Momma and G and the Cat Make 3!

Quiet Around the Ol' Blog...

2012-02-13T06:39:00.001-05:00

My dashboard tells me my last post was February 4th.
That was nine days ago.

I can't say that things have been quiet, or boring, or not news worthy.
Nope, can't say that at all.
But just haven't been shouting things from the rooftops as I try to consider it all.

But we're good.
Really good.

Gloria had her birthday that would not end.
Party a week before hand, her actual birthday with lots of fun family gifts followed by another celebration during a super bowl party last Sunday, birthday cupcakes at school on Monday, a visit from Miss Beth and more presents on Tuesday, Uncle Will and Aunt Martha's gift arrived on Wednesday. TWELVE days of celebrating!
Like I said, the birthday that would not end...
(sound like a song anyone knows? And if it just got stuck in your head...well, welcome to my world! I did it to myself too.)

School decisions had to be made.
I'm choosing in favor of financial sensibility and stability, which I know is the right choice.
But it kills me to change her school.
But the idea of no more tuition payments, cutting my daily driving to less than half of what it currently is, and paying off my small credit card debt...they win out this time.
It's still hard though.

And last, but not least, I'm trying to figure out how dating as a single mom actually works.

Did I just say that?
Well, don't tell anyone, ok?
It's complicated, that's for sure.
But, well...yeah...let's just say it makes me smile.

And Mom, don't call (or email!) and ask me about it either!
That's all you're getting right now!
:)

Happy Monday everyone!

Science Fair

2012-02-04T21:08:00.001-05:00

We spent all day today at the local university for the regional STEM Fair.

To say Gloria was a nervous wreck this morning would be an understatement. She had discovered that I could not be present during the judges' interviews. She would be alone with her project and I had to wait in the auditorium.

Warning: grainy iPhone pictures ahead. My camera was at home...

I can tell she is nervous. Her eyes are smiling. Plus, she's got her shoulders all hunched up.

Waiting to be dismissed for the interviews.

Interviews are over!

Much more relaxed.

There were about 150 projects in the elementary division. It was really interesting to see them all. Of course, they all start to run together after seeing that many. And the high school projects? Totally over my head! Oh my goodness!

It was a long day. And the awards ceremony dragged on and on. And ON! Gloria didn't win an award, but she was still happy because just being there meant that she was already a winner.

But then, she's always a winner in my book!

And right now, that little winner is upstairs dreaming about her birthday tomorrow (Sunday). She's turning 9!

Birthday Celebration...Part 1!

2012-01-29T12:11:00.000-05:00

Gloria is turning 9!

Not until next Sunday.

But next Sunday there is some big football game on or something like that???

So we were going to celebrate on Saturday, the fourth of February.

But then she went and won the science fair at her school.

Which means that she goes on to the regional science fair, held at the local university.

And that? Just happens to be on February 4th.

All day.

Which led us to "Plan C" and a party yesterday.

Choir school threw me a slight curve ball, but we worked around that.

Because honestly?

I didn't have it in me to come up with a "Plan D."

So yesterday we celebrated.

A few friends, some good food, and in Gloria's words, "It was a most perfect party."

And then she informed me that just 366 days after next Sunday she would be turning double digits.

Gulp!

But I have 366 days plus a week to ignore that fact, right?

Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting--the birthday girl's request

Nine candles makes a lot of smoke...and it's hard to blow them all out in one breath!

Who doesn't like getting new clothes?

Chocolate? Surely that was supposed to be for Momma!
She even took it to bed with her last night so I couldn't swipe it!

Dreaming of her Tigers?

Perspective

2012-01-25T19:47:00.000-05:00

I really can't wait until January is over. Six more days...

Is there a fast-forward button on the calendar?

It's been a hard month, in so many ways. And on Sunday, I really thought I had reached my breaking point. In fact, I think I had a mini temper tantrum.

Over garbage bags.

Yep...
Garbage bags.
Missing garbage bags, almost a brand new box of them!
They must have fallen off the shelf and into the garbage can.
Only I didn't realize it until several hours after tossing the garbage into the dumpster as we left our neighborhood on the way to church on Sunday morning.

Yeah, I was pretty ticked off about it.
Ask Gloria...she'll tell you.

And after that discovery, I still had to clean bathrooms (I despise cleaning bathrooms), do the laundry, mop the kitchen floor, and change the litter boxes.

I was N-O-T a happy momma.
Not at all.
Not even one teensy little bit.

Until...
until it hit me, while ~~scraping~~ scrubbing ~~how many weeks worth of hair spray off of~~ my bathroom floor...

At least I have a bathroom to clean, and the rest of our little home for that matter.
At least I have a warm, safe place to live in and call home and I can curl up under a blanket and read when the weather is less than desirable.
At least I have clothes (too many, probably) to wear and then wash when ever I want to.
At least I have a kitchen that needs to be mopped and cleaned up--it means I have food for us to cook and eat.

All of that made me settle down a little bit and get the jobs done.
I may not have done it with a smile on my face, but it did make me pause and be thankful.

But I'm still ready for January to be over and done with!

Spirit Week, Day 1

2012-01-17T19:07:00.000-05:00

Gloria has Spirit Week at school this week.

Today was sports day: wear something from your favorite team or sport.

This is a big deal for them because the school does not allow any clothing that has words or pictures or numbers on it that might represent another school or organization.

Easy choice, right?

Uh...

Not so much.

There was lots of discussion and thought put into Gloria's decision today...

Should she wear
a.) her Auburn jersey
b.) her Cam Newton Panther's jersey

There were pros and cons for each one.

Eventually, with a little help from "the main moms" of choir, she decided on the Auburn jersey because "there will probably be lots and lots of Panthers stuff and no one else will wear Auburn!"

And by all reports, they were right...

Lots of Panthers.

And even a Gamecocks shirt...
And *gasp* an Alabama shirt!
Can you believe it?!?
The horrors!

(Her words, not mine!)

Blessings

2012-01-16T21:53:00.000-05:00

I was going to post some pictures of our relaxed day at home, playing games and having tea parties. But then we went to Gloria's choir rehearsal tonight.

I wrote about the group of moms last spring. And really, they are more than friends. They are family. One of these Monday nights, we will solve all the problems of the world, I'm sure of it! But tonight, they helped me and I was overwhelmed and humbled by their actions.

You see, this month has been super tough financially. It's a long month since I get paid on the last working day of each month: the last working day of December was December 19th and the last working day of January is January 31st. I usually manage a regular month down to the last few dollars, but six weeks...combined with a broken refrigerator and a few other un-budgeted expenses made this January particularly hard. They knew that. And tonight, they blessed us with three bags of groceries--fresh fruits and veggies, gluten free bread and pasta, pizza makings, beans and rice, things I can put in our lunch boxes, and even a few sweet treats.

Gloria's reaction was so sweet. It was like Christmas morning as she helped me unpack the bags when we got home. She was so excited about the zucchini that she pulled out of the bag..."Momma! Will you make zucchini sticks tomorrow night?!?" Guess what I'm making for dinner tomorrow. ;)

I still don't know what to say. "Thank you" just doesn't seem adequate enough. Kristine, Paulette, and Cheryl, AKA "The Main Moms"...you guys are our angels and we are so blessed to have you in our lives.

And a few pictures from our day...

I won Connect Four, but she skunked me TWICE at Trouble!

Then a tea party...

With an extra guest...

Antics

2012-01-15T20:17:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday night.

I've got nothing.

I've pretty much had nothing all week.

There's plenty going on. Just not what I care to blog about. Results, decisions to be made, grumpiness, blah...

But Hannah and Screamer have done their level-best to keep us on our toes...

And to try to be helpful, too...

Not only does the cat eat my homework (Really!)

He eats my dinner, too!

I cannot find a way to keep him off of my kitchen counters and it is driving me C-R-A-Z-Y!

"Don't worry, Momma. I've got that wrinkle under control."

Hannah must think she is helping when I change the sheets,

because we go through this every single time.

Cold Wet Yuck

2012-01-11T20:05:00.000-05:00

That's what I thought of this morning when we headed out into the dark early hours. It's actually a line from a book about Henry and Mudge. Only Henry and Mudge get to stay home and build a castle out of boxes in their basement with the help of Mom and Dad. Us? We had to go to school.

It was a good day...for a duck!

I'm thinking it's time for me to invest in a pair of rain boots. What's the right word? Galoshes? I don't know. I don't think I've had a pair since maybe kindergarten. My feet got soaked when I went across the bus lot to the ~~North 40~~, ~~learning cottages~~, trailers to meet with my second grade groups. It's a great walk on a sunny day. On a day like today? Not so much.

I was so glad to come home and put on my warm fleecy red socks. They are much, much better than cold, wet shoes! :)

What made you happy today?

Conversations

2012-01-10T18:00:00.000-05:00

Monday morning on the way to school:

Me: Eight glorious months of no football!
G: Eight horrible months of no football!

Someone please tell me how this happened to me! I mean really...

Tuesday during a kindergarten reading group:

We read a book with lots of rhyming words and they were having so much fun playing with words and making more rhyming words. The word family was "-ake." Harmless, yes? Make, take, cake, rake, fake, Jake, lake, snake...

Then I was getting them to use the words in sentences and talk about each word. We got to "fake."

Me: How about "fake?"
Student: (in the sweetest little innocent voice) Some ladies have fake boobies.
Boy students: laughing and rolling on the floor
Me: And fake fingernails! How about "rake?"

I love kindergarteners!

Liberty Bowl

2012-01-09T20:40:00.000-05:00

The Liberty Bowl is always played on New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve in Memphis is not known for it's nice weather. But this particular December 31st dawned sunny and bright. (You'll notice all the squinty eyes in the pictures! That's how sunny it was!) When we left for the game, it was 70 degrees, according to my car. Perfect!

Showing a little sass here, don't you think?

Yeah, just wait 'till you see another one a little farther down!

Waiting for the game to start...

Told you the sun was bright!

And check out that bright blue sky!

Our end-zone

The Vanderbilt band on the field during the pre-game show

(I just missed the Y)

Here come the Commodores!

Yep...we were directly facing the sun.

A little wind-blown

When we thought we just might win...

And just a little more sass...

I do actually really like this picture.

Just don't know where that little attitude came from!

Liberty Bowl Parade

2012-01-08T12:46:00.000-05:00

Continuing in my "back in time" posts to catch up from my blogging break over Christmas...

We ended up staying at my parents' house longer than originally planned. But, for a very good reason! We were going to the Liberty Bowl. Vanderbilt was playing Cincinnati. My mom and I both went to Vandy, and since they have only played in 5 bowl games *ever* we figured this could possibly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. ;)

My brother worked his magic and found us tickets to the game. Then we found out about the parade. We made an afternoon of going to the parade.

First stop: The Peabody Hotel. (It happened to be the team hotel for Vandy as well as being about 2 blocks from the parade.)

We usually go down to the Peabody every time we are in Memphis to see the ducks swimming in the fountain in the lobby. We've been there to see them parade from the elevator to the fountain a few times. Gloria always enjoys it. It is kind of unusual to see ducks in the lobby of a fancy hotel. (Note: It's hard to get a good picture of the ducks since they are in constant motion! I had lots of pictures of tail feathers!)

This one decided to hop out and preen a little bit right in front of me.

Thoughtful little duck, don't you think?

Gloria was upset that she didn't have her Vandy shirt with her.

We convinced her that it was OK to wear her Auburn jersey since it was still the SEC.

Plus, Momma had gotten black and gold beads for everyone to wear for the parade and to the game.

We walked the few blocks from the hotel down to Beale Street for the parade. We ended up being right at the end of the parade route, but we had lots of fun people around us.

My mom (AKA Maggie to Gloria and Mema to the other two) with her three granddaughters

Waiting for the parade to start

There were people giving out gold shakers, so we got one for everyone.

They came in handy for the game the next day too!

It was hard to get good pictures during the parade because, like the ducks, the bands and floats tend to move instead of staying in one place. And my camera is s-l-o-w. :( But, two of our favorite sites from the parade that actually turned out ok on my camera...

This one might qualify as the strangest...

He is from the Secret Society of the Bol Weevil.

Odd, yes?

And the Chick-fil-a cows, dressed in Vandy and Cincy jerseys.

Tons of beads were being thrown from the floats and cars that were in the parade. The girls were loaded down with beads of every color, and pockets full of candy, by the time it was over.

Can you find us in this picture?

We had so much fun at the parade. And then we got to see the 5:00 duck parade back at the Peabody. We've never seen them go back to the elevator to go back to their penthouse "suite" for the night. Talk about a sea of people! But it's not every day that you get to see ducks walk on a red carpet for a ride up the elevator, so it was fun.

Can't wait to get the pictures from the Liberty Bowl up. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Be sure to check back. (Become a follower and you'll know when I do it! I've been sitting at 19 for so very long...would love to get over the hump! Now was that a shameless plug, or what?!? ;) )

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Gingerbread Houses

2012-01-07T21:52:00.000-05:00

Going back in time!

The girls (Gloria and my two nieces) wanted to make gingerbread houses after Christmas. And of course Maggie (to Gloria) Mema (to the other two) obliged. I think they used an entire box of graham crackers, not to mention every decorative candy to be found at my mom's house! Well, maybe they ate more than they actually used. And I might admit to swiping a few graham crackers myself. Plus, she made cream cheese icing for them to use! Yum! (Which only encouraged my graham cracker swiping...and I might have even added a few chocolate chips to it at one point...)

