Makin' It Count. . .

So it's no secret that we are busy.  Mostly because I complain about it here all the time.  In all of the busy-ness I DO manage to see my kids and get them where they need to go and hug them as we pass in the hallway but I DON'T always live in the moment.  Gloria told me not too long ago that I always give her a few pats on the back when I'm ready to move on from a hug.  Quick squeeze, pat, pat, pat, move on.  She wants me to hug her like I mean it.  I think about that now when I hug her and try to just enjoy the moment instead of rushing to get on to the next thing.  The next thing can wait.  It won't be long before the hugs and moments spent in her company will be few and far between. 

This week I had a few chances to "practice what I preach". 

A few weeks ago Gloria signed me up for a field trip and looked at me with those eyes when she asked me to sign the form that said I would be willing to accompany her entire class on a full-day field trip.  I'm sure I rolled my eyes a few times before signing and then I began to silently dread it.  As the date grew closer I did a lot of self talk, "It's my turn. . . It's important to Gloria. . . It won't be so bad. . . It's just one day out of my life. . . It will be an adventure. . . yada, yada, yada. . . "  Part of my problem, honestly, is that I'm not a big fan of small talk.  If I'm around people that I know and am comfortable with, I can talk about all kinds of stuff.  But if you put me in a room full of strangers, there is only so much I can come up with about the weather. 
But the biggest thing was, I didn't think I could miss work.  And actually I think I got to the heart of it when I told Rob the night before that I just didn't want to spend the day thinking about work instead of being fully present on the field trip.  I'm a multi-tasker and I'm not good at being in the moment.  There is always something else to do, something else to think about, somewhere else to be.  And believe me, I know that things will not fall apart if I don't show up at work.  But I made Rob a big list just to make sure. . .  (I have a problem, I know. . . ).
Friday morning, bright and early, Gloria's class, her teacher and 3 other parents besides myself, walked to the bus stop and waited for the City Bus.  We had a 45 minute bus ride that would take us down town. . .
Once we arrived downtown, we walked from 8th and Main to The Discovery Center on 2nd and Myrtle:
(You can see it on the map right here)

After the Discovery Center, we walked through Julia Davis Park to BSU for a tour of the chemistry lab.  We looked at cancer cells through a microscope and heard about the research that is being done to cure it. . .

And then we took the long walk back down Capital and along 9th Street to the bus stop at 8th and Main. . .

And another 45 minute bus ride. . .

By the time we arrived back at the school it was time to head back out to Meridian and The Boys and Girls Club so Zach could put in his service project hours (he is really enjoying it, by the way).

This brings me to the next chance I had to enjoy the moment.  A couple of weeks ago, the Hutchings had invited us out to their house to roast dogs and marshmallows but the weather had not been very cooperative.  We made plans to make it happen Friday night and, in spite of my tired, dragging feet, we headed out to Columbia Village and had a great time with Hutchings and Hickersons!!

Gloria had a chance to love all over Eva while the rest of us sat around the fire and talked about everything.  No agenda, no plan and pretty much nothing was off limits.  Seriously.  It was lovely!

And THEN, if that wasn't enough living-in-the-moment, I had also made plans with Steph to go to Corri's play at Capital High School on Saturday night.  My mind has a tendency to find excuses to not make plans because it seems like I always disappoint people when I can't make it but this time I was determined to make a plan and stick with it.  So glad that I did.  We went to the play, Corri did a great job AND it was fun hanging out with Steph!

And THEN, when I got home, Zach texted and asked if I wanted to play a game.  That's something that I rarely turn down.  He has so little time to play Catan anymore with his busy school schedule that, even though we didn't start the game until 11 p.m., I agreed.  We played until after 1 a.m. . .

And now, I'm sitting in my office on a Sunday afternoon attempting to do my taxes but mostly just enjoying the silence.  Making it count is exhausting.  But worth it. . .

MOSS. . .

McCall Outdoor Science School. . . .

This is the adventure Gloria went on while I was in California.  I didn't get to hear too much about it from Gloria so it was nice that the school had the 7th and 8th graders give a special presentation about the things that they learned in McCall.  All I have to show for her adventure are a few pictures off of the old camera that she took with her and a couple of pictures and videos from the assembly but I least I can keep the memory of it right here on the blog. . .

Zach. . .

I started this post last Thursday, before the weekend's quiz meet, so, before I can post all the fun pics from the meet, I have to talk about my baby. . .


Zach doesn't get nearly as much attention as Gloria, both on the blog and in life, but he seems to be ok with that. He's not one to jump in front of the camera to have his picture taken. Again. He usually doesn't tell me much about his day unless I work hard to draw it out of him. And he very rarely asks for help with his school work. Or anything else, for that matter. On the rare occasion that he needs me, I try to help him as quickly as I can. You know, like when he wanted to learn to drive and it only took us 2 years to get his driver's licence.

