Moving over...

I've moved my blog to Wordpress. I like the way I can fit my pictures in better.


You'll find me there at kirstensthread.wordpress.com

The Original Henge...

Katie has entered a contest with the National Geographic Kids magazine. The contest calls for kids to create Stonehenge out of other materials. The winner gets a trip to Legoland in CA and so Katie figured that many kids would use Lego to make their "Henge". She is an avid balloon artist and decided to get busy creating "Balloon-henge". She spent an entire afternoon in the basement blowing up balloons and carefully taping them to the floor.

We'll let you know if she wins....

Medieval Times...

Traditionally the 6th graders at Katie's middle school go to "Medieval Times" in suburban Chicago for their field trip. They didn't make it there this year due to cost and busing problems, so we decided to make the trip as a family on Memorial Day. After getting there (long 2.5 hour drive) we were greeted by our hosts using "British" accents. This confused us as the Medieval Times people say that the "Realm" is of Spanish origin. We were given Burger King-like crowns, red in color, to wear around until the show itself. Apparently that would signify which seating area we would be put in and which knight we would cheer for.
While we waited for the show, we toured a lovely torture museum. Man, those medieval guys knew how to cause tremendous pain! If the museum didn't get us into the spirit of the day, the "knighting" of special guests (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) by the "King" of the land certainly did. Two guys walked around blowing their trumpets, announcing things (Alright! Band practice paid off!)
Once inside the arena, the true show began. I thought most of the stuff until this point was corny, but once I saw the choreography of the fights, jousts, and horseback riding I was hooked. The sword fights were quite good-- sparks flew and dents in shields were apparent. The arena wasn't too large and I was impressed at how the knights could ride around each other without any trouble. Dinner was an adventure: we had roasted chicken, ribs, potatoes, garlic bread. The only thing missing: utensils. Yes, we went "medieval" on the meal! Thank heavens for the warm wet-wipe at the end.
The kids loved it. Katie got a red carnation from our Red Knight. (Sigh!) And I could see the wheels turning in Soren's brain as to what new Lego set-ups he would put together when we got home. Overall, we had a great time. A bit pricey, but a lot of fun.

Nostalgia for Dairy Queen...

We finally made it to Dairy Queen to celebrate Soren's mathematical success. As we gorged ourselves on Blizzards, Dave bemoaned the loss of the DQ icon, Dennis the Menace. While my kids can sing most any Beatles tune, know Calvin and Hobbes intimately and love classic Muppet Show episodes (they think Rita Moreno is the tops!)-- they don't really know much about Dennis the Menace. I wish they would have kept him and his cohorts as the face of DQ. Now they have some idiotic characters, "Chilly, Blender and Grilla" running around trying to "save DQ-topia" and "unite the deeqs". (www.deeqs.com)

Oh cruel, cruel world....

I remember the days when we would consider going to DQ a great treat. In my hometown we had two locations-- neither was a Brazier. We'd walk up to the window and order our treasured dipped cone, dilly bar, or Mister Misty. It always made me think of the 50s for some reason-- Dennis, Margaret, Mr. Wilson were all kind of stuck in time-- and eating our ice cream either at the picnic bench or in the car was so "retro" in the 80s.

We'll keep the Dairy Queen tradition alive in our family. Summer is here and the time is right for ice cream.

Was I like this?

Katie is now 12 and has changed so much over the past year. Her 5th grade teacher saw her at the middle school last week while taking the prospective 6th graders from the elementary school on a tour of the building. She mentioned to me in an e-mail that Katie looked so grown up-- with her long hair and contact lenses. She is still the imaginative kid who will play creative games with her younger brother, but she is getting older and noticing more about the world around her.
The other day she complained about the fact that many girls around her age are focused on boys and clothes. She said, "Mom, I just don't care about that stuff. Is it okay that I don't want to wear make-up and lots of jewelry?" Inside I was cheering, but I calmly reply, "Of course it's okay. You need to be comfortable with who you are and what you want to do."
Katie and I watched the film version of "Little Women" (Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, et al) this past weekend. She was entranced and could really identify with the character of Jo. Just like Jo, she loves to write and be dramatic. She would think nothing of cutting off her locks for a good cause. (She's done Locks of Love three times so far...) After the movie she wanted to run upstairs and continue work on the book she's writing. She loves Shakespeare and is taking a drama class at our local civic theater on Saturdays. For heaven's sake, the kid writes amazing sonnets in her spare time! As I watch her grow and see how she relishes life I cannot but wonder: Was I like this at her age? (Mom, this is the perfect chance to respond and show me that you actually have read my blog....)
Granted, she does have the teenage anxious moments, but for the most part she seems comfortable in her own skin. I don't remember being so confident. I just hope that she continues to confide in me and to be brave enough to simply be Katie.

