Swim Lessons and the Root Canal

The boys finished their swim lessons this week and while neither of them passed Level 1, they still did an excellent job. We got a full checklist of the skills they needed to have to pass and Ben had far more of them checked off than Matthew! I'm not surprised, because Ben is much less timid in the water. They were a little more relieved when they spoke with one of their classmates who passed, but said this was his second time through this level. They are both determined to pass next time and want to practice as much as they can. I think we'll be hitting the beach a few times this week b/c it is supposed to be very warm. They also got a free pass to the Aquatic Center, so we'll go there sometime as well.

I had my root canal on Monday and it went as well as can be expected. The procedure took longer than I expected it to take and I was rather sore on Monday night. A friend came over to watch my kids since Rob had to work and another friend brought us dinner, so we were taken care of. The kids did great that night as well, so I had it pretty easy. Well, except for the extremely sore mouth :) I was sore somewhat on Tuesday, but have been feeling fine the rest of the week. The tooth feels MUCH better and I'm thankful I had this done!

Anna says

We were out running errands earlier this week and we passed by a catholic church. Anna pointed to the statue of Mary on top of the church and said, "Look, Mommy! There's a princess fairy on that building!"

This morning, Anna was helping Rob make breakfast and all in one breath said,"Only a boy named David, only a little sling. I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Hey, look! I'm a dinosaur!"

"Happy" Father's Day

Well, we knew going into this weekend that Father's Day might not be so happy for Rob. He has the day off work (first weekend off in a month) but with my tooth pain we weren't sure how good I would be feeling. So it wasn't too surprising when I got up this morning and went right back to bed. Yeah, I got to sleep in on Father's Day. The kids got up and made Rob some pictures, which is more than I did b/c I completely forgot about Father's Day cards until late Friday night and wasn't able to get them done. (Sorry Dad and Dad-in-law...your cards will be late). I popped some pain meds and we went to church.

Ugh. Yeah. We had one child who was so unruly that his/her SS teacher had to find me between services. We pulled the errant one out of their second service class and had he/she/it sit with us in the service. The child was NOT too happy about it, but complied and Rob had a nice long chat with him/her. (We're protecting the not-so-innocent, but grandparents may feel free to ask.) Rob and I were both very upset about what happened, so much so that I don't think we caught much of the service. And I was in pain.

We left church and went out to lunch at the Pine Cone, a truck stop restaurant in Johnson Creek. That place is worth a stop for the enormous desserts alone! They are two to three times the size of any restaurant desserts I've ever seen and half the price. But, it's a popular place and very busy, so we had a long wait for a table. Thankfully, our waitress was quick and we had speedy service. The food was delicious as usual, but I managed to have three or four pain attacks while eating.

The kids spent most of the afternoon cleaning up their toy room and bedroom with Rob while he spent loads of time imparting wisdom to them about behavior. We had noticed as the VBS week progressed that both boys were becoming pretty bad behavior problems. It just goes back to the fact that when kids are around kids more, they learn kid behavior, and that's not a good thing. It really has reinforced our decision to homeschool and have our children learn proper behavior from adults, not from kids.

And during all of that, I slept. This Tylenol 3 with codeine is really starting to get to me. One day left!!

So Rob is now making homemade pizza and plans to play some Wii tonight to give himself a better ending to the day. I told him that the next time he has a Saturday or Sunday off we'll have a belated Father's Day celebration and make it a really special day for him. He deserves it...he's such a great dad!!

Dairy Breakfast

We had a great time this morning at the Watertown Dairy Breakfast, hosted by the dairy farmers of the area. Every year on Father's Day weekend, the local dairy farmers take turns hosting this huge event. We have been gone or busy on this weekend in previous years, but since we had wide open plans, we decided to go. We even purchased tickets ahead (and Ben and Anna were free!)

We decided to take the free shuttle bus rather than a) try to find the farm b) have to potentially park in a muddy field and c) spend money on gas. As it turned out, the farm was pretty easy to find, but the "parking lot" was pretty scary looking and the lane was small and shared with tour wagons and the shuttle bus. The shuttles were full-sized school buses and the kids had a ball! They were so excited to ride on a bus! Anna had never been on one and the boys don't remember their last ride, so it was a real treat. Anna couldn't stop smiling on the entire ride.

