On Sunday, we went on a lovely hike through the Old Forest. Since it was such a nice day I suggested we do something else outdoorsy. "Wanna go to Arkansas and check out the bridge?" Warren asked.
Sure, why not?
We loaded up and set out. I wasn't really sure where we were going or what excatly Warren wanted to check out, but I was enjoying the ride. Then I noticed that Warren had a print out from the Haunted Memphis site with several locations with paranormal activity underlined. I kept pressing him for details but he was extremely tight lipped. Finally I just said, "Did you crash your spaceship out here or something?"
"I just want to check it out," he reiterated.
The monkeys focused on the small pleasures of the trip. The giant grasshoppers, riding with their heads sticking out of the sun roof, real sand, waving to people on river boats, etc.
I enjoyed seeing our fair city from across a soybean field.
After the Nuts! Over Art festival, we drove out to Chucalissa for the annual Southeastern Heritage Festival & Crafts Show. Most of Warren's coworkers are involved with Friends of Chucalissa, and he's spent a good deal of time working and studying there. The kids have been a few times, but it's been awhile. We arrived too late for the social and pow wow dancing, but we did get to see a mean game of stick ball. The fact that we got to eat meat pies while watching the game was even better. (Mmmm meat pie! It's just ground beef and cheese wrapped up in fry bread. Jiro convinced us to try it with ketchup, mustard, and pickles.)
We worked off our meat pies on a little hike through the trails. The incessant rain of the last few weeks had washed up several artifacts. The boys were really excited about finding flakes and pottery shards.
We were also really psyched to see a table with animal skins and handmade bows and arrows. They were going to let the monkeys try them out once the stick ball was over. Luckily, the game lasted a long enough time for the monkeys to forget this offer!
All in all, it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.
On Saturday, Warren and I dragged the monkeys to Overton Park for the Nuts! Over Art festival. (Yes, dragged.) They were not very excited about being there so, unfortunately, we breezed through several of the booths. All Satchel wanted to do was climb trees. Jiro wanted to get in the car and go home so he could play DS. Nice, huh?
They did perk up a bit when we saw the mime. Warren convinced them that she had a pet Lorax and that it was real. Also of interest was Shane McDermott, the Commercial Appeal's illustrator. He was super nice and detailed how he makes his sketches come to life. He also gave us some info about the newsbots he created. I somehow never knew these existed. Also of interest was the fimo artist. The monkeys were absolutely transfixed.
I really liked that the focus of the festival was artists and their crafts. Some folks had things for sale, but for the most part it was just demonstrations. There were also lots of hands-on activities for the kids, but the monkeys were too cool (or too shy) to participate. I hope this festival becomes an annual event and that next year the monkeys get a little more excited about it!
I lied in my column this week. I kind of like the fact that the monkeys are putting themselves to sleep in their hideout. I'll tell you why. By 9:00pm, when they are finally ready for bed, I am SO.FREAKING.TIRED. Never in a million years did I think I would be a person who gets up at 5:00am to work out and then be sitting in a desk at 7:00am.
I can't say enough good things about Boot Camp. The women in my group are all really nice and supportive. Dexter and Anna, our fearless leaders, are also about as nice and supportive as can be. Even though it is a group class, there is a lot of individualized attention. Dexter seems to have a handle on everyone's personal issues and he is very pro-active when it comes to working around people's injuries, etc.
Speaking of injuries, guess who injured herself? Yep, me. Thankfully this injury is much less dramatic than getting my leg broken in two places or tearing my ACL. I just tweaked my knee a bit, but damn, it hurts. I hobbled around for a week trying to pretend nothing was wrong. Yesterday the ortho said that my kneecap was a little loose and was therefore moving around and causing the pain. I got a Cortizone shot and some anti-inflammatories, as well as a knee brace. So I'm back in business, but still in pain and taking it easy.
The injury is incredibly frustrating. I was really getting into working out and pushing myself. (Obviously I pushed myself a little too much.) Anyways, I'm still getting a work out, but I can't run.
I miss running.
