Two Heads are Better Than One!

It's been a month where Bradley and I both got to experience single parenting for a few days.  We've each had the kids on our own before overnight, but never with school age kids, who are playing "sports".  Come to find out, Bradley's not too great at remembering to feed the kids their lunch AND working the pumpkin patch at the same time.  I also failed when I got home in a rainstorm and realized I needed to place 60+ pumpkins for school kids AND our portable tent/canopy had been destroyed by said rainstorm.  Thank goodness my new principal colleague is pretty amazing, strong enough to dismantle portable canopies, and lives very close.

Backpacks, dinner, school folders, bathing, stories, bedtime, breakfast, packing snacks, making lunches, starting a fire, doing the chores - it's all a lot harder solo.  I know a lot of happily married people who survive just fine with a spouse who works away or odd hours, but I fail at this.  I need my husband.  I appreciate him.  However, when he's not here to do the early morning chores before we leave for school, I have a pretty awesome five year old.  Each morning Bradley was gone, Carter popped up right out of bed, slapped his headlamp on, and took off for the chickens, chicks, and the horse.  Rain, nor damp fog could deter this worker.  He even gave up his morning ritual of chocolate milk and iPad time on the couch.

Although we were both gone from each other, Bradley's trip was not for fun.  I however, got to participate in the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco.  Turns out, my new weight routine has paid off in the gym.  .  .  I beat out 26,850 other women.  Yep - 150th out of 27,000.  Chip timed and everything.  I could actually see Joan Benoit Samuelson and Shalene Flanagan from the start.  I take off this Friday to run the NYC marathon along with 50,000 other runners.  I'm not usually so self-indulgent/lucky.  The Nike was a fluke deal to get into, and NYC has been in the bag for two years.

We're closing the month out with the most successful pumpkin patch to date.  The boys have decorated their gingerbread haunted house, tried out the costumes, and carved their own pumpkins.  Funny how you own a pumpkin patch, but forget to pick your own kids' pumpkins until the last day.  Sorry guys.

This week will see the end of both soccer and the first quarter of the school year.  Time flies when you're having fun.  If your significant other is around to help that is.

Lifelong Learners

Being involved a bit in education, I've always been a big believer in making lifelong learners out of kids.  You want children to have an intrinsic desire to seek knowledge and answer those higher order thinking level questions.  The goal is to embed this concept and have it carry on throughout life.  As a parent, I've come to accept that my own sons may be lifelong learners, but without the correct information.  In fact, I've started believing we've failed at this already.

Case in point.  Mr. Merrihew is Carter's fantastic Kindergarten teacher.  He's silly, fun, smart, tall, and Carter loves him.  It's pretty nice working as a principal at the school your kid goes to because you get an inside view of it all.  This last week Mr. M. shared with me that he had a picture up of Johnny Appleseed and he asked the kids if he knew who he was.  Carter's hand shot up with great confidence.  When called on, Carter stated that it was a picture of Jesus.  "Well, not exactly Carter," continued Mr. Merrihew, "but he was a really nice man who planted trees all over".  Up goes the hand again with much conviction.  "It's God."  "No, Carter, it's Johnny Appleseed".  Apparently, Carter's been studying up on his biblical knowledge more than traditional folklore.

In addition to not helping our children become accurate lifelong learners, we also learned to take a slice of humble pie this month.  For several weeks our black laying hen was nowhere to be found.  We assumed the worst and explained to the kids that she had been eaten by predators.  This was not enough information for Miles.  He insisted for weeks that the black chicken was just under the porch.  Soon he had his brother on his bandwagon, and they both insisted that the hen in question had in fact been seen. We insisted in our parental ways and ignored the blossoming truth.  Sure enough, one Thursday evening out came the hen with five little baby chicks.  Turns out the rooster left his legacy before Bradley had shot the poor bas**** a month prior.  We're just praying the chicks aren't roosters.

Moving from the spiritual, to the natural, onto the sports realm.  Along with inaccurate lifelong learners, and denial skills, it also turns out we didn't teach our kids proper sportsmanship.  The first game of the season found Carter cartwheeling (mind you it looked more like a cat hopping out of water) across the field after he scored a goal, and Miles throwing a fit when he ran as hard as he could and no one would "give the ball" to him.  Great - ly - embarrassed!!

The week only got better when Carter decided to open his own vegetable stand at the pumpkin patch.  Not satisfied with simply helping his parents sell pumpkins, he wanted to make his own money.  The kid woke up early Saturday and Sunday to pick tomatoes and bell peppers.  He hired on his brother and friend Macey to help.  Open and Closed (in case he had to go to the restroom) signs were made.  I know what you're thinking.  This is great!  He's working hard and ambitious to make the money.  Yes, that's all true.  All was well and good until I heard his prices.  Depending on the customer he was able to bring in between $1 to $3 PER TOMATO!  Add in overinflated sense of monetary compensation to our list of inaccurate lifelong learning skills.

All joking aside, I'm so proud of my boys.  They're hard workers like their daddy.  They pay attention to details like their momma, and they're just a bit competitive.  Apart from working on correctly identifying the main characters in biblical history and folklore - I'd say they rate up there pretty high.  Lifelong learners take a lifetime to cultivate.