Good Grief Charlie Brown

The boys were home alone today for the last day before school-they end up having to go to the Y for the day when one throws a remote at the other and they call dad to complain (Same hubby we are all walking on egg shells around because it has been one of the THOSE weeks for him)

I come homw from open house at 6:45 and younger son is complaining and crying of an earache and worried silly that he is going to miss the first day of school. Hubby takes him in, he has an ear infection

Older son goes to get a marker to add an "L" to the word "FUSH" on his "Flush the toilet" sign he made for his little brother, he ends up grabbing a PAINT marker I use for crafts. When he takes off the lid the WHOLE end comes off and out comes all the lovely BLACK permanent paint ON the hallway wood floor.

I am beyond speechless and scrubbing like Cinderella trying to make it look so not so bad before hubby wanders upstairs. Older son is beside himself with worry and guilt, we scrub and cry together and get almost all of it up.

When older son asks if he is grounded, I say no and accidents even big ones happen. He says but it ruined the house. I respond "No five years from now it won't matter and that's what houses are supposed to be for, lived in. "

Man not a good way for the night before the first day of school to start:)

Making the most of the last day...

Ahhh the official last day of the boy's summer vacation (well tomorrow they are home, but our last fun day). We made the most of it. Saturday in the twilight the boys painted for me something special to hang in my office. I had this cool collage idea-they had other ideas. Big A enjoyed the splattering affect-"Like that Vincent guy I learned about, the crazy artist" reference to Van Goh of of course. Little Fry preferred his painting to look "like something"-he did not like my collage idea at all. Sunday was spent at the Spearfish water park-it was perfect and hopefully after dinner a fire and smores. Goodbye to another summer...it will be missed.

The first official, official day

Today is the first official day of back to school (with staff)-Next Tuesday with students (have a litte more time there). I have a headache behind my eyes which I know is stress, and have things set up for the staff meeting -checked over numerous times. I am hoping I don't stand up there in front of these 50+ people and 1) lose my words, 2) sweat and 3) not seem like I know what I am doing, I am avoiding taking a shower, because of course I don't know what to WEAR!

Ok, so here is my madmen pic, how do I look?

I had mentioned I would share my "strengths/talent" finder we did for our back to school retreat. I love introspective activities and finding out what makes me-and others click. If I ever get tired of education, counseling could be my next career. Anyway here are my "talents" you can see if you agree... (the first word is the attribute with a small definition)

Input-You are inquisitive, you collect things-even information-words, facts, quotes. You keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It's interesting. It keeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.

Belief-You have certain core values that are endearing. These core beliefs affect your behavior and provide you with direction. Your friends call you "dependable". "I know where you stand" they often say. Your belief makes you easy to trust. Your work must matter to you and be meaningful, and give you a chance to live out your values.

Learner-You love to learn. The process of learning entices you, not the end product. You thrive in dynamic work environments where short projects are completed and move on to something new. The outcome is less important than "getting there"

Relator-In simple terms you are pulled towards people you already know. You are comfortable with intimacy and encourage a deepening of friendships. For you a relationship only has value if it genuine. You want to understand your friends feelings, goals, fears, and dreams and want them to understand yours. The more you share with each other the more you risk together

Individualization-You are intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. You instinctively observe each person's style, motivation, how each thinks and how each builds relationships. Because you are such a keen observer of other people's strengths, you can draw out the best in each and build productive teams. You hear the one-of-a-kind stories in each person's life. This theme explains why you pick your friends the just right gift.

So there I am-my top five tallents in a nutshell. I had to laugh at the last one-individualization, out of 50 some adminstrators I was the only one who had this ONE. Must be the special education background coming through.

Finally posting...

I have been very neglectful of the blog since 1) My official work days started and 2) my mom got here. I have just too dang tired at night to devote much higher functioning energy to writing. Trust me friends I have been reading all of your posts faithfully. The boys and I enjoyed the last "official" day of my summer vacation at Angastora-it was a perfect summer day, I almost felt like summer was just beginning. My new career change is going well, somedays I feel behind and somedays not, I think this may be one of the best cures for me to move out of my comfort zone and know that I can't control things and going with the flow is a must. I also learned much about myself through a "strengths/talent finder" tool we completed. VERY interesting, I will share it sometime, see if you all agree. My mom is here after moving from South Dakota in October-a place she had lived for 50 some years of her life. I am dreading the good bye. I don't know how to connect with how she is feeling or what to say to make her feel better. I have felt terrible going to work everyday and leaving her here, she had bought her ticket before the big job change. Her and the oldest son are having an excellent time together-next week the big challenge is being with both boys. Anyway a few last pics from summer at the lake-I may try to eek out one more with mom. Overall another summer full of sun, love, and happiness. Thank you small fry, thank you big fry for helping me slow down, have fun and keep on swimming

Tiger Lily Tribute

THIS is the plant I have been waiting all summer long...

I planted these as a personal tribute to my grandma, Grandma Walker, who passed away a couple of years ago. She was really the only grandma I knew growing up and she was a great one. When I actually sit and think about it I learned SO many things from her and have treasured memories, here are a few...

Squirt pop-still sometimes gotta have one

Sandbox just for grandkids

The little glass dogs and cats figurines she had that were FRAGILE and she still let me get them all down and play with them

From scratch mac and cheese and the best cold velveeta cheese sandwhiches on white bread

The BEST baked beans and ham EVER, and I mean EVER

Trying to teach me to play the organ-I was as musically inept then as I am now

Crocheting

Dress up-I coveted her wigs and these really tall high heeled red boots

Turqoise, can't see turqoise without thinking of her

Playing 31 for pennies and finally

Tiger lillies-oodles of them all along her house, I would run my hands over them and the brown stuff would get all over me and I would take the seeds and peel them apart layer after layer.

Here is to you grandma

Did you know nail polish remover can.....

Remove gum from the legs of boys. I am talking to a friend who stopped by who the boys LET IN when I wasn't there yet. So much for them learning not to answer the door when we are not home.
Anway as we are talking older son comes out laughing and says "Look at my hairy legs, there is gum on them!" Youngest son then comes out sans pants AND underwear-his spiderman t-shirt barely covering his privates and says "Yeah and look at the gum on my legs!" and he lifts his shirt to show me, with good friend standing right beside me! I quickly escort her to the day, she is smothering a huge laugh and we march to the bathroom. The story is they are wrestling on my bed, gum drops out of someones mouth and ta-da you have gum on legs. Crazy! The nail polish remover worked like a charm with a little vigorous rubbing and pulling-which I secretly enjoyed:)

Camping, Finally!

I am a true camper and try to go 2 or 3 times a summer. We finally went this weekend, sad to say with my new work schedule it may be the one and only but we jam packed it as much as possible. The high points: cabin, friends, food, lake, seeing Carey for a brief 10 minutes (Hope you survived your second day!) spending time with the boys. Low points: one homesick child who went home for a night-missed his dad, mosquitoes that cut our hike short-we will going back at a later date it is a beautiful trail and unpacking-hate unpacking.

Extra low point-8 days until work starts officially for me:) I will be thankful for the great things we did this summer and relish in these last 8 days!!