Now, that's something else I never thought I'd say!
I also miss sleeping, but I'm determined to keep up this routine once Boot Camp ends next week. (I wish I could afford to do it every month, but I can't!) I joined the Y today and have high hopes of making it to the 6:00am cardio classes M-F.
Wednesday Warren and I went to see the Dalai Lama at the Cannon Center. On the way in we saw lots of folks we knew, some of whom brought their kids. I started to feel guilty for not bringing mine, but then I remembered that my kids are wild monkeys. I actually think Satchel would have been fine on his own, but Jiro would have scratched Satchel's eyes out had he found out we didn't bring him. (Or just cried a lot.) So...it was just me and Warren on a date with his holiness.
The DL started off joking right away and it was clear that he wasn't bothered by that silly little fist bump Tuesday. He had a translator on stage with him, but only needed his help for a word here and there. For the first ten minutes or so there was something wrong with his mic and I started to panic. Thankfully it got sorted out and the whole auditorium burst into applause. The DL laughed and said, "So I have to start all over again?"
After about an hour of talking, he spent another thirty minutes answering questions from the audience. (We had been asked to write them down prior to the start of his speech.) One question read, "I'm nine and my dad just died. What should I do?" (How heartwrenching is that?!) The DL started off by acknowledging the sadness of the situation and then answered that the boy should not stay sad because that would upset his dad. Instead he should fulfill his father's dream for him, like by studying hard and being happy. I thought that was a pretty awesome answer. Even though my dad has been gone for over eleven years, I often stop and wonder if he'd be proud of me.
Someone else asked how parents can best teach their children about peace. The DL said he had no idea because he had never been a parent, but that his own mother's kindness had a profound effect on him. He said it was especially important for mothers to show compassion. He also suggested showering our children with affection and spending more time with them. Again, an awesome answer. And best of all, two very do-able things.
On Friday, I was off work, so Satchel requested that I come have lunch with him at school and watch him do his "What I did on my summer vacation" presentation. I love that he wanted me to come eat lunch with him and watch his presentation. Of course, I said yes. Jiro, who overheard our conversation, said that he too wanted to eat lunch with Satchel and watch his presentation. Mrs. Sally let Jiro come watch last year, so I didn't think she'd be opposed to him coming again. It was a date!
Lunch is an easy sell at Evergreen, because of our fabulous Lunch Daddy, Stephen Hassinger. (The Head of School warned me that Friday was sandwich day, so I got my expectations in check.) Jiro and I went upstairs just as the kids were setting the tables. (They use real table cloths, plates, silverware, etc. and eat family style.) Satchel showed me where to sit and then the kids starting jockeying for seats at my table, which made me feel special. Mathilde came up to me, smiled, and said, "You write for the newspaper!" I smiled back and said, "Yes, I do." Then the other kids started telling me how they had seen my picture in the paper and how Mrs. Beanie read my column to them. I felt special. Jiro's friends who had moved to the elementary this year were just as excited to see him, so he felt special too. Sandwich day turned out to be peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwich day. I had never had one of these before, so I was pleasantly surprised. And it turned out to be quite yummy.
After lunch there was an hour of recess. I let Jiro stay for that and I spent an hour in the office chatting with some of the teachers about our upcoming fundraiser at Tsunami on October 25th. We're doing a sit down dinner and silent auction. (Tickets go on sale today if you are interested!)
I went back upstairs at 1:30pm and settled in for the presentations--all 18 of them. The kids drew numbers from a hat to determine the order. Satchel drew 15, but traded with a friend for 10. (I think he actually wanted to go first!) The kids were really cute. Everyone had written down what they were going to say, and Mrs. Sally typed it up for them. Each person also had a visual aid. Most of them opted to have friends assist them with the holding of said visual aids. (Mrs. Sally made sure to remind everyone to hold the visual aids in a way that the audience could see them.) Also, the new elementary students who needed help reading had friends come up and prompt them, which was super cute.
