20 posts tagged “scouts”

There is a good article out on MSNBC about the current crisis in the financial industry.  It touches on a subject familiar to frugal wannabes – the idea of living within your means.

On a (sarcastically) humorous note, we mailed some paperwork for Charles’ disability application to social security last Friday, so they should have gotten the medical release paperwork on Monday.  Imagine my surprise to get a notification from Medicare on Wednesday telling us they had been notified his SSI application had been denied.  Wow, isn’t our government amazing, that they can get his medical records, review them, and make a decision in 48 hours?!  I knew this was going to be a long haul but geez….

I had my first class discussion for the Disciple bible study last night.  There are four of us taking the class.  Our lesson was on authority.  We talked about the structure of the bible, it’s purpose, the writers, and looked at various types of writing styles and then on several passages about God’s authority.  This week’s lesson is on wonder.

Duncan and I are going camping with the Boy Scouts this weekend.  We are headed to Damascus, VA so that several of the boys can ride the Virginia Creeper Trail.  Duncan & I are taking responsibility for preparing the evening meal, grilled cheese sandwiches and vegetable beef soup.  Then we are having eggs, bacon & English muffins for breakfast.  Yum!  He has had a tough time with the transition to middle school, so I am hoping some one on one time with me during the day Saturday will help put him more at ease with life in general.

On a very sad note, I learned yesterday that an internet friend from South Africa passed away from cancer.  Our group hadn’t heard from Lesley, so Cathy mailed a letter, and we got a note back from her parents.   Lesley had such a beautiful spirit… she will be missed very much.

I'm so sorry to neglect you all.  Our fall "kid" season has taken off with a bang,   Scouts for both boys, fellowship night, soccer, my Disciple I class at church.... we are in run mode.  They keep changing Duncan's schedule at school, which has him a bundle of nerves.  Work has been ... interesting... watching the other banks fall.  I've always said we were punished for being honest and confessing our missteps early.  Hopefully now people will realize we aren't in nearly as bad of shape as some of the financial institutions.

We got a ton of rain recently; yesterday was cool and delightful.  I am so looking forward to fall!  I go camping with the boy scouts this weekend.

I will preface this entry with the confession that I am probably the ONLY blogger to not have discovered this tool before.    I have PAGES of blog links that I like to go look at.  My problem is, some of them (like me) don’t always update regularly, and then I stop going to their blog since they “never have an update”.  I’m also firewall blocked from work to most of the blogs, so I can’t read them on my lunch hour.  Someone on Melzie’s blog posted about Google Reader… OMG y’all…. Go get this tool!!!   You simply have to have a logon ID for Google, then hit the link above.  You can “subscribe” to all your favorite blogs, and in this ONE SPOT, it shows you if they have updates.  Voila!!   Now instead of having to visit 50 (or more) individual web pages to check for updates, I come here daily and can view the updated ones.  WooHOO.  I’ve seen notes about RSS feeds in the past, but could never figure out where you went to “view” those feeds.  Anyone out there use a reader they like better? 

Duncan has returned home from Boy Scout camp.  He passed the test for his First Aid merit badge, so he has to do the requirements they didn’t cover at camp and he’ll get that one.  He also completed his requirements for tenderfoot, and some of his second class requirements.  We visited them Wednesday evening for family night, and shared a picnic supper with them.  The boys were so grateful to see something that was dining hall food!  The two leaders who went with them raved about how well the nine boys bonded during their week, and what a marvelous time they all had.

And on a last note, I winced when we bought Connor's new glasses in May; I bought him two pair this time, after our last year of his glass-abuse.  It paid off Sunday when he snapped one of the arms while messing with them.  We whipped out the "spare", and the broken ones are at the optometrist being repaired.

What a terrible blogger I am to not write in almost three weeks!!  Not a great way to build traffic or friendships, is it?  I need to take a page from Catherine or Shannon and write more!  At least I’ll catch you up on what you’ve missed.

Connor and Duncan finished their school year, and will be out of school until the end of August.  They miss their friends at school and their teachers, but are very glad to have more time to play and relax.  We were very proud of Duncan at his graduation day.  Each year one student per homeroom at his school is given the Principal’s Award, which is for the student who demonstrates the best character.  Duncan was chosen for his class to get this award.  I was so proud I cried when he went up on stage to get his award. 

