Linville Caverns

I went to see my folks yesterday and I took the kids to see the Linville Caverns. They are so neat. It is a natural cavern that they have equipped with minimal lights and rails to hold on to. It has a stream that runs through it and it is quite cool in there. We also went gem mining. The kids love that. We got to see all kinds of rock formations. It was close quarters in there too. You had to duck and squeeze through in places. We had a lot of fun though and my Mom, Sister and her two girls went with us. My mom did not want to go in the caverns and we had to make her. I think she enjoyed it after we got in there. She was afraid she might fall or something. It had been many years since she had been there and it had been since I was in the 8th grade since I was there.

We had a really good guide that took us through on our tour. He was very knowledgeable about the caverns. He had grown up there around them so he knew all the history. They were first discovered in the 1930's. The rock formations inside are always changing though because of the moisture. You were not allowed to touch the walls or anything because the oils from your skin would cause the formations to stop growing. There was one section in the back of the cavern that we were allowed to touch because it was growing closer together. Back in that section there was an abyss. It was covered with a steel grate so that we could walk over it.

After going in the caverns we went down the road to a little gem mine. The kids love gem mining and of course they had a ball this time too.

Movie Day. . .

So yesterday we went to the movies. We had a low key day. Not too much activity. We went to see Transformers, it was really good. The language was a little over the top for me but it was still good. We always tell the kids that they are not to repeat things they hear on TV or at the Movies. We made the mistake of taking them to see Hancock and the language in it was worse than the Transformers. We really had to have a talk with them after that one. I know they are going to hear things from other kids at school and on the bus so it is important for them to know how we feel about it.

Mark and I are not perfect and sometimes things slip out when it should not and we talk to the kids about that too. I just want them to know that we don't think it is ok for them to use some words that other kids and adults use. I think sheltering them from it is not the way to go but I think if they hear it and you talk about it right then, you can nip it in the bud.

Anyway, that is my lecture for the day. Transformers was a good movie though. I think we may go bowling again today. After all we have two FREE games a day. Why waste it? We are going to try to stay cool today I think it is going to be a hot one.

Carowinds . . .

So we went to Carowinds yesterday. It was warm but not un-bearable. Thomas finally rode one of the water rides and we all got wet. It kept us cool though. If you go to the Carowinds website they are selling tickets for a whole lot cheaper than you can get them from the Credit Unions and buying them at the gate. The food is very expensive as always. We packed a picnic and ate in the parking lot. I was surprised there were a lot of people doing the same thing. It was like going to a ballgame or something. People had their chairs and blankets and were sitting under the trees. We did not do all that we just sat in the car. The kids loved it they sat in the back with the hatch open and they thought they were something else. Mark laughed and said his folks used to do this all the time at the zoo. They would go and have a picnic in the parking lot. It beats the heck out of paying $30 for a slice of pizza that tastes like cardboard.

We are going to the movies today and then maybe bowling again. The kids are having fun on their stay-cation. I will try to post some pictures later of our trip to the park.

Vacation. . .

So, Mark is taking this week off and we are doing things locally. Yesterday we took the kids bowling for FREE. Yes, I did say for FREE, check out www.kidsbowlfree.com. Jack and Thomas love to bowl and Mark and I do too. You can find bowling lanes in your area that are participating they have them all over the US. You get two FREE games per person that you sing up everyday through the summer. Not a bad deal. For a fee you can sign up to 4 adults for FREE too. I signed Mark and I up and if we take the kids two times this summer and we bowl too we have made money on this venture.

After bowling we went to eat at a wing place. During lunch they are not very crowded. They have TV's up everywhere and you can play the trivia game on the TV. The kids thought that was cool so we each got a controller and played the trivia game while we ate. My kids are very competitive, don't know where that comes from. I won!!! HA HA HA!! Mark was helping Thomas and Jack was doing pretty good by himself.

Mark and I both laughed on the way home about how much fun the kids had staying around the house doing crazy things like this. We also went to AC Moore and picked up some little balsa wood prop planes for about $2. My kids are easily amused. They stayed outside most of the day once we got back home and played with their planes. Those things really do fly well especially with a little breeze under them.

Well that was day one of our Vacation.

Stay at Home Vacation. . .

Anyone staying local for Vacation? I think we are. Gas is just to high and the economy the way it is. I think we will be going to the Zoo and some local theme parks and going to the movies. There are few good movies out that the kids really want to see. In fact I think we may be going to one today.

