Pescadero, California

940 Saturdays

There are approximately 940 Saturdays in the life of your child, before he or she reaches the age of 18 years.  I have 16 Saturdays left...

How did we spend all of those Saturdays?

In the early years, I was working a 9-5 job Monday thru Friday, therefore, my Saturdays consisted of laundry, shopping, cleaning and baby duty. Hubby worked some of the Saturdays in 12 hour shifts.

We bought a house and I still worked 9-5, Monday thru Friday.  My Saturdays now included laundry, shopping, cleaning, baby duty and yard work.  Hubby still had the job with 12 hours shifts.

Then baby #2 came along with bed rest. Hubby still had the job with 12 hour shifts.

A few years later we added a puppy and I was a SAHM.  Everyday felt like a Saturday!

Then I worked opposite of hubby. No more 9-5 job, but still a Monday thru Friday job. Saturday chores were done on whatever day of the week I had off.

Then we started homeschooling the boys. Saturdays became a day for chores and sleeping in.

Then we started Sunday School.  Saturdays were spent doing chores and any final preparing for left over Sunday School messages and lesson plans.

Fund raising activities happened on Saturdays.

Saturdays went thru many changes: Family Movie Night - Family Game Night - The Day We Will Celebrate Your Birthday Night - Bath Night, etc.  The daytime hours were still spent doing chores and errands.  

Saturdays were sometimes the day I did all sorts of cooking for the upcoming week.

Hubby changed jobs! No more 12 hour shifts, but sometimes Saturdays. That was alright. Our Saturday switched to Sunday afternoons!

Our Saturday/Sunday activities for several years and into the now include: Big Family Breakfasts - Family Movie Time - Family Dinner Time - Visiting Gramma and Grampa Time - Road Trip Day - Baking Day - Game Day - Disposable tableware Day(s) - Sleeping in Late Day(s) - The-day-we-will-celebrate-your-Birthday Night - Eating all the Leftovers Day - Pulling-out-the-futon-and-sofa-sleeper-and-watching-movies-all-day-and-night Nights. Anything and everything we can squeeze into the weekend we do. I try to get all the chores done before the weekend so we can just relax.

I guess we didn't really waste 924 Saturdays! We did lots and lots together. It just so happened that our "Saturday" didn't always fall on a Saturday. We took advantage of any and ALL downtime we had. So, actually, we had more than our fair share of "Saturdays"! I'm so glad we did. I treasure it all.

Haunted Fun... during the DAYLIGHT!

There's a local ghost story that one of the wooden bridges in the Amish area is haunted. As the story goes, an Amish man and his family had a terrible accident in which their buggy went over the edge and they all perished. So, brave family that we are, we went ghost hunting... during the daytime! LOL The following is our photo shoot, sans Ben, as he does not have any desire to participate in anything ghostie.

Matt and Rick, terrified to be on a haunted bridge.

A haunted bridge that happens to be a gazillion feet in the air!!!

This is the edge of the bridge.  You are supposed to drive over the bridge, then make a U-turn so you are facing the way you came.  You are then to turn off your car and wait.  Exiting the vehicle is strictly up to you and your terrified passengers.  After 15 min. you should experience something ghostie-like. Oh, and it should be at night.

So this is us after we did the U-turn and we are about to cross over the bridge.

However, you might notice that there is a house right at the end of the bridge next to where we parked.

Also, I want you to notice the white PVC pipe that is fastened to the bottom of the bridge railing in the top right corner of the photo. More on that later.

So, now we have crossed the bridge and are facing the way we came. We got OUT of the car - it is light out yet. I'm very brave in the daylight!

To the left of this picture, to the left of the tracks there are a bunch of trees. Behind these trees is another household. We could clearly hear both households making noise while we were on the bridge.

Do you see the PVC pipe along the bottom of the railing?  We think the first house hooked up the PVC pipe with a low-voltage wiring. Perhaps speaker wire?  It is definately NOT county materials.  I think there is a speaker(s) under the bridge.

Another theory is that someone could be living or sleeping or partying under the bridge - notice the circular sitting area complete with empty beer cans.

 It didn't photograph very well, but there was a slightly used trail on this side of the bridge. It could be a deer trail though, but I think it's more of the 2-legged trail going to the empty beer cans.

They aren't scared anymore.

Us - it is really a very pretty bridge.

Us again.

Even a tiny birdie nest.

Bridge construction.

Up close and personal with the bridge hardware.

Clearing Off The Shelves

Rick is going to be a Senior in the autumn. Ben is going to be a Junior.

It's that time of year when I clear off the hs'ing shelves and sort thru the junk.  However, this year is different. This year, I have no need to make room for new books for Rick. He's almost done. This final year is mostly reading the classics. He also has Math and Science along with a few reports that I will need for him to complete.  His shelf is almost empty. As for Benny's shelf, everything he needs for his Junior and Senior year are already on his shelf.

