It's all under control....
It's been a long time since I have looked at a summer calendar and not been filled with a slight sense of dread and fatigue.
The number of days on the calendar that Karla and I have to divide and conquer has been cut down dramatically. I'm home not just to clean and shop but to shuttle the chuckleheads to all of their summer activities; which saves Karla from eating up her vacation.
These upcoming months -- May, June, July, and part of August --- were the deciding factor as to why I bowed out of the full time work force. Both Karla and I feel as if we finally have a handle on things.....and it feels AWESOME!!!!
So awesome that I actually feel like I have time to take on some other projects.
Perhaps a slight sense of euphoria has warped my brain, but I can't wait to get started on outdoor projects. The trim on the house needs painted and the shed that for years has desperately needed a thorough cleaning is about to get tackled here in the next couple of weeks.
One other project on my list is my garden. Maybe it's too early or perhaps I used enough newspaper in between plants but, at this point, I haven't had to pull any weeds......This pleases me greatly.
Even more pleasing is how Tera has kind of taken over the gardening responsibilities. She waters every night and will most likely take care of the weeds if and when they finally come along.
And since she is being so good about working on the garden I will let it slide that she has not been sharing any of our strawberries. Every day after school she comes home and goes straight to the strawberries, picks the ripe ones, and eats them on the spot. I don't think anyone else in our family has gotten a strawberry yet.
Oh well.....Good for her.
This summer......I won't have to pay anyone to mow my lawn.....WOO HOO!!!!
Life is good.....Life is REAL good..... :)
Toby's Summer...
Now I'm not going to go into great detail about each of my kids' summers....Just highlights.
Toby's summer is going to be a little bit different this year because he has gotten his first job!!!! I'm excited that Toby had the gumption to go out and inquire about mowing a few lawns for someone we know. (Thanks Roy and Marsha!!!)
I'm tickled about Toby working because it is going to teach him a lot in regards to responsibility and taking pride in your work. But I also feel that he is going to appreciate his money a lot more now that he is actually earning it as opposed doing piddly chores around the house for his
Not that I'm really worried. Toby is just like Karla when it comes to money. As soon as he got his job he told me that forty percent would go into his savings account, forty percent into checking, and the last twenty he would pull out cash for spending money.
The jury is still out but, by God, I think momma and I may be raising him right.
Another part about this summer that will be different for Toby is this:
Yeah, she's a little worn on the outside, but it's a '95 Honda with only 125K miles on it.....and we got it for $500 dollars......A steal as far as I'm concerned. There are cars, and then there are Honda's. Honda's just flat out run. I have yet to meet anyone has had anything bad to say about them.
Initially I was a little worried about how Toby would react to seeing it. Adolescent's are so image conscious that I feared he might be embarrassed to drive it.
But, once again, he is just like Karla. One look at it and he said, "Hey, for five hundred bucks that's pretty awesome. I bet I can put a good stereo system in it."
Yup....I think we may be raising him right.
The only drawback to the car is that it is a manual transmission. Toby is getting better at driving the stick and by the end of summer he should have no problems at all......The first couple of times out though.....
VROOOOMMMMM.......squuuueeeeaaalllll.....JERK....JERK.....JERK......JERK......
As I sat in the passenger side getting the hell beat out of me I began to wonder when my next chiropractor appointment was.
"DAD!" JERK.....JERK....JERK......"WHY IS THIS DOING THIS?!"
"Holy shit, son, what gear do you have it in?"
"It's in first."
"Bullshit......Stop and check."
eeerrrrr.......
"Oh, yeah. My bad, it's in third."
Vroom..Squeak......Hmmmmmm.
"Wow.....That's much better."
"God, my neck is killing me."
Tera's Summer....
Aside from softball (which she loves) and the mandatory swim lessons (which she detests) Tera is going to start taking guitar lessons. We are in the process of finding her a 3/4 size guitar and Tera can't wait to get her hands on it.
It's odd......I haven't listened to heavy metal consistently since Toby was born. Back in the day I was big into Metallica, Megadeth, Ozzy, Tool......Good stuff, good stuff.
But Toby never acquired a taste for it. He is into rap and hip hop and I have long since mellowed. Nowadays I listen to more country, folk and classical music. I've also developed a fondness for soundtracks.
Then one day I heard the heavy riffs of a rhythm guitar coming out of the ear phones of my nine year old daughter. Puzzled, I motioned for Tera to take off her head phones.
"What are you listening to pumpkin?"
"Three Days Grace...."
"Really?"
"Uh, yeah...."
I later found out that Tera also liked Evanescence and Linkin Park. Excited, I began to pick out groups to see what she thought of them.
Metallica --- awesome!!!!
Megadeth -- I like it.
Red Hot Chili Peppers --- no......(Oh well, can't win 'em all)
I then introduced her to the local rock radio station where she heard Five Finger Death Punch's version of House of the Rising Sun. Now every time we get into the car she asks to listen to 98.9.
I find it incredibly strange that my little girl, who still watches My Little Pony, totally digs the heavy bass, thundering drums, and crunching guitars of the rock genre. When I asked if she wanted to learn how to play the guitar she jumped all over it.
Giddy.....Just, giddy.
Toby, on the other hand, can't stand it.
"She seriously likes this stuff?"
I did make the mistake of looking up more Five Finger Death Punch on youtube. My choice of song started out as a profanity laced tirade within the first five words. Toby's eyes popped as he sprang to the computer and muted it.
