This is the way my life goes.

So last night, I ran a Destination Imagination Instant Challenge Workshop. As background, I am the building coordinator for Destination for my son's elementary school. As such, I'm supposed to schedule and plan these workshops at the beginning of the year and at the end of the season, just before competition.

The sessions at the beginning of the year are supposed to let the kids try new DI-ish things while the team managers see how they handle the challenges and figure out which kids will work best together. We form the teams from the outcome of those nights. They are easy because once I choose the challenges, compile the materials, and publicize it, my work is done.

But these IC workshops at the end of the season are a bit more work. I need to come up with 4 challenges for each team (we have 6 teams). I need to find people to act as judges for six stations so that we can process 6 teams at a time. I need to compile the materials and label them for the 6 stations. Then I need to provide instructions to the judges so that they know how to run the challenge.

For those not initiated into the DI code world, and instant challenge is a problem that the kids have to solve within a very short time limit. For example, the kids had to build a 12 inch bridge with only two supporting points, using only 6 straws and 25 paper clips. They are given points for whether the structure meets the criteria (12 inches and 2 supporting points), teamwork, and creative use of the objects.

To get through these challenges, the kids need to be able to concentrate, listen, and keep on task for the full 6-8 minutes. Last year, because I was a newbie at this job, I was forced to hold the workshop in the basement of a theatre. It was one big open room and the kids had a hard time concentrating. So this year, I was prepared and got use of the whole school for both workshops. We would locate each IC station at a different corner of the school so the kids could work in peace.

This adds to my job the task of finding locations, assigning them to the judges and then communicating a performance order to each team. Not being a detail oriented person, this whole package takes me days and lots of effort. But I completed it last night and arrived at the school with all my schedules and plans and materials. I set every thing up and while doing so, I noticed that the school was a bit dirtier than it usually is at this time of night. Floors were swept, but the piles of debris were still on the floor, not yet cleaned up. I also noticed a half page advertisement for lice shampoo on a cafeteria table.

Sigh. I'm going to need to rework two of the challenges. One requires a team member to wear a blindfold. Moving the blind fold from one head to another through 4 teams will increase the risk of passing lice. Another challenge requires the building of a sandwich on the head of a team member who is inside the middle of a 6 foot diameter circle. OK, so I've already figured out how to create fake food items so that those who have religious objections to pork will not be offended by having pork on their heads and those allergic to wheat and eggs will not break out into a rash from the bread. Now my fake felt food will become a lice transmission device. What now?

Finally, 1 minute before our start time, the janitor approaches me and tells me that they have sprayed all of the classrooms with a lice killer and it might cause breathing problems for anyone with asthma. One of our team managers is already having problems breathing.

I've got 40 kids ready to do instant challenges and we have to reset all of the instant challenges in the cafeteria. Finally we get started and the first IC goes on without a hitch. I'm starting to get comfortable, though my team has decided that this is all just a joke and they can fool around through it.

We all finish up our tasks and get ready to move on. I find my next station based on my schedule and get the boys started. Another team manager approaches me and tells me that someone else was doing their challenge they just picked up a different station that was not being used. I think it through and realize one of the 6 teams didn't show. So there would be one empty station for each IC time. It will work out.

It turns out that one team manager had decided that since all the stations were in a single room, she could just move around the room in a circle. While everyone else was trying to take the ICs in the order they were assigned. Basically, we experienced a collision in schedules and by the end of the night, all hell broke loose.

The best laid plans of mice and men...

A stiff wind

One big difference about living in Ohio is the wind. I never in my life experienced the kind of winds we get here in the spring and fall. There are many nights I simply don't sleep, convinced that the house is going to blow away. I keep the TV on and watch the little weather warning map to see when we will be freed from the high wind warnings -- or tornado warnings sometimes.

Ike was the monster of all high wind storms. Like a typical non buckeye, I wanted to hide inside and keep the path to my tornado shelter clear while neighbors were outside walking around dodging falling limbs. There was something about the warmth and humidity that day that softened the feel of the winds tricking folks into thinking that it wasn't as bad as it really was. The tree roots facing skyward in my backyard were enough proof to me that man should not be out in that one.

These thoughts all came back to me a couple of weeks ago as we battened down the hatches for another wind storm. This one brought with it a cold air mass after a few days of unseasonably warm muddy weather. Again, the winds were very strong, but because the trees were nearly all leafless, they survived the storm. Except for the evergreens that toppled and snapped.