I told you about the classes the kids were taking, well I signed them each up for a one day art class. A local studio is offering, at a really reasonable price, one day art classes where the kids create a picture on canvas. They are doing different themes, one day is gardening, sea life ect. . .
They also have them for different age groups so Jack and Thomas do not have to be in the same class. After the class you get to take home a special piece of art created by your little "Picasso." Jack is pretty talented when it come to drawing and this way he will be able to try paint. I am excited about this I can't wait to see what they create. Maybe I can up load a picture when they are done.

Well the natives are getting restless so I gotta jet. Happy Vacation!

The Red Cross Class. . .

Jack had his class yesterday and Thomas and I had Mommy and Tom time. While Jack was in class Thomas and went all over shopping, playing, and eating. Yeah, all my favorites and throw in Thomas for comic relief and that is great. Jack was in class from 9-3:30 so Thomas and I had the whole day to play. We went to Costco for some groceries and had to stop and have a cinnamon thing and a soda of course. Then off to Lowes to see the flowers. Then we got to meet Mark for lunch. I decided since I had a little time I would go back to the Red Cross and donate blood. Thomas was very well behaved. He sat like a little gentleman while they did my blood. The little ladies of course doted on him and he just ate that up. He got to go to the canteen and have a snack. Once I had finished giving blood it was time to stroll over and pick up Jack.

When I dropped him off that morning he was not very happy and said he did not want to go. I told him we were here and he was going. How do ya like that logic? His class was the last one to get out and he was the last one to come through the doors. He had the biggest grin on his face. I asked him how he liked it and he replied, "Can I come next year too?" He obviously had a great time. He made several new friends and was excited about what he had learned.

I asked him about what they learned and he said, they learned how to stop bleeding and how to bandage a cut or scrape. They learned about pressure points with blood flow. They also learned a little about rescue breathing. Of course Jack being Jack I am sure they learned more that he cannot remember.

Thomas gets to go to his class in July.

Zucchini, Zucchini. . .

I am doing pretty good at creating new recipes for all my zucchini. Last night we had grilled chicken and Zucchini corn bread. Yes, corn bread. It was really good. Again I used old faithful, www.allrecipes.com This recipe included corn muffin mix, zucchini of course, cheddar cheese, onion and eggs. It had a really good flavor. Mark liked it the kids not so much. It was a nice change from the same old french fries or potatoes. The kids probably would have prefered french fries.

Marks' stomach is officially well now. We ate Mexican after the last, yes I said last baseball game of the year. Yeah !!!!!^>^>^>^>^>^> (that's me jumping up and down). We celebrated that last ball game in style. Now we can relax and enjoy our summer by the pool.

I will keep you posted as I try new recipes for my bountiful garden. I have picked my first three cucumbers. I have two different varieties. One is a pickling type and the other I am not real sure what it is. It is really long and skinny.

until we eat again.

AIG stuff. . .

AIG stands for Academically Gifted and Talented. We got our letter yesterday and Jack did not get in. I knew he was not going to because I had already talked with the AIG teacher at his school. One of the reasons he did not get in is because he was tested on Field Day. Yes, on a day that all he could think about was getting outside to play and have fun they chose to test him on his academics. Well, he only answered 42 questions out of 70. So I knew he was not going to make it.

Jacks' teacher brought this to my attention on Field Day and she was very upset and told the AIG teacher as such. She said it was unfair for the children to be tested on this day. She used to be an AIG teacher and she told me that she NEVER tested kids on Field Day. Their little minds are just not on school work that day.

So I also called and complained. I was told that if I pushed the issue that yes, they would test him again but if he did not pass then they would not look at him again EVER. I ask you how fair is that?

I have prayed a lot about this and I did not want to even talk to Jack about it because I knew how devastated he would be. He was so excited about getting to test and he really had his hopes up for this program. Last night Mark and I sat down and talked with him about it. He was upset and I told him that he would be on the "watch and wait" list. I am not sure exactly what this means except that they will test him again at the end of the fourth grade.

What really upsets me is the fact that I really wanted him to be able to participate in this program and when the teacher that is in charge of the program called to talk with me about my complaint this is what she said, "Being in AIG really doesn't mean anything, once they get to Middle School they don't even have AIG." So this is the "teacher" telling me the program she is over does not mean anything. So I asked her if she was just trying to make me feel better or what. She could not answer my question. This is not sour grapes, this is really what she said to me. How strange is it that the teacher in charge of the program says it does not mean anything. Should she not be more positive about the program?

I told Jack that his friends will probably be in the program and that he should be happy for them and congratulate them on a good job. I just hope he does not get ragged about not getting in. He did make straight A's for the entire year. I think that is a great accomplishment.

