Tamara said I had to make the key lime pie and I had to do it with real limes. Looking for anything that would make the job easier, I decided to use DrinkJack's method and put them all through the garlic press.

I used to only get about 1/2 cup of real juice using the old manual juicer. Now I can get almost a cup, but I needed a cup so I did augment with a little of the bottled stuff - sorry, Tamara. And thanks for the tip, DrinkJack. Right tool for the job.

After it came out of the oven, I noticed it appears to be lighter using mostly real juice.

It was only after I'd run all the limes through the garlic press that I realized I would have to zest squishy lime halves. I don't even want to talk about how messy this got, what with all the seeds and excess juice that landed in my little zest bowl. No picture of that. I'm too disgusted. The zest is now in the refrigerator drying out. Hopefully, it will be dry enough in a few hours to use as garnish on the frosting so I can finish the "Sprinkler System Re-Vamp Reward Pie".

So said Peaches on the topic of "Whining" & "Yummy"
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I was dropping Scytheboy off and there was this very leggy 8th grade girl getting out of the SUV in front of us.

Me:

Could her skirt BE any shorter?

Him:

Uh...yeah.

Why is it that guys, even young guys, think skirts could always be shorter?

Tommy spent most of the day in the hot Texas sun digging trenches in the back yard as he attempted to fix the sprinkler system. He's in bed right now nursing a massive headache and sundry aches and pains that were the result of said hard labor in the yard. And, he's not finished so he'll be spending the next couple days fixing leaks and reworking the sprinklers...headache or no headache.

So...do you think he deserves a reward pie? If you think he deserves a reward pie...which one should I make? Key Lime (his favorite) or Apple? He likes both....I'm partial to apple. And, If I make it tomorrow he'll have until Friday at lunch time to polish it off. Thoughts? Reward pie or no reward pie?

Why in the world do grocers feel the need to package chicken in such ginormous quantities? Clearly these people rarely, if ever, cook. Most recipes call for 1 lb. of boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders - not 1.57, 1.82, or worse even....2.53 lbs. I looked forever, and had to finally settle for a 1.23 lb. package of chicken breasts.

Geez, It's stressful enough going to the store with all the screaming children and extremely slow seniors during the day without having to do math to determine how much chicken to freeze and how much to use. Seriously.....don't you think?

Last year as part of their "Support our Troops" program at school, Scytheboy wrote a letter to "any soldier" stationed on the front lines in the War on Terror. It took a few weeks, but he did get a reply over the summer.

As of June, Scytheboy's soldier was stationed somewhere north of Baghdad. He is a crew chief on an Apache helicopter. I won't give you his name, rank or unit to protect his identity.

With all the ink the war protesters/pacifists have been getting lately from the mainstream media, I feel it's necessary to share with you part of our soldier's letter. His thoughts reflect the tenacity and dedication the troops on the front line still have in the face of constant danger, and I think this letter written from the front lines is more indicative of how the troops fighting this war for ALL of us (including the protesters) feel about where they are and what they're doing. Also, his closing thoughts to our son reflect the goodness and leadership of our military members everywhere.

".....Believe me when I say that we here were happy to receive your letter. By we I mean the "(unit nickname here)". This is our unit's call sign. We are a flight company. Which means we spend a lot of time in the air flying over Iraq. We keep long work hours. But it is for a good cause. For the very most part the people of Iraq are really grateful..........Well....it's back to work for me. Again, I truly appreciated your letter. And for the time you took to write it. Take care of yourself and always do your best in school."

Scytheboy will be writing a letter back to his soldier, and I am also including some much needed items in a care package for him in the event his unit is still stationed in Iraq. If you would like to send your own care package and/or letter to the front, you can find more information here.

I'll post again on this if we hear back from our soldier. In the mean time, we'll pray for his safety and for the safety of all our troops stationed in harm's way protecting us here at home.

Hey, I couldn't think of 100 so here's 50.

1. I was born in Wisconsin
2. I have one brother and two sisters
3. My brother and sisters have 13 kids between them
4. Eight of my nieces and nephews are my brother’s kids – yes, eight
5. I’ve lived in six states
6. I’ve lived in four Texas cities
7. I survived five years in Utah
8. I’ve had jobs in four states
9. Illinois and Florida are the only states I’ve lived in that I never worked in
10. I have an English degree from the University of Texas
11. I started working when I was 15
12. I worked for 22 years
13. I once worked for the United States Air Force as an accountant
14. I worked professionally for several years in hi-tech marketing and public relations

15. I don’t work now – except for the occasional contract project
16. I got married when I was 21
17. I was still a student when I got married
18. I married my boss
19. My boss became a pilot after we got married
20. We spent 10 years in the Air Force together while he flew F-16s and I worked where I could
21. Now he flies for the airlines
22. I fly free with my husband's airline
23. I have one son
24. I’ve never regretted not having more children
25. In my life, I’ve moved 18 times
26. Two of those times I was in elementary school and high school
27. It sucked moving in elementary school
28. It sucked even more moving in high school
29. The high school move was to a small Catholic high school in south Texas
30. I became a minority for the first time when I moved to south Texas
31. I’ve visited Mexico, Canada, South Korea, England, and Argentina
32. I have a cat
33. I have a pool
34. I love my pool
35. I hate the heat
36. My husband and I have major temperature issues
37. I love food
38. I hate working out
39. I work out four or five times a week (see no. 37)
40. I could cook before I stopped working
41. I can REALLY cook now that I don’t work
42. I hate to sew
43. But I’ve made all the draperies in our house anyway
44. I know just enough about computers to have broken all the computers in our house at least once
45. I broke Internet capability on one of our computers; it’s now in our son’s room
46. I am now banned from using my husband’s computer
47. Since WW II, 12 of my family members have served in the military
48. Three of them are currently serving in some capacity in the War on Terror
49. One of them rotates in and out of Iraq quite frequently
50. I pray for him

With the hurricane side-effect weather on its way, we stayed in tonight and played chess, Monopoly and Star Wars Epic Duels.

