A Looong Week...

After our walking fiasco of Monday - Tuesday was spent as a prep day... preparing the many ways in which we would improve our Wednesday.  Did you know it's nearly impossible to find a regular tape player these days...  of course all my books on tape are exactly that "on tape" and finding a small tape player was much more reasonable than buying new stories on CD!  Oh, that reminds me - I really need to call Radio Shack in the morning and tell them to go ahead and sell that walkman they were going to hold for me when it came in...  they don't even stock them anymore... because really, who needs one?  In the process of finding all the books on tape I ran across a stash of old 80's music...  which is about as useful to me as that stash of crayons... hmmm, this recycle art project could get really interesting...

Of course things went about half as well as we'd planned (that's pretty typical) since M refused to wear shoes (at least then she stayed IN the stroller) and would not listen to the same book twice... so we have to bring a couple of tapes for the trip there and back.  Whatever works right?  Wednesday was also S.E.P.s - which, for those of you who are not "in the know" stands for Student Educational Plan and is a fancy shmancy way of saying Parent Teacher Conferences.  This early in the year they are basically another back to school night - but you actually get to talk to the teacher in this one.  My brilliant children H and P were of course given good reviews by their teachers and I came home feeling like maybe, just maybe, we will survive another school year.  

Wednesday night was also "game night" at the church building - where a few people who actually enjoy board games can get together and play for a little while.  Seeing as a good friend of mine was in charge and I actually do enjoy a good game - I went and enjoyed myself.  There will not be future game nights as there were just 4 of us, but I may have a few new games that I will have to try out another time!

Thursday - that's today right?  The walk to school felt like a race to see if P could get far enough ahead that I would give up on walking near him.  Apparently being walked to school by your mother isn't "cool" after 2nd grade?  That or the girls just walk unbelievably slow... I'll go with that explanation as I really am unwilling to give up my "cool" quite yet!  I spent a good long time talking with childhood friends and catching up with them - with much thanks to Q's parents who located my long lost calling card - I didn't feel badly at all using minutes that I thought were lost forever!  Q had "ministering night" and M and I went to her preschool open house where she actually acted shy for a few minutes... don't know where that came from, but once good buddy A was there - and C whom she has a little 4 yr old crush on - she was a bouncy flouncy girly girl as always.  I concluded my day by walking with a neighbor around the local park for an hour wishing that the lights would illuminate all parts of the trail!

Now that my week has involved enough activities - I have decided to do nothing tomorrow.  If only - I will actually spend the morning at the car dealership having them repair my left turn signal because I am getting very tired of mapping out every trip around town with only right hand turns!

Enjoy your holiday weekend - I'll see some of you soon (those who live where I am visiting) and you others, well, I'll be back next week with lots of fun stories to tell I'm sure.  Family is always worth at least one good tale!

Killing two birds with one...

oh wait, maybe "killing" isn't the word to use - unless you're talking about my back... 

This morning I decided that we were going to be EFFICIENT and while walking to school we would satisfy one of P's scout requirements by picking up litter on the way.  Nobody was very excited about the prospect but I left the house armed with a backpack with gloves, trash bags, and a water bottle.  M was happy to come along for the walk as long as she could bring "checkers bunny" and a little pet rock who doesn't have a name but is the younger sibling (sometimes sister, sometimes brother) of "Rocky" (always a girl).  

Well, about 1 1/2 houses up the hill (still a mile from the school) M tells me "my knees are getting sleepy" and this is where I should have seen it comin' - but no... not me, we truck up to the intersection where we meet the neighbor and let her knees have a little rest.  Out comes the neighbor with her twins in a stroller and we are off like a herd of turtles...  very determined turtles who happen to be picking up trash!

It doesn't take long before one of the pieces of trash puts a small hole in the bottom of the bag which then releases a steady stream of someone's discarded Hawaiian Punch and other unpleasant liquids - but P carries on with a grimace on his face.  By the time we crossed the main intersection (about halfway to the school) M was DONE.  She wasn't moving, she wasn't even standing anymore - every once in awhile she would go about two sidewalk squares ahead (to see something I was pointing out) but now I am wishing I had never prompted even one extra forward step.

After a long rest the neighbor had caught up (after going all the way to the school and delivering my children for me) and it was time to go home...  it's all downhill so M should be happy right?  Oh no, now she is sitting on the sidewalk and refusing to move a muscle... especially those muscles which cause the corners of her mouth to turn up.  This could get ugly.  Despite much begging I finally picked her up with the agreement that I would carry her until we got to the red car and then she could walk to the corner where I would carry her again until another red car showed up.  Thinking we would turn this into a learning opportunity we discussed the color of each car along the way:  "Is that a red car?"  no, it's black  "Is that a red car?"  no, it's silver  "Is that a red car?"  (it WAS)  no, it's green.  Suddenly my daughter is colorblind as well as lazy.  If you could have seen the grin on her face when she was insisting each red car we saw was actually green, you wouldn't worry about her intelligence as much!  She did get put down a number of times - and occasionally took a few steps, but mostly I was glad for neighbors with more patience than I was in possession of this morning.  We spent a lot of "rest breaks" in the shade waiting for me to feel able to cart around a 4 year old again.  Amazingly, about 3 houses from home she got a burst of energy and began to run down the hill - which lasted up until she was told that No, it is a little too early to go bugging A if she can play!

So now you know why my back is killing me - and I'm going to take a moment to have gratitude for Ibuprofen.

Tomorrow, I'm staying home and letting her brain rot in front of the television - take THAT you educational opportunities!

