Going Green

Like everyone else, we are recycling. And of course we are trying to instill it as a habit for our daughters to help save the environment. We save our pop cans, D crushes them as one of her daily chores, and they are later turned in for cash. We save and re-use paper for notes and quick print jobs. I pack the girls' clothes up and pass them on to my co-worker's young daughter. We do our part.

The end of this summer saw a huge recycling proposition from K & D. They gave up their swingset in the backyard. (OMG! I still can't believe they've outgrown it!) Our good friends S & A have an adorable daughter and cute little boy, and they were thrilled with the offer.

The day came for the playset to be taken apart and transported to their house for reassembly. K & D spent some time in the backyard that day, having a last swing and taking some pictures:

The dad, S, came over after work that day and began by taking pictures of his own - to show how to put it back together, and marking pieces for easy reassembly. His father-in-law and brother-in-law arrived and the three of them had it taken apart in no time. They left many pieces bolted together to make their job easier when they got it home, but it made the parts incredibly heavy to move from the back of the yard, over the fence and out to the driveway. My husband helped too when he got home from work, and the four of them managed to move even the tall tower part mostly in one big section. They loaded it all into their pick-up trucks and transported it 26 miles around the outerbelt to their house, looking very much like the Beverly Hillbillies or Sanford & Son in their junkyard truck.

As they drove away with their precarious load, I went and looked out at our backyard. The absence of the playset brought a tear to my eye - because my girls are growing up. I thought of all the fun times that so many children have enjoyed on that playset over the years - the daycare kids, birthday parties, friends, cousins and neighbors. Those days with my little daughters are past, but they'll always be my baby girls.

We received a thank-you note from S & A in the mail yesterday. They included pictures of their cute kids swinging and sliding on their "new" playset, with huge grins on their little faces. Those pictures were all the proof I needed that this recycling project definitely made a big difference!

Where were you...?

That's a question you'll hear this week for the rest of your life. Where were you on 9/11? Where were you when the planes crashed into the towers? Where were you when the towers collapsed? Those that lost someone that day will always have their personal loss, a hole in their heart and soul. But everyone has their own story of that day, and most are eager to share theirs. This tragedy didn't happen to them, but because of how it has changed who we are and where and how we live, everyone has taken it on as part of their own personal history.

Where were you...?

I was on a leave of absence from the library where I had worked for almost 20 years. I had a home daycare at that time so that I could be at home with my girls for a few years. Parents had dropped off their children that morning, we had finished breakfast and I had put my older daughter on the bus for school. The Today Show was on in our home office just off the kitchen. When they broke away for a report that something had happened at the World Trade Center and one of the towers was on fire, I woke my husband who was due to go into work in a couple of hours. As we watched in shocked disbelief, the plane hit the second tower. The daycare children and my youngest daughter were in the playroom, totally oblivious to the fact that the world had just undergone catastrophic change. I sat glued to the events unfolding on the screen and rocked one of the babies I was caring for (as much to comfort myself as the little one) and I watched stunned as the towers collapsed.

We were in contact with my daughter's school and were reassured that their day was to go on as planned, there was no need for early dismissal. The next concern was for my husband. As metropolitan areas across the country were closing offices downtown, I was certain my husband wouldn't have to go to work - they surely would close the library where he works (the same library I was on leave from) and show some concern for their employees at such an uncertain time. Unbelievably, the decision was made to be open regular hours and my husband was required to drive into downtown as everyone else was essentially evacuating the area. And I turned in my resignation - one month shy of 20 years working there. I was not going to go back and work there - I didn't want to work someplace that held that little regard for their employees and their families.

That date, those people, these events changed my life. Changed our world. Changed ... everything.

Where were you the day planes fell from the sky? I was rocking a baby.

Change is good

We were set on the idea that our daughters would go to parochial school. They were enrolled in a small, local pre-k thru 8th-grade private Catholic school beginning at age 4 for both of them. Looking back now, we don't regret them attending there - it was a good foundation to begin their education. The Christian values that were instilled in them at that young age are a big part of who they are today. However...

