Paint and Blow

This past weekend Little Dude has his first big Boy Scout event. I said from the beginning that I wanted nothing to do with Boy Scouts because it seems a little more disorganized than Girl Scouts can be. But that didn't stop me from attending this event with my boy.

The big scouting event of the weekend was the Rain Gutter Regatta.



Like we tend to do with many things, we waited until the last minute to purchase the supplies. I'll spare you the hell I went through to get said supplies. But I will say that Pat Catan employees are idiots! I finally purchased the paints Wednesday evening and began painting Thursday afternoon. The plan was for my to paint the boy's boat with a base coat of brown. He would do the details. The paint I bought was definitely not easy to work with (or clean up), but by Friday evening, that part of the process was complete.

Saturday morning the husband gave the boat one final sanding job before he applied the acrylic sealer to waterproof the boat. I'm not sure if the paint or the sealer caused the problem. Perhaps both. The paint looked smudged after a coat of the sealer was applied. Luckily, Little Dude wasn't upset. He said the cannons he painted on the side could still shoot. I guess that was the important part of the boat!


After lunch, the four of us headed to the library where the race would take place. Two rain gutters were set up on poles. Two boys at a time would race and it a double elimination. Each boy had to use a straw to blow air on the boat's sail to move it from one end of the gutter to the other.




Just knowing that Little Dude's boat floated made us all very proud. Watching my boy come so close to winning made us even prouder. He ended up coming in a close second. If his boat had not tipped over at the end, he would have had it.

All week, Little Dude was telling us that racing is not about winning, it's about having fun. The smile on his face, and the blue ribbon in his hand, definitely shows how much fun he had.

Boys were allowed to wear Halloween costumes.
Which worked out since we have yet
to buy his actual uniform. Oops!

We now need to prepare for the Space ship race. I think we'll need some luck for that since neither the husband nor I have any experience with this race. He never did it in scouts and my brother never did either. I have a feeling a blog post or 2 may come out of this race!





Until next time...

Because of Harry

A while back I wrote about GG and her reading habits. I hated to make her stop reading so much, but even with the restrictions, she has made me one proud momma!

GG was only able to finish the first six Harry Potter books by the last week of school when they stopped taking quizzes for Accelerated Reader. I say "only", but having my 9 year old read those books, some of which are pretty big, is quite an accomplishment in itself.

I knew within the last few weeks of school that she was kicking ass with her points accumulation for Accelerated Reader. The third graders had a Candy Land type board hanging on the wall outside the classrooms. Each child had their own gumdrop and would move up the board based on how many points they had.

Because of the Harry Potter books, GG was given a new and bigger gumdrop. She was on round two of working through the board. This was when I realized she was the top reader in the third grade and would receive a special prize at the end of the school year. Each child, first through fifth grade, receives a book for participating, but the top readers from each grade receive something special, like a gift card.

The last day of school, GG received a book, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and a $25 gift card to a local book store. I was so incredibly proud of the hard work she put in to be awarded those prizes, but I was completely blown away by her work about a week later. I came to find out that not only was GG the top reader in the third grade, but she was ranked fifth in the whole school. Fifth out of approximately 170 students. The students above her were fifth graders.

This is definitely a Proud Mommy Moment that I was more than happy to brag about share.




Until next time...

Proud, with restrictions

We all have our proud mommy moments and usually we like to brag about share them. But sometimes our proud moments are that kind of proud. You know, the moments where you can't believe this child is related to you in any way.

Kmama has created a meme where we can share our proud moments, good, bad, and funny. You can read more about it here. If you have a moment you'd like to share, and I'm sure you do, feel free to link up.





By the time GG was done with pre-school and getting ready to start pre-K, she knew all of her letters along with their sounds. She also knew a few words, mostly names. I thought for sure she would be an early reader. I was so maybe it was hereditary.

In Kindergarten, she was beginning to learn letters and sounds, most of which she knew. She was starting to learn how to blend certain sounds together to form words. This was it! This was my opportunity to get her reading.

Many, many nights her and I sat in her uber-comfy bed with Hop on Pop. Surely she could read those words. All she had to do was sound the letters out, which she knew how to do.

Many, many nights her and I sat in her uber-comfy bed with Hop on Pop. Tears were streaming down all four of our cheeks. This was not it. She was not ready to read. My heart was shattered.

Towards the middle of her Kindergarten year, someone flipped a switch. Her reading switch. She was reading words left and right as if she had been doing it forever. I had a reader! Over time the words got longer, as well as the books. Last year, in second grade, she was finally able to read short chapter books. Junie B., A to Z mysteries, Magic Tree House.

Her book self soon filled up. By the end of second grade, she had read most of the books on her shelf at least once. Wanting to challenge her, I offered up my Harry Potter books. She had seen the first few movies and I knew she would fall in love with Harry as I did. She tried to read the first, but was scared. She said it was the story that scared her, but I think it was the book itself. All those words. So many chapters. This time I was fine with waiting.

Towards the end of the summer leading up to third grade, GG decided once again to try the first Harry Potter book. She read it in a matter of days. I finally had the reader I hoped for. I was so unbelievably proud of her. She was also proud of herself.


Now before you go and get all "way to go girl" on me, I have recently come to realize that there is a downside to all this reading.

In the past few weeks, GG has read books 4, 5, and half of 6 in the Harry Potter series. The reason she is trying to cram these books in before the school year ends is because they are worth beaucoup points. The kids' school participates in Accelerated Reader. In short, you read a book and take a quiz on it. You receive points based on your test score. All children who participate receive a prize, but the children with the most points in each grade level receive an extra special prize.

