Deconstruction

Elizabeth and family visited my parents on Thursday, so we went over there for dinner and to hang out briefly (school night). Kenneth took some pictures with my camera and got a cute one of Caleb. Anne Marie is so much bigger than when we saw them last. Somehow we didn't get a picture of her, but we'll be seeing them soon.

Friday I spent time with a group from work doing a Dell-sponsored volunteer day. We chose Habitat for Humanity. Our project was a deconstruction project, rather than a construction project (with which most people are probably familiar). Deconstruction projects are jobs where the HfH can salvage building materials to sell in their HfH store and with the proceeds, can fund construction projects. My particular task of the day was moving large pieces of plywood with nails in them and removing the nails. One of my co-workers, Danielle, and I were partners throughout the day and for the first half of the morning we had a little system where we could sit on the ground and remove the nails. I was so exhausted by 2:00 when I left--it was harder work than I thought. I admire the stamina of the people who do that type of work everyday.

Kenneth and I were chatting about how much a mother loves her children. The conversation on my end went something like "I will always be thinking about you, even when you're a grown up...wondering if you're driving safely, taking your vitamins, getting enough sleep..." Clearly this motherly love was sinking in for Kenneth, because he jumped in: "Mom, do I have a mosquito bite on my back?"

Keeping the Sideburns

Kenneth and Rod got haircuts yesterday. They were much needed for both of them. While at Kenneth's soccer practice tonight, Evelyn announced that her Dad looked like a caveman with his new haircut. I'm not sure where that came from. Kenneth had a funny comment too: tonight, after brushing his hair, he studied himself in the mirror and said "I chose to keep the sideburns." This is so funny to me because he has never had sideburns, ever.

When we got back from soccer practice, a couple of kids were riding their bikes in the circle, so Kenneth and Evelyn joined them for a bit as I unloaded the car. I came outside to hear fake fart noises happening from all the kids and hysterical laughter. One of the older boys said "Girls don't do that!" and I debated the merits of providing the alternative argument that all living things generate gas, but decided against it. The last thing I need is to be any weirder than the neighborhood kids already perceive me to be.

Rod's been very busy the past couple of weeks with work, traveling to College Station to get a local project kicked off. I admit, operating in a pseudo-single parent mode is difficult. My Mom came over on Saturday to watch the kids while Rod and I went out to dinner and a movie. The kids are wearing their new Halloween shirts that Nana got them. Evelyn spent part of the day in her sequin-pumpkin shirt, purple shorts, and knee-high black boots "because I thought this would look good."

At Least There Were Cupcakes

Kenneth and Evelyn had been monitoring a chrysalis (butterfly cocoon), and it finally hatched. It didn't want to leave the stick it was sitting on, but it eventually flew away. For a brief period of time, the chrysalis was in Kenneth's classroom so the class could learn about it.


This week, my cousin Jeanne visited my Mom for a few days. We had dinner with them on Tuesday and had a great time visiting. I think they had a very low-key agenda throughout the week going shopping and tooling around Austin.

I asked Evelyn how school was one day this week and she said in a very exasperated voice, "Well, we had a cupcake at least!"

Cricket Freak Out

Every year in Texas an onslaught of crickets show up in front of stores, in buildings, etc. At my work, they have become such a nuisance that the facilities group has had to take special measures to deal with them. I have found them crawling up my cube wall, on my keyboard, on the floor under my feet, etc. Some co-workers and I observed how the crickets get onto the 2nd floor: they drop out of the light fixtures. Gross.

Anyhow, earlier today I went into my bathroom (at home) and noticed some lint-like stuff on the toilet seat. Now, having two children, I was not too surprised or concerned with this. I periodically have to clean up craft projects that find their way to the toilet. I wiped it away and moved on. Later on, I re-visited the same bathroom and found more lint-like stuff. This time I looked around to see if there was evidence of a craft project anywhere else--there wasn't. I determined it was probably some dust being forced out of the fan vent in the bathroom and that next time I got around to it, I should probably clean it. The story is not over. Rod goes into that bathroom a few minutes later and said "What is a cricket doing in the toilet?" AAAAGGGGHHH. A nasty cricket got into my attic and decided to fall out of the fan vent into the toilet. Prior to its demise, it was scuffling around in the vent causing dust to fall out. FOUL. It could have fallen onto my head while using the toilet or jumped out of the toilet onto me.

First Soccer Games for Fall '07

The first soccer games of the Fall '07 season kicked off today. Kenneth's was at 8 AM (no sleeping in!) and Evelyn's was in the afternoon. Kenneth is in a level now where the field is bigger and the number of players on the field is greater. He played the entire game on the field. Evelyn also has moved up a level onto a bigger field, and she is in an all girl's team now. She is happy to have a pink uniform! Rod had to go out of town today so we decided to have dinner at Central Market.
The location was chosen for two reasons: (1) the usual reason--nice live music and a playground with shady trees, and (2) so that Kenneth could look for yet another piece of wood to create a bow. We were successful on both counts. A ladybug kept us company too.

Back to Busy-ness

So school, homework, soccer practice, and soccer games are in full swing and I'm back to using my wall calendar to keep track of everything. In his spare time, Kenneth has been perfecting his bow and arrow creations. We have gone on mini-hikes to look for branches that can serve as different bow sizes and arrow styles. He has modified the arrows with leaves to create different aerodynamics. Recently, Kenneth made a bow and arrow for Evelyn. After he taught her the basics of archery :) she was excited about hitting her targets and about learning from her brother. While she was busy trying to hit the center of an Aggie blanket, Kenneth quietly came over to me and said "I'm so glad Evelyn has something to do now, other than dolls."