A New Rant...Beware!

Well, if you follow the blog at all, you may remember my issues with field trips. In the same vein, my newest rant is about Book Fairs at school. Now, before I begin, please understand that we can open our own library with all of the books we have around here. If we ever stopped visiting Amazon or CBD, I feel sure that they would see a sharp decline in business and be concerned, very concerned. Not to mention, we have teachers all through our family line. Books are like food, water and air to my children and me. So, the issue isn't with books or the buying of books.

My issue is with the PUSHING of buying books at SCHOOL where the children are to be LEARNING.

It's bad enough that we get the Scholastic fliers (mini catalogs) every several weeks that cause a great deal of "discussion", anger, and tears when I refuse to buy from them. Then TWICE a year they bring to school huge, rolling bookshelves full of books that the children go visit and make wish lists. Those lists come home for parents to look at (i.e., write a check for) and the children go BACK to buy those books. Oh, and please be aware, they are filled with great literary pieces like Spiderman/Batman comic books, AJ & Ally (two sisters from the Disney world) mystery books and High School Musical poster books. And don't even get me started on the assortment of pencils, erasers and sharpeners (that break before they even get home) that are sitting at the check out place.

Now, call me old fashioned, but I think my children are at school to LEARN, not buy books. If a child doesn't get to buy a book during Book Fair, they feel as if they have missed out on something. This little money making scheme is promoted as "raising money for the school" otherwise known as fundraisers.

Wait, isn't that what my TAXES are for? Do we really need to use our children to raise more money? Is it really effective to use the children buying literary fluff to raise money so that they can learn better at school? I'm not seeing the common sense here!

Needless to say, it gets expensive to buy all of the books to "raise money for the school" when you have 5 kids. My kids did buy books today, except Collin, who came home in tears because he didn't have enough money to get what he wanted. Now, we need to go back tomorrow and see if they have what he wants. Oh, the joy of it all.

A New Car!

We are now the proud owners of a new to us 2008 Atomic Blue Civic. (Believe it or not , that color was Gary's choice.) We spent much of the day at the Honda dealership with a very nice saleswoman. At one point we left because Gary didn't think we were getting the best price. At lunch I reminded him that we hadn't looked at the "pre-owned" car, just new 2009's, so we went back. Just for the record, 2008 & 2009 are exactly the same except that the '08 doesn't have a USB port. Waaaaaah, I don't know what that is for anyway! So, we decided on the less expensive, under 10,000 mile 2008. I think Gary is glad. Here he is with his NEW CAR!

Leaving for work this morning in his new ride. I sure hope his new car makes driving fun.

R.I.P.

It happened at 5:45 this morning. Gary's car finally died. He has been looking for a new one (for weeks!), but didn't pull the trigger. Now we HAVE to get a new one-TODAY. Not a great day, since I was supposed to go on a field trip with Kaylyn, Danny and Collin today. (The trip is to the Environmental Center-outside all day in 90 degree weather-not exactly my cup of tea. Okay, in an effort to be honest, I was looking for a way out...maybe even prayed for it...but didn't think God would answer it like this!) So, if you have a minute, please pray that we can find Gary a car that he likes, we can afford, gets great gas mileage, is fun to drive, and we can bring home today. He needs to go to work tomorrow! I'm not sure if I should be excited or disappointed.

Hot Sunday Weather

Just what do you do when the weather is over 90 degrees on a Sunday afternoon in April?

What could be more fun than a little hose on the trampoline?

Saturday Soccer

It was HOT today. Really, really HOT! I'm not sure what happened to spring, but we went from cold to hot here! It was over 90 degrees today and our soccer games were at noon and 12:45. Needless to say, the boys were overheated and exhausted. Sadly, we had two losses, but our boys did really well.

I can't believe just how much real estate Nathan can cover playing center midfielder. His throw in is a true weapon for his team and he had to throw in more in this game than ever before. The other coach was so impressed that he pulled Nate over after the game to complement him. That was really nice!

Collin and Danny, as usual, were tough on defence. We aren't really sure what the coach is doing, but he wants them to play really far forward. It's a little hard to understand the new way of playing, but the boys are really doing a great job getting back when they need to. I love to watch them play together. It's awesome to see them cover for one another. It's so natural for them to watch one another and help when needed. It's almost not fair...almost!

