FamilyMatters

Pete Got Me a Handy Switch

People -- have I told you how great Pete is?

A few weeks ago I was stretching to turn the light off from the middle of our big King size bed -- what a pain. And I said something like -- this is a pain in the @$$ or something.

First he put the Clapper in, but oops I had to clap pretty loudly in the middle of the night to turn the damn thing on and oops -- while light won't wake the man up, clapping loudly will.

Last night after a REALLY BUSY day when he was running running running from one thing to the next, I found him fiddling next to my side of the bed. "What are you doing?" I said, probably a bit sharply.

"Fixing something," he said.

Whatever, better not to ask I thought.

Then 10 minutes later when I got into bed I found a lightswitch on my pillow.

"What's this?"

"It's your new remote control for your light."  

YEAH!! This thing is great! Handy switch is probably available at Walgreens but check out the site for the irritating Billy Mays hawking it -- don't let the voice turn you off -- it's awesome

Thanks Pete!

"Even Your Mom Wouldn't Do That, Mike."

I'm not sure if I've sunk to a new low or a new high, but tonight Michael made dinner (thanks Mike, pasta, some meat sauce and sliced cucumbers). I heard him chop, chop, chopping away and didn't think much of it.....

until....

I heard Pete say, "Mike, even you mom wouldn't do that."

"What?!" asked Mike

"Leave the cucumber peels on the floor."

Is this a compliment? I don't think so!

Are You Happy To See Me or is that Liam Under the Table

Tonight at the St. Matthews Fall Festival Fiesta (which was thankfully not as cold as it has been in the last few year) I was sitting talking with Tom, Bob and Chris and I feel something brushing up on my feet and lightly on my legs.

I look around and everyone has the hands and feet to themselves.

Then it gets a little "friskier" or so I thought, until I finally couldn't take it and I looked under the table to find Liam there tickling my toes.

And I laughed and said "OMG I thought Tom was feeling me up and it's Liam!"

Open mouth insert foot! Tom was sitting there with arms crossed and at least 2 feet away!

Pete is Turning into My Dad

It had to happen -- I mean they spend so much time together in the summer.  Pete is becoming my father. 

 

So it's true that Pete is more bald (is that like being sort of pregnant?) than my dad, but really the differences are starting to fade to black here. 

Evidence the following:

- Pete just put 2 labels on his dashboard to remind him of stuff -- my dad has more than a dozen labels on the dashboard and windshield (let's not talk about the security risk that is his computer keyboard!)

- Pete left the sprinkler on out front for 2 hours on Monday

    "Mike are you running the water for the shower?"

    "No, dad, you left the sprinkler on out front!"  (Terry is renowned for leaving the sprinkler on for hours -- we refer to it as 'watering the driveway' -- good thing he's on a well!)

- Last night, on the drive to Arbor Bay, I drove, but took Pete's direction (sometimes that's just easier) -- we must have taken 10 turns "to avoid traffic or stop signs" (Ask my sister Lizzie about the short cut to the Chilmark dump sometime.)

A good day is "Fantastic!" said with mouth wide.

When he can't hear and wants you to repeat what you said "What!?!" said quickly, with force, and volume.

I'm just saying......

   

Liam is Back in eSoccer!

This fall we enrolled Liam back into e-soccer (Exceptional Children Soccer) a fantastic program (that is a mission of an evangelical church in Pacifica) for kids with special needs and typically-developing kids to play soccer in a fun, non competitive, no parents screaming on the sidelines game. (Ask me how I feel about AYSO in Millbrae sometime.)

Liam is quite excited about soccer -- "Kick the ball in the goal!" and is off to a great start. He is running hard, kicking and following the ball and yelling and encouraging (?) his teammates!

GO TEAM!! 

 

Here he comes!

  

YEAH!

Where is the ball?

Do you think they'll bring it down here again?

 

  

SCORE!!!

"Oh, I have a lot more."

This Summer Mike attended the RSCM summer course in Tulsa -- yes Tulsa. Pete drove him to Tulsa and dropped him off and we didn't hear from the camp all week so we assumed all was well. (We found out later that the first 4 days were tough but by day 5 he had settled in -- Thank God!)

