Well, I'm failing miserably, then. However, my kids are fed at least once a day, and most of their clothes are clean, and the house isn't too bad, and all that fun stuff, so I guess we're doing fine after all.
There's way too much to write to ever be able to catch up, but a quick synopsis:
- My sister visited for five lovely days; she left last week. Seriously, if I could have had
video footage of her introduction to the rats, especially when she first reached out to hold one and the rat promptly jumped down her shirt, I'd be a very happy person. I did, indeed, laugh so hard that I cried.
- JAMES EARNED ALL A's ON HIS REPORT CARD! And apparently, I owe him $14, though I swear I don't remember saying I'd pay $3 for an A+. But whatever, I was very proud of him and figure since he doesn't get an allowance (yet - really gotta work on that), this is a cheap alternative.
- Our baby rats are coming this weekend. Molly has chosen the name Bianca for the girl; James is still considering names for his boys - the latest report was that they'd be Sherman, Abrams and Phantom, but I don't think it's a done deal.
- Bridget is doing her refresher course for ISR lessons. She's not gained any love for the experience, and as of today, she starts crying as soon as we pull up to the instructor's house, and doesn't stop 'til she's out of the water. Ah well. As long as she's safe in the water - or as safe as we can help her to be - it's all good. And important, because we're going to get a fairly deep (52") above-ground pool for now; we'd considered an inground pool, but since we think we'll be looking for a house on acreage (vs. our current <1 acre lot right now), it doesn't make financial sense to spend that kind of money.
- My sister taught Molly to sing "99 bottles of beer on the wall" and, speaking of walls, she's driving me up one singing it constantly.
- I signed Bridget up for gymnastics; there is serious humor to be enjoyed, watching her in class. She loves it and asks to go there nearly every day. And tomorrow's her day, so I'll be getting some extra chuckles, too!
- James...I finally gave in, and I confess, I do NOT like it. I feel so self-conscious, as if I am personally encouraging anti-establishmentarianism by allowing my 8-year old to sport a
He thinks it's just a neat haircut, but I am the one who feels the stares and judgment, and I am embarrassed to admit that even I feel judgmental, as if any sort of misbehavior on his part (and trust me, there's plenty of that) is amplified by his 'do.
- Molly and Bridget got their hair cut, too; Molly had a good five or so inches cut off; Bridget just got a trim. Both have very short bangs now because I can't cut in a straight line, more's the pity.
Etc. I also just finished a LO (um, finally?):
Credits here.
I'm outta here for now - late to bed as usual, but the price seems so much dearer lately, kwim?
Two of our baby rats opened their eyes yesterday. :) The owner sent pictures of the four rats, and while I'm posting this specifically for my good friend, Karin, I know she'll appreciate if I don't post all four pictures. ;)
So, here's Molly's little girl; she was one of those whose eyes opened:
and here's one of James's boy rats; eyes wide shut for this little dude:
So, Karin...cute, right? LOL
I just got home from a wonderful evening with a great group of ladies! A few posts back, I mentioned that I've been tossing around the idea of homeschooling J and M for the '07-'08 school year. At least. It's not an endeavor I take lightly, and I've really been struggling with whether or not it's the right thing to do. I've sought advice from a variety of places, and I've certainly done a fair bit of research, too. A few days ago, I joined the local homeschooling co-op; at the time, I was leaning toward homeschooling, but I still had some reservations. Today, though, I had a chance to catch up with an old playgroup buddy from way back (um, okay, less than four years ago) to my Maryland days. Emily was (and still is) an LLL leader, and a fabulously talented, resourceful and knowledgeable lady, too. And a real cool chick. :D Her two children are similar ages to mine (well, my school-aged kids) and aside from the good information and reassurances, it was just a grand thing to get caught up on how everyone in our old group is doing (that playgroup is still in existence; the families still get together - neat, huh?).
Anyway, so tonight, the local HS co-op had their MNO (mom's night out, and wasn't it nice of them to have one scheduled for the very next day after I joined? Yeah, I thought so, too.). I have really, really missed MNOs! Even when Steve was still in FL, his schedule was erratic enough that I was rarely able to participate, so my last *real* MNOs were with my old Maryland group. Kinda sad, now that I think about it. :/
But hey, it's all good because I really had a nice time tonight! The co-op isn't affiliated with a religious, ethnic or other group designation; it's a hodge-podge of folks who have this one central thing in common. I've not met many moms here anyway, so it was nice to be with adults, spend some time talking about our kids, laugh and talk about other things, and, well...to feel human. And if I felt pretty comfortable with the notion of HS'ing before arriving there, I am now really pumped to do it. It's still, mentally, sorted out in my mind as baby steps, and while I still feel a bit overwhelmed by the enormity of the undertaking, I feel a whole lot more comfortable with the options and making a real commitment. Hooray! Note to Amy - I hope we can still be phone buddies! :)
In other news, J and M were included among the few kids at their school who "won" the privilege of riding in a limo to a local park and having pizza and cookies for free.