Soren is in the midst of memorizing his multiplication tables. We had thought he was fine with this, but realized, after getting back a timed test, that he needed some practice. So, about a month ago I tried the "reward" tactic:

Me :"Hey Soren, when you master the times tables we can celebrate by going to Dairy Queen!"
Soren: "Can we go right now?"
Me: "No, you have to know these facts backwards and forwards first."
Soren: "Hmm... maybe later...."

Much of school comes easy for Soren, so when he was presented with a challenge, he got frustrated and started to rebel against our parental efforts. I made flashcards, we sang the "3 is the magic number" and other songs from Schoolhouse Rock, but he still didn't want to really learn the math.

One day as he was sitting at the piano, getting ready to practice, he turned and made the comment, "Mom, I guess I'm just like Mike Huckabee... 'I'm not a math guy, I'm more of a miracle guy.' " I was floored! I guess your kids really do tune in to the goings on of the wider world around them.
Naturally, this comment has been fodder for Dave's poli sci classes at Notre Dame. He asked me at least three times if that is really what Soren said.

Yep, that's my boy.

Oh, and by the way, he's learned his times tables. Dairy Queen here we come...

March is going out like a lion... it's pouring rain, (thank heavens not snow!) I'm just getting over the flu. I was down completely for a few days, but it has taken me longer to bounce back than usual. I'm mainly tired. If you know me and the energy I normally exhibit, you can understand that I'm frustrated not to be peak levels!
Katie turned 12 last week. I turned 37 last month and didn't feel as old as I did when I thought about my little girl at 12. She now enters the youth program at church. I'm not worried about her there-- I consider all the girls in Young Womens as "my girls". I worked with them for almost three years and know most of them quite well. I suppose it's just that it's hard to see your kid get older. Katie still is quite young for her age: she still has an active imagination, but it's hard to think of her as having "crushes" on boys and starting to consider her jewelry options (This refers to jewelry that isn't made out of pink plastic and in the shape of a dolphin, mind you...)
Perhaps feeling the weight of my own mortality will bring out the better parent in me. I find myself recalling what I was like at 12 (scary!) and the amazing friends I had. I just want Katie to have all that is wonderful about this time of her life. She is a sensitive soul who cares deeply about the feelings of others. She also is fiercely independent (wherever did she get that from?!?) and makes friends easily. I'm not worried about her... Maybe I'm worried about me!

The Last Laugh...

Today it snowed. It's March 21st and it snowed. UGH.... We drove to Chicago to spend the day at the Adler Planetarium (underwhelming) and on our drive back we saw three bad accidents on the Toll Road. I guess Mother Nature is reminding us who is in charge. Just as we get excited about Spring, just as my daffodils are peeking out of the ground, just as I think I can retire my winter coat and sweaters... snow.
Hopefully it will be the final cough of a winter that has been less than ideal.

the race

The Pinewood Prize

On Saturday Soren attended his school Pack's Pinewood Derby. (For those of you who don't know, Soren attends Cub Scouts at church and at school... I can explain later if you want to know why.) I must admit that I have a love-hate relationship with the Pinewood Derby. The process of designing and creating the car can be fun, but the drama of the Derby itself can be quite taxing.
At Christmastime we were in Utah visiting my parents. Our plan was for Soren and his Papa to have some good bonding time while making his car. (I was quite grateful for this as I didn't think I could help Soren with the kind of car he was planning.) So we brought the kit out with us and the two of them got to work. Soren had dreamed up the "stick of dynamite" car. My dad had the tools, the know-how and more importantly, the patience , to help make it happen. They worked hard, and over the time we were there, created a masterpiece.