On Saturday, when we arrived for the talent show and dinner, Mike was excited to see us, and ready to show us all about the dining hall conveyor belts that magically took the dirty dishes away.

I asked him how his test for the RSCM bronze medal went and he said "Mom, I was way overprepared."

(Thank you Dr. Matthews!)

"Well, better over prepared than underprepared," I said. 

Mike introduced me to his accompaniest for the exam, Paul Watkins, and his examiner Garmon Ashby. I mentioned that Mike had said he was "overprepared" and that I found that hard to believe.

They both laughed. "Well, Mrs. Caraher, I said 'Thank you very much Michael, your test is done' and Michael said 'But I have much more to tell you!' And we weren't going anywhere until we heard it all!" They were so encouraging and accommodating.

Well Saturday Mike was awarded his bronze medal during Evensong -- which ended up being a big deal (who knew!?). Yeah Mike!

Back It Up!

Abby may be thousands of miles away but recently she's been making her presence felt -- every day, all day.

If you've never seen her "Back it Up" -- e.g. dance? move? going backward with attitude while saying "back it up, back it up" -- really ask her to send you a video -- hell, Abby send me a video and I'll put it right HERE!

Recently -- this is how the kids are starting their days -- backing it up from breakfast to brushing their teeth -- backing it up from the bathroom to their bedrooms -- BACKING IT UP (loudly proclaiming their actions) from their rooms to the car...

So this is so funny

But SLOW becuase they don't come equipped with rear view mirrors and they keep bumping into walls!

The First Dance Continued

Thank God the dance was "so much fun mom, I'm going to go to all of them!"

I can't believe how relieved I am that Mike had a good time....phew! Probably projection of my horrible first dance coming back to haunt me 30 years later.

"So, Mike, who did you dance with?"

Then he names all these (older) girls and no real names here.... "Sally, Josie, Molly, somebody else in 7th grade, some other girl in 8th grade."

"Whoa! You mean you don't know their names?"

"Nope."

"OK -- it is not OK to not know their names .... if you don't know them before, you need to find out afterwards.... what if someone you asked to dance didn't know your name?"

ponder ponder ponder

"So, Mike, who did you ask to dance?"

"Mom, I don't ask....I wait for them to ask me."

The mind boggles.

The First Dance

Mike's first dance is tonight -- I can hardly believe it. I don't remember dances until 8th grade, but hey that was way before the Persian Gulf War.

So the rule at St. Matthew's is that you can't say no if someone asks you to dance.

The rumor is that if you're eating, THEN you can say no.  So there has been some talk about hanging out at the snack table and making sure something's in your mouth if you see girls coming over to ask you to dance.

At the beginning of the week, Mike was not going to go. "Nope, I don't want to go mom."

But clearly the teachers have been working on the kids, because this morning Mike informed me that yes he WAS going to go (yes, the outfit is planned) and that he "didn't want to disappoint my friends" by not going. 

He's looking forward to the Snowball Dance -- which is when Ms. Sanborn, I mean Mrs. King chooses 8 kids to dance with each other and they do and then she calls "Snowball" and each of those 8 kids bring in 8 more kids and then 16 dance until "Snowball".... until the whole middle school is dancing.

Dancing in pods sounds more like it!

It'll Be A Bit Too Thrilling Mom

Mike had been looking forward to trying out for the Fall play since last Spring when the 4th grade put on "Rowdy Kate" and as you can see in a different post below, he starred at Kate's dad.

So when the letter came home about the production and the schedule (wow!) Pete and I looked at the calendar and everything else Mike wants to do (have I mentioned organ, piano, horsebackriding and choirs?) and moved things around so that it wouldn't be too overwhelming....but we were concerned but willing to let him do it (with the understanding that he'd have to drop something if the homework slid.)

Anywhoo -- so Mike chooses and audition song and practices.  And then the Sunday before auditions he tells us that no, maybe he won't try out for the play.

We were really surprised.

"Wow, Mike -- you were looking forward to it -- are you sure?"

"Mom -- it'll be a bit too thrilling to be in middle school and with all my other activities -- and there will be other opportunities -- I think I should wait until I settle down with school and stuff."

Who are you and what have you done with my son Michael?

Fifth grade: Thrilling -- who would have guessed.

And no, I did not pursue word choice because I think that's what he meant to say!