Um....do you know what happens when you are a competitive person? You breed a competitive person. With Tommy (a.k.a. "the referee") gone, playing games with each other can be, shall we say - challenging. We have retreated to our separate corners now. Enough said.

So Tommy's gone on his way back to Buenos Aires while I spent all day putting the house back in order as it was the first day I felt completely cured of jet lag. Boy, was I JET-LAGGEDD!!!

Anyway....Scytheboy and I decided to have movie night so we got our popcorn ready and sat down to watch "50 First Dates". As the movie progressed, I began to realize (quickly) that although the movie is PG-13 there were a number of references I would have preferred not to explain.

About 2/3 of the movie was over, and there was this scene where Adam Sandler notices his friend the walrus has a number of lady friends and cautions him to use condoms. Here is what Scytheboy said:

So apparently he's having relations with all the other walruses. Ewwww!.

Clearly I didn't have a thing to worry about in the way of explaining all the questionable references. They sure do grow up fast, don't they?

I saw a story today talking about how the CDC funded a study to see how close fast food chains are locating their restaurants to schools, and how many there are.

Okay, so here's my take on the whole thing. Yes, kids are getting fatter. Yes, fast food is more accessible to them than ever. Yes, fast food is usually bad for you. But who's really at fault here for our fat kids?

Just my opinion, but at the end of the day I think parents need to take responsibility for their kids' nutritional habits. What they eat at home will be reflected in the choices they make when they're not at home. I think the only exception to this is the free school lunch program. There, the government should be responsible for giving the kids food that is of nutritional value and will get them through the day as in many cases it will be the only meal the kids get that day.

I can't fault the chains for locating their businesses where they know they will make sales. That's the American way. Am I thrilled about it? Probably not. Will I worry that Scytheboy will eat fast food each and every day? Maybe. But that's something we need to be dealing with at home. In a free society I cannot expect the government to regulate what businesses sell and where they sell it if it's in an area zoned for businesses. That's completely ridiculous.

What's also completely ridiculous? The fact that some of my tax money went to pay for a study like this. Will it solve any problems? No. All it will serve to do is give parents other people and circumstances to blame for their fat kids.

To those people that blame fast food chains for their own or their children's weight problems I say only this: at some point you need to take responsibility for what you put in your own mouth and for what your kids are eating.

I was cooking dinner last night, and all of a sudden I heard:

Mmmmmm. I better loosen my belt for this.

It was Scytheboy, and when I looked over he was indeed loosening his belt. I replied:

Why?

He answered:

Because I know I'm gonna be eating a lot of that stuff. When's it gonna be ready?

Boys have their own way of telling their Moms they like their cooking, don't they? It's so good to know he thinks my dinners are "loosen your belt-worthy".

I have a few more pictures left to show you. Right across the street from where we had breakfast and lunch at a couple neat outdoor patio cafes is this building. It's called The Navy Center but other than that we don't really know much about it. But it's a cool building.

Here is the old Bank of Boston. Sad really, but like all large cities there is graffiti on this old landmark and many others.

Something happened on May 25th, 1810 that was significant enough to create this memorial.

Here is the Plaza de Mayo where the memorial above resides.

I went to the Pink Palace. Here it is. It's across the street from the Plaza de Mayo.

This memorial was near the Recoleta Cemetery. Apparently, something happened in 1976 but I'm not sure what...neat statue anyway.

We stopped in the Cafe Tortoni for some "postre" (dessert) half way through our day on Sunday. The link shows much better pictures, but we did manage to take this picture from our table. You can see our waiter standing by the counter on the right. He was cute. At least I thought he was....

The Cafe has been there for many years and is known to be frequented by the stars (Robert Duvall among them - but we didn't see him there on Sunday). It's one of those places that you just enjoy being there because you feel so relaxed and cozy. The wait staff is VERY good at making you feel like you can stay all day, even if you are just having a snack. I highly recommend a visit there if you have time while you're in Buenos Aires.

Here are the Tango dancers that were just down the street from where we ate at the outdoor cafes. It's an action shot. A little blurry, but you can see the surrounding area to get a feel for where we were.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Travels"
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If you ever make it down to Buenos Aires, one of the "touristy" things you really should do is go see Recoleta Cemetery. It's just a $2.50 cab ride from down town and well worth the trip. Posted below are some pictures we took during our self-guided tour. Most won't have captions, but some will. Evita is buried at this cemetery, and I have pictures of her markers at the end of the post. Enjoy!

And the tour continues...

And here is Evita's marker.

She was put to rest in the Duarte family crypt in an unassuming location situated among all the other grave sites. It was very hard to find, but we finally spotted it just before we left the cemetery.

This is a very serene location. I was struck by the reverance with which they honor their dead here. The bronze work in creating the likenesses of the deceased is absolutely incredible and there are, of course, many religious references and sculptures as the Catholic religion is very prevalent in the area. There are sites going back to the very early 1800's and all the way up to this year, placed in family crypts that have been there in some cases for more than two centuries.

Oh, and let's not forget there are opportunities for vendors to give tourists the chance to pick up a remembrance of their visit to Recoleta Cemetary. It's sort of like a high-end flea market. This is where we got the Tango statue and a few other trinkets. Yes, we caved but it sure was fun walking through the stands.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Travels"
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1. No matter what he says, don't believe him. Tommy is NOT working while he's wheels down in Buenos Aires.

2. They have good flan.

3. If you go there, you must eat steak at least once a day. You just have to. No excuses. Why? Because it is unbelievably inexpensive, and unbelievably good.

4. They do the Tango in Buenos Aires. They do the Tango A LOT. And some people plan vacations to go there for the sole purpose of doing the Tango.

5. No matter how much wine you drink, you will not be hungover the next day. At least, I wasn't....

6. If your Tango instructor says, "Ah, si', eso" that's a good thing.

7. If your Tango instructor says, "Si' eso, excelente!" that's even better.

8. Yes, it's better if the woman wears heels to do the Tango. I know it sucks, but it's true.

9. Doing the Tango makes your legs hurt.

10. 33 hours is just not enough time to be there. You must go back many times to ensure you've truly absorbed the cool vibe of the city and seen all the cool things there are to see.

