The Rundown...

... Three assignments

... Two major projects

... Four exams

And then the semester will be over! I am having a heck of a time registering for Fall, though, because no one seems to care that my credits have still not transferred properly and that I cannot register for the classes I need for graduation until they plug in the prerequisites that I have already taken...

I may yet lose my mind... again...

Lisa

Livin' the Legacy...

... I don't really even know where to begin.

Let me first warn you that this is as explicit a post as you will find on my blog. There... you've been warned.

Today was the State Children's Quiz. My beautiful daughter scored a perfect day. She was not, however, recognized for this accomplishment, because apparently (and I missed this, but Phil saw it) she pulled one of her answers "too late". Uh... can we define "too late" for children's quizzing?

From Phil's description, the question was read and Grace appeared to hesitate and then appeared to have trouble getting her number out of the box. She pulled the correct number just BEFORE the correct answer was given.

You would think that if the scorekeeper was going to subjectively count her CORRECT answer as INCORRECT, he could have at least told her at the end of the round. No such communication occurred.

So, after round 2 we sent up huge rounds of praise and applause for her perfect day, and Grace smiled from ear to ear while eating cookies and brownies...

Fast forward to award ceremony...

Red level... they call all of the bronze level quizzers... and then they call all of the silver level quizzers... and then they call all of the gold level quizzers of whom Grace is a part. The they announce that they will be calling all of the kids with perfect rounds, of whom Grace is a part again. She exits the stage with a trophy and a gold ribbon. At this point, I assume we are going to commence with the blue level quizzers, but the announcer says that they are now going to call all of the kids who scored two perfect rounds, and I tell Grace to get ready, because they are going to call her name again, and Phil starts the video camera.

Except they don't call her name. They call five other kids and there seems to be a bit of confusion in the room. So, the announcer says, "Oh wait... there's a whole 'nother list", and we all calm down a bit. And then they call the next list, and her name STILL isn't on it. So, of course, I walk up to the awards table and say, "Uh... excuse me... my daughter had two perfect rounds, but she was called in the last group"... and the guy handing out awards explains that she can change in her gold ribbon for a purple one, and I go retrieve the gold ribbon. And then I am met by our district quiz director (who I also presume is the state quiz director at this point) and she asks if I am referring to Grace, which... of course... I am. She then informs me that one of her answers was counted incorrect, because she pulled it after all of the other children. I am pretty sure at this time I rolled my eyes, but I just said nothing (I think) and walked away.

If you are not familiar with children's quizzing, you cannot really understand this, but all of the kids pull their answers within a couple of seconds of one another. Somebody is going to pull their answer last, and I have NEVER heard of anyone being penalized for this. If they are going to institute a rule that says answers must be pulled within 2 seconds... or 3 seconds... or whatever, that is perfectly fine with me as long as they use a timer and mark incorrect EVERY child's answer that is not pulled within the specified amount of time. There is currently no such rule. Further... what this insinuates is that Grace was marked wrong because she was cheating... as if she looked around the room at the other children's answers and then picked hers based on what she saw. This was NOT the case and NEVER will be the case with my daughter. SHE DOES NOT CHEAT! In fact, Grace prefers to sit in the front row when quizzing, because she does not want to have the opportunity to see other children's answers.

Many of these kids have studied the question book all year long. I have even conversed with coaches who have instructed their children to always pull the number for "Moses" if it is a choice or to always pull the number for "God" if it is a choice, because they will be correct. I guess that's a nice trick, but do the kids really understand the Scripture? Grace has read the ENTIRE book of Exodus (not just the parts they quiz over) multiple times, on a regular basis, usually weekly, throughout the year. Even if it wasn't a character issue (which it is, and she has a lot of character), she has studied the Scriptures of Exodus in their entirety and has no need to cheat. Thank you very much.

So... I went back to Grace with the gold ribbon and told her that they had marked the question incorrect that she had trouble pulling. And she just burst into tears and said, "That's not fair, Mom!" And you know what, it wasn't. And I told her so.

We packed up the kids and walked out during the remainder of the awards ceremony.

And as soon as I exited the sanctuary, the only words that I could get to come out of my mouth (in front of my kids, mind you) were, "That really pisses me off." And I do not generally use the word "piss". And I am not real proud that I used it today. And I am certainly not proud that I used it in front of my kids. But, heck, that's really the only way to describe how I felt at the moment.

Let me just also mention that I am not going to buy the line, "This day is about the kids, not about us". Just try to tell that to my SEVEN YEAR OLD who studied her little heart out and pulled a PERFECT day but couldn't bring her "all star" ribbon home, because it had to go back into storage for another year... Nobody else at that quiz today is ever going to think twice about this again, but Grace will remember it every time she looks at that gold ribbon that does not proclaim her actual accomplishment. That's NOT about the kids. And furthermore, it's NOT about what they have learned about the Scriptures, and it's NOT a very good impression of the Church. It is a power trip. And that is why I am not... (fill in the blank if you know how... if you don't, that's OK).

