Photos from the Elf

Ahh, at long last! Photos!! I tried out my Elf today, and I really like it. The Nikon touch screen is a sad excuse for a camera, in my opinion. The pics were so overblown-bright and GRAINEY (is that how you spell grainy? grainey?) Even the camera sales dude was not a fan, so with the proof in front of us, we chose the Elf. I'm adding a few of my shots from messing around with it this afternoon.

Not a bad dive for a 10 year old.....

Here you see the children exclaiming, "Hooray! Mother has a new photographical device!" Or maybe they're surrendering....
A very lop-sided view of the back garden. Next time I'll try to get a good shot of my day lilies and gladiolas.

A quickie.

With the kids at Meems yesterday and DaddyP shooting an afternoon wedding, I spent the majority of Saturday home alone. It would've been extra nice had the tile man not been here most of the morning. Since he was, I couldn't really do what I wanted (swim,) so I watched the BBC version of Jane Austen's Persuasion that I had Netflix'd. Can't say that I liked it overly much. Didn't care for Captain Wentworth AT ALL!! He was a creepy looking fellow in this version. So, Jose got finished with the tile around 1, and I went for my 2.5 and then sat by/in the pool reading and talking on the phone (mostly talking on the phone) for the rest of the afternoon.
The kids called and asked if they could spend night #2 with Meem and Pop last night, so PDaddy and I went on a date after his wedding yesterday afternoon. We had dinner at Carabba's, and PDad fell in love with their Trout Wulffe. It was pretty tasty, but I stuck with the Chicken Bryan. Gotta love goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes. We left there and headed to Bath and Body Works, so I could restock on some items (their Semi-Annual sale starts Monday, they'd like for you to know that.) We left B&B and went to Best Buy where I, DRUM ROLL PLEASE, bought a camera! We played with all the different versions, and I love the fact that you can try them out there in the store. I was leaning towards the Nikon CoolPix touchscreen one when we got there, but I was sooo not impressed with it. Very disappointing. So, I decided on one of the Canon Powershot Digital Elf. It takes amazing pics, and I love the fact that it is paper thin, palm sized and will fit in my pocket. One thing I detest is a bulky load to carry on vacation, during hikes, at swim meets, etc. So, I am very excited about that. I haven't posted pics in a WHILE, so I think next week will be Photo Phun Week for this little bloggie!!
PDaddy and I woke up at 7 and went 2.0, and then we had a nice breakfast at my new breakfast table. He's steadily telling me to get ready for church, so I guess I gotta. Pics later!! Stay tuned!

You "Go Girl"

I am purposefully placing the link in question at the bottom of this post. Mostly, I just want to at least pretend that the anticipation is building while you read your way down. Nevermind that at any time, you can scroll down and click, but I'm really hoping you don't, 'cause this is good.
Good enough to wait for.
Wait for it.
Maybe you already know where this is headed.
But how could you? I mean, this is out there.
If this is something that every gal in America has in her purse, heck--in her pocket, then I'll eat my shorts.
I'm thinking this a new thing. One of those things that HAD to have been dreamed up by, I don't know ...a Yankee? (No offense to anyone living north of Dallas.)
A person with armpit hair braids?
Eats granola for fun?
Lives in a mud hut?
I'm just spit-balling here, but I'm guessing you don't own such a "device."
Anyway, I stumble upon this product, and well, not only am I just speechless over the product itself. I'm just in awe of the fact that someone was paid cash, I presume, to come up with the sales pitch that you read on the website.
(I know you want to cheat and skip ahead to the clicking part. Do not!!)
Wait for it.
Dear Sweet Gussie.
Please explain to me why nobody ever told me that there was a job....where I could explain..........dramatic pause....what a FUD is???
Where I could compose a FAQ, yes, Frequently Asked Questions--explaining things like how to, "Just lower your pants, and well,.....aim and pee.", or my personal favorite quote from the site, "You won't be like a man. You'll just pee like one."
I can honestly tell you right now that I'm hyperventilating as the realization sinks in that this opportunity flew past me like an 18-wheeler on the interstate. No, wait. It was more like a UFO that I HEARD about but never actually laid eyes on. An illusion of an enigma wrapped in a conundrum? A fart...in the wind. A thing that I never dared dream existed, so therefore how could I know what I was missing. And yet, now I know.
As I read the website, all I can think is that a grand opportunity has been wasted. No, I don't mean I missed the chance to buy one of these little beauties. No, I mean that the PR person for this company should be fired!! With a little more pa'shiz, with a little more grit, a little less pink and a few strokes of genius...this site could grab you by the throat until you scream and purchase your very own Feminine Urination Device. Oh yes, friends. You read that correctly.
Now go.
Go and read.
And weep (whether in hysterics or tragedy of a wasted comedic opportunity is up to you.)
I will personally send you $1 if you will come up with a catchy sub-title for this product and post it in my comment box. (Disclaimer: I really will not send you $1, but you will be famous because maybe I'll post them all in a blog entry. )

Weekend Plans

I wish I had time for some laid back reading with a cuppa this weekend, but I don't think it's gonna happen. The hammock has been calling my name, that's fo sho.

Tomorrow is already done, or so it seems. The kids have planned a Big Sleepover at Meems. Pop and Jack have started constructing a project that involves wood and saws and such. Sam has missed most of the constructing fun, so he'll be there tomorrow for that. (The kids are really enjoying being out of school, even though it has been a weird adjustment.)
After I get out of school tomorrow, I'll come home and get ready for P's retirement dinner while PDad shoots graduation at EF.

Not sure about Saturday morning, but I'm hoping to go get my new camera and nab the kids some extra swimsuits, beach towels, flops, etc. I'm also in the market for a 'cocktail' style dress for one of our dining evenings on our trip (more on that later.) I've got tons of things to pick up for the camping trip with the cousins that's just around the corner. Gotta make a list!

