Poison Ivy and Snakes

What a busy weekend we had. I feel like I say that every weekend anymore, but it's the truth.

As much as I love my sleep, I actually don't mind getting up early.  I am not a morning person, but I do enjoy savoring a cup of coffee (or three) and having everything I need to do done by early afternoon so I can enjoy the rest of the day with my husband and kids.

As satisfying as that feeling is to get things done early, I hate having to wake early and rush out the door.  Not being able to savor those cups of coffee tends to make me grumpy.  A grumpy me is never a fun me.

The chaos of last weekend began Friday afternoon with school pick-up.

Little Dude was complaining of being itchy the night before.  He has dry skin and has had issue with eczema in the past so I thought nothing of it.  I would just lotion him up and he's be good to go.

Not the case.

Little Dude bounced out of school Friday afternoon, happy it was finally the weekend, and that's when I saw it.  Scratches, blisters, and a flaming red neck.  Right then I knew it was more than eczema.  It was poison ivy.  Perhaps letting them run around on the hillside by the husband's work was not a good idea.  Thank goodness I had some anti-itch cream in the medicine cabinet because I didn't have time to run to the store.  I had to get the husband from work and take my boys to the zoo for a Scout sleepover

After we returned home from our drive to the zoo, GG and I prepared for our girl's night in.  I was setting up the DVD player for a few games of Harry Potter Scene-It when I realized Little Dude wasn't the only one who was running around on that hillside.  The proof was beginning to show on GG's legs, hands, and arms.  Thankfully she could make do without the anti-itch cream (I sent it off with my boys).  She was either not effected as bad as Little Dude or she had more control when it came to not scratching.

Until Sunday.

Sunday was our end of the year Girl Scout picnic.  It was hot as hell and she was running around almost the entire 8 hours we were there.  A hot and sweaty girl made for an itchy girl.  I again left the cream with the boys because Little Dude didn't seem to understand he shouldn't scratch if he wanted to get better.  A hot, sweaty, tired and itchy child is NOT a fun child!

But just because we were all hot, sweaty, tired, and some were itchy, didn't mean there was no fun to be had.  GG had a blast at the picnic - good food, crafts, and friends.  And Little Dude had a blast on his zoo trip.  He was able to go behind the scenes with a few exhibits and touch animals ordinary patrons might not have a chance to touch.

Holding an armadillo

You'll just have to trust me that GG had a great time at our picnic.  I wasn't able to capture any pictures during the event because I was too busy trying to control the chaos.  All the girls in attendance seemed to have a good time, but events like this make me realize that we do, in fact, have well behaved children.


Until next time...

Spelling problem fixed - I hope

I understand there's a push to do more, to do better in school these days.  But sometimes I have to wonder if more is really better.

A few weeks ago I blogged about GG's spelling words. In case you missed it, a few of here words were

• ribonucleic acid
• transversive
• rhetorician
• subversive

For a fourth grader, again I repeat, what the hell?!  Part of her assignment with those words that week was to categorize the words.  Are they a noun, adjective, verb, or other.  The fact that I had to sit there, dictionary in hand, and help her did not make me happy.  I did my time in school, thankyouverymuch.


I asked a friend what she thought of those words because her daughter is in my daughter's class.  The reaction was not what I expected.  She did not seem as frazzled as I was.  I didn't want to say anything out loud, but I wondered if not all the students in the class got the same list of words.  For the most part, GG does well in school so it never really occurs to me to ask the teachers what is going on.  If we just needed to study more because the curriculum had been upped, so be it.


Fast forward to last week.  I found out exactly why GG had the spelling words she did.  Yes I realize I could have asked and found out much sooner.  Sue me.  I'm not always the best mom out there!


Anyspell, here's the deal.  If a student aces the pre-test on Monday, they are free to choose their own spelling words from the classroom dictionary.  Awesome.  Challenge them.  Let them push their own boundaries.  I'm all for this.  But at what point should the teacher step in and ask if those are really words a fourth grader should try to spell?  Again I say, challenge those kids, but really, what fourth grader needs to know "ribonucleic acid"?


And if I really want to nit-pick?  Some of those words weren't in my own dictionary at home.  Granted my dictionary is from my high school days, but also?  Blogger's spell check doesn't even recognize those words!!!  Those words aren't real and if they are, please assign each child their own said classroom dictionary for home use.


Yes I'm throwing a fit.  And I will surely throw another one if my daughter brings home ridiculous words like that again while still in elementary school.  Yes, she's been warned.





Until next time...

