Tales of a Fourth Grade Picnic

Fourth grade is a big year around here, and the kids at school are having lots of fun celebrating the end of their run at Holly Lane. Today they spent all day at Clague Park with food, games, food, hair painting, food, water balloons, and food. I hope Emma and Leah saved room for pizza tonight! It was fun seeing them with their friends and getting a chance to relax before moving back down to the bottom of the food chain next year.

Leah and Mrs. Piazza, Emma and Mrs. Szabo

The girls finally decided to take the plunge and get their hair painted!

water balloon toss--next was water balloon dodgeball--kids vs. adults!

time to go home

can we just make it to 5th grade, please?!?!?

Memorial Day Ceremony

Before we left for Columbus last Friday, Glenn and I headed up to the school for a Memorial Day flag ceremony. The second graders were in charge, and Brooke read a poem. Unfortunately we were a tad bit late and walked up right as Brooke was saying her poem. So we kind of missed some of it. But the rest of the ceremony was nice, and the kids all were so quiet and respectful. Holly Lane is quite a patriotic school, and the kids are very used to it. The program was short and sweet, and we are proud of Brooke and the way she practiced her part!

Health Update

I have not yet fully recovered from The Great Head Explosion of 2008, but I think I am doing better. The last two weeks and the week yet to come have really thrown me for a loop. This is the first year that I have really been hit by the end-of-school tornado, and it was a blindside. Having said that, I have learned (or am in the process of learning) some lessons that I think will help in the future:

1. I know some really wise people, specifically my parents and Karen. All three of them have calmed me down, offered some great advice, and independently said variations of the same things, so I know it has to be true.

2. It is ok to take a day off from exercising. I can do it tomorrow, or not.

3. I can eat ice cream at night. I don't have to feel guilty, especially when it is the 90 calorie per serving variety and I only have a small cup. And it is ok to eat a bowl (or 2) of frosted shredded wheat for breakfast, instead of my usual Weight Watchers yougurt and All-Bran fare.

4. It is ok for me to say no, even to my own kids and some of their activities. I can't be everywhere, though I think I may have signed up to be somewhere along the line.......I know some (Emma) have been disappointed, but they'll survive. And by saying no, I will too!

5. The Lost finale was confusing yet enlightening at the same time. I think I was way too tired to digest it all. But it is definitely one of the best shows on television and it was a wonderful escape last night.

6. It is ok for people to help me, because I help other people. I feel bad when I have to ask, because I like to be independent and capable. I know many others have similar feelings. But we all have times when we need someone else, and that is ok.

7. It is ok to spend some time reading blogs or surfing the net while eating my dinner because it was only for ten minutes and it was pretty much the only break I got all day. I don't have to feel lazy or unproductive about it.

8. I have really good kids who are learning how to be helpful and sensitive to others' needs, and a husband who has to stay at work till 8 pm, but has the kids in bed and the kitchen cleaned by the time I get home from church. LOVE it.

9. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ give me strength everyday. They are the true reasons for my survival.

In the midst of all the chaos, Glenn and I were able to escape to Columbus for a couple days. We did two sessions at the temple,

saw Last Coming Standing runner-up Gerry Dee at the Funny Bone,

went to an awesome market downtown and sampled lots of amazing food,

Stayed on the 16th floor of the Capitol Hyatt (gotta love Priceline!) with a pretty view of this church,

and drove through the beautiful campus of Ohio State.

This trip helped me learn one final, very important lesson:

10. It is not a good idea to try and paint your toenails while riding in the car. Your toes will most likely end up like this:

You may think you are saving time and making good use of those long hours on the freeway, but you will end up spending more time on damage control...and at times like these, ya gotta have nice toes.

I've got the BBQ blues

This was NOT our dinner tonight. This is a lovely, colorful, barbequed dinner from a couple weeks ago. No, tonight I made a failed second attempt and grilling some ribs. Last night I started the grill and saw flames coming out the front of the BBQ. That is not supposed to happen. I watched the fire for a while, thinking there was some old food that just needed to burn off. But when the knob started to melt, I decided I should probably turn off the gas. Later that night Glenn cleaned out the grill, assessed the situation, and decided that this was the best solution:

But the other two burners work fine, so I headed back out tonight to try again. Things started out well, until 10 minutes in when I realized we had run out of propane. Wonderful. I was ready to call it quits and head to CiCi's but Glenn saved the day by bringing the meat and fries inside and sticking them under the broiler. Twenty minutes later, we all sat down for a lovely meal. No thanks to that stinkin' BBQ. What a party pooper.

