“I know life has been really busy for you, so I think you deserve to take a day off and rest up.”

What my husband said:
“I know life has been busy for you. And I know you like to pretend that you are sick when you need a day off. So why don’t I get up with the kids and take them to their activity while you sleep in. Then you can spend the day in bed and read or rest even though you have several time-sensitive, important jobs to finish. After that, I’ll take you out to dinner.”

Yes, I married well.

We have finished our whirlwind two weeks of life. What fun they were, but I am glad that today I’m curled up in bed (with an AP Language textbook–joy). 

What’s been going on since then? Let me ‘splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

• After our return from DC, we went to see 17 Again, which I found to be quite funny. I guess being the mom and seeing the movie with a bunch of teens made it particularly amusing.
• The teenage boy quotient (mamaglop!) rose by many for a party at our house and then remained increased by two for the what’s-become-usual Friday night Guitar Hero Fest.
  
• Saturday we left for camping  at Prince Gallitzin, whose lake Mark J dug by himself with a shovel. (inside joke for those of you wondering what on earth I am speaking of) I got lots of nifty, artistic shots. I’ll post those later.
  
• We had PERFECT weather for camping the entire time we were there. The thunderstorms returned in full-force the first night we were home again and cozy in our beds.
• Friday was another party.
• Saturday was another party in the afternoon. (and I even played Ultimate Frisbee in my bare piggies!) After swimming, we went to see Transformers 2 which was crude and not funny and two and a half hours of annoyance. Mothers–do not view. We went to Dairy Queen after which was more palatable than the movie.
  
• Sunday was church.  We just had to collapse and spend the night on Facebook and watching The Princess Bride.
• Monday morning, Mr. Britain got on a train and left us. We were sad. And, we lost again at softball that night. But I had pasta salad, so it was all good.

Today, as I’ve already stated, I’m playing hooky from life. Okay, not really. I’ve done laundry, ordered the kids about in various cleaning projects, skimmed and outlined the textbook for my AP Language class, started work on the syllabus, and got dressed. That’s a lot for an imaginary invalid.  But, looming before me are the medieval dress I really, really want to finish before I leave for camp on Sunday, the guidebook for TGD’s algebra lectures which I HAVE to write as soon as possible, and the general state of the house. (I suppose that in order to keep it cleaner, I’d have to be home to clean it, eh? Rats!)

I think I shall leave you with some pictures.

Hench and Henchmen–HA HA!

The Sunday One-Shot Team (missing two)

Happy Saturday! (Er, it IS Saturday, isn’t it?)  Life has just been one big party of late.  We stay up late and sleep in. I’m not sure how this schedule has helped Mr. UK adjust to the time zone, but he seems to be faring well.

Wait, you don’t know who Mr. UK is? He’s our friend from England, RH. Wit, Gockle, and I went to Washington, DC, to pick him up on Monday night.  We then toured around DC for two days–mostly walking to outside buildings, but we did have fun in the Hirschhorn Museum of Modern Art guessing at what we would name the sculptures. And, of course, we went to Natural History (fun) and Air and Space (dull–I’m not a plane girl). And I had the best fries at a Ruby Tuesdays.

The drive home on Wednesday was…er, amusing? Wretched?  Accompanied by a huge Diet Coke and much ice chewing?   We left DC at 9:30 p.m. and headed out.  I had printed directions, but I misunderstood what TGD said to me. (He was there filming the last week of lectures for his Teaching Company Algebra series.)  So, we didn’t take the exit we should have. But, I soon realized that we were not in the right spot and turned around. Only too bad for me. There was no entrance for the direction of the highway we wanted. We could take 28 South, but not 28 north. So, I had to turn again. Then, we needed some other road, which I will call 267 (but it might be 629 or 643 for all I remember).   Guess what? There was no entrance ramp for the direction I wanted to go! My choices?  267 East or Dulles Airport. I chose the airport. We had a good laugh as we circled the airport, drove through departures, and got back on the highway the way we wanted to go. Actually, there was a car in front of us (License ZZfan) who did the exact same thing. However, when we got on the highway, he turned the opposite direction and circled the airport again.  We all started calling, “No, ZZfan! This is the way to the highway!”

But, adding 25% more time to a trip at 9:30 at night does not qualify for wretched.  No, it rained the whole way home. Correction. It RAINED the whole way home! I saw lightning for three hours. I had my wipers on high for at least an hour and a half straight.  I kept praising God, though. “Thank you that there is little traffic. Thank you that there’s no fog. Okay, thank you that the foggy bit is over now.”