"Oh my God." he said.
Well aren't we sensitive?
At that moment in time Toby was more of a concerned parent then I was. I was making my way over to the computer, but I wasn't about to hurdle over furniture to get there.
But my accidental bad parenting moment wasn't near as bad, or as funny, as Karla's.
Tera was singing Shaving Cream one day. I'm not sure what the genre is called but it's basically musical comedy.
Karla thought it would be neat to create a Dr. Demento radio station on Pandora for Tera. What Karla forgot to consider is 1) This type of music can get a little racy....and 2) Pandora does not filter it's music (maybe I have that option somewhere but I never bothered to look)
At first all was going well.......Then the song Enormous Penis began to play.
Suddenly a man was singing about how viewing his large member made all of his troubles go away.
"I take look at my enormous penis.....and all my troubles start melting away......."
Karla looked as if she was shot out of a cannon as she bolted for the computer.
Tera was rolling on the floor.
"Hahahahahahahahaha..........What did he say? Hahahahahaha....."
"Tera, let's change stations, ok?"
"Hahahahahaha.......That is so funny."
Sigh......We try to be good parents.....No, seriously....
Anyway....Now that we are more conscious about music filtering, it should be a good summer.
Life is good.....Life is REALLY good..... :)
Initially I was a little worried about how Toby would react to seeing it. Adolescent's are so image conscious that I feared he might be embarrassed to drive it.
But, once again, he is just like Karla. One look at it and he said, "Hey, for five hundred bucks that's pretty awesome. I bet I can put a good stereo system in it."
Yup....I think we may be raising him right.
The only drawback to the car is that it is a manual transmission. Toby is getting better at driving the stick and by the end of summer he should have no problems at all......The first couple of times out though.....
VROOOOMMMMM.......squuuueeeeaaalllll.....JERK....JERK.....JERK......JERK......
As I sat in the passenger side getting the hell beat out of me I began to wonder when my next chiropractor appointment was.
"DAD!" JERK.....JERK....JERK......"WHY IS THIS DOING THIS?!"
"Holy shit, son, what gear do you have it in?"
"It's in first."
"Bullshit......Stop and check."
eeerrrrr.......
"Oh, yeah. My bad, it's in third."
Vroom..Squeak......Hmmmmmm.
"Wow.....That's much better."
"God, my neck is killing me."
Tera's Summer....
Aside from softball (which she loves) and the mandatory swim lessons (which she detests) Tera is going to start taking guitar lessons. We are in the process of finding her a 3/4 size guitar and Tera can't wait to get her hands on it.
It's odd......I haven't listened to heavy metal consistently since Toby was born. Back in the day I was big into Metallica, Megadeth, Ozzy, Tool......Good stuff, good stuff.
But Toby never acquired a taste for it. He is into rap and hip hop and I have long since mellowed. Nowadays I listen to more country, folk and classical music. I've also developed a fondness for soundtracks.
Then one day I heard the heavy riffs of a rhythm guitar coming out of the ear phones of my nine year old daughter. Puzzled, I motioned for Tera to take off her head phones.
"What are you listening to pumpkin?"
"Three Days Grace...."
"Really?"
"Uh, yeah...."
I later found out that Tera also liked Evanescence and Linkin Park. Excited, I began to pick out groups to see what she thought of them.
Metallica --- awesome!!!!
Megadeth -- I like it.
Red Hot Chili Peppers --- no......(Oh well, can't win 'em all)
I then introduced her to the local rock radio station where she heard Five Finger Death Punch's version of House of the Rising Sun. Now every time we get into the car she asks to listen to 98.9.
I find it incredibly strange that my little girl, who still watches My Little Pony, totally digs the heavy bass, thundering drums, and crunching guitars of the rock genre. When I asked if she wanted to learn how to play the guitar she jumped all over it.
Giddy.....Just, giddy.
Toby, on the other hand, can't stand it.
"She seriously likes this stuff?"
I did make the mistake of looking up more Five Finger Death Punch on youtube. My choice of song started out as a profanity laced tirade within the first five words. Toby's eyes popped as he sprang to the computer and muted it.
"Oh my God." he said.
Well aren't we sensitive?
At that moment in time Toby was more of a concerned parent then I was. I was making my way over to the computer, but I wasn't about to hurdle over furniture to get there.
But my accidental bad parenting moment wasn't near as bad, or as funny, as Karla's.
Tera was singing Shaving Cream one day. I'm not sure what the genre is called but it's basically musical comedy.
Karla thought it would be neat to create a Dr. Demento radio station on Pandora for Tera. What Karla forgot to consider is 1) This type of music can get a little racy....and 2) Pandora does not filter it's music (maybe I have that option somewhere but I never bothered to look)
At first all was going well.......Then the song Enormous Penis began to play.
Suddenly a man was singing about how viewing his large member made all of his troubles go away.
"I take look at my enormous penis.....and all my troubles start melting away......."
Karla looked as if she was shot out of a cannon as she bolted for the computer.
Tera was rolling on the floor.
"Hahahahahahahahaha..........What did he say? Hahahahahaha....."
"Tera, let's change stations, ok?"
"Hahahahahaha.......That is so funny."
Sigh......We try to be good parents.....No, seriously....
Anyway....Now that we are more conscious about music filtering, it should be a good summer.
Life is good.....Life is REALLY good..... :)
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