Some of the reports were really quite good, and some were very entertaining. I loved when Jacey spent several sentences telling us about a smoothie she got in Florida. (The last sentence describing this treat ended with, "I spilled half of it on my dad's brand new Blackberry.") Also Theo's report on a scary man who lives in the woods of Pennsylvania was riveting. (I later learned that his dad had made this story up, unbeknownst to him.)
I had planned to make videos of everyone on my iphone, but several other parents showed up with real video cameras. So I only filmed Satchel. Satchel's report was very thorough, but VERY quiet. (I' posting this for posterity and grandparents.) I think you can hear Jiro demanding I give him the camera better than you can hear Satchel! It does pick up a bit at the end when Satchel shows his visual aids--skulls we found in Wyoming. (He brought all of his Junior Ranger info, but obviously it paled in comparison to real, live skulls!)
When the reports were over, we skipped out early and went to the movies with Warren. Not a bad way to spend the day!
Working a four day work week, alternating Mondays and Fridays off, means that I get a four day weekend every other week. Here’s my “To Do” list for this four day weekend:
Friday Boot Camp Take Jiro to speech class Watch Satchel’s report on his summer vacation Get mullet and unibrow removed Eat lunch somewhere exciting Clean the house Pick kids up early to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Go to P.U.R.E. Dance event for CA story
Saturday Sleep “late” (til 8) Make presentation MLGW social media efforts at SocialCamp Refinish teak shower “furniture” Meet up with monkeys and Warren and go enjoy Cooper Young Fest Work CPOP booth at Cooper-Young Fest
Sunday Yardwork Touch up paint in several sections of house Old Forest hike Write up P.U.R.E. Dance piece Quick nap Memphis Farmers Market dinner at Erling Jensen’s (!)
Monday Boot Camp Take Jiro to speech Finish up unfinished weekend projects Go see as many Greely Myatt exhibits as possible
In the middle of the last Rock-n-Romp, RSVP magazine did a photo shoot with me and the monkeys. I'm going to be featured in the October issue. (I know, seems weird, huh?) If you pick up the magazine, you can find out everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about Rock-n-Romp's humble beginnings.
The editor, Leah, was nice enough to mail me a CD of the photos. II was quite pleased with this shot. It was pretty amazing just to get the monkeys to sit still long enough to have their picture taken. (There are about 10 shots with Jiro hiding behind my back.) The watermelon was a prop, by the way, and the cute necklace I wore was lost in my bra! (Had I realized this I would have retrieved it prior to the photo session!)
Every year I have to work at the fair. I never really look forward to it, but Warren always gets excited. He knows that since I have to be there anyway, I will agree to bring the kids.
This year I waited until the very last day and I thought that the rain might save me, but it let up just enough to give us a few hours on the midway. I have to admit that the fair is a billion times more exciting with a 5 and 7 year old in tow.
We had limited funds ($35) so we had to be choosy in how we spent it. Here's the breakdown:
Ping Pong Toss (in order to win a goldfish, which we did not): $7 Bungee Jumping: 2 for $10 Food for animals at petting zoo: $3 Giant Corn Dog: $5 Giant Lemonade: $5 Smoked Sausage Sandwich: $5
We also saw ostrich races, a snake lady and the Freak Show Deluxe for free. Sadly we ran out of money before we saw the live monkey in the photo booth ($10 per picture). And I refused to spend $7 on the tiniest amount of taffy ever, much to Jiro's disgust.
The bungee jumping was by far the highlight of the evening. Satchel said, "That was more fun than playing my DS!" I don't know if he's ever given such high accolades to anything else!
Saturday we rode bikes over to the Shell for Rattletree Marimba's afternoon performance. The description "Blue Man Group meets Afropop" was right on and we loved every minute of the show.
When I say "we" I mean me, Warren, and Jiro. Satchel immediately joins the gaggle of little kids running up and down the side or climbing trees. On every ride over he asks who's playing and if they will sing and whether or not they will be Todd Snider. When I tell him that no, it won't be Todd Snider, he starts plotting which tree to climb first.
