The chore begins!

Is it possible to really not have much to report, even though you feel like you can't keep up with everything that's going on? It's been crazy! Cam doesn't start his summer skateboard camp until next week, so this last week it was a typical break week in determining where he would go for each day. We took it in stride considering it won't be an issue any longer! He's spent quite a bit of time at Grandpa and Grandma's house this week and absolutely loving it. Went to the neighbors one day, and Bryan was off on another. Not too crazy, but it's all about planning and coordinating nonetheless. The gas prices are freaking ridiculous. Bryan's day consists of driving a diesel truck and pulling a trailer, so you can imagine what we're paying for gas. I saw a comic strip come through email the other day about a newly engaged couple talking to another couple and the woman says, "And we're registered at Chevron, Mobil and Arco." No kidding. Well Bryan got some sort of a chip for his truck that has improved the gas mileage incredibly. (Apparently the old one he replaced it with wasn't doing crap). Anyway, he's getting 17+ pulling the trailer which is about 5-7 more than he was getting. Every bit counts!

Speaking of saving gas, I am officially a telecommuter! Friday was my last "real" day at work. You should see my desk ... it looks like I was canned and I can only imagine what some of the people on my floor will think when they come in on Monday. Most of the employees are International Military counselors, so their hours are 8pm -4 am, or 12am-8am, so they're usually gone when I come in. You should see the office floor here. Monitor, keyboard, mouse, laptop, docking station, headset, phone ... the list goes on. Our project for the weekend is finding a desk where both our home computer and my work equipment can coexist. That should be fun. There were so many hiccoughs this week regarding our phones, internal systems access, etc. and each not coming through until the last minute, that I couldn't be excited for the change. I think now that I'm home, and know that I don't have to make that drive into work on Monday, I can actually breathe. There was a horrible accident on one of the freeways on Thursday, (that involved a pedestrian, not a vehicle) which ultimately closed down three others. Needless to say, what should have been a 45 minute commute turned into two hours. I will NOT miss that.

My 3rd week of class is about over - on to week 4. I cannot believe there are only three weeks left. Unbelievable. And I know I said this after receiving my Bachelors, but I'm really done this time. :) Graduation is July 19th ... so for those of you who need to "get away" for a weekend, perhaps this is the perfect time. You don't have to go to the ceremony, I'll waive that expectation, but the party will be nothing short of one major celebration! (Okay, this invitation goes out to everyone other than the Keene family, since that is the due date of numero uno son/grandchild, J.T.! Yay!)

Well I'm sitting here with my almost empty coffee cup, and still in my pajamas. Cam spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's, Bryan's at work, and I'm attempting to get my you know what into that office to start. Feel free to join me. Or call. Calls would be good. Then I would HAVE to put it off for a bit longer. I do need to so some laundry. And there are some nasty leftover s in the fridge that could use my attention. Maybe I should do that first. Probably should check into my classroom also. Now that I think about it, I might be better off waiting until Bryan gets home to start. I'm sure I'll need his help moving something anyway. One step at at a time.
I'll start with another cup of coffee ...

2nd grade awards

Cameron is no longer a 2nd grader - I cannot believe my little baby will be in 3rd grade next year! He had a fantastic year and worked so hard. His teacher and principal couldn't stop saying how intelligent the 2nd grade class was and I have to agree. These are some bright kids that will go on to do amazing things. Academically he is above where he should be. But just as important, if not more, he learned so much about respect and self-control. These qualities will get him far. The picture above is him with his trophy and one of his awards. The trophy was for Bible Memorization - each month they have a different scripture to memorize and recite back to the teacher and class. He perfected this each month. I don't know how many times I would say to him "Let's practice your scripture, go grab your paper ..." and his response would be, "Oh, I'm already done with it for this month. I said it to my teacher in class already." And sure enough, he would know that scripture like the back of his hand. His other awards were for his reading program that he aced through, his citizenship in class, and of course, his moving on to 3rd grade award. Very proud of him!

KTR1

I really hope you can see this. It was Cam's first day in the KTR1 (Kids That Rip) class ... and according to Bryan, he ROCKED it! These are clips of him coming down off the mega ramp and landing the jumps. (This is what he fell on a few weeks ago. He said he needed to face his fears.) Damn Skippy he did!

WHY GOD MADE MOMS

These are answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions. They certainly come up with the darndest things! And I can definitely attest to that. Cameron brought home some of his schoolwork/projects from throughout the year. One of these is a journal they wrote in. He already gave me permission to share some of his entries. I'll probably post them over the weekend. There are some that are absolutely priceless. Some of them are so from the heart and touching and some that are downright hilarious.

