Fall Soccer

Soccer season ended in October, and it had its challenges this year. As usual, Stayc volunteered to be a coach and was given a team of 12 sixth thru eighth-grade girls to coach.

This was a bit tricky in and of itself, since Lutece is invariably the smallest girl in any group of girls her age. Put her with a bunch of eighth-graders and she looks like a shrimp (see photo above). Not only that, but you've got to be really fast to outrun girls who are two feet taller than you.

Lutece really enjoys soccer though, and you have to go through the rough years when you're the youngest and weakest to grow and develop as a player.

The hardest part of the season came when Stayc realized after three practices with the girls, that his 12-person team had been reduced to a 6-person team (some of the girls just never showed up, some dropped out, and some had conflicts). It was really frustrating. When Stayc expressed his concerns to the league, they responded that they would just pull girls from other teams to play with them so they wouldn't have to forfeit . . . every single week. Ummm . . . lame.

To make a long, sad story short, Stayc finally convinced the league to disband the team and split them up into the other remaining five teams in her age group (which had also lost players). It was a fairly smooth transition, but Stayc felt guilty about it the entire season. It was the first time in four years that he hasn't coached Lutece's team. I think he took it harder than anyone, since the girls and their parents all seemed fine.

All in all it was a fairly enjoyable season. Lutece had fun and improved. Sometimes, that's all you can ask for.

The Big One-One

Lutece turned 11 this year in what was a very low-key birthday. It was, of course, a school day, and she also had soccer practice that evening, so we ate her favorite dinner (chicken drumsticks, jasmine rice, and green beans) before soccer and her dessert of choice (triple layer brownies from this recipe, but in raspberry instead of mint) after soccer.

You may have noticed that I didn't take any "children unwrapping presents" pictures this year. I'm over that, and we've tried to keep things simple and simpler as the years go by.

She did get a birthday breakfast, but she requested crepes instead of waffles, flouting tradition. Oh my.

I can't believe she is 11 and just one year away from 12 (Young Women!). Lutece is such a wonderfully thoughtful and sweet girl (most of the time). She is becoming very responsible and is just as much her own person as ever. She is thoughtful of other people and especially kind to children younger than her. A couple of weeks ago at a Ward (Church) party, I looked around after dinner to see where she had disappeared to, and I found her sitting at the table of a new family in the Ward, chatting with their eight-year-old girl. She has always been conscientious of other people. She also loves babies and always wants to hold them and take care of them (even though she doesn't always know what to do). When we went hiking with our friends the Kotters, she kept asking if she could carry the baby in the baby backpack, which she did for as long as her little back could hold out. (Have I mentioned how strong she is? Super strong for such a tiny girl.)

She's having a difficult time in middle school right now trying to fit in and make new friends. It's been tough for her, and as much as I disliked middle school and high school, I would go back and do it all over again just to be the best friend that has her back. It's so hard to watch your kids struggle. SO HARD. Stayc tells me that she is resilient and that even if it is a horrible year, she will still be ok. I know she will . . . but I desperately hope it is not a horrible year. I love her so much.

Happy Birthday Lutece!

The Great Ear Piercing

Ever since Lutece was about eight years old, we've told her that she can get her ears pierced if she wants. She has expressed interest on and off throughout the years, but never very much. This year, as she is about to turn 11, in her first year of middle school, she decided she really wanted to get her ears pierced. She picked a date (last Friday), and I started looking into where to get it done.

Of course the first thing that came to mind was a piercing shop at the mall, so I looked it up online and found the Piercing Pagoda at the mall. Then I started doing a little more research and I came across this article. It gave me pause . . . and so I called my brother Tim, who has worked in his share of tattoo shops over the years. He basically told me the exact same things I had read in the article--tattoo shops are much more sanitary and safe--so I started looking into tattoo/piercing shops in the area.

I settled on a shop called Bleed Blue Tattoo in downtown Lexington and we were extremely pleased with the experience. It was very sanitary, very professional, and much less jarring than shooting a blunt object from a "gun" into the earlobe.

Lutece was SO nervous. When the girl started to clean Lutece's earlobes with a q-tip, Lutece nearly jumped a foot. The piercer explained that she was just cleaning off her earlobes and that she would not do anything without first telling Lutece what she was doing. True to her word, she talked Lutece through the entire process. "Now I'm going to put the needle through your ear . . ." Poke. ". . . and that's the only pinch you'll feel."

