Blue Monday - The Swing

Busy, Busy Weekend!

I had a great weekend.

My kids were home, the weather was fantastic and my husband was loving and sweet.

I read some books, watched some movies with my daughter (Barbie rocks) and made some jewelry. What more could I ask for?

Self Portrait Sunday - The Freshened Up Me!

To find out why I began Self Portrait Sunday, see my first post here.

So, while I liked the original photo of myself, I decided to play around with it and brighten up my face. My mother had blue eyes and I always wanted to see if I would look more like her if they were blue. I also airbrushed some wrinkles and sun spots. I like the look. My husband says, "I would do her." Umm...should I be happy or insulted I am not sure. Especially, since I don't feel I look that much different.

Camera Critters - The Spider

This past weekend we had a little spider problem. They came down right in front of the sliding doors and they were huge. They are eating well which is good for us. I know it cuts down on the flying bugs but I cannot have these things above my head with the possibility of descending at any time.

My husband and I sprayed like crazy and this guy fell on the deck. He is dead, but I still couldn't take the picture of him. My husband was holding him in one hand and took the picture with the other hand. I was too busy jumping around, screaming.

Saturday 9-Sorry I'm late

Saturday 9: Thunking on a Saturday

1. You are walking down a rainy road. There is a five hundred dollar bill on the road. You look around and except for someone a half block away, you are alone. You naturally pick up the bill and put it away. That person approaching stops and says, "I saw you pick up that money. It's mine." You ask how much it was. She yells, "Are you calling me a liar?" What do you do? I would say, Liar? No, I asked how much it was. So, how much. If you can't answer that question, than it must be the one I just dropped."

2. If I were to inspect your guest bathroom, how would I find it? It is not a guest bathroom. It is my "husband's" emergency bathroom. It could use a good cleaning.

3. You are given a state of the art bow and arrow. Who or what is your first target (after a lesson or two)? My sense of humor must be taking a nap because I have absolutely no answer other than to say, the target I used at target practice. I would never shoot an arrow at someone or an animal. Unless I was staring in a horror movie or about the be mauled by an animal the bow and arrow would be used for target practice.

4. The doorbell rings. The person at the door is wearing a raincoat and you know them. They flash you and are completely naked. Other than your S/O, who would you think would it would be and would guess you'd find that funny? Why do you guess that person and would you laugh or be pissed off? If it was someone in my personal circle of friends I would laugh and think it was funny. If it was an acquaintance, I would slam the door shut and call 911.

5. What do you call a male Ladybug? Well, actually they are called Ladybugs too but you can't really tell the difference until I peak under their little red and black spotted shells.

6. Your friends throw you a party. They've got a big national music star to come and perform. It is someone you detest. Do you make believe you like the songs or do you fess up and get the star out of the party? If someone was to throw me a party I would have the time of my life favorite singer or not. The fact that people went through any kind of effort to do something nice is a blessing and I would tell them later that although the performer was not my favorite, I had the time of my life.

7. What's your favorite breed of wild, mean attack dogs? The kid that are in a cage and far away from me.

8. If I called your high school guidance counselor, what would they say about you? They would say, "Who?" I personally could not tell you the name of my counselor or what they looked like.

9. Car A is moving at 63 miles an hour. 4 people are in the Car A. Car B is moving at 22 miles an hour. There is a driver and passenger who just came from a hotel while cheating on their spouses in Car B. They will crash into each other in exactly 3.5 minutes. What are your fun plans for this Labor day Weekend while these six people meet a brutal and gruesome death?? Oh geez....well, I really have no idea what to make of this question. Since a bunch of made up people are the ones meeting this horrific fate I will ignore the first part and concentrate on the weekend. I just want to spend the weekend with my little family of 4. That is when I am happiest.

Amateur Book Review - Educating Esme

I received this book for review and was so excited to jump in. This is my son's first year of Kindergarten and I am a little anxious especially since his teacher was hired only 2 weeks ago.

