metamorphosis: July 2007

Advise for Parents

If you have children, avoid a home with a two story entryway. We have a two story entryway. From the foyer, our stairs lead to the bedrooms. I think it is 20 feet from floor to ceiling. Here is a view from the top landing.

Last week I noticed something dark in one of the chandelier bowls. I made the necessary inquiries and discovered that Drew threw a beanbag ball the prior week and it got stuck. Since this was my week to clean the foyer, I finally enlisted Andy to hold the ladder while I went to investigate. Remember the 20 feet off the floor problem? We needed an extension ladder to reach. Here's a view from the floor.

I scaled the ladder to the plant shelf. I would never keep plants there. It is 11 feet off the floor and all plants would surely die. They should call it the light bulb changing / beanbag rescue standing place. My first step was to clear the shelf of the balloon and paper airplane that have been there for about a month. Onto the ball. So there I am dangling from the ledge to twirl the light fixture so that I can reach the beanbag. I finally get my hand on it and it won't lift out. Hmm. He must have thrown that pretty high and / or hard to wedge it in so tightly. I'm surprised that the bulb didn't break. Or maybe, the outside of the ball melted and fused itself to the bulb, almost burning down the house. Yeah, that's the one. OK, burning down the house is an exaggeration but it seems plausible. Anyway, I had to unscrew the bulb to free the ball.

Drew would like to go on the record and state that he didn't try to throw the ball into the light. He would also like me to mention that while the ladder was out, I finally retrieved a Nerf bullet from the living room light fixture and that Andy was the guilty party in that incident.

This was the first time that I had ever touched the entryway chandelier. I've used the step ladder and a broom to knock down airplanes that had crashed but I've never been able to physically touch it. I used the opportunity to dust the dirty fixture and bulbs. I would like to go on the record and state that I thought about changing all the bulbs while I was up there but we are in the process of converting to compact fluorescent bulbs and I didn't have enough. So now I'm reasonably certain that the 2 1/2 year old bulbs will begin to burn out within the next two weeks.

Decorating Contest

What would you do with this space above the refrigerator?

I need help! I don't need it for storage, so I'm looking for something decorative. And, I don't want to spend a lot of money. The space is roughly 30" high X 40" wide X 30" deep.

I want to hear from you. I have Season 1 of "24" on DVD for my favorite feasible solution.

Megan's New Skirt

Megan has a knack for staining clothes the first time that she wears them. She puts holes in the knees of her pants like a boy. Lots of her clothes just don't fit her right. She doesn't like to brush her hair or keep it out of her face. She always looks frumpy.

2/3 of Megan's friends came to her birthday party wearing tiered ruffle skirts. She wanted one, too. So, I cut off some pants that were stained and had a hole in the knee. I rummaged through my mounds of fabric. I chopped some up and sewed it back together and made her a skirt.

I think I made a mistake by trying to salvage the pockets. The old pants part on top just looks too long. But she likes it. I offered to take off the ruffles and make two new layers for the top and give it an elastic waist. No. She likes it like this. I think it is all about instant gratification. She still looks frumpy. But at least I won't care it she gets it filthy.

6 Years Old

We began the day with presents followed by cinnamon rolls. (Yes, we let Tim climb into his seat this way and he hasn't tipped the chair over yet.)

After Ellen's swim practice, we had a party. Cake and presents and then off to the movies. We enjoyed Ratatouille. (Yes, the girl next to Megan is her friend and a mere 7 months older!)

We dropped the party girls at home (how fortunate that they all live off our exit!) and went for a swim. Megan is sporting Isabel's rejected suit. She LOVES it. She has been campaigning for a two piece for eons. Well, I guess probably not more than 3 years, when you factor the speech delay.)

Dinner of meatloaf and sweet potatoes. Then more cake.

Swimming

Ellen is on the summer swim team at the YMCA. She is doing well. And her coach says so, too. I've heard Ellen's efforts praised and I don't feel that the comments are mere platitudes. Since the outdoor practices began, Ellen is swimming a practice level above her indoor routine. Nobody said this, but I can count. Being a part of the summer team does not secure you a spot on the winter team. So she will try out at the end of August. I feel good about this. She has an optimistic attitude and a smile on her face at practice. Coaches notice these things.

Megan has become very certain that swimming is the sport for her. She swam 100 meters last week with the team with only brief pauses. She wants to try out for the team, too. She is now motivated to practice at home. She can do about 20 lengths of our pool in a reasonable time.

Not to be left behind, Ellen practices with her. Again. Drew noticed and started doing laps, too. I've been to enough practices that I can make them up well enough for our purposes. He's doing well, for someone who never really perfected any strokes. And he doesn't love running, his original athletic plan for the fall. He's going to try out for swimming instead.

Once you are on the team, the position is yours until you quit or seriously break the code of conduct. There are 5 different levels of swimmers, so there are many spots per age group. You need to swim a 50 without stopping to make the team.

If you are 6, I think they will accept a 25. Last year our team racked up points at every meet because we had 4, 6 and under girls. That is enough for a relay. Most teams don't have that many kids so young, so we always won. Since she turns 6 in a few days, this is in Megan's favor when it comes to making the team. Some of the other girls went and turned 7!

I think that I can count the number of 11 year old boy swimmers on one hand. They are all much stronger swimmers than Drew. But the numbers say, it is looking favorable for Drew. And if he doesn't make the team, he still plans on doing pre-team every week.

Now the fly in the ointment. 75% of any swim team is girls age 8-10. Ellen is 9. You can hope that some get older. You can hope that some quit. But even hoping that you are faster than those on the team already won't help you. Ellen has worked all year to make the team. Now the other 2 are interested and stand a reasonable chance of making it. And she has noticed. She pitched a small fit the other day about her need to be in a different level than her siblings.

So, as long as Ellen earns a place on the team, I'm as happy as a clam. They all want to do the same sport! Even if they don't all make the team, pre-team coincides with team practice. Yes, different levels have different practice times but I think they are close enough in ability that those times will overlap. Some might have to wait a little on the beginning or end but it would be one trip for me!

Now if I could only entice them to all play the same instrument! I was so close with the piano, but the big 2 like drums and violin better. I know the same sport might not last. Megan is young and I pushed Drew a little on it. But for now, life is good.

Our garden isn't exactly thriving, but then we don't give it much attention. Thankfully, zucchini is essentially an edible weed.

On the 4th, we set of "fireworks." They were very minor explosives that made noise and smoke and not much else. See how protective we are of the 2 year old? He's getting more snappers to throw. He doesn't throw them with enough force to set them off. It's twice the fun because he gets to stomp on them to make them explode.

On to the birthday. We celebrated a day early due to a scheduling conflict. After making 26 birthday cakes, I am no longer needed. They have discovered ice cream cake.