Hoarder No More

This past weekend, Toby and I took on a little project: decluttering and organizing his room. 

It was long overdue: we were perhaps only days away from a visit by the fire marshal or the producers of the show "Hoarders." 

Toby's desk

An un-tidy bookshelf

After many (many!) difficult hours slogging through treasures, old school projects, and just plain junk, we filled 4 paper grocery bags with recyclables, 2+ large kitchen trash bags, and a sizable bag of too-small clothes and shoes. 

Toby is thrilled at his newly organized room.  Desk drawers are now places to find writing utensils and tools: scissors, notebooks, etc. 

Desk drawers!

Electronics (games, chargers, Ipod accessories) are now kept in one spot instead of scattered throughout the room.  We even found some long-lost items that Toby had given up on ever seeing again! 

Here are some of the AFTER photos:

the Desk!

Card Carrying Member. . .

Turning a year older often brings new privileges.

Jonah was thrilled to take advantage of one such experience when he turned 13: getting a bank account!

He took his birthday money to the credit union where we bank and opened his first ever checking account. Don't worry: he does not have checks with this account: just the debit card.

The bank teller was great: explained every step to Jonah and talked directly to Jonah about his new responsibilities (what to do if his card gets stolen, how to access his account on line, what happens if he is an irresponsible account holder, never to share his card or his PIN with anyone, even a friend. . .)

He now has an official electronic footprint. Since he doesn't have a high-volume cash flow, I think Jonah's account activity will be pretty minimal.  But he is thrilled to have another way to stash cash than wadded up bills.  And it will be a good way for him to learn account management.

Duet

Since Toby began band 8 days ago, impromptu duets like this one are frequent in our house!

I hope it continues as Toby's repertoire expands beyond the two beginning songs he has learned!

Thirteen!

Dear Jonah,

Today you enter your teen years - I wish you the happiest of birthdays!  I remember so well those first moments I saw you with your bright eyes and tiny limbs!  I remember spanning your shoulder-blade "wings" with a finger...

Now we stand nearly shoulder to shoulder

and your feet are larger than mine and we fight over the blue birkenstocks - until your next growth spurt, that is, when they will become MINE!  :)

I have used the analogy of spreading your wings before in these pages, but that is the image which comes to mind when I think about your growing independence; in getting yourself to the school bus in the mornings, meeting friends at the pool, biking to friends' houses, scout meetings, etc.

You thrive on that independence but resist the responsibility that comes along with it.  You detest being told what to do and this is the cause of many arguments between us.  I so want you to internalize the next logical step: taking care of your tasks BEFORE someone has to tell you what to do.

Jonah, you do teenage scorn and withering glances so well!  I know this is part of your march toward adulthood and I remember all too well my own teenage years.  I need to practice patience and honor your journey as well as tell you often how proud I am of the young man you are becoming!

You are a quiet, steady force, engaged and involved in communities that matter to you: Boy Scouts, church youth group gatherings/camps, school activities such as band and the school play.  Dad was so proud of the way you engaged with your group at church camp this year.

After earning your first aid badge in scouts, you've become a calm and capable resource when injuries arise: not only your own injuries, but those of others as well.  You have the knowledge, confidence, and presence of mind that has all but obliterated the overreaction of my younger Jonah when faced with blood or injury (I remember such outbursts as "You're killing me!").  You did face a pretty major emergency this summer when a glass exploded in your hand when you were 6 hours away at a friend's cabin, resulting in a trip to the ER and stitches.















Your love of music is one of your defining characteristics.  You're most excited about jazz band this year and I love that you play piano wherever you find one.

The great outdoors is where you were born to be.  This summer you discovered kayaking and loved it!

You went to scout camp, church camp, a mission trip, and spent 6 days and nights canoeing the Boundary Waters.

When you came home from the Boundary Waters you announced that as soon as you're old enough, you plan to spend the summer at the base camp as a "swamper" doing anything and everything the camp needs!






While you have a solid - and growing - group of good friends, you are still very much an introvert and crave your down time at home. Finding your balance between your social interests and your quiet time will be a constant challenge in your life, I'm sure.

At camp: a few of your friends

Your sensitivity and HUGE feelings have caused you to build walls around yourself.  You do not like to talk about your inner life and you have been especially guarded when it comes to talking about your relationships.  This makes my heart hurt and what I want most for you is to be able to have the confidence in yourself that allows you to open up to others.  It has taken me most of my life to gradually learn this.  If I could wave a magic wand and give you this ability, that would be your birthday gift.

