Wake up!

Random Happenings at the Duke House and a few pictures of Stephen at school:

1. We have a desktop computer and a laptop. The desk top has a delayed start - meaning you have to shake the mouse a bit, go do something for about 5 minutes and then come back and check to see if it has decided to wake up. At this very moment, Stephen is yelling at the desktop to "Wake Up Comp-oo-ter! I said wake up!" Patience is hard at age 3.

2. I literally ran a hole into my shoes last night. Well, I was on the elliptical, not the treadmill - so whatever you call the movement you are doing on the elliptical.Felt something funny, looked down at my feet - and there was my toe sticking through. My brother has told me for months I was way over the mileage on my shoes. So, I guess I will have to break down and buy shoes this weekend.

3. I ran my first 5K of the season last Sat. My time was, to say the least, not so good. It was under 40 minutes, but only by about 30 seconds. My running buddy Shannan is trying to talk me into the Bayfest 5K this Saturday - I am trying to want to do it, but honestly I want to sleep it. I know I SHOULD run, but....


Here are a few pictures of Stephen's adventures with Ms. Debbie and her crew:

Ansley mastering the dive....

To steal a quote from KPH.....

"Sweet baby Jesus - its the weekend!"

And I am glad. We all slept til 9 this morning, Jamey is prepping for a day of football, and the kids and I are headed out soon for some kid friendly activities and maybe a bit of shopping. My mom is going with us and we are also on the hunt for a bakery we heard about that bakes without yeast! sounds like a good day of adventure for us.

Ansley is vegged out with Phineas and Ferb and I am going to attempt some cleaning before we head out.
I attempted pulled pork in the crockpot for Jamey to have while we are gone today. I hope it turns out.

Let the Saturday-ness begin...

more car ride conversations..

Picking Ansley up from school is one of the best parts of my day. I love her hearing her stories. I know it wont be long before I will have to plead for bits of information about her life. Today I know that Aidan brought her diary to school, and that she only played with girls on the playground and that she did not, in fact, buy a pickle today because she thought the barbecue chips looked especially good. 

While riding in the car, she is quiet for minute and then asks, "Why do you  and Daddy not spank us?"

Ummmmm........
So Without getting into the great debate of spanking ( I learned not to talk about that with other parents a LONG time ago) I responded the best I could (translation - I mumbled a lot and said the word "Well" at least 30 times.)

"Well," I said, "Daddy and I never felt like it was the best way to deal with you or Stephen. We just felt like a timeout or restriction worked so we went with that."

To which Ansley replies, " Is a Whoopin the same as a spanking?"

Ummmmm.......

"Yes, I think so" I said.

"Will I ever get a spanking?" she asked.

"Do you think you need one?" I replied. (Answering a question with a question is a trick I learned from my better half WAAAAAY back when he was tutoring me in algebra)

"No, I don't think I do." she said.

So after talking to her for a bit longer, I figure out that playground time today included the swapping of some war stories of who had the best (or worst) spanking and what the transgression was that brought on the "whoopin."

Ansley could not think of a time she had been spanked, so had nothing to contribute to the conversation during social hour on the playground....

"What should I have said?" she asked.

So I used this as an oppurtunity to teach an invaluable life lesson, which is the ability in a social setting to nod, look really interested and say "hmmmmm" and then politely comment on the weather or her plans for the weekend.
I think she is now ready to tackle other taboo topics or religion, politics and whether or not PB&Js should be banned in schools....

Just for Steve....

all is quiet...

I have not posted in weeks. I have no idea why. I have random thoughts about things to write about, but if I don't stop and write myself a note,  I have lost the moment.
It is 9:15 on Satur day mornig and both of my children are still asleep. Jamey is cutting grass (thank the lord - our neighbors were having trouble seeing the house from the street)

We are 2 weeks into school - and I think one of the girls at work figured out we have 34 weeks left til next summer break :) I have enjoyed going back to work though for the most part. My job is a lot different than it used to be - but Im learning ( I think anyway)