When the tuition was increased by over 50% in the course of two years, we felt it was time to analyze the situation - were we getting our money's worth? Were we happy with the education they were getting? After much discussion and observation, we realized there were a couple of problematic areas for us at the private school, the main one being how everyone was treated exactly the same - which may sound like a good thing, but... there was no enrichment, no honor roll, everyone was expected to do everything adequately - not to excel at anything. Essentially, students weren't pushed to strive for anything above mediocrity.

So we made the switch, and were second-guessing ourselves at first. But then... we saw the proof that we made the right decision.

(Prepare for the bragging to begin...)

D started 5th grade at a public intermediate school - only 5th and 6th graders, but there were about 1500 students in the building (big jump from the 250 total students they were used to). It was a fairly new building - bright, colorful, air-conditioned, and had a great computer lab, library, music room, art room, etc. - far exceeding the facilities at the old private school. The first week there, she was elected to student council. Friends were made and she loved her teachers. When grade cards came home - all A's. These were the first A's we'd seen since at the Catholic school they used the +, check, and - grading system (which is awful in my opinion). Then her classes went on a learning field trip to Exchange City and D's classmates voted her as the mayor for the day. The A's continued. At the end of 5th grade at an assembly with the parents, she was chosen by her teacher as the model student of their class. Sixth grade continued in the same manner - she was elected for student council again and made honor roll every grading period. She was in the choir and she started playing the trumpet and took to it naturally. She memorized 120 places of Pi and won a class prize. And at the end of 6th grade at the assembly with the parents, she was given an award as one of just 9 sixth graders that got straight A's the entire year (that's 9 out of 800 - pretty awesome accomplishment!).

(And the bragging continues...)

K's introduction to public school was at the local middle school as an 8th grader. She was voted as student council rep (she ran every year at the old private school but was never elected). K was in the choir and selected for solos/duets, she made the Power of the Pen team (competitive creative writing), and was chosen by one of her teachers to receive a Pride Award for her positive attitude and leadership. She eagerly gave up her afternoons in the Spring to be a track statistician. Even with her busy schedule, K still managed to make honor roll every report card. Freshman year at high school saw more of the same - she joined the yearbook staff and Pencil Dust (the creative writing magazine). She was in the choir and each performance had a solo/duet. In the Fall, in order to go to all of the away football games, she volunteered to be the water girl for the varsity football team. She got to ride the bus with the sports med staff and got to watch each game from the sidelines. (And as a bonus she got to be around the upperclass football players!) If you know K, then you know how much she likes to perform - she auditioned for the Fall play and got a part with a monologue. She auditioned for the winter muscial and got a role in "Once Upon a Mattress," so she got to dance and sing - all while wearing a pretty princess dress and crown (a dream come true)! In the Spring she auditioned again and got a role in a one act play. All this stage time, as well as Saturdays that she gave her time to paint the set and props, earned her an invitation to join the International Thespian Society. You'd think all that would be enough, yet she still offered her time to the track coach back at the middle school and went to their meets and kept stats for them again. And her grades? Honor roll of course.

Currently, K is in her sophomore year of high school (for details on her schedule, see my earlier post: Back to Reality). This year D is at the middle school for 7th grade. She is changing classes for the first time and has a locker for the first time. Her schedule includes classes with 8th graders (pre-algebra, language arts, science) as she is in the accelerated classes because of her good grades the previous years. She's in the band playing trumpet again. We'll see what the rest of the year holds for Miss D, but I'm confident she will continue to thrive in public school.

Did we make the right choice? If they had been left in the private school, would they still be stagnant? Would they be satisfied being average? I think its evident that adequate just doesn't cut it for our girls!

Vacation, our way

Summertime last year saw many of our friends heading off on exciting (expensive) vacations to exotic locations. Plans for our time off were just to stay in town and find ways to keep everyone entertained, cheaply of course. But I really wanted to "get away" and it had been several years since we had actually been on a vacation, so I formulated a plan. I suggested to my husband that we could go on vacation even with our limited resources - I would come up with a destination (somewhere not too far since both of our vehicles are older) and activities (something for everyone), and still keep costs minimal. After spending a couple of days discussing ideas with friends and co-workers, and researching various possibilities online, I found the answer.

