Becoming an Adult

We had a major birthday at our house last weekend! JB turned 18. This birthday was so different from his first. On that first birthday we had a few friends and family over to have hotdogs and cake. JB looked so cute. He needed us. Without us he would not have survived... Birthday number 18 still involved a few friends and family. We had lunch and cake. JB was still cute (though I think "hot" is the more politically correct term these days). But he no longer needs us. He can take care of himself just fine these days. He enjoys having mom and dad pay for stuff like food, shelter and clothing, but he's perfectly capable of doing it himself. He knows how to do all the basic caring stuff, AND he's pretty savvy when it comes to important things like money management, relationship skills, work ethic... Wow! When did our child become a man, and how did we end up with such an incredible one?

Don't answer that - we know that God had a HUGE hand in it all. And thanks to all the friends and family who helped mold this incredible person. It really does take a village.

The First Days of School!

The first days of school are over. Thankfully! While I've looked forward to these "everyone is in high school" days, I didn't think it through.... I forgot about hormones and messed up schedules and "what if I don't have lunch with anyone" (surely there will be at least one other person in the cafeteria?) and "I'm ready for it to be over" and the most god-awful of all, "I have preAP English with my SISTER!" I think most of the problems that we can solve are over. Daughter A's is out of Cross Country and into PE and French. Daughter B has a second period class (but this resulted in two Wilkinsons in the same English class). And JB...well, he still has schedule problems but I think he gets some kind of weird satisfaction out of dealing with such issues, and one of the screw up classes might be entertaining. He's got a shop teacher with a mouth like a sailor and a VERY laid back attitude. It makes for some laughs around the table.

I made it, too. First day of school with new kids and Parent Info NIght are both over. I've only been confronted once (by a "friend", no less), and I haven't killed any teammates. I think it's going to be a good year!

Slow Learners

John was laid off from his job. He's been working for a non-profit who decided that they only have money for one professional position, and that position should be fund-raising rather than marketing...not much he can do about not being a fund-raiser, so we move forward.

I know that the economy is pretty crummy right now, but this is not the first time this has happened. By my best count it's the sixth time. And on each of the past five times I've suggested he play his horn and do some freelance work to make a living rather than work in the corporate "real" world. He's just not an office kind of guy. This time I decided to get bossy (not hard for me :-) ) and tell him that he can't look for another regular job. In my opinion, God has told him six times that he needs to do something different. Five times John has gone back to what he was doing before. In my line of work we call those people slow learners, and we make modifications for them. BUT we rejoice when they finally "get it". Hopefully, he's gotten it this time.

And if you know of anyone who needs a trumpet playing, boat building, marketing professional, trumpet selling, handyman, landlord please let us know!

Happy New Year!

I like my job. As jobs go it's a good one. I get to "play" with 75 or so 10- and 11-year-olds all day long for 9 months of the year. We usually have a good time - we laugh, we learn (me, too!), we notice the weird things in the world and marvel at how stupid adults (called grown ups in my world) can be. AND we get some awesome breaks from each other - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring, and then about 9 weeks in the summer so we don't get to tired of being together. Those breaks give us all a chance to spend time with our families (one of my favorite parts).

One down side of my job is I have to work with a few grown ups . There is generally 1 or 2 grown ups to go with each of the kids, and sometimes as many as 4 (or more). Some of these adults don't seem to remember what it was like to be 10. They are often not much fun. They expect us to take life way to seriously. They want us to conform to a bunch of tests, sit in desks and stare at pieces of paper and try to remember all that is on those pieces of paper.

As I start my new year (because in my world New Year's Day is in August). I'm making a few resolutions:

1. I'm NOT going to let grown ups impede our fun. I'll just invite them in to see how much we accomplish while having fun.
2. I'm going to make someone (hopefully a grown up) laugh EVERY day.
3. I'm going to stay organized. (I make this one every year, but I have yet to succeed.)

Hopefully the other weird grown ups who get to "play" with my own kids for the next nine months are feeling the same, and they'll work to make the year filled with fun and laughter (and some learning, too). And if you want to be in a place where it's okay to talk about farts, poop, dog slobber, vomit and snot; where giggling is okay - even expected - at what, to other people, seems inappropriate times; where stupid jokes are still laughed at and always one-upped...just come see us. We'll let you join in as long as you don't tell us to grow up.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wicked!

We went, as a family (plus JB's girlfriend, K) to see Wicked last night at the Bass Concert Hall at UT. We went down a little early, and walked across campus to the Drag to get something to eat and then went to the show. It was a spectacular performance!!! Our seats were good - not great, but not bad - and with binoculars we could see really well. The set was incredible, the costumes were incredible, the leads were incredible, the ensemble was incredible, the orchestra was incredible... All in all it was one of the best shows I've seen (and it has a great message). But the most wonderful part of the evening wasn't the show...