I decided that we were going to cut WAY down on tv during the week and this has been a postive change. They can watch tv after school, but once we have dinner, and take baths, the tv is off for the night (for them anyway - football season is almost here, so there is no way I can keep the tv turned off for one member of the Duke family) But we don't watch any tv in the mornings unless we just randomly have everything ready to go with 10 minutes or more to spare. So far, so good. Well, minus one morning this week when I asked Ansley to put the dog in her kennel and apparently all Stephen dreamed about the night before was the JOYS of it being his turn to put the dog in the kennel so all hades broke loose and Stephen was crying (actually, it was more of the crying dance - the one where he scrunches his face, cries and jumps straight up and down making his voice change with each bounce) and then Ansley started crying b/c she just automatically cries when other people cry, but it was 100% time to leave. And I can't even remember what promise or bribe I offered to Stephen to get him in the car without having to let Tilly back out of the kennel, but whatever I said worked and we were all pretty much in control of ourselves by the time we got out of the neighborhood.....

I believe in sending kids out to play (my mom did it to me for years, so I feel it is my family obligation to continue the tradition) but it really is still too hot for even my southern born and raised children to force them into the backyard and by the time it cools off in the evenings, it is too late to ride bikes when we have to rise and shine at 5:30 the next morning. So we play inside and they both have really started mastering some games on the Wii - bowling and boxing and baseball. So we have enjoyed that as an inside activity.

Ansley had her first tests this week. Spelling, Math and Reading. I am a tad worried about the pressure she is putting on herself already in school. She scored a 100 on both Spelling and Reading, but  (oh my gosh - you should have seen her tragic expression when she told me her score) she made a .....(drumroll)..... 97 on her math test. yep - she missed one question on the math test and made a 97. So- I attempted the speech that covers the topics such as "we are proud of you for trying your best" and "we don't expect you to be perfect"  and "oh my goodness, you are six years old and we don't want you to develop an ulcer before you are tall enough to ride Space Mountain." But I am glad she wants to excell in school. I wonder how long that will last - I always loved school - but honestly, by the time high school rolled around - it was probably equal parts socialization and learning and my grades were not nearly as good as they could have been because of it.

Uncle Luke and Ansley on the NC beach

Jamey is trying to talk me into picking up the toys in the backyard so he can cut the grass back there. But - ugh - it looks so hot out there already...but pretending not to hear him is not working anymore - so I guess I will go help him...

catching our breath...

I feel like we are ending the summer in light speed over here. I have GOT to shop for Ansley's school supplies. She is not one who likes to wait until the last minute. We are also going to miss her orientation when we are in Florida next week. I have not mentioned this to her and I may just forgo that conversation completely. She would not be happy. And as much as she is excited about 1st grade, I kind of feel like my kids are in a summer coma. We have such a crazy schedule. We may get the urge to get Krispy Kreme about 9pm, so we all go. We sleep in. We watch movies. We spend hours in the afternoon channel surfing or coloring or reading books. The shock of a school schedule is going to be hard on us all.

I have a new approach to school mornings this year. I am cutting tv in the before school hours. In the past few years, I turn on cartoons and sort of let them watch until they wake up a little more. But I feel like I have to do jumping jacks in front of the television to get them to actually eat some breakfast. So this year - no tv until they are dressed and fed. I am hoping this will make for a smoother morning. Mornings really aren't that bad - and usually if they are stressed it is b/c I just plain got up late.

But one thing I feel VERY strongly about is that the last thing my kids will hear from me as I drop them off each morning is something positive. I have worked car pool enough in the morning to have memorized the faces of children who have spent the car ride to school being completely ignored or yelled at about every little thing under the sun. And its children from all backgrounds. Those who ride to school in a nice SUV with their initials monogrammed on their backpacks and hairbows and also those who ride in a rusty old car filled with cigarette smoke and mom's current boyfriend. This really turned into a tangent - but I think this is why I want to be where I am professionally. I want to have the freedom to work with these children and assure them someone cares what they have to say. And to ensure they hear at least one positive thing each day. I work with the best teachers around - encouraging and patient, willing to hug a child who has not bathed in days and who may or may not actually be wearing clothes that fit even a little bit.

But we have a few more days of summer and We are looking forward to a family wedding next Thursday in Fort Lauderdale. With a stop in Orlando (not going to Disney World though if you can believe it) we should have a nice trip.
We had a great time in Savannah and Charleston. It was good to see Luke and Sara. The kids always jump right back into his arms no matter how long we have been apart and I am thankful for that. I will post some pictures from the trip soon.
For now - I am off to bed - registration comes early tomorrow morning.....