DaddyP has a wedding early Saturday afternoon and will be home early evening. I'm having dinner with the QM's, and maybe a toe job as well. I sure hope so. My toes are frightening.
PDad has a bridal on Sunday, and I'm not sure what I've got going. Sam should have piano that day, but we're not sure where we're at on that. The weather is supposed to be nice, so we might plan a swimover with some friends. Basically, Sunday is up in the air. All I care about is getting a camera. GOTTA GET A CAMERA! Stand back once I get one! I'll probably post nothing but pics for weeks!!

A Day of Surprises!

Surprise #1:
My cousin and his wife, who had to resort to several horrible & expensive infertility treatments to conceive their daughter, Zaylee, found out today that they are pregnant, the old fashioned way. T~went to the doc expecting to find out what type of problem she was having, only to find out that she is pregnant! My other cousin is due the same week with her baby #3. This is all on my mom's side....where I have 1,256 first cousins. We've drawn up a family plan for world domination. Ssshhh, it's a secret.
Surprise #2:
One of my former students stopped by to surprise us today. Last we heard, he was in Iraq serving in a medic unit on the front lines, but he is home on leave and came for a visit. It was so good to see his smiling face and to have him meet our students. My students couldn't quite believe that I had taught him. "OMG! How long have you been teaching?" Haha. Yeah. Sometimes I ask myself that.
Surprise #3:
There was no surprise #3!

"Behold! The weekend approacheth!" And, "I Need A Camera!"

Yes, the weekend is approaching. Will it ever actually get here? The jury is still out on that one. Speaking of juries, I haven't been called to jury duty, in like, forever. I miss serving on all those juries. Wonder when my name will get pulled out of the hopper again? Where was I? Jury was out...ah, yes...the weekend. Will it ever actually get here? That was the question.

I have an appointment tomorrow at the dentist. I tell you, there is nothing like a good nap in the dentist's chair. Not sure that the hygeniest (I love how I just spelled that...Hy-Geeniest:-))appreciates my love of dental napping, but that is her burden to bear. For me, it's like a little, 30 minute, mini-vacation. Solitude. She's a nice gal, but I think she sees that time as a type of captive audience/conversation time. Poor thing. She must get really disappointed to see my name on the roster. Oh well. She'll have other victims patients to see after me.

DaddyP has softball pics tomorrow eve, so I'll be running kids to and fro. Swim team is going great for the boys, and Sophy hasn't regretted delaying her entrance to swim team one little bit. Sam is doing great and working so hard. I'm very proud of him, and he's very excited for his first race. It will definitely be a spectacle!

Can I tell you how much I miss having a camera? I think this is a prob I will rectify this weekend, and I think I'm going to go with the snazzy Nikon touch doohickey one. Maybe that sharp gadget will convince DaddyP that bells and whistles do not equal problems and regrets.

Friday eve I'm going to a retirement party for PG while PDaddy shoots a HS graduation ceremony. There will probably be a good sized crowd at the retirement party (which is actually a sit down dinner that is sure to be 100% delicious.) Looking forward to seeing some old co-worker faces that are supposed to be there. Wish it was my retirement party....oh well. A girl can dream, right?

The Guernsey (*Possible Spoilers--BEWARE**)

Now that we've moved on to our next novel, I feel like I can talk about our previous book without spoiling any info. If you haven't read the book, but you intend to, you might want to stop reading now. I don't think I'm about to spoil, but ya never know what might slip out. At least, I never do.

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society:
In order to avoid retelling the story, I'll try to keep my thoughts directed strictly on my opinions and not telling you the story. As I've stated before, this book is written in the format of an epistolary. One of our book clubbers in particular did not like this format at all, although I feel compelled to point out that she *did* enjoy the story while not enjoying the format. The majority; however, seemed to like it. I personally liked this format because it allowed a lot of character and plot movement without seeming like helter skelter-willy nilly gear changing. For me, it also created the allusion that these were real people. One of the clubbers commented that she felt like she had found someone's private stash of old letters and had secretly read them. We all agreed on that point.
The novel contains so much accurate, historical information. And when you couple that with the feeling that these were 'real' people and 'real' letters, it just made the novel reach out and grab you that much more. Along those lines, we all thought that it was quite a shame that people do not correspond in a such a way anymore, but that's a post in itself. I was amazed at how the book combined the historical aspect of the German occupation and the everyday lives of the characters within those correspondences. As we discussed tonight, this work of fiction seemed so real that it was almost like reading a non-fiction novel. It seems as if you could G**gle any of the characters and find that they had actually existed in 1946.
Of course, our clubbers did have some vaguely negative opinions on some aspects of the book, but I will keep those under lid....because I can. I'd rather you read the book and discover for yourself what we already know about it. Once you do that, drop me a note! I seriously want to know what you think and would be happy to report to the rest of the clubbers on your behalf at our online site where we communicate between meetings!
So read!!

Passing Along Some Book Club Info

Several people have emailed me over the last couple of months about the books that our Book Club is reading and wanting to be clued in about future reads. At our meeting tonight, we learned that our new book is a mystery! R. was the hostess tonight, and she is a mystery lover. Since our hostess selects the next read, it looks like we are all mystery readers for the next month along with her! We're all pretty excited as this is a novel that most of us would not normally select for ourselves....which is one of the goals we set out to accomplish! Without further delay, here it is! The really cool part that I just learned tonight, if your book club reads this novel, the author will call you at your next meeting when you discuss the book! How cool is that? Can't wait! Very exciting!!
We also usually choose a second "optional" novel that book clubbers might choose to read if they're interested. Let me know if you want to know the title of the second book. It's a totally different sort of mystery than the first. Perhaps a bit more...contemporary? Looked very appealing. I've already placed my order for both books, and I can't wait to get started!
Our meeting tonight was a blast. We met in a cabin at the lake, and as usual, had too much food. I think my fav was the chocolate chip, walnut cookies. Oh my. Very tasty.
We discussed our previous novel, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, in great detail. Luckily, one of our clubbers had a set of discussion questions that she found online. We followed the questions loosely, but we mainly used them as a springboard that started other topics. Definitely lots to talk about with such a great book, and we were definitely not at a loss for comments and opinions and favorite moments. I especially enjoyed reading a book in the format of an epistolary. To my knowledge, that was a first for me, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.
**Next month, our meeting will be held pool side at J's house. What book will she choose? It better not involve pointy teeth. J, do you hear me?

