Happy Birthday Dear Sammy!

Look at this seven year old.
Be still my heart...my really old heart.
Aren't the mothers of seven year olds supposed to be old and crusty?
Don't answer that.

A little bit o' this and a little bit o' that.

PinkieDaddy is finishing up a family photo shoot (yes, at 9AM...eek!), and then we're off to run some errands. The Red Monster's bday party is this evening, so I have to make a paper goods, balloon, goodie bags run. I also want to run by a few places and pick up some new pottery/plates/glasses for the kitchen. That's my splurge, well...one of them, for our move. Did I ever let you know it was official? All of the inspections, appraisals, etc. have been finished, we're just waiting for our closing date....oh, and the packing. Yeah, we need to pack. ARGGHH! I saw a sign for "professional junk movers" last night. I have to be honest, I did stop and consider it. How great would it be to make a pile of junk for someone to just....haul away!
I'll have some pics to post of Sam's party tomorrow. We're having a hayride, apple-bobbing, costume wearing, weini roasting, s'more making party. Basically, we've lost our minds! Hehe.

Other news

While I have a minute, I'll update:
We're wrapping up soccer. I think we have 3 games left in the season. Jack has enjoyed this season so much. His game has greatly improved, and now we're just looking forward to swim team. DaddyPinkie and Jack go swim at the health center 2 mornings a week and on Saturday afternoon. School is going great, but for some weird reason, Jack is doing really good in Math this year...and his Reading grade, which has always been really high, has dropped a bit. I'm not too worried yet, but it is strange. His Reading teacher says his biggest problem is that he reads while she is teaching, so when it is time to work, he has missed all of the instruction. He's a chip off of the old block...he even reads by flashlight like I used to do. He'll read anything he can get his hands on, and I hope he never loses his love for reading. We just need to work on his timing!

Sam is happy in first grade. He is doing really, really well in Reading....which is surprising. He has never really been interested or excited about books or words. His handwriting, well, that is another story. Ouch. Even though it has improved tremendously since the beginning of school, he seems to need more work....to me. His teacher says it is ok and that he is doing great. He'll be starting speed addition tests soon...arrgghh! He's more of a math thinker, so hopefully it won't be too painful. The boys are both in a gym class once a week, and they love it. They do warmup, stretches and strength exercises for 15 minutes. After that they do 15 minutes of trampoline exercises, 15 minutes of cardio, balance, and strength workouts, and 15 minutes of free play on the rock climbing wall. It's something they look forward to every week, and we've seen such an improvement in both of them....but especially in Sam's gross and fine motor skills. He also runs SOOO much faster than before. In the beginning he could barely make it through the end of the trampoline exercises. Now, he makes it through with energy to spare! Maybe too much energy! I can't forget to mention that The Red Monster will be 7 on Sunday. EEK! We're having cupcakes at school tomorrow, and a hayride birthday party on Saturday evening. He is so excited. I bought him a shirt and tie for his birthday...it's what he asked for. How crazy is that? He also wanted "man pajamas" and a "coffee mug like a man uses." He is a TRIP!

Kindergarten....whoa. Sophy really likes school, and she loves her teacher so much. We were really worried that Sophy would take kindergarten by storm....i.e. be in trouble from the first bell to the last. For whatever reason, she has only had one minor discipline issue. YAY! She has meshed with a gaggle of little girls that are, it seems, as dramatic and girlie as she is. It's scary. Gymnastics is going extremely well. She was moved from the pre-k group to the 8 year old group last month. She is, by far, the youngest in her class, but she is on track ability-wise with the others. I love to watch her at practice. She is so focused during class on mastering what her coach is teaching her. She's amazing. Last month, her coach started working with her on backhandsprings and front/back walkovers. We'll see how long it takes her to do them independently. We're also in tap/ballet/dance class one night a week, and it's going great too. It's weird that my most agile/athletic child is the youngest....and a girl....but it seems to be the case. Her dance class is getting ready for their part in the big Christmas parade on the square and also for their huge spring recital. I'm helping with her class party on Friday, and her dance class is having a Fall showcase/H'ween party next week that I volunteered to help with. I don't mind, but sometimes I ask myself...WHY???? Arrgghh! Oh well, they're only young once!

