living museum

third grade is a big deal. you have taks for the first time. but here in panhandle you have the living museum. everyone in third grade is given their assignment. this year's theme was the 50 states. each child had a state and had to research that state. it is a great learning experience for these kids. for many if not all it is the first time they research anything in detail, really laying the groundwork for research papers later.

baylee was the great state of north dakota (do you sense the heavy sarcasm?) other than the movie fargo most people wouldn't be able to tell you anything about the state.

the teachers had the kids to make a poster.

they dressed like a native from their state. we really needed clarification for this one because i tend to lean on the sarcastic side and wanted to say "i am a native texan and this is how i dress." so while researching at school baylee found a picture of a native american which met the approval of his teacher. i was really impressed with myself with this costume. the only purchase we made was for a box of straws so i could make his breastplate. everything else came from things we had lying around the house.

the idea behind the museum is that it is similar to a robotics type museum. all the kids were in the cafeteria in their assigned spot. after seeing several kids i figured out that they were placed in the spot they would be if you were looking at the map. ok, it was like halfway through but i did figure it out.

so the kids are all standing their with their heads down. someone comes up and pushes their red button. after that they go through the monologue they have memorized. it needed to be around 5-7 sentences with things like tourist attractions, what goods were produced their, the state motto, nickname, those kinds of things. when they finished their speach they put their head down until the next person pushed their button.

no matter how many people pushed their button they said the same thing. even if the same person pushed it several times. lots of older siblings doing that. of course i wouldn't be me if i didn't do something. so as some of the kids i know pretty well were talking i was making funny faces or sticking my tongue out. the all finished their speach mostly straight-faced and only a few giggled.

wasn't he the cutest little blonde headed indian you ever seen.

tara

homecoming of a fallen soldier

i had seen a youtube video a while back on someone's blog. she pretty much guilted anyone who reads her blog to watch this video. she said something along the lines of "he gave his life to protect your way of life, so you can give him 10 minutes of yours to watch his funeral procession." if that doesn't work you don't really deserve to live in the land of the free. well, after watching that i decided i needed to take the boys to see when troops come home. i had asked a few people that i knew had spouses oversees how one would find out when they would come home. no one could tell me. and in all honesty, i didn't push it more than that. i know i'm sad and pathetic.

so a week ago a guy i went to high school with was killed in iraq. i had heard that they wanted people to line main street to honor him home. perfect opportunity to teach the boys a lesson in patriotism.

we made a sign, got some flags, and i pulled the boys out of school ready for his arrival.

the wind was blowing 700 miles an hour, which made for some awesome pictures because all the flags were flowing so beautifully. i thought of complaining about how the dirt was killing my eyes, but really did i have any reason to complain? he gave his life and so many before him so i could be standing there.

these two guys just happen to be standing by us. i told payton to get in front of him for a picture. afterwards i told him "i used you for a cool picture."

his friend said "i'll give you a good picture of your kids." so of course i jumped on it. i didn't check so the one of tayte my focus was on the flag, still kinda cool. and baylee's friend sean wanted in on the action. they are members of the iron soldiers, they go to homecomings of fallen soldiers to honor them. see how awesome the flags look because of the wind.

it made me kinda sad that there weren't more people there. i don't know if because i had watched that video where they had gone over several counties and thousands of people had stopped to show respect. i wonder if my generation doesn't get it like past generations. if you compare the war now to any past war: vietnam, WWI, WWII, the civil war. i don't think we are affected like they were. there have been people die in this one and everyone is just as important as another, but i guess since there have not been as many we are oblivious to it. esau is the first person that i have personally known to die in war. i was talking to a lady the other day and she knew several people in her class alone that had died. i admit to never once think about the troops for days at a time. i hope i change this. i hope by taking my kids downtown that day that they learned something. i did feel better when i heard that highland park took all the kids out of school and had them line highway 60. and people from pantex lined highway 60 outside the plant.

the motorcycles were really cool.

the colorguard waiting.

i talked to baylee about what this all meant. how he was able to play the video games he wanted. to look online searching for an answer and not have to "learn" what his president told him was "truth." that he could wear what he wanted, say whatever he thought, and do what he chooses. i hope he understands. i am sure we will revisit this subject again. at first i wanted to shelter him and not let him think that people my age could die. i wanted him to live a kid's denial that nothing can happen to his parents. but, my desire to teach him respect and honor for a fallen soldier won out. i am glad it did because it is a leason i think he needs to understand.

i hope you never get this opportunity, but if you do it is your american duty to do this. honor this soldier, because without them you wouldn't get to do the things you love most.

tara

baseball season has begun

baylee started baseball. this year he is doing kid pitch. i'm not quite sure i like this level, but we have only had one game so i guess i should give it a try. he had his first game friday. let me tell you the story.