WARNING: Having multiple school-aged children may cause your head to explode

For some reason, I was never made aware of this before I embarked upon this journey they call parenthood. No warning labels, no cautions of potential side effects, no alerts to the certain mental overload that accompanies these important years. Because had I known, I may have thought twice about the whole kid thing (ok, I probably wouldn't have, but a heads up would have been nice).

So let this post be my public service announcement to you: Be prepared!

Sunday night I sat down to plan and coordinate our schedules for the next six weeks or so. It was a nightmare trying to figure out who should be where at what time, when I need to be at the school for the many end-of-the-year activites, who's coming and who's going. There are talent shows, Memorial Day programs, field days, 4th grade parties and recognition assemblies coming out my ears.

Then we are adding in the swim team. A wonderful idea for Emma and Leah who are getting really good at swimming, thanks to Jenni Titera. Yeah, but they have 90 minute practices 5 days a week for eight weeks. What was I thinking? Andrew's old enough for baseball this year--sign him up. Except there are practices two days a week plus a game Wednesday nights. In Bay Village. And we still have good ol' piano lessons. Let me just say here that I am not an overscheduler. Never have been. I have never enrolled my kids in every activity under the sun like some choose to. They have all only had one activity each plus piano. But you multiply that by four, then by multiple practices, and it all adds up to a lot of taxiing on my part. I think these activites are worthwhile and important, and I am willing to do it, but I think it is going to be a bit of an adjustment.

Here's another adjustment....Emma and Leah graduating from 4th grade and elementary school and moving on to 5th grade and intermediate school. Why can't elementary school go up to 6th grade like it used to? Why are we throwing in a whole other school and building and schedule and way of doing things? I am not completely sure I am ever going to get it all straightened out, let alone the girls. And "advice" and "input" from parents who have already gone through it isn't always that helpful...it kind of makes things even more confusing. So I don't think I will be passing any specific wisdom I may gain on to you--it seems to be something you have to navigate and experience for yourself.

The fact that Emma and Leah are twins complicates things even further. I will not go into the details of twin dynamics in my family--that is a post in and of itself that I don't think many are interested in, and if you are, you already get it. Suffice it to day that I thought (until today) that we had things figured out as far as scheduling and together vs. separate, especially with the choir/band situation. Emma was going to play flute, Leah would be in choir. Perfect. Well, all of a sudden I discover that Emma also wants to join choir and Leah, who has shown no previous interest in an instrument, says she might want to try one. Now we have thrown another wrench into an already shaky situation. I told them that by the music program orientation meeting tomorrow night they both need to decide what they really want to do. With no changing. Because my heart can't take it.

When my kids were young(er) I always hated it when those who had older kids said "Just wait..." For what? I would wonder. My situation is stressful enough right now--I don't need to "wait" for anything. So I promise that I won't say that. I remember and understand and sympathize with everything mothers with preschoolers, toddlers, and infants are going through. But please don't think that those of us who have somehow survived and now have kids in school all day have it made in the shade. Oh, I know that having children who wipe, feed, dress, and buckle themselves and time to myself is a blessing that you just don't get in the early years. I have earned every minute of it, just as you are doing now. It's just a whole new set of trials and problems and opportunities to wonder if the decisions you are making are going to royally screw up your children forever, and chances to question if you really can do all that is asked of you as a parent. I don't think those circumstances ever change.

So now, if you find me surrounded by gray matter in a CSI-like situation, you'll know why. No need to call the cops, just make sure my kids get to swim lessons on time.

Family Outing

This family of geese walked through our yard, down the side of the house, out to the front, and on down the street. Looks like they might be a part of the polygamist compound in Texas...it's hard to tell who belongs to who!

I Want To Hold Your Hand

Walking for a cure (and some food from Outback)

Well, Battle Great Strides is over, with the clear winner being Team Porter's Supporters!

The whole process of cystic fibrosis has been a dynamic, flowing one. There are lots of different emotions that pop up at different times, as the Chattertons encounter each new experience. This year, becoming more involved with the fundraising aspect was a new challenge and a learning experience. I know there was a lot of stress involved with coordinating everything, but speaking for Melissa and Nate, our friends and family stepped up to make it all worth it.

We had a great turn out, and it was fun to see familiar faces all along the route.