Deep in thought..."How am I going to make this thing stand up?"

More intense concentration. "Come on wall...stand UP!"

I may or may not have suggested building gingerbread teepees after more than one wall collapse took place. To say they scoffed at my idea would be putting it mildly!

SUCCESS!

Three happy house-builders.

And the finished products.

But that was just the beginning of our after-Christmas fun! Stay tuned for more!

The First Week of the New Year

2012-01-07T19:59:00.000-05:00

Wow! How is it Saturday night and the end of the first week of 2012 already? I mean really...how did that happen? Even one of my students looked at me yesterday and said, "This week went by really fast, Ms. B. Don't you think so?"

What made it go by so quickly? Maybe it was a combination of the following:

Sunday: We drove home from my parents' house. 10.5 hours in the car and at least 7 of those involved the yowling of cats (especially a certain little black cat riding in the back seat). Once we were home, the car got unpacked and laundry got started. But that was about it. I needed to play with my new ~~toy~~ Kindle.

Monday: Most people probably still had the day off, but not me. I was back at school with students. Gloria spent the day at all day after school care. We spent several hours in the evening finishing up her science fair project since it was due on Tuesday.

Tuesday: Gloria went back to school. I guess the one good thing about me going back on Monday was that I already had that "first day back" behind me and could function a bit better in those early morning hours! Science fair project made it to school. And I met with someone who runs a sitter service so that I can start doing that at night and on the weekends.

Wednesday: School. Smart board training after school made for a long day. We were both very glad to have a night free of science fair and other running around though.

Thursday: Ummm...I don't even remember Thursday! Except for the fact that I got off the outer loop at the wrong exit on my way to work that morning. I'm not a morning person, I'm telling ya!

Friday: Long day at school and a surprise discovery that left me scrambling for information and computer time until late into the night. We had to go back to Gloria's school for the actual science fair. I'll admit to grumbling about having to go back out on a Friday evening. I mean seriously...who has a science fair on a *Friday* night?!? The only reason we went was because Gloria had a project to present. Good thing we went...she won first place for the lower school division! Now it's on to the regional fair next month! We celebrated with dinner at Cracker Barrel, thanks to a gift card that was in my stocking on Christmas morning.

And that brings us to Saturday. We spent most of the day reclaiming the house from Christmas, travel, and general clutter.

Not the most exciting post. Not even a picture to make it a little more fun!

But, I'm going to go back in time and do some posts about our Christmas vacation doings. We had a lot of fun and I have a LOT of pictures! :)

Oops!

2011-12-28T22:29:00.000-05:00

Hello, my poor little neglected blog. So sorry to have left you alone for so long.

Can you believe that I didn't take a single picture on Christmas Day? It was a little wild that morning.

I do have a few pictures from our holiday doings.

Cousins

Gosh, the girls had fun that night.

Despite a broken flower vase, courtesy of my child.

And they are convinced that their cousin, Nick, looks a bit like Just-in Bee-bur (if you know who I mean)

While the man in red isn't in this picture, we did go to the mall and I DID get my picture of Gloria with Santa Claus! It only took 7 years! Maybe Santa Cow helped?

The funniest thing about this trip is that Screamer has finally met something he is scared of. Terrified might be the better word choice. Ella is living at my parents' house right now and Screamer does NOT like her. He steers a clear path around her...if he even comes out of the bedroom at all.

Gloria is excited that we are going to the Liberty Bowl on Saturday afternoon. No, it isn't her favorite team. But it is Momma and Maggie's team. Go Vandy! Then we will come home and watch the Eat More Chicken bowl on tv Saturday night. War Eagle! We thought we might go to that game, but Uncle Will couldn't work it out to go, so we aren't going either. It's going to be a full day of football, followed by a long day of driving on Sunday. Someone around here has to be back at work early Monday morning. Can't wait to post pictures of the bowl game!

Might Be the Closest I'll Ever Get!

2011-12-17T20:40:00.001-05:00

Our local "Chicken Lay" had breakfast with Santa Cow on Saturday morning.

Now, you should know that Gloria has never wanted anything to do with Santa Claus. She refuses to visit him for a picture, no matter how much I ~~offer in bribery~~ beg and plead. She won't even look his way if we happen to be in the mall this time of year. In fact, we have been known to have to take the long way around the mall to avoid Santa's area completely! I don't know what it is about the man in red...I mean, she LOVES the Easter Bunny. And I must admit to a tad bit of jealousy when I see all the pictures of my friends' children with Santa. Sigh...

But today, there was the COW in red...no problem! This might be the closest thing I ever get to a picture of Gloria with Santa Claus!

We also got to make a gingerbread house while we enjoyed our breakfast.

This last picture has nothing to do with Christmas or Santa Cow. I found it in her school bag last night after we got home from school. I love the look on her face as she is examining...a mouse's skull that she found in an owl pellet. Complete fascination!

I can't believe that Christmas Eve is one week from today! Are you ready?

More About Legoland

2011-12-14T20:20:00.000-05:00

Yeah, a little later than intended. Better late than never, though.

These first two pictures show how I remember Legoland...when it was Cypress Gardens. The lake with the ski show and the gardens.

It's quite different now. These creatures did not used to gather around the waterfall...although they are cute.

A few characters we ran into...

Quite a few colorful creations...

Some of the miniature landmarks...all made out of Legos...

Overall, I think they did a nice a nice job with the transformation from Cypress Gardens to Legoland. The two-story carousel and the Island in the Sky were from Cypress Gardens days. While we were on Island in the Sky, I was sad to see beyond the "walls" of Legoland into more of the old gardens where the birds, alligators, and other animals used to be because it was all so run down. Dilapidated, really. Supposedly, that part is going to become the resort?

So many memories are wrapped up in the old gardens. Taking Aunt Edith there for her birthday, going with my baby brother while Mom was at work just down the road on summer mornings, high school band pictures, "unofficial" visits with my friend who lived right next door (seriously! Nothing but a low chain separated their back yard from the back of the gardens property...step over it and VIOLA! We were there!), the ski show (The Legoland ski show was the only truly disappointing part of the experience. It was definitely NOT the ski show of days gone by.)

I think it is a great experience for the under 12 crowd. It's very low key and easy to get around. Gloria enjoyed herself. So much so that we went back a second day for a while (I had purchased year passes for us--the two visits more than paid for the passes. And, I know we will be back in the area a time or two before the passes expire.)

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Elf

2011-12-11T15:33:00.000-05:00

We came home on Monday night to find an elf in Gloria's bedroom. He wasn't there when we left for choir rehearsal, but he was sitting on Gloria's bed reading a book when we got home. To say that Gloria was in shock would be an understatement. Gloria named him Twinkle. Since Monday night, Twinkle has been up to some elfish mischief and fun.

Monday night...Twinkle decided that our Christmas tree needed some decorations. Guess he hadn't realized what Screamer might do to anything on the tree. Here is what we found on Tuesday morning...

On Tuesday night, I made some pumpkin bread for Gloria to take to school for a chorus breakfast party on Wednesday morning. It was a good thing I made two pans! Twinkle helped himself. I think he liked it!

Wednesday night, Twinkle must have discovered my chocolate stash. He left the evidence behind. At least he thought to brush his little elf teeth. ;)

On Thursday morning, we found Twinkle hanging from the chandelier in the dining room. Maybe he was trying to escape from one of the cats?

Friday night, Twinkle was obviously in the mood for some holiday music. This is where we found him on Saturday morning.

Saturday night, Twinkle got adventurous again and scaled to the top of the side-by-side. We found him with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus on Sunday morning.

We never know where Twinkle will be when we get up in the morning. It sure makes Gloria jump out of bed the moment she wakes up. She wakes me up with a Twinkle report.

Do you have an elf in your house? What has he or she been up to recently? Twinkle might need some more ideas!

Christmas Decorating

2011-12-03T23:17:00.000-05:00

I know...these are not the promised pictures from our Legoland adventure! This was just a really long kind of week and I just couldn't find the desire for blogging. Hopefully I will get those up in the next few days!

We don't usually do too much Christmas decorating, especially with the resident Bad Cat. There is always a wreath on the front door and some garland and white lights on the banister. And the Advent wreath is on the dining room table. (There are teeth marks in my candles already!) But, I have visions of arriving home each afternoon to discover my Christmas tree lying on the floor with ornaments scattered from one end of the house to the other. The same is true of my collection of nativity scenes. In fact, I don't think I've gotten them out in the past two years because I know what Bad Cat will do with all of those little pieces.

But today? Today I was feeling brave. Or maybe just trying to shake the down-and-out kind of funk I've been in this week. So we dug out some of the decorations. So far, so good for Bad Cat. But he hasn't been left alone with all of the temptations yet!

Mom and Dad got me this one in Alaska a few years ago.

Love the moose and the polar bear!

And Baby Jesus is in a dog sled!

This one is carved from stone.

(I can't remember its country of origin or how I acquired it.)

From Guatemala.

I got this when my mom and I went down there for Thanksgiving in 2003 to visit Gloria.

I love the bright colors.

(This one also led to the horrible crazy glue event this evening...three fingers glued to the glue tube and two other fingers glued together...I really wasn't sure I could unglue myself!

And the third donkey's leg is still broken!)

I love the stained glass and silver of this one.

The cow, the donkey, and the sheep are adorable.

Another one from Guatemala.

This one stays out year round.

Bad Cat knocks them down at least once a week, yet somehow they have survived his antics.

My mom got this one for me, too.

My first one I got as an adult.

It came from the mountains of North Carolina.

I love the simplicity of this one.

Gloria suggested that we put our little Christmas tree up for a few days without any ornaments on it and see what happens. If all goes well, she says, then we should put some non-breakable ornaments on it and see what happens again. I dunno...I'm not so sure I trust this guy...

Legoland...The Rides

2011-11-30T20:39:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving Day was the perfect day to go to Legoland! The crowd was fairly light. When and if we had to stand in line, the lines were short. I think our longest wait was maybe 15 minutes.

Gloria was so excited to be there. She looked like this most of the day...

I'm pretty sure she rode the carousel a dozen times.

Maybe more.

I lost count!

This carousel is a two story carousel...

so every time she rode "downstairs," she had to turn around and ride "upstairs."

Sometimes I was allowed to ride.

Other times...not so much. ;)

Ready for the safari trek!

The jousting tournament

Waiting in line again

The one moment of tears and protests...

I was "making" her ride on the Coastersaurus

(a roller coaster...one of two I would actually ride because the other two...no way!)

After riding Coastersaurus!

It was "the best ride ever!" and we had to ride it several more times.

Boating school

She drove me around the lagoon in the boat.

We only ran into the walls a few times.

Driving in circles....yeah, that was us.

Look at that concentration!

After driving school, where she earned her license!

Most of the rides at Legoland are geared for the younger crowd. I think Gloria was the perfect age to enjoy everything without it being to "baby-ish" or too old for her. She could be independent and ride some of the rides alone while we could enjoy other rides together.

Next up...some of the many Lego creations we encountered throughout the park.

Our Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T17:07:00.001-05:00

We went on a little adventure over Thanksgiving.

Not your "traditional" Thanksgiving, to say the least.

But we had so much fun.

Lots to say about it.

Many pictures to post.

But for now...these will have to do...

I promise to share more.

But right now there is a laundry beast to be tamed...not to mention two furry beasts who are demanding attention even though Miss Sarah came to see them twice a day each day that we were gone.

Back to reality...

Or perhaps I shall go read some more Sunday Snapshots...

Story Time

2011-11-20T20:51:00.000-05:00

What's a girl to do when the football games are over and Momma is busy cooking dinner?

Why, read to your doll, of course!

Gloria decided that it was time to introduce Mary Anne to her current ~~obsession~~ favorite book and characters, so she started reading the first Harry Potter book out loud to her doll. Look how happy she looks. (And she didn't realize I was taking her picture because she was so enthralled in her book.)

Love how this one looks like Mary Anne is reading along with Gloria.

There are not enough books in this house to keep Gloria occupied. She devours almost any book she picks up. Favorites get read and reread and read over and over, again and again. I love that she is such an avid reader, even if it does make us late leaving the house some mornings. Now, she gets up an extra 30 minutes early, just so she can read in the morning. Now that's dedication! I like my sleep too much for that. Of course, I stay up way too late at night reading, so I guess it's all a trade off, right?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

2011-11-12T21:52:00.000-05:00

...even though the pilgrims and the turkey haven't arrived yet.

I'm not one to jump from Halloween costumes to Christmas decorations. I like to allow November its rightful place in between October and December. Once December rolls around, I tend to decorate slowly since Advent is a season of preparation.

That said, the Southern Christmas Show is in town this week and we had some tickets. I hadn't been in several years. Since Friday was a day off for both of us, once all the white coat appointments were completed we ventured down to the show. It was crazy busy since so many people were not working and because it was the second day of the show. We had lots of fun looking at everything that was being sold and all the decorations, smelling the yummy smells of strudels, sugared almonds, and holiday greenery, and weaving in and out of the crowds.

Gloria loved the decorated Christmas trees and she took control of the camera for several shots...

These first two were especially for Maggie...

I didn't think this one looked like a Christmas tree at all!

There were lots of ornaments on this tree and toys around the bottom of it that reminded me of my childhood.

This one was "Best in Show" but again...not really sure it looks like a Christmas tree.

A few of the wreaths that were also on display...

Elvis was popular this year.

Gloria liked the big red treble clef.