What comes home from school

Before you go thinking this is yet another "Help! My kid is sick!" post, it is not. Don't get me wrong, we've had our share of the sniffles, coughs, and ear infections, but nothing blog worthy.

I'm sharing some of the other things my kids have brought home from school. GG in particular.

Perhaps she is coming down with something because she opted out of buying a walking taco for lunch. Instead she chose to pack her lunch. The bonus? She wanted to pack it herself. Less work for me is always a good thing!

She packed a rather healthy lunch - a jelly sandwich, a chicken drumstick, some craisins, and Fruit by the Foot. Milk was purchased at school. However, this is not what she came home with. At the end of the day I opened her lunchbox to see her empty sandwich container, the unopened Fruit by the Foot, and not 1, but 2 unopened string cheeses.

Um... I haven't bought string cheese in weeks. I hope a friend wasn't hungry!

As crazy as that lunch debacle was, at least it could easily be taken care of. Wash the container, return the snack to it's box, wipe the lunchbox out, and throw away the now warm string cheese. What I cannot easily clean up are my daughter's spelling words. Words she must learn and must keep with her for the rest of her life.

Spelling is a subject I can do. I've been doing it with GG since Kindergarten, so that's 5 years (I can do math, too!). If Little Dude and I didn't butt heads constantly, I would help with his spelling as well. But the husband as been declared as his spelling helper. As long as one of GG's words is never occassion ocassion occasion, I think I can keep my job as her spelling helper.

At least that's what I thought until this week. Here is a sample of the words she brought home to study this week. Keep in mind, GG is in 4th grade.

• adversary
• conversation
• universal
• university
• independence

Those can be challenging, but not necessarily difficult. The rest of the list? That's another story!

• transversive
• subversive
• bicarbonate
• Martinique
• Mediterranean
• ribonucleic acid
• rhetorician

What the hell?!

GG will most definitely survive and move on to the 5th grade. I, however, fear I will not make it.


Until next time...

Rhyme Time

I am so incredibly proud of my kids. They brought home their report cards last week. All A's and B's!! I am especially proud of Little Dude because honestly, I was a little worried.

Every day I ask what they did in school. GG will give me examples of math problems or a science project. Little Dude will tell me what he ate for lunch or what he played at recess. However, when we least expect it, or at night when he's supposed to be in bed trying to sleep, he will tell us all about a lesson from the day.

Over the past few days, Little Dude has been learning that you can change the beginning or end sound of a word to create another word. Sometimes the words rhyme while other times they make a whole new word. For example, "man" can be changed into "map". At the end of last week, he was learning what can happen when the end sound of a word is changed. This week they are working on changing the beginning sound. How do I know this? Well, let me explain...


The other night I took the kids with me to Target, which could be an entire post in itself as I left with much more than I originally planned for. As usual! During the short car ride home, GG was talking about her upcoming birthday. Little Dude began to ramble on about words that can be changed. I was nodding and "uh-huh"-ing so he knew I was paying attention, even though I was more worried about driving down a dark, twisty hill in the rain. And then I heard it.... Duck. Oh, this can't end well.

Luck

Puck

Muck

Buck


And finally he came to the mother of all curse words.


Thank goodness we were in the car away from the general public and thankfully he had no idea what he had just said.

Proud Mommy Moment
hosted by Kmama and Emmy Mom
Do you have a proud (or "proud") moment
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Until next time...

Red Ribbon

This week at the kids' school, along with many others I think, they are participating in Red Ribbon week. The point of Red Ribbon week is to teach kids about saying no to drugs. In our school, the kids wear something different each day.

Forgive me as I seemed to have thrown the actual paper from the school away. I don't remember what each day symbolizes.


Monday - Black and white day. Students are encouraged to wear these colors. Possibly because it's a black and white decision to either do drugs or don't and we strongly encourage you to say no.

Tuesday - Wear your favorite boots so together we can stomp out drugs.

Wednesday - Hat day. I don't know why, but the kids were happy to wear hats, which are usually a no-no. There were some funky hats!

Thursday - Wear your team colors. As a team we can stand up against drugs. Boy am I glad I bought those school shirts a few weeks ago

Friday - Wear your Halloween costume to scare drugs away.


GG and Little Dude have been quite excited to pick out the special item before bedtime for the following day. GG was over the moon when she found out it was boot day. I will post pictures next week of her too cute boots when I do a Halloween post.