he had to be at the ballfield early so he could get his uniform. as we pull up to the field lee and i both realize that we didn't get the poor kid anything to drink. so we decided to leave and head up to taylor's to get him and the other boys a drink. lee goes in with tayte and payton. after a few minutes here they come. payton is crying and lee has a baggie of ice. lee gets in the car and tells me he just got a phone call that baylee got hit in the face with a ball. his glasses are broken and his eye is swelling. are you kidding me? the first game hasn't even started and he is hurt. so why was payton crying? he just got in trouble for not listening, go figure. now we are heading back to the field to see the damage.


we get there and the only thing wrong with baylee is that he looks like he had been crying. his lense had popped out, but was easily popped back in. his eye was fine, no scratch, no nothing.

other than that the game was good. it is a new level with new rules. they can steal, which once the boys figured that out they thought it was big stuff. they got creamed. you could tell the other team had practiced a lot more than our boys, but anyway.

baylee did great. he hit the ball twice making it to base both times.

did you notice who else is in the picture? that's right lee. he is just an observer. no coaching. he is kinda having a hard time with that though. this is the first time he hasn't been baylee's coach.

he even made it all the way around once. and he batted a kid in.

he is in the outfield. which is not the best position, but you know. baylee did mention that he played the whole game and didn't get to touch the ball. and when i was taking these pictures he was dancing to no music. maybe that's why he is in the outfield?!? and not sure why he is eating his glove.

tara

what a couple of days

it all started wednesday night. lee was packing to go to houston for business. he said he doesn't think he could be the kind of guy that traveled all the time. i am glad, we really would miss him. tayte heard him say he was getting on a plane. that was tragedy #1. lee came into our room and told me i needed to go calm tayte down. what i wanted to say was why don't you, why can't you think of the things needed to be heard that will calm a 5 year old. but i got tayte to come into our room so we wouldn't freak out the other two. he was really upset that lee was going to be gone. i asked tayte why he never cried like this when i was going to be gone, but tayte's response was, "i do sometimes." i attempted to pull out pictures of when we went to disneyland so he could see that flying wasn't so bad. so after talking to him and realizing he just really loves his daddy we got him to quit crying and go to sleep. it wasn't some freaky kid premonition just the thought of missing daddy.

about 1 in the morning lee wakes up to puking noises. it was payton. and luckily lee got payton to the restroom before having throw up everywhere. lee got up the first couple of times and then i took over. not by choice but i think lee was so tired he didn't hear it. that happened about every 1-1.5 the rest of the night. tragedy #2.

lee's flight left at 7:45. so i had school duty. i would normally consider that tragedy #3, but we'll not for now. i dropped the boys off at school and headed back home to hop on the wii fit. then it was off to work. being the great mom that i am i gave a bucket to payton and told him that if he was going to throw up he better do it in the bucket and not in the car. we made it to lakeside. i got a phone call from the school. tayte had thrown up and he said his little brother had been throwing up. tragedy #3. got rachael to cover opening the store and turned around. got to the school picked up tayte and decided i wasn't gonna come back so i pulled baylee out as well. we went home to get some ds's and other things to entertain the boys. i gave tayte his bucket with the same instructions and we were off once again to amarillo. to anyone that thinks i should have stayed home to 2 sick kids just know i have a playroom with a couch that they could rest on. so it is just like being at home only they don't have their beds. and no one got sick again.

that night was my altered arts group meeting. so the boys hung out at the store while they did their thing. baylee helped me close up the store. he was in charge of adding the credit card receipts and the checks. he didn't get the totals right, but he did understand what he was supposed to be doing. and you don't use a calculator until way later in school. we got home and everyone was told their jobs to get ready for bed. baths, homework that wasn't brought to the store, and make sure all things were signed. we were only getting to bed 1.5 past normal bedtime. the best thing about that night was the boys wanted to sleep with me. so after payton squirmed in bed he finally we to sleep in baylee's bed. he's never been one to sleep with lee and i so i knew that was coming. baylee, tayte, and i went to sleep shortly after getting into bed. i was beat.

the next morning i had school duty again. i made sure to set the alarm on my phone just in case my alarm clock didn't get me up. i plug my phone in across the room so it would eventually bug me enough to get out of bed. we got to school roughly on time. when i told baylee to get breakfast he was farting around for something else. since we didn't have any poptarts, breakfast was a baggie of grapes and strawberries, it is healthier but won't stay with them as long. so i hoped they could make it to lunch.

my plan was to go get the boys from danielle's house by 6 and have them back at the store until lee could come get them about 9. well tragedy #4. lee's flight was delayed hours. he didn't get to the store to pick the boys up until 11. but they were troopers and i made them a cake in the microwave. which was awesome!

so i have been running around like a crazy person. and am a beat dog. so hopefully i get a good nights sleep. oh, and i am extactic that lee is back. i don't think i could hack it as a single mom. ok maybe i could but it wouldn't be as much fun for the boys, they would have to cut back on the things they do.

