Ideas?

This is our side yard:

It's about 30' x 14' . Not big, but also larger than most side yards in the area.

We are trying to figure out what to do with it. Here's where we are so far:

-Rock it? PROBLEM! We have such a small backyard that I really want to make the most of every bit of yard we do have.

-Trampoline? PROBLEM! I'm too worried that someone will get hurt. Plus, I don't want to have a toy that needs a tons of supervision. That would ruin the whole point of a yard!

-Fort/Play structure? PROBLEM! We took the boys to a play structure sales center, and they were done playing on the forts within about 15 mins. I'm not about to spend that kind of cash on something they got bored with at the store!

-Garden? PROBLEM! We really want the space for the boys to play. Plus, my dad has such a yummy garden, it's almost not worth doing one ourselves.

-Giant Sandbox? PROBLEM! I'm not so convinced that the big boys would play in it, plus I'm worried about the mess of it all.

-Grass? PROBLEM! We already have a good stretch of grass in the back. I don't think more grass buys us anything new.

-Big Boulders/ Rock Garden? PROBLEM! Would they play on the rocks? Commune with nature? Or would it become purely decorative? (Not such a bad thing, but not really what we are going for either.

Help! Am I missing something? Is there an answer just beyond my reach? Am I not properly evaluating the ideas we have come up with? Please, I need help!

Calendaring

I think I need a bigger calendar. Those little squares just aren't working for us any more.


Using up all the extra, empty square's around the calendar? Yeah, I need to supersize.

Wacko Jacko

The original Michael Jackson:

-Totally cool: I remember going to a Michael Jackson themed birthday party in 5th grade. I admit to, once, wearing one sparkly glove. And I can still do a mean moonwalk.
-Incredibly talented: How can you doubt the talent of the man? Billie Jean? Beat It? We are the World? And he could really dance! I still remember staying up late on New Years Eve 1983 to watch the Thriller video on MTV. He certainly earned the title "King of Pop."

The recent Michael Jackson:
-WAY Bizarre: His Neverland with the zoo? Is he black? Is he white? All those surgeries?What's with naming all your children Michael? (Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II - aka Blanket???)
-So super creepy: Sleepovers? With young boys? When I think too much about it all I begin to feel nauseous!

I think it all started to fall apart when be began grabbing himself while dancing. It was only downhill from there. Thing of it is, I'm really bugged by the all accolades being poured on the man. Celine Dion was on the TV saying how he was her hero. Really? THAT'S what you come up with for a hero? I don't mean to speak ill of the dead, but there is a part of me that wants to throw a little party for all the young boys living in the Los Angles area.

Ultimately, I don't care how talented he was, or how cool he was when I was in 5th grade. Maybe I'm being too judgemental. After all, I wasn't with him, in his bedroom, wearing clothes picked out from his special "dress up" box (all of which he admitted to.)

I'm too bogged down by the bizarre person he became. I don't think just because he died, he gets a pass on of his creepiness. I guess I'll just grit my teeth over the next few days when I hear over and over again about how great Wacko Jacko was. Grrrr!

Summer's Schedule

Over the years I have discovered that we are ALL a lot happier over summer break when there is a bit of a schedule in place. We don't adhere to it with any kind of rigidity, but it helps frame the day a bit, and seems to at least slow down the "I'm bored!" and lessens the TV/Wii time. We try to mix in learning, chores and fun. So here goes:

Every day: 30 mins. of reading, 2-3 pages of math workbook, pick up bedroom.

Monday: Vacuum the house. Trip to $1 Store.

Tuesday: Clean the kitchen. Ice-cream or Sonic

Wednesday: Dust the house. Bake something.

Thursday: Clean windows & Powder room. Movie.

Friday: Clean upstairs bathrooms. Random Fun Thing. (Diamond often gets Friday afternoons off in the summer, so we wanted to leave the day open.)

Nothing is written in stone. Today (Monday) the boys opted for the swimming instead of the $1 Store. No worries. They still vacuumed and did math before we went to the pool. And of course there are lots of play dates mixed in, and Scout camp, and trips to the library, and swim lessons, and tutoring with my mom...

What do you do to make summer work? We still have most of the summer ahead of us, and I'm open to revision.