All day Tuesday Little Dude was thinking about which hat he would wear for Wednesday. Tuesday night he finally found a bright yellow Steeler hat (that's my boy!). He came downstairs to show me his find and I told him to put it in a safe place so we didn't forget it in the morning. As he carefully laid his hat by his jacket and book bag, he asked me a question.....


"Mom, what are drugs?"


Red Ribbon week fail!





I am so proud of my boy for happily participating in Red Ribbon week without knowing why. Of course this is only true if proud is the new word for disappointed.


Do you have a proud, or not so proud, parenting moment? Link up with Kmama and Emmy Mom.





Until next time...

School paper solution

I don't know about your kids, but mine are always bringing home papers from school. Class work, artwork, upcoming events and fundraisers. Sometimes I wonder how there are any trees left in the world!

Four years ago when GG was in Kindergarten, I started the Wall of Fame. Any papers she brought home with a good grade on them would get hung on the wall. As more papers came home, I would switch out the old with the new. She loved seeing her good work displayed for everyone to see.

But now that I have 2 kids in school, that wall filled up awfully fast. I needed a new way to display their good work. Enter Pinterest. Browsing through tons of pictures I came across this...

Cute, right?!

I made a trip to the craft store to look for pieces of wood like the one in that picture. Unfortunately our craft store only had one. Since I have 2 kids, that wouldn't work. I had to think of another way to make this. A few days later, an idea hit me out of the blue. This is what I came up with...

Supplies:

Plastic VHS covers, cut in half with an Exacto knife. You could also use a CD case
Patterned and plain scrapbook paper - 1 of each per hanger
Glue stick
Scissors
Decorative scissors (the ones that cut squiggly lines)
Clothes pins
Yarn or string
Duct tape
Sharpies
Plastic wall hangers


Using the patterned paper, cut it to fit the front of the case.

Cut a 2 inch strip of the plain colored paper. Write your message on this strip. Glue to the top of the patterned paper.

Glue the paper to the front of the case.

Glue a clothes pin on the front, towards the bottom so you don't cover your message.

Cut a piece of string or yarn to your desired length. Duct tape it to the back of the case.

Pick a spot on your wall where you want to display your child's work. Hang you wall hanger. I used the Command brand micro hooks. If you use these, wait at least an hour before you use them.

When your child brings home work worthy of displaying, you can proudly hang it on the wall for everyone to see.




Until next time...

I should go back to school

My midgets returned to school Monday. Can I get an Amen?!

I wasn't expecting any homework for them the first few days. It was me that I was worried about. There's the emergency contact form, the allergy form, the can you sign this after you go through the handbook with your child form, the who is picking your child up after school form, the media release form... need I go on or do you get the picture? Now multiply that by 2.

And add a few more. Sigh...

Along with the standard papers that come home every first day of school for the past 4 years I've been doing this school gig, GG had some additional forms. I was spared going through the handbook with her, but had to go over the policies for not one, but 2 teachers she has this year.

Just when I thought I had every "t" crossed and every "i" dotted, I saw them. The questionnaires. *insert daunting music here*

There was the form from her actual teacher. What subjects does your child excel at? What subject does she struggle with? What are her hobbies? Name 5 things about your child's character. Easy questions and I think my child's teacher should know more about her early in the year so there aren't any surprises along the way.

Then I came to the questions from GG's math teacher. This teacher saw my girl compete in a math competition last year. She knows she excels at math. She even commented to me about GG doing problems above her grade level (actual proud mom moment here). Due to that experience, it probably wasn't necessary for me to fill out those questions, but I did so anyway. They were easy peasy. Until the last one.

That would be the question where I completely blanked out and forgot how to spell. And I wrote in pen. Now GG's math teacher probably wonders how a smart child came from such a dumb parent who can't even spell.



For more Proud Mommy Moments (or "proud)
go check out Emmy and Kmama






Unlike the husband, I actually do know how to spell and rather well, thankyouverymuch. There's just a handful of words that I constantly misspell and one of those ended up on that questionnaire.



Until next time...

Whirlwind

Yesterday was Little Dude's family birthday party. I would love to share some pictures of the awesome gifts he got, but I was too busy being anal about wrapping paper being all over the floor enjoying the moment.

He did get some pretty awesome, and much needed things. There were Legos, bug catcher equipment, airplanes, and tons of clothes. Little Dude didn't care much for the clothes, but I was over the moon about them. That means one less kid I have to buy school clothes for!

The best part of this party, at least in my opinion, were the cupcakes. With the exception of 2 or 3 birthdays for GG, I have always made their cakes. I think it's more personal and the kids love helping me decide what to make. Having them decide their cake can be good or bad depending on their choice.