Gloria was fascinated with the electric trains and wanted to examine every inch of the display. There were probably six or seven trains chugging around the tracks and the little tiny details throughout the display were so interesting. We discovered this on the way in and the only way I could get her out of there was to promise that we would come back on our way out.

There were little tiny scenes inside of all of the buildings.

Singing along with whatever Christmas song was playing at the moment

We did make a few small purchases--some yummy hot chocolate mix and some special soup mixes (one of which Screamer tore into as soon as we got home...guess he could smell it. Fortunately I caught him in the act and salvaged the mix. Wanna' guess what we had for dinner tonight? And he was after it again tonight when I was cooking it!). Gloria found a little necklace she liked and I found some lotion that felt good on my horrible dry skin. It was fun and we ended up spending about five hours there! Not what I had planned, and boy was I tired when we got home!

But Gloria kept telling me over and over and over as we were leaving, on the way home, while we were eating dinner, when I put her to bed, and when she got up again this morning how much she enjoyed going to the Christmas show...it was fabulous and terrific and fun and fantastic and...I don't remember all the words she was using. It was clear that she enjoyed our time together.

The Many Shirts of Saturday

2011-11-12T16:58:00.000-05:00

We started the day with the final soccer game of the season.

It was a beautiful day for a game.

Clear blue sky, 55 degrees

And they won, which made it even better.

Then we came home to cheer Vandy on to victory over Kentucky.

The celebratory dance/cheer ended like this...

Then, like Superman stepping into the phone booth...

shirts were changed again in order to be appropriately dressed for the Auburn game.

Unfortunately, at the time of this blog post, her boys in orange and blue aren't doing so well. While we remain hopeful that things will turn around...I dunno....

Enough White Lab Coats!

2011-11-11T22:15:00.000-05:00

In less than 24 hours, all four inhabitants of our house (two human and two feline) had doctor appointments.

Bleh!

No one is sick...
although we might be now that we have been in multiple medical facilities!

Just a follow-up for Gloria from a summer appointment, lab work and a long overdue (by about 7 years) physical for me, shots for Screamer, and Hannah got ~~a pedicure~~ her claws clipped.

Hannah's appointment was probably my highest priority today!
I have the remnants of the puncture wounds in my thighs to prove the necessity of her visit with the vet techs who did the deed!

But, I certainly have seen enough white lab coats for one day!

Question of the Day

2011-11-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

Did you???

Two Questions

2011-11-06T18:32:00.000-05:00

One was asked of me.

The other I am asking you.

First, the one that was asked of me...

"Momma? Do you think the cats were playing with my pumpkin? It's got hair in it."

Ummm...I doubt the cats were playing with the pumpkin. Instead, I believe that would be a sign that the pumpkin needs to be disposed of.

And now...Momma's not happy. Can you tell? (Oops...that's not my question for you!)

Some of you read about the bullying on the playground several weeks ago. In some ways, things have improved. But there are still some inappropriate words and actions going on and Gloria is very discouraged by all of it. I discussed it with her teacher at conference time last week. Thursday night, Gloria informed me that she had been talking with her teacher during recess and that she (the teacher) had helped her (Gloria) figure something out. Naturally I asked what that was.

Are you ready for this? Hold on to your socks, because I know I thought mine had been knocked off on Thursday night.

The other girls are bullying me because I'm too soft and I need to harden up.

I maintained my composure in front of my eight year old, but I really wanted to blow a gasket over this one. So my question to you is...how would you handle this? I'm so at a loss here.

And after you offer your advice, you can go visit some happier Sunday snapshots by clicking below. :)

Halloween Pictures, A Few Days Later

2011-11-03T19:43:00.000-04:00

October 31st was a busy day around here.

It started out with pumpkin carving with dads in Gloria's class. Now, you all know there is not a dad in our family. But there is a pretty awesome Godfather. How awesome? How about he came all the way from Alabama just to do this with her! And he came back at lunch time too, with lunch from Wendy's, before heading back home! Gloria was absolutely giddy with excitement by the time Monday morning rolled around. She giggled the whole way to school, with her pumpkin clutched on her lap. They carved a super fancy pumpkin. Far fancier than anything I could have done. I tend to stick to the triangle eyes and nose and the lopsided smile.

After a long day at school for both of us, it was off to our friends' house. We've been trick-or-treating together for six years now. Gloria and "Harry" are just a few weeks apart in age. Wish I had a picture from the "early years" to show you. Gosh they've grown up! And so has their trick-or-treat route! I was worn out when we got home!

Gloria was Professor McGonagall, from Harry Pott*er.

"Are you seriously taking my picture AGAIN?!?"

My response? You better smile or THAT will be the picture I email your grandmother!"

The results...

After trick-or-treating, sorting her candy.

And how much of this will Mommy eat???

Oh, My Aching Ears!

2011-10-24T20:28:00.000-04:00

I knew it was coming.

This morning was greeted with great joy and anticipation.

This afternoon, she was skipping merrily to the car with it tucked safely inside her school bag.

Tonight, the homework/practicing began...

Sunday Fun

2011-10-22T21:07:00.001-04:00

OK, so it was really last Sunday. I've been taking it slow this week and posting a little bit at a time about our weekend jaunt.

That way you don't have to look at 60+ pictures in one post.
Is that even possible?
I dunno.

Anyway, it's more fun this way.
We can relive our fun.
I have a little more time to think about each post.
And it keeps Mom hanging...
Because I know she really wants to know about this part...

World of Coca-Cola!

So, here it is, Mom. Enjoy!

We usually use Atlanta as "home base" for our yearly Auburn weekend.
(Hmmm....That makes it sound like we do it every year...This was really just our third time to do it.)

Anyway, I like to find something fun to do on Sunday morning before we head home.
You know, to prolong the mini vacation just a wee bit.
We've been to the aquarium.
Last year we went to American Girl.
This year I decided to try World of Coca-Cola.

It was definitely a great choice! We both thoroughly enjoyed it. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a few hours while visiting the Atlanta area!

We arrived a little earlier than our designated ticket time, but the park right in front was a lovely place to spend some time.

John Pemberton, creator of Coca-Cola

Gloria took this one of me.

And then a kind passerby offered to take a picture of the two of us.

A picture of both of us???

That's rare!

Entering the "loft"--the entry into WOCC--full of artifacts from Coca-Cola's 100+ years

A possible Christmas card photo?

Love this of the two of us!

There was a display of life-sized Coke bottles from Fashion Week, 2010.

This one was Gloria's favorite.

And my favorite

These next bottles were so interesting to explore.

They were specially decorated for a tour of Coke's "happiness ambassadors" in 2010.

Every one of them was so unique.

And a certain someone was over-the-moon thrilled when she discovered one from Guatemala.

(It's right above her left shoulder--which would be on your right, right?)

A close up shot of the bottle from Guatemala

"Yes, I'll have a Coke, please!"

Bottle Works was the most fascinating part of the entire experience for Gloria. We watched conveyor belts, robotic arms, computers, and other machinery working together to produce and bottle Coca-Cola. It really was quite interesting to watch and learn about the process.

Ready to view the 4-D movie.

The movie was fun, and I loved the 3-D effects.

The moving seats...not so much. Probably the only "dislike" of the day.

Who recognizes this red sofa?

It's from season four of American Idol.

Anxiously awaiting her results...

At last it was on to "Taste It!"

Here, you get to try Coke products from around the world.

The drinks are arranged by continent/region.

Gloria's favorite was one called "Manzana Rojo Lift" from Chile.

Some of the drinks were tasty.

Many were fruit-y.

Some were pretty yucky.

Gloria was much more adventurous than me when it came to trying different ones.

Looking back across the tasting area.

Overhead you can see finished bottles of Coca-Cola being carried to their final destination.

Not only could you try products from around the world...

There were many of the Coke flavors from right here at home.

I was perfectly happy to enjoy a nice cold sip of Coca-Cola Classic.

(Anyone remember "New Coke" from the '80s? It's not there. For good reason. It only lasted 79 days!)

Gloria discovered vanilla Coke.

Pinkies up!

Really? Even when drinking a soda?

I thought it was "have a Coke and a smile!"

There were lots of smiles as we left World of Coca-Cola last Sunday afternoon. And I have seen many smiles this week as Gloria has recalled many of the moments from last weekend. It was a weekend full of memory making.

Campus Sights and Tailgating

2011-10-22T17:26:00.000-04:00

Part Three of "Momma and G Go To Auburn"

I'm sorry if you're tired of reading about our weekend, but I'm doing it in installments so that we have it all documented. Plus, my mom is enjoying reading about our weekend. (I think she secretly wishes she had been there with us!)

First glimpse of the stadium

Save the trees!

Among the memorabilia, there were some sweet letters from an elementary school classroom in Michigan. The teacher's daughter is an Auburn student and she had told them about what happened.

THE trophy.

I'm not sure who was more excited to see it!

Tasting gator meat...

Yuuuummmm!!!

~~Are you seriously taking ANOTHER picture?!?~~

All out of gator meat

Someone brought gluten-free cookies and cupcakes?!?

SCORE!

Sitting in Uncle Will's shadow, hoping for tickets to the game.

Wondering if he will manage to get some tickets for Momma and G...

Home of the Auburn Tigers

War Eagle!

We're in! Whew!

(Momma was getting worried...but Uncle Will worked his magic!)

Proof that Momma was there! ;)

The view from our seats

Ready for the game to start!

We won!

17-6...Tigers chomped the Gators!

(She was jumping up and down, cheering. I couldn't get her to be still for victory picture!)

That marks the end of our day at Auburn. (You've already seen our pictures from Toomer's Corner.)

Next up: Sunday's visit to the World of Coca-Cola!

Toomer's Corner and an Eagle

2011-10-20T19:59:00.001-04:00

Part Two of "Momma and G Go to Auburn"

Once we arrived in Auburn and parked the car, the walking began.

William walked us to Tiger Rags. We got Gloria a new AU jersey to replace her old one. We couldn't find a #2 jersey (Cam Newton), but she had already decided that she wanted #5 (Michael Dyer) since she wants a Panthers jersey for Christmas. Oy! Keeping up with all of that football stuff makes my head swim! We were successful and headed for Toomer's Drug Store for some of their lemonade. While William and Gloria were inside getting their drinks I was outside watching the people. I noticed a van with an eagle painted on the side and heard a nearby news reporter telling his camera man that they were about to get the eagle out. Eagle? THE eagle? Where is Gloria???

Found her!

First glimpse of the eagle.

Can you see his beak in the middle?

Out he came...

The crowd begins to gather

Check out that fierce look...

What a bird!

Gloria just kept repeating "Wow!" and "Cool!" and "He's so big!" and "I can't believe I'm this close to the eagle!" What a moment that was.

After seeing the eagle, we headed across the street towards the campus. The first sight was to oak trees that are part of another Auburn tradition.

11:00 in the morning

Same place eleven hours later...

Sadly, those trees probably won't be there the next time we are there due to an unfortunate event involving a fan from a rival school.

Next up...the campus and tailgating...

An Early Morning (AKA Auburn Trip Part One)

2011-10-19T21:14:00.000-04:00

We were up an out of our hotel early on Saturday morning. Uncle Will was taking his role as "tour director" very seriously. Of course, he comes by it honestly...we learned from the best...our own "tour director extraordinaire" OUR MOM!

Breakfast was a quick pick-up at Chick-fil-a on the road and before too long we were arriving in Opelika. I threw a kink in the original plan because I needed a new memory card for my camera, so we stopped at a Wally World.

This W-Mart had an entire area devoted to Auburn and Alabama stuff and Gloria discovered this...

It's a pillow!

It's a pet!

And it was love at first sight.

Gloria has expressed interest in a pillow pet for a while, but never found one that she *had* to have until now. He is pretty cute and he managed to find his way into my bag at checkout. The first highlight of the day!

Driving from there to Auburn, a loose tooth was discovered. And once Gloria discovers a loose tooth, that tooth is coming out. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I begged her not to, asked her to wait until we were home, even told her the tooth fairy wouldn't be able to find her since we were crossing time zones.

No luck.

As we walked onto campus, she used her tongue to push that molar right out of her mouth onto the sidewalk.

Showing off her new hole on top.

So, a new pillow pet and a lost tooth started our day-long excitement. But there was also an up-close and personal encounter with one of the Auburn eagles that fly before the games. But that is for tomorrow... I will say though, that it was really cool to be that close to that majestic creature!

Register and Vote Please!

2011-10-18T20:15:00.000-04:00

Gloria's picture was on the scoreboard at the football game on Saturday night. Everyone can vote for their favorite picture. Unfortunately, you have to create a user name and password in order to vote. Bleh!

Right now, her picture is several votes behind a dog. Seriously?!?

OK, I know I'm biased.

But still. Seriously?!?

So, maybe you'll register and vote for her picture?

Click here for the link.

Then click on the picture that looks like this...

Working on my pictures and posts about our adventures from the weekend.

But I had to take a moment and beg for your votes! :)

What a Wonderful Weekend!

2011-10-16T20:39:00.000-04:00

We got home just a little while ago from a road trip weekend.

We had S-O M-U-C-H F-U-N!

So much fun.

And as much as I want to share it all, I just can't right now.

I am absolutely worn out.

Bone tired, I think is the right expression here.

Gloria is upstairs getting ready for bed.

It's my turn as soon as tomorrow's lunches are prepared.

But here's a sneak peak until I have time later in the week to actually document our few days away.

Saturday:

Wanna' guess where we were???

(this picture was actually up on the big screen/scoreboard between the 3rd and 4th quarters!!)

Sunday:

We visited the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.

