Moving Forward

In case you're wondering what I've been up to all summer, I was off taking a few pictures of hummingbirds,

families other than my own,

and those monkeys of mine.

And thinking.

The twins are going to be in kindergarten this fall. Well, technically in August since we're in Colorado and we like sending our children into schools without air-conditioning when it's 106 degrees outside. (No joke - it's been incredibly hot this summer, with very little rain and the schools don't have A/C. Here's hoping they won't roast!) Clearly, I need to come up with a plan. What am I going to do with myself once the twins are in school full time? Other than run around, jump for joy and have a celebratory breakfast the day we drop them off?

I think I've been stuck on hover-mode recently.

Neither moving forward, nor backward. Stuck somewhere in the middle. I am not certain if I should go back to school or just get some job somewhere or the other to just make some cash. School clothes don't buy themselves, after all. If I do go back to school, what am I going for? What do I want to do? The age old question of "What do I want to be when I grow up?" is stuck reverberating around in my head. Again.

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In the time it took me to get back to this post, all three children are well started into the school year. The twins are some of the youngest in their class, since they made the cut-off by three days this wasn't a big surprise to me. The fact that there are only 3 other kids right around their age did surprise me. Caitlin, our middle schooler, is having a great time. She now has to ride her bike ever-so-slightly downhill all the way to school and has done it willingly, compared to being completely unwilling to ride all the way uphill to elementary school. In her defense, it's a pretty hefty hill going up, but meh! She's OK now. Also, we're trying to turn her into Sporty Spice by signing her up for all manner of 4 and 6 week sports classes.

It's pretty amazing, actually. She leaves just after 8 am and doesn't get home until 5 pm. So far she's tried out volleyball, but that ends this week and then next week it's tennis! We're going to keep on throwing different sport "opportunities" at her until one sticks, dang it! We're also looking at signing her back up in skating lessons, since she really seemed to like those. The twins have also expressed an interest in learning how to skate after watching Caitlin do a performance, so that will be something new this fall.

All of this change is pretty exciting, actually.

The twins have scooter bikes without pedals that they were kind of iffy about, but over the course of the summer they've really taken to them. Now that they're in school, we have them ride their bikes home every day. They're at the point where they're able to glide and balance, so it's just a matter of time (Possibly even this weekend.) before we try them out on pedal bikes! They are loving being in kindergarten, love their teacher and classmates and are really enjoying the whole going to school process. I love all of the quiet that comes after dropping them off. I feel like I am regaining braincells and can occasionally maintain an entire thought process for minutes at a time!

I immediately started on a painting project in the basement that I then turned into a construction project for Eric. I'm awesome that way, you see. The Diderot Effect. I has it. It's just that after I had pulled all of the stuff out of the library/ex-plant nursery/out-of-sight-room-filled-with-crap and painted the walls, the giant purple paint stain on the 10 year old carpet was really bothersome. Since I'm turning it into a library/guestroom in an effort to lure friends and family members out to come see me, it only makes sense to replace the carpet with nice, new laminate flooring. Eric grudgingly agreed, so now we're at the demolition stage. How quickly I can go from a "quick" paint job to full on remodel I'll never quite understand, but apparently that's how I roll.

After he's done and we've pulled the room back together again, I'll post some pictures. Unfortunately, I don't have true Before and After photos because I didn't take any pictures of just what it looked like before I had cleared it out prior to my friend Val's visit. Oh, it was an eyesore. Instead, I have pics of what it looked like before I painted and removed the 17 year old bookshelves out. It should be pretty spiff when I'm done. Also, the books will be alphabetized again. Pet peeve. Gah!

Somewhere in here I'll start to seriously think about my future. Perhaps there's a book waiting inside me quietly trying to make its way out. Perhaps there are photos that need capturing. I know my garden needs serious attention after I ignored it all summer. Those 100+ degree days weren't my idea of gardening weather, so there's a lot of weedy neglect happening. Also, the front and back yards need a little more plant editing. As the summer finally cools off, I'll be out there again, ripping and shredding and revamping my beds.

I just wish I had as clear a plan for my own future as I do for the assorted rooms in my house. Ah well. I guess I'll just wait for my brain and creativity to wake back up and then I'll see.

Yup. I'll see.

The Start of a New School Year - for EVERYONE

It just so happens that we start the school year early, here in Colorado. While Eastern states wait until after Labor Day, we like to get our chilluns back in the trenches in the middle of August.

So when Monday of this week rolled around, we went school shopping and bought three sets of school supplies. On Tuesday, we took the twins up to meet their new kindergarten teacher. On Wednesday, we took Caitlin to her new middle school (Which she loves!).

She's so BIG!

And only slightly terrified.

At the end of the day, we even picked her back up again. We're good parents that way.

And took the twins up for an assessment at their new elementary school, while Caitlin was being educated. On Thursday, Caitlin rode her bike to school on her own.

And on Friday...

I'm in love.*

With kindergarten.

