Maria's Mélange

Today my youngest went on his very first Boy Scout outing. They took a day hike through Valley Forge. Last night we spent a feverish hour or so making sure he had everything he needed. We went through the items on the emailed list and laid it all out on the table one by one. Daypack found?  -- Check Camelback bladder? -- Check Compass? -- Check Brand new, spotless Boy Scout book so he can get signatures for the things he'll complete? -- Check! Wait! We need to make a first aid kit so he can get checked off the list? -- umm.... *digging through random medicine cabinets to locate all the items* -- Check! His older brother walked by occasionally and chuckled. As an "old hand" at this process, he felt like he knew exactly what he had to stash in his pack, and only put a few extra items in under protest. When I picked them up after the hike today, I knew it had been a success. Both looked wiped out but content. They claim that "almost everyone...

Two thirds of the way through the Slice Challenge! It's time to take a few minutes to focus on some of the little things that bring a smile to my face.  -- My older son has taken to coming directly over to me first thing in the morning and giving me a long hug. While it still feels weird that HE is leaning down to hug ME... it makes me smile every day. -- My younger son still enjoys (mostly) nightly read-alouds. We've also taken to sharing a quick "smiling mind" meditation each night to help him sleep. He likes the time together and the deep breaths and stillness help me, too. -- My husband has decided to start trying some new recipes. We'd gotten into a rut (mostly due to my lack of adventure in cooking) and hadn't been eating together very often at all. With these new delicious and quick recipes, we've taken more evenings to eat as a family and share more smiles. Sometimes I forget to stop and reflect on the little things. Life really is good...

The Cub Scout era of the Selke household has (mostly) drawn to a close. My husband and I have spent the past seven years of our lives devoting a ton of time and energy to making sure both of our sons - and their pack mates - had the best possible experience during their elementary years. We camped. Camp Ware provided ample opportunities to hike, build fires, practice whittling, and learn to put up tents in the quickly darkening twilight hours. We built. I may not be the best with tools, but I'm thankful that both my husband and my den co-leader had the know-how to make sure that both boys got to build birdhouses, toolboxes, pinewood derby cars, and more. No one lost a finger or ended up with any nails driven into any body parts. I count that a major win. We took risks. Risk tolerance is another one of my... well... I'm pretty cautious. So I'm also thankful for Cub Scouts providing my sons with the chance to climb and cut and walk across high bridges. I bi...

Boys are very loud No, seriously, quite loud A sleepy haiku #walkmyworld #fourthgradersknowhowtoparty — Maria Selke (@mselke01) March 8, 2014 My younger son has been attempting to get some friends together for a Doctor Who themed sleepover for several months now. We tried a date in January - snowed out. We tried a date in February - snowed out. FINALLY, we were able to get a date that Mother Nature didn't dump all over... last Friday night. There was extensive planning that went into this event. They created elaborate games like "Hide the Dalek". One boy decided to bring some episodes of the Fourth Doctor and his Doctor Who themed Monopoly game. My son and I planned to have a fiesta of Whovian themed foods. As it turned out, the food went over fairly well. Pizza was shaped into TARDIS forms before baking. Jammie Dodgers and Jelly Babies were acquired. Dalek and TARDIS cookies were decorated. Only a few brave souls tried fish fingers and custard, but no o...

Rites of Passage The bridge for the Crossing Over ceremony for Cub Scouts As a child, the path  to adulthood is a         long, confusing trail. Negotiating bedtimes Bartering for allowance Adding that "half" to each age. Walking home from the bus alone Makeup, dating, driving... Each step, big or small, Takes forever to navigate As a parent, I blink and up they shoot 6 inches taller, on to a new school. Rites of passage Dot the landscape of our lives. Mile-markers and memories; Nudges to remind me to Step back, Let go, Let them grow. I’m participating in a writing community at Two Writing Teachers . We write about a little "slice of our life" each Tuesday. In March - we attempt to write a slice EVERY day! Head over to their blog for the link up. If you stop by and have written your own slice, please leave the link in the comments so I can easily find your post!

It's MARCH! That means I'm going to try to post as many little "slices of my life" as I can. The goal is every day in March. I've managed that for the past two years... let's see how this month goes! Every once in a while, a memory from my teen years pops up. Recently, I had a hankering to watch Bill & Ted again. I looked in stores, I looked on Netflix, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Duh. It took a librarian friend of mine to poke me and say, "How about the library?" Yep - they had it. So of COURSE I had to inflict the movie on my family! I've had my younger son watch a few movies I remembered fondly from childhood that were seriously disappointing. I guess I'd blocked out just how slowly paced movies from the 80s were (I'm looking at YOU "Neverending Story"). It was a huge success. The humor was perfect for my nine year old. His giggles filled me with glee. The older one was a bit more skeptical, but eve...