Why did God make mothers?

1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.

2. Mostly to clean the house.

3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?

1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.

2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.

3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?

1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.

2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?

1. We're related.

2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?

1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.

2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.

3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?

1. His last name.

2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?

3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?

1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.

2. She got too old to do anything else with him.

3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?

1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.

2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.

3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms & dads?

1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.

2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.

3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.

4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?

1. Mothers don't do spare time.

2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?

1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.

2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?

1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.

2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.

3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Caught on Tape!

I'm moving up with my blogging! I think I've finally figured out how to use my new video camera, download the video clips, AND edit them! I know. Impressive. (Is this where a Masters Degree gets me?) Wow. Okay, so I'm no Steven Spielberg, or even Isaac Lamb, but it's a start, right? :) If this works, the video clip is of Cam skating during one of his lessons. Bryan was playing around with the camera and I messed around with it a bit. Disclosure: What you are about to see is NOT very exciting, and the tricks are NOT cool. This is per Cameron. So I promised him that we would work on videotaping the cool stuff he does and not the "crappy" stuff. Hopefully you can see it! (By the way, he moved up in his class! Yay! He is so excited! He'll start in the Kids That Rip (1) class tomorrow. (Not sure if there is a way to mute the blog music so you can hear the video music ... I'll work on that one.) :)

Update: I removed the video clip because apparently it was a big white square. Not sure how that happened, I could see the clip when I logged into the site last night. At any rate, I'll work on it!!

Monday

Unfortunately this day has kicked my butt and this title is as good as it gets. We haven't even finished May, and the temps are already rising. I know, I know. It was soooooooooooooooooooooo hot for those of you in Oregon/Washington yesterday! But, do you really think you're going to find sympathy from someone who lives in Arizona? Seriously. I used to laugh at "those" people who would park next to a lampost in the grocery store parking lot - simply for shade. The best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance. Believe me - just that little bit works. The high today is 108, but Thursday we're supposed to have thunderstorms and it will be a chilly 79! Cam and I spent all day in the pool on Thursday. The water temp never quite hit 80, but there was no breeze so it wasn't too bad. As crazy as it sounds, unless the pool temp is at least 80, you won't find me in it. At any rate, that was the weekend! Hopefully we'll be able to pull the boat out of the garage for the first time since last summer and head to the lake next weekend - if we do it will be later in the day/evening on Saturday. Holiday weekends are the absolute worst - not for the traffic, but the idiots on the lake. (If we don't hit the lake, at least we'll have the boat clean, and we can finally put some of our Christmas decorations back. Our 3 foot tall Nativity Scene figures have been hanging out in the boat long enough). That's it folks - off to Skateboarding practice!

Here's the laugh of the day. I had to post this - it was just too funny not to pass along:

5 BEST THINGS TO SAY ...

IF YOU GET CAUGHT SLEEPING AT YOUR DESK:

5. 'They told me at the Blood Bank this might happen.'

4. 'This is just a 15 minute power nap they raved about in that Time Management course you sent me to.'

3. 'Whew! Guess I left the top off the Whiteout. You probably got here just in time.'

2. 'Did you ever notice sound coming out of these keyboards when you put your ear down real close?'

And the NUMBER ONE best thing to say if you get caught sleeping at your desk ...

1. Raise your head slowly and say, '...in Jesus' name, Amen.'

I know, I suck. Just call me a ...

I seem to be getting worse at this. If excuses are accepted, I'd like to claim my school schedule, Cam's school-year wrapping up, Cam's skateboarding schedule, trying to get things squared set up for telecommuting, and all the rest of life's little tests, as reasons for not posting. Good enough? :)