11. They have a LOT of really interesting old buildings.

12. If you dropped Buenos Aires into the middle of Europe, it would totally blend with the culture. It feels much more like a European city than a Latin one. The vibe, the buildings, the things to do, the pace....everything. Well, except the Tango part of the culture. That is truly unique.

13. If you like cashmere and leather, you can get really good, high quality items for about a third of what they would cost in the states (at least while the exchange for pesos to dollars is 3:1).

14. It is customary to tip your service people 10% (just so you know).

15. If you go there, you simply must either try a Tango class or go to a Tango show. You haven't been to Buenos Aires until you've experienced the Tango in some form - while in the city.

16. Girls...watch your purses VERY closely. Don't hang them on your chairs, don't put them on the seat next to you...keep them in full view or wrapped around your ankle under the table. Boys...keep your wallets in your front pockets. Sad, but the tourist areas are rife with pickpockets and purse snatchers.

17. Buenos Aires is a fairly safe city and there are police officers highly visible in all the tourist areas, but just to be sure, see number 16.

18. If you fly the all-nighter in, you will be VERY tired that first day. Take a nap for a few hours when you get in, but then try and stay up through dinner so you can enjoy the next day...especially if you have limited time there.

19. You must drink at least three glasses of wine each day, preferably some at lunch and then some more at dinner. You just have to. You're in Argentina.

20. If you catch a Taxi, flag one down that has "Radio Taxi" on it - these are the regulated taxis and you will have a much better chance of not getting ripped off by your driver.

21. Once you've been there, you will not want to leave and you will definitely start planning your next trip on your way home. Be prepared to love every single minute you are in Buenos Aires.

That's right. On Saturday night we actually went and took a tango lesson. A beginner lesson, but a lesson. I'm going to claim we looked like this, and you weren't there so you can't refute it. So there. We looked damn good, I must say. Even the teacher said "excelente!" - okay she said it only once but she still said it. Anyway, it was fun. And we got this statue. I would like to go back and take another lesson. Oh, and....my legs hurt. From the lesson.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Travels"
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I promised pictures of the food and fun last night, and here they are.

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They had a trio of musicians playing in the lobby of the hotel where we did our pre-drinking before dinner.

Here is how the table looked while we were enjoying some wine and snacks before dinner was served. We went with some of the other crew and a few of their family members. And we had wine...lots and lots of really good wine.

Here is my flan....and wine, of course. Flan in Argentina is very different from the custardy looking stuff you get in the states. I must say it was the best flan I've ever had.

And here is the purse I bought yesterday. It's an awesome purse. Tommy bought some shoes too but they're not really picture-worthy.

I'll have more pictures some time Monday. We ate at another sidewalk cafe this morning, did some more sightseeing and then stopped later for some pie and drinks at a really cool cafe. Then we headed down to the pink palace and caught a cab to the Recoleta Cemetary. I'll tell you a little more about all that when we get the pictures uploaded.

Now we're off for a light dinner before getting ready to head back home. Hasta manana.

I'm in Buenos Aires and it's fabulous! I got to fly in business class from Atlanta so that made all the difference in the world. Do those flight attendants keep the wine glass filled, or what?

After leaving Dallas at a balmy 104 degrees "reel feel" the 60 degree weather here today was a welcome relief, let me tell you. Jackets and jeans were the rule of the day.

Oh yes, I was eating paninis and empanadas at an outdoor cafe this afternoon. And tonight I was drinking Argentine beer and wine and eating steak and flan. It was good. And YES it IS all about the food...food that I didn't have to cook, thank you very much.

Oh, and it's also about the shopping. I do, in fact, have in my possession one spectacular brand new leather purse I bought for about 1/3 of what it would cost in the states.

I'm too full from the flan to show you any pictures, but when I emerge from my food coma I'll try and show you some stuff.

It looks like I'll actually be able to go on the trip today. So we're off in a few hours, and hopefully we'll be able to post some stuff while we're gone. I've left the banana muffins with my in-laws and I told them they'd better be gone, gone, gone before we get back. Perhaps some more "travels" posts coming up in the next couple days, but if not I'll post and let you know how the trip was when we get back early next week.

Hasta luego!

I'm leaving for a trip to Buenos Aires tomorrow, and tonight we were getting suitcases all sorted out. Apparently, Chocolate Chip thought he was going too.

"Well, I'll just wait here until they get ready to close the suitcase."

I don't think so, Chocolate Chip.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Chocolate Chip"
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So I HAD to make something out of them. Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the overly-ripe, disgusting smelling bananas. But a picture of the first batch of muffins I'm making is in the extended entry.

Back story...I had some bananas in the bowl on the table before my in-laws got here. She's sitting right here so I have to be nice.....so anyway, they were getting REALLY ripe and REALLY smelly. I threatened to throw them away last night, and again this morning, and she said:

No, you're not throwing those away. Those are just right for eating.

I told her I was going to throw them away tonight while she's sleeping. One problem...she doesn't sleep very much at night so I could just picture her digging them out of the trash and putting them back in the bowl on the table. She HATES to waste ANYTHING.

So anyway....today we got back from shopping and there they were...the gross overly-ripe bananas...stinking up the whole kitchen. Nobody else said they could smell them, but I know they could smell them. They were just toying with me to see how long they could guilt me into keeping the damn bananas. I just know it. And NO, I am NOT paranoid!

So I searched the Internet and finally found a recipe that called for FOUR overly ripe bananas (here's the receipe if you want to give it a try). And....I began making the muffins. Well, wouldn't you know it, there was one banana left. Do you know that she sat there and ate that banana, marveling at how perfect it was?

Her:

Oh, this is just perfect. Not green, not black, it's firm, it's not dark. It's absolutely PERFECT for eating.

Me:

Humph.

OMG she just said:

Your kitchen still smells like bananas. It smells like banana muffins.

Finally, she admits it. She COULD smell those damn bananas!!