I don't know how much confidence I have in the AIG program after my odd conversation with the teacher.

The Garden. . .

The garden is doing quite well. All of the rain we have had in the past month or so has really done some good. I have picked about 4 zucchini every day this week. I have been eating them raw with ranch dressing since Marks' tummy still is not up to eating things like that.

Last night he came home from work and said he wanted some zucchini pasta. So I began looking for some recipes for this. I love the www.allrecipes.com site. You can type in the ingredients you have and they will search and find you a recipe. It is pretty cool, especially if you are looking for something different. Another site I love for recipes is www.foodnetwork.com they have some great recipes too.

I found a recipe I like and had most of the ingredients. You know me I always improvise. Sometimes that is good sometimes not so good. This one was a winner. Here is what I did:

olive oil
4 (fresh) zucchini
2 cloves garlic
3 (fresh) green onions
1 (fresh) Anaheim pepper
1 can diced tomatoes with basil and oregano
3 leaves (Fresh) basil
3 stems (fresh) lemon thyme

So in a skillet I sauted my garlic, onion, and pepper in the olive oil. I added a little white wine then added my sliced zucchini. I let that cook till the zucchini were soft then I added the can of tomatoes. After that had time to cook and blend together I added my (Fresh) herbs and some more wine.

I cooked a pot of angel hair whole wheat pasta and served the zucchini over it with some Parmesan cheese grated too.

Mark loved it, the kids not so much but they did eat a little of it.

I got the basic recipe of tomatoes with zucchini in the skillet but I added all the garlic and peppers and the wine and the fresh herbs. Now anywhere I said fresh that means it came out of my garden. Yummmy!! Not only was this a healthy meal but it was also cheap since most of it came out of my garden. Another bonus to gardening.

Until we eat again.

Day two of Summer Vacation. . .

Is it August yet? Just kidding. The boys did sleep in today they got up at 8:30 instead of 7. Yeah!!! I was up anyway though so I really did not get to sleep in. They seem tired this morning. It could be the baseball games they have played this week, or maybe the fact that the baseball games did not get over till late. Or, it could be that I let them stay up past 9pm. I think it is the last one. They do not ever stay up that late during the school year.



So what is everyone doing to pass the summer this year? I would love to hear what you have planed for your kids. Mine are going to be doing some educational stuff and some fun stuff too. Is anyone going some where educational for vacation? To comment just click on comments it will take you to a spot where you can post your comments. I love to hear what you are thinking.

I have enrolled Jack and Thomas in a Red Cross first aid class at our local Red Cross. Jacks' will be a little more advanced than the one Thomas is doing. It is 51/2 hours and they take a bag lunch. The Red Cross has a lot of different classes to offer for the kids and for adults. I am doing my CPR re-certification. They are also offering a pet first aid class for kids. I think that is pretty cool. The boys are also doing basketball camp at the High School and Jack will do football camp too. Jack is also talking about wanting to take an art class this summer too.

Let me know what you're thinking.

Public Service Blog. . .

Ok, Mark just got back from California on Thursday and has had stomach issues since Wednesday. He got violently ill on Sunday and the on-call nurse called us every two hours just to see if he was ok. Mark is mildly diabetic and so his blood glucose was going crazy along with his bowels. So he went to the doctor yesterday and they gave him an antibiotic for his stomach bug. He did ok throughout the day but early this morning it started all over again. He went to the bathroom 10 + times from 4 am until 8 am. I told him he was either going to the doctor again or I was taking him to the ER.

I called the doctor and they said they would work him in. They had done blood work yesterday and they had that back. According to his blood work along with his symptoms he has E-coli. This is some nasty stuff. You get it from poorly cooked food and food cooked in unsanitary conditions. Now when he goes to these meetings they stay in the best hotels and are supposed to be served the best food ect. . . Since this all started while he was in California it is quite obvious that is where it came from. So folks be careful traveling and eating out. Also be careful what you drink. You do not know where their water comes from or how it is treated.

Mark was also dehydrated and had to have two bags of fluid along with another IV antibiotic to kill this bug. He is sleeping it off now. I hope we make it through tonight better than we have the past two nights. He has really taken a beating the past few days. He had lost 3lbs since yesterday. He says he does not recommend this as a diet.

Allergies. . .