As I weathered this storm, I resolved to update you on the state of the root balls in our backyard. You may remember that two poplar trees in our yard were felled by the storm.

This was the view of our yard the day after Ike passed through.

After a few days, DH bought a chainsaw and started cutting the wood from the tree in the previous picture. It is actually the only one of the trees on our property. The other tree was a couple inches into the greenbelt behind our land. So this tree was our first priority. Additionally, it landed on our neighbor's shed, so we felt we needed to clean it up.

Miraculously, when DH got to about 8 feet from the roots, the tree slowly tipped back up. It now stands in our back yard with a bird house on top. Maybe some day we will cut it down further, but for now, the 8 foot tall stump is a big improvement over the roots reaching to the sky.

So, DH cut the tree in the greenbelt back hoping that it too would pop back up. But alas, it stayed tipped over and we began to think we would have to string some colored lights on it next winter. It had become a fixture of our backyard landscape. It was fun to show it to people who visited from out of town. They could see some of the might of Ike.

But on Christmas morning when we all came downstairs, DH noticed that the other tree had popped back up. After a couple days of rain the ground was very soft and the wood from the roots must have softened up enough to become flexible again, because now the tree was righted.

It looks much better but the boys are disappointed that they don't get to climb around on it anymore.

The best thing you can do for your sons is to keep a messy house

So this weekend, I met with the Destination Imagination boys on Sunday and Monday. I had company on Friday morning and had cleaned the house spotlessly then and DH had a poker game on Saturday night and the guys pretty much trashed the house.

By the DI meeting on Sunday, I had barely gotten the place cleaned up enough to have the boys in. So I was not too bothered by Z making a comment about the dog hair all over the floors. Heck, it's warm. She's shedding. It happens. You have a dog? You have dog hair.

However, I did take a minute to Swiffer through the place after my meetings and errands on Monday before the boys arrived for the next DI meeting. This time, Z was unable to get himself a glass of water from the sink because there were two dirty dishes in the sink. He referred to the sink as dirty because there were two dishes in it. They weren't even very dirty.

Z obviously comes from a home where mom cleans obsessively. And his mom would probably be pretty mortified if she knew he was making comments about my home not being clean.

But it is my feeling that when you keep your home too clean, your kids *will* go to their friends houses and make comments about how dirty their houses are. It's only natural. You are setting their standards too high.

And pity Z's future wife. The poor thing will have to keep that place really clean.

Now, I know a bit of this is probably Z's personality. DH was a neat freak when I married him. He was always making comments about how dusty his mom's house was. I seem to have cured him of that because he can't see dirt in any form now.

My cure? Oh, that. I simply expected him to clean any dirt he saw. After all, we were both working. Ovaries are not cleaning agents.

So, moms. If you ever find your sons complaining about your housecleaning, do your duty for their wives and hand them a sponge or a mop. Lower their expectations. You are doing it for all women.

How a simple visit to the vet can turn into a lot of money spent

Today I had to bring Nova to the vet. No problems, just that we needed more Advantix and she has been on the cusp of increasing her dose. So we had to weigh her to make sure she had added the two pounds needed to flip her into the higher dose.

Last week, I was so excited to stumble upon the perfect car harness for her at a drastically reduced rate of just $10. I've been looking at this harness at $35 and thinking that I'll just stick with the kennel that takes up the whole back of my car instead of spending $35. She's safe in the kennel and it is an inconvenience, but not worth $35 to fix. But $10? That will work.

Nova is very nervous in the car, but I figured that the short trip to the vet (with no nasty experiences there either) would be the perfect first trip in the harness.

Nova is also very nervous about any new harnesses. She is finally used to the EasyWalk harness and we tried her in the car harness a couple of times. She is not freaked out, but she is nervous.

So, I loaded her into the car to take her to the vet for a weigh in. She's nervous, but OK. She decides to jump off the seat and lay on the floor. Maybe I have hooked her in wrong? but the harness seems to slide up and down the shoulder belt. If I put it on the lap belt, it is too short for her to sit up. It's a size large, so I figured that it was meant to be on the shoulder harness.

When we get to the vet's, she is very nervous and slips out of the harness before I can get her on the EasyWalk. Luckily, she had her collar on, so I strapped her up and headed into the vet. that's when I noticed her dew claw sticking out of her leg in an unnatural way. She didn't seem at all bothered by it.