Free, my patootie. The privilege was extended only to those students who(se parents) sold at least 20 items from the most recent fundraising circular that the kids brought home. As I'm no great fan of fundraising, and especially protest the way schools use cheap trinket-y type things to entice kids to bug the heck out of their parents to "please buy something, mom, so I can win a Spongebob zipper pull for my backpack!", I told my kids that they weren't going to be able to ride on the limo because *I* wouldn't be buying anything and since we only know a few people, also parents at the school, it wasn't likely they'd sell anything to anyone else, either. Instead, I sent a check to the PTO in lieu of participation, the amount of which apparently passed some monetary threshhold wherein my children actually WERE invited to ride in the limos. "For free, mom!"
But they had fun, and because we met them there (so I could take pictures of where my money was going the cool limo ride), it turned into an impromptu park day for Bridget, where, had it not been for the spilt (chocolate) milk and dirt, I would have gotten some terrific pictures. I mean, I still like them, but the big chocolate splotches on her shirt sort of make me love the pictures a leeeetle bit less.
Here's the "Hummer" limo (there was a stretch Hummer limo, too, but it was full so they got to ride the stretch Excursion which did look a lot like a Hummer, at least if you're 8 and 6):
I wish I could post a picture of James, but the dude kept giving me goofy silly pictures, or else the shading was wrong, or somebody walked into the frame just as I pressed the shutter. I did get this one of Molly, thankfully:
James and Molly were there only for a short time - enough time to eat and perhaps play on the equipment for about ten minutes. Bridget didn't want to go home, so I kept the camera out and took pictures. I had my telephoto, and I was way too close to her most of the time, but there are a few that I really like - chocolate milk smudges and all. ;)
And that's a wrap, folks!
Seems the more I have to share, the less likely I am able to find time to post. Which is pretty wrong, when I think about it. So often lately I've been tempted to ditch the blog thing completely; I may still, or else move back to blogspot.
Molly's birthday and party were a hit! She had only asked for two things, and that, my friends, is all she got. LOL Which isn't to say she was a cheap date, but still. I gave her one of her gifts on her actual birthday: a pair of cowgirl boots. Now, if you follow that link, you are likely to think we are spendy people, because who else would pay that much for a kid's pair of boots? I mean, I know there are folks who'd not bat an eyelash at it, but they aren't reading this blog and I'm not one of them. The thing is, though, she wears her boots all the time. All. The. Time. So, based on an overall average cost per use, they're pretty cheap. They are also, already, no longer in good shape. The heels are badly scratched, and I think I need to buy some sort of leather cleaner. But she loves them. And that's what it's about, right?
Her party was a week later; five children came, and along with Molly plus her bro and sis, it was a nice number. We kept the party quite simple - various crafts, a pinata, some free play, and then cake, ice cream and gifts. We gave her the second gift then: a kid-friendly pogo stick, which was a big hit with all the kids. I am forever grateful to the one mom who stayed throughout the party to help, because she held each kid and let them bounce safely until they were all bounced out (or until their parents picked them up).
A few pictures?
First one is of the house, finally more or less tidied [ahem], and although it is not in the picture, to the left of the fireplace is another large picture window like the one to the right of it. Opening all of these windows each morning is one of best parts about waking up here.
Flowers for our sweet girl; she was utterly delighted with them!
By the time we got to the cake and ice cream, it was general mayhem. Why do people serve cakes at kids' birthday parties? They NEVER eat it.
The next day, we went on a wee hike, first on the Nuooah Trail, and then afterward, we left the trail and just wandered a bit. Just a little bit. I'm not much for random wandering on mountains, generally speaking. My picture below is quite similar to the one on marker 13 in the link above.
LOL, that camouflage stuff really works. I didn't notice him the first time I looked at this picture. On the other hand, it's impossible to miss Molly. I really tried to get her to wear something a little more coordinated, but she refused and it wasn't important enough to me to make anything of it. Except to provide explanations like this. ;)
Changing subjects: here's a charming picture of Molly with Bella. Seriously, these rats are adorable! So much fun.
Not to be outdone, here's one of James with Bella, too. 
And that's it for now.
In other quick news: After the initial two days of potty training, Bridget never looked back. She has had no accidents (been over three weeks, right?) and even wears underwear to bed. No more diapers in our house! She also took an introductory gymnastics class today. I don't think I've laughed so hard in quite a long time. She was so shy at first, as usual, and wouldn't make eye contact at all. But less than ten minutes later, she was in her groove, listening well and being really excited about hanging from a bar and swinging her feet, or donkey walk races, or doing a barrel-assisted back flip... So cute. My gosh, they're all getting big, but the baby? Wah!
As I've written this, I've had to stop several times because Molly got sick. Her sheets are in the wash, and my lovebug is resting, but fitfully. I think it's going to be a long night. Later, 'gator. ;)
A patio picture from this morning. Sorry I can't type more; I'm still blind from the taking of it. :/
Figured I'd do a quickie post to say that so far, she's rockin' the PT house! Today was the third day of no accidents, including a trip to the store and then later, a 1-hour trip to M's gymnastics class. Of course, it was also the first day of nice weather in a good long while, so she was wearing a dress and, true to the exhibitionist tendencies of kids this age, she walked around holding her dress up, thereby revealing to any and all that her underwear were adorned with Boots the monkey. Tomorrow, I think we'll choose pants.
I also made M's birthday invitations:
Not posted at DST, so credits are: paper, frames & swirl by Tracy Ann; the stamp is from a Merkley Designs template, and the pony was created by Scrappy Pony Designs.
I'm all about the bed right now; been staying up too late and whoo boy, it's caught up with me for sure. G'night!
* The weekend, that is. I'm especially looking forward to it because it's supposed to be warmer than it is today. Unfortunately, between now and then (which would mean tomorrow), it's going to get colder: mid-40s for the high. As a former tenant of mine once said (whose native language was Russian, not English), "I'm frizzing here!" Heh.
Did another page. I sorta think the "wedding picture" deserves its own page, but that's for another day. This has slight changes from the page I posted at DST, but the credits are nearly the same (added an extra font: Traveling Typewriter, for the journaling):
In other news, Cin wins the award for costliest pet this week: a dental cleaning and an ear flushing, both requiring general anesthesia. At least she's healthy and home. :) Also, a local arborist came out and told us that from he can see, our two oak trees - the two without leaves - are likely alive and well, and on a different timetable than the others. Must have the weather's calendar, because as far as I can, it *shouldn't* be in the 40s in May. Apparently, there's also mistletoe (mistletoe!!) in one of them, though, so they're coming out to remove that and trim the tops of the birches out front. And then there's a landscape company from the closest "real" town who'll be here tomorrow, where I'll ask them to give me a quote for what I *really* want, and then because that'll be so absurdly beyond our budget, I'll settle for what we need: to have the adjacent lot bulldozed, sprinkler system put in place, and then sod or hydroseeding to get some grass. If I had my druthers, I'd love a "waterwise (and high winds-tolerant) garden" in the front part of the lot. Maybe I can do it myself, and slowly. We'll see.
Okay, I need to run. B is wearing underwear and I keep hearing her say "I don't wanna go [#2 - can't invite weird perverts who troll for certain words] which means, she probably needs to, er, go. Ergo, I must go. ;)
I realized a few minutes ago that I've stayed up late for no good reason - that this isn't due until Tuesday. Which is maybe fine; it's nothing spectacular but I did finally scrap something older than what's on my current hard drive. These pictures are from nearly two years ago - May 2005. The sketch for the class had the upper right-hand picture much smaller, and now, I'm not so sure I should actually follow the design more carefully; I think here I might've made it a smidge too big.
No news from the weekend, except for an emergency trip to the vet for Cin. I think she's okay now, but we've a very high need for some Round-up to rid our yard of foxtails. Nasty things, they are. And we learned, too, that going to a rather small park (~10 acres) on a GORGEOUS weekend day really maybe isn't such a great idea, because 2983454 other people also had the same plan. And they got there before we did, so...we just left. Besides, there were no monkey bars, and therefore, Molly proclaimed it unfit for use anyway.
James has state testing this week! Ugh. In Florida, state testing begins in third grade, and I thought that was early. (Amy, don't read this next part.) I have seriously become even a little more amenable to, er, considering the possibility that maybe homeschooling isn't such a bad thing. Except for the part where I admit that I'm a disorganized introvert, and for some reason, that just does not seem like a good combination for homeschooling success.
...you know, it's kinda late. I probably shouldn't be driving this keyboard so...'night! :)