So, here they are. And they're fabulous. Of course, she claims they're "just right" because SHE insisted on mashing the bananas for the damn muffins. Oh well. At least I don't have to smell those skanky bananas anymore.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Whining" & "Yummy"
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Yup, I made a key lime pie to reward Tommy for the upcoming trip to Buenos Aires. I did it the easy way and used the pre-squeezed key lime juice. Just a five minute operation, really, to put the pie together. All I had to do was mix the frosting really quick and grate a few limes for zest when it was chilled. DrinkJack, on the other hand, did it the hard way. I'm sure his pie was yummy, too, but mine was SO much easier, which was good what with all the re-cleaning I had to do today.

Tommy promised me he'd take me to Buenos Aires, and it looks like he's actually going to follow through. There are seats on the flights to and from Buenos Aires this weekend, so we're bringing in his parents to take care of Scytheboy so I can make the trip.

I cleaned all day Sunday and today I have to go re-clean some stuff in the bathrooms, and also re-do some dusting and re-vacuum because of all the pet hair. They get here this afternoon so it will have been three days, after all.

So - do you re-clean before visitors arrive? Or is cleaning in advance good enough? I always re-clean. Who doesn't re-clean? You gotta re-clean, don't you?

Okay, so I just got back from the parent meeting for band at the middle school.

I could NOT believe the lack of funding for the program. I mean, I guess I can believe it because it's true they have zero dollars in the band fund, but that's completely ridiculous. They had to cut thousands of dollars from their budget before the year ever started. I just think it's really sad that the arts are getting the shaft so completely in this day and age.

So, in an effort to help...yes, that's right. I signed up to volunteer at the band office. If it helps the teachers for me to run copies or do data entry or create newsletters, or whatever, I'm happy to do it if it means the kids will get more of what they need from the program.

If they keep this up, the next thing we know there will be no band program at all. And that will be a very, very sad thing.

I did 6.5 miles and burned 772 calories today. That is all. I am tired.

You knew I had to chime in on this one, right? Those on the left, it won't be as bad as you think (my opinion, that is).

Personally, I believe that Cindy Sheehan has every right to protest the war, as does any other American citizen. She suffered a horrible, horrible loss in Spring 2004, more than a year ago. And I know when you lose a loved one suddenly like that it takes a long, long time to work through the grieving process. Especially if that person volunteered to go fight for a cause and a President you don't agree with. We get all that.

However...(and you knew there had to be a however)....I really wonder if Casey Sheehan would want his name to be used by the left-wing hard liners to protest a war he signed up to fight?

And I wonder if the left has less than pure motives for supporting this one woman in such a public manner? What better way to further their cause than to train a grieving mother gaining much publicity for camping out on the President's lawn on their speaking points to ensure their voice is heard through her? They couldn't have asked for a better poster child.

I find this surge in Sheehan's vigor interesting. After all, Sheehan was part of a larger group of grieving family members who met with Bush at Fort Lewis in Washington state. After the meeting, she was quoted by the newspaper in her hometown of Vacaville, Calif., as saying that the president seemed sympathetic. Subsequently, she has said that Bush treated her callously during the meeting. One cannot but wonder why the sudden change of heart regarding the meeting and her impressions of it?

Her own family members said, "We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the expense of her son's good name and reputation," said an e-mail sent to the Reporter newspaper, in Vacaville. The e-mail was signed by Casey Sheehan's aunt Cherie Quartarolo on behalf of his paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins (see full article in the The Washington Post).

There is no doubt this woman feels strongly that we should not have gone to war and needs to blame someone for her son's death - the possibility of which her son was aware of when he signed up.

You know, I can excuse a lot of things. But, like Jane Fonda's actions during the Vietnam War, I cannot excuse the lengths to which this woman and her oh so supportive hard left "friends" have gone to denigrate our President, those valiant members of the military who chose to lay down their lives for our country in the interest of freedom, and those courageous young men and women who continue to fight for a cause they believe in. Ms. Sheehan, your fifteen minutes of fame are up. You've made your point. Now, get off the stage.

All the Chatty Cathys are either gone or in a step or yoga class, and the Viagra Brigade has vanished....probably home to take a nap from all the energy they expended leering at the Chatty Cathys.

Setting the stage....I had fallen asleep on the couch whilst sitting next to Scytheboy, who was dutifully eating his breakfast and watching cartoons before school.

Me: Oh no, I fell asleep. What time is it?

Scytheboy: I wanted to fall asleep too but I was responsible.

Me: Oh, sorry. What time is it?

Scytheboy: It's not time for me to get ready yet, but you would know that if you hadn't fallen asleep.

Me: Sorry.

Guilty? Yes. Still the Mom? Yes.

Me: Go get ready for school anyway.

Scytheboy: (trudging up the stairs sighing) "Humph."

Oh yeah, that's right. I spent five hours cleaning today, followed by swimming with Scytheboy, followed by cooking dinner, followed by five loads of laundry (the 5th load is in the washer now).

That must be why I'm so tired....

People walking around aimlessly in parking lots while talking on cell phones.

Today I had a bunch of errands I had to run because I had either put them off or because they had been added to the list for things needed by Monday. I remember thinking..."This is gonna be ugly. Nothing good ever comes of running errands on a Saturday," as I was headed out the door. Anyway, I had no choice because I needed all the stuff so I went ahead and started the errands.

I won't even talk about all the people in their cars chatting with their unseatbelted kids while talking on cell phones and missing green lights. We all know about them.

It was when I got to my first parking lot that a whole new breed of cell phone users drew my attention. You know the ones I'm talking about. The people that walk into the crosswalk while talking on their cellphone and then walk about one foot a minute while continuing to talk as all the cars keep piling up on either side of them waiting for them to cross. Who the hell do these people think they are? No, I don't think I should have to wait for you to finish your thought before you take your next step, or wait for you to stop so you can "hear them now" in the middle of the freakin'' crosswalk. Put the damn phone back in your pocket or purse or whatever and MOVE IT! It's Saturday and everyone waiting for you is missing out on precious time with their families so YOU can finish YOUR conversation.

They don't only do this in the crosswalks...they do it after they open their car door while you are waiting to pull in the space in which their car door is hanging. They also do it while walking smack dab in the middle of the driveway so nobody can back out and nobody can pull in and nobody can drive past them.