When we arrived, we got in line for the actual breakfast. It was an all-you-can-eat feast of pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, sliced cheeses, and ice cream. The kids thought it was pretty neat to have dessert after breakfast. We all ate our fill, then took a tour of the farm. There was a kid area set up complete with model trains, a petting zoo, and a fake cow to milk. Matthew enjoyed holding a bunny and Ben couldn't get enough of milking the cow. We then walked over to the milking parlor and watching them milking the cows. I didn't think I would ever tear the kids away...they were completely fascinated with the entire process. We then took a wagon tour of the three farms that made up the whole dairy farm. Ben looked like he was in his element and even said he'd like to be a farmer someday. The kids got to crawl up in the combines and I didn't think we'd ever get Ben out!

We walked through a cow barn and the kids enjoyed seeing the cows close up. I asked Anna what she thought of it and she said, "Ooooo....those cows are STINKY!"

The kids were dragging by the end of the visit and Matthew even fell asleep on the return shuttle bus. They have had such a big week that I'm not surprised they were wore out. Rob took them out this afternoon while I had a stamp event, but he kept it pretty low key. Thankfully we have a much simpler week ahead of us!

Oh, and I'm doing okay so far with the pain management. Please keep praying!

VBS #1, Swimming, and Tooth Aches

We have had a rather busy week and while all of it was fun, I'm rather glad that schedule is over! I have a brand new appreciation for "soccer moms" and the amount of time they spend driving around their kids. I must say that one week was enough for me...can't imagine keeping up that pace through an entire school year!!

The above picture is of the kids waiting for their ride to VBS. They were invited to attend VBS at a church in Fort Atkinson and we agreed to let the boys go. Since it's a half hour drive and she's only three, Anna did not go with them. The boys had a marvelous time and really enjoyed getting to know some new kids as well as strengthen friendships with the kids that invited them and a few other friends they knew there. After one day of the preschool class, Ben was moved up to the 1st and 2nd grade class. My friend who's kids invited the boys thought he'd do better in the older group and he did. Rob and I went to the closing program and picnic lunch today and got to see what a fun program the church put on. It's a much smaller church than ours (63 kids was their highest day...we bring more than that on our buses) so they had a chance to see a different type of church. I'm so thankful they got a chance to go!

Now, here's where the fun part came in: The boys had swim lessons at 1pm each day but Friday. VBS ended at noon. That meant I had to pick them up each day, have lunch ready for them in the car, get them changed real quick, and head off to swim lessons. In spite of the distance and construction on the main highway, we made it every day with time to spare. I was rather tired of packing lunches by the end of the week (again...kudos to you moms that do that every day for school!) and a little sore from driving, but none the worse for the wear.

And swim lessons were very interesting. Rob and I feel very strongly that swimming is a vital skill each person should learn, so we enrolled them in the park and rec dept swim lessons. I could teach them myself, but I'm already their academic teacher so we thought an outside teacher would be better. And I must say that I am VERY impressed with the swim teachers in our town. The boys are in Level One lessons, but I wish we had put them in Aquakids when they were four. Rob and I have both observed that class during the boys' lessons and are impressed with how they acclimate the little ones to the pool. Anna will be enrolled in that class next year.

That being said, the boys themselves were a little timid on their first day. Matthew panicked at the thought of going further than the wall and Ben wasn't much better. I realized I had to act fast or our money would be wasted. So, each day I have had a goal for them to achieve and a treat if they earned it. I've seen all kinds of improvement over four short days. They have one week left, so we'll see how it goes. I told them how awful I was during my lessons and how much better than me they are doing already. They felt pretty good after that, knowing that Mommy is a great swimmer and was a lifeguard. There's hope!

So now for Miss Anna: I knew I needed a few activities planned to help distract her while the boys were gone in the mornings. She went along for a few chiropractic appointments, had a playdate with a friend, went with Rob and I to a chocolate shop tour (part of the library reading program), saw animals at a library program, played at McDonald's, went out for breakfast with Mom and Dad, and got the TV all to herself. I'd say she was pretty spoiled by the end of the week! She's excited to attend our church's VBS in a week and was very interested in everything the boys did in the mornings.

On Tuesday of this week, I started having some severe tooth pain. I've had problems with one tooth in particular for awhile, but was told I have an exposed root on that tooth, so I didn't think much of it. By Thursday, I was in so much pain I could barely function (and that day Rob worked at Bass, so I solo parented much of the day...go figure.) I called the dentist, got in for a 3pm appointment, and found out I have a dying nerve in that tooth. They started to prep for a root canal, but since it was 3:30 by that point and Rob had to work at 4pm, I couldn't stay. They gave me a prescription for pain meds and I will go in for the root canal on Monday afternoon. A friend of mine will watch the kids since Rob will already be at work. The pain meds finally kicked in this afternoon, so please pray that I do not develop a tolerance to them and that I make it through until Monday. On a pain scale, it was a 9.5. Thankfully, Rob does not work all weekend and does not work until 4pm on Monday, so I have him around for help if the pain gets worse.