Topic Tuesday Resurrected on Monday

(Yes, I realize that you'd given up on Topic Tuesday ever resurfacing. Apparently, I found something to gripe about. Alright, alright...something ELSE to gripe about.)
For this installment (and the first in many months) of Topic Tuesday on Monday, I'd like to ask a question.
Maybe you'd like to answer.
Maybe it's a rhetorical question.
Maybe you read the title and didn't even make it this far.
Whatever floats your boat, my friend.
If you've made it this far, my question is this:
What compels a grown person. An adult. A mothering female, no less, to take her 3 year old son to a movie?
No wait, don't answer yet. The question isn't finished.
What compels this person to speak in a normal tone of voice, at a decibal comparable to that of conversation you might have with a person who is standing 3 feet away from you..oh yeah, except she's not having a conversation with a random person standing three feet away from her? She's having this conversation WITH her 3 year old, DURING the movie,...right behind me.
No, no. I'm not done. Don't answer just yet.
Now imagine a second woman who has accompanied this unique person to the theater to allow her, let's call him, 5 year old son to talk (yay verily,) and at times, shout, his wonder and constant amazement to the events and characters as the movie progresses?
Bear with me, please. I'm not done.
I further need assistance in understanding how this second, mature adult feels comfortable in talking, like her 5 year old son, in a conversational volume and tone, as she comments and discusses the movie with her son, her friend, and her friend's son. Oh yes, it was a veritable round table conversation discussion running constantly throughout the entirety of the film. Because certainly, there couldn't have been a sold out movie crowd who came to WATCH THE MOVIE instead of LISTENING TO THEM exclaim to one another, out loud, at every. stinking. scene. in. the. movie.
Ok, now answer. Oh wait, just kidding. I'm not done.
Please explain to me, how I restrained myself from causing a nasty scene in the theater today.
Ok, now.
Go.

This and That

PDaddy is rewiring the lights/sockets in the kitchen before the workers come on Tuesday to finish up. I was afraid for my safety, so I retreated to the bedroom with my laptop. Oh wait, now I'm hearing a drill. People, it's 9:20 at night. What is this man doing? Lord Have Mercy.

After church this morning, we had lunch at Golden Corral. Mind you, I haven't eaten at GC in about 10 years. The last time we ate there, we didn't even have kids....and that particular time, I had just had oral surgery and the restaurant was freezing cold. So I sat there and cried (yes, I wept) and held my mouth in my hand while DaddyP held my other hand, and my mama wrapped up her baked potato (it was still in the foil and straight from the oven,) and I put it in my shirt. Probably looked like an odd third boob. I have no idea what any of this has to do with us eating at GC after church today. If you find a connection, Bless Your Heart for trying.

The kids were in the pool for a bit this afternoon, so we were able to get a few beds around the pool area mulched while they were occupied. Earlier after church, I made the closet swap (winter to summer) that I mentioned yesterday, so I didn't delay things for as long I thought I would. Pretty proud of myself.

MIL and FIL came by this evening, and we had a bite of dinner. MIL is getting around well enough after her surgery, but I know she's ready to be fully mobile again. With any luck, she'll be on her foot in no time. At one point, Sophy (wearing her roller skates--which is almost an every day occurence) was pushing MIL around the dining room in her wheelchair. I told her, "Sophy, bring M~~ back, right now".....and I won't lie, it sounds funny to tell your child to bring back her grandmother. I don't care who ya are. Not to mention, Sophy has a new jump rope, and I think she was thinking of pulling her through the house with it. We may never know, but I didn't want to take any chances. MIL gets her toe pins out, maybe, on Tuesday. We're keeping our fingers (and toes) crossed for her.

Mr. Weather Man is calling for rain tomorrow, but if it doesn't, we've invited some friends over for a swim in the afternoon. If it does rain, we're off to the movies to see Night at the Museum.

I'm very excited about Book Club on Tuesday night. We'll be receiving our newest title, and a little birdie has told me what it might be. It's something I would never have chosen, but it sounds so interesting! Can't wait! This week, we're meeting at the lake in a cabin, and I'm dying to find a really hunky man that can pretend to be a stripper dressed as a cowboy...(this is something that I've threatened to do due to our new potential novel having a cowboy theme,) and I'd love it if someone could come in and scare the girls to death! It would be hilarious--by hilarious I mean, some of them would probably never speak to me again. But deep down, even if they didn't want to admit it, they'd giggle.
Oh, while I'm thinking about it, lemme tell you about our last book. You will want to read this book. I recommended it to my FIL who bought it on his Kindle, and he says that it's so good on so many different levels, and I agree 100%.) Without further delay, here is the title and a link where you can read for yourself. If you read it, PLEASE let me know what you think. I'll keep my thoughts on it to myself, just in case anyone chooses to read it. It's WONDERFUL!
Please forgive me if I've posted this link before.