We have so few rites of passage in our culture, and turning 13 is certainly a milestone.  I'm glad for you that you could spend your birthday with your friends in school, and I want you to know today and every day how much I love you!

Lift your head up high and spread your wings.  Be open and vulnerable - and soar!

Love,
Mom

Toby is Ten!

Dear Toby,

One of my favorite baby pics! Toby @ 3  months old

As always, I have been remembering that lovely summer morning 10 years ago when we first met you and began this journey.

Mowing the lawn!

How much you have grown and changed in the last year!  It has been fun to watch you build your confidence this year.  You've been hesitant to try new things; however, once you take that step, you are proud of your leadership.  You took your job as a school safety patrol member very seriously and your favorite class at Camp Legionville this summer was first aid. Recently, you discovered that mowing lawns is a great way for a kid to earn money and have set up a business plan and partnership with your buddy Andy.

You have definite opinions on things.  While this can be challenging sometimes, I admire your certainty and decisiveness (notice I did not use the word stubborn?!).

Since you were very small, you've loved to help in the kitchen.  Your interest in cooking has grown this year as well and it is always fun to help you cook.  There is usually some discussion of how things work:

This picture represents the detailed explanation
of how this hand mixer operates!

I look forward to helping you create some of your recipes from your new cookbook.

You possess a maturity and insight that I know I did not have at age 10.  You told me recently that you want to live on campus when you go to college because it's part of the college experience to learn to live on your own with someone else and good practice for when you have a family.  At the pool this summer, when Jonah and his friends brushed past us with barely an acknowledgement, your response was, "I don't know why Jonah acts like he doesn't have a family. . . "  followed by the Eddie Haskell-ish affirmation, "This is what is great about waterparks- the chance to be with my family: there's nothing better!"  (Yes, of course I fell for it!)













Of course, this last quote also demonstrates your sensitivity and concern for the feelings of others, qualities I treasure in you.  This year brought many challenges with the behavior of some of your classmates.  You are clearly able to articulate issues and are frustrated when others don't follow the rules; and at the same time, you are able to express some explanations for the behaviors.  You have learned to speak up and advocate for yourself and others this year: a hugely important skill!



I admire your big dreams and goals.   Whether working on Wall Street, designing roller-coasters or becoming a physicist, all your future career interests include lots of math!  Math is your favorite subject and the logic of math appeals to the way your brain works.



You have decided that this spring/summer was to be your last soccer season.  I will miss cheering you on the soccer field but look forward to your new endeavors as well!

You still struggle with worry. Lately, you're most anxious about severe weather. Last night we had storms during the block party for National Night Out and you were worried to the point of not being able to eat or enjoy yourself.  You were somewhat calmed by looking at the weather radar and seeing the projected track of storms; you desperately want CERTAINTY to cling to and storms are anything but!  

Some of your favorite activities are playing "Magic: The Gathering" and "Dungeons and Dragons" with Dad and Jonah.  You've gotten into "Star Trek" this year and were delighted to meet a new church friend who has been a major Trekkie in his life!

You love watching movies.  For your birthday party this year, you took friends to "Despicable Me 2" and had a blast!  

The down side of your love of movies, of course, is that you have not read as many books this summer as you have in years past.  Your favorite reading material this year has been Calvin and Hobbes cartoons: Calvin's antics and Hobbes' dry wit can entertain you for hours and it is fun to talk about some of the deeper themes and messages with you.

I am having trouble wrapping my brain around the fact that this will be your last year of elementary school.  It seems like just yesterday I was sending off an anxious, tiny, just-turned-five year old off to kindergarten.  Now you are ready for grade 5!

Happy 10th Birthday, Toby!  I love you so much!

Fourth of July Week 2013!

What a busy, full and fun holiday week it was!

Ken's brother Keith, our sister-in-law Lisa, and niece Karissa (Krissie) came to spend the Fourth in Minneapolis.

The week began with jury duty for Ken and a couple of half days of work for me.

Keith, Lisa and Krissie did some shopping at IKEA and the Mall of America, where Toby and I joined them for a little while; we swam in their hotel pool and played LOTS of late-night card games! We grilled fish (thanks, Keith!) and Toby rode in Uncle Keith's truck everywhere we went. 

There was fun on the trampoline; Toby's soccer game at Ft. Snelling;

and a day at the beach, swimming, canoeing, and bike-riding!

Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles- Canoeing and Biking

We went downtown to watch the fireworks over the Stone Arch Bridge on the 4th and hung out at a condo belonging to a friend of a friend after fireworks for more games, treats, and even chocolate wine for the grown-ups!





The next day we spent at Valleyfair!

Jonah, Lisa, Karissa, and Toby

Jonah and Krissie rode Steel Venom first and it remained Jonah's favorite ride!

Jonah laughed on all the terrifying rides!

Scrambler fun!

Toby gathered up his courage to try the "Scrambler" and was so scared he nearly cried while waiting in line.




As soon as he got off the ride, he said, "That was fun!  Let's do it again!" and proceeded to ride it 4-5 times throughout the day.

Krissie and Jonah

There was lots of waiting in line.  We even had to wait in line to go out of the park for our lunch!

Brothers and cousins

Ken, Lisa, and Toby on the train

We got soaked on the water rides and spent lots of time in the water park.

Thunder Canyon

First roller-coaster ride!

Toby allowed himself to be persuaded to try a roller-coaster and rode the Mad Mouse with us! Ken did NOT enjoy it.









It was a fun-filled week and we were sad to say goodbye to Keith, Lisa, and Krissie.

First Job

The other day our neighbor Mary Beth was heading out of town for the weekend and hired Jonah to mow her lawn.  Since Ken was out of town, I suggested the boys could earn some extra cash if they also mowed our yard.

Jonah finished Mary Beth's back yard.

As soon as he started on the front yard, the mower ran out of gas.  We ran to get more gas only to discover that this was not the problem.  I learned way more about our mower than I ever wanted to as I tried some limited trouble-shooting (mainly that it is a messy proposition!), but I was not able to fix things. 

It started to rain and the next morning, Jonah left for a friend's cabin.

What to do?  We still had half of Mary Beth's lawn and all of ours to do. 

We borrowed a friend, and borrowed the friend's lawn-mower, and Toby and Andy finished the job. 

Toby is still pretty new to mowing ("Boulevard?  What do you mean I have to mow the boulevard?  That's not part of the yard!") so the finished product was not quite up to Ken's or Mary Beth's standards, but the job got done and now we have a nine-year old who is very motivated to get some more mowing experience so he and Andy can start a lawn care business. 

Ken still gets to deal with the lawn mower issues. . .

Trampoline in 2013!

It's not fully summer until we hear the squeaking of trampoline springs and the giggling of boys from outside our kitchen window.  It's even MORE fun when we put a lawn sprinkler underneath it!

It's fun to see Toby's hair flop around as he jumps on the trampoline.

Enjoy the photos!

Peter Pan!

This post is the tiniest bit delayed, as the Northeast Middle School Theater performed Peter Pan in April, but better late than never. . .

Jonah was involved in drama club last year at Loring but was strictly a crew member.  Peter Pan was the first play Jonah auditioned for and it exceeded his expectations.

A write up in the Star-Tribune remarked on the appropriateness of the Peter Pan selection, about a boy who refuses to grow up, since middle-schoolers are in an in-between stage between childhood and adulthood.  Watching this performance through this lens gave it additional impact.

Jonah as a Lost Boy

Jonah played one of the Lost Boys, and loved his role. 

Peter Pan flying!

   

After-school rehearsals began in January, and ramped up in the two weeks prior to opening night - rehearsals were 5 days a week from 4 pm - 8 pm!  (This made for a very tired kid!)

The performances were amazing.  The kids did an incredible job with their lines, their parts, the set, the costumes.  Peter Pan flew!


Opening night brought a late-April snowstorm to Minneapolis, but the show went on!

Our family has been humming Peter Pan showtunes for months now!

Lost Boys, Pirates, and Peter Pan

Scene:The Darling Nursery

Some of the cast and crew

The kids from Loring School Footlights! Drama Club were invited to the Saturday performance.  They got to see the flying apparatus and posed for this photo with Captain Hook, a pirate, Michael Darling and Peter Pan:

Loring School Footlights kids at the play

A couple of weeks after the performance, a few of the players performed a special encore when they sang selected songs from the play at the Audubon Park Wingding:

So grateful Jonah chose to be involved in this endeavor.  He looks forward to the next NE Middle School musical!

Spring, anyone?

Last Sunday we said, "Let the biking season commence!" and biked to the library!

Four days later, this is what we woke up to:

April is SUCH a fickle month!