This is a hives update. Thomas is doing well, he only has welts every now and then. I went to find me a new vacuum cleaner the other day and I was not impressed with what I found. I went to Lowes and they had a lot of the wind tunnel type vacuums. I do not like those I had one once and it did not do the job I needed plus it was messy. I was looking for a vacuum with a bag. This way once I vacuum I do not spread the yuck around my house trying to empty it. I did that when I used the wind tunnel type. I looked at some canister vacuums and I like them, they were light weight and seemed easy to move around. They also felt really cheaply made if you know what I mean.

I was talking with a friend about my dilemma and she mentioned she had an Oreck. My Mom has an Oreck and I have used hers before and I liked it. It was really light weight but seemed well constructed. My friend said she really liked her Oreck and her family had allergies too. I decided I would take a trip to the Oreck shop. The lady that waited on me was great. She really knew her stuff. She showed me several different types of Oreck vacuums. I liked them all. She asked what had brought me in and I told her about my kids having allergies. She then showed me the Oreck air purifiers. They have one that is a tower for large spaces and a desk or table top model for bedrooms. They had a sale, of course, buy the tower and get the desk top for FREE. So I bit. Instead of getting a vacuum I got two air purifiers.

I did all this without talking with Mark. He was out of town all last week and I made this purchase on my own. I told him I had bought them and how they worked. He was intrigued. He got home late on Thursday evening and he said the house smelled really clean. He could smell the difference the air purifiers were making. I have also noticed that Jack is not sneezing as much in the mornings and he does not blow his nose for 20 minutes right after he gets up.

So for those that have allergies check out the Oreck shop in your area. They have the online thing but it means more to see it in action. I am going to get one of the vacuums but I have to wait till I get the purifiers paid for. Don't forget Dave Ramsey.

Good Sportsmanship?

How do we teach our children good sportsmanship when you have other children out there acting ugly. Thomas and Jack have both had some sports disappointments in the past few days and some of the kids have really been down right ugly. Thomas played yesterday and they only lost by one run. That was great! Their team is young and some of our kids have never even played ball before. We had our end of the season party after the game and our Coach said that one of the other kids went by him in the line and said, "We beat you, We beat you!!" Thomas is just starting to realize there are winners and losers in sports and he does not like to loose. I am trying to teach him that you can be a good winner as well as a good looser. This is very hard to teach a six year old. I told him the kid on the other team was being a poor winner. I also told him that he had to be a good looser. Of course that went in one ear and out the other he had cake and forgot about it.

Jack on the other hand is older and hates to loose. All kids do I know. Jack just seems to take it personally. I think he gets that from his Daddy. Yeah, that's a Daddy trait for sure. Well, he did not make All - Stars this year and he is quite devastated by this. He loves to play ball. He had a really good season this year but his bat was just not there. Last year his batting average was 821, and this year being in player pitch for the first time, his batting average did not get near that. He was walked and hit more times than he hit. Other than that he has had a solid year. He played third base which he has never played before and made some amazing plays there.

There were three kids off of his team that made the All-Stars and they proceeded to rub his face in the fact that he did not make it. Now, how ugly and un-sportsman like is that? They are on the same team and they are ragging him and talking ugly to him because he did not make the All-Stars. I know their parents and I cannot believe they would be so mean. One of the kids is his coaches son. I don't think the coaches heard all this but I am not so sure that they would have done anything about it had they heard it.

I told him that he had to rise above it and that he would face people for the rest of his life that were poor winners. They could not be happy just making the All-Star team they had to be ugly and rag my child because he didn't make the team. I told Jack that this was a character building event. God has his plan for us and it does not always go along with our wants.

I just hate it when kids act ugly to one another. Not to say Jack has not done that, but I don't think he has. I know I do not approve and if I knew I would correct him on it. I guess what really bugs me is that they are supposed to be his teammates. Not Cool at all.

Field Day. . .

We had Field Day yesterday and the day before. Thomas had his on Monday and Jack had his yesterday. The little kids they let have it in the early morning so it is not so hot. The older kids however, have to do it in the later morning. It was so hot out there yesterday. The kids had fun though. They got to run, splash water on each other, and just be rowdy. I guess they were burning that steam from all the end of year testing.

I went to watch both Jack and Thomas and I took a lot of pictures. Mark and I were talking the other day and poor Thomas has second child syndrome. No, that is not a health concern. It is when you take all the movies or pictures of the first child and then the second child does not get nearly as much. I had a video camera when Jack was little. We video taped Christmas, Birthdays, t-ball games. You name it and we had the video camera. Poor Thomas, I don't think I have him on tape for anything. That is "second child syndrome."

I think we are going to try and find a good digital video camera. Things have changed so much since Jack was little. I am going to be doing a lot of research on the subject before we buy. If anyone has any advice I would love to hear it.