Well, it's late. I'm sure this was a boring bit of news, but such is life. Speaking of life, I really need to start printing out this year's blog entries. I keep them in a notebook, and I don't think I've started on this year's entries!! YIKES.

No time to talk....

Things are ablur (should that be one word or two?) in the Pinkie house. OOYYY!! We are knee deep in SELLING OUR HOUSE! The day it went on the market (no sign in the yard, mind you) it sold for our asking price with no contingencies. Let me just add that we were being very OPTIMISTIC with our asking price. We were ecstatic, to say the very least, that it happened so easily. Our offer on the house we looked at (in our neighborhood...hehe) was accepted, and let me just say how ECSTATIC we are about that because it wasn't anywhere near what the folks were asking. It has all workd out beautifully, fingers crossed, to this point. We're just going one step at a time and leaving it all in God's hands. As of now, we have a closing date (for this house and our new one) on November 15th. ARRGGHHHH! We're past the inspections and appraisals on both properties, the financial paperwork is (we hope) complete, and we're just haggling over minor repairs and punch lists with our buyers and the sellers of the house we are hoping to buy. I guess we should be packing by now, but we're just sort of in denial, I think. Once a closing date has been set, I'd say you pretty much need to get busy....but we're just in awe of how quickly and easily this has all happened. The good news is (besides the fact that our potential new home has a PPOOOOLL) that we're just moving to the back of the subdivision. Ha! We'll be doing more "shuttling" than actual "moving."
I'll try to post more later. I'm just so in awe, afraid things could go wrong, and IMMENSELY excited all at the same time. ((I'm happy to report that DaddyPinkie will have a kicking home office for his business/clients/etc....and I'll have a guest room for family/friends!!! I'm soooo beyond excited! Oh, and there are two attics!!!! HOW COOL IS THAT???!!!))
Ok. I'll update more later. I promised Jack pizza tonight, and we still have to get the boys to their gym class....and I have a hankering for a fire in the fireplace!!
Later~

Oh yeah. About the vaseline and wrench...

My previous title was supposed to inspire wonder and curiousity....and then I forgot to tell you about the incident that involved the vaseline and monkey wrench.
SO! Last night....at the meal where we were eating lots of REAL food, the cousins were all outside riding bicycles, when my youngest niece got her foot caught behind the pedal of her pink, princess bicycle. At first, all of the adults were fairly certain that we could just unwedge her foot. She is a little nub of a kid, even by kid standards, and we figured the hysterics were due to her DRAMATIC nature....and not so much because her foot was about to be snapped off at the ankle. Turns out that her foot was, indeed, about to be snapped off at the ankle (I only mildly exaggerate.) We greased her foot, ankle, calf with vaseline and tried to slip her limb out of the pedal. No deal. Not happening. Uhm. No.
SO! PinkiePop (my dad) rounds up a set of tools, the cousins are in varying stages of concern, tears, hysterics, and uncaring. Sister to the vaseline'd child was weeping and saying, "I'm gonna miss her when she's gone..." Jack was bringing glasses of water to the vaseline'd child and comforting her while she cried and blew snot bubbles. Sam taunted her and said, "I bet that REALLLLY hurts." Sophy, who loves her little vaseline cousin more than words can say, held her hand and told her not to worry. Mind you, this little lubricating incident lasted for about 25 minutes. That is how long it took to free her foot from behind the pedal. Is that insane? Today she has bruises on her ankle and shin, and her leg is a little tender. I think she is very fortunate that she didn't break her leg, to tell ya the truth. It was crazy!!
There. You can consider yourself informed, lubricated and liberated.

Please pass the vaseline and the wrench.....