Lutece was a tough little cookie. The second ear was even easier than the first because she knew what to expect. No whining, no tears, just our stoic little girl. She chose some pretty little diamond-ish studs (which were not cheap . . . holy Hannah!). It's been a week now, and so far, no problems.*

Our little girl . . . she's growing up!

* Just like the article mentioned, our piercer told us to clean her ears daily with a saline solution. It's worked nicely.

Fifth Grade Promotion

Lutece "graduated" from elementary school last week, and I keep wondering why we don't feel as nostalgic as we should (or as other parents seem to). It is probably a combination of reasons:

1. We are not nostalgic people.
2. Lutece only attended three of the possible six years of elementary school (2nd, 3rd, and 5th).
3. She only spent one year at this particular elementary school, having transferred in when we returned from China to participate in the Accelerated Cluster.
4. Fifth grade seems entirely too young to be leaving elementary school. What happened to sixth grade in elementary school?!

Marching up to the front of the auditorium while the graduation music plays.

Despite my lack of sentiment on her promotion from fifth grade (which is what her school calls it, something I appreciate since "graduation" seems to be overstating it), we are enormously proud of all the hard work she put in this year and of the wonderful person she is.

Shaking hands with her principal while her teacher, Mrs. Laborio waits her turn.

Also, even though it doesn't seem to be such a big deal that she's leaving elementary school, it is a HUGE deal that she is entering middle school. YIKES!!! I am freaked-out beyond what words can express that she will be subjected next year to the purgatory that is middle school. (Again, whatever happened to sixth grade in elementary school!?)

Lutece with her wonderful teacher, Mrs. Laborio.

Still, I have to remember that she blossomed and thrived under pressure this year. It wasn't easy going to a brand new school for 5th grade, having just come out of homeschool in China. She didn't know any of the kids, and she jumped from 4th grade work to 6th grade work.

Lutece with her best friend Erelyn. Sadly, Erelyn is moving to Indiana next year. Sob.

I have hope that she will do just as well next year (even though I know it will be hard). Just because something is hard, doesn't mean it isn't good for us.

Congratulations Lutece! We love you dearly.

Sybil Ludington

Sybil Ludington is, as Lutece would put it, "the female Paul Revere." When the fifth-graders were expected to research a famous person from American history, Lutece chose Ms. Luddington because, according to her:

"Sybil Ludington played an important role in American history. I feel like women are overlooked, and that men are thought of as the only great American heroes. . . She was truly a woman that will inspire many kids and promote women and encourage them to be just as good as men."

From the mouths of babes.

A "Superior" Hymn Festival

Lutece participated in the Piano Hymn Festival once again this year, hosted by the National Federation of Music Clubs. We are high-speed like that. Actually, we really aren't, but Lutece's piano teacher is, and she likes her students to participate in festivals, competitions, and recitals as a way to motivate them and strengthen their performance skills. Honestly, I have to say that it works . . . and the kids really enjoy it.

There are two judges who sit at a table in front and take notes during the performance. Lutece earned a "Superior" for both of her hymns (that's the highest score you can receive).

She is already working on memorizing a piece for the Bach Festival in February, and she works consistently on her sight-reading skills because she wants to enter the sight-reading competition in the Spring. Fascinating.

Last Sunday, the kids also participated in their teacher's annual Christmas recital. It was Phoenix's first public recital (there he is in the front row with the short pants and long tie :). It was a great recital, especially since we missed the first half of it due to a conflict with Church. Hurray for Church!*

It's been a good year for the piano.

* Don't worry. Their piano teacher knew they would be late and put them towards the end of the program. It is fun to hear some of the other children play, but not all of them.

A Late, Late, Late, Late Birthday

Lutece really wanted a birthday party this year. She started asking me about it in August and I kept putting her off. I was fairly honest about it . . . "I just don't know if I can manage that this year, Lutece," but I never really said "no," so she kept asking about it.

By mid September (a couple of weeks AFTER her birthday), it was clear that a birthday party was probably not going to happen, and I assumed she would stop asking about it. Silly me! Lutece can be persistent when she wants to be, and to be fair, I never really said "no."