Even though they lost, it was a lot of fun to watch. I am so glad that they enjoy playing because I really enjoy watching!

Volunteer's Assembly

The elementary school had a Volunteer's Assembly today to thank all of the volunteer's for their service for the year. I missed last year's due to my Girl's Weekend, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Actually, to be truthful, I didn't want to go at all. I volunteer because I think it's the right thing to do and I don't need to recognized for it...at all! Anyway, Mom and I decided to go because the kids told me that their classes were doing something special and we wanted to support the kids. It turned out to be a nice performance. Here are the kids on stage, each class doing something different.

Much to my horror, after all the kids were done, each volunteer had to get up, state our name and what classes we volunteered in. Can't say I loved that, but the refreshments afterwards were nice.

Jump Rope Club

Kaylyn, Danny and Collin have participated in the Jump Rope Club at the elementary school all year. They meet an hour before school every Tuesday morning. I wasn't sure what a jump rope club did, but thought that it couldn't hurt to have a little more physical activity in our lives. Well, tonight was the "showcase" for the club. It was awesome! The kids did a great job! They first did a little performance and then we could walk around and the kids could teach us some moves. It was fun!Here is Danny jumping...I couldn't get a picture of Collin in action, but I promise, he looked JUST LIKE THIS! They were the fastest, most intense kids out there! It was so cool to see them so focused and FAST. You couldn't even see their rope while it was turning.

Even Claire tried after the performance. She wouldn't do the club this year because she didn't think she could jump rope. (Sadly she has a little of her Momma's perfectionism...if she can't do it perfectly, she's not gonna do it!) Maybe next year she'll try too!

Grammy and Grandpa Dud came to watch. Grammy's back hurt that night, or I am sure she could've showed the kids a thing or two. Word is that she was quite a jumper at one time.

Nathan all but started a riot. There were at least 10-12 kids crowding around him chanting, "Jump...Jump...Jump". Really, at one point, almost everyone in the room turned to see what was going on!Of course, being the cool middle schooler not wanting to look silly, he didn't want to. The kids kept it up and kept it up until...

He gave it a try and did great. All of the kids cheered and cheered for him. Aaaaaah, to be the cool older kid. What a life!

Stormy Skies

Storms are different here than where I grew up. The land is flatter here, so the storms seem to just roll across the sky without any hills to block their way. Usually you can see the storms coming from miles and miles away. Well, around 5:45 this evening, I opened the front door to let the puppy out for the 154th time and was greeted with this:

I was so shocked at how fast the storm blew up and how dark the skies were, I had to take a picture! It was a little scary, and I don't usually get at all worried about storms. Here is a little hole in the sky.

The clouds over our house...at 5:57 in the evening!

And the trees in our back yard.

Wow, it was amazing! It really made me hope Gary was almost home and so thankful that we weren't on the soccer field.

Picture Day!

Today was picture day at the elementary school. What is it about picture day that can start our day with DRAMA!?! Of course, the kids want to wear something "cool" and I want them to look "nice" because a. I am paying for them, b. The pictures go on MY wall and c. I buy the children nice clothes to wear, no matter what they usually choose, and want to have pictures to prove it! That being said, of course there was a clash of huge proportions both last night and this morning. (I really DID try to get it out of the way last night, we chose clothes and discussed what and why they were wearing those clothes, but of course the argument was renewed after a good night's rest.) I won't even go into the hair discussion for fear of my head splitting in two and spinning 360 degrees.

All I can say is I really don't want those pictures now. Each time I look at them I will be reminded of the LOVELY communication the children and I share. I will also be reminded of how much the kids enjoy looking nice to go to school...in their "church clothes". By the way, when did they become church clothes just because they had a collar and/or buttons? Really! All shirts with collars and buttons are labeled "church clothes" in this house.

Quick, someone remind me as to why this matters? Someone? Anyone?

Weekend Pictures

Here are the promised pictures from our weekend.

Our first stop was the grocery for some great snacks.