My mom asked us over for dinner this evening, and since we only vaguely remember what home cooked food is, we were very happy to accept. Oh, it was nice.....pot roast, real mashed potatoes, old lady green beans (the kind with bacon, potatoes, and hair on them), skillet corn, rolls (real rolls), and blackberry cobbler made with berries that Sophy and I picked in the backyard. It was nice to eat food. Real food.
We're still checking out the potential house that I mentioned earlier. It's all so crazy right now, so I'm just going to not mention it again until I know something definite. It's just crazy and bizarre and may never come to pass. Then again, stranger things have happened. For us, they happen more frequently than not. I just can't let myself think of it right now. Ug.
It would be really nice if I could sleep in tomorrow, but I have an eye appointment at the butt-crack of dawn. So, there'll be no sleeping in for me; however, there just might be a sausage biscusit from McD's. A real sausage biscuit. Or rather, a pseudo-real sausage biscuit. Ha.

It's a spooky ghost...

No wait....it's me. How creepy is this picture? Don't answer that! Yes, I have poltergeist eyes. In other news, we're going to look at a house tomorrow in our neighborhood that is for sale. EEK! I'll keep ya posted.

Alfalfa, Spanky, and Darla

Even more mundane and way less necessary

We're home from dinner and the bookstore (and the sports store and Gap.) We've ridden our bikes, mapped out the new garden (in the dark, I might add), bathed the kiddos, laid out soccer clothes, and bid them all a "go to sleep as fast as you can." It was a nice evening in town, but it feels good to sit down and relax for a bit....sans children. I've wanted to update about so many topics lately, but I can never think of them when I'm here. Let's see if I can manage to strike a few off of the list:

6th GRADE:

I wish I could tell you that my sixth graders are, each and every one, the joys of my meager existence. However, my mama did her best to teach me not to lie......What I mean to say is....well, they are a motley crew interesting group of young minds. Suffice it to say, we're learning all about each other, and they're growing on me. I have always viewed my time with my students as a way to reach out and get my hands on a life that I might can change the course of--cheezy--but very realistic. That being the case, I have TONS of opportunities with this group. Maybe too many opportunities. Luckily, I have been given the chance to teach the 7th grade group (my 6th graders from last year), and I am so happy to be with them another year. They are an amazing group of firecrackers, delinquents, whiners, overachievers, princesses, and jocks. I just love them to smithereens. My 6th graders just wrapped up a unit on Helen Keller, and it was so much fun to see their minds wrap around something new and to hear my old group rehash what they learned/remembered from their encounter with Helen Keller last year. It made me proud that they had remembered so much of what we learned about her and to hear how much they enjoyed it. Several of them told me that it had been their favorite book. That's not something you hear from many middle school aged kids. If you want a good read, try The Story of My Life, by Helen Keller. You won't regret it.

GARDEN

We recently took out the back side of the garden that was a grapevine wall. It was very much an ordeal that GardenDaddy had no desire to participate in, but I managed to con him into it anyway. So, that took several days of clearing, chopping, burning, etc. We added the rest of the fencing to enclose the enlarged area where the grapevine had been. Now, the plan is to level the inside of the garden--which involves me with a tiller....YEEHAW, add a plank swing and a ginormous fountain in the center (which we have purchased and waiting), lay a flagstone path, move all of the large pieces (crepe myrtles, etc.) to new locations in the garden and start over with some new permanent plantings. Got that? To make a long story short, I have a lot of work to do. I'm happy to report that a garden (and some irrigation pipes) are being installed by a landscaper on the other side of the yard. A girl has got to know her limitations (regrets to Dirty Harry.)

HOUSE

I'm dreaming of a new kitchen and keeping my fingers crossed. We're still at a deadlock over adding on versus building a new house. Either way, the work we have planned will go on, but we have to come to some agreement soon. DaddyPinkie's business is eating our house.

TRIPS

We're planning on going to Biltmore during Spring Break. Can I tell you how excited about this trip I am? I have dreamed of going to Biltmore for years. And years. And yes, years. Speaking of dreaming for years, if GardenDaddy can not accompany me to England this summer, there is a very real possibility that I'm going to see Ang alone. (Whether she likes it or not! HAHAHAA!) What is standing in my way, you ask? Flying over the ocean. I'm phobic. It's no secret. When I say phobic, I mean, Dr. Phil time people. Ang assures me that I can do it. She who flies across oceans for the heck of it. And enjoys it. Sigh. Still, I think of all the places I HAVE to see. I can't NOT go. Right?