My mother has finished the radiation treatments for her lung cancer.  Now we wait to see if the cancer has shrunk or disappeared, so this is a time of prayer and hope for us.  We should have news by mid-July to know if the treatment is working to rid her of the disease.  She is feeling better, so we are hopeful.  I went to see her this weekend, and she seems to be doing well.

Connor started Cub Scout Day Camp today.  We had a bit of a trial getting him up and going this morning.  We woke him up about 6:30 am and he SCREAMED at us in tears that he was tired and needed more sleep.   We chuckled and told him nicely he was going to camp anyways.  After he got dressed and found his shoes, we let him lay back down until time to leave.  Charles said he fell asleep in the car again on the way to camp, which started at 8:30 am.  I figure he’ll go to bed easy tonite LOL!  He finished Vacation Bible School the week before July 4^th; they worked on the Ten Commandments.  Next week he heads to soccer camp run by his league; he did this last year and really enjoyed it.  (Note -- the nurse from camp called at 1:23 pm and said come get him, upset stomach.  So Charles did, and took him by the pediatrician.  Good thing, he has a BAD case of strep, so he'll be missing at least tomorrow from camp!  Poor kid!)

Duncan just got home from two weeks at Camp Grandma.  They both enjoy it very much.  He has missed his computer, but otherwise just seems to miss his grandmother.

Our poor kitties have had a rough week or so.  We realized that Morgan had fleas again so we went to the vet on payday to get the prescription flea medication for them both.  Let me tell you, these were some strong willed fleas… I’ve never seen insects fight so hard for their lives in the 2-3 hours after the application of the medicine.  Poor Morgan, he bit and scratched and twitched and talked and just acted miserable.  He reminded me of a Mexican jumping bean in a hot skillet.  Even Brigit was fidgety.  At least until Brigit scared Charlie half to death.  All of a sudden he starts screaming at ME to come help him with Brigit, because she was “foaming at the mouth”.  OK, she was blowing bubbles, but she looked perfectly fine otherwise, except for being indignant at being scooped up so rudely.  After a call to the emergency vet we decided she had licked either her or Morgan’s flea medicine, which tastes really bitter, and it makes them produce bubbles to get it out.  Poor thing.  After about three hours the flea-gate settled down, and both cats slept the WHOLE day the next day.  We are vacuuming and applying flea spray to kill whatever still remains, but Morgan is taking few chances.  He’s been camping in the kitchen where there is no carpet.

Upendo wrote again!  It is taking just over a month for her letters to reach me.  If the reverse is true for my letters, she should have four to five letters from me now.  I am writing about every two weeks.  Last time I sent her stickers, so that one may take longer to reach her.  I really REALLY need to find a good family picture and send it to her.  I have been quite amazed at how much her letters have touched me.  It is soul warming to have a six year old child tell you your letters are full of love.  I think we get so busy on the “treadmill of life” that we forget our own positive qualities.  We get so down on ourselves because of inconsequential missteps on that treadmill, and forget that a kind heart is worth so much more.

I have been so very busy thus far in May.  We had a family wedding (Charles’ cousin Sara) to attend the first weekend.   As I expected, she made a beautiful bride.  It was neat that she married in the same church her mother and grandmother married in, and that it was the same church she was baptized in.  Sara has been dating Dave for a while, and we like him, so I hope this is a great match for her.  I stayed at Charles’ sister’s house Saturday, and got a bit of gadget envy while I was there.  She whipped out her GPS to get us directions to the church; now I think I may have to have one! 

Connor has one final soccer game for this season on Saturday.  The team they are playing includes one of his cub scout den mates.  We missed the game this past Saturday due to the spring camping trip for cub scouts.  He had a great time.  They made s’mores Friday night, then hiked up to the “knob” Saturday morning, and then played in the little creek behind our campsite all afternoon.  Creek time included racing boats the boys made out of water bottles.  Our scout master made five different cobblers for dessert Saturday night – YUM.  Duncan went camping with the Boy Scouts to the Virginia International Raceway.  Another heartwarming moment for me – the dad who took him told us they enjoyed him immensely as he was a lot of fun to be with.  Isn’t that just the best compliment on your parenting that your child is fun to be around? 

I’ve really slacked off on my couponing lately – there just haven’t been any deals that were “almost free” on stuff I actually needed.  With gas prices going up I need to get back to rebating to get my cash flow up.