GG wants to win. I guess being competitive is hereditary.

In order to finish reading all seven books by the end of the school year, GG must read a lot. I wanted a reader, but I also want a child who likes to play with toys. I will admit, the lack of cleaning up toys at the end of the day is a perk. Realizing GG is hiding under her covers reading at 11:30pm is not a perk. We have to be out the door by 6:30am. Yes, some mornings are ugly!

I certainly don't want to deter her from reading, but we have had to put a time limit on how long she read at night.

I guess you can't win them all!



Until next time....

And My Oscars Go To...

I received a few awards last week. I am truly honored to receive these and let me tell you, they really make up for the crappy mood I was in last week! These 3 are from Jane over at Adoption of Jane. I love reading her blog and she has awesome stories of her life that she shares. You really should go and check her blog out!


The first award is the Stiletto Award. I absolutely love the description that goes along with it. It's kind of long and I apologize for that, but I am copying it straight from Jane's blog...

What is a Stiletto Award???

There are thousands of blogs, and there are hundreds of awards.

The Stiletto Award is a little different than most!

First, to understand, let us understand the Stiletto…
some words that describe it…
Classy – Strong -Exotic – Demure – Extreme – Ultra – Sexy - Bold – Funky

“Walking in extremely high heels is not something that the average woman (or man) will need to do in their everyday life.
However, there are times when this skill may be required.”

AND… what is a “blogger”? According to Dictionary.com the official definition is:
Blogger: One who writes entries in, adds material to, or maintains a weblog

However, I think there is a LOT more to it than that. My definition of a blogger…
Blogger: A strong, confident woman who has a full life. Because of the nature of her existence, she seeks connection and companionship with others who understand and wish to support her. She gains strength and courage from the experiences of these woman and shares her story in return. Through the “blog world” she develops relationships with women she would otherwise never meet and builds a community of cherished friends with whom she shares her life, experiences, challenges, failures, triumphs, goals, family and so much more! She IS Classy, Strong, Exotic, Demure, Extreme, Ultra, Sexy, Bold and Funky!

“To walk gracefully in high heels, take short steps, as opposed to long strides, and come down in a heel-toe, heel-toe motion.”

Hence, the Stiletto Award…For Excellence in Blogging!

I want to salute the women who balance life, family & relationships with style & class! Those women who share their experiences with us…who encourage us, inspire us, teach us, make us laugh and basically keep us going! You know who they are! While you read this blog, your family is looking at you wondering what the heck you are laughing about so hard…or why the tissue is necessary for internet browsing. It’s the one that the kids are excited about cuz a new post means a new craft project or family outing. The one that inspires you to be a better mom, friend, person in general. The one that reminds you that we are all “in this life together” and you’re not the only one going through the hard stuff. The one that you secretly wish your blog was like…

“It is good to get into the habit of doing the warm-up and cool-down exercises every time you wear them.”

If you’ve received this award, someone out there thinks you deserve it! Be proud! Display the badge with honor! You earned it…after all it means that you brought something special to at least one other person, and really, isn’t that what life’s all about????

“Under no circumstances drive a car with your heels on. Not only do you have less control over the car, but it will damage your shoes – and they aren’t cheap at this height. Keep spare shoes in the car for driving, or have someone drive you.”

THE RULES!

This blog is meant to be shared, to be given out, to be bestowed upon any and ALL women who exemplify what the stiletto represents. If you’ve received this award, here’s what you do:

1. Display your Stiletto Badge of Honor on your sidebar! Wear it with pride…

“Heels this high are not meant for clubbing or walking long distances in. They are mainly used for getting from the living room to the bedroom, from the car to the restaurant, or for a short stroll along the catwalk.”

2. BRAG ABOUT IT! -write a post about your award.
3. SAY THANKS! - include a link to the friend who nominated you for the award.
4. SHARE THE LOVE! -nominate 5-10 blogs that you feel deserve the award. Include links to them in your post -and- leave them a comment to let them know they are nominated.
5. DO WHAT YOU DO! -keep at it. Keep inspiring and encouraging and sharing your life! We love it and we thank you!!!

Holy F-ing Monkey balls, I have another award!

This is also from Jane as well as Kmama from The Daily Dribbles. Kmama shares stories about her life raising 2 boys. Her blog is always fun to read and she has a lovely sense of sarcasm that I can really relate to!

The rules.... here they go!
1... post & love your award.
2.... Thank the giver of the award & link to him or her
3... Give Self Pat on The Back
4... use the phrase holy fu**ing monkey balls once...
5... pass this awesomeness on to 9 other bloggers

This last one is Jane's very own award. I think she was so excited to have her very own award to pass along that she didn't bother with rules. That is fine by me because I am horrible with the rules for these awards. I'm lucky that I remembered to brag post about them at this point. My brain is so fried from the craziness that was last week that I'm surprised I know my own name!

But anyways, here's a few bloggers I'd like to pass these awards on to...

The Monkey Balls award goes to anyone who wants it. I think it's just hysterical and everyone should have a laugh and snag it!

The Stiletto award and You Rock awards go to...
Steven Anthony
Princess of Sarcasm
Amber's Life
kssnnikkel
Amy

You should check out their blogs as well. They are some awesome people!

And Steven, I know you love shoes, but if you don't want a "girl" shoe award, I understand. LOL!!

Until next time....

Check Out My Awards!