tara

end of the season

baylee was playing in a 3rd and 4th grade basketball league. there were 3 teams from panhandle playing. lee coached baylee's team which was made up of mostly 3rd graders. the other 2 teams were coached by dads of 4th graders and the assistant coaches also had 4th graders and since there aren't many 4th graders to start with that leaves few choices if you wanted a 4th grader. so lee decided he would just take the 3rd graders and try to do the best. if you haven't ever noticed there is a BIG size difference between 3rd and 4th graders. many of those boys were a good 6 inches taller than baylee's team. but, lee did a great job and the boys did awesome. the win column wouldn't agree, but the really did improve tremendously throughout the season. they got tougher. fought for the ball more. they had the speed to start with, they needed the control. they did gain a little of that.

they played in pyb (panhandle youth basketball, i think). then they played in a tournament this weekend. the rules that they had played with during the season were not the same rules as this tournament. which i think really threw off some of the boys. they had played man-on-man with no pressing. well this tourny was full court press if you wanted. and one team wanted. they were jerks led by the king jerk. why press a team you already beat, especially when you are up by 10 points. and when the games usually have no more than 30 points a game. really? i'm not into violence and i really don't get worked up at games, especially this age, but i wanted to punch that guy. and you don't make excuses when you lose. you try to learn from what happened and try to do better next time. but, (i'm sure you knew there was a but in there somewhere) if a kid has the ball and another kid steals it and makes the first kid spin around twice there is a foul in there somewhere. but was whistle blown? no. so that will mess with kids mind especially if you are a lot smaller than that kid. if that darned ref. would have called something baylee's team woulda hung in there. but they started fighting back. and when you have 5 quick short guys on the court lots can happen. and when those kids can be a little spastic, it is quite funny to watch.

baylee made a basket this season. he got meaner on the court. he gained confidence which is what i want him to get out of this whole experience. now if we can get him to stop hopping.

lee learned a lot coaching. one thing he learned is that he is not very patient with a bunch of 9 year olds. especially nine year olds that don't listen. but, he did make them better than what they were and that is what coaching is all about. he has coached baylee's team since kindergarten. he also learned that him and baylee need a break. he is a dad and wants his kid to be better. he needs to be the dad and yell like the dad. not the dad/coach.

so basketball was over yesterday. and baseball practice starts tomorrow. glad to have the day of rest between seasons.

tara

tayte's great day

i am a middle child. yes, i know that explains a lot. tayte is a middle child.

i went to my friend sheryl's house the other day for a card club. because of baylee still being in basketball, payton stayed with me. so he went too. he loves going to sheryl's. i think it is because sheryl lets him get away with and gives him EVERYTHING. in fact, all the boys love going to her house. so that night lee asked payton if he had fun at sheryl's. and of course the answer was yes.

i'm sure by now you are wondering what that has to do with tayte and being the middle child. well, he started crying saying how he wanted to go to sheryl's and how he never gets to go. so yesterday i suckered sheryl into letting tayte come over. she will say i didn't but i did. i asked a million questions to see what she was doing, and if she would let tayte come over. and i still feel guilty for that. because if she did have something going on she wouldn't tell me. he had the best time. she took him to mr. gatti's for pizza, macaroni and cheese, jello, and ice cream. then they went to her house so he could play the wii. not sure why playing the wii at her house is better than ours but it is.

he was king for a day.

he didn't have to share with anyone. he didn't have to wait a turn. he didn't have a big brother taking things from him or a little brother that he had to give to. it was all about him. being a middle child you do get forgotten about. not in a bad way, just the older sibling has activities to do, the little sibling is into everything. there wasn't anyone to pester him or boss him, he got to do things his way all day.

if you really know lee and i we have the boys with us 98% of the time when they aren't in school. we had them and we feel we should raise them. we don't pawn them off onto other people. in fact, the high school sitter we use called us the other day and told us to go out and she would keep the boys. usually you have to call the sitter. we try to do things with the boys individually so they don't feel like they are a mob. that they are a single person. they just happen to live with lots of other people.

so tayte had a great day. and i am grateful for my friend sheryl. she says she is blessed to do that(in fact she kept texting me pictures and at one point i asked who was having more fun her or him), but i don't think she will ever really know what that does for the boys and i. she made a statement that i really have to agree with. all kids should know that they have an adult that loves them and wants to be around them. especially one that isn't related to them.

and now i have to keep baylee from pestering me to death while he waits for his turn.

tara

that thoughtful boy

lee and i both have really been riding baylee lately. he is getting to that age that we think he should be listening more and doing what we tell him. when i was getting on to him the other day i felt horrible. he had a look in his eye, like he was beat down. so, i had to make sure that he knew lee and i both love him and why we are so hard on him. i told him that we expect a lot because most kids will meet the expectations you have for them. so we set the bar high so he will give us the best. i also made sure he knew that it wasn't him that we are upset with it is some of the choices and we are trying to help him make better choices.

and you know what he said? "you and dad made mistakes and you are trying to keep me from making those same mistakes. i get it."

yep, he is one thoughtful kid. i just hope he won't make some of those same mistakes.

tara