Of course, Jack is planning a trip to Lima, Ohio to ride some train. I'm not thinking so.

TV

Survivor is back. Why did they have to vote of Chicken? What the heck? He was pure comedy. The Gravedigger. Gee. Nice underwear. I'm almost sad they voted off the wrestler with the boobs. She really liked stirring stuff up. Bear Grylles. Have you heard? If not, I'll not go into it. He broke my heart. You can Google and read all about it. Beware. It ain't pretty. Now then....Dirty Jobs. If they would ever produce a new episode, I might have something interesting to tell you about and poetry to dedicate to Mike Rowe. Since they seem opposed to doing a new episode, I'll just have to be happy with the re-runs.

Well, I suppose I'm fresh out of topics. PinkieDaddy is waiting for me to watch a movie with him anway, so I guess I better shut this off. Happy weekend!

The mundane and the necessary

It's after 9 o'clock, and the kids are finally settled into bed. Jack had soccer practice tonight, and Sam & Sophy ran around on the emtpy practice fields like an entire tribe of wild indians. All 3 of the kids had homework tonight, so you can imagine the get-home-from-work-cook-supper-do-homework-get-dressed-for-soccer-fiasco that ensued and the following come-home-take-3-baths-get-into-pj's-review-photosynthesis-and-#5 multiplication facts-fiasco. DaddyPinkie has been MIA this week, so it seems like decades since we've seen him. Jack is usually the first to show signs of Daddy withdrawal, and today I saw the beginning stages of a good case working up. We've literally seen him for about 20 solid minutes this week. We plan on taking the kids to dinner tomorrow night and to the bookstore to lay around, drink hot chocolate and read books. Jack has 5 tests tomorrow, so I think the kid is past due for a some R&R. Speaking of R&R....NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY. Muchas Gracias, Christopher Columbus.
Weekend plans? Hhhhm. Well, I have to be certain that I remember to purchase a $178 money order to prevent a warrant for my arrest being issued in the backwoods fine state of Mississippi, if it hasn't already. Long story, but it involves a state trooper and someone who very much resembles, ahem...myself flying down the interstate in Mississippi on her way to Florida with her family in the car this past July. So, yeah. That's one thing I have to do. I'd say it's sort of up there on the priority list.
Anything else? Let's see....a soccer game on Saturday morning, a birthday party on Sunday......maybe there are other things. My frain is bried, and I can't remember it all. Oh, an optometrist appointment. Can't forget that. I'd love to be able to work in my garden, which reminds me, I seriously need to post some pics of the newly gutted garden. You would faint if you could see it. It's being majorly overhauled.
So, dear readers (all 2 of you), I bid you farewell.
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Sort of.

A banner day people. A BANNER day!

A self portrait~Sam, 2008 "A Red Head in Time"

2 banner achievements for Sam today. Folks, we were seriously cooking with gas in Pinkieville. Sam, with great joy, learned how to pee in a bottle.
Uh-huh.
You read that right.
Pee.
In a bottle.
Mind you, it wasn't something I intended for him to learn; however, you can bet your bottom dollar that he has never been so excited about something in his entire 6 years and 11 months of life. We were stranded in a location with no...facility....as it were. What's a mama to do? I found an empty water bottle in the car and nonchalantly gave him the green light to do what he had to do. Oh how his eyes sparkled. He laughed, fiendishly, while exercising his new skill. He inquired, with glee, as to whether or not his daddy had ever attempted such. I assured him that I didn't know, but chances were that he had. With the bottle nearing the VERY FULL mark, I began to worry that my choice of receptacle would not withstand the, obviously, VERY FULL bladder of my red-headed, middle child. Never fear. It topped off in the nick of time!
In other, less excretorial news, Sam learned how to cross the monkey bars at the park. When he finally crossed the entire length, he hopped to the ground and said, "Hey Mom! How about you give me ten dollars for being so great!"
He's great alright.
And the world may never be the same.
Citizens, hide your empty bottles.

Smell that?

