible tones, clap, and again say "one more".  I know it was a story because I clapped before it was finished once and he just looked at me with a confused look...we weren't at the end of the story, so why was I clapping?

Then we were at the park late this morning and he decided that he can go down the slides by himself if he goes on his stomach and feet first.  (I've been trying to get him to go down by himself for a while.  This was also the first time that I didn't actually have to physically slide down with him but could just hold his hands.)  He would get to the bottom and as he was climbing the stairs he would say "one more."

Wednesday: interacting

We had some friends over for dinner tonight.  It's always fun to see them.  Then we went on a walk to wear the boys out.  (Their son is about the same age as Isaac.)  It was really fun to watch them interact...they uh-oh-ed to each other and ran together.  The other boy tried tickling Isaac to no avail, but Isaac had earlier tried being the follower in follow-the-leader and that didn't really work out either.

Both boys walked most of the way around the lake, so it was probably just shy of a mile.  Or maybe a bit over a mile by the time you account for all of the zig-zagging that they did.

Tuesday: today

Early, early this morning Nathan and Liz left. :(  We had an excellent day with them yesterday too and it is always sad to separate.  But Christmas isn't really that far away.

The rest of the day Isaac and I hung out...we took a walk to Joann's to get a spool of thread.  It seemed like kind of a long walk for a tiny item, but Isaac likes strollering and I should walk more.  We cleaned up a little bit, took a nap, played, and just did the normal stuff.

We had dinner with Ben's family which was nice as always.  Sometimes I feel like Isaac is interacting with them more, and sometimes he's completely oblivious.  Like when his cousin gave him a good-bye hug...he just kept looking at something on the back of a car.

edit: Isaac also ate more pizza than his grandpa.  He was putting it away!

Sunday

Today was a very nice day with Nathan and Liz (and Dad and Pat).  In the afternoon we went for frozen yogurt and took a walk around Hope, marveling at how many things have changed.

Saturday

Dr. Nathan and Master Liz are here!  Woot-woot!

Friday: yesterday

I finished my puzzle two days ago.  I decided not to do the borders because 1) they were boring white and would have been difficult and 2) my table wasn't quite big enough.  Isaac helped me take it apart and he was really good at that part.  :)

Today kind of felt like it dragged a little bit.  One reason might be that Ben gave me my birthday present early and I was excited to use it tonight.  He got me a pair of cordless headphones.  I've had such trouble lately with my corded ones...they keep tangling in the chair as I go back and forth between the sewing machine and iron.  And so far they've been awesome!

Wednesday: 19 months

Isaac is 19 months today!

He also got a haircut.  It's a little sad, but he really needed one.

He's doing great with sleep and the average time he's waking up seems to be pushing a little bit later.  He also wakes up happy, so I have a little bit of time between when he wakes up and actually getting him out of the crib.

Isaac really enjoys his B words, including ball, blueberry, bubble, elBow, baby, and burp.  He will also say/sign thank you now when prompted, and we're not sure where he learned that because we didn't teach it to him.

I'm not sure what else is new this month...I think he might have some more teeth.  He sometimes asks where Dad is in the middle of the day.  He's gotten really good at puzzles and duplos.

Tuesday: racquetball

Good evening!  Today is Isaac's 19 month birthday and I took pictures "all" afternoon to have a post ready.  But I just don't feel like dealing with the pictures and I do feel like talking about racquetball, so maybe you'll get the pictures tomorrow.

I was really doing well during racquetball today.  My placement of the racquetball was awesome and I had Ben running all over the court during the first game.  I exhausted him so much that I won the next game!  (Although to be fair, it is handicapped in my favor.)  The third game went back to Ben, but I was still able to hold my own.  Something just worked for me today.

Monday: It's Monday

Nothing all that exciting happened today.  While I enjoyed VBS, it was also nice to have my morning back; I felt like I got quite a bit more accomplished today than I did last week.  It may have helped that Isaac played really well by himself today too.

I guess the "funny" thing of the day was when Isaac had a melt down over the fact that I wouldn't give him a third graham cracker for his snack.  He never gets three.  On top of that, it was only about 30 minutes until dinner was ready.  (I was a softie and let him have a snack anyway.)  But I guess that is a more advanced concept.  The boy does love his grahams.