I really think those people that act like common courtesy is not required while using their cell phones should not be allowed to have them. I mean, seriously.....

I found some Worcestershire sauce.

Now, go make me something to eat.

As I've mentioned, Scytheboy started middle school today. I just got back from picking him up. And you know how we moms are - the ride home consists of an intense interrogation session as once we get home the child will need to "chill" undisturbed so he can recover from his day at school.

Anyway, my interrogation session was NOT very fruitful today. I worried all day about how he did at his new school, if he had enough time to get to his locker between classes, whether or not he got lost, what his teachers were like, did he know anybody in his classes, etc., etc. I was able to glean very little information. Here is what I found out:

1. The food is GOOD in middle school.
2. He got to his locker between each class.
3. The food is GOOD in middle school.
4. The food is GOOD in middle school.
5. His saxophone is shiny.
6. He knows someone in all his classes.
7. The food is GOOD in middle school.

Apparently, he will not be taking a lunch this year....

Today is the first day of school. I dutifully got Scytheboy ready and on his way. In an effort to start this school year on the right foot I got myself ready post-haste and trekked to the gym for my first school year workout.

And....I discovered with horror....they're ba-ack. You fellow gym rats that go religiously more than four times a week know who I'm talking about - the Chatty Kathy Coffee Club ladies. That's how I think of them anyway. You know the ones.....they've been up since six getting their perfect children their perfect breakfasts and making perfect lunches and drinking many, many cups of coffee and getting themselves ready for their big outing of the day - the gym.

When they arrive, they've had at least half a pot of coffee each (or have met beforehand at Starbuck's and downed some sort of high-octane caffeine concoction). And they all have on their match-matchy "cute" new workout clothes with their matchy workout towels and a FULL face of makeup. And perfume...or heavily scented lotion...let's not forget that. They are there, congregating around the machines - not using them, just congregating on them. Usually there are three or four around the machine with one person sitting on the seat or standing in front of it. Or one of them is walking s-l-o-w-l-y on a treadmill and another one is standing next to them - on the treadmill - standing, not walking. And they are all chatting and laughing really, really loud - loud enough so as to make those of serious gym rats turn our headphones way up just so we can hear the news or whatever we're watching.

Man, I hate it when those women return to the gym in full force. I don't realize how good I have it with giggly teenagers and younger kids during the summer until these ladies come back.

Ladies, if you are looking to have a social event...just go all out and have it at one of your houses or a coffee house somewhere. And stay off the equipment and shut up and lay off the perfume, will ya? Some of us are trying to work out here. Please?

I was glancing through the Dallas Morning News this evening (hey, at least I got to it SOME time today). I could not believe what I saw.

Apparently, a school system in the Dallas area tasked all junior high and high school kids with a required reading assignment that entailed reading a book, then choosing from a list and doing five creative projects based on what they'd read.

Not only that, they did not tell the kids that if they didn't complete these things and in a satisfactory way, they would be suspended on the first day of school. Apparently, all the kids were given the assignment some time during the month of May and even picked out their books. A note was sent home and details were posted on the school web site. But apparently no mention was made of possible suspension for non-completion of the assignment.

There are a few questions I have about this (that Tommy pointed out when we discussed this article). Since when did missing one assignment become a suspendable offense? And, did the students pass the previous grade? Because making this assignment mandatory implies they did not complete all the homework from the previous grade, so why were they passed if their work was incomplete?

Come on, folks. We were all kids once. Since when would a kid EVER show a parent an assignment for extra work over the summer when it had never been given before and it was not communicated that not completing the assignment was a suspendable offense? Usually kids get suggested reading lists and projects over the summer. But NEVER a required, suspendable assignment that might take several weeks to complete if done correctly. I've pasted the article on the assignment particulars and resulting suspensions and suspension extensions in the extended entry if you're interested.

I looked at the school's web site to see if I could discern a possible reason for the assignment....possibly low reading scores on the TAKS test all the students must take. Understand that these scores can determine bonus levels and merit raises for teachers as well as school funding levels. You can see the results right there on the site. Clearly, the overall reading levels for the district hover around 72% and this could see improvement. However, look at the math scores....51%. Instead of reading over the summer, I think all the students could have probably used some time in the classroom going over their math skills.

It seems to me that lately schools look to others for blame when kids aren't learning and I know it hits them especially hard when their pay rate is compromised and funding is not secured. Test results are bad...must be the kids not learning or the parents not making sure they learn (the latter I'd have to say I kind of agree with). Let's make them do an assignment over the summer and that will make it all better.

I think teachers should shoulder some of the blame for the test scores instead of punishing the kids with extra assignments. And if there is going to be a fairly heavy workload over the summer that is required, the school should be smart enough to let the parents know directly instead of via their kids.

Arguably, there are a LOT of disengaged parents (both parents working and not enough time, or parents thinking society should take care of their kids and they don't want to really be bothered with managing homework, etc.) out there. Of that I have no doubt. But the school should have at least given those parents that ARE involved a fighting chance and sent the note to them via the mail, rather than via the kid on the last day of school.

I must say that even though our district did not do this, I do feel for these kids and parents. It seems these days kids get little enough time just to be kids. No recess after the 5th grade and in my son's case only 30 minutes for lunch - no study hall - no free period to do homework - nothing. Just a jam-packed full academic schedule with a pretty heavy homework load. And not that much time off in the summer if we're being honest. Not nearly as much time as we got when I was a kid.

So given the limited summer, I can totally understand why a kid would not want to admit they had this huge assignment. And if we were in the same situation I think I'd have a really hard time getting mad at my son had he kept it from me.

I know there is no easy answer as to how this district and others can improve test scores with many disengaged parents and therefore unmotivated students. But it's at least partly their job to figure it out. Figure it out without taking summer away from the kids as punishment because they didn't get the scores necessary for the teachers and schools to get additional bonuses and funding.

