Message to Serene Balance

My camera is broken and my mom took hers back after loaning it to us for a long time. So I need to get a new one..........but that's why no pictures!

washcloth

Ana leaves today for her first sleep away camp. It is supposed to be from today til Wednesday, but I have to go get her on Tuesday so we can go to the Guthrie on Wednesday evening. She is very, very, excited. She did a fantastic job packing her bag yesterday while i was at work. I emailed her the items to pack and she followed it. We checked it over last night and added a few last items.

One of the items on the list was a washcloth. When i got to it she said "What's that for?"

(PS She is a clean kid. We just dont use washcloths a lot, preferring total immersion. I thought it was hilarious though!)

Gramma came on Friday and brought us a great present--an ancient Montgomery Ward rowboat! We put it right in the water and went fishin'. It's perfect for us because I'm the one who fishes with the kids and I don't want to deal with a motor, and also the boys are scared to go out very far so rowing is just easy and fast. It's a solid, sturdy boat with ancient, peeling oars. We wanted to spraypaint "Property of Brian Schurman" on it to make him die of embarrassment but I ain't got that did yet.

Uncle Hans called a few days ago to talk to Elijah about fishing but Elijah wouldn't come in off the dock. Ana was on the phone with Hans relaying messages. Hans told her to tell Elijah he'd give him a present if he'd come to the phone. Nope.

Later that night, WHEN HE HAD TIME, Lij called Hans back and they talked about fishing for a long time. The next day I commented to lij that I had heard that Hans offered him a present if he would come to the phone. Lij continued to reel in his line (yes, he was fishing) and said "Yeah...." and then he stopped, turned to me, and said "What was the present?"

Friday was the Miss Cold Spring pageant stuff and Ana did absolutely fabulous. She was so beautiful and poised. She was proud that she made the judges laugh during her interview. She had a wonderful dimpled smile on her face the entire time. There was one portion that I did NOT like--they asked "final questions" of each candidate and they were NOT age appropriate ("What's your defination of success?"). Ana's question was "What do you like best about yourself?" and she didnt understand it and stood for a long painfully silent moment before the MC rephrased it to help her out a bit. She wasn't the only one that happened to though.

I really, really, really, thought she had a very good chance of winning, but the crown went to Stella Mueller. Ana was very disappointed and we all felt awful for her. She is resilient as ever, though...already asking if she can do it again next year, because it was "SO MUCH FUN!". I agree she did seem to have a good time and get some good learning experiences out of it, and she also got a really nice gift bag (priorities, you know). I'm not sure about next year...I'm not a big pageant person and I don't know if I can handle seeing her disappointed like that again. I know disappointment is normal and good to a point, but that's enough.................

Gramma, Terrie, and Reilly came for the day to get Ana ready for the pageant because if I were responsible for it I'd dress her in bib overalls and drop her off 5 minutes before the festivities began. It was really fun to have them there, especially Terrie who I NEVER see! My brother is being an ass and he better pull his head out quick or I'm going to pull it out for him.

I went down to say goodbye to her before I left for work this morning and there were boys in her bed. Poor girl....she'll probably get some much needed rest at camp :)

Zac was a pill on Friday and I was so embarrassed how he acted for our company. Terrie called him a sqealer which I thought was perfect. He does squeal. He was so awful. So then yesterday he was smiley, clappey, silly, happy, walked around, all those things he should have done for company. Turd.

Wils and Ben are good. Ben alternates between bursts of activity on the beach or at the sandbox and rest periods on the couch under his blanket that smells like pee. Wils is looking forward to his upcoming birthday so he can have the bulldozer he knows is in the trunk of my car. Funny boy :)

of parades and fish and walking babies

Been awhile! It's 4:27 a.m. and I'm on the night shift at work. It's my second night. Last night was fun because I was on with people who like to talk. Tonight is going much slower because I'm working with quiet people (cripes, how boring). Otherwise it's been fine. The kids slept over at Charlotte's house last night because Brian and I both had to work. They had a lot of fun and got to play with Michael and Alec. As a matter of fact the 3 middle guys didnt want to come home with me in the morning, choosing instead to stay at Charlottes for the day and play more with their cousins. So Ana and I took Muffin (who now says "Muff Muff", his OTHER nickname) home and I went to bed. After I slept we went back to St. Cloud to get them and we did some shopping. I was happy to note that they are now old enough to do well on a shopping errand even as a group (usually I avoid taking more than two kids to a store). They were SO good at the grocery store. Wils rode in the cart, because his little legs get tired and his little fingers stray; the others walked beside the cart and helped me put things in. Then they loaded stuff onto the checkout, and then they helped me bag it. See, someday, we (Brian, Muff Muff, and I) will have it made, because we are training all these other people to take care of those little jobs.

