Leg Etiquette

I don't like it when Shane crosses his legs scissor style. I blame Nana.

I grew up hearing things like "Men with something between their legs find it uncomfortable." There was no way I was going to signal that about myself! I heard somewhere that it was a 'European' thing to do, but I strongly considered myself American as a teen.

And now, by training or conditioning, I don't find it particularly comfortable. I pop an ankle up on my knee to cross my legs. It helps when I'm having trouble sitting still for long periods or to stretch out a little while seated. 

Which brings me back to Shane. I know that the crossed legs aren't really a big deal. I asked him to "sit right" a few times when he was younger. I even reached back and gently uncrossed his legs one or twice...and then I stopped. When I thought I about it, it wasn't a big deal. I would prefer if Shane popped an ankle up like me, but I'm not going to micromanage him and/or waste my parental influence on something that doesn't really matter.

It's funny the things you can spend time pondering. 

And before I sound like I only psychoanalyze Shane, I find it comfortable to pull my feet up into chairs or the couch when I'm sitting on it. Pretty sure that's not 'traditionally manly,' but it's comfortable and I don't give a damn. Gotta be me....just like I've got to help Shane be himself.

Crossing the Threshold

I decided to explore the bamboo behind the house.

Shane eagerly followed.

I haven't explored before because of ticks, Shane, and Carrie worrying about Shane. Shane's older now, and the bamboo guy mentioned how pretty it was.

Plus, Carrie wasn't home to worry.

It's a different world back there. the pictures don't capture the scope of everything tall and enveloping you.

I was surprised that most of the bamboo was dead. Their wasn't any undergrowth. The forest floor was coated in dead bamboo leaves and shoots. I was a little worried that it made a perfect home for a snake to hide under, but we had no problems. 

Mainly, I walked into spider webs while Shane cavorted underneath them.

We're a lot closer to a lot of our neighbor's houses than you would realize. The bamboo effectively creates a barrier. With the dead bamboo and the harvesting, it's easier this year to see through the shoots and spot old frame on the hill behind us.

It was fun, but I was done. Shane didn't want to stop exploring. I trust him not to find the one sharp bamboo stalk and impale himself, but he's got an impulsive habit of trying to reach his arm into holes in the ground.

He wasn't happy when I ordered him out. I offered to let him break bamboo down the street to take the sting out of it.

It's a public service.

Getting Along Swimmingly

Carrie insists that the fish is happier with the lid off the aquarium. I don't know about the fish, but the cats certainly approve.

The fish tank doubles as a flavored water bow. There have been no fish casualties. They like to drink on the wild side, but neither cat likes to get their paws wet.

I used to shoo the cats away. I don't bother anymore. They like it. Carrie likes it.

Game Canceled + Happy Bday Nana + PB & Nutella

Title says it all. 

Nostalgia - First Teaching Gig

What's an easy post? Throwing up some old pics from Facebook.

My first teaching gig was as a special education teacher at an alternative middle school in a county not too far away.

Different ball game than my current one. But the again, I've found that every alternative school is alternative. There's no set mold.

Some things about me haven't changed and some things have. Like chess and the beard (in that order).

The schools are definitely different. My first ALC was in a set of double-wide trailers. The kids wore uniforms and we searched the bathroom in between uses. I rapped Dr. Seuss one day and 'stole' the security guy's jeep another day (He left it running, so I hopped in and parked it on the other side).

I spent 2.5 years there. I started as an Instructional Assistant before securing the SPED Teacher position. I had interviewed for the Math Teacher spot, but lost to Jared (Who was a fantastic hire and deserved it, but his mom being principal of another ALC didn't hurt, either).

This was before smart phones were a thing. Digital cameras existed.

Lots of fun memories. I normally don't talk about work, but if someone sat me down and started asking question/reminiscing I could probably go at it for hours. 

These were back in the days I lived in the basement with a piano for my wall and a sheet for Bill's. SWAT raided the house before work one day and I missed another day of work to be a witness in court.

When the school relocated east, I moved west. I met Carrie that summer and started a six year gig at my next middle school. 

A Hole in the Clouds

After days of rain, the sun came out! Shane helped Carrie curtail bamboo growth before church.

It was another, "entertain yourself" morning. Shane dumped out all my cards and played his own version of 5-Minute Dungeon.

We went to the later church service and then hit up Costco for groceries.

Shane got into a discussion with a woman about the tomato plants she was buying. You could tell she had children by how patient she was with him telling her everything she already knew!

We bumped into one of my wrestlers, Jin. He introduced Shane to his grandma as, "the kid who hangs on to my leg!"

Guess what Shane did? He latched on to Jin's leg. Neither Jin or Shane could get enough of it, but I didn't want them bumping anyone. It happened again a couple of times as we bumped into them shopping.