Update!  Tomorrow we will try again - with stroller along, some books on tape, and her very own water bottle - I need the exercise!

Lazy....

I have been meaning to get my house more organized the past few weeks... more than one fellow blogger (tracey and laura) have posted their successful before and after pictures and try as I might, my after pictures were looking, well - worse.

So yesterday - my dear sweet spouse took all the kids for an evening hike (after they did their own chores... with a little prodding and pushing) while I finished washing and folding all the laundry, straightening up my scrapbook room, and going through the "trash stash" - which is what I affectionately call the pile of important papers that resides next to my bedside table... usually they're not as important by the time I get around to them as they were when they went into the pile.

It's far from perfect - and no, I didn't take any before and after pictures - but it was a nice relaxing evening getting things done that stayed done...  until of course the children came home and took their Saturday night showers - I now have a load of towels and a load of hiking clothes all waiting to be washed.  I love that they all came home exhausted - straight to bed!  They'll be waking up soon though, so I'm enjoying the last few minutes of peace, quiet, and clean!

Celebrity Fashion Influence

Back to School has already happened here - all the school shopping is done, and what a close call!  It's a good thing I didn't know about the money saving tips that were on CBS this morning - The little boy wearing a $45 messenger bag over his $35 corduroys, $35 plaid shirt, $25 graphic tee and $30 newsboy hat (with apologies if I misremembered - or purposely overstated - any of the numbers)...  and then the lovely trend of metallic shoes - inspired by celebrity fashion trendsetter Suri Cruise, who wore her silver Mary Janes all summer and has set the fashion world on end thereby.

I think I'm going to be ill...  but maybe that's because I'm wearing my $7 pants from Ross and two shirts that were less than $20 combined...  I'm apparently underdressed even for the toddler set!

Is our world really this shallow - or is it just the news?  I spend a LOT of time at my kids' schools - and I have yet to see a little boy come traipsing in with his GQ inspired newsboy hat (ahem, hats aren't even allowed in any schools my kids go to) or a little girl with her metallic flats (yeah... play kickball in those!)

I'm sure T would love it if I had that kind of a back to school shopping budget, but then he'd just buy more of the reasonably priced stuff and not blow it all on one outfit!  

Okay - I'm done venting... almost - you should have seen the little $70 dresses that these kid models were supposedly going to wear to school... what little boutiques are they shopping at - and don't they have Targets in New York???

A Major Award

My award for witty writing arrived in the mailbox yesterday - with much thanks to ColdCocoa and her daughter A for awarding such a prestigious honor - and for those who are just joining us you can see the contest here to check out all my stiff competition!  The promised prize was this:

As you can see by the next picture - the prize which arrived was MUCH better... don't hesitate to participate in contests sponsored by this blogger - she will not disappoint.

To be perfectly honest, the melting together of all the gummi worms was entirely my own fault for many many reasons:  1-I never check my mail... this extends to never getting around to mailing anything, which is what prevents me from doing my own giveaway until I am more disciplined  2-I did choose to live where the heat extends until Halloween (ahhh... gotta love costumes with shorts) 3-okay, there are really no more reasons - but just to set everyone's mind at ease I did not let M consume that entire blob, we pulled of a few for her and P has laid dibs on a significant chunk for after school!  Of course, being the poet laureate of cloudy days, I will have my own share as well!

In other news - I am shocked and dismayed at the amount of time I can now waste on the computer... even without playing boggle here or pictionary  -ACK!  I removed a link here because after not playing it for a long time I remembered in the middle of the night that it's sometimes a little hard to find decent people to play with - and that I can't stand the language...  THAT's why that didn't last long!  Now I've discovered Facebook (had to check it out for the kids after all...) and it's a weird kind of trip... you pick whether it's a trip down memory lane or a trip to the loony bin.  I have officially put myself on a 30 minute a day MAX diet or else it will likely become an obsession.  Frankly, with the life I have - there's no time for obsessions!  On the plus side - that little bit of a guilty "ugh, I need to DO something" feeling really gives me the kick in the pants I need to get the house spic and span :)

It Goes Both Ways... a.k.a. - TWINS!

Just to prove that it's not just my girl being a bit obsessive - M got dressed this morning and went (where else) next door to A's house.  On arrival there A took one look at her and realized she had that exact same shirt... and pants... and barrette... I'm not going to ask if they were both wearing Tinkerbell undies - I don't want to know.

  

They even ended up with the same hair-do, yellow pony-tail holder and all!  I think I could take them out and claim to have twins - well, except that the fact that A is 4 inches taller than M - and they really don't look alike - and the fact that I would have to give up the claim immediately knowing that I am ever thankful that my own children have come in singles!  

Staying Out of It!

okay, so really I'm all worked up over IOC rules, age controversies, ridiculously backward scoring procedures, politics that I'm quickly tiring of, meetings that I don't want to be at, kids who won't just pick a pair of shoes and get on with it, and laundry and dishes that never seem to stay clean for more than 5 minutes.  But listen up - I am officially Staying OUT of all such volatile conversations and keeping my aura clean...  I have been known to be a hothead in the past sure... but not this time - after saying some choice things to the TV last night I'm done.  

Now I'm going to go and play Ponies and Pollies until my biggest gripe is that those darn Polly Shoes are too tiny.

Playing with a 4 year old is a nice way to relieve stress.  Unfortunately - she's next door with her "best friend ever" and Mom is left to decide:  Play Ponies and Pollies alone, or do the dishes... I wonder if Lila's dress will look good on the Pony?