A No Frills Review of Saturday Stuff & An Equally No Frills Preview of Sunday/Monday

We had a blast at the swim party last night! The kids had an especially good time even though it rained a couple of times throughout the party. It didn't phase them in the least. As the party progressed, the weather lifted. Most of the kids ended up staying and swimming well beyond the time we had planned on. It's amazing the difference a year makes and to see the changes that the kids go through. Last year, some of our guests were non-swimmers, and this year they were fish! Not only that, the boy/girl dynamics are starting to kick in. Lots of squealing girls and boys showing off/splashing/putting on a show. All of the adults in attendance agreed that the annual swimathon was going to become a very interesting shindig as the years go by. Sam and Jack each had a friend over to swim and spend the night, and they were in the water for close to 5 hours. Needless to say, we really didn't have to worry about a rowdy bunch of boys staying up too late. They were absolutely exhausted by 10:30, and it took very little convincing to get them in the bed. They slept pretty late this morning, so PDaddy made a donut run while they slept. One of our sleepover pals had an early baseball game, so I delivered them both to their parents mid-morning.
DaddyP and I took the kids to pick up some King Crab legs (which we boiled this evening.) I let the kids swim a bit this afternoon while PD cruised the dealership. Not something I wanted to do at all. While he ran some errands, Sam finally grasped how to dive correctly, and he was so proud of himself and spent the afternoon doing it over and over and over. While he was brushing up on his water entry skillz, I was working on my sunburn. Note to self: Wear Sunscreen at the Beginning of the Summer. Got it? Good.
Tomorrow and Monday are free days for DaddyP, and hope to see MIL this weekend and also take the kids to see Night at the Museum. They have been dying to see it since hearing that it was being filmed. We heard that it was good, and I love Ben Stiller. I've got a bazillion and one bags of mulch to spread, my closet is in dire need of de-winterizing, and various other things that I'm happy to keep delaying. Ya know, I'll think I'll keep on delaying...

A great day to be a teacher.

I spent most of my school day at Barnes and Noble and Olive Garden with a great bunch of kids. Gee, why can't EVERY school day involve B&N (and Starbucks by default) and OG? Why, you'd have to beat the folks away with a stick that wanted to be a teacher, wouldn't ya? Hahha. Hhahaha. Hahhaha. Ah. Got to watch a little girl break out in wonder as our bus went across a highway overpass. Granted, it was a big one, but that wasn't the reason. It was because in the history of her life, she'd never been on an overpass. Ever. She stared out the bus window our entire trip. And it made me glad that she read enough books to win this reward. She'll likely never forget it. I probably won't either.

The tile man came and started on the kid's bathroom. We **think** that he may come do the backsplash tomorrow, since the painters finished today. It all would seem like it was coming together if it weren't for the bathroom doors that are off the hinges and propped up in our hallways, the carpet that was ripped up from the bathroom also lying in the hallway, and the cabinet doors and drawers having to remain open to allow the paint to get solid dry. ARGHH! I hate to complain about making the kitchen pretty, but dang.

If it doesn't rain, we'll be having our End of Year Swimathon tomorrow after school. It's an early release day, and we're bringing 2 boys home with us. One is Jack's friend, and the other is Sam's friend. The rest of the party animals will show up later in the afternoon, and then our little 2 friends that came home with us will be spending the night. 4 boys in this house. Yikes!

DaddyP is going vehicle shopping Saturday, and I'll be delivering the boys home early that morning. Saturday night I'm meeting L and M for dinner.

Thanks to OFYP in Tx now, the kids will be finished tomorrow. I'll be there until June 5th, but with a significantly lower amount of students. I thank you, Texas, for that.

All the news that is news.

The kitchen painters were here today, and then they left.

The tile people were supposed to be here today, but they weren't.

The kitchen will be completed one day, but not today.

The End

Tomorrow I'm taking 20 students to Barnes and Noble and to Olive Garden for receiving an unnatural amount of Accelerated Reader points. After contacting the WONDERFUL manager at Olive Garden and letting him know that we were a tiny, low income school district, he offered to comp almost all of our meals for tomorrow! Talk about a relief! Also, Barnes and Noble will be giving us the tax exemption as well as a 20% school discount. Each of the reading teachers, I had the good fortune of teaching 2 grade levels, bought $10 gift cards for our Top 5 students to help them purchase a book of their very own from the book store. This may come as a shock to some of you reading in a different part of the world, but about half of the students making the trip, have never a.) eaten in a sit-down style restaurant, or b.) been to a book store. This is a BIG, BIG thing for them, and they are beyond excited! I'm pretty fired up too, since I'll be missing the Play Day that our PTO is putting on...and therefore, won't have to do crowd control outside in the heat. WHHHEEE!!! Mostly, I'm excited about not eating in the cafeteria tomorrow. I can't lie. I'm about to pop to be able to take these kids out to eat at places and do things that I take my own children to without a second thought. I want to see their faces and know that this is something they may never get to do again. Or maybe inspire them to want more in their life. All of them are capable of more. I just want them to see a teensy bit of the world available to them...especially one of my 7th grade boys. What a kid! I'm just happy to be taking him ANYwhere. He has had very little exposure to LIFE, and I'm wanting him to enjoy himself. Anyway, that's tomorrow.
Jack and Sam (Sophy volunteered to wait until next year--that's another story) will have swim team tomorrow night. Sam absolutely LOVED his first two nights of practice, so we ordered his team suit and are reconciling ourselves to the fact that he is a Marlin! Heaven help us all!
Friday night is our 2nd annual End of School Swim Over, and we spent the afternoon/evening getting ready for that. We cleaned out the pool bathroom and made a shopping list. The kids each were able to invite 3 friends (Sam invited like 5,) and we'll spend Friday evening in the backyard grilling hot dogs and watching the kids all have a great time. I think 2 young gents will be spending the night here, so it should be an interesting evening. I do not think we have any plans on Saturday, so we'll see what strikes our fancy! PDaddy and the kids are planning a movie night at the theatre to see Night at the Museum, so maybe we'll do that Saturday night and hit the pancake joint afterwards.
The kids are playing outside, so I better go round them up for baths.
Hasta Luego.

