Two Weeks of Happy Civic Duty

I got my summons in July and was devastated that I was to appear the first week of the semester. Serve my civic duty as a juror or align my entire semester up right with my students-- what a quandary! Luckily, I called the Jury Commissioner's office and was able to postpone my jury duty in the Franklin County Municipal Court until December.

The following post will commemorate my worthwhile experience.

On the first day I took the bus into downtown to save a few bucks on parking. When I arrived at 8am, apparently I was a little eager. After two hours of enjoying the high-octane coffee, the Jury Commissioner waited until 10am to give us the rundown of the next two weeks which included free parking in the garage. My eagerness mixed with geeking out on civic responsibility made for quite an exciting day.

The Jury Commission Room

 The next two weeks did not disappoint. Even though I was not selected for a jury, I learned so much! Tom, the Jury Commissioner, had speakers lined up to come talk with us. There were tours of the Ohio Supreme Court and the Statehouse. We were invited to observe the courtrooms in session.

The seven seats of the Ohio Supreme Court.

Decorations in the Law Library.

View of COSI and the Scioto River from the top floor of the Supreme Court.

The Ohio Statehouse

Floor plan of the buildings we toured.

George Washington Williams,
the first black Ohio Legislator. 

Thank you to 100 years of women Suffragettes!

Statehouse Rotunda

Black draping ready for John Glenn's body to arrive. 

For Lake Erie, thank Oliver Hazard Perry.

House of Representatives

Beautiful Christmas tree at the Statehouse
in the spot where Lincoln gave a speech prior
to his presidency. 

These tours were great but with December comes the chance of bad weather. 

Snow-covered 9th floor view.

One block away, there were noon Advent services each Wednesday followed by a luncheon. What a way for me to spend the lunch break.

Trinity Evangelical Church

Luckily, most of our time we were warmly visited by judges and other courthouse officials in the Jury Commission Room. We often know very little about judges but I can confidently say that Judge Green, Judge O'Grady, Judge Hawkins, Judge Morehart, Judge Barrows, Recorder Brown and Clerk of Courts Tyack are more than names on ballot for me now. I learned that some of these civil servants are grateful for the purpose God has given them. They even came to our last day's pizza party. 

All this was a great experience that I will never forget.  

We were well taken care of and respected for our duty.  

We were able to share some life stories, share some faith stories, share some business stories, 

and make some friends along the way. 

Somebody took this juror out to a dinner
with a view of the city. 

Airplane Day

In looking for something to keep us busy this week, we decided to join up with the Mini-Riversiders on a visit to the OSU airport. The mom in-charge had arranged for two pilots to show us their airplanes. It was a blast! All the kids loved it. 

This airport is right off Sawmill Road therefore I have driven by it for nearly 20 years... but don't remember ever stopping in. After visiting yesterday, I felt like I had stepped onto the set of Wings. Do you remember that show? 

I am so thankful for this fun little opportunity to tour this little airport with the littlest members of my family. 

Audrey was rearing to go upon arrival.

In the terminal, Eva spotted a gumball machine.
"What's this, Mommy?"

Observing from the Observation Deck.

It's always time for a snack! 

Eva was first in line. 

Kids in the cockpit.

They really liked being IN a plane. 

But Eva did not like that the controls
were out of her control.

We could have stayed all day. 

Longest Day

This little sweetie is 7 months old today and it is such a blessing to spend everyday with her. 

And...

Yesterday was the longest day of the year, right? Let's spend these long days together in the sunshine, baby girl!

 The sun!?!? (Read: pale people problems)

It's true. My own skin is so pale that I really do limit my time in the sun. Shade, please. Sunhat, yes. Long sleeves in summer, often. Sunscreen, everyday. 

And what do I lather the beautifully sweet baby skin of my two little ones with? 

Well, first let me say that I prayed that each of my children would inherit Keith's skin, but the jury is really still out on that... so we protect them like they have my sun-averse skin. 

I am not a fan of spending big bucks on anything but I have found that the sunscreen that isn't "toxic death cream" (winkwink, Carrie) is quite costly. As in, over $5 per ounce! Yikes! But let's put it in perspective... fewer burns, fewer rashes, and a decreased risk of skin cancer seems worth it. Plus, you don't need to use a ton of it. A little goes a loooong way with these.

Here's the deal. It is not necessarily about a high SPF. Look for Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide as the ingredients. It is that simple. Products made with these are becoming easier to find. 