So, when we went in, I asked the receptionist who looked at it and said she should be seen. (caching!) We waited a few minutes and then were called into an examining room. The tech didn't even look at it. They took her into a back room and started work.

The doctor came out and explained to me that she had broken it high enough to expose some of the pulp but not to cut the quick. So he had cut the end off and wrapped her foot up. Then he put a plastic cover over it to protect the foot. He gave her pain meds and said she should be better in a couple of days.

The poor thing. Her doggie friends will certainly be laughing at her new footwear.

In which I am reminded that they are not the same person.

Way back in college, I had these two roommates who were polar opposites. One was always depressed and telling me how sad her life was, and the other was always happy, and excited, and bouncing off the walls. I found the contrast too much to deal with, and while I truly liked both women, I could not live with them. I moved into a room with a single roommate and life resumed its normal flows. Interestingly enough, the two polar opposites became best of friends, and without me to buffer them from each other, they both evolved into normally emotive individuals.

I'm thinking of this while sitting on the sofa with my two boys watching TV and winding down for the night. To my left, Lastborn tightly clutches my arm and tries to melt into me. He is very cuddly and loving and needs a certain amount of hugs and tickles all day in order to make it through. On my right, Firstborn barely touches me, resting his head lightly on my shoulder; no other part of his body touches me. He doesn't really like to cuddle or need to cuddle.

In fact, Firstborn would have little to do with touching me until Lastborn came along and would not be physically separated from me. Firstborn sensed that this constant touch was some sort of threat and he began to sit on the arm of the easy chair with me while Lastborn nursed or cuddled. It was interesting and somewhat uncomfortable to see Firstborn cuddle. He was never a natural at it. He never really relaxes while Lastborn almost melts into me. This was all explained when Firstborn was diagnosed when he was 7. He just doesn't like any kind of sensory input. Touching is uncomfortable for him, but he needs to know that his mom loves him and feels competitive with his little brother. So, I accept what he gives me and try to nurture him in other ways besides touch.

It is as odd to have this asymmetrical feeling of contact while they cuddle as it was years ago to deal with the depression and the Pollyanna all in one room. I'm not moving out this time, but I can't help but scratch my head wondering where these two boys came from.

Snow Days

One of my favorite Mom things is snow days. They bring back the joy and excitement I remember from my childhood. This is one perk of momhood I will miss when the nest is empty.

Back in MA we (my sons and I) became collectors of snow-day superstitions. And when Firstborn really wants a snow day, he will pull out all of them just to ensure that his wish is granted. Here are a few we have used in the past:

• Spoons under the pillow (all the pillows in the house to be specific. It's hard to find a spoon to use here all winter because they are all under the pillows).
• Ice in the toilet.
• Wearing your PJs inside out (which is a challenge for the son who doesn't wear PJs).
• Snow day dance (they have outgrown this one, or should I say they have decided they are too old for this).

Any others you would like to share will be gladly added to their list.

The spoons are the most popular, followed by the wearing of the PJs inside out.

The ice cubes have been pulled out a total of 3 times this year. The first time was the best. Firstborn went around putting an ice cube in each toilet. He woke up at about 5 the next morning. I asked him why, and he said it was because he had to pee really badly. You see, he had put the ice cubes in the toilet and then he was afraid to pee before they had melted because he didn't want to ruin their magic. We didn't get a snow day and I explained that it would not have affected the snowfall, it would only mean that we would get yellow snow.

Our next tradition, is that if I know its going to be a snow day or I think the probability is very high, I stay in bed in the morning, and they climb in bed with me and we watch the snow closings together. I used to get a kick out of the way they would mispronounce the MA town names.

We have had a lot of mornings cuddling in bed reading school closings this year. It has been fun and I love the reaction they have when they read the city school district name on the screen; total joy and excitement.

On the days when we don't get closed or delayed, they watch the closings until the last minute. Firstborn is not convinced that once Lastborn goes off to school, the game is over and his school will not be closed. He keeps watching.

I was on my computer catching up with my overnight emails when I heard him in the living room saying, "They skipped us."

"What did they skip?"

"Our school," he replied. "They forgot to close our school."

"I don't think they forgot, Firstborn. I think they planned to not close your school."

He grumbled, but this has become the new tradition. Whenever they have school closings and our city is not listed, he says, "they skipped us."