A Few (or 50) of My Favorite Things

1. Summer
2. Green grass with no stickers
3. Vehicles that get 35 mpg
4. Historical Romance
5. Book Club
6. PDaddy
7. Crepe Myrtles
8. Italian Food
9. Dusk
10. Fragrant bushes
11. Don Rickles
12. Hee Haw
13. Jack
14. Sam
15. Sophy
16. Everybody else
17. Visiting moutains
18. Birds
19. Bird eggs
20. Bird nests
21. Sketching birds
22. Bleu Cheese
23. My Ninnie in Heaven
24. Gardenias
25. Reading a good book outside (or in the tub)
26. Shopping online
27. Homemade enchiladas, ice cream, bread pudding
28. Chicken and dumplings
29. Thanksgiving Day
30. Cows in a pasture
31. Heels with jeans
32. Butterflies in my garden
33. Hot Wheels in the bath tub
34. Rollerskating
35. Old photographs of family
36. England and Ireland
37. The 3 Stooges
38. Dirt
39. 6th Graders
40. Fairies
41. Bunnies
42. Indian Summer
43. To Kill a Mockingbird
44. Clint Eastwood
45. Road trips
46. Plane trips
47. Funny people
48. Talking to strangers
49. Wind chimes
50. Tomorrow

Flip Flop 'til You Drop

I hope this works. PDaddy wanted me to make a video of Sophy at gym, since he hasn't seen her new moves lately. Sophy (orange shirt) and C~ (pink shorts) went from being in the group of 6 girls, to being pulled out to work one on one....er, one on two? She has progressed so much lately and is finally giving it 100% after a few years of farting around. C~goes to Sophy's school and is in 2nd grade. (If it's choppy the first time you play it, give it a 2nd try.)

Highlights of the Day

Got my hair highlighted today for the first time in months. Usually during the winter months, I let the highlights go and just continue to color where needed with no highlights. Once spring/summer starts coming on, I'll start to lighten a bit here and there. So, today brought the highlights back. Nothing fancy, but just a kiss of light (which sounds way better than it looks, perhaps.)
The kids played outside with neighborhood hoodlums until well after dark, so PDaddy and I wandered around the yard clipping, picking, etc. We'll have our end of year swim party here on Friday for the kids and some classmates, so I guess we'll get all the pool chairs out of the storage building this week and wash them off along with the patio umbrellas and such. Last weekend, PDaddy borrowed Pop's trailer and picked up a bazillion bags of mulch for the beds, so I guess I'll try to get those out before the party. Orrrrr, maybe not.
Speaking of flower beds, I plan on getting a substantial one going (an island bed) in the front sometime late this summer. I can't start it now, and do not want to spend my summer doing it, but I'll get it going later. The bed I'm thinking about will be somewhere in our endless front yard. Something to draw the eye from the street. Our front yard sort of sprawls along with nothing to look at. Most of our landscaping is up near the house, and I'm wanting a large bed out near the street-ish. I'm thinking about roses, big grasses and day lilies to start with. Still thinking...... Kitchen first, other projects later.
We're going to MIL's house tomorrow after church tomorrow. She had a foot surgery last week, and we're hoping she's perking along. I think we're taking supper, but PDad can't come. Boohoo. Then back home after that to get ready for a school day, and morning duty (aka doody) for myself. Next week is the last full week of school for all students who have met the requirements for OFYP. I'm all anticipation to see how many students are left.
Monday we'll go to gymnastics, and then I'll get all 3 to swim team. The high on Monday is supposed to be 77, so I'm not sure how eager the kids will be to get in the pool! I know I wouldn't be! Sam and Sophy are eager to give swim team a try, but we've been realistic with them about how much work and drill it is. Not sure if either of them are up to the task yet. They say they are, so we'll let them do the first week which is a trial for newbies. If they don't like it, no harm done. We're looking forward to a new swim year with Jack! Time trials will be in a new city this year, we think. The meet dates are in, and we're ready!
PDaddy wants to watch a movie, so I guess I'm out!

Canon? Nikon?

Some time last year, DaddyP gave me a camera that takes amazing pictures. It requires a lens that rivals the Hubble Telescope, and as you can imagine, it's not a camera that just begs to point and shoot. Not by a long shot. Perhaps if I had aspirations of becoming a professional....but no. So, I have been mainly sticking with the Canon that PDad bought for my birthday about 2 (maybe 3?) summers ago. I've never been totally in love with it. Being a Canon man down through to his heart and soul, it was the brand, of course, that PDad gravitated towards. Who was I to quibble? What do I know of cameras and the like? Uh, nothing to be exact. So, the old Canon was bulky, took great photos, was bulky, became cantankerous, conspired against me, and gave up the ghost last Sunday at the air show. To show my gratitude to the Canon name, I removed the memory card and tossed the piece o' junk into a trash bin as I walked by it. (Rest assured, PDaddy advised that it was a goner that would cost more to fix than to replace...and that was just hunky-dorie with me.) Which leaves me where? Oh yes, without a camera. Me! Without a camera! It's been keeping me up at night, so we're on the prowl for a new one what with swim team about to start, the garden in full bloom, end of year shin digs happening here and there, and Biltmore looming in the distance.
Definitely. Need. A. Camera.
And quick.
PD, is of course, recommending...you guessed it...a Canon. I'm thinking no. He says this one here might do the trick. Canon? Really?
I dunno.
I'm gunning for this snazzy guy. What's not to love? It has what I boohoo'd so often that my other snapper was missing. Large screen, flat, smart screen/stylus, etc. (Click on 'technology' and watch the little demo that appears...neato, eh?) Of course, DaddyP says all of those bells and whistles spell trouble. Party Pooper. And of course, the reviews are much better for the Canon. Not that the Nikon had particularly bad reviews, but still.
Any personal experiences you wish to share would be welcome!