Our sleep schedules are definately odd but there is something I've liked both nights so far on this shift. I go to bed about 8 and William lays with me and he falls asleep too. I actually get to hold him until i get up to leave at around 11. When we get into the routine more and the big kids are back in school (meaning they actually go to bed) I will probably play musical beds and take turns falling asleep with each kiddo.

The fishing obsession is calming down a bit. A bit. Wils and Ben both broke their fishing poles and I'm not replacing them right now. Brian commended Elijah on his excellent care of his fishing gear, and he really is doing a good job with that. To my amusement, Brian himself is so DONE with being asked to go fishing that he is looking forward to moving off the lake next year (if we are able to do so as planned). Elijah caught a small Northern last night, the first one caught this year.

Zaccy is doing well with his walking.................when he feels like it. He is into dogs right now and enjoys barking at any animals, including fish, which is very silly and he knows it.

Did I already mention that Ben lost his first tooth??? One morning I got up and he came running to talk to me.............about FISHING.............and as he was talking I noticed a hole in his head. "Benjamin!" I said, "Let me look in your mouth!". He shook his head. "Get over here!" I said, "I think you lost a tooth!"

"No I didn't" he said. We proceded to argue until it reachd a point where he stamped his little foot and announced "I dont want to tell you!"

Finally he did open up and indeed he had lost a tooth. To this day I have not ascertained quite what happened. The whereabouts of the tooth are not known even to the former landlord. Anyway, now he and Lij are missing the same tooth. The competition is heating up!

Ana lost another tooth too, so now she is missing the teeth on either side of her big front teeth, so she looks just like Zac who only has those big front teeth (and enjoys making himself look like a beaver).

William still has his beautiful pearly crooked baby teeth.

Last Friday Ana had a community service thing she had to do for the Miss Cold Spring thing going on and I had to find a place for the boys as Brian had to sleep. We took Krabby Patty with us (we brought a stroller that his tender butt has never sat in and never will). The other 3 boys alllll went to Henry and Kate's house! I was very proud when Stacey emailed later to say that they are excellent little boys and all of my kids are welcome at her house at any time.

It's really fun to see Zac and Kate together. They are 2 days apart and she has Down Syndrome. What's funny is that his baby-of-the-family syndrome is quite a bit more severe than her down syndrome and they have been reaching developmental milestones at about the same time. For silly. She isn't walking yet, though; it's related to the poor muscle tone of down's babies.

I love watching Henry and Ben together. They never get tired of each other and never run out of things to do. They like the same wierd things, like cleaning. It's interesting to see that they will also sometimes split up and do their own thing at each other's houses. They are both loners and independent and understand that about each other.

Saturday night we went to the Richmond parade. It was candy heaven. A decent parade to watch and I love evening parades. We are looking forward to the Rockville one. Yesterday on our shopping trip we found kid's collapsing lawn chairs for 4 bucks so I got 5. But...I forgot that they are growing up! Ana's doesnt come anywhere near fitting her, she needs a grown up one (she is nearly 5 feet tall!). Lij's makes him look like he is sitting in a potty chair. I'm just astounded. They'll work OK though. Wil and Zac are so cute in theirs. Of course all 5 lined up in the living room sitting in their chairs watching TV. I did manage to get a picture on my old Canon but it is not willing to upload them.

I need to stop eating beans at work.

Takin' a walk in a tomato warning

Well! What a couple of days! Last night I arrived home from my home care job, plopped my tired self into a lawn chair on the beach with my crawling, walking-less toddler in my lap, and sat back to enjoy the dusk. No sooner had my butt hit the wet cushion than all hell broke loose around me and I looked up to see Elijah pull in the biggest damn fish I've ever seen on a hook. Remembering the drama last week when the big one got away, I ran out with baby on one hip and grabbed the net and scooped up the big catch. Wils and Ben were jumping and clapping and Ana was hoofin' it to the house to get Brian.

Turns out this was the very same one that got away, we are pretty sure, because it had a tear mark on it where the hook had been. It also wasn't a walleye...............but at first we couldn't figure out WHAT it was. I thought catfish because it had barbels, but Elijah disagreed. I thought it was just because he wanted it to be a walleye so he could eat it (and that was true). But later he and I did some studying online and successfully identified his catch as a Bowfin, or Dogfish. There is no uglier fish in Minnesota, I don't think. Sadly for Lij, they aren't really edible, but remarkably he was very near the state record for size, with the record holder being 10 pounds and our catch roughly 9!

