“huh?”

One thing I appreciate about my life right now is the frequency with which I find myself involved in interesting conversations. Seriously. I say, I can do almost anything for a job as long as there’s a good story at the end of the day. And with that definition, both my in home and out of home jobs must be perfect.

For example, this week my class of seniors was doing some work on a project when one intelligent-but-not-so-rich-in-common-sense boy, Joey, called me over and said, “Mrs. Schmidt, do you know the name of that mormon food that starts with an ’s’?”

“Mormon food? I didn’t know there were any mormon foods.” I answered.

“Yeah, lots of Mormon kids eat it at lunch. It tastes kind of bland….shoot…I totally forgot the name.” He says.  By this time a couple of kids who happened to be Mormon had heard the conversation and said things like,

“At my house, as long as it’s food, we eat it. There are no mormon foods.”

But Joey was insistant. “Yes, there totally is….it starts with an ’s’.”

I tossed out a couple of ’s’ foods that came to mind: schnitzel, saurkraut, etc. But they weren’t what he was thinking of.  After about 15 minutes, he called me back over again exclaiming, “OH, now I remember….QUICHE!”

“Quiche doesn’t start with an ’s’, Joey.” I said.

“Yeah, I know, but that’s definitely the food I was thinking of.” He said.

“Quiche isn’t Mormon…it’s French.” I said.

“Oh…hah….that’s funny.” Was his only reply.

Thankfully class was over at that point.

Or, how about a couple years ago when I was talking to a group of 9th graders about an upcoming assignment when they were supposed to bring in food from home to share with the class. One girl raised her hand and asked, “Mrs. Schmidt, if we’re allergic to something, do we have to eat it?”

Me: Of course not!

Her: Oh good..because I’m allergic to cats.

Me:………..um……(waiting for her to somehow indicate that she was making a joke)………..(nothing)….Well. Everyone, please don’t add any cat or cat bi-products to your food for class tomorrow.

Some kids laughed.

Her: …………..(nothing)………..

Noah has always been reliable for a good one-liner, but as he gets older, he’s little more careful about what he says. It makes me very sad. Although this afternoon while driving in the car he chattered on for a good 15 minutes about the power of the gamma ray as learned in a recent PBS cartoon as well as how he was sure there was an additional state of matter other than the usual liquid, solid, and gas. Then he made a nice segue into the complex emotional relationship between two dog-brothers on the said PBS cartoon. Maybe we shouldn’t have cut the cable?

Finally, this morning I woke up with a intense case of bed-head and am in need of a hair-cut, so I pulled my bangs  out of my face with two rubber bands…one on each side of my head. Evan was scooting on his bottom down the stairs when he noticed me and pinched up his nose and said, “Mommy…what’s with your crazy hair that looks like a bunny?”

This, by itself, was not super unusual, except that he put one finger up and wagged it back in forth in my direction in a very Karen Walker from Will and Grace-esque way, exactly like she did when she was saying  in her high, shrill voice, “Honey….what’s this all about…what’s happening here?”

Ah. Life is funny.

no title

Let’s see…to catch up on the last month…

There has been a variety of work craziness…that I’m tired to thinking about.

The last week of October I ran a 1/2 marathon with Chad and Amanda. They finished significantly before I did, but it was really fun…and I can say I ran the whole thing. I’ d definitely do another one (maybe in the spring/summer) but am not ready to commit to a full marathon. I think 13 miles is enough for me. I’m finding that thinking about 26 miles brings back some of the feelings I had when people asked me if I was going to have any more kids right after I’d given birth. Bleh.

Then later that week I celebrated my 5th 29th birthday. It was a great day. Toby had flowers waiting on my desk at work and there were lots of other little fun things from friends and family waiting throughout the day. It felt very special.

For Halloween we had  church party on Wednesday and then trick or treating and a friend’s party on Saturday. We have enough costumes around here that the boys were able to pick something different for each event. Evan REALLY got into the trick or treating this year. I think he’d do it every day it he could.

 

And…just because…a new feature I’d like to call: Conversations with Evan

The scene: Toby is cleaning the litter box. Evan walks into the room.

Evan: Pew Dad, what is that smell?

Toby: It’s the litter box.

Evan: Oh. It’d be awful if that’s what our dinner smelled like.

 

The scene: Evan has taken a bottle of blue powerade into the living room and spilled it on the carpet. Toby come into the room to see the mess.

Toby: Evan! You can’t take juice into the living room! Now there’s blue all over the carpet!

Evan: It’s okay, Dad. Once when you were little and I was carpet, you spilled juice on me, and I was okay. (he’s channeling his inner buddhist)

 

The scene: Evan is sitting on the couch and I come to sit down next to him.

Evan: Ewww. Mom…something stinks (what is it with smells?). Ish you farted? (Ish you can be translated into do you, can you, have you, etc.)