Pretty Friday

In comparison to Ugly Monday, Pretty Friday has been pretty nice. My students were low key at school today, due in large part to the removal of some of the big hitters to 'other educational venues.' Seemed almost like a vacation.
My 3 hooligans seemed to enjoy today as well. The PTO put on Play Day which consisted of games, jumpie castles, ginormous super slides, etc. Jack's class walked to the park afterwards for sno cones, and Sam's class spent most of the day on a field trip to Safety Town. It's safe to say that Safety Town is his new favorite place. He got to ride bikes and learn bike safety, driver safety while driving go-carts, and they got to watch a crash involving a crash test dummy...which made his year worth living. Sophy won a wooden flute today, much to her mother's shagrin. This has only served to reinforce her desire to become a snake charmer when she is grown. She wants a cobra so bad she can taste it.
It was bright, sunny and warm when we got home from school, and PDaddy, miraculously, had no pictures. The kids wanted to swim, so I made a homemade batch of guacamole while DaddyP swam with the kids. I joined them with my book club book, which is too good for words, and we spent the afternoon in the pool. DaddyP is grilling burgers and shrimp now, and I've got some homemade chocolate ice cream churning in the machine. I sauteed some mushrooms to eat while are waiting, and man, are they good. If there is one thing I can do, it's sautee some 'shrooms.
I'll have to update soon with a review for our book club book. I couldn't recommend a book more. You should read it and then recommend it to your friends. They'll thank you, and thank you, and thank you some more. Best book I've read in many, many years. Our first book, by Dickens, was so very challenging, that we are all enraptured over the new book. More on that later.
Tomorrow, I have a hair appointment to get some summer highlights painted on, and DaddyP has something that I can't recall. We really need to get Jack in the pool, since he hasn't been there this week. Swim team starts Monday night (gymnastics night), and Sam and Sophy are planning on giving the first week a trial run. Should be interesting. I just hope I survive a Monday night of gymnastics and swimming.
DaddyP is bellowing...dinner calls!

Casualty #3 of the Kitchen snafu Re-Do.

The carpenters came today to fix the problems they created last time. While fixing those problems, which they did nicely, they scratched our new counter tops. Is it just me, or is there a theme here? I'm thinking we should quit while we're ahead. At this rate, we may not have a house standing when all is said and done. We're on schedule to have the painting and tile work started next week. I can only imagine what surprises await us! I can hardly wait!

Today happened. Now what?

PDad left the house at 4 a.m. today headed for Mississippi. He is home now. That's quite a road trip!
I had to be at school at 7 for a student award breakfast. We do this once a six weeks, and 2 of the students I nominated were selected which meant that I had to give a little 'I'm so proud of you' speech to the parents/grandparents/students in attendance. I love an audience and a podium, so it wasn't really a hardship...especially since fresh kolaches and orange juice were served. Speaking of audiences, I've decided I want my own show. Maybe I could make a little studio in my house, set up some video equipment, and broadcast a daily show? Hahaha. I could be like KRAMER!! Ok, I seriously need to give this some thought. An audience! Of my very own! The poor, unsuspecting public.
After the captive audience this morning? What then? Oh! Well, I spent the day wrangling 100+ kids who are fairly certain than school really should be out already. Can't say that I can blame them for feeling the way they do. God Bless Them All.
Came home after school and threw, literally THREW, the kids into the pool. PDad made it home around 6 with Mexican take out, and the brick guy came and dismantled the tumbled wall of the front walkway. (We redesigned it, so hopefully there will be less of a chance that someone will ping it in the future.)
Now what?
Well, we're waiting on the painters. Still. And the tile guys. Still. We think that will be early next week. Which means they'll be here probably the first of June.
Speaking of June, we leave from here for Biltmore in less than a month!
Sqquueee!

Casualty #2 of the Kitchen Redo.

(Edited to say: The counter top guys just left (without running over anything else in my yard), and the counters look GREAT! The color is not quite what I imagined from the one inch square bit we saw, but it's great...and I think I like it better than what I thought it was. Once the whole thing comes together, it's gonna look muy bueno!! Plumber is here installing the faucet, new sink plumbing (did I mention that I LOVE this new sink)...think the painter may start tomorrow. Progress! Now, let's see if we can make it through without anything else getting destroyed!)
The counter top guys pulled into the driveway at 8:00. Right on time! Then promptly proceeded to ram their van into the brick edging of our front walkway....which promptly toppled over like the Walls of Jericho and landed atop my roses. I'd say the day is off to a great start!
Actually, it's not that big of a deal considering the bricks were only balancing on top of each other when we bought the house. We had them reset by a brick layer, so looks like he'll be repaying us a visit.
Thought I'd mess with their heads a bit and told them that my husband was going to flip and that my husband had a horrible temper and wouldn't take the news very well. The poor guy was like, "I feel like I wanna throw up!" I died laughing and told him, "Dude. It's brick. Calm down!" Haha. He was white as a sheet. I did make him pick it up off of my roses, though. My poor roses!! I told him I was more worried about the roses than the stupid bricks. Flat roses, the rose bed of the future.

Air Show Footage

A little clip of Jack getting suited up in some flight gear.

(If it's choppy the first time that it loads, just click to re-play it.)

Questions that need answers.

Sophy asked the following question this morning on the way to church:
"Mom. How is zero an even number?"
I tried my best to give her an educated answer.

She followed that conversation with a new topic:
"Well, Abraham Lincoln's beard grossed me out, for real."

Yeah.

Mothering Sunday

It's great to be home after a long and eventful day! The kids brought me breakfast in bed, and that was great. However, I couldn't quite eat without wondering who (or how) the dishes would get done considering the fact that the counter tops (sink included) were removed yesterday. Hhhmmm. Sam and Sophy wrote a song for me and presented it to me along with a various assortment of other artwork. Seriously cute.
Jack gave me a little potted flower that he made at school. After the morning festivities, we arrived at church about 10 minutes late. The day was fairly overcast as the morning wore on, but we headed out to the airshow after church anyway. When we got there, we heard that all of the demonstration planes were grounded due to the overcast conditions. We walked around and saw hot rods, jets, planes, helicopters, etc. Jack was on Cloud 9 just viewing those sights.
Pop showed Jack the type of plane that one of his cousins died in during the Ploesti bombing raids in Romania in 1944. (My grandfather's brother lost 2 sons during a 6 month period in 1944. He received their purple hearts on the same day.)
As the afternoon wore on, the weather cleared up a bit and the aerial acts started up, and the show started. The Marine Corps, of course, makes you earn everything. No freebies, so Jack had to do 3 pull-ups, 2 different times, to earn a set of dog tags. One for himself, and one for Sam. Of all the things we saw today, I think Jack enjoyed the WWII reenactment the most--troop drop (skydivers) reenacted the way troops were dropped in Europe, then a P51 (one of Jack's fav planes) did a mock dogfight with a Japanese Zero. Very cool. We were able to see the Canadian Snowbirds and the Blue Angels. I don't care who you are, or if you like planes, it's just an amazing thing to see...so very glad we got to go. And I'm even happier that the air show that I went to so often as a younger person is still the same air show of today. At one point, we anticipated my daddy being thrown in jail for insulting a wagon load full of police officers who were doing crowd security. Oy. Luckily, his joke about their donut eating ways didn't strike a nerve with any of them. Again. Oy.
After the show, we ate bbq chicken and tater salad at my folks'. The kids decorated a chocolate Mother's Day cake and rode their bikes until almost dark. The kids were exhausted, so we put them down a bit early. Luckily, I don't have school tomorrow due to the counters being delivered.
Fingers crossed.