I had to excuse us to shop faster at one point, because Shane really wanted to poop.

Baseball practice was at four.

The coach was solo, but their weren't many kids.

I had an "Oh, duh!" moment. I finally realized that the Jordan from baseball was the same Jordan at TKD. I've recognized him and known his name was Jordan whenever I saw him at TKD, but somehow never put two and two together. I blame the work burnout.

Shane burned out on paying attention himself. Maybe it was the heat. He did a crap job of doing what the coach was asking.

Practice ended early (4 PM), but Ezra stayed to play. Shane and Ezra climbed and talked until 4:30 PM.

Soccer ended with a whimper yesterday, so baseball is our only seasonal activity left. Only three games left. Summer is edging closer and closer.

Rainy Day

Saturday morning cartoons were a thing when I was a kid. 

For Shane, Saturday morning means, "entertain yourself time."

He dumped out and read every card in 5-Minute Dungeon. And that's okay (as long as he picks it up later.

He built a trap at the top of the stairs for me. It evolved into a wall after I jumped over it.

Drawing, building, Legos, toys, reading, imagination....these are all the things I want Shane to know how to do to keep himself entertained. He won't let me sleep in ever, so the least he can do is know how to play independently.

Not that it's always independent. Carrie and I are normally pretty burned out after a week, but that doesn't mean we don't hop in at times!

We had plenty of time this Saturday. The last soccer game was cancelled due to days of rain flooding the field.

I'm not a fan of sitting around the house all day, though. I do like to do activities with Shane. We drove out to Staunton to see Patrick's new apartment.

I bet Patrick Shane would spend 3 minutes exploring and looking for the cat before he asked, "Can we play Minecraft?"

I lost the letter of the bet, but not the spirit. Shane didn't ask about Minecraft. He asked about the game Patrick had been playing. 

It was appropriate, so Shane hopped on. Patrick and I talked while Shane was enthralled.

Hours later, we left to meet Sam and Toby for a play date on the downtown mall.

Paul was starving, so we ducked into a coffee shop. He's a professor and today was graduation at UVA (They must not feed their staff).

We all dropped by the discovery museum afterward. Our family's membership had expired, but it was an hour from closing so they let us in gratis.

It's been a while! They renovated on us. The kids ran wild while Paul and I talked and watched.

There's an iPad near the entrance. It ensnares kids before they can run out the door without their parents.

Shane and Sam hopped on Pokemon Go as we walked back to the cars.

Toby desperately wanted to ride the elevator, but it was to the wrong parking garage.

We made it home after five for dinner and a night in with Carrie. Electronics were played. I'm not opposed to them as much as I'm opposed to using them as a crutch for really living!

Pizza Night!

Carrie cooked up a personal pizza night! All the ingredients were laid out and everyone could make their pizza however they chose.

Not that Shane wanted anything other than cheese. It was still delicious.

Jenny partook. We played a round of Battle Kittens and then watched TV and digested.

It's been a while since Jenny has been over. She and Carrie have been through a lot of horse escapades together. The escapades have been fewer since Carrie moved Mira to Sonya's to foal out, but Carrie and Jenny didn't lose touch. 

Which was a good thing when Armour got bit. There's been some horse drama at the barn. One gelding is being evicted for causing trouble in the herd. He gave Armour a solid bite that put him out of riding commission (and gave us a vet bill, too). 

Carrie made the choice to switch Armour to Jenny's while he heals and the drama plays out.  Jenny's barn isn't a good fit for Nibs, but it does appear a better solution for Armour and Carrie. Carrie's enjoying spending more time with Jenny again!

I got pizza out of it. No complaints here!

Did I really post a picture of our trash?

I was so amazed by Shane's hair scraps that I really did.

I almost yelled for him to get out of the trash can.

Bad Breaking

We've been spotty about going to TKD lately. It's been the first thing on the chopping block whenever I feel we're overloaded. 

We missed last week and it's a rainy week, so I was determined to catch up this week.

It was board breaking week. Shane started off with a pretty spectacular whiff.

He got it in the end.

I pulled screen shot of the big miss. It caught everyone by surprise. I was pulling up my camera and Master Kang was holding the board like it was a practice shot.

Master Kang is a patient man. He got kicked in the hand multiple times as his reward. I tallied up a few extra respect points for him as consolation.

We don't usually practice at home, but I did go over the skip sidekick with Shane a week or two ago. He'd been having trouble with it. Looks like he still is! Rust wore away whatever ground we made.

Shane got his wish at the end of practice: A rolling race!

I don't know how the kid doesn't get dizzy.

THURSDAY UPDATE:

Soccer practice was rained out, so Shane and I went to a make-up TKD class. He nailed his skip sidekick on the first try and earned a green stripe! Instructor Papa held the board this time. I don't know if that was by chance or if he drew the short straw, but he came out unscathed.