I was up and saw the sun rise. I thought I needed to take a picture as proof! It was beautiful, but I still went back to bed!

We had a wonderful dinner at Big Fish Grill. I had cashew crusted tilapia with coconut sauce over brown rice. We all had Neva's potatoes...Neva is sooooooo good to me once a year. Her potatoes are fabulous!

The empty shoes make you wonder if we will ever come back!

We were searching for shells. It was cold, but so nice to walk the beach.

The Girls of 2009!

Thanks for a fun time, girls. See you same time next year!

Great Weekend with the Girls

We had a super Girl's Weekend. What a huge blessing to get away for a while and encourage one another for several days. Much chatting, shopping, chatting, eating and chatting was done by all. Pictures soon-when I download them. A HUGE thank you to Gary for holding down the fort and Mom for helping out. With the exception of a meltdown from Claire on Friday night and a splinter in Claire's foot on Saturday, I think it went really smoothly for everyone here at home. I know the boys won their soccer games (Nathan scoring twice, Danny once, Collin with great defense) without my cheering. Great job guys! Maybe they don't need me to "direct" them from the sidelines...Hmmmm, something to think about.

It was nice to get away. It was nice to then come home. I think they missed me!

Good Luck to Daddy

Gary is on his own this weekend. I will be out of town, and he-being a wonderful, understanding hubby-is holding down the fort. I have stocked the frig and freezer with "easy" food, washed, folded and put away all the laundry, made sure that all soccer uniforms can be found, and left notes for all of the children in an effort to make it as easy as possible. That being said, it is no small task to handle everything over the weekend. I know he'll do great!

Thanks, Honey, for letting me get away! You are too awesome for words! ;) I'll be home in several days a more relaxed, fun, energized wife. Love ya!

Quiet Week

The kids are back into our routine. We've had a rainy couple of days, although the sun has shown his face today. Yesterday I ran errands all day in the rain. I came home looking like a wet mess! So glad I did my hair yesterday morning. I haven't found a way to hold an umbrella, push a full cart, load the car and stay dry in horizontal, gusting rain. Any ideas? Everyone was thrilled to have a well stocked house again. We were out of EVERYTHING!

It's that time of year again! Today, I have to pack for a Girl's Weekend. I leave tomorrow for a fun filled couple of days with a few girlfriends at the beach. I started this weekend about 5-6 years ago with a bunch of girls. Through the years, there have been different girlfriends that come and go, but we have managed to get away for one weekend a year. We start looking forward to it around Christmas. By the time spring rolls around, well, we are all READY to get away! It's great! I am a much better wife and mother when I have a little away time to relax and miss the kids They are happier/more appreciative when I have been away for several days. It's a win/win!

OH, by the way, we leave in about 15 hours and 41 minutes...not that I'm counting or anything!

The End of Spring Break

We had a super last day of Spring Break. Our friends, the Hutton's, came over for a visit this afternoon. We were having such a great time we forgot to take pictures. Let's just say it was the perfect end to our break.

I find myself, once again, in the strange place of being ready for the kids to go back to school on one hand, yet knowing I will miss them when they go on the other. I love having some time to get the shopping, cleaning, cooking, etc. without "extra help", but I do love having the kids at home with me. Sometimes I wonder if I am the only Momma that feels this way. Maybe the best of both worlds would be to have the kids in school 3 days a week all year around. Hmmmm, it's a thought for a perfect world. What do you think?

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to our Pappy. His day was yesterday. I am ashamed to admit that in all of the crazy of Easter, we neglected to give our Pappy a call. Happy Belated Birthday anyway, Pappy, from your Hee Haw kids. Please forgive us!

Happy Birthday to our Grammy. Her day is today! We celebrated yesterday along with our Easter celebration. Hope it's a great day, Grammy! Eat some cake!

****Note to self...We need more pictures with the grandparents. We don't have many good ones that I can find!****

Happy Easter!

We wish you the most wonderful Resurrection Day! We hope it is a day full of the wonder of Christ's love shared with friends and family.

Here we are with our baby cousin, Gabriel. He is so sweet, just one of the best babies on the face of the Earth. It was great to see him. (It was a little sunny!)