We won't have news on the medical drama until this coming Friday (ugh).   Waiting is so hard, especially when you expect the news to be bad.

Connor finally had his first soccer game of the spring season (he was rained out last weekend).  They won 5 - 2 -- go Dragons!  We replaced his soccer cleats this week too as he had outgrown his old ones.  I had to miss his game as Duncan had a camping outing with the boy scouts.  We went to a private pond and fished.  Duncan was very successful -- he caught four small catfish, his first fish EVER.   Our camping was interferred with however, when they predicted hail and damaging winds to go with the drenching rain, lightening and thunder we got late afternoon.

Today has been lazy.  I ran to CVS for newspapers and more easter goodies, then to Harris Teeter and Food Lion for groceries.  There is an amazing deal on Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats running at H-T this week.  They are B1G1F, then with a doubled .70 coupon I'm paying $0.40 a box.  I'm running out of places to store them!

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The Blue/Gold banquet was last night, and Duncan received his arrow of light and bridged to Boy Scouts.  It was very nice, and I only teared up a little.

 Here you see Duncan & I as he gets his arrow of light, then him crossing the bridge from cub scouts to boy scouts.

Yesterday was not the best holiday I've had in a while.  We started the day with the first of four dental appoinments for Connor to get some long overdue teeth problems fixed.  They pulled two baby teeth, did a filling, applied a sealant, and did molds for a spacer.  He was SUCH a trooper.  That was until he broke his glasses beyond repair about two hours later.  Glasses that will take a week to get replaced.   Sigh... Charles took him today to Lens Crafters and bought a second pair so he'll have glasses for school tomorrow.  Then our cable remote died, and we couldn't replace that until today either.  I was having withdrawal...

My friend P. passed through on the way to her dad's funeral in MD.  We fed her, I loaned her a dress to wear to the service, and she'll be passing back through tomorrow.  Hold her in your prayers, this was tough on her.

Sunday I finally got the haircut I had bartered my computer skills for (would have had it in December but she broke her foot the day before), and worked another deal for her to cut the kids' hair as well.  My bangs had reached the end of my nose so I was quite shaggy.  The kids now have their pinewood derby cars started thanks to Comfort's dad, and we'll have something to race this coming Saturday.  He's been a godsend the past couple of years helping with the cars.  Connor took him up on his suggestion and will have a "pickup truck"... and we're painting it "chevy orange".  I'm not sure what Duncan's will look like.

Duncan's teacher returns to school after a two week absence tomorrow; she lost her husband of 26 years to cancer.  This is one of those times when I am painfully reminded of Duncan's autistic spectrum disorder... the change of routine at school with his teacher out has been difficult on us. 

Tonite my MIL returned from her weekend away and I am grateful she is reunited with her dog who we've had for a week.  I like the dog, but she gets clingy when MIL is gone, and I'm about done with co-dependent beings this week.  She bought the kids a new PS2 game tonite, and of course, the controller won't work.  So now I have to find $$ to replace that this week. 

So here's to things getting better... my dad turns 65 on Saturday, the pinewood derby is Saturday, the co-dependent dog is going happily home with her owner tomorrow, Duncan's teacher comes back.... let's here about what's going on positive in your lives this week!

Must be PMS (or actually just "MS") or something... or maybe it was the bill paying session before work this morning.  Definitely makes me cranky.  Today is a busy meeting day for us -- our monthly user group meeting as well as our big weekly meeting.  My coworker with the most tenure is about to go out on maternity leave and I'm going to miss her terribly.   She's at the doctor right now and may not be back to work before her daughter arrives.  I'm excited for her, she had a ton of trouble getting both kids (IVF) and has some serious complications, but she's almost 34 weeks so it's almost done.  With her gone it ups the workload for all of us, and leaves me as the only experienced person on the team. 

Anyone watch Dancing with the Stars last night?  I don't normally keep up with it, but Marie Osmond got me to watch this season, and I've gotten hooked on Sabrina Bryan & Jennie Garth as well. 