Educating Esme is the diary that Esme kept on her first year of teaching. I was impressed with how savvy, and self assured this newbie was, however on the inside she is full of insecurities as a new teacher. She knows what she wants and will step on the necessary toes to get it! She wants to be addressed as Madam Esme' by her class. I love it! Esme' is the kind of teacher I wish the schools had more of. Someone who gets kids excited about being at school by being firm, strict, yet fun, kooky and unafraid to jump out of the cookie cutter teacher mold and be different.

If I were a teacher, I would hope to be like her. Wearing costumes to school, rollerskating, dancing in the middle of class.

This book should be mandatory reading for all teachers, principals and bureaucrats.

More children would be willing to learn if school wasn't set up as a prison.

It is going to be an interesting year for me and I will be one of those parents that the school knows by name. I plan on being very involved and doing right by my son. I don't believe that the school always knows the best and I want to help the teacher, help me, make sure that my son has the best experience possible.

Educating Esme is full of practical tips and advice for teachers. On my visit with the teacher, hopefully today, I will be handing her my copy of this book and ask that when she is done to please pass it back. I know a certain principle that could use some tips on making school fun.

If you have a chance to read this book, I highly suggest it. Esme is entertaining and opens our eyes to 

I Always Knew I Would Be One of THOSE Parents

It is only the second day of school and already I had a conversation with the principal. Yeah, I'm one of THOSE parents, what of it.

Nothing bad happened I just thought that it was unfair that my son's class had to wait 15 minutes to be taken into school today.

Here, let me paint the picture.

School starts 8:50 a.m.
We got there at 8:45 a.m.
The buses started coming in at 8:55 a.m.
Bus 1 lets out and the teachers aids starts putting together single file groups of children by teacher's name (4 teachers). I send my son over to his line.
The first group heads into the school
The second group heads into the school
The third group heads into the school
My son's line remains standing.

Bus 2 arrives, lines are formed and my son's line added onto by the new kids coming off the bus.
The first group heads into the school
The second group heads into the school
The third group heads into the school
My son's line remains standing.

Bus 3 arrives, lines are formed and my son's line added onto by........blah, blah blah
The same thing happens with the lines going into the school.
What the hell???

I walk over to the aid in front of my son's line and ask, "Will this happen every morning, where these kids are held here until the last bus?" She says, "this line?" I say, "Yes, this line, my son's line."

She says, "yes, probably."

Umm...so after the last of the lines from bus 3 head in my son's very full (19 kids) heads in.

WTF?

So, now it is 9:15 and my son has been standing in front of the school waiting patiently to go in since 8:45 a.m. Why am I getting there on time if this will happen every day?

How can you expect 19 kindergarten kids to remain standing in single file for over 20 minutes while they watch the other classes head in.

Here's the thing, my son's class teacher and room is new. There was a boom in registration and they had to get a fourth class. They put the fourth class on a different floor because they didn't have room in the kindergarten wing. There are 3 flights of stairs to get to the second floor and obviously the aid doesn't want to do the trip up and down. The other aids who head in after each bus simply stay on the ground floor. Those kids get to come in off the bus ride or mom's car and have some down time before class begins.

Not, my son's class who have to remain standing and then head into class to sit at desks until 3:20.

The fact that the classroom is on a different floor is not the problem of the students this is a problem for the school.

If the aid has a problem going up and down everyday, maybe they could get a back up aid or the teacher could come down and take the first group and second group up while the lazy aid (not nice, I know) waits for bus 3.

As my son's class headed in and the principal turned to follow I said, "excuse me, can I ask you something?" Then I asked him exactly what I asked the aid. I also told him that I understood it was only the second day and that I wasn't looking to start trouble but I felt it was unfair for that last class to wait there while they watch 9 groups walk into the school before them. That it was unfair to expect those kids to stand in single file before school for 20 minutes and then head up into a classroom and be expected to not be a little hyped up after a 20 minute ride to school and then a 20 minute stand in line like a solider. I even offered to walk a group up if he needed a volunteer.