If you are a teacher and are offended by this parent's perspective I do apologize. And I know that not all school officials act with the sort of hubris the Superintendent at Lancaster did. To dismiss parental concerns out of hand is just not cool. Especially when the school is partially to blame since they do not appear to have clearly communicated to the parents about the assignment or that not completing the assignment was a suspendable offense.

And I know one teacher can only do so much and they are constrained by the communication methods their individual principals will and will not allow. And there's no way to tell who made the final decision on tasking the kids with the assignment or who had the final say on how the assignment was to be communicated.

But there has to be a better way than springing a last-minute labor intensive assignment on kids just before they leave school for the summer. Doesn't there?

Lancaster ISD: 750 who forgot projects are suspended, get reprieve

11:51 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 10, 2005

By HERB BOOTH / The Dallas Morning News

LANCASTER – Parents are crying foul after a third of all junior high and high school students in Lancaster were suspended for not having done their summer homework.

However, most of the students who were to serve the suspension Tuesday – about 450 at Lancaster Junior High School and about 300 at Lancaster Elsie Robertson High School – were back in school because Lancaster Superintendent Larry Lewis extended their deadline. The first day of school was Monday.

Dr. Lewis, who gave the students until the end of school Thursday to finish their summer assignments, said 80 to 90 percent of students in grades seven through 12 attended class Tuesday.

Stephaney Norman, Lancaster Junior High School principal, said a lot of the students showed up Tuesday with their assignments completed.

She said some of the parents complained that their students had until the end of the week. Ms. Norman said students need more than four days to read a novel and complete the assignment.

"We don't want junk," Ms. Norman said. "We want quality."

In May, students decided on a book from a reading list. The students were asked to complete five activities upon finishing the book.

"Look, we have over a thousand students reading below grade level," Dr. Lewis said. "This is a viable program and helps with comprehension. We will do it again next summer."

Brian Pulver, whose daughter, Julia Chase, is in seventh grade, said he could not understand how an assignment that could merit a suspension if not completed wouldn't have been communicated to parents.

"The problem is the district sends letters and notes through students," Mr. Pulver said. "There's not enough communication between the teachers and the parents."

Dr. Lewis said the students need to take some responsibility.

"We talked all spring about this," Dr. Lewis said. "We talked about it at town hall meetings, at concerts, everywhere. Seventh- through 12th-graders should take some responsibility. The students need to tell their parents."

"The suspensions were news to everyone," Mr. Pulver said. He also said initially students were required to complete two activities on the book. "They changed it to five."

Parents also complained that one of the books on the reading list, Fallen Angels, a Vietnam War novel, contained racial epithets and foul language.

Dr. Lewis said the district should have reviewed the book more completely. He said the book wouldn't be on any future reading lists.

Adriana Cazares, whose son Roland is in seventh grade, said that when Dr. Lewis talked to parents Monday night and Tuesday morning, the superintendent was acting like the incomplete assignments were the parents' fault.

"I take offense to that," Ms. Cazares said. "What's sad is a lot of undocumented workers live in this community and they'll just let the suspensions go on their kids' records. They'll end up dropping out, and there goes another lost child."

Ms. Cazares said a dozen or so parents met with Dr. Lewis Monday night to address the issue.

Ms. Cazares said Dr. Lewis dismissed what the parents had to say.

"We were completely shocked," she said.

Dr. Lewis said a letter about the Summer Reading Initiative was on the district's Web site all summer.

The letter, written by Pat Sadberry, the district's director of teaching and learning, references a parent meeting that was held May 24 in the high school auditorium to discuss the district's Summer Reading Initiative.

The letter also states all assignments must be submitted the week of Aug. 8 to the student's English teacher. It also states that new students to the district will have until the fifth week of school to complete the assignment.

"Statistics show that children who read during the school breaks (particularly the longer summer break) retain their reading skills," the letter states. "The decision has been made to purchase high-interest books at various reading levels to provide students in grades 6 through 11 the valuable opportunity to engage in productive, academic activities over the summer."

SUMMER HOMEWORK

Students were asked to perform five of the following tasks as part of their assignment in the Lancaster Summer Reading Initiative:

Decide on five or more criteria by which to judge characters. Design a report card using these criteria and make a separate report card for at least three characters. Include a comment section for each.

Introduce a new character and write a different ending to the novel having this character play a major role.

Create the front page of a newspaper using the significant events from your novel. The newspaper should contain at least five events with headlines, articles and pictures.

Research the historical time period reflected in the novel. List at least 10 new facts or ideas you learned that are not included in the story. Write a letter to the author persuading him or her to include two or three of these facts.

Make a mobile of five characters from the novel. Hang a card beside each that explains the role of the character in the novel.

Produce a three-minute video news report about an incident in the story involving one or more characters.

Design a brochure that advertises your book.

Create song lyrics and music to tell about your book. Record your song.

Make a timeline, sequencing 10 important events that happened in the book. Draw three comic strips that highlight three important events.

Well the new school year starts this Thursday for Scytheboy. Not only is he moving up to Middle School, it is a brand new school.

I went to his orientation yesterday, and let me tell you the PTA was out in FULL FORCE. They had volunteers stationed (and I'm not kidding) every six feet or so in the hallway trying to hand out volunteer sign up sheets and making sure you had visited their table.

I have never seen a more organized fund raising operation in my entire life. I really do have to hand it to them...they could not have done a better job to achieve success.

So here's the deal. As we all know school supplies are very expensive and by middle school the list is extensive. I pulled the list from the school site, and buying them myself would have been very pricey. They had pre-packaged supplies for all grades ready for us to buy during orientation. But here's the catch and where they get you.....you had to fill out a whole form with all your information and check off which box of supplies you needed. Then you gave them the form and a check, and they gave you a little ticket you had to walk to another room with to redeem your supplies. Guess what was on that same form? PTA Membership sign up. So all those foolish people who handed back the form without the membership box checked and additional money in their check for the full membership (self and spouse) were then subjected to the sales spew on why they really needed 100% participation to ensure the PTA gets up and running in the right direction.