Me: Nope, Evan, it wasn’t me.

Evan: (laughs) Oh yeah. It was me…(lifts a butt cheek) Smell me, Mom.

vacating

Thanks to a school break and the magic of off-season vacation rentals we were able to vacate our lives for a few days last week. We took off to the mountains about two hours away. We looked at going to the coast like last year, but opted for the closer (read: less expensive) option. It was a good choice. The boys fished a couple of times, we soaked in the hot springs, watched cable television (a huge treat since we don’t have it at home), hiked, and even introduced Noah to the wonders of taking care of business in the woods (Leave No Trace style, of course, John Leavell). It was a good mental health break…much needed.

The boys were given the job of catching our dinner…

But in the end, like all good fishermen, we ended up getting burgers.

Hiking in the woods

I love my life…

parent teacher conferences and rudy

Parent-Teacher Conferences: Anyone else have a feeling of insecurity about these? I LOVE Noah’s teachers. He could not be in better hands, but there’s always that deep down voice saying, “please tell me that my kid is okay…” Noah had a really great report card. His teacher was very positive and encouraging. The things he was marked down on were things like “taking time to finish work neatly”. When I hear that I want to say, “Oh please, Mrs. Edwards…that could be a genetic thing that he can’t help.” I STILL hurry to finish my work without looking over details. Sigh…if only there was a check list of the genetics/characteristics you want to pass on to your kids…there’d be so many I’d leave out.

Rudy: Uncle Andy called last weekend and and asked if we’d be willing to adopt a kitten that he’d found out on their property. The poor thing was doing her best to hide from the great-horned owls, but he didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to hold out…and he told us that she was really cute. So…we bit. Welcome, Rudy. (As in Huxtable…from the Cosby Show.)

“Thanks, but I prefer the dog food.”

The boys made her a house

And she already fits right into the morning cartoon routine.

Please, people…no more unwanted animals.

We seem to be powerless against them…and we’re totally full.

our first race

Last weekend Noah and I competed in our first race together. It was a whopping one-mile run/walk  and we finished with an outstanding time of 13 minutes. It was fun.

I love that he’s such a good sport and is willing to try just about anything. I think Evan will be joining us in these events as soon as he can. He DOES NOT like to be left out of anything. We had to bribe him with a special trip to the donut shop with Dad so that we could go without him.

And…holy cow…has the cold and flu season hit early this year? Seriously, it’s not even October and we’re already on our THIRD round of sickness. Add to that Toby’s broken arm and a mystery injury to Evan’s foot—we’re stimulating the economy with a ridiculous number of co-pays and bulk amounts of  ibuproufen and cold medicine. Ugh.

He restores my soul…

God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing.

You have bedded me down in lush meadows,

you find me quiet pools to drink from.

True to your word, you let me catch my breath

and send me in the right direction.

Even when the way goes through Death Valley

I’m not afraid when you walk by my side.

Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure.

You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies.

You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing.

Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.

I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life.

a shout out to the parks and rec

The strange thing I’ve found about this blog is that I now have a running commentary in my head about things to blog about. I word and re-word phrases in blog-worthy fashion…usually to come to the conclusion: no one cares about that.

However, this morning I did have an experience that I feel is worthy of publication:

Chad and Amanda have convinced me to train with them for a 1/2 marathon coming to Boise in October. I have to admit that my training for the 1/2 marathon has been somewhat 1/2 hearted. For example, I didn’t run the entire month of July because it was too hot. Yes, I could have gone to the rec center…but I didn’t. My other excuse centers around not having good places to run. I don’t like running on busy streets. I have this irrational fear of tripping, falling into traffic, and having my head squashed like a watermelon. (Maybe I’ve shared that before.) And our town does not have continuous sidewalks. It’s like the city planners thought that sidewalks should be optional. It drives my crazy. Anyway–this morning I downed a bottle of 5-hour energy and headed out in hopes of getting a long-ish run in. I put up with a mile of busy traffic to get to a walking/bike trail. It was fantastic. I turned up the tunes super loud just as the endorphins and/or 5-hour energy drink kicked in. The thing I really enjoy about running is that if I’m on a straight, quiet path I can crank the music loud enough to drown out the non-stop chatter in my brain. What a relief.

Here’s another thing about running–just like any activity, I suppose…there are certain things you learn that you didn’t really expect before you started. For example–I used to wonder why runners and bikers sometimes wore spandex. I mean, who in their right mind would wear spandex on purpose? Well–it just so happens that loose shorts can rub your inner thighs pretty raw on occasion. Spandex don’t. Got it. And one might assume that blood pumping to the legs might put other organs on hold—but not the bowels. Which leads me to the reason for my shout out: About 2 1/2 miles down the bike path today—just as I was frantically searching for a large bush or tree….I looked up a saw a shining beacon of hope. Some genius (and I say that with zero sarcasm) thought to put a port-a-potty next to the path. Bless that person. I will definitely brave the busy traffic and face my fear of head squishage again soon to visit that particular bike path. And most likely that port-a-potty.

lots of days in this particular week

Today I found myself wondering if we had quite possibly angered the gods. I’m not sure of the appropriate sacrifice for such an occasion…to get them to focus their wrath on someone else.