'Tis the smell of Athlete's Foot. Wait. No. Oh yes, the smell of AN athlete's foot.....clashing with another athlete's foot. Judging by the direction of the ball, I'd say Jack got the first jab at the ball. Today was the first soccer game of '07, and Jack had a wonderful time. He's definitely no Beckham, but he gives it 110%....which hopefully counts for something! Hehe.
We're off to the mall to pick up a few things. After that, we're heading to the park to meet Pinkie cousins and then to Jason's deli for supper.
It's a gorgeous day outside, so go play!
Go on!
Shoo-shoo.
Scoot.
Skee-daddle. (I'll stop on that one....)

Neighbors

During my trip to see my #$#% Granny, I stopped briefly at the small, country cemetery where my Ninnie and Papa are buried. There are 244 markers in the cemetery that is located in a town with a population of 8 (seriously.) About 25 of the stones mark my own flesh and blood. Names of people I have met, and some of people I've heard stories about. Names like Mary Leigh, Myrtle Retha, Sampson Belvin, Estella Ophelia, and Nannie P. This cemetery is so neatly maintained, and on this day, Confederate flags were flying by about 60 of those markers. This guy (above) is on the row next to my grandparents. The Civil War seems so long ago in our minds, but it's so bizarre to think that my grandparents are buried next to a Captain from Company G of the Missouri Guards in the Confederate States Army. How long must the plots around him have been waiting? Well, I guess since 1936, judging by the dates on the stone, huh? Still, I could stay there all day reading the headstones. The older they are, the more they tell. Some of them are like stories straight from the pages of history describing who the person was, what they succumbed to, and who loved them. About 2 sections over from my grandparents, there are entire families that were wiped out from, I suppose, the influenza of the early 1900's.
Sometimes you just feel so small.

My @$## Granny and a Sweet Lady

On Saturday morning we learned that my sweet, sweet grandmother's twin (and by twin I mean CLONE) had passed away at the age of 96. She died in her sleep and had laid out her clothes that she wished to be buried in the night before she went to bed. Just like my grandmother, Ninnie, she (Irene) was the sweetest, softest lady to ever walk the planet. We all 3 shared a birthday, and after the death of my Ninnie, it was so special (and sad) to still be able to speak to Irene who laughed and talked just like my Ninnie. It was also very much like talking to someone from beyond the grave. She was that similar to her twin in appearance and every other way you could imagine. To say they were clones is not an exaggeration. I was so incredibly sad after hearing about her death, but I had to stop and remind myself that 96 years of life with no health problems, a large loving family, and 94 years with a twin who loved you more than life was something to celebrate, not be filled with sadness about. So, I went outside and watched 2 butterflies chase each other through my garden and thought of those two giggling, old ladies that I loved so much that are once again together. Holding hands like always.

My Ninnie once filled out a book for me called A Mother's Love. It was a book my church had given out on Mother's Day for a mom to fill out for her children. At that time, my Papa had just died after 63 years of marriage to my Ninnie, and I thought it would give Ninnie something to do to take her mind off of things. The questions were things like, "Describe your mother in her favorite dress" and "Describe a time when you were very afraid." It took her two years to complete the book, but she gave it to me a couple of years before she passed away at the age of 94. I learned things about her (and my family) that I had never known. For example, that my daddy had once given his baby sister a bath in Drano and almost blinded her for life. Also, that my Ninnie's parents were share croppers and that she met my Papa at a barn dance in West Texas during those share cropping days. That she and my Papa were married on a Thursday morning. She in a blue dress that cost $8.00 and my Papa in borrowed clothes. Following their wedding, they spent their first married night back at her parent's "house". I don't think sharecroppers had a "house" like we would imagine these days. The day following their wedding at the preacher's house, my Papa left for 3 days to work on the WPA. Isn't it amazing the history a family can have?

In that same book, my Ninnie wrote page after page about Irene. About how Irene was her "joy" and that on the day my Ninnie and Papa were married, Irene "took to the bed for a week and cried." Ahhhh. They were inseperable for their entire lives. Even the miles weren't strong enough to separate them. When my Papa died, Irene's children drove her to be by my Ninnie's side. They were both pushing 90 years of age at that time. As Irene entered the house, we all just started bawling as she was wearing the exact same dress, sweater and shoes that my Ninnie was wearing. Totally unplanned.
So, Saturday was a sad day for me. I no longer share a birthday with my 2 favorite ladies in the entire universe, but they are together now...and that is how they would want it.