Seeing the writing on the wall, I did like I always do...I signed up for the full dual membership just so I could avoid the pitch and questions, the PTA telemarketers at home and the shame of being one of the last 20 people left to sign up. I'm not kidding about this...they put a chart outside the school that says xx more people until 100% participation! - each year - until they achieve 100% membership. Trust me, you DON'T want to be one of the last few to sign up and be part of that number. Oh, the shame, the torture, the phone calls, the conversations you'll have with fellow parents - who all know who you are - and will stop you while you are out walking with your family to talk about PTA membership and ask you if you've signed up yet (but of course they'll know if you haven't signed up because your name will have been circulated at all the meetings and your neighbor will have been enlisted to do the soft sell on you to get you to pony up).

Let me say this. I do believe in the PTA and I think no school could function without them. But I really do wish they wouldn't be quite so aggressive at extracting guilt out of parents to get them to pay the membership fee. We get it. Schools are underfunded. We all need to do what we can to support them with time, money, supplies, or all three. We do what we can in the way of membership fees and supplies for activities whenever we can.

But - and can I be honest here? - I cannot STAND those women!! It's like a Mary Kay convention gone bad. They do a lot to help the school and give the kids a lot of extras....but my GOD these women just need to chill out! Oh, and get more organized. And get better on communication. And check their fliers for typos and clear information before they send them home..and...and....and. Let's just say that if I were an active member in the organization neither they nor I would be happy. These are all volunteers and we have to remember that they are not going to do their work at the same standard that I demanded of myself and my PR teams in the work force. They just aren't. They have a lot else going on with their families and usually more than one kid to keep track of, activity wise. They do what they can and I do appreciate all their effort - questionable standards and all.

But I gave at the orientation.....quit asking me to volunteer and spend time with you people! I can't take it! I just can't take it!!!!! Okay, I'm done. Sorry. Just had to work through my post-orientation PTA trauma.

A quick note to let you know Tommy upgraded us to Movable Type 3.2 (Beta) tonight. So if you have a minute could you please post a comment and say something, or post a comment that simply says "test" so we can see that it's working OK? And if you try to post and it won't let you for some reason, it would be great if you could send me a note to peaches@thepeachpit.net and let me know what kind of error message you're getting.

Hopefully this will be a relatively glitch-free upgrade. Thanks for your help!

Yes, that's right. I...am making...banana bread. I love banana bread - without nuts. I hate banana bread with nuts.

Neither Tommy nor Scytheboy care for banana bread. Yes! More for me! Although they claim they like to smell it when it's baking, they really don't go near the stuff once it's out. Which is fine with me. Because then I get to eat all the banana bread I could possibly want. Which is why I only make it a couple times a year. It's pretty slow going once I get down to the end of the loaf.

But I don't care. I want banana bread. So I made banana bread. And it's all for me. It will be out of the oven in about an hour. And then I can have some, and tomorrow morning I can have some more. All I want. All for me, nothing for them. That is all.

Scytheboy was getting ready for bed a short while ago and I went up to check on him. He greeted me at his bathroom door and asked:

"Hey, how come you bought the full size tooth brush if you won't let me use it?"

I said:

"It's for the guest room. And besides, you have a small mouth. You need to use the small tooth brush."

He said:

"Or, are you planning on having Angelina Jolie over?"

What? Did he just say that? When did he notice the size of Angelina Jolie's mouth? And why was I not informed? I'll have to interrogate Tommy on this when he gets home.

Scytheboy is my hero. Let me explain. He knows I hate bugs. I've always hated bugs. He must have picked up on this because about five years ago we were camping with Tommy's parents and all of a sudden he was stomping on the ground. I asked him, "What are you doing?" He said, "I'm killing the bugs for you." He was about six. My hero.

Cut to about an hour ago. I informed Scytheboy that I had seen a cockroach - yes, that's right a cockroach - in the front living room. And that said cockroach had wings and had skittered away from view. We proceeded to plug all the drains in the house (those of you in the south know what I'm talking about}.

And then...just as I was sitting down with what I've found to be a spectacular headache cure (red wine from Argentina) Scytheboy calls out "There it is!" It was trying to get out of one of the side windows by the front door - clearly he had found nothing of interest in my house as Tommy says I keep it "sterile" - whatever that means. I hate dirt - and dust - and clutter - and I like a very clean kitchen with no dirty dishes and freshly wiped counter tops - oh, and we won't mention all the icky stuff in the bathroom I'm constantly cleaning - I have no idea what he's talking about - "sterile house" - whatever.

Anyway, Scytheboy flew to the kitchen to get the flyswatter which he handed me because I told him I didn't want it to get away. Then when I had the insect out from behind the window curtain and on its back with all its legs flailing in the air, he ran to get a sneaker. He volunteered to "smash it's head open" but I did the honors.

When it was over, he got me a Clorox wipe to clean up the mess and even offered to clean it up himself because he knows I hate bugs. It's so nice to have him here taking care of me while Tommy's away.

Oh...I won't even get into the whole me squealing like a little girl every time I came within inches of that nasty roach. I love my hero. He will make someone a very good husband some day.

UPDATE: I just told Scytheboy I did a post on the cockroach thing and he said, "Time to go revel in my own glory." Clearly, a chip off the old block.

Through the years, many people have asked me what it’s like being married to a pilot who is gone so much of the time. Is my life different/harder when he’s gone? Do I handle meals differently? What about Scytheboy - is it rough on him?

When Tommy went into the Air Force about a year after we were married, that’s when all the separations started. Sometimes a few weeks, sometimes a few months, and one time over a year. We had Scytheboy in Utah, and let me tell you that first winter when Tommy was in the desert protecting all of you it was really hard doing everything on my own. Getting up at 5 to snow blow the driveway after working until 1 a.m. on marketing plans was NOT fun. I didn’t sleep a whole lot, but damn I lost that baby weight quickly!

Things changed a lot when he got on with the airlines about eight years ago. The separations were more frequent, but for only a few days at a time. The lifestyle does not change nearly as much with just a few days apart. And some of the “me” stuff changed, of course, when Scytheboy came along. Pre-child, I spent most of the “me” time working, reading, watching movies and sleeping. And definitely NOT cooking.