At 1:30 a.m. with three teens sound asleep, I got pretty tired. So, I played mental games to keep me awake. “A, my name is Amy. My husband’s name is Adam. We live in Allentown, and we sell accordions.” (All the place names had to be towns in PA.) And then, I played another fun game where I pick a large family I know and have to go through and say the first and middle names of all the children. William Timothy, Christopher John….Sylvia Anne, Victoria Claire…  That kept me alert until we hit the exit for HOME, and then I was perky.

The next day (after sleeping in a lot), we milled about and did this and that and went to see 17 Again at the $1 theater. I laughed like a fool. Oh, my. Perhaps seeing this movie from the perspective of a parent made it even funnier.

Friday (that was yesterday, right?), TGD and I went out to lunch and spent $$$ on food for our camping trip. We got home, unloaded, and I went to pick up Little Miss from her week at camp. I expected that she’d say, “Oh, no! Mom, go home!” But she came and gave me a hug. I think she was tired and ready to come home.  When we got home, a kickball game was in full swing at the homework burning party.  It was well-attended (um, 25?), and we enjoyed setting off the fireworks that Grammy Peep got for Hunter’s graduation.

The last folks left around midnight, except for those who were sleeping over (Mr. UK, EG, and my own kiddos). So, we sat up and played Guitar Hero for a long while.  Much Nerf gun shooting also happened. (I shot my foot!)

So, it’s today. We are to go camping, maybe. No surprise, it’s RAINING again. It’s THUNDERSTORMing again.  And, we aren’t packed. But, it’s all good. I’ve got five teenage boys in the house right now.

I’m sure you’ve all been on pins and needles waiting to hear the final part of yesterday’s post. (Wait. She posted yesterday? What was it? Something exciting? Ummm….)  Yes, I was going to tell you all the mundane EXCITING things which will be happening over the next few days. 

Excitement #1–A Thursday night with nothing to do! Yes, this was technically last night (although with the miracle of future posting, it’s really tonight).  TGD and I had a movie lined up and a whole lotta nothing. And chicken that’s been marinating for two days and a grill.  Mmmmm.

Excitement #2–I get to go to a wedding on Friday. One of my former AP students (and now friend) is getting married. I’m road tripping with AbbyB. TGD will hold down the fort at home. I hope I don’t forget to take along the wedding present, $ and a copy of Created to Be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl, which ought to be required reading for wives.

Excitement #3–Little Miss heads to Camp Kanesatake on Sunday.  The theme is Days of Knights, and this week is designed especially for homeschoolers (as regular school doesn’t let out until Wednesday) and counts as a week’s worth of unit study. 5 down, 175 to go…

Excitement #4–TGD heads to VA for his last week of taping Algebra I lectures for The Teaching Company.  All went really well last week, and he and they are hoping for equal success this week. I got a vicarious thrill when he timed his 30 minute lectures down to the second. Plus, another guy who was also there taping borrowed one of TGD’s ties. Handsome and talented, my man!

Excitement #5–Gockle, Wit, and I will go to VA on Monday to pick up Robin, a friend of the boys, who will be spending two weeks with us.  He’s the son of our Cambridge pastor.  (Yes, he’s flying from England, just him.) We’ll prop Robin’s jet-lagged body up and drag him around DC for a few days before heading home.

Excitement #6–There are only two more excitements to list!  Huzzah!

Excitement #7–The kids are having a big party on the Friday after school to muck about and burn homework. We shamelessly stole the idea from our neighbors. Plus, my mom gave me some fireworks which we plan to set off. Fire. Fireworks. Frisbee. Food.  It’s enough to warm a teenage boy’s heart.

Excitement the final–Camping! Hooray! Camping at Prince Galliztin with a whole bunch of families is to happen soon. I’ve been looking forward to it for months. But, it just now occurred to me that I should have been praying for good weather. With the monsoon season we’ve had of late, it’s a valid request.  I’ll get to debut my new Lands’ End swimsuit–very Mom-ish.

What excitements have you blathering on?

P.S.–Proud Parent says, “My boys’ Ultimate Frisbee team won the championship at State High this week. Go, DiscConnected!” 

Today, I’m thinking that Solomon was right. (Ecclesiastes 7:8)  Although I enjoy the start of a school year, the anticipation of being DONE is overwhelming. Actually, all the little bits and pieces to do around the house feel overwhelming, too. And what is it about grey, muggy days that makes it feel like the whole house is filthy and gross? 