Anyways, the giant marimba was most impressive and the way the group switched up their instruments and even joined the crowd at the end was great. They definitely delivered on their "high energy stage performance."
On Tuesday morning I woke up at 4:55am. Then I hit snooze. Then I woke up again at 5:05am. I got out of bed, got dressed, and drove to East Memphis to work out in a parking lot with fifteen other lovely ladies.
It's called Boot Camp, and I signed up for four weeks of it, Monday through Friday.
Turns out getting up isn't the hard part. It's the going to sleep part that I'm having trouble with. Normally I stay up until midnight or later on "school nights." My body just isn't ready to hit the sack at 9:30pm. Or 10:30pm. I spent most of my nights this week lying in bed freaking out about not being asleep or getting enough sleep. On Tuesday I had a couple of beers after roller derby and that actually helped me to sleep, but then it made the getting up part a little harder.
So what am I doing at Boot Camp? Every day has been different. We're doing a mix of cardio, resistance, and weight training. It has been challenging, but not intimidating or impossible. There's a handful of women younger than me, and a handful who are older. Most of them are moms. (It's nice not having any dudes around.) I've been sore most of the week, but a good sore. It feels good to be using all of my muscles.
Today we had to run a timed mile, do a push up test, and get our body fat percentages recorded. It will be interesting to see how these numbers change over the next three weeks.
I hope I can make getting up early and exercising a habit. Everyday except today, I came home from Boot Camp, took off my sweaty clothes, put on my pajamas, and got back in bed for an hour to an hour and a half! So much for getting the worm. Next week I plan to return to my glorious four day work week, so I will be rushing home, showering, and heading right back out the door. (I'll say, "Bye Warren! Don't forget to wake up the kids, feed them, and take them to school!" on my way out.)
We have "bring a friend day" next Wednesday if any of you are interested in coming with!
I could have written about Obama's speech to America's children or the scary H1N1 virus, but instead I chose to write about how the international staycation we enjoyed over the weekend. (How cool is the mandala that the Tibetan Monks created out of SAND at the College of Art?) Please take a moment to read Glorious September overflows with fun.
The boys' school is working on a new website. I was able to convince the super talented Chip Chockley to take some pictures of the children working one day last week. Here's a sneak peek at what my kids do during their morning work period.
Jiro was working on an African puzzle map. He traced each piece individually and colored it in to make the continent, then he used a map book to find and copy the names of each country. (He actually copied the exact font from the book which was definitely going above and beyond!)
He worked on this very hard and was so proud when he brought it home. Rightly so, I'd say.
Satchel was doing short and long multiplication (up to 100,000!) with the checkerboard.
I asked Satchel to explain how this works, but he said it was too complicated. (I probably shouldn't have asked him while he was playing Wii.)
I love the materials that the Montessori method uses and am constantly amazed by what my 5 and 7 year old are learning.
There is a street that runs behind our house. It's only about a block long. People like to drive down this street en route to (or from) a much bigger street. There's nothing on this street except for vacant lots and the fences that line the backyards of the houses on our street. People love to throw trash out of their windows as they drive down this street. Who knows, they may even love to throw trash out of their hands while walking down this street. It's always lined with trash!
Every few months I reach my breaking point and spend an hour or so picking up trash. On Sunday, the monkeys decided to help me. I put them in charge of recyclables. They were actually super enthusiastic about this and had a competition to see who could get the most stuff. (I also think they liked playing in the street.) Satchel's favorite part was pouring out mystery liquids. (Ew!) When we were done, he said, "I accidentally poured beer on my shirt." Nice. Hey, at least it was Heineken.
As you can see from the photo (Warren was nice enough to snap one after his afternoon motorcycle ride), they had no trouble filling up their buckets. And I had no trouble filling up a 50 gallon garbage bag. Ninety-nine percent of the trash was food related. Chip bags, fast food remnants, etc. We found some other fun stuff--a diaper, a pie tin, tires, and even a suitcase.
It was a totally gross activity and we all needed a bath when we were done, but now the street looks so much nicer. I hope it lasts just a little while.
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