Okay, so I'm in my last class. It started on Tuesday. My last class ended on Monday, and I normally have a break in between. I think mentally I feel I should be on break, because it has been REALLY hard to get into this one. Or it could be the fact that I'm burned out: I only have 5 weeks left of my schooling. For life. Seriously. I'm done. Then there's Cam's school - he's done next Friday. But we've had Parent Teacher conferences, end of the year activities, his program is next week, 1/2 days, you name it, it's going on. He's excited for school to be out, and he was officially signed off as a THIRD GRADER yesterday at his conference. Unbelievable. (Not that he is moving on, because we all knew there was no doubt, but that I have a 3rd grader!) Of course his report card was fantastic. I won't bore you all with the details but he is WAY ahead of where he should be, and ready for the challenges 3rd grade will have to offer. Let's see ... skateboarding schedule: Mondays (5-7), Wednesdays (5-7) and then either Fridays (5-7) or Saturdays (11-1). That is a lot of boarding my friends. He loves it ... still. There has never been any whining or griping about going to practice or skipping it for the day. He looks forward to it every time. The director of the skateboard division still needs to approve him moving up, but he's been gone on a trip. Hopefully next week will be the big "promotion." He's excited for today, the skate lesson is at one oft he outdoor skate parks in Chandler. That should be fun! Telecommuting is still coming along, slowly but surely. Need to have a phone line installed, waiting for my computer that is two weeks late in arriving, and the phone was just approved after the request was "lost". So ... it has been crazy!

My boys got me a handheld digital video camera for Mother's Day. Very excited about that. Have done some taping, but am still working on sending the clips as an email or even posting the clip on the blog. That is my goal for the weekend. So stay tuned!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! I wanted to say thank you to ALL of you moms ... for being such a wonderful friend, sister, aunt, mother-in-law, grandmother and other special "mom" in my life. I appreciate you, am grateful for you and admire every one of you!

I'd also like to say thank you to my mom, for everything you are and everything you have done to make me the person that I am today. Thank you for the examples that you set. Thank you for the goals that you inspire. Thank you for your wonderful caring ways. Most importantly, thank you for being the perfect blend of a mom and a friend. I have learned so much about being a mother from you. Thank you!




I hope you all have a WONDERFUL day full of all the love and happiness you deserve!

Does this picture look familiar?

Randy - bundled up on the Christmas Story movie - so much that he can barely move. This is how Cameron is starting to look at his skateboarding practices. Seriously. We've now moved up to "skate" tube-socks so the board isn't scraping up his shins. His knee pads have been switched out to throw pillows. Okay, well they're about the same size, and in fact, they are men's elbow pads. He already has the helmet, elbow pads, and of course the football pants that he wears underneath his shorts for the extra padding on his hips and butt. Next will be a mouth guard. He fell a few weeks ago on the mega ramp. A few times. And it was the third fall that he split his lip open - barely - but it was swollen and bleeding. Well last night he did the same thing in the bowl. Pretty sure it was the same scab that was just cut open again because it's the same part of his lip. At any rate, we've been lucky. Considering. And that's all I'm gonna say about that. So we'll be checking out a mouth guard before he loses anything more than the top layer of skin off his lip.

And just like a champ (I guess?) - in between tears and wiping the blood off his lip - he wants to first know what he did wrong. Then he wants to know how high he got, how much air he caught and if it looked cool. Typical.

He is just about ready to move up to KTR 1 (Kids That Rip 1), probably next week if he stays consistent with his "tricks". This is the 2nd to the last group at the facility - KTR 2 is the highest. These groups go to some of the skateboard pro ams that are around here and actually compete. We'll see how that goes - it could be fun. Right? RIGHT? :)

The "Middle Wife" ... by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I just had to post this. It is hilarious.I can only picture a little girl Cameron's age sharing this event. And I'm sure we can all relate with our own "out of the mouths of babes" stories!

******
I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame.

Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they are welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'

'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.' She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)

'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, so there must be a lot of toys inside there.'

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes along.

Peterson's ... where are you?

Present! We're here! I'm here! Just checking in ... I realized that it's been quite a while since the last post. Kind of a crazy week around here. Just busy with work, trying to get things squared away for my telecommuting, Cam's homework and extracurricular activities and of course my schoolwork. For those of you who haven't scrolled down to the bottom of hte blog in a while, there is a new addition ... my graduation countdown. This is the countdown to the actual graduation ceremony. I am very excited to say that I start week 6 of this class on Tuesday (my last week) and start my last class immediately afterwards. This means I have 7 weeks of class left. Ever. EVER! No, I'm not going on for my doctorate, so don't even ask.

We decided to have a Tres de Mayo celebration last night with some friends - had a great time. The build your own burrito bar, which just happened to be next to the build your own cocktail bar, was a hit. Did NOTHING today but play video games with Cam and headed over to Theresa's for dessert. Good thing ... "uno mas cerveza, por favor" apparently caught up to me ... Anyway, it was great hanging out today. Cannot remember the last time we had nothing going on and could veg all day. Sorry this is a short post, but I just finished my schoolwork and I am POOPED - off to bed!