In the end, it's not all that unique of a situation. Because of a score miscalculation, I graciously relinquished my scholarship for being the district top quizzer in 1997. I stood on the sidelines while the incorrect top quizzer was announced. I allowed the other guy to keep the scholarship AND the trophy even though my score was better. The district made me a replicate trophy. And then, I have a trophy in my case proclaiming me the 1998 District Top Quizzer, because I was, but the trophy didn't come from the district. It was custom made after the fact. I understand what it feels like to accomplish something great but not be recognized for it. And just as soon as I have the chance I'll be lookin' into ordering a purple ribbon...

Grace Anne... your Daddy said it best today. We're proud of you, because you lived up to your name... your first name (better than I ever did) and your last name, too...

We don't go down easy... and we don't go down quietly. Orlando? Bring it on...

Lisa

Mini Super Quizchick...

... Orlando, Here We Come!

Grace participated in the NEI District Children's Quiz Finals today! I am extremely proud to say that she tied (5 way tie, but who's counting) for first place, bringing the proud title of "District Top Quizzer" back to our house for the first time since 1998.

Grace is now officially registered to quiz in Orlando, and let me tell ya, I didn't breathe until after question #11 of the second round... Anything can happen when you quiz...

Grace also qualified for the state quiz, and get this... she didn't want to go, because she thought she would have to learn a lot about the 50 states. The child was actually looking for a map when she finally got it. She is studying Exodus... again... as opposed to the atlas!
Congratulations Mini Super Quizchick! I don't really know if the world is ready...

Lisa

Spring Break, Trip #2...

... Indy Zoo

I have waited so long to blog this one, that the story has lost some of it's outrageous humor... in my opinion...

Let's say that I am not real good at navigating in Indy...

Let's say that I was so desperate to get out of the house that I took my four kids plus another one to the zoo in the pouring rain...

But ya know... It made for a good day...

At one point, a poncho clad woman with a small army of kids around her pointed in our direction and said, "See, that lady's here with five kids. I'm not crazy!" I responded by yellin' back to her, "That doesn't necessarily mean you're not crazy!" I smiled. I don't think she did...

The highlight of my day was gettin' to see the baby bears...

Beyond that, well... a pic's. worth more words than I can actually remember about the trip at this point:

Lisa

Easter...

... was today.

Here are a few pics. of the kids. Gosh, they are beautiful... but, crap... I think we're turning into plastic again...

The good news is... Our imaginary dog ate the Easter Bunny today.

The bad news is... I didn't really celebrate what I should have...

Lisa

Spring Break, Trip #1...

... Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL

So... last April we decided that we wanted to take a trip to Shedd Aquarium. We were headed in that general direction for my niece, Abby's, 4th birthday party, and since Caleb's birthday was just around the corner... and since Caleb loves ocean animals... it made sense to check it out!

Well... upon researching the cost of Shedd, I found that it was actually cheaper for our family to buy a membership than to visit for just one day. The obvious decision was to buy the membership... which we did. And since it was gettin' real close to the expiration date, we decided to use it again today!

We woke up a little after 5am and left the house later than we had originally planned only to arrive at Shedd a full 50 minutes before it opened... ooops... time change! :)

So we ran around taking some pics. in the slightly... uh, very... chilly Chicago air!


So... when we had about 1/2 an hour until opening time, we went and stood in this construction tunnel thing that led to the entrance. We played rock, scissors, paper (uh... pencil, pinchy claw... you probably shouldn't ask), I spy, and finally the quiet game...

About 5 minutes before they were supposed to open the doors, a Shedd employee came out and asked if anyone in line had a membership, and of course I shouted out, "We do!"... and now I must diverge for just a moment...

It is spring break. It is the weekend. I am planning to converse with fish and stingrays all day. We are all dressed in jeans and T-shirts. Phil and I are wearing hats. And in the picture above you can see what the wind did to the kid's hair that was only hastily brushed in the parking garage...

So the lady looks at me and says, "You have a membership?" And I say, "Yeah." And she keeps looking at me like there is no possible way that this sort of messy lookin' family has a membership to Shedd, so I hold up my membership card, which I've had in my hand all along, and she says, "It would be to your advantage (I'm not kidding, that's what she said) if you went back out through the tunnel and up the stairs and entered through the membership entrance, because we're having a construction issue." And then Phil says, "Is there an elevator?" Of course, he says this, because Ian is in his stroller. And the lady says, "Can't you fold it up?" And I think to myself, "Well... not with the baby in it!" But Phil says, "Yes," and we begin our long exit out of the tunnel with people looking at us and a few even asking each other if Shedd is closed today, and we didn't say anything at all, because it occurred to me that if I started announcing loudly that members could get in line somewhere else, half of the huge line might beat us to the stairs, and then we would have to spend more time in the cold! And Seth and Grace were still playing the quiet game.