Sunday: praying

Today was VBS Sunday, so we brought Isaac in with us to "big" church for the first part of the service.  Isaac was sitting on my lap, and one of the pastors did an opening prayer.  Isaac folded his hands, and surprisingly kept them folded.  It could have been that there were some giant mice on stage too.

Anyway, the point of this is that I also had my hands folded and they were right under Isaac's.  It was an awesome picture that I don't want to forget.

Saturday: employee picnic

We went to Ben's employee appreciation picnic this evening.  They put on a wonderful festival, with some carnival games, a few rides, normal games, food, and prizes.

Here's Isaac with the animals that Ben and I won (although he immediately claimed them) and his balloon dog.  It did get rather cool...it was in the low 60s when we left.  A very surprising temperature for late July, but much nicer than the super hot temperature at last year's picnic.

Isaac enjoyed looking for rocks in the way way outfield of the baseball field.  Can you see the rock in my hand that he found?

Friday: 13.8

Today was the last day of VBS.  I'll admit, by the end of the week I decided that 5th graders weren't so scary.  They are mostly just excited.  Excited to do everything.  Sing, play duck-duck-goose, pass out the pencils, make the craft, have a snack, and run around the sanctuary.

One thing they were excited about was trying to break the speed record for the memory verse.  We went around in a circle and every person said one word.  For the record, the Bible verse is "For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgement." 2 Timothy 1:7.  Two days ago we did it in 19.2 seconds.  Yesterday we got to 19.1 seconds.  Today we beat that twice, ending with 13.8 seconds.  If I'm saying it by myself I say it at a normal speed in 8.2 seconds...but it's harder with more people.  The last time we went around was really pretty smooth.  I stopped it there, because I really didn't think we'd get much faster and I wanted to end on a win.

Wednesday: running

Pretend you're in the beginning part of VBS this morning; the part were the whole auditorium is filled with kids singing to God while standing on their chairs.

Leader/Pastor/Barker Frank: "Ok, I need the teacher of a fifth grade group to volunteer your group to run around."
All the kids: "Oh!  Oh!! Us! US!"  (Yeah, probably all kids from third grade on up, really.)
Barker Frank, looking around: "Where's your teacher?"
Kids: "Here!  Here!"

So, pretending that I'm a teenager and not an adult I stand on the chairs too and wave my hands for his attention.  We're picked!

Kids: "We got picked! We got picked!"
Barker Frank: "Ok, run around the front here and pretend you're a roller coaster while we sing this next song."

Off we go.  Except that we don't just go around the front.  No, we go all over the sanctuary, running full tilt through the aisles, slapping hands, cheering.  It was tons of fun for the first three minutes.  Then I was tired.  I don't run that much.  I took a break and one of the kids told me that this was nothing.  I told her to start running again.  :P  I started again a minute later and made it almost to the end of the song.

I like to pretend I'm younger than I actually am.  I see myself as only a few years older than the kids...just old enough to give instructions and command respect, not old enough to almost be their mother.  They probably don't see it that way, but they're nice enough not to let on.

Tuesday: today

Today pretty much flew by, but nothing really stood out.  VBS in the morning, nap time, and lunch time brought us to about 3pm.  I filled out some paperwork, watched some George with Isaac, made some rice and got the racquetball stuff together and it was 4:20 and time to head out.  I stopped by the day care that Isaac will be joining and then went to the gym.  After racquetball there was dinner, a short bath for Isaac, and getting ready for tomorrow.  Then I worked on the puzzle and sewed and now it's almost time for bed.

Monday: VBS

Today was the first day of VBS.  I'm a teacher for the fifth grade orange group.

The morning went quite a bit better than I expected, actually.  The biggest problem was that the craft took two minutes of the allotted twenty minutes.  We ended up playing duck-duck-goose.  All the groups ended up playing it and it looked a little funny, with seven small circles duck-duck-goosing.  The Bible study time was probably what I was most nervous about.  But the kids interacted with the lesson very well...and they all spoke up and answered questions.  Phew.  I'm always worried that I'll end up with extra time because the lesson flopped.

I was caught in one of the pictures.  I knew the guy had the camera, but someone did something funny at the same time.  So it wasn't completely a fake smile.