There is so much more--

eagles...

lost teeth...

Uncle Will...

gator tail...

the game...

Toomer's Corner after the game...

And that was just one day!

Oh my, I'm tired just thinking about it!

Good night, dear readers, good night!

The Sweetest Note Ever!

2011-10-11T21:26:00.000-04:00

Sorting through Gloria's homework folder tonight revealed the following:

math homework
weekly homework assignment sheet
word lists for the upcoming class spelling bee
free tickets to some kind of circus show in a few weeks (wish it was the "real" circus...would love to take her to that one!"

Nothing really out of the ordinary.

But then...

Then I found the sweetest note, tucked ever so carefully into the front pocket of her folder.

Dear Gloria,

You fill my bucket all the time. And I really enjoy playing with you on the playground.

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

So sweet.

Sniff...

This note has been bestowed a place of honor on her bulletin board...right in the middle, slightly overlapping her picture of her favorite Auburn Tigers-turned-Carolina Panthers football player.

That's b-i-g stuff.

B-I-G, I tell you.

But still oh, so sweet.

Summing Up the Week

2011-10-09T13:21:00.000-04:00

What a crazy, discombobulated week it was.

So when I noticed this at the soccer game yesterday morning...

...well, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

It just seemed so fitting.

I was saved by my current ~~laziness~~ lack of time to go to the Y after school/work.

In the trunk of my car?

My gym bag.

And in my gym bag?

My sneakers.

And a pair of socks.

The day suddenly got a little brighter.

Here's to a more put together week this week!

Another Scare...

2011-10-04T21:50:00.000-04:00

This afternoon, I got in my car to head home from school...

Or is it work...

I mean, I do work at a school.

I can never figure out what the right one is for me to use.

Anyway, I was headed home to grab some dinner for Gloria to eat between her school and choir rehearsal. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I noticed a light on my instrument panel that I didn't recognize. I immediately went into panic mode.

(There are two things that do that to me...one is any kind of creepy crawly critter in my house that doesn't belong there. The other is car trouble. Complete and total panic. It's awful really.)

Now, my "service required" light came on late last week, as I was anticipating. It's time for an oil change and tire rotation. That is on next Monday's list--the best I could do given that this is a concert week for Gloria, which means extra rehearsals and late nights. But I just didn't know what the new light was. I was convinced that my engine was going to fall out and explode in the middle of the road, all four tires were flat, or any other awful thing that is followed by "must get to Toyota immediately, how am I going to get Gloria to choir, will I make it to Toyota, thank goodness I am still under warranty...oh wait, am I still under warranty??? Must check odometer...YES! Still under warranty, but about 4000 miles in my car that is just 14 months old. Why do I work so far from home? Why TODAY?"

So at this point, I'm panicking, feeling slightly ill, and fumbling for my owner's manual in the glove compartment...which, by the way, does anyone really keep GLOVES in there? I mean really? I've got an improperly folded map, straws and napkins from various fast food restaurants, car information, an ice scraper, a tire gauge, and the diaper duck in there, but no gloves!

OK, so I find the manual ~~buried underneath~~ nestled safely among the rest of the stuff in said glove compartment and start looking through the quick guide, all while driving down the road. Thank goodness for that stop light right before I had to get on the interstate loop!

I match the symbol I am seeing with the one in the book...the little green one right over where 110 would be...

And now you're probably laughing at me, because you probably know what it is. And had I pressed the button that makes that little green light come on, I, too, would have known what it was, re-pressed the button, and gone on my merry way.

But oh, no! Not me! I had no idea that little light was the cruise control on indicator!

Oh well. At least I could go on about my afternoon and evening as planned and not have to go visit the friendly service manager at my Toyota dealership!

Cruise control...

Sheesh...

Blessing of the Animals

2011-10-02T18:40:00.001-04:00

We had the blessing of the animals at church this afternoon. So we packed up our two ~~trouble makers~~ furry felines and off we went. Screamer reminded us of why, exactly, he has his name as we made the 20 minute drive to church. Hannah Cat cursed us once and then crouched in the far back corner of her carrier for the remainder of the trip. Of course, they were the model of perfect cats while we were there. Probably the fear of the dogs across the garden walk from them!

The entrance to the garden

Cats on one side...

Dogs on the other

And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind; cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

~Genesis 1:20-25

Yes, I really did take Screamer out of his carrier.

(really blurry iphone picture!)

Hannah? NO WAY!!!

She wouldn't even look at me.

Oh God,
I thank thee for all the creatures thou has made,
so perfect in their kind--
great animals like the elephant and the rhinoceros,
humorous animals like the camel and the monkey,
friendly ones like the dog and the cat,
working ones like the horse and the ox,
timid ones like the squirrel and the rabbit,
majestic ones like the lion and the tiger,
for birds with their songs.
O Lord give us such lover for thy creation,
that love may cast out fear,
and all thy creatures see in man
their priest and friend,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~George Appleton, The Oxford Book of Prayer

They Say It's My Birthday...

2011-09-28T22:24:00.000-04:00

And it's true.

Sweet Gloria was so excited to celebrate my birthday today...

even if she did tell me that she didn't like me turning 41 because I am getting closer to being a senior.

Oh yes, she did.

Twerp!

But I still love her.

It was very important to her that I had presents to open. So we went to Target after school and I gave her $20. She knew what I "wanted" and picked them out on her own. I wasn't allowed to look though. And let me tell you...that's kind of tough when you want to keep your child within eyesight at all times in a large store!

Next stop: the grocery store to find something for dinner. I voted for cheetos and chocolate. Birthday girl chooses, right? Well, I got voted down. We ended up with chicken, baked potatoes, and fruit. I still think cheetos and chocolate would have been perfectly fine. ;) Dessert was gluten-free brownies that Gloria made with a little bit of birthday cake ice cream next to it.

Then it was time for presents.

I got new potholders, a new fall-colored tablecloth, and a Hershey bar. No cheetos though. :(

Had to laugh at school today...I refuse to admit my age to my students. So one of the boys in one of my fifth grade reading groups asked me how long I had been teaching (16, this is number 17--HOW, exactly, is that possible?!?!). Then he asked me how old I was when I started teaching (21, but turned 22 six weeks later). Does he really think I'm not smart enough to follow his line of thinking? Silly boy. Besides, adding those together still won't give you my real age because of the year I was in grad school (1) and the years I was working at the church (2).

Note: All photos were taken by the eight year old in the family.

New Heights

2011-09-27T20:56:00.000-04:00

Last night, Screamer gave me quite a fright!

I'm used to him coming in and sitting on the edge of the bathtub, between the shower curtain and the liner, while I am in the shower each night. He boxes the water drops which I shamelessly torment him with, purely for my own satisfaction. :)

So last night I'm in the shower. It's well past 11:00. The house is quiet and settled. Alarm is set. Gloria is soundly sleeping. Hannah Cat was curled up on my bed. Screamer was...well, I don't really know where he was.

Suddenly this T-A-L-L shadow moves across my bathroom wall.

Scares me to death! To death, I tell you!

As I gather up my courage to peer out from behind the shower curtain, this is what I see peering down at me...

(There's a reason I call him my "little black nightmare," ya' know. Just look at him!)

He moved the shower curtain aside...

And ducked under the rod...

Hmm...not sure what he was checking out. (Actually, he had both front paws on the little ledge, and I really thought he was going to attempt to walk on it. But he thought better of that idea after considering it for a brief moment. However, he wouldn't reenact that this evening. Silly cat! He never cooperates when I have the camera out!)

Some perspective on how high up he really is.

And wouldn't you know it...he can't get himself down! I told him I was leaving him there. That if he got up there, he could get down. He didn't agree with that logic. Actually, I think he tried to walk on the curtain rod, because after he quit crying about being left up there in the dark when I went to bed, I suddenly heard a CRASH, upon which I went in and discovered the shower curtain on the floor.

The good news is that after all of that excitement, he actually slept through the rest of the night. Which is almost unheard of for Screamer.

Rain, Rain, and More Rain

2011-09-24T22:45:00.001-04:00

That's the story of the week for us?

Rain.
It started on Wednesday

Continued on Thursday...

And Friday...

And even more on Saturday...

What's a girl to do when it's raining, soccer games were cancelled, and you decide it's raining too hard to play in the rain because you might get "too wet"???

Curl up with a new book and some popcorn with a football game on television for background noise...

Convince Screamer that he doesn't really want us to send him off to some tropical, sunny location...

And finally, cheer for your favorite team, who you can only watch on-line since Momma won't pay for cable, satellite, or any other pay-for-viewing TV...

Disclaimer!!
Y'all--she really does have other clothes. It's just that all she wears on Saturdays during football season is her AU skirt my mom made her with a white t-shirt.

I'm ready for some sunshine! Either that or I need to google some directions for constructing an ark!

Mid-Week Musings

2011-09-21T19:28:00.000-04:00

Conversation with a student today:

Student: It's snowing outside!
Me: Um, noooo...that's rain.
Student: Are you sure? That looks like snow.
Me: No, that's rain.
Student: How do you know?
Me: Well, it is 78 degrees outside right now. Way too warm for snow.
Student: 78 degrees?!? WHOA!!! That's a lot!

*********************************************************

What is the obsession with staying connected all the time?
Email, text, voice mail, Face Book...
Yes, I use it all.
I even have an i-phone (thanks to my old phone going ka-put over the summer--my old phone which would make phone calls and text and that was it...and I was happy!)
But I don't feel the need to be always on, always connected, always checking in.
Guess I really noticed it today when five of the six people I was sitting with during staff meeting were all checking their phones at one point--texting, checking FB, reading email.

Makes me think about how DISconnected I think we have become.

********************************************************

If Gloria has been in school for four weeks and mid-term progress reports come home next Friday...
shouldn't I have received graded work before TODAY?!?
And shouldn't I have received more than 6 papers with grades on them?!?
My teacher brain says YES!
It also says that I wish her teacher would reply to emails.

********************************************************

Thesis report--still working.
Still
not
finished

Ugh.

Football Weekend with Uncle Will (Sunday Snapshot)

2011-09-17T22:39:00.000-04:00

Around here, Uncle Will is known as "the best uncle in the whole wide world." That's a pretty high honor, bestowed upon him by Gloria. Uncle Will lives far away from us, half way across the country, so we don't see him nearly as often as we would like. But, this weekend, Uncle Will came to our house. Of course, there was a "carrot" that enticed him to come. We don't live too terrible far from Clemson, where Auburn was playing on Saturday. Gloria has been eagerly awaiting his arrival for the past week...you know how wiggly and silly a puppy gets when excited? Yeah, that was Gloria all last week as she counted down the days until Friday. I'm pretty sure everyone she knows was aware of his arrival and our weekend plans.

Friday night, after the airport pickup, we headed to dinner.

She wasn't excited, or anything like that, was she?

Yummy dinner. Not sure why she chose chopsticks for eating spaghetti though...

Love this picture!

Saturday, we were up and out of the house by 6:00 in the morning. (Not by my choice...just following orders!)

Arriving on the campus

In the student union food court

In front of the stadium

In the stadium, after climbing to practically the very top.

Seriously! We were in row AA of the upper deck.

It was a L-O-N-G way up!

I quickly laid down the law...one, and only one trip to the bathroom/concessions!

Proof I was actually there. :)

This guy in the blue body suit kind of creeped Gloria out.

After talking with him without the face cover, he seemed like a fairly normal guy.

Talking on the phone to Hada before the game.

(Momma's strategy/distraction for killing time before the game...)

The Auburn band, warming up before the game

Some perspective on just how high up we really were!

Look at the size of those people on the field!

While the game did not have a favorable outcome for us Auburn fans, we still enjoyed our day. It was fun to visit another stadium and experience the game from that standpoint. It was a little disappointing for Gloria since this was the first time she went to a game that her beloved Tigers lost, but she still enjoyed it.

We will have to say goodbye to Uncle Will in the morning and I know Gloria will miss him. But then she will start counting the days until we meet him in Atlanta and travel down to Auburn for the game against Florida. (Speaking of which...any suggestions for a Sunday morning/early afternoon activity in Atlanta? We went to the aquarium, which was fantastic, several years ago, and to American Girl last year. Thinking about World of Coke...what do you think?)

Poor Kitty Cat!

2011-09-14T21:43:00.000-04:00

We came home last week and found this...

Screamer's window perch had fallen off of the window sill in my bedroom. Talk about one unhappy cat!

So now, he sits on my bed...

stares at me, stares at his fallen perch,

and meows pitifully.
"What happened?"
"Why can't I get up there any more?"
"When are you going to fix it?"
"Fix it please!"
"I need my window perch."
"If you don't fix it, I'm going to sleep in your bed, and you know how I take up as much room as possible and then some!"

And so I wake up to this...

staring me in the face--in the middle of the night, in the wee small hours of the morning, when ever he feels like walking across my face and pulling my hair. And! And he's p-u-r-r-i-n-g! Like this is something to be happy about! Fun times, I'm telling you!

Note to self: FIX the window perch! SOON!!

In other fun news, Gloria was so excited to find these...

at Tar-jay yesterday afternoon. Look closely and you will see that the "M" is wearing what appears to be an Auburn football jersey. That was cool enough for her to convince me to buy not one, but two packages: one for us and one for Uncle Will (who is flying in to ~~visit us~~ go to the Auburn-Clemson football game this weekend). Turns out that Uncle Will already found his own bag in Texas! Guess that means two bags of chocolate for us. It'll be tough, but someone has to eat them...in the car on the way to the game! :) I'm really praying for a win. Otherwise, the ride home will be a L-O-N-G one--with a grown man silent and sullen in the front seat and a tearful, sad eight year old in the back seat. Help me out here, Tigers!