The next few weeks continue to be a frenetic carousel ride. Hop on a painted pony with me and see what’s flying by! 

• The kids all need to finish their homeschool work. For Wit, that’s his 2,500 word paper on “Stupid Robert Frost.”  Make sure you do not confuse him with the regular Robert Frost.
• Hunter has to do his 2,500 word on that [insert many varied adjectives here relating to politics, sexual preference, and more] Walt Whitman. He also has to read 10 more books. Did I mention this all must be done by June 17th?
• LibbyK has to write a 750 word paper on the start of the Civil War and slavery. She’s a quick writer (and a good one), so I have little fears she will complete it. She also knows that if the paper is not done by Sunday, she will not be attending a sleepover. Extra motivation is a wonderful thing.
  
• Gockle has to finish two health workbooks. These should go super-quickly for him.
  
• Teacherperson has to finish the portfolios for all four of them. Go, me.

And, in non-school bits:

• Gockle is planning to babysit the 7th grade science class snake over the summer. We weren’t really thrilled with the idea of a snake (a bull python?), but after he wrote a persuasive letter to us, we just had to cave.  Here’s the letter written by 7th grade Gockle.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Ever since I was four, I have wanted a dog. And as you know I just got one. But she was too much of a hassle to keep. So we took her back but in an agreement that I would get a new pet for getting rid of Lucy. Well our mane idea for a pet was to get a cat. But we never got around to it. My problem is I would like a pet. The solution is Sid the snake. Sid the snake is the cardinal science room snake, and Mr. McAnnich has asked me to watch him over the summer.
My first reason I want the snake is my siblings have other pets but I do not have one. As I said before you agreed that I would get another pet but I still do not have one. And Sid does not need that much taking care of, all you need to do is change his bedding and water every couple days. And feed him ever two weeks.
My second reason I would want a snake is happiness, for both the snake and myself. I would be very much happier if I had a pet to have fun with. And with a snake I can guaranty that I will be a lot happier, hence forth having a good attitude. And on the snakes side there isn’t a place for Sid to stay over the summer. So if I take him in, I will be giving him a much needed home. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” That means if you are nice to the animals they will be nice to you.
Now what you have said to me is that you don’t want a snake because it is basically a snake. But there is nothing wrong with this snake at least. He is not big enough to do any substantial damage to me.
Now I would like to bring up some points. 1. This snake (if we get it) will have a home that it needs. 2. It will make me a lot happier, which will help in the long run.

The Ghandi quote is what did it for me.  And the bit about “substantial damage.”

Hey, this entry got too long. I’ll just have to tell you about the rest of my wildly exciting life tomorrow.

Saturday night was Hunter’s graduation ceremony. There were eight homeschoolers who chose to participate.  We moms worked together to do the program, food, decorations, slide show, etc., and I think the ceremony went extremely well.

It was the first sunny day that we had in almost two weeks. Hunter invited a bunch of his friends over to play Ultimate Frisbee for the afternoon. 

Then, the Curwensville crowd arrived: Grammy Peep, PapaJohn, Grammy Norris, and Kay Kay.  My mom made almost all the food and even brought iced tea. (And I have leftover pasta salad in the fridge for my lunch today which is making me extremely happy.) Hunter just ate his tassel.

The cake must have felt the rejection, because anyone who got within four feet of it came away with some blue icing smeared somewhere on his person. “That wretched blue icing!”

A number of people have asked me, “How does it feel to have your first one graduated?” The thing is, Hunter isn’t actually graduated yet. He has finals at the high school, a 2,500 word research paper on Walt Whitman to write, and about 10 more books to read (his homeschool diploma program requires 25 books a year to be read). In other words, that boy has a lot of work to do in the next week and a half! So, ask me again on June 18th, which is the day of their evaluations. Or, better yet, ask me July 1st once I have all the portfolios turned into the school district.

I have a guess how I will feel–happy that I only have to do four portfolios next year!

Today, I actually got my Xanga Subscriptions emailed to me for the first time in two years, even though I’ve asked and asked in the past with no results. Now, if we could just miraculously have some milk in the fridge this morning. I was really craving Grape Nuts…

This year, Little Miss and I didn’t do many field trips. Actually, we only did one: a combo trip to a cheese farm and to Fort Roberdeau.

Fort Roberdeau (pronounced Robe-uh-dough, I think) was built during the Revolutionary War to protect the settlers in the area from being killed by Indians and British. It also protected the lead smelting works.  The original fort rotted away or whatnot, and it was rebuilt in 1976 for a touch of history.