We barely were over the shock of Irene's unexpected death, when we received a call Sunday morning that my #$#%#$# Granny had taken a horrible fall and wasn't doing very well. I needed to see her before it was too late, so I drove (10 hours) to see her. I took Sophy with me, and Ben stayed home with the boys. In typical D.Granny fashion, she was ungrateful, pissy, and entirely too grumpy for words. THAT is what makes her my #%$^%#$^ Granny. She rolled her eyes at the doctor. She lied, repeatedly, to my mom, her sister and their youngest brother (this is the #T%$%$# Granny who birthed 12 children) about whether or not she had taken her medicine as prescribed, about the last time she had eaten, about how many cigarettes a day she was smoking. We learned yesterday that she has some very large internal bleeding and was given 3 units of blood today, an enlarged heart to go with her several other MAJOR health issues that will never be corrected (emphysema, diabetes, flebitis, etc.), and something unspeakable growing in her lungs. Anyone else would've been dead 15 years ago, but there is only one $%$^$ Granny, I promise ya that. Besides the whiskey probably has pickled and preserved for a while longer. You've never met anyone like her, and you're probably glad because of that. We're not sure how long she has. She's on borrowed time already, but she's just too stinking mean to die. She's as tough as they come. And ornery too. Bless her heart.
Could I have been spawned from 2 more polar opposite camps of women? I don't think so. Bless my heart!

Bears, Trains and a Monkey in a Space Suit

Space is no longer the final frontier. Look out Mr. Spock.

The kindergarten classes had their annual Bear Parade today! Look how sweet!

A recent pic of Jack and his Pop. It's hard to tell who loves trains more. It's equally hard , on most days, to tell who is the child and who is the alleged adult.

A loaded question from Cinderella and a 9 year old who doesn't like to travel alone.

That is, I think, most likely the longest title I've ever managed.
I really didn't intend to make another entry, but after a very disturbing encounter with Cinderella's Magic Mirror, I felt compelled to share. I had just opened Sophy's closet door, walked in and switched on the light when her Cinderella talking vanity said to me, "Don't you think I'm pretty?" Cinderella usually only speaks when you push her buttons, but I'm guessing she's having battery issues. So, I was a little perplexed as to why she was addressing me. Either way, I didn't answer her, which is why she continued with a much deeper toned, "Don't you think I'm pretty?"
I'll admit, the Satan tone got my attention, so I answered her. "Girl, have a little self respect. You should've spiked your step-mother's Pepsi with Drano a long, long time ago. And don't even get me started on Drucilla and Anastasia. A little rope and duct tape would do them some good...So, do I think you're pretty? I dunno. I think you're a very weak influence for little girls, and you really need to step up and work on your self esteem issues." GardenDaddy walked up about that time and cocked his eyebrow at me. I pointed to the vanity and shrugged. As he walked away, Cinderella said, "Don't you think I'm pretty?" I stuck my tongue out at her and closed the closet door. She's still in there. Waiting for me.

Jack has been swimming at the gym with GardenDaddy lately. Tonight I told Jack about the Olympics and how he could participate in the Games if he kept practicing hard. He got all teary and said, "Mom. Where do they have the Olympics?" I told him the really cool part! That the Olympics are held in countries like Australia, China, Japan. More tears. He goes, "I can't go to another country by myself!" Hahhaa. Duh! Doesn't he know I'm going to college with him? It only stands to reason that I'd go to the Olympics with him too. Ha!

With Monday On The Way....

This pic seemed pretty appropriate to the start of the school week! Well, at least from this side of the teacher's desk. I'm sure it feels the same for those wearing student shoes too.....and mommy shoes. Ok, ok. It's a Monday now matter how you slice it, right?
Have a good week everyone!