Ten Years Ago

2011-09-11T22:20:00.000-04:00

There have been so many conversations this past week, and today, discussing "where were you ten years ago?"

Where were you ten years ago? Do you remember?

What were you doing that morning? Do you remember?

How did you find out? Do you remember?

Do you remember?

Do I remember? How could I ever forget?

September of 2001, was one of two Septembers in my life when I was not in a classroom, either as a student or as a teacher. I was working as the Director of Christian Education at a church. I lived alone--no children, no cats, just me.

I remember getting up, going through the morning routine to get ready for work, and wanting to catch the last few minutes of the news, just so I could hear the weather forecast for the day. I grabbed the clicker and turned on the TV in my room, tossed it back on the bed, and picked up the earrings I wanted to wear that day. I turned around to see an airplane flying into a tall building. Honestly, I thought I was watching a preview for a movie until I heard the voices of the news anchors (Today Show? Good Morning, America? I don't remember) and the sickening reality of what I was really seeing settled in.

It was horrifying.
Those images from that morning are seared in my memory for ever.

And I remember needing to talk to my family. We were spread out then, just as we are today, but I needed to know everyone was ok. And I remember how awful it felt to be alone.

And then I remember driving to work. The major artery into town that I drove every day, usually in bumper to bumper, end of the morning drive traffic, was completely empty. I don't remember seeing any other cars on the road. And the sky? The sky was clear and blue. And empty. No planes making their final descent towards the airport.

The rest of the day is a blur. People were in and out of the church that day. We had a service that night. And another later in the week. Our collective sense of security had been shattered.

Fast forward ten years. It is September 11, 2011. I'm a momma. I'm back in an elementary school as a teacher. My family is still spread far apart--even farther today then ten years ago.

The images and memories of September 11, 2001, are still there. And I haven't been able to watch any of it. Our television has remained largely silent this week because 9-11 was everywhere.

Never forget, they say.
Never forget? How can I?
The images, the thoughts, the memories from that day are here for ever. I can't watch those news reports being played over and over again though.

My chest gets tight.
I can't breathe.
Tears sting my eyes.

The loss of so many innocent lives--all of whom were someone's precious child, brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle, cousin, friend, confidant, husband, wife, grandparent or grandchild--each and every life lost that day meant someone, somewhere, lost an important piece of his/her life.

And that is what breaks my heart. The senseless loss of so many lives.

Yet, we go on living. We have to. We live with tears and sorrow, fear and trepidation. But we also live with hope and expectation, a spirit of love and joy. We have to. It is in that living that we never forget.

Finally Some Smiles!

2011-09-10T21:39:00.001-04:00

After the heartbreak and disappointment of the week, it was time for some fun around here. So I decided we would go to the park and play for a while this morning. It was so beautiful outside--cool and sunny--such a reprieve from the summer heat that will plague us for a bit longer before finally giving way to fall. We haven't been to the park for several months because it has been so, so hot. Imagine our surprise when we got to our favorite little park to find this:

Boo! Apparently, the renovations that were started back in February are still not finished! Rats!

OK, plan B...let's try another little park we like. We arrived there to find the gate closed and locked. Strike two! And now it was getting close to game time, so Gloria just wanted to go home and watch her boys in orange and blue, Auburn, play Mississippi State.

Fortunately, they squeaked out another tally in the "W" column today!

After the game, we decided to give playing at the park one last try. This time, we opted for one of the larger county parks we knew would be open. Crowded, but open.

A little swinging...

A little climbing...

And a little sliding...

A lot of giggling...

That smile had been missing for several days, replaced by tears and sadness. It sure was good to see it again today!

Momma Fails

2011-09-09T21:34:00.000-04:00

Boy! For a "short" week, it sure has been emotion-filled!

As if the playground events of the week weren't enough...

Gloria wanted to play soccer again this fall. It's a low-key team with girls from her school. They play through the local Y. She played last spring and really enjoyed it, and she had been eagerly anticipating "fall ball" ever since the spring season ended.

The form came home last week. I dutifully filled it out and returned it to school. And then we somehow got left off the list. Information that went to the other parents early Wednesday morning came to me late Thursday evening. (Gloria overheard someone talking about it after school on Thursday afternoon and asked me about it, so I went on a fact-finding mission.)

Games start tomorrow, but we have a "bye" this week. Whew!

But...

First practice? Friday--as in today

Okay. I can swing that. Short notice, but I could make it work.

Or so I thought...

Time of practice? 3:30-4:30

Well now, that's not cool! It was 5:00-6:00 last spring. I can't even leave work until almost 4:00 thanks to our ~~new and improved~~ longer school day. And that means I don't make it to G's school until almost 4:45.

It wouldn't be such a big deal except that practice is off campus. And clearly I can't get her there. One parent did offer to take her, but had to leave right at 4:30, and no one else was eager to hang out at the park with an extra child for an extra 15 minutes. I really wouldn't expect anyone to do that anyway. She is my child after all. I am her parent and I am the one responsible for her.

Unfortunately, this is one of those times where I can't do it all. I can't make it work. I can't change the distance between our schools. I can't change the time I leave my school. I can't change practice time.

And I can't change how hurt and left out Gloria feels over this.

The sun will come out tomorrow, right?

Words Never Spoken Before

2011-09-08T22:29:00.000-04:00

"Do I have to go to school tomorrow, Momma? I really don't want to go."

That just broke my heart to hear that tonight. In fact, between that situation and another, I'm a crying mess now that Gloria is soundly sleeping and dreaming sweet dreams.

There is a girl at school who has given Gloria trouble since kindergarten. For some reason, Gloria is her target for mean, hurtful comments and actions. Thankfully, they were not in the same class last year and the same is true this year. But there is still lunch and recess together.

And that is more than enough time for her to cause Gloria grief.

It used to be about being adopted and having brown skin and not "matching" me. Or about not having a dad. Or not being able to go across the monkey bars.

Since school started, the teasing and hurtful comments have been because Gloria has befriended the "new boy" in her class. Being the only new student in a class of 11 students can't be easy, and Gloria took it upon herself to become his friend.

Yesterday, he fell and Gloria was helping him walk over to sit on a bench on the playground. So "mean girl" started telling everyone that Gloria loves the boy and that made Gloria mad. "I'm just his friend, Momma. And I think I'm his only friend because no one else plays with him at recess. He's usually by himself and that's just not right. But I don't love him! I'm just his friend!"

We talked about it last night. I tried to help her find her words to stand up the "mean girl" the next time something happened. Evidently Gloria tried to address the issue with "MG" today.

I don't think things went the way Gloria had planned. She ended up with rocks being put on her shirt and getting pinched. Then, when she told the teacher what happened, they both were talked to and told that they are friends and shouldn't be that way to each other. Evidently "MG" denied everything, even though Gloria had the mark on her arm where "MG" pinched her. And then she was ignored by most of the rest of the girls in her grade on the playground and at after school care...at the direction of MG and one of MG's friends.

This is bullying, plain and simple. For what ever reason, Gloria is the target and it makes me so mad. We've tried to work through it. But enough is enough. And this momma bear is about to come unglued over this whole situation.

Because my baby bear L-O-V-E-S school. She always has. She spends her summers wishing vacation was over and school was back in session. She LOVES school.

And now, "Do I have to go to school tomorrow?"

That, my friends, isn't right and it breaks my heart.

Nearing the End

2011-09-06T20:49:00.000-04:00

There is a tiny, dim light at the end of the l-o-n-g thesis tunnel! Very tiny and very dim, but it's coming closer and slowly getting brighter.

I'm working on my "model" this week.
Next week, I will finish the theology chapter.

Backwards, you say?

Well, yes, as a matter of fact, it probably is.

But the books I need are "in transit" right now.
And no matter how many times I track them on line in a day, they just don't seem to get any closer.
Friday for some and "delivery estimate: September 12-27" for the others.
Hope those others are sooner rather than later.

Because later? I'm planning to be at a football game with my daughter and my brother. (I'm not sure who the bigger AU fan is!)

And I don't want this thing hanging over my head. I want it done. Finished. Complete. Over with. And ready to be published. (Well, as "published" as a graduate thesis really is, anyway.)

Tornado Warnings and Watches

2011-09-05T19:55:00.000-04:00

We just finished the second tornado warning of the day, and we are under a tornado watch until 11:00 tonight. This is all courtesy of Tropical Storm Lee. Thanks, Lee. Who invited you for Labor Day, anyway?!?

Both of the cats have been on edge today. Screamer has split his time between sitting under the dining room table and meowing at the front door. Hannah has been pacing and looking out the back window.

The people? Gloria has been sitting under the passthrough between the dining room and the kitchen while I've been glued to the weather reports on TV and the online radar. Gloria has gone to bed, but I'll be up until at least 11:00 when the watches are due to expire.

Cell phone--charged.
Downstairs bathroom--reasonably clean, considering the litter box is in there.
Haven't decided about bringing the cat carriers inside from the back storage closet yet. What do you think?

Our Saturday, Part Three: The Funnel Cake

2011-09-04T09:58:00.000-04:00

Just finishing up posting about our fun-filled Saturday: the parade and the festival and now the funnel cake. What's not to love about fried dough covered in powdered sugar???

(Mom, you might not want to read this...there are up-close food pictures involved and I know you don't like those! Just telling you ahead of time!)

Look at that beautiful funnel cake!

Where to start? It's still piping hot!

First bite!

Delicious!

Soaking up some more powdered sugar

Last piece!

Let's split it.

"Maggie says 'If you're wearing your food, it must have been good.'"

Guess this was delectable!

Yes, we called the funnel cake dinner last night. And no, that's not the way we roll around here 99.9% of the time. There's usually a fruit, a veggie, and a "main" dish. This was just a break from the ordinary. Sure tasted good though!

Our Saturday, Part Two: The Festival

2011-09-04T09:46:00.000-04:00

After the parade we went home and cooled off, had some lunch, and cheered Gloria's favorite college football team onto victory, we decided to head back "downtown" to enjoy an evening at the festival.

I love the sights of this annual event. Food vendors galore, arts and crafts vendors, carnival rides and games. What's not to love?

People as far as the eye can see

An important stop...

if you have a child who intends to ride some rides!

Food vendors, with all the usual fair fare.

Craft vendors

And at last!!!

The RIDES!

See that strawberry?

It spins around.

And she made me ride it with her.

She was positively giddy that I was riding with her!

A second round on the swings.

Helicopter ride, anyone?

She swears this was the first time she had EVER had cotton candy.

Really?!?

What kind of momma and I, to deprive my child of spun sugar?!?

We did make two purchases:

One for Miss G

And one for Momma.

All of that was so much fun, and we were exhausted when we got home. The best part of the festival, according to Gloria was having a funnel cake for dinner. But that will be a post all its own. Coming soon!

Our Saturday, Part One: The Parade

2011-09-03T21:39:00.002-04:00

WOW! We had a full day today. So much so that I think I'm going to have to break it up into a series of posts. I took tons of pictures today. At one point, Gloria even asked me, "Momma, why are you taking so many pictures today?"

We started the day with a parade. Our hometown celebrates Labor Day with a festival weekend, starting on Friday night, a parade on Saturday morning, and continuing until Monday afternoon.

Some sights from the parade...

Ready and waiting for the parade

(and her boys in orange and blue!)

The Color Guard leading the parade

Razzle the Clown

The Wells-Fargo Wagon is a comin' down the street...

Oh please let it be for me!

(Sorry, couldn't help myself, bursting into song like that!)

Lots of old cars

The high school cheerleaders and football players with the Chick-fil-a Cows

Military Veterans from World War II

Check out the spear this guy is carrying!

Renaissance Festival players

Belly dancers!

The Senior Center float.

They were great!

A train came by in the middle of the parade

so they were stopped in front of us for a while.

The guy with the umbrella was leading the crowd in songs to pass the time.

The "Prom King" behind him looked like he was ready to swat the umbrella guy with his sign!

Sir Purr!

From the Carolina Panthers

Gloria about fell over in surprise when I actually CAUGHT a football thrown by Sir Purr.

I didn't really think I would...just stuck my hand up in the air and the next thing I knew...

there was a little football in it!

We both just laughed and laughed.

Transformer?

On a float?

No parade is complete without the Shriners!

Lots of fire trucks from the various volunteer departments

Homer, from the Charlotte Knights, our local baseball farm team

We had to hurry home after the parade so we could see Auburn play Utah State. Fortunately, that game had a favorable outcome, even if it did come down to the end of the game. We went back to the festival later in the afternoon and into the evening. But that will have to be another post. And I think the funnel cake will have to be a post all its own!

Thursday Means Friday is Coming!

2011-09-01T21:27:00.000-04:00

It's Thursday night.

It's Thursday night of the first full week of school.

That means teachers across my county are t-i-r-e-d. Last week was just a teaser, a way to ease back into the regular Monday thru Friday routine with just two days of school. This week is the true wake-up call that summer is over.

But tomorrow is Friday.
And it's a long weekend, thank you Labor Day.

Hopefully we will go to our small town's parade on Saturday and then the annual Labor Day Weekend festival at some point this weekend. We do this every year. We happened to drive by the festival area the other day and all the rides were beginning to be set up. Someone was *really* excited! (Not Momma! I hate those rides!)