Crawfish, etc.

Had a good time briefly visiting with friends at A's birthday this morning. Didn't get to stay too long, but it was good to see old faces! My daddy and Ben were knee deep in destroying the kitchen for the countertop installation on Monday, so I hurried home after stopping by. Hope A's second year of life is as super cool as her first! Looked like a swinging feista! Lots of babies needing naps! Hahha!
We had a fun time at our friend's annual crawfish boil this eve. The kids swam for about 4 hours (until some cool air blew in...brrr), we ate, and ate, and visited with folks. We ate lots of crawfish and enjoyed the warm weather! Downright hot!
Excited about the air show tomorrow. We'll be seeing the Blue Angels, and Jack is beyond excited about that. We'll be eating at my folks' tomorrow eve, and then I'm off Monday. YAY! The countertops will be here, and the painters are due to come the day after. Hope it all goes smoothly, but we are prepared in case it doesn't!
Here is a clip of crawfishboil fun for your viewing pleasure!
Happy Mother's Day weekend!

Testing the Flip

Took my Flip Video to the LC the other day to film Jack. Still haven't received the waterproof cover, but when we do, we'll be able to film underwater to watch his strokes. This is one of the 4 videos we shot that day. We weren't timing him, since this was at the end of doing about 25 laps. The kid was tired!!

Sick Update

Jack started about an 8 week round of antibiotics yesterday that was prescribed by the pediatric ophtamalogist that we last saw regarding the sties. We had hoped to hold off and not have to start them, but earlier this week, he ended up with 3 horrible sized monsters on each eye. So painful. We're not exactly sure what has caused them to occur, but this has been a horrible year for his eyes. Poor guy got his first pair of contacts last week, and he was so excited to have them. But he can't wear them until his eyes clear up.
Sophy isn't feeling well at all. She has had a fever for a couple of days--achey, wet cough, headache, sore throat. Sounds like the flu, right? We don't think so, but oh man, is she weepy. Oh, it's almost more than we can stand. I know she feels bad, though, because she typically takes illnesses way better than the boys do. Not this one. On top of that, we had to up the prescription on her glasses, and they were sent off to add the new lenses. Without them, she has complained of headaches more. We should be able to pick them up tomorrow, so maybe that will help. Not sure if she'll go to school tomorrow or not.
We're watching Survivor while I type, so I better go....it's getting good.

Random bits and bobs in the month of May

We've got lots of fun things on the calendar for May. Oh, but one nasty rumor that I need to verify is that Six Flags in Arlington is closing?? Sar, do you know anything about this? We had planned to go in May/June, and ohhhh, won't the kids be upset!! Maybe it's just a vicious rumor. I hope.
We're hitting the air show this weekend, along with Miss A's first birthday (only Soph and I will hit that one! ha,) and I totally forgot that we had planned to go to an annual crawfish boil/swim also on Saturday. The weekend following, we're having a small swim-over/grill with some friends on Friday eve. The weekend after that, we're having our annual End of Year Swim for the kids and some friends from school. Last year, we had like 89 kids in our pool, so this year I told the kids they could each only invite 3 friends..but by the time you include all of the siblings, I'm sure we'll have close to 88 kids in the pool this year. Ha! Oh well, the kids had a blast last year, and what better way to shake off the schoolhouse blues? The next weekend will be Memorial Day weekend, and we're planning on visiting back in West Texas again. Not sure if DaddyP will make that trip or not, but we have a 3 day weekend that we're hoping to take advantage of. Of course, the following weekend is the weekend before our annual Cousins Camping trip, and this year we're headed back to the state park in Daingerfield where we spent Spring Break. Looking forward to some days of swimming, hiking, and fishing! Last but not least, the week following the camping trip will be our trip to Biltmore! (SCREEEEAAMMM!!!!) Yay! I. Can't. Wait! Of course, that is an update of it's own just waiting to happen!

Carpenter Snafu

Work continued today with a bit of trimming by the carpenters. Not "The Carpenters," mind you. Not those ones. The unionized kind. While they were here, they added the plate rail that we had told them we didn't want, put a funky trim on the new overhang over the sink that will have to be changed, and did some sort of weird act that separated a small portion of the ceiling molding from the wall and ceiling. So yeah, they got stuff to fix. Nothing extremely major, all of it to be expected, but still, when you're married to Mr. Anal Pants. It matters. Ug. I think they'll be here tomorrow.
In the meantime, I feel as if my house is upside down. Nothing is really too out of whack, but it just feels like things aren't where they belong, and that deeply disturbs me. I'll be glad for this project to wind down. I'd rather PDad and I do all the work. That way we are in charge of the time frame.
I'm so very ready for the weekend. For some reason, I've been way drained this week. Possibly because I'm having the menstraul cycle of a 400 pound elephant. Disgusting, but there it is. Doc has said he's ready to take out all of the appropriate parts when I say the word. I ain't saying the word, yet. Where was I? Weekend readiness. Yes. We'll be dining with the MIL and the FIL, doing some kitchen demolision, stopping by a sweet babe's first birthday party, and taking the kids to the air show. We are all pretty excited about the air show. I haven't been in years, but it was always a favorite growing up. Jack is beyond excited.
PDaddy will be home late this evening, and I'm too pooped to pop. Kids are fed and in the process of bathing/showering. Thankfully, they finished their homework before we left my classroom. Sam was pretty motivated considering the fact that I was called over to the elementary school today where I proceeded to burn his rear end with the principal's paddle. He's cooking my grits, that boy. Cooking. My. Grits.
Grits sound really good....