Saturday Sniffles

My first two weeks of school were productive, I guess. I have the beginnings of a head cold, so the weeks weren't a total loss! Hehe. Actually, I think it's Golden Rod allergies or something. Mostly I'm just sniffling and sneezing my head off. Whoohoo! As I type, I have a chef salad made and potatoes baking for lunch, Sam is sweeping the kitchen and has just emptied all of the trash cans in the house, Sophy has music blaring in her room and is "dancing like a star", and DaddyPinkie and Jack are at the gym swimming laps. After they get home, we're heading to a movie and dinner in town with the kids. I wish they would hurry up! I want lunch already.

Week 2 of school went great for the kids. Sophy is WAY too impressed with PE, and Sam has made 90's and 100's on his sight word and spelling tests. Jack has a new friend that has "really stinky breath that smells like rotten eggs", but that is okay because he can run really fast and "is a pretty nice guy." That's my boy. Do all 9 year olds look past the stinky breath of a potential friend? I don't think so. My Jack is a kind-hearted fellow, for sure. Sophy, on the other hand, has a gaggle of girlie girls in her class that are all very concerned with hair bows, necklaces, and pink sparkly lunch boxes....Sophy included. Her nightly clothes laying out sessions are very extensive and grueling. Why can't our district wear uniforms? UG!

Ooops. I smell potatoes burning....arrgghhhhhhhh.

ARRGGHHH!

We're here! I promise! Things are INSANE right now with ballet for Soph, gym class for all 3, soccer practice for Jack, homework for all 3, etc, but life is really good. The kids are happy, loving school (for the most part), and doing really well. Sophy LOVES kindergarten, and Sam is tolerating first grade. HA! Third grade is a definite shift in gears from second grade, but we are managing. Jack seems happy, and he loves being a third grader. My classes are going super, and T'giving break can't come soon enough. All at the same time. I LOVE my 7th graders, and I'm getting to know my 6th graders. DaddyPinkie and the boys are working on a model train set ($$$$pit) with PinkiePop in our "free" time...haha, and I am getting back into walking when possible, and this post is starting to sound like a beauty pageant narrative. Not that I've ever been in a pageant. Those of you who know me are surely giggling at the thought. Pfffft.
Speaking of beauty pageants, where is Elaina? Does she read this blog anymore? These are the things I wonder about in the middle of the deep, dark night.

Taco Bell...uhhhm. Guess what is for supper tonight? Hehe.

In other news, we're ANXIOUSLY awaiting Survivor (Amy!) and dreaming of going to England (Ang!). Survivor is a sure thing...England, well, we'll see! Also, there has been some pretty serious talk of selling our house and building. The thought of building a house totally makes my hair stand on end, but DaddyPinkie's business has grown so much that it is almost a necessity at this point. If we build, we're doing a pool...so guess where my vote is? HA! Uhm, yeah! It's always been something we've talked about while keeping at arms length, but it's getting unavoidable. DaddyPinkie's home business is becoming more business and less home which is good and crazy.
This weekend we're planning a trip to the zoo or park with the kids, so I'm hoping to have pics to share soon! Hope everyone out there is doing peachy!

We all survived!

I'll share the first day pics tomorrow, but I just wanted to let you all know that we lived through the first day. Ok. Ok. I lived through the first day! (Ang, Mrs. Ernestine came to me this a.m. to let me know that she was supposed to give me a hug/moral support, and I was about to weep as it was...and then I was like all crying on her shoulder...haha, I was a mess.) The kids all seemed to have had awesome days. Sophy was impressed with the rainbow parachute that kindergarten got to play with in PE! She wants one for Christmas. HAHA! I asked Sam to tell me about his day, and he told me, "Mom. Really. It was just so much that I can't even explain it all. My class is the busiest place I've ever been." He did tell me that his teacher "really knew what she was talking about." Pfft. Jack wasn't happy about the fact that "3rd graders are supposed to be quieter than most other kids." On his homework tonight he had to tell something about himself. He said, "After I play outside, you might think I smell like sweat...but don't worry, I don't stink." HAHAHAHHAA. I didn't make him change it. He also included that he had "smooth ears" and "stinky socks." OOHHH, the mind of a 3rd grader. I love it!
We survived! Thanks for remembering me Ang. I needed an Ernestine shoulder this a.m. How did you know? :-)