This would be our own version of vacation. To keep lodging cheap, camping seemed like the solution, but my husband had 2 requests - he must have a bed, and he needs air-conditioning. So maybe a cabin then - but the cabins I was finding weren't really very cheap. Then I stumbled on a website for a private campground by Cowan Lake State Park near Wilmington (only about an hour away). Beechwood Acres Camping Resort has "camper cabins" - these are very basic structures with electricity but no bathroom or running water inside, but much cheaper rates than other cabins. Since the camper cabins had the pre-requisites - beds (a full-size and a set of bunk beds) and A/C, and the price was right, we booked our stay and arranged for my parents to dog-sit. Everything worked out so well that we made a return trip this summer.

Since the cabin had electricity inside, there was a fridge with small freezer for the food, and we could take the all-important coffeemaker to start each day. We took a BIG tub full of adult beverages and with the great A/C (it was awesome, we were actually cold sometimes even on the hottest days) we only had to add ice one time.

The cabin is directly across from the heated pool complete with volleyball net, basketball hoop, and a bench for lounging around the edge in the shallow end. They have great tunes playing whenever the pool is open (9am - 10pm), and since it's a private campground we could have our red cup beverages with us while we relaxed in the pool.

We grilled dinner when we got hungry and sat around the campfire every night. There is a playground, basketball hoop, cornhole, a gameroom, and goats - Minnie and Maggie - that you can pet and feed. The lake and beach at the state park are just a very short walk away. We did attempt to fish last year, and even went on a short hike to see the water lotuses this year - beautiful! - but swimming is by far our preferred activity. The campground has tent and RV camping along with the camper cabins (the other cabins sleep 5, 6, and up to 10), and is very well maintained with beautiful flowers everywhere and palms by the pool.

We had perfect weather both years and spent hours relaxing, swimming, reading, playing cards, hanging out and re-connecting as a family.

This vacation may not have been expensive, but it was ... priceless!

Trip to the mall

I promised my girls a trip to the mall when we went school shopping last week. So with Daddy off golfing and Labor Day sales calling, we decided it was a perfect time to go.
When they hire those guys that work the kiosk booths lining the center of the mall, what are the requirements?
"Help wanted: Annoying Kiosk Salesman, must be willing to harass innocent people minding their own business that want absolutely nothing that you are selling."
Why do they have to be like carnies at the fair? Any other store, they wait for you to come in. You know what you're looking for, you'll stop in the stores you're interested in - that's the way shopping works. But for some reason having your booth as a divider down the middle of the mall (where everyone can plainly see what you have to offer) gives you the right to accost every passerby with your spiel. I think maybe they get bonus points if they ask you more than once, as you pass by in each direction.
Anyway, I digress.
Each girl had a particular item we were searching for - D wanted a new t-shirt from one of the popular stores (we'll just call them "AF," "H," and "AERO" for the purposes of this post) and K needed new jeans. According to K's friends, she just had to get her jeans at "H" if possible. If you've ever gone into "H" you know it's dark, cramped, hot, and loud. Even making it in the door, it feels like you should give a secret handshake or a password or something. But we made our way through the dim lights and pumped up music to the racks of jeans - only to find out that you have to be 1. a child, or 2. anorexic to fit in their clothes. K being a sophomore in high school is not either of those. Seriously, if you pick up one of their sweaters sized XS, hold it up and look at it - I don't think I know many kindergartners that it would fit. And even if they came in normal sizes, paying $60 for a pair of jeans that come complete with rips and worn spots wasn't going to make Daddy very happy. At "AF" there were similar selection/price issues, but at least it was well-lit and the entrance was wide open, no secret doors or handshakes here, we at least felt like we were allowed to shop there. We had success at "AERO." Pricing was very reasonable, and their sale prices were - surprising! They had jeans on sale, and racks of shirts 2 for $22 and some that were even $5 as a Labor Day special. Both girls came home happy.