The threat of (and actual) rain did not deter anyone. We got to see the tigers and bears out in full force, an unusual sight. Though some may have cheated a little bit and took the tram downhill (yes Steph, I am talking about you!), everyone made it to the end in one piece, and ready for some lunch. We won't go into to how all the Chipotle chips and guacamole were gone by the time we got there, and how we wished the Outback portions were a tad bigger. Cap'n Willie and his macarena totally made up for it. And, it wore the kids out so much that Brooke and Andrew were asleep by 7:45! You can't beat that!


The Franklin family is proud to be a part of Porter's Supporters and to have played a small role in working towards finding a cure for cystic fibrosis!

To the left, to the left...

Anyone notice Mr. and Mrs. Jay Z at the game last night? They were in the front row, right next to the Cavs bench. How nice of them to show their support, but since the Cavs lost, I'd say the duo is bad luck. Let's hope they stay home from game 6 in Cleveland on Friday.

Rising Up

About a month ago I got an email from the Cleveland Cavaliers (we stay in touch) saying that I could enter a lottery to be able to buy playoff tickets. Of course I entered...nothing to lose, right? Then a couple weeks later I got an email saying I had won for the first round against the Wizards. I didn't really know what the whole deal was, so I let the opportunity slip by and the tickets were sold out. Another email came for a later game, but the schedule hadn't been nailed down yet with all the other games going on, so we were worried it might end up being on a Sunday. So we decided to pass. Cavs beat the Wizards, on to Round 2. Again an email came, this time for Game 4 against the Celtics. We decided to go for it, and bought ourselves 2 tickets (much to Andrew's chagrin, who desperately wanted to go, but 8:00 on a school night and $XX per ticket is too much for a little boy).

I was a little worried when the Cavs beat the Celtics in game 3. That was the game I wanted to be at. Sure, I was happy they won, but were the odds in their favor to win another? I desperately wanted to be at a winning game. Glenn assured me that the Cavs were down 2-0 against the Pistons last year and came back to win it all and advance...so surely it would be a victorious night.

We decided to make a whole night of it and get some food before the game. Gayle, Oprah's best friend, recently visited some restaurants on Esquire magazine's list of the best sandwiches in the country. And Oprah made a whole show out of it. There were even some celebrity chefs and a sandwich making competition that I found myself wanting to be a part of. Out of my desire for a buttery, melty, bready treat came the suggestion that we hit Melt in Lakewood on our way downtown.

Your gasps are audible, dear readers. I know, I know--why on earth would I subject my body to yet another artery-clogging, fat-laden meal so soon with swim suit season less than six weeks away? Let me reassure you that I basically did not eat at all Monday in preparation for this meal. And I burned another 500 calories on the treadmill, both yesterday and today and will continue to do so everyday this week. And if I gain a couple pounds despite my efforts...who cares! It was so worth it. Ham, turkey, havarti, and swiss...melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I highly recommend it.

Still not over my fear of causing a scene in restaurants...this is outside.

But I digress...Andrew has reminded me that this is about basketball, not sandwiches. On to the game!

There is nothing like playoff fever. You can't help but get caught up in it. Everyone cheering, giving each other high-fives, fans around you fighting off nosebleeds because you are in the very last row in the uppermost section (notice the wall behind us, not more rows of fans).

But really, the seats are not that bad. You can see everything and there is always the jumbotron.

Me poppin' my free t-shirt, and Glenn mentally willing the Cavs to win during a tense part of the third quarter.

I got some video of Lebron throwing the powder that he does before every game. Sorry so shaky-it's hard to have a steady hand when you are zooming in from so far away.

It was a great game. The Cavs were up pretty much the whole time. The details as usual are fuzzy for me...Andrew asked how many 3-point shots Wally Szczerbiak made and I couldn't tell him. I have no recollection of most of the plays or the stats or who did what. That is Glenn's job. I am sure you will be able to read all about that side of the game in his Secret Public Journal. All I know is that Wally scored a bunch of 3's, that I got some funny looks from my neighbors when I said "Don't shoot!" when Varejao had the ball (ask Glenn-he'll tell you it was some good advice), that Lebron made an AMAZING dunk over Kevin Garnett to seal the deal in the 4th quarter.

When that happened, the crowd did indeed go nuts. They went to time out right after, so they showed that shot over and over on the big screen, and in this clip you can hear the roar each time we saw it.

Love this video of Lebron dancing...how can you not like the guy?

And in the end, this says it all.....

I got to "witness" a Cleveland Cavaliers playoff victory. Who says the lottery is a bad thing?