Hopefully it won't rain and spoil our plans--we have a 60% chance on Sunday and Monday right now.

Hopefully I will get the third of four sections of my thesis knocked out. It's theology, though, so it's gonna be rough and tough.

Hopefully I will be able to finish the at-home project I offered to work on for Gloria's class. I've got to cover their newly decorated writer's notebooks with clear contact paper. I used to do that with my fourth graders, so I have a system down. This should be easier though, since there are only 11 children in her class and therefore only 11 notebooks to cover. I used to have to cover 25 or more. 11 will be a walk in the park compared to that!

Hopefully Screamer will let us sleep past 4:15 in the morning. Darn cat--he starts messing around in my room, chewing on the drawer pull on my dresser and batting at the bottom of said dresser. As soon as I get up, he runs and hides because he knows he is going to be in "kitty time out" until a more reasonable hour.

Whoa...suddenly my "long" weekend doesn't look quite so long!

Happy weekend, everyone! What are you doing for the long weekend???

A Hurricane Was at My House Today

2011-08-28T19:33:00.002-04:00

No, it wasn't Irene.

It was Hurricane Prunella.

She strikes without warning and leaves a path of destruction in her wake.

The day started out bright and sunny. We went to church...
where she practiced her new-learned cursive skills during the sermon.

There's only so much one can write with the letters a, c, d, g, and h. ;)

We came home for lunch before heading out to pick up a birthday present and ~~go get robbed~~ do some grocery shopping. All was calm until after we got home.

That is when I dared make a completely unreasonable request. I mean, it was just terrible! Simply awful. Something no momma should ever ask of her child! You want to guess what I asked her to do?

How about "put your laundry away."

Yep. That was my request.
She knew she had to do it.
I asked her to do it last night.
I reminded her this morning.
I even reminded her when we were on the way home from the grocery store that it still needed to be done.

It was folded.
It was on the foot of her bed.
It was ready to be put away.
It just needed to actually be put away and/or hung up in her closet.

And that is when Hurricane Prunella came storming in.

There was much wailing and ranting, foot stomping and gnashing of teeth. It wasn't pretty. It was a tantrum of epic proportions. The girl's got a temper, that's for sure.

Two hours later, she has finally worn herself out and is sound asleep in her bed...

with her trusty cat keeping watch...

And I am left to recover from the storm.

Anyone else have experience with this fiery Latin temper???

First Day of School and Choir School Pictures

2011-08-27T20:02:00.002-04:00

Well, the first day of school came and went for both of us. She doesn't look excited or anything, does she?!?

The only disappointment was that the first day of school was also her P.E. day, so she had to wear her P.E. shirt and gym shorts instead of one of her new favorite outfits. Didn't seem to phase her, though. :)

The beginning of school also means the beginning of choir school. We had to be there for pictures today. I was able to snap a few quick pictures while they were waiting for the individual head shots to be finished before their group shots.

Can you see where she is missing a tooth in that picture above? Love that smile!

It's even more obvious in the next picture. :)

(I finally got one of her in the choir school uniform. For some reason, I never succeeded in that last year!)

After choir pictures, we joined some friends for lunch...forgot a change of clothes, so she was still in her white uniform shirt...and ordered SPAGHETTI for lunch! YIKES! Don't worry, Mom... I'm happy to say that not a drop of red sauce landed anywhere close to that white shirt. Whew!!

Tomorrow...

2011-08-23T22:06:00.000-04:00

This little girl....

will start third grade!

How is that possible?!?

A Yummy Morning

2011-08-20T20:12:00.001-04:00

Whew! What a week! Back to work is going to do me in, I'm pretty sure! Just a few more workdays before the students join us for a new school year. I know someone who is pretty excited about starting third grade on Wednesday morning!

After a hectic week of alarm clocks and getting out the door on a schedule, packing lunch boxes, and leading teacher trainings, packing up my classroom and wrapping my brain around my new venture...it was really nice to NOT have to think about breakfast this morning.

Thank you, "Chicken Lay" for letting us come eat breakfast, for free, in our pajamas on Saturday morning! (Chicken Lay is what Gloria used to call that place where one eats more chicken. You know what I'm talking about, right? If not, the pictures will enlighten you! ;)

A chicken biscuit and a Coke for Momma

chicken minis and some OJ for G

and some hashrounds for sharing.

Yum!

Very cute pj's on the cow...there was a "cow jumping over the moon" pattern on it. The boy cow had a nightshirt and nightcap on, but my girly girl wanted only the girl cow in her picture.

What? Where am I? You didn't really think I would put a picture of me in my jammies on here, did you? Hahahahahahahaha, heeheeheeheeheehee, hohohohohoho!!! No makeup, hair in a pony tail, and in my jammies...not thinkin' so! Nice try!

Besides, G and the cow are way cuter. :)

Who Did It?!?

2011-08-17T20:56:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning to find this...

...on my bedroom floor.

Yeah.
That piece in the yellow circle?
It should be in that open space between the other two pieces.

These used to be my earphones for my iPhone.
Used to be.

So the question is...
Who did it?!?

There are three possibilities.
However, I'm pretty sure is wasn't...

But, it could have been suspect number one... ...or... ...suspect number two.

Only problem is, nobody's talking.

The facts:

The above-pictured headphones were in my unzipped gym bag on my bedroom floor last night.

Suspect number one LOVES, and I'm talking crazy loves, ponytail holders. He actively seeks them out and then eats them. The same is true for silly bands. And wood. And book covers. I'm thinking the earphones might have smelled like a ponytail holder since they are rubber coated. Either that or he was looking for something quiet to chew on in the middle of the night so I wouldn't wake up and put him in kitty timeout for the rest of the night. Which reminds me...he did chew on the cord of my electric toothbrush last week while in timeout.

Suspect number two LOVES to, actually INSISTS on, sleeping inside any bag or box or container that is open and within her reach. She's not known for chewing on anything except Gloria's orange and blue Auburn shakers. Maybe the earphones smelled like the shakers? But she usually acts guilty when I discover something she has done, and she wasn't acting guilty this morning.

Like I said...nobody's talking. No one is 'fessin' up.

And I'm left with silence while I'm at the Y. Boo!!

So...you be the judge and jury. Who do you think did it?

Momma Shoots and Momma Scores!

2011-08-16T09:06:00.000-04:00

In spite of the weeping and wailing. In spite of the protests and complaints. In spite of the "No, Momma, no! I don't want to go to Y camp." In spite of the pleading and begging.

Yep, in spite of all of those things, I enrolled Gloria in a week of day camp for this week. I wanted the wholesome camp experience for her, the chance to try new activities, meet new friends, and have a little fun during the last week of summer vacation.

Oh, who am I kidding? I needed childcare for the last two days of this week when I go back to work. And this was the best option.

Only Gloria wasn't buying into it like I had hoped she would. And it was all because of one word in the camp description...

Archery.
Yep. Archery. She didn't want to do archery, so she didn't want to go to camp.

But guess what activity she CHOSE first at camp yesterday!
Yep.
Archery!

She didn't hit the target, but "I shot ten arrows, Momma! Ten!"
And she met a friend.
And met another friend who knows her BFF.

And today? Today she was excited to go back because they are going to ~~drown some worms~~ go fishing.

The Power of Words

2011-08-14T21:45:00.000-04:00

Remember when we were little?
Remember chanting?

Sticks and stones can break my bones,
But words will never hurt me

I'm not so sure about that
because words?
They can hurt.
They can hurt deeply.

And it broke this momma's hurt to see my baby hurting yesterday because of words.
"I'm not your friend any more!"
Those are some powerful words...
Words that cut to the core when you are in elementary school.
Words that go deep.
Words that devastate.
Words that are usually spoken more for the effect than for the true meaning.
Words that can break a heart.
Words that made my sweet girl sob uncontrollably all the way home.
Words that sparked a conversation about forgiveness.
Words that are not easily forgotten.

Gosh it's hard to be eight and have to experience the power of words.

I sure wish that old chant was true!

Choir Camp

2011-08-13T21:50:00.000-04:00

You know it's the end of summer when choir camp rolls around.

Choir camp was this past week. Which means I officially go back to work next week. Which means school starts the following week.

Farewell summer.

Miss G. enjoyed her week at choir camp. I had intended to help out much more than I did, but "life" got in the way. You know how that goes...preparing to teach a social studies workshop, packing my classroom, actually teaching the social studies workshop for two days, and then meeting with G's new third grade teacher.

But my little musician was happy to be at choir camp. It amazes me how much they get done in a week. They learn lots of music and perform an evensong service followed by a concert on Friday afternoon. The town choir (which my Glo-bug is in) learned and performed four songs--one was in German, one was a tongue twister, one was a Russian folksong, and one was "normal." ;) They did a great job!

Warning...these are iPhone pictures. I can't seem to remember to take my camera anywhere these days!

I love the look of concentration on her face in this first picture.

Eyes on her conductor...

After the concert, with her friends...

I love the red doors to our church...

Deep in conversation...I really love how the older girls (middle school aged) look out for and care about my sweet girl!

Not from choir camp...just typical of our day. Both cats really thought they needed that cheese stick, even though Hannah Cat hates people food!

And Screamer made his move! (Because he LOVES people food!)

Transitions

2011-08-09T19:17:00.000-04:00

It's August, which means it is time for school to start again.

Lots of people have already started school. I know because there have been lots of blogs with first day of school pictures and lots of blogs about teachers getting their rooms ready for the year. Our state law says that school cannot start before August 25th, so we are still in vacation mode. Sort of. I'm leading a teacher training workshop for the next two days on our new social studies materials. And then teachers report back to school next Thursday, a week before our students.

Gloria is so anxious about starting school--in a good way. She loves school and told me the other day that she wishes schools was all year long with no summer break. As a momma, I might enjoy that. But as a teacher? I'm not so sure. We need those breaks, ya' know? Anyway, G is eagerly anticipating the arrival of the letter that tells us who her teacher will be this year. If it doesn't arrive soon, she's sure to explode! She's funny though--she goes from eager anticipation and giddy excitement about school starting to nervous and anxious in the middle of a breath! She's worried about letter grades. (This is the first time she will earn "real" letter grades instead of the 1, 2, 3 scale her school uses.) She's worried/excited about cursive writing. Her best school friend moved over seas this summer, so she's worried about having a good friend at school.

My brain has been busy this summer thinking about things I wanted to do in my classroom this year. I'm really excited about our new social studies curriculum and I had some other ideas I was looking forward to implementing.

Did you catch the word "was" in that last sentence? "Was." As in past tense.

You see, I won't be a classroom teacher this year. It came as a complete surprise at a meeting last week, but I am going to be a reading teacher this year instead. I'm really excited. I LOVE teaching reading, and I think I do a pretty good job of it. I guess my administrators think so, too, since I've been asked to do this along with another teacher. My master's degree is in language and literacy, and my National Board certification is in reading/language arts, so this is really right up my alley. I'm really excited. Oops, I said that already, didn't I? Well, I am. Just wanted to make sure you knew.

But, I'm a bit nervous too. It's a change. It's letting go of what I've done for so many years. (The mountain of boxes I packed today are a reflection of just how many years. I've been at this since 1992. You do the math!) It's teaching still, but in a different capacity. I know the expectations are high, and I'm probably already making them higher in my own head. So, yes, I'm excited, but I'm nervous at the same time. Lots of butterflies fluttering around in my stomach!

So, it's transition time at our house.

What is the new school year bringing for you?

The True Story of What Really Happened, By Screamer

2011-08-07T17:19:00.002-04:00

Hi all. Screamer here.

Oh, wait. You probably don't know me by my real name. Momma usually calls me "Bad Cat" or "Destructo Kitty." She calls me other things, too, but I don't think she has ever shared those names here.

I'm here to tell you that whatever she says...
It simply isn't true.
You need to hear MY side of the story...

You see...she really messed up my bedtime routine the other night. And I am a creature of habit. Yes-sir-ee Bob, I'm a creature of habit.

G was gone. I love G. She's my girl. She loves me, too. Purr, purr, purr, purr...

Anyway. G was gone and Momma was home with both of us cats. Hannah is so prissy. Ugh. She thinks she's so perfect. But I know better.

But, I digress again. Let's see...where was I? Oh yes. Momma was home alone. I think she had a headache or something from those funny new things she had been wearing on her face. She had given up working on her paper (I didn't MEAN to shred two pages a few weeks ago...how was I supposed to know those papers on the table were "important" papers?!?) And she was going to take a shower. It was only 8:30. I knew that was way too early, but she always goes to bed right after she takes a shower. I should know. I've observed the process every night for a year and a half.

So she took a shower, brushed her teeth, took her allergy medicine, combed her hair, rubbed some sticky-looking white stuff on her legs, and I got on my bed.

But she...

WENT DOWNSTAIRS AGAIN!

Wait a minute! Hold the phone! (You'll have to do that for me...I don't have any thumbs...) She should have been getting in bed! But she WENT DOWNSTAIRS!!!

I followed her and tried to tell her she was in the wrong place. I begged her to go back upstairs. But she wouldn't listen. So I tried to trick her into it. I went upstairs and made some noise by knocking a few things off of her dresser. I KNEW that would make her come upstairs. And I was right! But she still didn't go to bed. She just fussed at me and cleaned up my mess. And went back downstairs. What was her deal, anyway?

So I picked a fight with Hannah, ran around a bit, and generally made Momma really upset with me...more than she already was. In fact, she was so put out with me that I had to spend the night in timeout. Well, I showed her. Wanna' see what I did? Look...