Easter Baskets

Tonight the kids watched some classic movies. Collin and Danny were watching Ten Commandments upstairs, the rest of us were watching The Sound of Music downstairs. Both movies ended at 11:00! This is a late night for us! It was even later for Gary and I because we needed to do Easter baskets after the kids were finally in bed.

For the first time ever, Gary helped out with filling eggs and getting the baskets together. It's usually so late that he is already in bed. It was nice to have some help! I tried not to go overboard with candy, but it's hard when you are buying for 5. It seems like you just don't have enough. Well, we did. Here are the baskets sitting waiting for children to find them in the morning.

Easter Creations

We made Easter cupcakes and cookies yesterday. The kids loved it. They think their creations are the most beautiful things ever! We used bunny shaped marshmallows, jellybeans and M&M's for the cupcakes. The cookies got just regular Easter sprinkles. It was fun even if Momma has a hard time letting the kids decorate to excess! I finally told them no more than 2 marshmallows per cupcake after Collin had one with about 8...he was trying to cover all of the green icing with bunnies!

Here are the boys goofing off to make momma yell about not eating the icing.

Don't you love the precise placement of the jellybeans? She's a hoot!

They are working hard on the cookies.

Finished products (My personal favorite is Collin's "Are we having fun yet" look. They really did have fun, but were sick of pictures by now.)

Total Failure!

I have been craving mac and cheese for several days. It's not something I make regularly because Gary doesn't like it. I couldn't find my regular recipe, so I found a new one online at a site I can usually count on for good recipes. Looked good, although a little different than I was used to-it had an egg in it and my old one didn't. So, today I finally made it.

YUCK-O!!!!

No one in my house liked it at all. Nathan yelled at me when he tried it. He wanted to know why I did that to him...it was just NASTY! Collin said it was just too cheesy and sticky. Danny said it was just gross. Claire said she just didn't like the spices. Couldn't I please just make it with noodles and cheese, no spices. Kaylyn, well Kaylyn took one look and, true to form, gagged. I threw it all away. (It was throw it away now or wait until it grew green in the frig. I choose to do it now!) What a waste of 4 cups noodles, 1 pound cheese, butter, an egg and seasonings.

I am bummed...and I am still craving good mac and cheese...and I don't have the ingredients to make another batch.

Pppffffftttt! I HATE it when a recipe doesn't come together. Makes me feel like a failure...a wasting food failure. I can hear in the back of my mind, "There are children starving in China you know!" Although to be honest, I don't think they would've liked it either! Even worse, Claire went to throw something away and burst into tears because I wasted all that food. (Yes, she does need a nap.) Never fear, my children are always here to make me feel better about myself...and my cooking!

A Good Day!

I had to go to my thyroid doctor today. Anyone that knows me well, knows that this is an issue for me. I HATE any doctor/dentist appointments! Not the regular, run of the mill unhappy with the inconvenience, but rather a true, through and through, HATE! As a matter of fact, I usually avoid them, run out of medicine, have to have the pharmacy call for a refill that they will only give if I call and make an appointment. It's not a pretty phobia, but it's one I have lived with my whole life. (It hasn't been helped by the fact that I have made several decisions, some against medical advice, that have turned out to be the correct ones. There is a reason that they call it practicing medicine, people!)

Anyway, my doctor decided that instead of going every 6 months, I can now go every 12 months. YAY! This is wonderful news. Thank you God that I have been so healthy-despite myself.

After the appointment, I had a wonderful day of shopping while Mom kept the kids. I have to say, I love Crate and Barrel, Potterybarn, Anthropology and Target. After today, they love me too! Thankfully, all but Target are too far away for me to visit too often. It was great to have an afternoon to myself without the stress of getting home before the kids. I feel somewhat relaxed and renewed...even on a day I had to see a doctor. I am so blessed that Mom enjoys keeping the kids for me and they sure love visiting with her. All in all, a great day was had by all!

Oh, and as a bonus, when I went to check in on Nathan at bedtime tonight, he gave me a hug and told me he missed me today. Wow, that's huge coming unsolicited from my 12 year old man/child! I think I just might savor this day for a while.