He laughed about the volunteer thing, "ohhh noooo..hahahaah"...then talked about it being the first few days and working the kinks out. He also said he would talk to the teacher and see if they could work something out.

I highly doubt she was spoken to but I intend on speaking with her myself, just to let her know how well behaved they are outside and that I would be willing to walk a group up.

It just seems unfair to think that children 4-6 should be expect to stand in line for so long when it is not their fault that the class is on another floor. It is the schools problem and they have to make amends for it. It has to be handled and if I see the same thing tomorrow, I will have to head into Mr. Principal's office just to once again.

Other than that, my son had another fantastic day.

The aid who I had spoken to in the morning told me that he had a great day and that he is a fantastic listener. As if I didn't know.

Ahhhhh...and so it begins. PTSA, here I come are you ready????

1st Day of Kindergarten Is Over

So, the first day has come and gone. My girlfriend took a picture of her son with my son this morning. Thankfully she did because I didn't get any pictures of him at school.

He was very excited to start today. Notice the silly face. For some reason the silly face is in and it unfortunately is here to stay.

I had everything ready the night before thinking that the morning needed to run smoothly because I wasn't sure how he would be.

He got dressed, was a little quiet on the way to school but that is typical. He is waaaay more quiet than my daughter who needs to fill every moment with words.

We met his father in the parking lot and walked to the school. I spoke to all the moms I knew from the past few years and everyone seemed quite comfortable. I believe my son and maybe 4 others were the only few who didn't take the bus. I will be driving and picking him up while I can.

While he was getting dressed he asked, "you will pick me up at 12:00 p.m?" (This was the time I picked him up for the past 3 years in preschool). I told him, "no, I will be there at 3:00." Actually he gets out after 3:00 but I didn't want to shock him anymore than he would be. He said, "no...I want to be picked up at 12:00. If you pick me up at 3:00 it will be night time soon."

When I picked him up, I sat poised with my cameras waiting for him to come down the stairs. He was the last one out, waved at me with a "hey mom", waited for his class to get through the door and then came over to hug me. I was proud that he didn't run for me through the line. He said, "I was looking for you all day. Shhhhheesshhhh, I was tired!" When I asked when he was tired he said, 1:00.

He got to play an hour of Wii. I took him and his sister to McDonalds to eat. We never eat in because I prefer to drive through and eat in the comfort of my own home. We ate there, he was so happy. We headed home for homework. One little work sheet where he had to write his name 8 times.

He said, "I love my school mom."

Hopefully tomorrow he is just as enthusiastic.

I am happy everything went well and he seems happy. There is a note going to school tomorrow because I would like to know what time they do lunch and what time they do snack. Also, his sweatshirt didn't come home and no one helped him open his water so he came home with 2 bottles of water, drinking out of the fountain instead.

Other than that....everything seems peachy keen jelly bean.

I am so proud of you J. You are amazing and we can't wait to see all the changes you make this year. I am mostly looking forward to the sign language that you are going to learn this year. Maybe you can teach me.

Tonight I read him the Kissing Hand which is the book that was read to him in school today. I love that book. It really is a great first day of school book.

ABC Wednesday- Round 5 - G

We headed to the zoo yesterday and my son spent a lot of time gazing at this huge snake.

My kids are also growing! I had them stand by this same sign last year.
Here they are this year

Here they were last year
Then we have G for well, obviously, goats.
While at a friend's, the kids had their first exposure to Gardening

Wendy's New Boneless Chicken Wings Review

As part of a blog tour sponsored by Mom Central on behalf of Wendy's, I was given a $5.00 gift certificate to order and try for myself Wendy's latest creation.

We all know that all the fast food restaurants aren't just about burgers anymore. They have added all kinds of alternatives and there is something for everyone.