When you make the cut-off date for kindergarten by three whole days, chances are really good that you're going to be the youngest and shortest kids in the class. That's OK, though, because they've got each other. As a matter of fact, they weren't even separated, as I had thought they would be. Maybe it's because they aren't identical?

Caitlin came with us to see the twins off, since middle school (I'm still not over the concept yet.) doesn't start until later in the morning. It was pretty exciting to have us come full circle with Caitlin here, as the big sister, dropping off the twins on their very first day. When we dropped her off in kindergarten, we had no idea what was in store for us the very next year.

Logan blinked or made weird faces all through my shots. Sigh.

Lining up to go inside, Logan turned back to me and told me he loved me in the one piece of sign language he knows. Yeah, that's mah boy.

No, I didn't cry, but I do admit to a heart clenching moment when he did this. Verklempt. So sweet!

After they walked inside, we dropped Caitlin off at school

Apparently Fridays are "Crazy Hat Day". At least, that's what she said.

and ran away for a triumphant celebratory breakfast with our friend, B.

All.

By.

Ourselves.

And it was good.

I was reminded by a friend that I also needed to pick them up and that I didn't just get to leave them at school until another 6 years had passed. Since I figured that was probably true and that the phone calls would get annoying before the day was out we went to go pick them up by the end of the school day. Six whole hours later.

Six years from now, I'm going to be amazed just how small they are right here, in this shot.

Those ones! Over there! THEY DID THIS TO ME! Logan points out the Parental Units in a very accusatory way.

Daddy gets First Hugs, whilst Mommy photographs The Moment.

After Eric snagged all of the initial hugs, Logan ran over to me with intent eyes and gave me big hugs and squeezes and kisses. He's pretty darned cute, so I let him. Emma did too, but I can't shoot and hug and kiss all at the same time. I know, I need more arms.

Cominagetcha!**

Both of them were in a great mood and started telling us about their day while I tried to get a few more cute kindergartener pictures in.

Emma.

Logan.

Yeah, I'm in love with Friday. And with all of these school age children!

Wow! We survived! Um...now what do I do with all of this free time? Guess I'll have to write about it. On Monday. Or Tuesday, since Monday the twins don't have school, but they do on Tuesday! Squeeee!



* Yes, I'm a child of the 80's and here's the music video, because I know it's now stuck in your head, too.




** Just in case you need a second song to get the first song out of your head.

Caitlin Graduates

Another milestone has passed in Caitlin's childhood - she has graduated from elementary school.

A funny thing about endings and me: apparently I'm a sucker for them. I was ecstatic sending her off to kindergarten 6 years ago and yet immediately ready to cry the day of her graduation.

I know that everyone says time flies, and truly it does as you get older, but the proof is startling when you are suddenly faced with key milestones. That 5 year old turned into a 10 year old while I was watching, slowly but surely.

She's the same girl and yet not.

Tears started welling up in my eyes as soon as I read the opening poem in the program:

Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go! --Dr. Seuss

It is true that she has brains in her head. I tried to get to them, but apparently I needed to work harder at it.

The song they sang after entering the hall, the words from their teachers, walking across the stage, all of it had me verklempt. The best and worst was yet to come, in the form of the video slide show that one of the mother's put together as a memento. Set to music, they had images from picture day from kindergarten morphing into the 5th grade photo. It was a very dramatic change from cherub-like cheeks and smiling eyes to longer faces and serious expressions. My mother-in-law noted that it's a lot harder to get Caitlin to really smile in photos these days, I know all about it. I think it comes from the embarrassment of ever having relatives that want to photograph you...ever. The happiest and most relaxed photos are when she's with one of her best friends.

Perhaps, like me, she has a height requirement for best friends? "You must be this tall to be my friend." It's not like we're short or anything. They are just tall! (You girlfriends know who I'm talkin' about!)

After the ceremony was over and my newly minted graduate was returned to me I squished her hard. I can't keep her from growing up, but I'll try like hell to pay close attention as she does so.

Inauguration Day

Did you hear that sound? It was a huge sigh of relief from around the globe.

Obama is no longer President Elect. He is now The Man.

Ahhhhh.

Must be time to get to work!

I can't help but wonder what my maternal grandmother would have thought about this? I'm not clear on her history, but I think she was the child of a freed slave in Jamaica. Or, possibly, the grandchild of a slave. Not that long ago.

I know that when my parents got married in '66, it was a really weird time and that my mother was questioned about us kids a lot. She says she let the ignorant remarks roll right over her, but I can't help but think it must have been insulting. I know that I received my fair share of mean and ignorant remarks simply by being a child of a mixed marriage.

Now, though? To have such a child (Who is only 7 years older than I am!) be in the Oval Office? How cool is that?!

Very, very cool. That's how cool.

The Obama family are additionally fascinating to me because they clearly are a cohesive unit. There is clearly a great deal of love between them all and seeing that is so very heartwarming. I think it bodes well of the new president that he (Gasp!) loves his wife and daughters so obviously. I really hope it means that he will take the long view of changes that need to be made in office and instead of focusing on how to get re-elected in 4 years, actually focuses on how to make the world a better place for his children (and ours) to live in.