Between my mom and my sister-from-another-mister, I found a few cute ideas. When I presented them to Little Dude, he went with the corn on the cob cupcakes.





I think the trick candles put them over the top. I don't think the Dude really thought I would buy him the trick candles he kept asking me for.




I really wish I could have some down time after this party. Parties (and family) are always exhausting! Instead of taking a day to rest, I need to get ready for vacation. The panic of what to pack and me pre-departure to-do list is going to kill me. It probably wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't such a procrastinator! That and we haven't taken a vacation in 7 years. I'm freaking over the possibility of forgetting something little yet trivial, such as a toothbrush or Tylenol.

I know I'll get it together on time to leave. Just because I'm panicking doesn't meant you have to. I am taking my computer, but I probably won't get a chance to blog, Facebook, or tweet. I promise to come back next week with a proper vacation post as well as a post on how I made those cupcakes.



Until next time...

A moment

On the wall to the left of the table where my computer sits, I have pictures hanging.




The top is of GG, a few days after she was born. Below are both of babies, taken last summer.

When I look at those pictures, not only am I reminded of how much love I have for them, I am reminded of how fast time goes. The days were long, but the moments were fleeting. Days like last Friday remind me of just how fast the time flies.


Our grocery store doesn't always carry the brands that I prefer to buy. When I need something they don't have, a grocery trip is usually followed by a trip to Target. This was the case Friday.

I picked up what I needed and I decided to browse the store with the kids. Call me crazy, but I did have a purpose. I needed Little Dude to point out some things he would like for his birthday (which is tomorrow- eek!). I also needed to buy a certain article of clothing for GG.

I have noticed things when she steps out of the bath. Her body is starting to change. Up until Friday it wasn't noticeable when she wore clothes. The tank she decided to wear that day was a little snug. It finally hit home that I needed to buy my baby her first training bra.

It has been quite some time since I have had to buy one of those so I had no idea where they were in the store. By the way, they are NOT with the regular bras. The regular bras that my 5 year old son had to touch. Every.Single.One.

Once we found some that were appropriate, she began to look for one she deemed pretty enough. And by appropriate, I mean not padded. What kind of message are we sending to our 9 year olds by making padded bras in their size?!

She finally found some she liked and we made our way to the checkout.

I am so glad that I was able to share that moment with my daughter. I know some girls who do not have a mom to help them through moments like that. But as proud as I was, I also shed a tear.

My baby is growing up. I am deathly afraid of what the fourth grade will present me with come August.


*If any moms of daughters around this age have some advice, it would be greatly appreciated. I need to know what is coming in the following year so I can be prepared. Mentally and emotionally.


Until next time...

Phone Fail

Since the middle of last school year, GG has been asking for a cell phone.

"Everyone has one" (didn't work for my mom and it won't work on me!)

I found it hard to believe that every third grader had a cell phone. Every time I turned around it seemed like another third grade parent was complaining about their own child constantly asking for a phone. The husband and I, along with most of those other parents, didn't even bat an eye before saying no.

Did you notice I said "most' of those parents? Apparently some parents have caved. I respect their decision, but that doesn't mean that it will change my mind about buying my 9 year old her own phone. But what it might end up doing is sending me after one parent in particular. The parent who didn't explain any rules about calling her friends.


My children go to by 9. That is early compared to some kids who have the luxury of sleeping in. Just because it's summer vacation doesn't mean we get a break from taking the husband to work every morning. My kids need their sleep or else it gets ugly the next day.

Wednesday night I had put the kids to bed. I came downstairs to blog, Facebook, and work on my never-ending sweater. At 9:30 my phone rang. I don't talk to very many people because I prefer to text and those few people I do talk to have their own ring tones. This ring tone was the one for other people. Ever since I was a child, if someone called after 9 9n the evening, it wasn't a good thing. Naturally I started to freak out. I looked at the caller ID and quickly realized that it was a friend of GG's. Since she was in bed I let it go to voice mail, which her friend failed to leave.

Thursday morning, just after 8, we were walking Little Dude up to the school for his summer camp. My phone rings again. It is GG's friend again. It wasn't a good time to talk since so again, I let it go to voice mail. Which she failed to leave again.

Fast forward two hours - 10 am. My phone rings again. I'm sure you can guess who it was. Again. This time I handed my phone to GG. Her friend was calling to see if GG could join her and her family at a local amusement park over the weekend. I told her no because the day they were going is the day we have dinner plans with my in-laws. I felt bad GG couldn't go, but family comes first.