So tonight I'm at work. There are state-wide Tornado warnings out and we had to sit in a hallway with patients (and patience) for about an hour. Meanwhile, back at the station....(I did that because it sounds like a novel) the troops were gathered in the basement. A certain someone chose that moment to stand up and walk 5 feet. He toddled, stopped, gazed at his starstruck audience, erupted into loud applause for his own self, and fell flat on his butt. I'm told he's been repeating the performance so perhaps this isn't a fluke!

email from gramma

Lij called us to tell us that he caught the big walleye . He was soooooooooooooooooooooo fun to hear cuz he was so so so excited. He told alllllllllllllllll about it . I asked him if it was as big as Zaccy and he said one of the walleyes is. ---------------------almost----------------------. Oh he is so darling. Then a while later Wils called me. He said I could come over if I was real quiet and he would give me a dollar. hahaha. Have you been bribing the boy? I asked him if he fell into the water and he said "Yes and Lijah saved my wife". ahhahahahahah. Now can you imagine what will be told with that story over the years? How his big brother saved his life . Those children are just absolutely delightful. Thank you for having them. Thank me for having you. Talk to you later. Mom

I'm In Love

OK, twice in two days, don't faint (blogging). But I just have to record this because it's something that is going to make me smile whenever I read it.



The 92 year old patient at work seems to have taken a real liking to me and it is mutual. He is not the least bit "icky" (usually, in my job, when you think someone seems pretty cool, they quickly disillusion you). So yesterday he gave me those tips for the boys about catching walleye. Tonight he came up to me and said "So what can we talk about tonight?". I told him I was going to go take my break and find him when I got back. When I got back on the unit one of the other nurses told me he was in the bathroom but had been asking about me. So I waited for him, but he took forever so I was concerned and stuck my head in and said "XX, you OK?" and he said "Yah, I'm OK, is she there yet?" (he thought I was someone else). I said "Yeah, XX, I'm back now, just thought you were taking a long time and I wanted to make sure you are OK in there!"



Few minutes later he shuffles his cute little self out and says..."Once I get them pants off it takes forever to get 'em back up again"................



So then he said, "I was thinking 'bout them walleyes and wanted to tell ya..."



and then we had this wonderful talk. Turns out Big Fish is one of his favorite fishing lakes, he used to fish there at night! He said it makes sense that Elijah is seeing walleye at night, that's when they are best out there. He gave me a bunch of tips to pass on to lij and they were very interesting and I am eager to try them--with the exception of going at 6 in the morning, if not at night.



Our 2 hour long conversation (that is the great thing about this job--if it's quiet, I can sit and talk to someone for 2 hours and it's considered work) touched on everything from the Taj Mahal (members of his ... company, is that what they are called? flew around it when they were in India) to Hillary Clinton. Get this--she was his man! He don't quite know what to think 'bout this Obama, but anything would be better than that guy we got runnin' the place right now who don't got no brain. Better'n his dad, of course, but still don't got no brains. He figures Hillary would have done a good job, he retired to Arkansas years back and never heard a bad word 'bout either of them. Course, too bad Bill had to go and do all that chasin' around, it does make you think less of a man, but if he hadn't done that he would have been remembered as one of the best Presidents...................................



'Course himself, he never did no chasing around, never, not once. The wife, even now, she asks him on the phone, "So I spose you're having all kinds of fun now?" (they are living separately due to different nursing requirements and his behavior issues.................which I am seriously not seeing). And he says to her, "No, I never did and I never will!". They've been married it'll be 67 years the 24th of September, but the wife figgers they should count the 5 years they went together before that, and I do agree with her.



When he got his draft notice for WWII he wrote a letter to the draft board to say he was just about finished building a house for the missus and could he please finish it first. Would you believe they let him, and he got her all settled into their little cottage before he headed to LA to board a ship making its maiden voyage by carrying soldiers to India. On the way they stopped in Melbourne, Australia, and in Madagascar, off the coast of Africa. When they left Madagascar they were escorted by two destroyers, and the job of the destroyers was to protect the ship from subs. From Madagascar they sailed to Calcutta and then on to Bombay (I think that was by train--I'm not recalling that part well). He spent the remainder of the war in Bombay preparing bombs to be flown over the Himalayas and launched toward Japan. That all ended with the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima, which was not geographically far from where he was stationed. As I commented to him, it doesnt appear to have affected his longevity at all.



By the way, while he was in Bombay, the missus worked in a munitions factory--a bona fide Rosie the Riveter.



He is the last surviving out of 10, with one older sister having made it to 96.



He wishes he'd bought GM stock 2 years ago when it was going for 5 dollars a share because a year later it was going for 35. Course, now, it's down the 10, but he'd have it in the bank by now. The missus, she don't like the stock market much herself. .