Soren got to race the "Kaboom" car twice-- in both pack derbys. Unfortunately, he had strep throat for the church pack derby-- Dave and Katie ran his car in absentia. Soren's car wasn't the fastest, but seemed to be somewhere in the middle of the group. (This is quite important as a parent. You really want your child to win at least one heat. Never to win even one heat has dramatic consequences for both the child--crying, anger, disappointment etc.-- and the parent--feelings of utter inadequacy as a co-builder with your child) I use "child" instead of "son" because I have had to go through this with Katie last year at the Girls Scout "Powder-Puff" Derby. (Hate the name, loved her car-- she made the Wienermobile.)

At least with the church derby, there weren't too many boys and the racing was done so that things went fast and fun. They got to race against each other many times and somehow a winner was determined quickly. They were done in about an hour.
Contrast this to the school pack's derby. Dave arrived with Soren's car a little after 9am. (Soren was at a school-sponsored class about the Titanic that morning) I picked up Soren and another scout in his den around 10 and brought them to the school gymnasium for the races. The Webelos went first (1 hour of racing for around 15 boys) and then the Bears (Soren's gang) Again, his car was in the middle of the pack-- not bad, but I could tell that he was a bit disappointed. He did win a few races and after letting it sink in that his car was done for the day, went off with Dave to get some lunch from the concession stand.
Fast forward to the ending ceremonies where the boys got their trophies (everyone gets a small one for participation; larger ones were for the various categories and the overall 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places.) Soren had hoped for a trophy for his car's design: most creative/humorous, etc. Unfortunately his didn't get one. This ceremony was around 3pm. Yes, I did say 3. The whole derby took 6 hours!! I knew this when I went to the building that morning, but it doesn't really sink in until your bottom goes numb after sitting for hours on a metal folding chair. Many of us parents talked energetically about how things could be streamlined. I was told that this type of discussion happens every year, but nothing seems to change. Sigh...
Right after the ceremony the boys were allowed to get their cars. Most parents were thrilled that they and their numbed bottoms could leave and go home. While we eagerly stacked the chairs, the boys did what the only thing they really wanted to do: race their cars. They lined up by the track and raced them-- three at a time. No one really seemed to care which car was fastest, they simply enjoyed racing them again and again. Maybe we could learn something from this and figure out a way to race for the title, while leaving time for them to simply have fun and race their cars at the end.
Soren was fine as we headed home. His passion was for his "Kaboom" car, not a trophy. He wanted to hold the car, not put it back in its secure box. I think the best thing to come out of the whole Pinewood experience was the fun that he and his Papa had in creating it. There is something to say for that--- something that there isn't a trophy for. I guess that is the true Pinewood prize....

Indiana Jones

My children are currently obsessed with Indiana Jones. Dave recently purchased the DVD boxed set of the movies and we've watched the first two so far. Soren can be heard at various times singing "dum-de-dum-dum...". In fact, his main obsession has fostered this new obsession, i.e. the Lego company has recently put out Indiana Jones Lego sets.
Soren pulled out his money the other day and decided that he really needed one of the sets. So off we went to the store. I had something to return at the store, so while we waited in line, Soren tried out different lyrics to the Indiana Jones theme. Mainly, all he sang was, "Indiana.... Indiana Jones.... Indiana.... Indiana Jo-o-ones!" (try singing it, it's quite catchy) Once the set was in the plastic bag and we were out to the car, Soren announced that once he finished his homework AND practiced his piano, he would put the set together and play with it. All I could think of was whether there was a cheaper way of getting my son to so enthusiastically practice his piano. There were only so many Lego sets to purchase and I didn't have that kind of cash. Since then, he has played with the Lego everyday. He has taken some of his Harry Potter Lego to create the ruins of some ancient place with a jewel that needed to be rescued by the whip-carrying hero. With all of the spiders, snakes, and cobwebs, it made me glad that his imagination could put something together so we didn't "need" to buy another set in the near future!
Both Katie and Soren have also commented on the posters for the new movie, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Both kids say that he looks "way old" and Soren has commented that perhaps he'll get around using a walker in the movie...

The Thread begins...

I've finally given in to the blogworld. I suppose it was only a matter of time before I embarked on this online adventure. Perhaps this will spur me on to keep an updated journal as I seem to be more attached to the computer as of late, than to my pen. I can thank so many of my friends who already have blogs running as my inspiration to do this. Your postings have kept me in touch with your lives as if I'm right there chatting with you over the backyard fence. Hopefully this will do the same for you.