Oh, it was so much fun! It was a brand new roll when I started. When I finished, it was a huge pile of soft white shreds all over the bathroom floor. I even slept in my mountain of shredding that night. Not as comfy as my usual bed, but it was still nice. And I did leave a little bit on the roll. That was thoughtful of me, wasn't it. :)

Momma wasn't happy with me when she got up in the morning. I think she said something about sending me back to live with Hada and Emmitt. Hmmmm...maybe I better rethink my ways.

I hope Momma has learned to follow my directions. And more importantly, she should NOT mess up my nightly routine! I told you it wasn't my fault. I hope you believe me.

Now, I'm off to play with my mousey and chatter at the cardinals that are eating out of my bird feeder.

Signed,
Screamer

A Movie Week-End

2011-08-06T21:56:00.000-04:00

Gloria has been so excited to have a rainy week-end. Because that's about the only time I don't mind if she watches "full length feature films," as we call them.

For most of second grade, she begged and pleaded and asked over and over again if she could read the Harry Potter books. I held her off for as long as I could. I knew she could read them--that wasn't the problem. I just knew she would want to read ALL of them, and I didn't think she was really ready for that.

Sometime in the spring, I *finally* consented to the first book. To say she devoured it would be an understatement! I'm pretty sure she read it five times before school was out, and she made a 100% on the AR test, so I knew she was "getting it" (even though I didn't know she was going to take that test). I had told her she could read the second one over the summer. Well, she started it on the first Saturday of her summer break and finished it the very next day on the way to Camp Maggie-Hada.

She called me from the library the next afternoon, asking for permission to check out the third book and read it while she was visiting her grandparents. The ONLY reason I said yes at that point was because she ASKED me first. She could have very easily played the "but Maggie said I could" card on me, but she didn't. Points for her...and for my mom.

I've drawn the line in the sand for now, stopping her after book three. She so desperately wants to read number four. Oh who am I kidding...she wants to read them ALL. I just don't think she is ready for them because if memory serves me correctly, the books get darker and scarier as they go on. Harry, Ron, and Hermione get older and face more mature situations. But she stares at those books sitting on the bookshelf so longingly...I don't know...should I let her read them? I feel my resolve weakening, but I just don't know.

Anyway...a friend of mine watched Gloria for me so I could attend a meeting on Thursday morning. And, she sent her home with the first three movies. Gloria was over-the-moon thrilled. We weren't home five minutes before the first one went into the DVD player. Friday ended up being a rainy day, so she watched the second one. Tonight, she is watching the third one. Her plan is to watch her favorite of the three tomorrow before she returns them on Monday. We'll see. I'm hoping to get her to the pool and outside a bit after all this rain!

She is watching so intently, and so excited about everything that is happening. I think the movies follow the books pretty closely. And, I'm finding out just how well she read those books...she knows EVERY detail.

**She was not posed for this picture...In fact, she didn't even realize I was taking her picture. She always holds the box in her lap when she watches a DVD. She always has. I don't know why. But she absolutely must have the box in her hands every time she watches a movie.**

Conquering the List!

2011-08-05T19:44:00.000-04:00

Ha-ha! Take that, LIST! You've been conquered!

I woke up this morning with a mental list of things that had to be done today. Nothing big or earth shattering. Just stuff, ya' know?

But then it started to rain. It rained and rained and rained. Then it rained some more. And just for good measure, there was some thunder and lightning thrown in, along with some flash flood warnings. I think we got about 6 or 7 inches of rain. I didn't think it was ever going to stop. And that, dear readers, was going to seriously impede my ability to handle "the list."

But finally, it stopped raining, ~~the sun came out,~~ and the birds began to sing. And I? I sprang into action. We got the car loaded up with Gloria's spend-the-night stuff, library books, a box that needed mailing, and some Usborne books that needed to be delivered and we were off! We were in a serious race against time at that point, due to meeting friends for dinner at an appointed hour.

And....I am thrilled that we conquered the list! Isn't a great feeling of accomplishment when you do that?

In two hours, we:

mailed a box of books back to the seminary
increased the amount taken out of my paycheck for my summer cash account at the bank
returned a boat load of library books
got Gloria registered for day camp during the last week of summer vacation since I have to go back to work before she goes back to school
got the inside of the car vacuumed out (have you looked under/behind that car seat in the back seat of your car lately??? Scary stuff, I'm here to tell you! How does it get that way??!!?? Seriously, ICK!)
met friends for dinner, which also meant delivering that large order of Usborne books from her book party a few weeks ago

And the best part? After dinner, Gloria went home with our friends for a sleepover.

So, not only did I conquer the list.

I get a night to myself tonight!

Win, win, win!

Strike Two! Will There Be a Strike Three?

2011-08-03T18:27:00.000-04:00

I recently paid my yearly visit to my eye doctor.

I've had reading glasses for...well...lots of years...I can't even remember how long it's been!

So it was no surprise to me when she told me we needed to increase the strength of my lenses. The problem is that increasing the magnification in my reading glasses means I can't see very far across the room. And that, my friends, is a problem when there are 22 (probably more than that this year!) second graders scattered around the room, diligently engaged in their work, while I work with individual students or small groups. The solution to that problem in the past has been to take off my glasses when I need to look across the room or see the whole group at one time.

The result? "Lost" glasses.

Or glasses at school when I needed them at home.

Or vice versa.

Let's just say that my glasses and I were rarely in the same place at the same time by the end of the school year. And I was doing a lot of squinting. Not to mention taking more ibuprofen because I was getting frequent headaches from not wearing my glasses when I needed them because they were lost. It was an ugly cycle.

And I felt like I was learning to play the trombone as I moved books closer to and farther away from my face, trying to find just the right place to comfortably read.

What's that you say? Use a glasses chain? Are you kidding me?!? I might be a month shy of 41, but I'm not glasses-on-a-chain old yet! ;)

The solution my doctor offered was progressive lenses. That way I wouldn't have to play the on-off-on-off game any more. Or the "trombone!" I've had bifocals in the past, so I figured it would be o.k. so I picked out some new frames (that I really like, but my darling daughter says make me look more "teacher-y"...which is appropriate, right???). Note: I tried to take a picture of myself in them, but kept getting a really bad glare on them. So you'll just have to trust me on this one (and NOT Gloria!).

Well, I'm here to tell you...it just isn't o.k! They just are not working for me. As of this afternoon, the glasses are going back to the lab for the third time. The first time, it was determined that the left lens was off by about a millimeter. So back to the lab they went. They came back and I got them again on Monday. The left eye still wasn't right, in my opinion. All kinds of adjustments were made. I tried them for several days but I was always turning my head and tilting it to the left, relying heavily on my right eye. And my computer screen suddenly looked bowed instead of flat. I couldn't find the field of vision very easily and felt that the reading field was extremely limited. So back I went today.

The doctor did all the "which is better...the first one or...the second one" tests with her machine and determined that the prescription was correct. So, she decided to take the astigmatism script out and see how that works for me. If that doesn't work...if it's strike three...it's back to plain reading glasses, with the stronger lenses, and back to playing the on-off-on-off game and the trombone once again.

Anyone out there ever worn progressive lenses before? Any advice for adjusting to them? Because I'm just not feeling the love! And my trombone playing arm is getting tired!

WHY?!?

2011-08-01T19:30:00.000-04:00

Poor baby girl.

She's devastated.

Her AU jersey disappeared from our stuff while we were at the pool.

Seriously now, why would someone do that?

Why not my phone?
Or my watch?
Which were both in the bag too.
Seriously!
Yes, it would have been a pain to replace either one of them, but I'm not attached to either of those things like she is to her jersey.

Why take an eight-year old's beloved Auburn jersey that her Uncle Will got for her last fall?

She is just so upset and wants to know why.

And I...

I don't have the answer to that question because I want to know why too.

A Rainy Sunday

2011-07-31T19:32:00.000-04:00

Coming back from a vacation is never fun. Coming back from a vacation where there has been non-stop interaction with two cousins and your grandmother is even worse. Add in a rainy Sunday on top of it all...just no good. No good at all.

What's a girl to do after reading and playing with sticker books and watching the E.T. movie for the first time ever when Momma is busy getting suitcases unpacked, laundry washed, and cleaning up after all of Destructo Kitty's work while we were gone?

Put on your bathing suit, grab the "guys," and go out to play on the patio in the rain!

Until it starts to thunder and you have to go inside again. Then you curl up with a good book once again.

Speaking of books...

I'm still doing the fundraiser for my sister-in-law and the North Texas Lyme Support Group on my Usborne Books and More site. (Be sure to click on Martha's name to support this fundraiser.)

In My Hometown

2011-07-30T23:20:00.000-04:00

We are happily home from being gone for a week. Wish I had some pictures to share...Gloria spent four days at the beach with her grandmother and her cousins. I, on the other hand, spent four days alone with my books and papers and pens so I could work on my thesis some more. It's never going to end!

One evening, I decided to go get a pizza for dinner from a very specific pizza place. And while I've noticed it over the years, I guess I noticed it more this time because I was alone...things have really changed down there. My drive from one town to the next made that oh so obvious.

There were new neighborhoods where there used to be orange groves.
There was a school in what used to be a cow pasture.
The villa...well, it's still the villa with some fresh paint and some fancy brick medians.
Our old pizza hangout? It's a personal injury law firm now.
And there's a tattoo parlor where a car dealership used to be.
The old movie theater is now a used car lot.
And the ABC store...is now a pawn shop.

I've always been able to get around where I needed to go, and could give directions based on landmarks. (I never learned many road names...just the really big ones!)
But all the landmarks have changed!
I don't think I could get anyone anywhere successfully any more!

Those are just a few things that stand out in my mind as I think about my time down there. What should I expect though??? I've been gone for 22 years! (How's that for a reality check?!?)

I do love it down there. It makes me yearn for those simpler days. I wish Gloria could have that life I had "back then." There are times I wish I was still living there. I really like where I am now (most of the time). It seems so much, I don't know, easier or more relaxed, down there. I know it's probably not and it's just because when I am down there now it is because I am on vacation. Here seems so fast paced and busy and frantic at times. Not necessarily US per se. Certainly we stay busy and enjoy ourselves. I'm talking more about, the general feeling, the atmosphere here compared to there.

Guess I'm just missing it a little more tonight now that we are home again.

Lest You Think Summer Vacation is All Fun and Games...

2011-07-23T21:14:00.000-04:00

My dining room table...

And my dining room floor...

Still plugging away at the thesis.

I know what my "how I spent my summer" story will be when school starts again next month! It won't be very long or very interesting. In fact, it will be only one sentence long (but it will be a COMPLETE sentence, with appropriate capitalization and punctuation, good spelling and grammar, and focused on one specific topic--all things I try to teach my second graders.)

Are you ready for it?

I wrote my thesis.

Yep. That's it. No fun beach trips or amusement parks or camps for me. It's just writing, writing, writing, and more writing. Oh yeah, and some reading. And did I mention writing? Maybe a meltdown or two thrown in...just to keep things interesting. But mostly...I wrote my thesis.

And now it's time to return my attention back to my thesis...

Are You Ready for Some Football?

2011-07-22T23:15:00.000-04:00

***Warning: These are iPhone pictures, so not terribly great. Not that any of my pictures are...I need a better camera than my little point and shoot! At least that's my story! And I'm stickin' to it!***

In this case...not "American" football...it was a soccer game.

We're having days that are hotter than blue blazes and we headed off to a soccer game late this afternoon when it was still a toasty 97 degrees. And the humidity...well, it was something fierce too.

Before heading to the game

We caught the end of the women's game. Unfortunately, the Lady Eagles lost. The girls are somewhere out in that group, joining the team for a post-game prayer. It made Gloria's day that one of her coaches from last week's soccer camp (who is also a player on the team) recognized her and was talking to her after the prayer. Thanks, Coach Stinky Feet!

Coming back to the stands. (I'm so glad to finally see some confidence developing so that she will venture out to do something like this without me accompanying her!)

Like I said, it was extremely hot, so our cold water was more like room temperature water before we could drink it!

We can never go to a game without adding a bracelet (or two) to her collection! And she got her friend started on them today!

We gave up at half-time of the men's game and headed for home, popsicles, and air conditioning.

But I think they enjoyed themselves, don't you?

Late Night Thesis Writing

2011-07-21T01:23:00.000-04:00

Apparently I've been staying up too late working on my thesis.

Or so I've been told by a certain 8 year old who doesn't like waking up "around 1:00 or something" and realizing I'm still downstairs.

Honestly? It's just easier to concentrate after she goes to bed. No piano practice (she's teaching herself to play), no CDs playing, no one hour of television, no imaginary playing school, no endless trips to the freezer for ice cubes to suck on (WHY won't she just pour herself a glass of water?!?!?), no requests for snacks or lunch or swimming or "just something FUN please!"

It's just quiet...and I can concentrate...most of the time...until this happens

Why does she only want to sit in my lap when I'm trying to work?!? It's really hard to write and/or type with a cat's head resting in the crook of my elbow!

I Can't Remember!

2011-07-19T10:03:00.000-04:00

We watched the movie Akeelah and the Bee the other night. (In fact, Gloria is watching it again for the third time right now before we toss it in the afternoon mail.) What a great movie!

While I thought the message Miss G might take from the movie was something along the lines of "set your mind on a goal, work hard, and you will go to new and exciting places." But I was wrong. So wrong.

As I put her to bed Sunday night after the movie, she started ~~crying~~ sobbing. It took a little bit of questioning from me to get to the bottom of what had her so upset. It came from the movie, which surprised me. What could have upset her like that from the movie?