So when October finally rolled around, I thought, "Ok, maybe I handle this now," and I attempted to lower Lutece's expectations as I proposed a extremely simple "party" idea. As it turns out, there was no need. Apparently, after having her mother put her off for two months, she had already completely lowered her expectations. "Can't I just have a fun play-date with my friends from kids' book club?" TOTALLY!

So that's what we did. On October 19, nearly a month and a half after her birthday, we had three of Lutece's good friends over for a fall-themed "party" play-date. The girls painted wooden boxes . . . and then they played upstairs while I cleaned up a huge paint mess :).

I love that each girl's box was so different.

Lutece's is the one with the little birdhouse.

Then the girls came downstairs and beaded necklaces, bracelets, and headbands with fall-themed beads. You name it, they beaded it.

Afterwards, the girls iced and decorated large pumpkin sugar cookies (no pictures of this) and drank lemonade. I think they all had fun. Frankly, they seem to just have fun being around each other, so it wasn't hard.

Next year, it's Phoenix's turn for a party . . . hopefully, I'll get it done before Halloween!

What Is a Great FHE Lesson?

Lutece put together a fantastic Family Home Evening lesson last week. She spent two days creating a Church History Jeopardy game, complete with Daily Doubles (and prizes). Neither Stayc nor I helped her on this one. It was all Lu. Definitely one of our best ever Family Home Evenings!

In the Goal Box

Lutece is playing soccer again this year after a one-year haitus (China), and Stayc is once again coaching her team. He does amazingly well with coaching girls' soccer. No one gets yelled at, the girls feel good about themselves, and surprise, surprise, they generally win most of their games. It's a good situation.

This year, Stayc has been putting Lutece in as goalie a lot. At first it surprised me. Lutece is small and not very aggressive, and well, didn't the other girls want to play goalie? When kids are little, ALL of them want to be goalie.

But apparently, when they get older, they either want to be where the action is, or they want to be completely out of it (i.e., not defending the goal box). So Stayc keeps putting Lutece in because she is one of the few girls that wants to be there.

And guess what? Despite the fact that she stands around a lot (which is just as it should be if the rest of her team is doing what they are supposed to), she is pretty darn good at it!

She's not afraid of the ball at all, and she'll get right up to the action to grab it, even if other girls are still kicking around her. The season is almost over and she's played goalie about half of the time, and she's only let in two goals so far (both by the same player who was super good, and our defense was super bad . . . in fact, it was the only game the girls have lost this season, and we like to say it was because the game was rained out at half-time. Dumb thunder and lightning!)

The lack of good "goalie saving" shots is only because I'm always too engaged in the game to remember to take pictures. In fact, Phoenix took every single one of these pictures. He was bored, so I gave him the camera and told him to take some pictures of Lutece.

At half-time

The other half of the time she plays left wing, which she is also pretty good at, although these "standing-around" shots don't showcase her mad soccer skills.

There! It looks like Phoenix got one shot of her running.

And one shot of me sitting on the sidelines.

The girls are a little crazy (two of them are missing from the picture), but they have become a tight group.

They insisted we have a team meal at Culver's half-way through the season. They planned it and then informed Stayc and their parents. I was impressed that all but one of them showed up.

Only two games left! As much as I enjoy having Lutece in soccer, I'm always happy when the season is over!

Marshmallow Igloos

Lutece is studying US history in fifth grade this year. They started out with the Native Americans, and each child focused on one tribe. Lutece selected the Inuit, which was lucky for us, since she had all SORTS of ideas about how to recreate their dwellings.

She insisted on making an edible version of the igloo, so we formed the frame with paper mache and then created the "icebergs" using marshmallows glued in place with royal icing. Not only that, but she also decided she wanted to show the interior of the igloo as well as the exterior, so we cut one of the igloo frames in half and she showed a cut-away of the interior, complete with animal skin rugs and playmobil Inuits.

The model of the dwelling was only one-third of the grade though. The bulk of the project was the 20-page Powerpoint presentation on the Inuit that she worked on for two weeks.

 The best part of the project may have been after it came home though.

The kids used it as their after-school snack. Yep. I have indeed become the kind of mother that lets her children eat stale marshmallows as their after-school snack.

That's the kind of mom that gets smiles like this though. Thank goodness for the Inuit . . . and 2-day-old junk food!