So we caught a couple of fish...

I've pretty much decided that since I took well over 400 pictures on our camping trip this weekend that I would sort of divide them up by subject and post them that way. It's a little less overwhelming for everyone that way!

So, since the main purpose of our weekend getaway was to fish, I figured that I'd start off with everything that we caught. Forgive the cheesy collages - but I didn't feel like posting each picture individually, and once I found a cheesy online collage maker, it was essential to make them as cheesy as possible.

First - Thursday night. OK, these aren't the cheesy ones. I just did these myself before I figured out that there had to be an easier way.

Then there was Friday. We spent pretty much the entire day with poles in our hands.

Saturday was fun. The lake was stocked that morning, and although it took a while for the fish to make it to our end (we were way at the end) they eventually made it, and we got some good ones.

Today, we packed up to leave and decided to head to the other end of the lake to try to get out of the wind - we had steady 15-20mph winds non-stop for the entire time that we were out there. Alex's father picked him up and so we just had Daniel - and he "caught" the only fish of the day today.

Of course, no fishing trip would be complete without the "one that got away" stories, and we each have one. I hooked a huge carp last night, battled it to within about 10 feet of the shore, was getting ready to say "I need some help" to The Dude, and *boom* he got off of the hook and swam away. We're not sure how big he was, but I feel pretty confident in saying that it would have been the biggest fish that I had ever caught - you know, if I had actually caught it.

After it got dark last night, The Dude got a hit on his line. He let out a yell because he knew that it was a big one, and just like that, it was gone. Along with his hook and sinker. Snapped the line. We didn't catch a glimpse of that one, so we have no idea what it was. But it was big.

We didn't keep anything that we caught, but we had so much fun out there. The boys tried to fish, but they don't have the patience to sit there and do it so they'd try for a few minutes and then go and get into trouble somewhere, and then try, then get into trouble - I think I actually have more pictures of them playing in the dirt than I do of them fishing.

So other pictures that will be coming in future posts.....boys fishing and getting in trouble, wildlife, a zombie turtle, the supermoon (woot!), sunrises and sunsets, and various other shenanigans. We'll just have to see how long it actually takes me to get them all posted.

Porch reconstruction

Since the weather was mild again today, I opted to fix the lattice that the boys destroyed under the porch. I also wanted to put some chicken wire up to keep critters (especially feral cats and skunks) out from under there - I know that they've been living under it, or at least going under it at night.

Of course, that started with a run to the lumberyard to get the lattice for it. I did learn something very interesting during this excursion - it is possible to fit an 8'x4' piece of lattice in a minivan with 5 kids. The lumberyard guy looked at me like I was crazy as we loaded it in and I kept telling the kids to duck... but we got it in there and only had to drive a couple of miles back home, so it really wasn't a big deal.

Once we got home, we I got to work.

I had to clean all of the crap out from under the porch so I tackled that part first - it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was (other than the litterbox aroma) and was probably the easiest part of the job. I worked on getting the side of the porch closed in first, since I only had to do the chicken wire on that side - figured I'd wait to deal with the lattice until later.

Anyway, this is what the side part ended up looking like - not fabulous, but no one can see this part since it's between the porch and the garage.

Then I tackled the front part. I had to rip what was left of the original lattice off of it...and then cut the new lattice to fit (that scared the crap out of me)....and then attach the chicken wire to the lattice...and then attach the lattice to the porch. Let me tell you, by this time there was a lot of colorful language floating around at a rather high volume - I was getting tired and irritated and the kids were beating the snot out of each other. My photographers had quit on me, so I just got a picture of the final product. It isn't pretty, but it'll do. I really need to put a strip across the top of it, but that'll happen later. Maybe tomorrow if I'm energetic enough to pick up the tools again. It's not painted either, but I don't even care about that. The landlord can paint it if he wants to bother with it.

So, that porch is done - and since that's the one that we use on a regular basis, I'd rather have that one critter-proofed first. But I do want to do the chicken wire routine on the other porch too, just to keep everything out from underneath it. But that's not going to happen for a little while yet....I have some inside projects that I want to finish first!

