The Winter That Will Never End

Today's weather was just awful.  It rained almost all morning and the temperature never reached above 40 degrees.  Unfortunately, Meg had PROM work day and spent the majority of it outside mulching and weeding.  It was pretty cold, but she did help out and was home by 2:30 to warm up.  Cam also had an all day commitment, but at least he was inside.  His religious education group had a theology of the body class that was required for all of those being confirmed next year.  I was worried that he would find it extremely boring, but overall he felt it went pretty well.

Cal came home late last night.  He spent the morning at my parents visiting with them and the rest of the afternoon with Hannah-Marie.  We took everyone out to dinner once they got home.  The restaurant of choice was Buffalo Wild Wings.  We hadn't been there in awhile and overall everyone enjoyed their meal.  Doug made his famous cookies once we got back and we settled in for a quiet evening at home.

Tennis and More Tennis

Last night Meg had a match against West Noble.  Meg played very well at number two singles.  Her opponent stuck with her in the first set making it an interesting match to start.   I believe that Meg wore her out in the first set as Meg was the dominant winning at love in the second.  Meg's court once again gave Bethany the win at 3-2.

Tonight's match was an easy win for Meg.  I was not sure that she even broke a sweat.  She said that she was uncomfortable playing her opponent as it wasn't an even match.  Meg would just slice it over and her Prairie Heights wouldn't be able to get to the net in time to get a racquet on it.  The good news was that she won and it was over quickly.  The team also was victorious starting their season at 4-0.  Last year they only won three matches, so they were pretty excited with their new record.

Braces - Here We Come!

I took this afternoon off to take Cameron to the orthodontist.  He had been complaining that his bottom teeth were bothering him and two of them had turned.  The dentist agreed that Cam's mouth was too crowded which pushed his bottom teeth forward.  Several of them had twisted as well.  He has always had a slightly crooked front tooth since Avery knocked out his baby tooth with a wiffleball bat.

The orthodontist did a very thorough exam which included 4-D imaging and complete mouth x-rays.  It was a little creepy to see these pictures, but they definitely showed his problem areas.  My favorite image was seeing the front of his mouth from the back of the throat.  That was a view I had never seen before on anyone.  Cam liked the mouth piece that he had to use.  It made him feel as though he was playing Speak Out.

The orthodontist started work today putting spacers in between his back molars.  This will allow room for an expander on the roof of his mouth.  He said that it hurt, but not too unbearable.  He won't be able to chew gum or have sticky candy for the next twenty-two months.  Pretty soon he will have to eliminate popcorn as well.  Cam didn't seem to mind.  He was ready to get the process started.

No Evening Commitments

We did not have anything scheduled for this evening which was a nice midweek break.  Our schedule is usually packed, so it was nice to have a quiet night to do with what we pleased.  Meg and Cam decided to go to Grandma's for dinner after her practice.  Cam would have preferred to play golf, but the weather has been too cold and dreary.  Meg had practice indoors which has been the norm lately.  That was why we were so impressed with her win last night.  She really hasn't been able to get on the court since she her lessons at the Warsaw Racquet Club ended in the middle of March.  Doug and I took advantage of our free time by going out to dinner.  He has been very busy with work lately.  It was nice to catch up before our nights become crazy again.

A Great Start to the Season

Tonight was Meg's first tennis match as a Bethany Bruin.  Meg played number two singles and found a challenging opponent at Central Noble.  She started off slow, and for the first couple of games, I thought that Meg would lose big.  She got it together, however, and soon found herself on top 6-4 at the end of the first set.  Meg's opponent's frustration showed during the first set and it only increased during the second.  Her unsportsmanlike behavior was apparent as she hit balls back to Meg as hard as she could in between points.  She complained nonstop and constantly questioned the score or the calls.  Her attitude threw Meg off for awhile and ending up costing her the second set 2-6.

I was bummed for Meg that she had to play a third set.  It was extremely cold this evening dipping below 40 degrees with a constant wind.  Doug was a trouper and sat outside to watch all three sets.  Mom, Dad and I pulled up beside the basketball courts and watched the last two sets from the van.  Cam finally joined us for the third.  Thankfully, Meg held on tight for the third set and did her best to ignore her opponents behavior.  She quickly found herself up 3-0.  The girl did win a couple of games, but in the end Meg was the victor 6-2.  The match took about two hours and forty minutes.  Meg's win gave the girls their first victory of the year and Meg's first time defeating Central Noble.  What a fantastic start to her Bethany debut.

One Long Monday

Just like any Monday after a long vacation, it was challenging to go back to school.  It was made a lot harder by the fact that we had a three hour training session first thing this morning.  I know that the material was valuable for the start of next year.  I wasn't, however, prepared to sit and listen to a presenter or do team building activities on the first day back after break.

As long as the morning felt, without prep time the afternoon felt even longer.  Tomorrow was the scheduled end to the midterm and I had students who needed to complete work today.  It was hard to get everyone focused.  We did our best and by the time I got home I was ready for bed.  I was very thankful that we came home on Saturday and that I had yesterday to put all of our laundry away and pick up the house.  I know that there are only 38 more days left of the school year, but after today it feels like much more.

LAUNDRY

Last week Meg, Cam and Brett found this wall hanging while we were shopping in Nashville.  They thought it was perfect for me as they know that I spend a lot of time in our laundry room.  It made me smile when I put it up today.  It's not that I enjoy doing laundry.   It is just the one chore that I am particular enough about that I don't like anyone else doing it.  I remember Syl telling me that I would regret putting my laundry room in the closet of my bedroom.  I knew he was wrong.  It has worked out extremely well.  If we had kept the laundry room in the basement I would never see Doug, Brett, Cal, Meg and Cam.  I also like having the bed to fold and sort the clothes on.  I have watched many television series over the past few years this way and when I do not have anything new to watch, I pull out my standbys - Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, etc. 

Today was definitely one of those days that the sign above was most appropriate.  With Spring Break being split into two different vacations - first Bloomington and then Orlando - there was quite a bit of laundry to get done.  I also had to unpack the suitcases.  It took me the majority of the day and by the end I was completely exhausted.  It was satisfying to know, however, we will have clean clothes for the week!