Duncan has done it again -- suddenly popped out of all of his pants.  He's been wearing a 10 slim for a while.  We went to dress him Friday night and he could barely get his jeans buttoned AND his ankles are showing.  UGH.  We finally found one pair of pants in his closet that weren't too small.  So yesterday I went to WalMart.  Do you know how hard it is to find slims?  I was looking for 12 slim, another mother for 10 slim, and a third for 7 slim.  There were NO 12 slims to be found, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  I bought two inexpensive pairs of 12 regular with adjustable waists to get us through til I could find the "right" size.  Would you believe they both fit with no adjusting??  WooHOO, I think.  Normally when Duncan goes up a size the slims hang off him.  Not this time.  Even more surprising is Connor could get into the 10 slims!!  And they were only a little bit long.  Of course the 8's still fit Connor too.   I did find a steal on shirts though... school picture day is today, and I got Duncan a striped light blue polo for $4, and I got Connor a sapphire blue polo for $2.25!!  I'm so blessed where Connor is concerned... his cousin Patrick sent a box of clothes to us that he had outgrown.  He already loves the long sleeved soccer shirt and the hoodie with the dragon(s) on it.  What was too small for Connor went to my friend Penny for her son Harvey.  Penny has six kids (ages 1, 2, 5, 5, 12, 16) so she's always appreciative of help with wardrobe!

Tonite brings another den meeting for Duncan.  I'm not sure what we are working on tonite.  He wants more belt loops before he bridges, so I am trying to identify ones we can work on.  I need to work on one with Connor too!  I also reached out to one of the local scout executives for some help on finding a smaller troop that might suit Duncan more.  He thinks he has a lead, and is supposed to call me Wednesday.  I'm encouraged!

Whew, what a busy one!  I'm getting too old for this kind of pace!!

Friday, we had our October pack meeting for Cub Scouts.  Duncan got his outdoorsman pin, his outdoor activity award, his compass emblem, and a compass point.  Connor got his very first award(s), his tiger totem, an orange & black bead, and his soccer belt loop.  They were both pretty excited to get their awards.  It was a short "business" meeting as we adjourned to head across the street to Lowe's Foods to go to a nutrition presentation.  The kids seemed really into it.  They got to touch a lobster, taste some foods, and visit the freezer among other things.  We didn't get home until almost 10 pm that night. 

My Cub Scouts

Saturday we were out of bed at 7am to make it to Connor's 8:30 am soccer game.  I'm glad we were early for a few reasons.  One, we got a great parking place, and parking is at a premium at our fields.  Two, we had a surprise visitor.  There is a new Chick Fil A restaurant in town, and they brought the cow to come visit us, and handed out free chicken biscuits.  YUM!!  It was quite chilly that morning, so it was both yummy and warm!  Duncan was quite tickled by the appearance of the cow.  The boys played really well and they won 4-1.  Hard to believe we only have three soccer games left for the fall.  I am looking forward to a little more free time though.

Immediately following the game we headed to the T.'s house to caravan to the nearby Renaissance Festival.   The kids were all excited.  We got there and sat down to eat our lunch since it was very close to lunchtime.  Then we watched a sword swallower's show, which was quite hilarious.  Connor T actually got to go up on stage and help him with his act!  It was quite sunny so I enjoyed being in the shade as well.  Then we walked down further into the festival, until my kids saw a magician and got mesmerized by him.  We lost the T.'s at that point, but met back up with them at the jousting field and got great seats for the 2:30 joust.  We were cheering for the bad guy, Sir Mauldrin.  It was again, quite entertaining.

Then we headed down to the petting zoo, where the kids had a chance to "pet" critters.  After that we started back up the festival grounds, looking in various shops.  The kids convinced me to spend $$ to let them go in the "Dungeon" and look at medieval torture devices.  Our big splurge was getting our family picture made in medieval costume.  When I have more time tonite I'll post it; I really liked how it turned out.  Last, Connor got a wooden sword and Duncan got a jester's hat.   Then we headed back to Winston-Salem.  We ended up eating dinner at the mall, getting our rings cleaned and inspected, and doing a little pre-Christmas shopping.  We got home at 7:40 pm.  LONG day!

Sunday I headed to my monthly Stampin' Up Forget-Me-Not card making class.  Susy always has cool designs.  She's having a 3D Christmas project class in November that I can't wait for.  After that it was off to the grocery store to refill my bare cupboards.  You wouldn't think two little boys could eat so much!!  They are going to be huge eaters as teenagers if this is any indication!   Little bottomless pits.  After that, I took a long nap -- I was exhausted.  We had a pretty lazy afternoon otherwise.

Oops, I'm out of time, I'll write more later!