Flowers vs. Weeds

I was overwhelmed at the number of "flowers" my kids picked and brought to me. They saw dandelions in our grass and just HAD to bring them to me. And there were quite a few!

I am so thankful that I have children that look at dandelions and see beautiful flowers for Momma instead of ugly weeds in our grass. Look at my "symbols of love" from my kids.
I guess, for me, that's the way I choose to live my life. I want to see the beauty around me...not the weeds. (Yes, I know, I have a terminal case of Rose Colored Glasses!) I am so thankful that my kids see things through the same eyes. I don't think I can ever look at a dandelion the same way again. Now they are beautiful to me, thanks to my kids!

Don't Do It!

I know that this movie is getting good reviews. I checked. So, we went to see it...in 3D even! We even asked friends to go with us.

All I can say is...DON'T DO IT!!

Even the kids weren't that thrilled. You can see cartoons on t.v. that are just as entertaining. If you must see the movie, wait for the DVD. Although, my kids don't even want the DVD.

Well, the company was great and the popcorn good. The day wasn't a total loss! Oh, and we got these great glasses. Doesn't everyone look great?

My Little Entrepreneur

The other day, Claire comes struggling in from the garage with a very heavy box. She has loaded about 9 water bottles and a small bin of water bottle flavor mixes into the box and is trying to carry it around. Why?

"A dollar for a water bottle...the mix is free," she says.

"Honey, I have bought those bottles once already," says the Momma, trying to explain why I'm not going to shell out money.

"But I want money."

"I understand that, however, I am not going to buy water bottles that I can get out of the garage."

"Fine, can I go over to Grammy's? She'll buy some!"

And she did!

First Easter Celebration

We had our first Easter celebration today with Pap and Nana Pat at Red Robin. We decided to meet there as it is a good "meet in the middle" kinda place and one of the kids' favorite. (Actually, it's further for Pap and Nana Pat, but they say they don't mind.) It was great to see them. As always, we were spoiled with a wonderful meal and care package to bring home for Spring Break. Nana knows just what the kids will want to eat over the break! It's amazing just how much these children are loved! Thanks so much Nana Pat and Pap. We can't wait to see you again soon!

Sick

I have been sick for the last day and a half. I woke up yesterday morning thinking that last night's dinner really didn't agree with me. The longer I was awake, the worse I felt. I had the stomach flu! And, all of the kids were off school for the longest Spring Break known to mankind! I did manage to get to Nathan's 8:00 conference, but I was no good after that. It was so bad, I called Gary and asked him to come home early. I think I can count on one hand how many times I have done that through the years!

Anyway, after much rest-thank you Gary-and endless sleep, I am feeling half human again. I do feel awful that I missed the first soccer games of the season, but it wasn't a good idea to go today-there are only porti-potties there! The boys were quick to inform me that they would've won if I had been there.

Well, that's it! Have a great weekend!

Spring Break

Four of my children are starting Spring Break as of 3:30 today. Nathan will start his at 2:30 tomorrow. Why the difference? Well, elementary school has Thursday and Friday for conferences, while middle school has just Friday. Now, maybe it's me, but I think middle school is the time you NEED conferences. It's been my experience that, while I get no less than 4 copies of EVERYTHING in elementary school, I get nothing from middle school. I mean it, no checked papers, no school fliers, no rec sign ups...NOTHING!

I finally clued in and called the middle school today and asked to sign up for a conference. In the fall when I called, I was told I didn't need one because Nathan was on Honor Roll. This time I said I wanted one, Honor Roll or not. I just think it's important to touch base with the teachers that spend all day with my kid.

So, that being said, after conferences, we have Spring Break...it lasts until the Tuesday after Easter! I think that's the longest Spring Break I have ever heard of! I am glad to have the time with my kids, but I would really rather they get out of school earlier for summer. Oh well, no one asked me for my opinion.

Poor Claire was under the impression that she would be a second grader after Spring Break. She had a huge fuss when I explained that she would still be in first grade...it wasn't until after summer vacation she would be a second grader. Poor thing. She was really heart broken.

Oh well, wish us a happy, LONG break. I am sure we will keep busy! If you're in the area, stop on by.