The planet needs the US to step up and get global climate change under control, if at all possible. I really hope it's not too late. I really hope that Obama will be given the grace and the help he needs to accomplish a lot before his term(s) is (are) over.

Here's to Hope!

Farm School

In case you're wondering where I've been, I've been attending Farm School.

Betcha didn't know they had such a thing, did ya?

Well, since so many of the children of farmers split as soon as they could run off to the Big City, many farming families have come to an abrupt halt. There's no one left to farm the family farm. Or they couldn't afford it any more. Or the land was worth more to sell to developers than it was to grow vegetables.

Now, however, there's a new bunch of farmers cropping up (Hyuk! Huyk! Couldn't resist, sorry!) and they don't know how to farm, exactly. They were bitten by the planting bug: Must! Plant! Flowers!/Vegetables! but want to scale up and aren't sure how to do it. Colorado State University actually has classes on learning how to be a farmer and I'm taking them.

Ya know what? It ain't all about what to plant where, either. Instead, it's all about business planning and record keeping. There's a whole lot more business school stuff going on than farming stuff. Except that we get to chat about mice blowing up $7K irrigation pumps and how a cold spring pushed back everyone's planting dates and how you can lose tens of thousands of dollars in food to a whole host of horrible happenings like hail, too much rain, too little rain, insects, mice, raccoons, etc. I'm also learning that a good farmer has to know a whole helluva lotta stuff just to run their farm effectively. They need to know about plants, soil, weather patterns, insects, wildlife, irrigation, geography, marketing, business, management, finance, building, heavy equipment, zoning laws, water law, plant pathology, etc.

I'm really beginning to wonder if I have enough brain cells left to hack this work. I love it. I love growing things! I loved selling stuff at market and interacting with the public and chatting with people about plants and food and growing things, but I don't know if I have what it takes to be a farmer.

Strangely enough, I come from a long line of farmers and artists, on my father's side. So far, I've been a little of both.

The question remains, though: what do I want to be when I grow up?

Next best thing to a flying car

This is the Aptera (which means wingless). They say it will get 300 mpg, 120 mile range, 90 mph max speed, 0-60 in 10 seconds and is a plug-in electric vehicle. A good question is whether it will be classified as a motor bike or a car.

Either way, I think I'd like one in silver.

Go read the whole article in Popular Mechanics.

A Hundred Years of Emma

Emma, our little Emma, was born 100 years (4 months and 8 days) after her namesake.

Eric was just musing on that fact this morning. Let's expand on this.

When Emma the Elder was born in 1907:

LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES
Only 8 percent of all dwellings were using electricity.
The population of the country was 87,008,000.
New York was the most populated state. (According to the 1900 census, there were 7,268,894 residents in New York, compared to 6,302,115 in Pennsylvania. In the 1910 census, there were 9,113,614
residents of New York and 7,665,111 residents of Pennsylvania.)

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INVENTIONS
Scientists used radiometric dating to determine that the earth was 2.2 billion years old.
Albert Einstein introduced the principle of E=mc2.
Ivan Pavlov demonstrated conditioned responses with salivating dogs.
Lee DeForest invented the triode thermionic amplifier.
The Autochrome Lumiere was the first color photography process to be marketed.

UNITED STATES ECONOMY
A loaf of bread cost 5 cents.
A gallon of milk cost 31 cents.
A Hershey bar cost 5 cents.
A stamp cost 2 cents.
A car cost $500.
A house cost $4,500.
The average household income was $897 a year.
Unemployment was at 2.8 percent.
The federal government spent $.58 billion.

UNITED STATES HISTORY
Theodore Roosevelt was the president of the United States; his vice president was Charles W. Fairbanks.
A fall of the stock market sparked a financial panic across the country in October. J.P. Morgan, E.H. Harriman, James Stillman, Henry Clay Frick and other financiers created a $25 million pool and invested in shares on the New York Stock Exchange to avert a major financial crisis.
The “Indian Territory” and “Oklahoma Territory” became the 46th state, Oklahoma, on November 16.
Pennsylvania adopted its state flag.

-- Info from What Was Life Like in 1907?

Emma the Elder regaled the family with stories of the ice men, with their horse drawn carriages, bringing blocks of ice from house to house to go into everyone's ice box, the precursor to the refrigerator. She saw the wholesale adoption of electricity, the telephone, television, automobiles, airplanes, computers, space travel and more. The right to vote for women and minorities. The introduction and repeal of prohibition. WWI and WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and the fall of the Soviet Union.

It's mind-boggling. My mind, it is boggled.

Emma the Younger will see a whole new world. We may send a manned expedition to Mars in her lifetime. Computers are getting faster and smaller. Entire diseases have been and will be eradicated. The environment is crumbling around us, but if we work together we can save it.

A brave new world, indeed.

Will she see teleporters? Nanotechnology? Life extension? Full body virtual reality games? Flying cars? Silver jumpsuits? Will we be around to see some of it?

I sure hope so.

What do you think life will be like in 100 years?