So listed below are some of the current “we” and “me” things that happen when he’s here vs. when he’s gone. Scytheboy’s included in both sections, of course. He’s the child so he has to go along with what “We” and “Me” do. Mainly this is how it is on the weekends during the school year and every day during school breaks.

“We” – he gets up early – by early I mean around 8 a.m. - which means the rest of us get up earlier than we do when he’s gone – like 9
“Me” – I get up late – by late I mean around 10:00 a.m. - lately Scytheboy’s been sleeping later than that so it’s been really, really nice

“We” – he makes breakfast and then the rest of us get up to eat it
“Me” – I make breakfast for myself and Scytheboy fends for himself

“We” – I go to they gym right after breakfast, he goes to the gym right after lunch
“Me” – I go to the gym right before lunch as I’ve slept in and am not ready to get moving that early

“We” – he always has something really cool for lunch which I’m jealous of and I stubbornly settle for sandwiches or hot dogs.
“Me” – guilty pleasure – Scytheboy and I go to drive-thru’s at least once and probably twice on the weekends for lunch while he’s away

“We” – I usually make dinner and he usually does the dishes; sometimes he grills the meat, too
“Me” – I usually cook and also have to do the dishes - which sucks - because of this sometimes I tell Scytheboy to make himself a pizza so I don’t have to cook or do the dishes

“We” – he goes to bed earlier than us - in the summer I stay up really late with Scytheboy
“Me” – I’ll stay up insanely later than Scytheboy and read

“We” – he does the yard work and builds furniture while I clean the house and do the laundry and cook; I get cool furniture and he gets to eat
“Me” – not very productive when he’s gone – I read a lot, watch movies with Scytheboy, go to the gym, and sometimes I’ll paint a room or make some drapes

In general, yes it can be difficult at times when the spouse is away and you have a boy child at home. There are some conversations the husband needs to handle and sometimes they have to wait a day or two. Overall, I try to make it fun and we kind of do our own thing and relax a lot when he’s gone.

And when he’s home – Scytheboy likes it when he’s home. Something about the whole family being together seems to be a bit more special to us since we don’t get as much of that time as others do. Scytheboy is less inclined to have friends over, and he spends a lot of time talking to his Dad about things. IM has helped so we do have a chance to chat with him while he’s away.

I will say I wouldn’t have it any other way. Yes, there is time apart. But we all get our alone time (something other people have to fight for) and we appreciate each other that much more when we’re together. To each his own. But this way definitely works for us.

Oh, I'm tired. Let me get some coffee first.

Okay, time to hit those donuts they left for me.

I'm stuffed. They can have the rest.

I admit it. I'm a folder. Always have been. I'm a folder married to a crumpler. It kinda bothers me that he's a crumpler but they do say opposites attract so I guess we balance each other out.

So which are you? A folder or a crumpler? Go take this survey and then check the results to see how you stack up against the other participants.

There are a lot of things about the gym I go to that I like. Most of the trainers look like real people and for the most part appear to be unenhanced. There are a lot of families that go there - husbands, wives, kids of all ages. And they have classes for all age groups too so that's cool.

What's NOT cool? There are a group of elderly "gentlemen" - some married, some not - that appear to be heavily dosed with some sort of, shall we say, drug that makes them over excitable. I've come to think of them as "The Viagra Brigade". They are usually out in full force when I go to the gym mid-morning, which sucks. I have never seen so many slack-jawed, glassy-eyed geysers in one place in my life....lined up by the wall outside the room where the mostly young gals in somewhat skimpy clothes are taking their yoga and stair stepping classes. Following is a conversation I ACTUALLY heard today while walking by two members of the "brigade" (keep in mind they were leaning against the wall across the track lane right outside the class room double glass doors staring glassy-eyed and slack-jawed into the class).

You know we could actually go in.

But I don't really want to take the class.

We could just stand in the back of the room and watch a little closer.

Later I walked by the class and glanced through the doors. There they were, in the back of the class watching all of those tightly clad stair stepping asses in front of them. Eeewwwwww!!

Like I said, for the most part I like my gym. I can get all the stuff I need to do done and I usually don't have to wait for most things. But the "brigade" members really do annoy me and I wish they would not show up at the gym pre-medicated to enjoy the sites. Just so you know, I do employ countermeasures by ensuring all my essential body parts are covered with loose, baggy material so the "brigade" members can set their sights elsewhere.

I don't know if you have seen this story where you live or via news sources you watch or read.

Here's the deal...from what I can glean from this article and TV wrap-ups I've seen regarding this incident, some boys threw water balloons at this 11 year old girl on more than one occasion. Well apparently she'd had enough and grabbed the nearest rock and threw it at one of the boys throwing the balloons. Unfortunately the rock was big enough to cause a pretty big gash and the boy had to have stitches. Oh, well. Shit happens. He provoked her and she retaliated with the nearest object she could find (I'm guessing).

So the police were called and the girl freaked out and scratched one of the officers. Not good. I do believe she should have been taught a lesson and they probably should have taken her to juvie - for a few hours. Someone should have had a very serious talk with her about what COULD have happened injury-wise to the boy and also talk to her about respecting the authority of a police officer, etc.

BUT FELONY CHARGES? AND AN OPEN TRIAL? I thought juvenile cases were supposed to be private and the court records sealed? Now this girl is going to be publicly humiliated, the case has already been written about and reported on in the press, and no matter what happens she will NEVER be able to put this behind her because now it's a matter of public record.

Now of course I am assuming this girl has not been in trouble with the law before. There very well could have been some incident in the past we're not aware of because it's being kept sealed. But let's consider that this is the only incident. Is this really fair? Is the D.A. not dropping the charges or not doing a deal just to prove he and his people are "right"? I look at this as a "punish the victim" type case. In our society, it seems school authorities and law enforcement are increasingly leaning toward punishing the victim for defending him or her self rather than addressing the root cause of the incident - the provokers, more often than not lately, are being seen as the victims rather than the attackers whose victims fought back.

Even in Scytheboy's school, there was one bully in particular who never got caught provoking the other kids, but when his victims fought back THEY were the ones who received punishment from a principal who believed they should just sit there and take it r