This was NOT on my agenda for the weekend...

I had nothing planned for this weekend. NOTHING. I was just going to hang out with the kids, enjoy the decent weather, and do nothing.

They obviously had other ideas.

I was making supper tonight and the kids were enjoying the gorgeous weather outside, when suddenly one of them came running inside to tell me that "the boys broke the porch".

Wha.................?

I went outside to find this.

THAT is how they decided to get the basketball out from under the porch. Not by climbing over the side railing and dropping down in between the porch and the garage, but instead by kicking through the lattice work. Granted, it needed to be replaced before, but the landlord would have done it - had it not been intentionally destroyed by two little boys on a mission.

So now, I get to spend tomorrow finding the stuff that I need to fix it (along with getting some screen to put behind the lattice work to keep the critters out from underneath it) and then spend the weekend fixing it.

I love my kids. I really do. But I swear to everything that is holy, I am going to sell them to the circus the next time that it's in town.

Frustration

I've been having some issues with Alex. My darling little redhead. The only way that I can describe this kid is that he is what you would end up with if the Tazmanian Devil and the Energizer Bunny had a child - he never stops moving and he leaves a path of destruction everywhere he goes. He wakes up at 90mph and doesn't stop until he goes to bed at night. His mouth runs constantly as well as his body.

He is super smart and he has a memory that stuns me at times. We can go somewhere that we've never been before - like to a friend's house - and if we go back a year later, he remembers how to get there, can describe every room in the house, and will tell me what everyone was wearing during the first visit. He's amazing like that (and certainly doesn't get that trait from me).

Anyway, along with his energy comes a definite lack of impulse control. He does whatever he wants to whenever he wants to do it and doesn't think about the consequences. This is something that we have been working on for what seems like forever. Lately the big thing has been stealing food. Now, the kid is not starving by any stretch of the imagination. He's a big boy, yes, but he's built just like his father. He's active and his doctor has no concern about his weight - she feels that he'll grow into his body as he gets older. But I do make an effort to watch what he eats without making a big deal out of it. I try to limit all of the junk food that the kids eat but I'm far from being a health nut.

He has also been having toileting issues for as long as I can remember - something else that the doctor thought that he would eventually grow out of, but so far no luck. He's been having accidents both here and at school almost daily. I've talked to his teacher (who is wonderful) and we have both stressed to him that if he feels like he has to go, he doesn't even have to ask permission - he can just get up and go regardless of what the class is doing. He says that he understands, yet it still happens.

So, after a particularly trying couple of days with him, I decided that I was going to start with him writing sentences. Yesterday, he got to sit at the kitchen table with a spiral notebook and write a page full of "I will not steal food."....and a page full of "I will not touch other people's stuff."....and a page full of "I will not poop my pants."

And then he stole a container full of muffins that I had made yesterday - I found them under his bed this morning. Apparently, he didn't like them because he only ate half of one instead of all 6 this time. *sigh*

I talked to his teacher today when I picked him up from school and she has been noticing that he has been acting out a little more over the past few weeks. She can't really pinpoint anything "major", just little stuff that she has been having to warn him about more than she has before. So, she and I are going to put our heads together and try to come up with *something* that we can both do with him - some kind of a reward system - at home and at school to give him as much consistency as possible. And I am going to call his pediatrician tomorrow and see if we can come up with some explanation for the toileting problems.

I've had him in counseling before too. He went for a year or so, maybe more. The counselor couldn't come up with anything other than "he's just an active boy" and let it go at that. Not that I want him to be diagnosed with anything, but I need something to go on before I lose what's left of my mind. About the only thing that is saving me right now is knowing that even with the issues that he's having, he's still doing great in school - he's ahead of the class in just about every area (which I know, could be leading to some of the problems) and he loves to go to school.

So hopefully, in the next few weeks, after talking to his doctor and working out some kind of system with his teacher, I'll start to see some improvements in his behavior. Otherwise, I might need a vacation....in a padded room.