We finally made it up the steps and took our place among the well groomed, cultural elite of Chicago, who turned to look at us with eyes that said, "You have a membership?" And I laughed... until the people in front of us shut the door in our faces (remember, I am holding a baby here, and Phil is carrying a stroller that contains a diaper bag, several changes of clothes, my purse, and three camera bags... not to mention the three other children hovering nearby! The absolute best part was when Seth exclaimed, "Hey... you can't do that to us!" And then I really laughed, because I guess he figured we were part of the culturally elite, too, and people shouldn't go around slamming doors in our faces. Seth didn't think it was too funny, because he lost the quiet game. He did, however, open the door for me.

That's probably the best story on the day.

Oh, wait... I just remembered a couple more little incidents that occurred, making us slightly less than... uh... classy...

We didn't want to pay a bazillion dollars for a lunch that we wouldn't even like (Soundings and the regular food court are closed during the renovation... not that I would have been caught dead at Soundings looking how I looked today), so we just sat down among all the people eating their expensive vendor style food and pulled out nine packages of fruit snacks from the diaper bag. It was an amusing lunch. I think the custodian who "cleaned up" after us (we didn't leave a mess) was looking at us as if we just fell off the moon or something, but that's OK...

I also enjoyed the gift shop... immensely. I have regretted not buying the stingray puppet I saw last year, almost since I exited the building! So when I looked at the back wall of stuffed animals and saw "Mr. Ray" staring back at me, I made a beeline for him. When Phil saw where I was headed, he said, "Oh, no," and I did not disappoint! Upon securing "Mr. Ray" on my hand, I started singing... sort of loudly... "Let's name the zones, name the zones, name the zones... Let's name the zones of the open sea!" (You have to crescendo at the end, or it's just not the same). At any rate, a couple of teenage boys said, "Hey, are those hand puppets?" And I turned around... laughing again... and said, "Yes." What I really wanted to say was, "What do you think?" but I figured I'd already caused enough trouble as it was.

I bought "Mr. Ray". He sings a lot... I also purchased a sticky, gooey, frog for Caleb and a sticky, gooey, lizard for Ian. The frog jumps around. The lizard says, "ribbit," talks to his mommy and daddy, and goes by the name of "dinosaur" or "snake"... we're workin' on that reptile identification thing.

Seth and Grace bought all kids of fun stuff... like rocks... and a rock shaped like a dolphin... and a dolphin necklace... and some more lizards for Caleb's upcoming b-day. Phil didn't buy anything. I think all of his "souvenir money" went out the window when he realized we were going to have to pay $19.00 to park...

We enjoyed all of the animals... especially in the Wild Reef, where you have several opportunities to find Nemo. One of Ian's best quotes of the day was, "I see three Dorys!"

I took just over 70 pics, which is not a whole lot for me, but some of them turned out pretty good. The Oceanarium is closed until June, so our trip was a little shorter than last time...


Hope you enjoyed this look at our delightful family adventure. Isn't there a saying that says, "When in Chicago, act like the Chicagoans?" Guess we haven't got that down just yet, but we sure had an awful lot of fun!

Lisa

PS I wonder if you're supposed to sit on those turtles? :)

Some Light On Maundy Thursday...

We went to the Maundy Thursday service tonight. It is supposed to be dark... solemn... you get the point. Ian didn't get it...

So... during the processional, Ian sees Phil carrying in the candle, and in the midst of all of the quiet he's like, "Hey... there's Daddy!"

And then he continues to talk throughout the first reading as I'm trying to explain to him that, "Pastor George is talking, so we need to be quiet!"

Finally, it was time for the first choir number (I say finally, it had only been about three minutes), and Ian settled a bit when I told him that the music was coming! He listened to the song, and on the final note started shouting, "It's over, Mommy! It's over!"

I got him quieted down, but it was too late, because his friend Sammy, a couple of rows back, joined in the "it's over chorus", and finally Ian just couldn't take it anymore, so he added in his loudest voice, "HOORAY! IT'S OVER!!!" At which point, I couldn't take it anymore, and I burst out laughing... all on Maundy Thursday!

I managed to excuse myself, after tripping over the diaper bag and having a fake coughing fit to cover the laughter that just kept bubbling up inside of me...

We played in the nursery...

Lisa

Oh, The Things You Can Learn...

... From Standardized Testing.

Seth and Grace have been taking their year end standardized tests this week, while the rest of the town enjoys spring break (don't worry... ours is comin')...

One of the questions on Seth's test asked about which stage of life people are in when they become parents. His answer was decline. Guess that shows where we rate around here...

Lisa

If It's Not One Thing...