I’m kidding.

Sort of.

About two weeks ago a friend of ours, who was also a co-worker, was killed in a car accident. She was the kind of lady that everyone knows and loves. It’s too sad. Her funeral was on Saturday. Funerals are such interesting experiences. We knew this one would be very full, so we actually arrived early. The organ music was already playing. We sat for nearly 45 minutes and watched at least 400 people file in. People whose eyes were already red and puffy. Some who didn’t quite know where to look. Lots of our students who showed up…some by themselves…to say goodbye to Kris. I wasn’t prepared. I had tried to not to think too much about the actual funeral. People nodded greetings at one another. Some gave half-smiles and shook hands. But no one wanted to be there. At one point a baby started crying loudly. I almost hoped the mother wouldn’t take him or her out. It just seemed like the baby was the only one allowed to express above the organ music  the kind of emotion that we were all feeling.

Finally Kris’ family and close friends filed in right in front of Toby and me. They’d just had a private viewing and family prayer. They looked raw. They held on to each other…because that was the only way they’d make it down the aisle.

The service itself was beautiful. Kris’ siblings, mother, friends, and children spoke about her. We cried and we laughed. Kris’ brother said that he could almost hear the universe shifting…as we all got used to life without her. I think he summed it up well.

Please don’t misunderstand–Kris’ death is much bigger than my difficult week.

Those kinds of things just leave one feeling a little vulnerable…and the funeral happened after a night of being awake with Evan while he threw up every 20 minutes.

After the funeral I found myself doing the same thing and was barely able to get out of bed for the next 24 hours. Fun times.

Then Monday Toby and Noah got in an accident on Toby’s scooter. Thankfully, they’re both okay other than Toby’s broken left arm. We learned today, however that the bone is sitting nicely so that he won’t need surgery. I truly am thankful. I think it just hits a more tender spot right now. Why do some walk away when others don’t? Why should I get into my car ever again?

Oh..and this is the point where I’d usually call my mom and cry. But my parents are out of the country. Blah.

So I guess the next best think is to publish all of this funk on the internet. What a wierd world we live in.

vacay (sp?)

We had the opportunity to get away for about a week to Colorado to spend time with my family–my parents, the bros/sil’s and kiddies, and then a few days at my favorite place on earth:

with all of us AND my two wonderful Duerre  aunts, two of my cousins and their families. It was totally fun. Seriously. I wasn’t ready to go.  Sigh….I miss Colorado.

S’mores….the food of the gods.

Cousins play “bus”

I LOVE dinner!!

I love taking photos of Ella eating. She doesn’t disappoint.

My cute nieces. BFF’s.

This shot only took about 12 tries.

The Dinosaur Museum. Roar.

The Aunties

Grandma’s horsie rides are timeless…and sure to cheer up any child.

Grandpa and Greshie

So, next week Toby and the boys are headed to the coast to meet up with Toby’s parents to camp and go to his cousin’s wedding in Seattle. I’m going to be staying home. I’m the only one with a schedule–and can’t really take any more days off. So, that will be strange (mostly for me), but I’m sure they’ll have a great time.. Gulp…I might have to treat myself to a massage.

summertime

How can it almost be July 4th already? Seriously. Cannot be possible.

So far our summer has been pretty cool-weather wise- which is not something I will complain about. It’s only been in the last couple of days though that the boys have been able to get into the little pool in the back yard and not freeze.

Last week Toby and Noah went up to a mini-camp for 1st-4th grade boys. They are supposed to bring a parent with them. They both had a blast. Noah came home singing silly songs and  reinacting the skits that they saw. Perfect camp experience. I’m a little envious. Evan and I got to hang out here together–and had a good time ourselves.

(thanks for taking the pics, Carmen…and letting me steal these off of your facebook, April)

Yes…this makes me very proud. He’s a Golden Bell-er in the making.

I’m working 3-4 days per week at the clinic, so life continues to be busy, but it’s so nice to not have to get up early and get anyone out of the house by the crack of dawn.

Here are a couple of pictures:

The week before school got out we got to have Grandma here for a couple days. Always fun.

Evan has graduated to a training wheel bike. Again…who keeps feeding him and allowing him to get so big?

Toby’s Father’s day gift was the Wii Fit. The boys (especially Evan) have really taken to the yoga moves.

Even Toby’s dad got into the action (ski jumping):

Ready…..and……JUMP!!

And finally….awwww….look at these guys: