We ususally are travelling this weekend, but felt like we couldn't because of church obligations.  So we didn't go anywhere.  It's going to be like that for the whole winter because Tim and I are heavily involved in the Sunday School program.  Unless Tim takes off work during the week and we go travelling then and return Saturday night.

 

We were lazy today up until Tim said "Let's go for a walk"  What happened was Tim and Payton walked with me for a little bit, Payton complained of being tired, so I had them drive into town to the local park to play and I ran/walked into town and met them there.   It was HOT.  88 degrees or so.   So I was really glad when I finally made it to the park.   Then I got a nice air conditioned ride home in the car.  But I really felt like I needed to get out there and excercize.

 

Right now Payton requested Tim play guitar hero on the Wii so he could watch.   He doesn't often request that game.   He loves watching Tim play Mario usually.   That game he can help out a little with the other controller, but guitar hero he just gets to dance around.

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As soon as Payton got up and had had breakfast the two of us went into the City for Groceries and to go to the Children's Museum one last time before Tim's work pass expires.  We went to Sam's club first because I knew we'd be getting a lot of things there.  Turns out it was so much stuff I had to move one of the two coolers I keep in the trunk to the back seat.   We met Tim for lunch at his office then he decided to go with us to the Children's Museum.   It wasn't packed at all, which was nice.  Less chaos and screaming kids.   Payton really loves going there.    Anyhow, when we got done there I had to go back and do the rest of the grocery shopping, stuff like Milk and fruit that might not have done so well in a hot car all afternoon.   Payton was pretty tired, and I thought for sure he would nap on the way home, but he just sat there in the back seat singing to himself.

 

As a side note, why do color printer ink cartridges have to be so expensive?   $50?  really?   I could buy a brand new printer for under $100 and get the ink cartridges included free.   We take our old ones in to be refilled at half the cost, but that only works so many times before they go "bad" and cannot be reused.   There has GOT to be cheaper HP cartridges out there right?   Why don't they make generic cartridges?   Maybe they do and I just don't know about it.  

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Thought this looked vaguely creepy.

I forgot to mention I got the job at Energique.   They have to find a desk for me to use, and until they do- they don't have an official start date for me.   The best guess is 2 weeks from now.   They will alter my hours around the hours that Payton is in school, so when he gets home, I will be home.   Pretty cool.   I am excited about doing something new and getting to be in the working world again, but also a little disappointed I will be losing my prime work-out time.   I had gained some pounds this summer and I was looking forward to taking it off in the fall.   So I will just have to be more diligent and fit in my workouts either in the morning before Tim leaves or in the evenings.  If I don't, I can kiss my weight loss goodbye.  But anyway I have a job.  That pays money.

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Tonight we are going to go to the church and do a little prep work for Rotation Sunday School.   Mostly just figure out which rooms will be for what workshops, and maybe clean a little, probably try and set up the puppet theater, make sure the supplies I THINK are there are actually there.  

 

Tim is humoring me a little I think with doing all this tonight, he knows I get nervous when there are loose ends and that I hate uncertainty in any form.

 

One of the other ladies who is involved told me that next year (assuming this all goes well) she wants the rooms all re-painted with fun "modern" designs.   Coordinating colors with cool patterns,  Sort of like this or this for example.  Something that kids really think is cool.   This would probably be something I would enjoy doing, and I am pretty good with the paint.  That of course is in the future.   We still have to get through the first rotation.  

 

But I did put together a tenative next rotation for October on the Prodigal Son.   And I have December's in mind (Birth story-- or something related)  I was actually thinking of instead of the regular story from Luke everyone knows, maybe talk about Issah and how Jesus was fortold in the old testament.   Something unexpected like that.  I don't know how we could stretch that out for a month, but I know there are other simular stories elsewhere... or at least I think so.  I am no Bible expert, which is another reason why it is laughable that I am doing this.

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I got some more photos from Lisa that she emailed from this past weekend...

This is Tim, Payton, Myself and Paul taking a canoe ride across the lake to go see the Eagle's Nest. This is us sitting around the fire at night.   It was a GREAT night for a fire.

 This is an action shot.  Paul giving Kibble a ride, and me towing Tim and Payton in the paddle boat. Here's asnother paddleboating photo.  

Worked on the Sunday School schedule more last night, Tim is going to write the puppet show.   I also got the flyers mailed out to every single kid in the area who goes to school announcing our new Rotation Sunday School program.   I called to put an ad in the local paper, I even listed it as an event on both of our town's websites.   It's been kind of busy with only two weeks to go.   But everyone should at least know about it one way or another with all the marketing we have done this time.   If that equates to more kids, I don't know.   But I am confident that every parent with kids will see an advertisement for it at least once before September 7th.  I hope that we get some new faces.  That would be nice.  

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We had a fabulous weekend with Paul, Lisa, Gerry and Kibble the dog.  It was very relaxing.  Payton absolutely loved the Canoe and Paddleboat.   Makes me wish we had one, although I don't know what we would do with it since we don't live on a lake.  Our drive time home today was not terrible despite accidentally taking a 1/2 hour pit stop at Emmerson Bay on Lake Okabojii.  We missed our turn off for HWY 71, but decided to take a different highway back to meet 71, and I realized that it was near the campground that I used to camp at every summer as a kid with my parents.   So I thought we should just drive by to check it out, and Tim suggested we actually stop for lunch.

 

It is pretty much the same, a few changes, but nothing that was too dramatic.

 

Friday before we left I got a tenative job offer for Part time work again, with Energique.  I have to call Monday to check out all the specifics.  This would not be contract work, this would be something I would have to be in the office for at regular hours.  They said they'd work around Payton's school schedule so I see no reason I shouldn't take it.  

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I don't know what is up with my cats.   Yesterday the kittens and Sawyer diappeared all day.   Today I saw Sawyer and one of the kittens this morning, but now they are nowhere to be found, and I know they aren't nearby because I set out a dish of bacon grease for them to eat.   I hope Sawyer is just taking them exploring or something, I don't know how that works.

 

Payton's preschool teachers were over this morning, part of the get ready for back to school routine.   Payton showed them his math flash cards and of course his MP3 Player.   Ms. Megan says that ever since she learned last year that Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve was his favorite song when she hears it she thinks of Payton.  School starts up again after Labor day for the preschool.

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My mother has a large garden as most of you probably know.  So I get tomatoes at this time of the year.   Two flats worth this time.   So when that happens, there are a lot of BLT's, Salads topped with tomatoes, Plain tomatoes with salt and pepper.... And the only "tomato" dish Tim will eat (and like) - Bruschetta!!

 

This takes a surprisingly large amount of tomatoes, just to get the amount you see here.  I have to peel them, and de-seed them, which takes out a lot of volume.   But it is so worth it.  Tim's theory (and mine) is that the reason he hates tomatoes but likes Bruschetta is because the slimy part of the tomato (seeds) are removed and it isn't like eating snot. 

 

I eat tomatoes plain or any which way, but there is no way I could eat two flats by myself before they go bad so I'll be making bruschetta again, probably tonight.   I just have to work up the energy to make a loaf of french bread to put the stuff on.   You can do it with store bought, but my local store doesn't sell any good breads. 

 

Last night Payton made supper for the family.   Mac and Cheese.   He did it all himself, except for draining the macaroni- it was too heavy for him to hold either the pot or the strainer, so I did that part for him.  He was very pleased with himself and he had seconds- which for him is a rare occurance.

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I had to take the little grey tabby cat to the vet today for an abscess.  His whole face was all swollen up on one side, and evidently he was running a high fever.   I guess I didn't realize that part, but it makes sence since it was a large infection.    We've got some antibiotics now so I will have to keep him confined in our garage for a bit.   He is somewhat wild and if I let him go I'd have a hard time re-catching him.

 

Payton is still enjoying his Shaker MP3 Player as much as ever.  I just added the "campfire song" to it, which he loves along with all the School House Rock songs that he knows.   I think the campfire song is his new favorite song.

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This week we are having a home visit from Payton's old and future preschool teachers.   They know Payton LOVES to show his favorite games to them, so they scheduled us for two time slots instead of just one. 

 

Also this week we are going to be going for a visit in Minnesota at our friend's Paul and Lisa's.   Specifically to their lake cabin.   It should be a lot of fun.  

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We went to see The Dark Knight Batman movie.   On the IMAX big screen.   I didn't know it was a three hour movie until we got to the theater and then Tim says do we need snacks or a drink because it is a 3 hour movie.  But, it was good.  I don't know if I would rave about it as much as some people, but I did like it.  Tim liked it less so than I.  After that we went to Sakura Bana for sushi.   We got the sampler plate for two.  It was very good except I am still undecided about the raw fish egg sushi.  The taste, ok- but the texture of having those tiny eggs squish between my teeth was not good.  When you crunched into them fluid would squirt out... I dunno.  I think it was the idea of it more than that I didn't like the taste.  And after all that- we still went grocery shopping when it was done.

 

Today I baked some more bread, this time more hamburger buns, hotdog buns, and then the leftover dough I just made a basic round loaf with it.

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   Tried my hand at homemade pasta.  The results were mixed.  The flavor was great, but the noodles (despite my best efforts) were too thick since I don't have a pasta maker.   I had to roll and cut them by hand.  Tim and I both prefer very thin pasta and usually get angel hair over spaghetti... so this was more like fat fettachini.   But we ate it anyway.  I doubt I will make this again unless I get a pasta maker that can do thin noodles.  But if I did ever get a pasta maker, I could make my own pastry wraps for Crab Rangoon.  Something to ponder I guess.

Payton played outside in the sandbox with Sawyer.   I kept watch to made sure Sawyer didn't leave any surprises to find later on while digging around if you know what I mean.  And all afternoon we had a local airplane enthusiast dive bombing our house.  This photo doesn't do justice to how close and low to the ground this guy got.  It was fun to watch though.

  It looked like he was about a foot above the trees when he would swoop down in front of our house.

 

Tomorrow the three of us have a big day planned.  We are going into work with Tim for a special charity Pancake Breakfast, then Tim will go to work and Payton and I will go to the Children's museum.  After that I am taking Payton to my parents house to stay for the weekend, and then driving back to Omaha and hopefully having a date night with Tim, although we will have to grocery shop at some point... very romantic I guess.   I am looking forward to eating some Sushi.  Tim and I have gotten into that a lot more lately and I found a new place that looks good to try.  We may or may not see a movie... that is to be determined.

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Payton decided he wanted to string beads yesterday.   I have a big container of miscellaneous beads that he sometimes uses to string on fishing line, but the beads are so small and the holes are so small sometimes he gets a little frustrated since I don't give him a needle to string with.  So this time I made the beads by rolling up sections of magazine and taping them, then cutting them into smaller cylinders.  The holes were larger and a string wrapped on one end with tape to make it stiff like a shoelace end went in really easy.  He really enjoyed that.  His string ended up being well over 7 feet because I kept tying on extra string because he wanted to keep going.  I didn't measure it but I would guess 10 feet.

He woke up this morning and the first thing he asked to do was take all the beads off his string and start over again.   He still says he is making the necklace for his friend Jessie.  I am not sure what Jessie will want with a 10 foot necklace... but kids' taste in jewelry may be slightly different than mine.

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(I am posting another video of Payton, doing flash cards.  I am so proud of how far he has come with math.  He seems to have a real love for it and so we encourage it however we can.   At this age kids really are like a sponge for knowledge.)

 

Had yet another Safe Sanctuary meeting at church last evening.   Tonight we were hammering out details of the form that people will need to now fill out to be able to volunteer with child or youth related activities.   I was under the impression they were just going to have a basic one page form asking for the information needed to do a background check, but what was brought up for discussion was a 6 page form with lots of (what I thought to be) personal and somewhat irrelevant questions that did not relate to a background check.  As a group we did pare it down a great deal, and I feel it was a good compromise considering it had been 6 pages and now it may only be 3 or so pages.  But I am uneasy because I am worried that this may deter people who otherwise might have volunteered from doing so.   I will fill out the form, and I won't complain, but I think I am more concerned about the persons who would have resisted a basic background check, now having additional information they have to fill out.  Am I crazy to be worried about this?  It's hard to get people to volunteer so I am paranoid at any barrier to that.   But the background check part of it is mandatory, there is no way around that hurdle unfortunately.

 

That aside, we are also trying now to get volunteers lined up for our Rotation Sunday School which starts September 7th.  I am not sure in what way I am being sucked into doing this.... meaning, it was my idea to try Rotation Sunday school... and so far I am the only one who has proposed any specific curriculum ideas.  The theme chosen was someone else's idea though, so I can't take credit there.  But because I had these ideas suddenly I think people are associating me with heading this.   This is the last thing I want.   I guess it wouldn't be so bad just being the "idea person" as Tim calls it, but in reality I can't just be the "idea person" without actually volunteering to teach the whole year.  Especially since Tim will be doing it.  If I do end up doing it, it will be because I perceive other people expect me to.  The probllem is, I do not like hanging out with large groups of other people's kids.   Give me a "boring" committee to sit on at church, and I am there soaking up all the details and doing my part, and I love being the Treasurer and plan on doing this job for as long as they will have me.  Something about kids gives me an upset stomach.  So here I am trying to figure out ways to increase volunteerism, and I myself do not want to volunteer to teach Sunday school.  It isn't a good feeling.

 

 The Sansa Shaker arrived Friday.   Oh my oh my the excitement!  It was super easy to get started with and I didn't even bother with directions.  I just popped in the included battery and away we went.   Payton has listened to that thing non stop since he got it.   I don't know if I can take another round of"It's the best day ever" by spongebob squarepants.  Click the red link if you would like to be delighted by this song too, unfortunately it is catchy- so you have been warned.  I am trying to find a version of F.U.N. but not having much luck so far.

This is a photo of Payton listening to "Father Abraham" and doing the actions too.   I love the fact this little player can be used with the headsets (one set or two- it has dual jacks for two persons) or without any headphones like a radio.  We are going to go through a lot of AAA batteries though.

I wanted a new beach bag, bigger than the one I had which currently has 2 rips in the seams, which I had repaired with duct tape.  That gave me an idea.   So I decided to construct my own with duct tape and clear contact paper.  The white you see is a plastic garbage bag that I used to stick the duct tape to.   It is a really big bag, and maybe I should have gone a little smaller in retrospect, when I sling the straps over my shoulder, the bottom of the bag is only a foot off the ground..   Payton and I have had the opportunity to use it already, and it does hold EVERYTHING, and is surprisingly sturdy.  This big bag used one full large roll of duct tape, plus a few purple duct tape embellishments.