For the first time since the kids were little we ALL went to see a musical together. No one complained or fussed. Everyone seemed to have a good time (or kept their complaints to themselves). The best thing about the evening was that while Daughter A, the theatre geek, waited in line at the stage door to get autographs for 30 or 40 minutes, her brother sat on a curb with his girlfriend and never tried to guilt her into leaving. He was almost a gentleman. He did look rather bored and didn't try to hide it; but I couldn't judge him for that. It was late and still a little hot, and he had a sweater on. Life doesn't get much better than that - three siblings, an extra teenager, a mom and a dad (who doesn't like to wait) all having fun together without any squabbles.

And it's a good thing, too, because we could have had a nice weekend at the beach for the cost of those tickets, but the fringe benefits wouldn't have been as great!

Birthday Girls

We celebrated the girls birthday today with family and friends. Many of their friends were out of town, but a few managed to make it. Most of my family was there and other "family" members who don't share the names Barton or Wilkinson. We all had a great time even though it was incredibly hot (duh, it's August in Austin) and only a few of the kids chose to use the pool. Since the girls' second birthday they have always had 2 cakes. I don't believe you should have to share your birthday cake with someone else. (I may have messed things up for the mom of another set of twins that were at the party and have always shared a cake.) No one in our immediate family is a big cake eater, so we invariably end up with way too much leftover cake. So I took the easy way out and bought only one cake from Costco for the party. I thought it'd be ok since they are 15 now. Then my sister-in-law had volunteered to make a cake. I thought, "Great. I don't have to make it, but we'll have 2 cakes. All will be well." Umm, Rosalba didn't make a cake - she made a CAKE that would have fed an army! This was as big as some wedding cakes (and beautifully decorated). Even our 30+ people couldn't put a dent in all the cake we had!

So now, we have several wonderful gifts, enough leftover hamburgers to eat them for lunch tomorrow, and cake that fills the freezers! If you need some just let me know; I'll be glad to share.

The Sins of the Mother

Daughter B is out of town with a friend for the week. Daughter A is bored, BORED, BORED. She tells me this regularly as she's drawing a square in the air in front of her with her fingers and saying, "she completes me". Whatever will they do when they marry?

Anyway, in an effort to assuage the boredom I suggested DA and I go try on heels. Just for fun. She loves tall shoes because they allow her to be "a part of the conversation". We went to our usual store for cheap clothing (Burlington Coat Factory), and proceeded to try on all kinds of heels. Strappy ones, enclosed ones, pretty one, pretty ugly ones, 4-inch, 5-inch, platforms, all colors, all styles. You name it; we tried it on. We even agreed on some! When we had exhausted all the shoes in that store, I suggested we move on to a more upscale store with good Italian shoes.

Bandolinos! My favorite in the world. I truly believe you get what you pay for when buying shoes. Back in the olden days (before children), I would only buy Bandolinos. They fit my feet. They feel heavenly, and they last for years. DA tried on a pair. She was a bit disappointed because the smallest size they had was a 6 and she needed a 5 1/2, but she got the feel. She understood the love a woman can have for good Italian shoes. We went on to continue our "shopping" at another mid-scale store, but nothing grabbed her. She had had something so much better. She says I made her a shoe snob, now. Oh well, I'm sure she'll get over it.

Oh, and we didn't buy anything...

Wisdom (Teeth)

JB asked me to make him a dentist appointment because one of his molars looked funny and hurt a bit. I did. He went. Alone! I didn't have to drag him or threaten him or anything. He went of his own accord, and then went back a couple of hours later to have a panoramic x-ray done because they needed to see his wisdom teeth so they could determine if they need to come out to protect that expensive orthodontia he had done. All of this was done by an almost 18-year-old boy (man?) without any pushing or prodding from his mother. I was proud to say the least. He came home from the second appointment in a state of shock and frustration. He learned that he DOES need to have his wisdom teeth pulled - ALL 6 OF THEM! The dentist is sending him to an oral surgeon (we now have that consultation appointment made), and plans to use JB's x-ray in a class he's teaching because he's never seen one like that before - even in a textbook...Maybe this is why JB has always been such an old soul. He's got "wisdom" beyond his years. :-)

Friends and Machines

I had the opportunity to go on a trip of my own this week. A close friend, an old acquaintance and a girl I've seen twice and I spent several day together (with about 3,600 other BeautiContol consultants) at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine. By the time I got home I was travelling with three close friends. The trip was like grown up summer camp. You know, when you would become BFFs with people you only saw for one week out of the year because of the incredible bond you make with people while sharing personal space.

The conference was good, but the fellowship of these three ladies far outweighed anything I learned from the conference. We laughed until our stomachs hurt, we told stories on ourselves that one would not normally tell, we shared ups and downs about our husbands and children, we sat on beds in a single room - four women in their 30s and 40s - and "talked" on Facebook to each other and giggled because it was so ridiculous...Until my computer died. A horrible, painful (for me), never to be resurrected death. But because of these wonderful, supportive women I made it through the initial shock. Hopefully, I'll find a replacement machine soon, but until then, I'll have to Facebook with my friends on the kids' computer in the living room. The wonderful thing is - the friendships I gained the past few days is worth much more than my loss that I'm not even sad about the laptop...It was more than a fair trade.