And that's been our week! Tomorrow we're going to the Watertown Dairy Breakfast on a farm and Ben especially is excited about the all-you-can-eat breakfast. He's a BIG breakfast eater, so this is right up his alley!!

Naughty Stoplights

We've been pretty busy this week and I'll blog about what we've been doing when the week is over, but I had to share this Anna-funny.

A little back story: Two Sundays ago, the kids and I were headed home from the morning service and hoped to get there in time to see Rob before he had to leave for work. (He had left the service early.) We got to a stoplight just as it turned red and had to wait for the entire cycle before we could go. But the stoplight decided to skip our side of the street. Four times. The traffic backed up pretty badly as the errant stoplight continued to skip us. The kids and I were getting pretty upset and they asked what we should do. I told them we'd have to call the police (and it looked like someone behind us already was) and have them come out and help. The light finally did turn green, but we passed Rob as he was heading down the street.

Ever since then, the kids have called that light "the tricky light." As we passed by it tonight on the way home, Anna said, "That's the tricky light. If it skips us again, we'll call the police and they will come out and take that light away and lock it in jail forever!" Because that is apparently what happens to naughty stoplights :)

And I did explain that someone could just fix it, but after waiting so long to turn, I like Anna's solution better!

Beating the Heat

We've been trying to keep cool here in Litwiller land during this three-day heat wave. I got lots of advice about where to take the kids around here, then realized we don't have the extra money to take them anywhere. So I got a little creative. We have a covered sandbox in our backyard (one of those frog/turtle things) and it still had the sand in it from last year. Along with a layer of water that ducks have been using as a little pond (I have pictures to prove it!). I had Rob dump all of that out, clean out the box, and fill it with water. I'll have to get a pic of the kids using it, because it's pretty tiny. They can all sit on the edge and dip their feet in or at least two of them can sit in it. Since Anna is not all that fond of water yet, the boys usually get the pool to themselves. It does cool them off some, so it has been worth it.

Of course we have stocked up on cold eats and Kool-aid (which I only allow during hot weather). But today I knew we needed to do something away from home. Originally it was supposed to storm today, so I planned to take them to play at McDonald's. While they played in their pool this morning, I realized that the forecast had changed and we could actually go swimming in someplace large enough to submerge more than an ankle. We have two main options--the beach in Lake Mills or the Aquatic Center. Another brilliant thought dawned on me--I got paid for a babysitting job just last night (I'd do it for free but this mom feels better when she pays me) and it was in the exact amount to get all four of us in at the aquatic center! Perfect! We waited to leave for the pool until after Rob had left for work and had many dreams of splashing around in the cool, clear water. And since the city schools are not finished until Thursday, we thought there would be less people at the pool.

Yeah. There were less people, alright. Zero, in fact, along with a sign that said the pool opened at 4pm. Apparently the large numbers of private and homeschool families in town that are already done for the year wouldn't be enough to get the pool open early. The kids started to show some disappointment (and frankly, I did, too) so I made a snap decision to go to the beach instead. It took us about 20 minutes to get there and when we did, it was packed! But we found ourselves a little spot in the shade and the boys were in the water in no time. We did have to deal with a cranky sunbather who tried to talk to Ben about kicking sand on her leg. I looked her right in the eye and said, "He was merely running past you. He was not kicking sand." She backed off and said, "Oh, I know, it just happened when he ran." Then she tried cornering him later when I was in the water with Anna, so I called he and Matthew over and showed them a path to our things around the Cranky Lady. (Who also tried to tell Anna to get a shirt on b/c she was so pale skinned.) ARGH!! I'm glad she left our family alone after that, b/c I was very much in the mood by that time to point out that her smoking was causing others to breath in toxic fumes, but she left. After yelling at other kids not to run, of course. (One of my biggest pet peeves is when people try to tell kids not to be kids, but I digress...)

Miss Anna was not nearly as brave as last year, so she and I spent most of our time on the beach. Kind of bummer for me, because I like to swim!! But we went at her pace and before I knew it, she was splashing at the water's edge and letting her brothers take her in about knee deep. The boys had a marvelous time splashing around and trying to see how far they could go in the water. Thankfully, there is a roped off swimming area, so I knew they were okay. We did manage to lose a sand bucket somehow when the boys tired of playing with it and left it in the lake. They fussed about it when it was time to leave, but I think they need a lesson or two about taking care of their property.