Parenting is a complicated dance. Some days are full of fun and energy      Harlem Shakin' all around. Other days I'm out of step,       I twist when he bends,       he shimmies when I shake. Each day dancing farther apart      (Except the days he needs my lift, though it angers him to admit) Relegated to the role of     Spotter     Sideline Support Expected to always be ready to      jump back into the fray      for an unexpected waltz. It's been a rough few weeks at my house. I'm trying so hard to find the right balance of support for my sons while backing away so they can become more independent. There have been poor scores, forgotten tasks, and tears. I dart back in briefly to bolster each one, helping set up backpacks and binders to be more efficient. I want to become obsolescent, but the days of holding their hands are still so close in my memory. Mi...

I'm not the adventurous type. I like to know, ahead of time, what the plan will be. I like to follow a GPS so I don't fall off the beaten trail. Younger reading Planet Kindergarten Every once in a while, though, I try to push the envelope. I attempt something on my own that might be a little uncomfortable. So when my building librarian, @readerroberts, encouraged me to head into the city for the ALA Midwinter convention, I knew this would be the perfect opportunity. I planned a Cub Scout trip into Philly on the train just a few months ago, so I felt almost ready to strike out on my own. Little steps, right? Chris, my younger son, and I ventured out into the brisk January air on Saturday morning and headed to the train station. We had empty bags, a little cash, and excitement about finding some new books to devour. That's all we really needed, right? Getting from East Market Street station to the Convention Center proved smashingly easy. We didn't even need to...

This post is part of TWO marvelous blogging events!  Sci-Fi Month is brought to you by Rinn Reads. Check out the full schedule of Sci-Fi Month posts! There are reviews, discussions, give aways, and more! Doctor Who Week is a joint venture between my blog and Teen Librarian Toolbox . We have a full week of fun posts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. Deciding on the perfect Halloween costume is generally a “Big Deal” in my house. My boys often end up picking pre-made costumes, but it’s never an easy process. So when they decreed that this would be the “Year of The Doctor”, I have to admit to getting a wee bit excited. I may have even hollered... I started my Doctor Who journey just this past January, and I was hooked from the very first episode. Not only would it be fun (and easy) to dress up as Nine, I see Christopher Eccleston as “my Doctor”. I already own the perfect leather jacket, too! No go. My older son called dibs on being N...

What do you get when you take a sixth grade boy and put him in charge of a little crew of younger scouts? That was exactly what we decided to discover when my older son took on the job of Den Chief for a den of wolves (2nd graders) this year. He has done a great job helping the den leader during meetings so far this year, but the true test of his leadership skills came when we ventured out on a camping trip with our Pack. He sprang into action, wrangling the boys as they played in the trees near our campsite and helping out on our day hike at Hawk Mountain. I knew he would take his job seriously, but I was still surprised to see just how much of his heart he plunged into looking after the younger boys. He'd get frustrated when they didn't listen to him, and was exhausted by the end of our hike. You see, even though EACH child in our group had a parent present on the hike, he still took personal responsibility for keeping them safe. He counted them each time we left a new ...

There are so many times when it is truly wonderful to be the mother of budding geeklings. As I find new fandoms to embrace, my sons often joyfully jump into the deep end with me. The world of geekdom is filled with events that rival those the non-geeky take for granted. Opening Day at the Ballpark? We've got season or series premiers. Stanley Cup Playoffs? This is the time in each season when we wait with nervous anticipation for the confirmation that our favorite series has been given the green light for another season. NFL Draft Day? We get those same pins and needles for each casting announcement. Some of those casting calls are met with intense controversy - like the recent brouhaha over Ben Affleck as our next Batman. Some are met with calm acceptance or a little thrill of eagerness. When I heard that the casting announcement for the twelfth Doctor would be simulcast everyone in the world, I knew that my sons and I had to be part of the celebration. Unfortunately for...

I love my sister. We shared a room growing up, and I'm pretty sure both of us wish we'd had more space to ourselves back then. Now? Now I'm positive we'd agree that we wish there were less space between us. She's done so well for herself, my darling baby sister. She met "the one" for her ( that is an amazing story of miraculous meetings all its own) and married into a wonderful family. Her own little family consists of a man I'm proud to call my brother-in-law, a darling little cherub of a toddler, and another wee one on the way. We only get to see each other a few times a year, and that's one of the reasons I'm so thankful for the extra time summer grants. This past week we've gotten time to just hang out. Time by the pool, time playing games, and time making and eating delicious food. Rediscovering his love for toddler car sets. My sons are so sweet with their little cousin, and it's adorable watching them play with to...

Tomorrow marks the official start of our week long silly celebration. It's the second annual #Chompsticks! Since my family was chomping at the bit to get started, we had our first photo shoot today. It was Harry Potter's birthday, so we pulled out all the stops for our geeky fun. We started by setting up our Potter goodness, complete with chocolate frogs and the Lego game. It's not easy trying to eat chocolate frogs with lightsaber chopsticks, especially while wearing a Gryffindor robe. Mmmmm..... Hogwarty goodness... Younger kept snapping photos of me. This was the silliest shot.   Accio Treats! Thursday's theme will be Star Wars... check back tomorrow for another dose of Chompsticks fun.