Camp Awards

They gave out several awards at camp this week.  There was most athletic (boy and girl), camp clown (boy and girl), most talented (boy and girl), honor camper, camp king, camp queen, and best christian character (boy and girl).  Of the eleven awards given, Noah won best christian character.  We couldn't have been prouder!  Congratulations Noah!

Life Lessons From Summer Camp

This was our first time ever doing summer camp.  My kids have never spent the night away from home with anyone other than my parents, so I was unsure if we would even make it the entire week, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Noah was the only one old enough to go to camp and while I was working at the camp, I was coming home each night to stay with the little ones.  Noah stayed all week by himself and really had a great time.
For our first year of doing camp we had 30 children, only seven of which were girls.  If you do the math you can figure out that it was a very loud, dirty, testosterone filled week!  My official title was dean of camp.  That meant I dealt with all of the discipline problems with the staff and campers.  My first morning back at the camp I was greeted by the director who informed me that we had a counselor walk out in the middle of the night without informing anyone (leaving an entire cabin of boys alone all night long) and that there was a suspected case of lice.  I really wanted to just turn around, get back into my van, and head home; but I can honestly say those were our only major issues of the week and they were resolved quickly.
I expected the kids to learn quite a bit at camp, but I did not realize what an education it would be for me as well.  Here are some of my lessons learned...

1. Pranking is "da bomb".
2. When a child says he needs a tissue, don't ask what for because he will surely show you.
3. It is possible for kids to go an entire week without sleep if they are supplied with the proper mix of caffeine and sugar.

All in all I can say it was a good experience for everyone and we are already excited about doing it again next year!

Not So Nice

I remember when Joe and I had been married for just a few months and I had recently found out I was pregnant with Noah.  Mom and I were shopping one day and she made the remark that either marriage or pregnancy agreed with me because I had "mellowed" considerably and was a much nicer person.  I actually agreed with her.  I am not sure if it was the married life or the pregnancy, but I was getting along with people better and was doing a phenomenal job of rolling with the punches.

I am thinking now that it must NOT have been the pregnancy, because this time around things are a whole lot different!  Comments that used to roll right off my back are now met with not so nice responses and the filter between my brain and my mouth has gone on strike.   For example...

Monday afternoon I had to stop at my mother-in-law's house on my way into town to do some shopping.  The kids were behaving like little horrors and I explained their behavior by saying that they were tired and would probably sleep all the way to town.  To this she replied, "Well, I hope you aren't planning on just leaving them in the car while you do your shopping!"  Ummm, yeah...I don't think she will ever say that again.

Then later in the week, Joe and I were discussing truck business and he was telling me about something that he needed done two days before and I was trying to explain that sometimes dealing with the Department of Transportation takes more time than I have and he said, "Well you only work one day a week, I don't see why you can't get it done."  Once again, that is something that I don't think he will ever say to me again.

Those are just two of many examples of the snappy irritable person that I have become. Maybe it is the pregnancy, maybe it is the heat, maybe it is just because I am getting old.  Whatever is causing it, I will be glad when I find my inner niceness again.  Although I am sure that I will not be nearly as glad as my family and friends.

Why I Pay The Bills

I have heard that in some marriages the husband and wife sit down together each week, balance the checkbook, and pay the bills.  Ummmm....that is not the way it works in our house!  Basically in our home, Joe makes the money and I spend it.  Well not exactly, but to some looking from the outside in that is the way that it seems.
The truth is that Joe does bring in most of the income into our home, and I send most of it right back out.  While our small business is a joint venture, it is his job to see that we are making money.  My job is to see that we are doing it legally by paying bills, cutting through red tape, and keeping up with ever changing rules and regulations.  We each have our own responsibilities that line up with our individual strengths.  For example, if I were in charge of driving a truck or managing the drivers we would not have any trucks or drivers left.  The trucks would be in a ditch somewhere, and I would never be able to put up with the whining that Joe puts up with from some of our drivers.
So, we stick to what we do best...for the most part.  Sometimes one of us has to handle something that is the other one's responsibility.  That happened this weekend.  Joe had some outside labor come in to help with some mechanic work and they needed to be paid in cash.  I was not aware that we had outside laborers coming in and was not prepared with cash.  I had two sick ones at home so I asked Joe to go to the little corner store and use their ATM to get cash.
Let me say here that while Joe is great at many things, there are two things that he is not good with.  The first is finance and the second is technology.  Combine them together and it is almost always a disaster.  I knew this, but thought that if I gave him explicit instructions that surely an ATM could not be that hard to figure out.

1. Insert and remove card
2. Select business account
3. Select checking
4. Enter your PIN
5. Enter the amount you need
6. Agree to the charge
7. Collect your money and receipt

The ATM at the corner store charges a $2.95 fee for the use of the machine.  On top of that our bank charges $2.00 for using a machine that is not theirs. 
About fifteen minutes after Joe had left to go to the store he called me and was rather upset.  He said, "Do you realize how much it is going to cost to get $200.00 out of this machine?"  I told him that I understood but I thought that $4.95 was not bad considering that we had no other choice.  This is what I can remember of our conversation after that:

Joe: Yeah but that is for each time I use the machine.  Do you know how many times I will have to use it to get to $200.00?
Me: What are you talking about, you only have to use it once!
Joe: No, it says to enter the amount you wish to withdraw in denominations of $20.00.  I can only get $20.00 at a time.  Do you know how many times that is?
Me: AAAAKKKK!  That is not what it means!  How many times have you used it already?
Joe: Once, what do you mean that is not what it means?
Me: It means that the machine only stocks twenty dollar bills, so you can't withdraw an amount that requires tens or fives.
Joe: Oh, never mind then.

So that is why I pay the bills and Joe handles the trucks!

MIA

I have been missing in action recently, although not quite as long as some people (*cough*...HOLLY).  We really haven't had anything exciting going on here, but I still like to post just to remind myself of what was going on since at my advanced age I can't seem to remember anymore.  By the way that was the answer to my exhaustion question...I'm just old.  The doctor could not find anything wrong with me save for the fact that I am pregnant (with ONLY one baby), have three little ones at home, and of course am getting older.

I am trying to decide whether to find out if this little one is a boy or a girl.  I was adamantly opposed to it when I first got pregnant, but am beginning to be swayed by all those around me that want to know.  They make good points, and I am not sure what I will do yet.  The three other ladies I know that are delivering around the same time have recently found out that they are all having girls...that scares me a bit!  My next ultrasound is the second week of July so we shall see how I feel that day!

School is out for Summer, but Noah is still seeing a reading tutor.  A few nights ago I caught him reading a book (gasp) all because he wanted to!  Getting him excited about reading has been by far my biggest challenge and I am excited to see progress in that area.

This week starts our busy season for the Summer.  Our first round of  VBS , followed by a week of summer camp (our first time doing this...sure to be a interesting experience), then 4th of July at the river, one week off, followed by one more round of VBS, and then school starts again.

Where did the carefree days of summer go?