We left when Anna just about fell asleep on her towel and stopped at McDonald's for supper on the way home. Since we couldn't use my extra money for the pool, we used it for dinner!

And I'm hoping we make it through one more day without melting :) We do have a "new" fan in the living room that has made a world of difference. Rob and I bought an industrial fan back in Cali, but the stand had broken and Rob wanted to hang on to it and build it a new stand. Well, Matthew just happened to accidently knock over our pedastal fan in the living room and the blades shattered. Rob just went upstairs to the closet, took out the industrial fan, and put the two together to make one mean living room fan. It's awesome and about as good as you can get without a/c. We call it.....The Frankenfan. Yup, we're weird like that! But at least his obsession with keeping broken things paid off this time :)

Homeschool World's Fair

This past Wednesday, we participated in a homeschool world's fair. The idea was that each homeschool family choose a country to study and then create a booth dealing with the country. About 10 families participated and it was loads of fun!

We chose The Philippines (of course) and had a ball putting our project together. The former high school teacher in me started planning all kinds of grand and complicated things for our backboard. We checked out a few books from the library and began reading. And then the boys got really bored about half way through the first book. It was then that I remembered my kiddos have just finished first grade and preschool...they aren't ready for all the neat statistics and info that I was trying to find. So I began thinking like a lower elementary student. What kind of things would they find interesting? And how should be best approach decorating our backboard?

After talking to the boys, we decided we would focus on everything fun about the Philippines. After all, what do people REALLY remember at these types of events? The fun stuff! Only teachers actually read all the info...and there weren't any typical teachers present! So we flipped through the books and scanned Wikipedia for anything fun and interesting to kids. Since Rob and I have a wealth of info already on our country of choice, we were able to easily direct the kids. We had one whole side of the backboard dedicated to food (lumpia and halo halo, anyone?), another side with rice terraces and dancers, and we did our more "serious" info in the middle (flag, pic of the capital, map, etc.) Ben, Anna, and I used the Big shot to cut out letters in the colors of the flag, Matthew cut out pics and matted them, I glued them to the board. We found a game from the Philippines, a dress shirt that Ben had worn, a Filipino version of Coke, and missionary cards that we were able to add to our display.

I found a sitter for Anna that day so I wouldn't have to chase her around the room and we were off. We got our booth set up in no time (yay for really big backboards!) and were able to wander around and see what everyone else had done. The boys learned about China, Guatemala, Japan, Egypt, Romania, Ghana, India, Ireland, and Germany. Many of the booths had food and the boys decided we need to add that next year. We were planning to make lumpia (Filipino eggrolls) but Rob had to work that day and I don't know how to make them.

Speaking of Rob, he showed up in between jobs to visit us, but just as he arrived, Ben came out of the bathroom and had had an accident. Rob ran him to Kohl's to buy some new shorts and came back in time to leave again :( Poor guy...some days we just don't know if he's coming or going!

It was a great way to end our school year and the kids really enjoyed the fair. I asked them if they actually read any info and they told me no, so I knew we did the right thing by focusing on pictures :)

Memorial Day Weekend, Part 2

The kids were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their grandparents on Saturday night. We kept them pretty busy by giving baths/showers and cleaning up the little bits and places that still needed some attention. The kids were wild with excitement at seeing their grandparents here. Thankfully, it didn't take too much to get them calmed down for bedtime (or maybe I don't remember that part b/c Rob put them to bed.)

The next morning Miss Anna decided to wake up at 5am and join her grandparents. We stopped her and got her to stay upstairs until 6am, but she woke up her brothers in the process. So we were a rather tired group of people attending church that morning! Poor Rob had red rings around his eyes, but at least he and I were at the nursery desk during the morning service. Well, we crossed paths, at least. He manned the desk while I was in choir and then I took over when he left for work. He worked all afternoon, poor guy!

After lunch, we took a little tour of Watertown, hitting a few places my parents wanted to see again. Then we ended up at McDonald's for ice cream cones and some playtime for the kids. Rob came home and grilled up a delicious dinner of chicken, pork, and loads of veggies. We did s'mores over the grill and we all went to bed happy and well-fed.

On Memorial Day itself, we took to the park early to avoid the heat (and crowds). We fed the ducks and then played at the park. Then we headed home to avoid the heat, had lunch, and my folks took off. We took off as well and met Rob after work to do a little shopping. Then it was home to grill again for supper!

And now I think I'm done!!