If you'll be my bodyguard....

(Sorry, but that is the song stuck in my head...not that I'm complaining....I got crazy love for Mr. Simon.)
(Other random side note, we are having our #210 hellacious thunderstorm of the month of May. Yes, it's only May 4th. The thunder...Mercy!)
Carpenters came today and removed/added the old/new trim, installed the new cabinet section (which I love!), etc. Not only that, DaddyP surprised me with my Mother's Day present! I'll post a pic of it all as soon as I get new batteries in my camera.
We just made bedtime happen, and we're about to watch our DVR'd shows. Castle!! Love that show!!

Book Club

I especially want to update about Book Club. Book One was quite a challenging read, Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens. When we chose the book, we didn't realize that it was also recently released on PBS. Talk about an added bonus! After reading a book the size of The Holy Bible, it's good to be able to see the film version. I haven't watched it yet, but I have it in the Netflix que to be sent soon and am very excited about seeing it. It was a very enlightening book, even if it was difficult to read. The Marshalsea isn't something that I was familiar with, so that, coupled with Dickens prolific use of characters--omg, there had to be at least 200 characters in this book, and I'm only slightly exaggerating--made for a very serious read. I can honestly say I would not have read the book any other way. Along with Dorrit, some of the book group also read My Antonia, by Willa Cather (one of THE best books I have ever read..made me want to high-five Willa Cather), and also The Memory Keeper's Daughter, of which I can't remember the author's name. I was NOT impressed with the book which is probably why I can't remember the author's name. Hated the book!
Since the hostess for the next meeting chooses our new novel, we received our latest read at last week's meeting! I'm very excited to get started on it, but I think it will be a much faster read than Dickens...haha, ya think? I could read the Encyclopedia Volume J faster than I read Little Dorrit. I am afraid of finishing the new book too soon, so I'm holding off on starting it until a bit closer to our next meeting. In the meantime, I have picked up The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. If I'm honest, it appealed to me mostly because of the cover. Yes, I judge a book by it's cover. So shoot me! I'm thinking I'll start it in the meantime. Several book club gals have picked it up also, so we'll have something else to talk about in the time between, along with the new book. Oh, our latest title? I almost forgot! The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Heads up, it's an epistolary! Can't wait to read it.

Lets call it a comeback.

Then & Now:

The past month has been insane. Between trying to get Jack to the pool with swim season fast approaching, which is becoming increasingly harder with DaddyP's schedule and is now almost 100% up to me to figure out, getting Sophy to gym-again-all me, and the usual weekly dance of homework, supper, laundry, dentist appointments, and attempting to get some flowers to bloom in my world, it's been slightly nutty around here. It doesn't help that I've had more migraines lately than normal. I'm thinking they are mostly sinus related, or induced--or whatever, since my upper teeth feel like they are about to pop out of my mouth at any second. At any rate, we've been nutty. Er, nuttier than normal. What has happened over the last month? Hhhmmm. PDaddy has had his busiest-on-record month. Ever. Jack broke past his 18 second mark on the 25m freestyle. This is huge. He was at 21 sec. at the end of last swim season. Sam had his first report card of the year with all A's and B's. No C's!! Whoohoo!! And Sophy completed her first backhand spring 100% by herself with no spotter. She was asked to be on the Gym's cheer squad, but we're not into all that jazz. Our gym turns out a group at Nationals every year that place in tumbling and cheer events, but we (meaning me) have no intentions of entering the world of cheering...for many, many, many years...if ever. Did I mention the cost was like $3,000 for the year? Haha. That's comical!

At present, we're waiting on the kitchen remodeling job to start. This week we are hoping to get a section of cabinets in that we had removed/rebuilt by a carpenter where we previously had a broken ice machine, circa 1972, and a trash compactor, circa 1971. That cabinet section has been removed. YAY! The new section of undercabinets will house the microwave, freeing up cabinet space, and the trash can will be housed there also behind a pullout door. Speaking of trash, we have a double bin now, for recylcing. Finally, we now have recycle pick-up with our trash. The carpenter will also be doing some other wood trim work on our cabinet doors/trim, etc. to bring the cabinets up-to-date a bit. Removing some of the trim and replacing with new. We priced replacing the cabinets, but it just seemed extravagant to replace solid wood cabinets with, hello, solid wood cabinets. Poor trees, let's give 'em a break. Anyway, so the new cabinet section will be installed next week. This coming weekend, will be removing the old countertops, at some point, and the new countertops should be here a week from tomorrow. The day after they are installed, the painter will be here to begin painting the cabinets. Once he is finished, 3 days-I believe, the tile man will come and finish the job! Oh, and Mr. Tile Man will also be tiling one of our bathrooms (the kid's Jack N Jill bathroom and vanity areas) that were previously carpeted by some person...some very, very intelligent (not!) person. And then, we'll be finished!! Free to start another project! Next up, the master bath! Hahhaa.

This week. Let's see. Tomorrow morning my mom is taking Jack and Sophy to eye appointments while I'm at school. With no days left to take off, it would be June before I could get them to the eye doctor. Sophy has been complaining horribly for about a week and a half of headaches and eye pain. Jack is due for a check-up also, so off they go.

Back to the usual week of swimming and other stuff. Is it June yet?

Be patient

Don't give up. I'm still here. I'm having a word drought. Rest assured, the flood gates will open soon. Until then, feel free to weed back through the entries of days gone by. That should keep you occupied for at least a day or two.