Brands that I have used:

California Baby

Goddess Garden

Neutrogena Pure and Free Baby

The City Bus

Eva has been fascinated with buses for a while now. I think the "Wheels on the Bus" song was a major catalyst. Especially when we learned the verse about the money going "clink, clink, clink" from Christin back in the summer of 2014. 

So we took a ride.

We boarded the #82 COTA bus at the nearest stop to our house. Just 0.2 miles from our house for an approximate 3 minute walk. I paid my $2 adult fare - clink, clink, clink - while children under 48 inches are free.  The #82 took us on a 45 minute loop through Grandview,  Lennox Town Center, the OSU medical center and campus. 

We enjoyed the sites. We sang the "Wheels on the Bus" song. We greeted new passengers. Then we got back off right where we started... which is by our favorite Grandview park. 

Play Time!!!

Other low cost fun that we have enjoyed...

Wyman Woods Park - FREE

Library Stories on the Lawn - FREE

Tuesdays at Little Green House play cafe - $3

Krema Nut Company Milkshake - $3.50

Grandview Pool- $3 (after 6pm)

Apples and Cookies at Giant Eagle - FREE with $1 Treat Card

Drive-Thru Car Wash - $5

Picture Wall: Contact Paper, Painters tape, and foam pieces (all items were things we had)

Water Babies

Oh, these little children of ours! They surely LOVE the water. 

The water table we bought last year is a HIT, again. But this year it brings hours of fun (versus minutes). Sprinklers are more exciting for Eva this year. And heading down to the beach at the Lake is certainly a new summer highlight. 

Don't these sunny days just make you want to be outside and cool off with a little H2O? 

It is always fun to include friends when we play. We know Lucia is a friend for the swimming pool but she also likes the water table out in our yard. James and Charlie make splashing in the Lake soooo much more memorable. 

I predict a summer full of swimsuits (hand-me-downs welcome) and lots of sunscreen. 

Being a Mom

Being a mom certainly makes me appreciate other moms out there... especially my own mom. Not just because Grandma is a great babysitter but because I now realize how much she sacrificed by being my mom.

Let's talk about how wonderful it is to have your life totally consumed by mini-humans. You do the cooking, the serving, the feeding, the shopping, the cleaning, the laundering, the bathing, the scheduling, the driving, the entertaining, the reading, and the teaching. To name a few of the job duties. These are all wonderful things to do. Wonderful, wonderful things. But they are time-consuming things.

How did my mom, or any mom--past, present, or future, have time to, I don't know, write a thank you note?!?? I barely have time to brush my teeth, so how do I put pen to paper in a thoughtful way to thank those who have been so helpful or giving to us? Well, I'll tell you... 1) It's by the grace of God and 2) It. Takes. Days. Several starts and stops during a period of days.

My tiny army

As a mom to this "tiny army that I created myself" (thank you, Jen Hatmaker, for that painfully accurate description), I have some daily decisions to make. During nap time, should I, a) clean up the whole house because uninterrupted cleaning, hello? b) take a shower because umm... I can't remember if it has been one day or two or three since I last showered? or c) also take a nap? Yup, also take a nap usually wins.

My mom has told me that when I was a little girl I did not take naps. I never thought about how challenging that could have been until now. She said sometimes she would lock us both in the bedroom and let me run around while she "napped" on the bed. A mom will always improvise.  I believe it. I would do it. I may have already done this.

What an absolute contrast to when they are awake

Scripture from Romans puts it all in perspective: "... we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit..." So these wonderful, time-consuming things that we do for the mini-humans in our life is really God's love poured out. Now, isn't that the truth?

The sunny view outside my kitchen door...

...compared to what awaits inside my kitchen.

Remakes

Then...

Rachael Ray came onto the scene when I was in college. So, of course, Christin and I watched all her shows. This one always made me want to travel to fun eateries all over the country. $40 a day to a college kid did not seem like much of a challenge. 

Now...

This guy has a similar premise but eats in fun towns for $35 a day! In my thirties, this seems like a real challenge so I am riveted. 

Then...

When there is something strange, in the neighborhood, who you gonna call? That's right. Classic film (with sequels, of course) that created iconic icons. We loved it. We relish it. 

Now...

Whoa! Girl Ghostbusters! Sounds good to me. Leslie Jones is not my favorite but I will take it because I love Melissa McCarthy, Kirsten Wiig, and Kate McKinnon. I just hope I can figure out how to see this movie. I know Keith and I saw one in the theater at some point this past year, maybe we can do it again. Or just wait until it is OnDemand.