I have all the books I need for the next two years. Everything else can go...

I put out an email to several people and thru my tears I explained that I don't need to sell these books in order to buy MORE curriculum. I have all that I need.  Everything is free.  My hs'ing journey is almost over. It was bittersweet to be cleaning off these shelves.  Everything from Algebra and Art to Zaboomafoo and Zoology could go.

Immediately, within minutes, the phone was ringing and the email was telling me, "You've Got Mail".  Everything is gone. Every last book, workbook, student text, Teacher guide, readers, art supplies, paper and folders of a million different types are gone; except for what is on my two tiny shelves. Almost 13 years of my journey gone with the click of a send button on my computer.

It's the beginning of new chapter for all of us.  There are many changes coming our way.  Matt started a new position within the company he works for and in addition to his duties, his shift may also change. Rick started working as a Stable-Boy for a horse farm. Ben has specifically set aside time every day so that he can work on his book - undisturbed.  There are two retirements approaching at my place of employment and there will be some job shifting there as well - which means I could be going to days either full-time or part-time - regardless of when, I will gain a few more working hours during the week.  My Mother-in-Love has cancer and is undergoing chemo treatments. My Father-in-Love has a few things he is dealing with. My brother is going to be a daddy in the fall - and I will be a full-fledged "Skype-Auntie".  Rick wants to take a train out West to visit his uncle.  All sorts of things going on. It can seem overwhelming at times.

The changes seem daunting and at times heartbreaking, but through it all we seem to find time to laugh. It seems, to all of us, that this time is super-duper-uber precious to us. We are taking more time to 'play'. We were a close family anyway, but now it seems almost urgent to keep our family time a priority.

My heart broke a year ago when my Grandmothers died and when my Dad had a heart-attack in the middle of those deaths. My heart was breaking just a few days ago when I was clearing away a huge part of my life.  Hs'ing is everything to me. Everything revolved around making it work financially, so that one of us was always home to home-school the boys. I don't regret the sacrifices we made, however, I am ready for more income.

We are facing different financial times within just our own family unit. 3 sets of wisdom teeth, flight school, Technical College, carpeting and one last BIG family trip. While I will miss the days that have flown passed up, I am looking forward to having the cash flow for some big ticket items --- like wisdom teeth!

Days Gone and Passed...

Our laundry.

A friend came over yesterday. We've been friends for about 10 years and have seen many things come and go in our lives.  What brought about the melancholy was that our days together used to be slow and carefree. We still had laundry to do while visiting and our visiting one another did not hinder our laundry duties in one bit. We just kept folding and washing and drying and hanging.

The days were slower then. We thought they were zipping by at the time, but looking back we both agreed that those were the times of lazy afternoons. Lazy afternoons where friendships blossomed over the sandbox. Afternoons of naps and hanging out the laundry. Afternoon walks in a wagon or bike rides with a Kiddie-Trailer behind our bikes. Tiny bike helmets on tiny heads bobbing side-to-side behind us.  Roads, buildings and Legos in the sandbox. Picnics in the park for play dates.

Those were the slower days. The quiet days. The days which we savor. The days we remember with tears in our eyes.

My friend and I reminisced about those days that have gone by and have passed us in a hurry to get everything done. I am forever grateful for the time I was able to spend at home, taking care of my children with no other boss than myself. I am grateful for those days without a paycheck with my name it, for it makes me even more thankful for the ones that are coming in now with my name on them. I learned so much during that time in our lives - those times that have gone by me in a blur.  They are now in the past. They have passed me by and now reside in my memories.

Mother's Day 2012

Ben, Tyra & Rick

Mother's Day 2012

In-Charge... Me?

One of our employees resigned. She found some full-time work that she loves.  That meant we had to hire a newbie. That means I'm no longer the newbie.  I've been there for over 2 years now, I know what's what.  However, tonight for the first time, I was the one "in-charge".  It was a very strange feeling.  

It isn't that I don't I know what to do and everything because I do. I'm also very comfortable with KNOWING what I know and how to utilize that. However, it was such a strange feeling to be there without my other cohorts.  It was a peculiar feeling - unexpected.

Every night that I work, it's the routine. I'm also the one that asks my co-workers, "Did you remember to...." and they will tell me yes/no.  There are other times when they ask me, "Did you remember to...." and I will answer them, yes/no.  Tonight was the first time, though, that I wasn't double checked.  That's why we have two adults working at night - to double check one another.

The only thing that made me nervous was when I thought about what to do (in the future crazy weather patterns of Wisconsin) in case of a weather emergency. Or, like this previous Saturday when the power went out. it happens so rarely that we all had to put our heads together to remember what to do.  So many scenarios ran through my head and, quite frankly, I have no idea how I would react.

Therefore, in an attempt to FEEL better equipped, I will be making a list of questions for my supervisor!