It was harder than I thought it would be for me to take on the role of Driver's Ed Teacher. Although Zach is a very cautious driver, I was still pretty nervous turning over the wheel. I'm not too fond of not being in control so it was a good lesson for both of us. At any rate, we FINALLY scheduled and passed the driving test last Thursday (I can say "WE" because I'm taking credit for this one!) and on Monday afternoon we went to the DMV and took the final step in what turned out to be a VERY long process:

I often think back on the days when he was completely dependant on me. Although, even when he was a toddler, he didn't ask for much. He was pretty content with a good book or a good cartoon on TV. I could get all sappy here and go on and on about his childhood and how quickly it has gone by and how much I'm going to miss him when he's gone. But I won't. Because I try not to think about it. . .

Anyway. . . Along with the guilt I have about taking so long to get his driver's licence is the guilt I have about not helping him more with school. I'm grateful that he takes 100% responsibility for his school work and, more than that, he seems to really enjoy the process. I've always been involved in the past and I've enjoyed learning right along with him but this year he has books that I would have to really make myself understand in order to be of any use to him. Take Chemistry, for example. I received my first "C" during my sophomore year of high school. It was in Chemistry. I didn't get it. I didn't enjoy it. I didn't learn anything. So when Zach told me he wanted to take Advanced Chemistry this year, I told him he'd be on his own. He already knew this. I haven't been much help to him in Science since about the 7th grade. The way I know he is learning something is how well I understand it when he explains it to me. He dumbs it down a little just to make me feel better. I DO enjoy the experiments, so that is usually something we do together. His science kit came with all of the necessary chemicals. The first experiment was about what happens when basic chemicals are mixed together in distilled water. So, these two chemicals. . .

. . . look like this:

And these two chemicals. . .

. . . look like this:

And, finally, these two chemicals. . .

. . . look like this:

If Chemistry were just about pretty colors, I might be able to show a little more interest. . .

Unfortunately, there's a lot more to it. This is where I nod and smile and say, "uh huh" a lot and Zach finishes up the experiment:

His other lessons get about the same response from me. I DO claim to be a math person but Calculus stopped me in my tracks my senior year. Didn't get it. Didn't enjoy it. Didn't learn anything. Luckily Zach's book came with a CD Rom that has a professor who explains everything in detail.

I'm pretty sure he likes all of his subjects but this book has really captured his attention. It's called "Tools of Dominion, The Case Laws of Exodus". I wish I had the time and extra brain cells to read this with him but the parts that he has shared with me that he finds especially interesting cause my brain to shut down. Kind of like when I get the warning box on my computer that there has been a fatal error and Internet Explorer is shutting down. It's just too much. . .

I cringe a little when I hear myself "brag" about my kids but I just feel the need to say that I'm really thankful for this boy of mine who is turning into a really amazing man. . .

Chemistry. . .

I have fallen hopelessly behind on my blog and would probably not even try to catch up but, you see, I have all these pictures that I've taken and there are all these things that have happened that are running around in my brain along with this weird (pathological?) need to blog chronologically so it may take me awhile to get current and start posting one picture a day. (Who am I kidding? I have yet to post just one picture a day consistently since I started this blog!!)


Anyway, sometime last week Zach gave me a list of items he needed for his next Chemistry experiment. The list simply said: Vinegar, Red Cabbage, Powdered Drain Cleaner. I'm sure I've noted here before that science has never been my strong suit so I delivered the items on the list and waited to see what would happen.

The (clear) vinegar was poured into a beaker and weighed on Zach's handy mass scale. . .



The (purple) cabbage was boiled on the stove, left to cool for a few minutes and then the cabbage water was poured into another beaker. (I can honestly say that I have never purchased or boiled cabbage. There may have been a stray cabbage in my pre-packaged bag of salad but it would never have been a conscience decision).


When the beaker containing the boiled cabbage water was cool to the touch, it was transferred into the beaker containing the vinegar.


The result was instantaneous and very cool. I didn't read all the reasons why this happened because that would be Zach's job but some chemical reaction caused the solution to turn this pretty red color (there's a reason I got a "C" in chemistry) Another weight measurement was taken on the mass scale:

The final step in the experiment was to add the Drano crystals that contained Lye to the solution . . .

Zach slowly poured the crystals into the vinegar/cabbage water mixture. . .

. . . and stirred it up with his stirring rod . . .

. . . and it eventually turned from the pretty red color to this kind of putrid yellow. The solution was measured again and the mass weight was exactly the same as it was before the chemicals were mixed:

The point of the experiment really had nothing to do with the color changes but was a proof for The Law of Mass Conservation. If you're still reading at this point, and, honestly, if this were your blog post and I was reading it, you would have lost me back at the boiled cabbage picture BUT in case you're still interested, this is what the textbook says about THE LAW OF MASS CONSERVATION:

"Matter cannot be created or destroyed; it can only change forms. Thus, when you burn wood in the fireplace, the matter in the wood is not destroyed. Instead, it changes from wood into other substances. Today, we know that those substances are carbon dioxide, water, and ash. . . If we measure the mass of the wood and the oxygen before a fire starts, and we trap all of the carbon dioxide and water produced by the fire after it starts, we will find out that the mass of the wood and oxygen used by the fire is exactly equal to the mass of the ash, water vapor, and carbon dioxide produced by the fire." (Exploring Creation With Chemistry, p. 70)

I'll take math over chemistry any day. . .