Twenty minutes later my phone rings yet again. I was outside and didn't even hear it ring. This time she left a message. The first part was a reminder about what to bring to this girl's sleepover tonight. In the rest of the message, this girl explained that they already had an extra ticket. If I changed my mind about allowing GG to go, please call her back. Apparently she thought I was saying no for shits and giggles?


By this point I was highly annoyed. She called after dark, first thing in the morning, and again until someone answered. Mid-afternoon, when I thought I had everything planned out as to what I would say to her dad when I saw him, my phone rings. Again, it's GG's friend. She was trying once again to get me to change my mind. I had GG explain to her that we had family obligations. She still continued to persist.

I was at a loss for words. Not only had she called me more times than I think she should have, she also gave me the pleasure of dealing with a miserable child the rest of the afternoon.

I really hate talking to parents about their child for something negative. I hated it when I worked in day care and I hate it now. Unfortunately, it looks like that is what I have to do.


Until next time...

Red mohawks and a walk

If you read yesterday's post, than you already know that the 4th of July is a busy holiday for us.

On the 4th itself, things really get busy. Especially this year.

Of course we all don our red, white, and blue. Little Dude wanted his hair sprayed red and blue again this year. Thankfully GG opted out of it. Last year, the red stained her hair for 2 months!









Along with the spray colors, Little Dude also wanted a mohawk. Surprising it held up most of the day! Please don't ask why he looks stoned in this picture. He has the same look in almost all pictures I take!

This year was especially busy because we were walking in the parade with the Girl Scouts. Little Dude was supposed to try and walk with the anti-bully group for the schools, but he somehow managed to stay with us girls.

While I walked with our troop and our lovely float built around a stroller

Little Dude took a ride in the van. The whole entire route!

After we successfully walked (and rode through) the parade, we made the trek back home for lunch. I had to make a quick trip to my mom's before heading to a picnic at a friend's house. I think this is a picnic we might have to go to every year. Both of my kids had friends there, as did I. As well as good food and good drinks! Everyone needs a little whipped cream vodka for the holidays!

As the sun began to set behind the storm clouds, a friend and I, with our 5 collective kids in tow, began our walk uphill to the high school stadium for the firework display. We found a good spot where everyone could see and my friend's stroller was easily accessible. As soon as a drum and bugle corps began to play, the sky opened up. For the second night in a row, we were caught in the rain. Thankfully my friend's husband, who volunteers for the 4th of July committee, was there. He found us a nice dry spot in the press box to wait out the storm.

The rain finally stopped and it only delayed the start of the fireworks by 10 minutes. We found a new spot to sit and waited for the show to start. It was well worth the wait!

Yes, this is a firework!
Pretty awesome, right?!

Wordful Wednesday by

and


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...

You do voodoo? Who knew!

For the past few days, I've been wondering if someone in this house knows voodoo. I think I might have to start watching my step and make sure I am nice to the little people that live here. Unless it's the husband's doing and that is just not nice!


A few weeks ago, Little Dude had circus day at school. Each child took in a stuffed animal to train and the class showed off their animal's tricks to the third graders next door. There were other games and activities they did throughout the day, but the best part seemed to be the balloons. One of the moms in the class makes balloon animals as a side job.

Little Dude came home with these...

He did the face of the white balloon. The gray balloon attached to the green balloon is an airplane. I still say it looks like a dog!

The dog airplane is long gone, but the face stayed for quite some time. It was startling to see that white face peer out at me from beneath a pile of stuffed animals, but one morning I had the scare of a lifetime. The round happy face had turned into this....

Did you see the teeth on that thing?!

Again, I would really like to know who in this house knows voodoo. Whoever can make shrunken heads is someone I do not want to mess with!!



Until next time...

A call no mom wants to get

Karma is a bitch. Plain and simple. I keep saying things and those things keep coming back and biting me in the ass.
I had been bragging for quite some time about my kids rarely getting sick while all their friends were dropping like flies. BOOM! Ear infection with one and pneumonia with the other.

Yesterday really solidified that karma is definitely not my friend. I received one of the phone calls no mother wants to get. A call from the teacher can be bad enough, but a call from the school nurse is never good.

I'm sure the nurse explained everything that she knew, but I only heard bits and pieces. Your son. Bathroom. Head. Doesn't remember what happened.

Oh shit!

I took a few deep breaths before I got in the car. The last thing I needed to do while freaked out was drive! Luckily the school is only around the corner.