She was thinking about how Akeelah's father died when Akeelah was six years old. "So she can remember her father because you can remember things from when you were six years old." But that led Gloria to think about how she doesn't remember her birthmother because "you can't remember things from when you were a little tiny baby and I want to remember her."

Who's Watching Whom?

2011-07-16T21:13:00.001-04:00

This week was like being stuck in the movie "Groundhog Day."

You know....where each day is just like the day before...

Get up
Take Gloria to soccer camp
Come home and work on thesis
~~Take a blog hopping break~~
Continue to work on thesis
Pick Gloria up from soccer camp
Go to the pool
Come home
Dinner, bath, and bed for Gloria
~~More blog hopping~~
More work on my thesis
Sleep
Repeat

So, not much opportunity for picture taking this week. Although I did catch one pretty cool moment late one afternoon. This is by far my favorite picture from recent weeks. I came downstairs to discover this...

The deer has been eating out of the bird feeder every few days. And it doesn't seem too concerned about the "audience" on the other side of the window. Gloria has named it July.

It does leave me to wonder: birds, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, now a deer...what's next?!?

Be a Part of Their Story

2011-07-13T22:51:00.000-04:00

I became "Momma" to my sweet Gloria through adoption. Adoption is a life-changing event. I knew that. What I didn't plan on or expect was the number of friends I would meet along the way. Some of these friends are near by, some are far away, and some I have never met in person but we all share in prayer, support, encouragement, and inspiration, all while experiencing the challenges and the joys that life brings to each of us. Karen is one of those far away friends.

Karen and her husband, Doug, have adopted two precious little girls from China. Now they are pursuing their third adoption, this one being very different from either of the other two experiences. You can read about Ai Liu on Karen's blog.

They have stepped out in faith to bring this little girl home where she can receive the love and care as well as the medical attention she so desperately needs and deserves. And they are asking for help this time.

I hope you will read Karen's words and consider how you might "Be a Part of the Story" of bringing Ai Liu home.

Crazy Hair Tuesday at Soccer Camp

2011-07-12T22:48:00.000-04:00

Oh, she's gonna' kill me for this!

But I had to share!

There were 12 ponytails on this head this morning!

Thank goodness she didn't want them braided!

The view from the top

From behind...

Ready for a H-O-T day at soccer camp...

What's For Dinner?

2011-07-12T00:19:00.000-04:00

That was Gloria's first question (after her 25 minute non-stop retelling of her entire day at soccer camp) this afternoon.

So, like all good mommas, I answered her question with a question..."Well, what do you WANT for dinner tonight?"

Her response?
Get ready for this one.
I'm sure it's not typical.
But here it is anyway...

"SPINACH! But not that frozen square kind. Can you cook fresh spinach? I like that so much better. IT'S SO YUMMY!!!"

She just wanted me to steam some fresh spinach!
So I did--since I still had some in the fridge.
(There was also chicken, rice, and fresh peaches on our plates!)
And she was SO happy!

And I'm so happy she is a healthy eater and makes good choices!

The Rest of Our Day

2011-07-09T21:28:00.001-04:00

After being so rudely awakened (see previous post!), I really never went back to sleep. That was bad news because I had stayed up until about 1:00 working on my thesis. (6 more pages...yay! Only about 4 hours of sleep...boo!)

So, we were out of the house pretty early to handle life.

Quick stop at the ATM,

off to the farmer's market for flowers, tomatoes, and peaches,

home to drop off our farmer's market purchases,

grocery shopping,

home to put groceries away and have lunch,

a little house cleaning...

At which point, I was getting cranky.

A caffeinated brown soda would have helped immensely, but I gave those up about 6 weeks ago.

(I had one yesterday while dressed like a cow. It was wonderful, but I'm not going back on the daily habit!)

Tired, cranky, and the beginning of a headache never make a good combination.

Add to that "What can I do, Momma?" with all my suggestions being turned down...

I could see things going down hill

F.A.S.T.

So I did what all good moms do--

I pitched a...

tent.

Right in the middle of the living room.

Yep.

Here it is...

And my child was thrilled.
Happy as a pig in mud.
(Are pigs in mud really happy???)

She spent the rest of the afternoon in there.

I had to knock on the tent if I needed her. See her note?

She settled in with dolls and cats and pillows and books and flashlights and water bottles and...

actually, I'm not sure what else is in there. Four hours is a lot of time to move things into a tent!

What's not to smile about?

She was going to sleep in there tonight, but worked herself into a panic about it since I was not planning to sleep
a.) IN the tent
or
b.) on the sofa.

Nope, I'm sleeping
c.) in my own bed.

I know...mean Momma...I know.
But I need good sleep.
And sofa sleep or floor sleep isn't good sleep.

Which happens to be upstairs.
And downstairs is scary by yourself.
Even if you are sound asleep, because "What if I wake up?"

So now she is upstairs in her bed and upset with her self for spoiling her own plans.

Bad Cat Strikes Again

2011-07-09T20:56:00.000-04:00

Screamer doesn't seem to understand that it is summer time and we don't have to get up at 5 a.m. each morning. He must be so worried that we will be late for school/work that he feels compelled to awaken us each morning by 5:30 at the latest. His usual "M.O." is to pull something off of Gloria's bulletin board and then knock the candlestick off of the top of the bookshelf.

Actually, he's just reminding us that it's time to eat. But all he gets instead of kitty kibble is a kitty time-out in the downstairs bathroom.

So this morning wasn't any different...

At 5:23, papers were pulled off the bulletin board and Destructo Kitty headed to the bookshelf. He must have been feeling extra destructive this morning because he sent the candlestick all the way down the stairs where it crashed into a wooden chest.

The results...

Anyone want a cat???

Just Wondering...

2011-07-08T21:12:00.000-04:00

Just wondering...
Anyone else feeling a bit nostalgic as the space shuttle begins the final voyage? I remember the first one and now it's the last one. Makes me sad.

Just wondering...
Who else dressed up like a cow today, in a costume created by an 8 year old, just so you could "eat mor chikin" for free?

Just wondering...
Why, when trying to clean up/straighten up/bring some semblance of order to my house, it seems that the mess gets bigger and worse before it gets better?

Just wondering...
How much higher my insurance premiums, deductibles, and co-pays can go? Or maybe I don't want to know the answer to that one. But geeeesh, enough is enough already!!

Just wondering...
Will my girly-girl enjoy soccer camp next week? I sure hope so. I hope she finds a friend to pal around with. I know she's worried about not knowing anyone. And while thinking about camp...

Just wondering...
How much writing will I get done next week during soccer camp? Factor in a dental appointment one day and the hope to exercise each day along with travel time, and I'll have about 4 hours each day. Better go to the library though, so I won't read blogs all day!

Just wondering...
Why are the people in the neighborhood behind the woods behind my house STILL shooting off firecrackers?!? Don't they know it's the 8th of July now?!?

Anyone else wondering anything?

Or is it just me who has the wondering wandering mind tonight?

A Letter to My Thesis

2011-07-07T21:47:00.000-04:00

Dear Thesis,

We've had a rocky relationship for the past two years.
It's been off again, on again.
It's been start and stop.
You haunt me in my sleep.
You evade me when I'm awake.
I'm not sure how much more of this I can take.
The "blue box" for National Board Certification wasn't this bad!
Or maybe it was but I've blocked it all out...who knows?
At any rate, you're about to defeat me.
You reduced me to a sobbing heap on the sofa today.
That wasn't pretty, and my eyes are still puffy and sore.
(I'm glad Gloria was off playing at a friend's house today!)
I just don't know if I have any fight left in me.

It shouldn't be this hard...I love to write, and I'm passionate about my topic.
I just can't find the words.
The words I do find...they don't say what I want to say.
My thoughts are a jumbled mess.
My notes are in even worse shape.
We can't take a break from each other because the clock is ticking on the little bit of time we do have left.
There's part of me that wants to go ahead and throw in the towel.
Call it quits.
Let you win.
Not to mention regain the use of my dining room table again!

But then I think about the disappointment that would bring--to me and to others.
And I can't let that happen.
So, as Scarlett would say...tomorrow is another day.
I'll swim with Gloria, do a little grocery shopping, take a deep breath, and tackle you anew.
Be prepared, dear thesis, because I'm not going down without a fight.

Amazing, Marvelous, and Delectable!

2011-07-06T20:49:00.000-04:00

Yep.
Amazing!
Marvelous!
Delectable!

Those were Gloria's words after we tried this...

for the first time this afternoon.

It's fairly new. I think it opened while Gloria was at "Camp Maggie-Hada" last month and she had been wanting to try it. I figured it would be a refreshing break on a sultry summer afternoon after she had so patiently waited for me to try on ~~a bajillion~~ multiple pairs of glasses frames in a quest for just the right ones for my new ~~bifocals~~ transition lenses. Needless to say, she was most pleased with our final stop of the afternoon! And then she was downright joyful when she saw that green circle in the lower left hand corner of this next picture.

Gluten free!

Suh-weet!!!

They had about a dozen choices of flavors and every topping you could think of from candies to nuts to fruit to different syrups and sauces. I think she had some concoction of cake batter and cookies-n-cream topped with white chocolate and dark chocolate chips, strawberries, and chocolate syrup.

I wasn't really in the mood for anything, so I just watched Gloria enjoy her treat.

And told her about an ice cream place we used to go to when I was growing up--

where I always got watermelon sherbet

every

single

time

I went in there.

It was

*the best e-ver!*

So I decided to sample their watermelon frozen whatever it was. (It wasn't yogurt, and the sign said it was non-dairy, which is a good thing in my life.)

Let's just say that little tiny sample???

Turned into this...

was

yummy!

No toppings needed.

(Besides....what would have tasted good with watermelon???)

See those little fingers trying to steal my frozen watermelon delight?!?

They were NOT successful!

I think I see more trips to Sweet Frog in our future!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And, because I haven't talked to them today (Gloria left them a message on their answering machine...)

HAPPY 43RD ANNIVERSARY, MOM AND DAD!!! WE LOVE YOU BOTH!!

Bare Faced and Other Tuesday Tales

2011-07-05T18:36:00.000-04:00

My days are all messed up. Being out of school for the summer will do that to a teacher, ya' know! I mean, I'm not writing the day and date on the board every morning, so I just can't keep 'em straight right now!

Tale One:
Gloria wanted to go swimming as soon as she got up this morning. I had to hold her off until after 10:00 when the pool was open. We were the only ones there this morning so she had the pool all to herself. She enjoyed swimming and diving for her sinkies. I enjoyed watching her and a phone conversation with my mom.

Tale Two:
We went to the library this afternoon. My little bookworm reads constantly. I mean *all* *the* *time*!! And if she doesn't have anything new to read, she just rereads her old favorites. She loves, loves, loves to read and really immerses herself into the stories. The hard thing is finding books with age appropriate content that match her advanced reading level. She's beyond what the majority of my students read, so I'm not familiar with everything out there, not to mention how much new reading material is out there. Any suggestions for an 8 year old reader?

Tale Three:
Walking through Target after the library trip, Gloria looks at me and exclaims "Momma! You didn't put on any make-up today! Your face is totally bare!" This was not exactly said in a quiet voice. I agreed with her as the lady walking past us giggled. And then "I like you better when you aren't bare faced, Momma." Gee, thanks babe...

Tale Four:
She dragged out "Heigh Ho, Cherry-O" this afternoon for us to play. Do you know how long that game takes to play? And I lost.

Tale Five:
We have a deer that has decided to graze in our bird feeder. It joins the several cardinal families, Bandit the raccoon, Jumpy Squirrel, and the oversized doves. But why is the deer eating bird seed? Anyway, this afternoon, it arrived again. This was the first time Screamer saw the deer and boy was he agitated! Tail bushed up and twitching and meowing the strangest meow I've ever heard from him! Hannah was just on high alert. I wish I could have taken a picture of Gloria and the two cats looking out the window at the deer. Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead. For several minutes, it was a staring contest between the deer on the outside and the other three on the inside.

A Quiet 4th

2011-07-04T23:11:00.000-04:00

We had a quiet day at home today after a morning swim at the Y. That's not a bad thing! Really!

Because it was the Fourth of July, there were a few things we *had* to cook

Because they are *traditions* for us!

I'm not sure how they became traditions, but I wasn't going to disappoint my girl!

One of those traditions is "bean quintet." It's really just baked beans made with five different kinds of beans. Gloria L-O-V-E-S it and requests it every year. It is good, but it makes enough for 15-18 servings, according to the recipe. Translated, that means we will eat it approximately 9 times. That's a L-O-T of baked beans, no matter how yummy they are. So, I typically freeze half of it (at least) so we can have them again for Labor Day.

Another tradition is a pan of jello decorated like a flag. I think Gloria first did this with my mom when she was 2 years old. And it has continued since then. Each year, she insists that we make it and each year she does more and more of it herself. This year, all I did was boil the water and then put the pan in the fridge. The rest was done without my help. And, each year, she gets more and more intentional in her decorating. This year, she made sure there were precisely 50 blueberries (stars) and 13 stripes on top of her red jello base.

I love the concentration in this picture...

"Did you seriously just take my picture AGAIN?!? MOM-MA!!"

Hope you and your family enjoyed your day. What did you do to celebrate our country?

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-03T22:47:00.000-04:00

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free

And the home of the brave!

(Another picture taken by Gloria...It was the right way until the wind blew right as she snapped the picture.)