... It's Another!

This is actually kind of funny...

I was taking my final exam, tonight, for one of my classes when the power went out for... oh, let's say... 2 1/2 seconds. My exam is lost. I was about 1/2 way through it.

You know... now that I'm re-reading that I've changed my mind. It's not really all that funny...

So now I am wasting time here for a few minutes, waiting to see if my prof. is up checking his e-mail at this time of night and if he might reset the exam so I can get it over with and go to sleep...

Insert deep sigh here...

Lisa

Desperately Trying...

... to avoid the end of the semester meltdown!

It happens twice a year...

And so I found myself staring at an unreasonable amount of school work this evening (though not half as unreasonable as Phil's, because mine wouldn't have been unreasonable if I'd applied myself... say... more than two hours before the deadline, but his is unreasonable, because it takes more than a super hero to even imagine getting that much done on time)... but I digress... what's new?

At any rate... I decided to just go ahead and crunch the numbers, and at the end of the day it made more sense to just not do the assignments than to kill myself trying. It is almost definitely going to cost me straight As this semester (which I haven't seen in a long time and was kinda looking forward to), but it's not going to send me careening into a black hole or anything.

I'm getting too tired to keep doing this...

Any suggestions about what I might want to be when I grow up so that I can actually work toward a goal in school and get done someday?

Lisa

Facebook Status Updates...

... Have taken over my brain!

So... here lately I find myself in the middle of something and I think, "Lisa is wondering how the house could get this messy in less than 24 hours," or, "Lisa is baking peanut butter cookies... again," or, "Lisa is washing Ellie, because Caleb is flipping out that Ellie is covered in strawberry juice (hey that's a good one... might use it if I ever start the laundry)!"

And my question is, "Has it really come to this?"

Here's what I mean...

I have 168 friends on facebook and 115 on myspace. Some of them are the same. I know almost all of them personally. I generally do not accept friend requests from people I don't know, but I have made a couple of exceptions for teenage friends of friends, because ya know... we work with teenagers. It would be kind of stupid for me to reject their friend requests. At any rate, I think I have 2 or 3 friends that fit into that category. In addition, I generally refrain from inviting people I do not know to be my friends, but I do have just a couple of bands listed. One of them is Caedmon's, and I have at least met them... twice, and the other is a local band that invited me to be their friend after they talked to Phil or something. My point in all of this is not to give you a detailed profile of my friends. My point is to make it clear that I am connected with a couple of hundred people, via social networking sites, whom I actually know.

Of those couple hundred people, I see maybe 25 of them on a fairly regular basis, because they live in the same town as me. Family comprises another handful. But the vast majority of the people I am connected with on-line I have not seen in years.

For the most part, I log in to my account and I check the status updates, so I know exactly who is doing homework... and who is texting right now ( a phenomenon that I still can't quite grasp)... and who is planning an Easter Egg hunt this weekend. I cruise photo albums to see how big the kids are getting... or what the new house looks like... or how drunk everybody got last Friday night. I send a message here and there, and very occasionally I get wrapped up in a chat. And life goes on...

And it really irritates me, because I have always been the kind of person who cares deeply... and forever. And when I log off, I wonder how they're really doing. And I wonder if there's anything at all I could be doing to make a difference...

And then I think, "Lisa is perplexed. She wonders why she feels like she has to save the world when she can't even do the dishes..."

Lisa

Click Here If You're An Idiot...

... This is just worth posting.

I am thinking about ordering pizza. I like to order pizza a lot more than I used to, because now I can order it on-line. I am not a phone person, and I have never liked calling to order pizza. I don't know why. I am just weird like that. As a side note (as if this whole paragraph isn't a side note already), I do not mind calling to order Chinese. This is primarily because I am on a first name basis with the people who own the Chinese restaurant. They already know what I want, and I feel as if they are my friends. At any rate, back to pizza. Now I can click the mouse a few times, actually look at a virtual picture of my pizza, and watch the progress as it is being made, enabling me to know exactly when I need to send Phil out the door to pick it up in order to assure a fresh, hot, yummy dinner!

But anyway... this post was really not supposed to be about my bizarre take-out ordering habits...

Here's the thing. When you go to order your pizza on-line, you have to enter your address... which makes sense, right? But under the fields where you enter your address, there is a place where you can click if (get this) you don't know your zip code! What?

Half the teenagers who come through our doors don't know their addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates, or how to spell their last names. I have even met a few who can't remember how old they are. What is the world coming to?

Lisa

We Lose A Lot Of Stuff...

... and so I was thinking...

People tend to say that you always find what you're looking for in the last place you look. When they say this, they think they are smart or something. But... duh! Once you find what you're looking for, you stop looking, so of course it is the last place you look...

I can't find Caleb's sandblocks for music class... just in case you wondered...

Lisa