When I heard Wendy's was putting out a boneless chicken wings made with 100% whole chicken breast, get hand tossed in one of three sophisticated flavors: Bold Buffalo, Honey BBQ, or Sweet & Spicy Asian.
I love me some chicken wings and boneless chicken wings are my favorite appetizer when I go out to eat. So, how would Wendy's hold up to some of the sit down restaurants?

We went through the drive through, got the kids their kid mealy thing while I ordered the boneless chicken wings with honey BBQ.

When I got home, I sat down and opened my container of boneless wings. Ok, they smelled awesome. They look like Wendy's chicken nuggets. In fact, they were Wendy's chicken nuggets with some sauce poured over them. One nugget was minus the sauce. I handed the dry one to my son who had finished his nuggets.

I took my first bite and thought, ummmm....the sauce is realllllllly good.

Who will like these? Anyone who loves Wendy's Chicken Nuggets.

When I called my girlfriend to talk for the day, she asked if I had tried them yet. I told her yes and that I thought they were ok. She on the other hand thought, "they were slammin!!!"

Let me translate, she thought they were awesome, the best, they rocked, wicked good and all that.

In A Nutshell: Some people love them, and some people think they are ok and a good alternative to a burger. I will try the Bold Buffalo boneless chicken wings next time. I love me some Bold Buffalo sauce!!!

Flu Season is Around The Corner

The kids are in school!

In a few weeks, as the weather gets colder, we start hearing about kids out with a cough, the sniffles, or some other bug that makes is lovely way around the little darlings in your kid's class room until it settles nice and snug in your little ones.

The fever, the chills, the cough time to stock up and go through the medicine cabinet to check expiration dates.

Temple read thermometer technology provides the accuracy of the traditional oral thermometers, with the convenience of a non-invasive reading.

This came in very handy because my daughter suddenly became a radiator sitting next to me the other day. The heat was radiating off her body and I knew this meant something was running through her system. I asked if her throat hurt, her chest, her ears? She informed me that nothing hurt yet the body was on fire. I took her temperature with the ear thermometer and it told me that her temp was 101.8. The mailman dropped off a package. It was the Temple Touch Thermometer. I took her temp right away and it showed the same. Got to love that, in 6 seconds I got the same reading on the Temple Touch Thermometer which retails for $12.99 as I got on the $69.99 Ear Thermometer.

Ruby Tuesday - Red Barn

My 1st Baby Starts Kindergarten Tomorrow

Tomorrow my first born begins Kindergarten. I have so many things going on in my head as I try to rectify this in my life. He actually should be starting 1st Grade so I should be happy that I had an extra year with him to enjoy his being home but I am still so sad. Actually, sad is not the word I would use. Maybe sad, makes it sound like I am crying, nervous, and heartbroken that my baby is growing up. This is not the case at all. I am excited for him. He is going to learn so many new things this year and I know that I have to let him fly and can't keep him in our little, safe cocoon forever but I wish I could. Not that this would be fair to him but I want to hold my babies as long as possible. It all changes to quickly.

I am very comfortable that he will be in good hands at school. His teacher, new to our school district and hired only about 2-3 weeks ago seems amazing and energized. I have met her 3 times and think he will do very well in her class as will the rest of his classmates. I am afraid of the changes in his schedule. The day is so long 8:50 - 3:20. I will only see him for 4.5 hours a night. He wakes at 6:15-6:30 which means a lot of down time from the time he wakes until school, then a long day, snack, play, dinner, bedtime and then all over again.

The schedule beside the fact that I will be missing so much of his day to day life is one of the reasons I have thought of homeschooling. That, and the fact that I believe school, teachers, bureaucrats, classmates and others now have too much influence on who he is going to become.

Putting him to bed tonight, I looked at him long and lean in his bed, holding his teddy bear and listening to his classical music as he has since he was born just tore at my heart. I haven't cried yet and I am hopeful I will not. Mostly, I am going to hold onto the fact that he is going to learn so much at school and I pray that he learns to love it.

God willing we will all eventually come out on the other end of this schedule change, happier, better people.

To find out why I held him back one year see this post.