Tomatos and bombfires

Tomatos is another blast from the past. The boys went through a period last summer when they were very nervous about tomatos. The kind that come out of the sky and take your house away. They are always preceded by a scary message on the TV screen that starts with "beep beep beep beep".

I was reminded of this on Thursday night when we were walking from our car to the fireworks in St. Joe. It was a bit of a trek and I had to carry William part of the way. While I carried him he chatted his little heart out. One of the things he said was that when we got home he wanted to have a "bombfire". That would be the fire you have outside in a firepit and roast marshmallows in.

He also saw a police car with lights flashing (I think directing traffic) and asked "Mommy, what is he doing?" before I could answer, he answered himself "I think he is going to the dollar store.".

In case you don't know Wil very well, be assured he was making a joke :)

Ana taught zac to bark like a dog--she plays stuffed doggies with him and they bark. He picked a trick up on his own, though, too; I was carrying him up the steps and the dogs, who were hot, were walking behind us. Soon I could hear this panting sound. Figured it was the dogs. It was, but not only. Zac also had his little tiny tongue out and was going "hll hlll hlll hlll hlll" with a doofy look on his face. He is developing quite the sense of humor!

The fireworks were great. Brian had to work and it was late for Zaccy for we left them at home and I took the older 4 and we met Joanie and James there. They were already in St. Joe for the live music and had a spot saved for us. We ended up listening to Bobby Vee sing Peggy Sue. I only vaguely know he is famous, but I figure it was a neat thing to have experienced. I found out today he is FROM St. Joe--that I did not know.

Ben LOVED the fireworks. He was entranced by them. It's something I would have thought he would like--something about him that has always seemed maybe even slightly autistic. (Not that you have to be autistic to love fireworks). Wils loved the fireworks too as did the others although Lij was trying very hard to be a crab. He gave up after awhile :) Ana and I had a nice talk about the historical significance about the 4th of July and fireworks ("...and the rockets red glare, bombs bursting in air.............."). She loves history.

We all 7 went to the parade on the 4th. When we were leaving the fireworks Thursday night Joanie suggested we leave one of our blankets in a spot along the parade route as that is something people do to save their seats. We did so and when we arrived on Friday morning there were red haired people on my blanket. Too bad I didn't have Leo there to take care of it! They were pleasant when we asked them to step off but they had 3 red haired kids who kept pushing Wils out of the way to get candy. Wils' sibs didn't take to that well at all and it was funny to see those little red haired girls get their comeuppance, Schurman style (basically, quietly and firmly....they just kind of took their spots and kept their ground and handed as much over to Wil as they could!).

Sorry if you have red hair. My mother prejudiced me.

The candy haul was so-so. I wish tootsie rolls were illegal for parade candy. Ana commented on the way home that "You know we are going to get crabby now, right?"

After the parade we had a friend of mine from school and her 5 year old son over for a bit. She's a very young single parent and he does show the effects but overall it was nice to have them and he enjoyed the lively company.

Later that day Ana removed her snorkel (a gift from Joanie and James!) from her mouth and out popped a tooth! It had been loose and we were taking bets on when it would fall out. Unfortunately it happened while she was in the water and the tooth has not been found. I suggested that in a thousand years some little green beings might find it fossilized on the beach, like we have found teeth (we have, we really have....not human, perhaps deer).

After we put nude bathing baby and dad to bed we sat in the yard and watched fireworks over the lake. We had a great time!

I am back at work now and we have a lovely patient. He is 92 years old and he is here for trying to beat the shit out of a nurse practitioner in a nursing home. And he really is lovely.....we are enjoying him very much. I suspect the nurse he attacked was treating him like a senile old coot which is is very much not. He is neat, clean, and oh so sharp. He seems to me like the kind of guy who always had his routines and his ways and it is just very hard for him to give them up. "The missus" is in a different nursing home and he talks to her on the phone every day. Though he does seem to have gender role ideas typical of his generation, he speaks very respectfully of "the missus". Many comments begin with "The missus figgers" or "That's what the missus says too". He is a unique veteran in that his service was in India during WWII--he said there were very few of them, only about 5000 GIs stationed there, and their mission was to send bombs over the Himalayas. He is on a personal mission to convince all of his fellow patients (guys in their 40s) that smoking cigarettes "don't hardly make no sense. if you're going to spend 4 bucks at least get a gallon of gas!"

We have a new email address....a new email person has been added to the family...we now have:

boodlefish@rocketmail.com

and that will get you to Mr. Ben and his very first email!

PS My 92 year old patient told me to tell Lij and Ben to use minnows to catch walleyes. i emailed lij and he is excited to try it. I figured if a guy has been fishing for 80 something years, he's gonna know what a walleye likes.