What we think happened was my boy banged his head on something in the bathroom. If it wasn't the bathroom, it was the hinge of his classroom door. Anything is possible with Little Dude! How this injury was discovered, since he doesn't remember, was by a friend. One of Little Dude's classmates pointed out that he had blood on his neck. When he went to wipe it off, his teacher noticed that it was in his hair as well. This prompted a trip to the nurse's office.

The nurse explained that his cut didn't look deep enough for stitches, but the fact that he had no clue how it got there was disconcerting. Concussion was where my mind immediately went. And I'm sure hers, too.

Since we were unsure about him needing stitches, I really didn't want to wait in the ER to have them send me home. I would if I had to, but I thought to call our pediatrician instead. My favorite doctor (he really is!) looked at his head, asked a few questions, and did some test to rule out a concussion. Thankfully stitches were not on the agenda. We were sent home with directions to apply antibiotic cream and avoid sports, pools, and washing hair for a few days.


We don't have pool passes yet and my boy is quite happy to not have his hair washed. But how the hell am I supposed to keep him engaged in calm activities? This is obviously not something a boy who busts his head open is good at!



Wordful Wednesday by

and



Until next time...

Ice water and battle wounds

I can safely say that the kids are back in school and I am recovered from our 4-day weekend, save my sunburn. Our weekend started off pretty rough. Friday was rainy and chilly. That meant I was stuck in the house with two whiny kids. If that was a preview of summer vacation, I wanted nothing to do with it!

Luckily the weekend took a turn for the better. The sun was shining bright and the air was hot. After Friday, I took every opportunity to ship those kids of mine outside. Being a boy, Little Dude spent most of that outside time in the dirt. No matter how many times I tried to wipe him off, the dirt kept coming back!

Our water bill probably will probably be just as ugly!

GG took the more girly approach and chalked up any piece of cement she could find.

I think I like the girly feet better!

I think she opted for chalk over her usual kicking the soccer ball because goal practice is now banned. Yes, I want them to practice and love the sport, but I don't appreciate the huge crack that is now in my deck box!


Sunday was yet another day for my to ship those buggers outside. At someone else's house! I loaded the kids up to head to a picnic at a friend's house. Her children are friends of mine, and there were other little people who came and went throughout the afternoon.

All afternoon, the kids ran circles around the house. Literally! After a few hours, the adults became concerned. The temperature was teetering around 90 and all of their little faces were the shade of Elmo. A hospital trip was not on anyone's agenda, so we needed to cool those kids down and quick.

My friend, the party hostess, noticed that one of the plastic barrels holding some of the drinks was now more full of water than cans and bottles. Why not give it to the kids, right? Except it wasn't for them to drink.

And we may or may not have failed to tell the kids exactly where the water came from. Let's just say Little Dude was quite shocked when he dumped a full cup over his head. I hear ice water is a little chilly!

Now that our weekend is over, I think we can all look back and agree that it was a good one. The proof is on the kids, whose legs are covered with bruises, scrapes, and mosquito bites.

How was your holiday weekend?


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....

The nerve of some people

Yesterday was yet another crazy, busy day. Will it ever slow down?! Thankfully the craziness wasn't all bad.

The teachers at the kids' school and the 3rd graders got together to set up a thank you treat for the PTA. We had cards from most of the teachers thanking us for all the PTA did for teacher appreciation week. Each day the teachers received something, with a luncheon at the end of the week. The teachers were very appreciative, especially since our school was the only one out of the four to do something for our teachers that week.

The thank you treat for the PTA members was an appetizer bar and dessert bar. We had fruit, pretzels, meat and cheese, brownies, cake, cookies, and drinks. Sadly none of those drinks were alcoholic! Each of the 3rd graders made a place mat that all said things like "You rock" and "Thank for all you do". There were some funny ones, like the place mat with a picture of a broken crayon. The tagline read "You can fix anything with your magic". O the appple that said "Thanks for helping us worm our way out". Not sure what that meant, but I chuckled!

The final PTA meeting of the year was to follow our luncheon. The seven of us who are regulars (four of those being officers - sad) were joking that more people would show for the meeting because of the free food. We were surprised that only two other people showed. What amazed me was that they left after eating and didn't stay for the meeting.

Out of the 250 students in the school, almost all of them have at least one parent who is a PTA member. When it comes time to help for events and activities within the school, there are maybe 12 people who volunteer to help. For the meetings, I'm shocked when there are more than 7 people there. But offer free food and they come out of the woodwork.

The nerve of some people!



Until next time....