A spring walk

Before the fall...

After fall...

One wet kiddo riding home in his undewear. Good thing we have watched enough survival shows to know enough to "strip"

Not ignoring

Hi there, my computer is on the fritz so I am not selectively ignoring some of you. My favorites is gone and I can't get in to the some of the blogs. I will keep trying. I miss you and hope you are all having a wonderful Easter Weekend.

Now I've Started

Nothing like a couple of birthdays in April to start a walk down memory lane...

An early favorite, my camera skills were weak I can't take credit for this one, it is a lucky hubby shot-click on it, I messed with the format and this size doesn't do it justice.

This one always gets me...I have no clue why

And this one, yummmy I could just lick their brown skin

Ahhh this is a more familiar pose, "ummm don't touch me"

Again, weak photography skills but love the pic... thanks for take a walk with me. You can't imagine how many more 100's of pics I could show you, I won't make you suffer.

On Being 9

Here is another dedication for another birthday from "I Love You the Purplest"

To small fry:

"I love you the bluest! I love you the color of a dragon fly at the tip of its wing

I love you the color of a cave

in its deepest, hidden part

where grizzly bears and bats curl up until midnight.

The mist of a mountain.

The splash of a waterfall.

The hush of a whisper."

A small fry's birthday menu:

"Small Fry what do you want for your birthday dinner? Spaghetti and meatballs?'

Small fry, "I don't know I will think about it."

Two minutes later in a whisper "That hot dog and bean thing mixed together"

"You mean beans and weiners?"

"Yep that's it"

There you have it beans and weiners and frozen corn-Karen would be grimacing at the beach about it right now at the thought of it.

Weird thoughts

It's a little weird but for hubby not being here things have gone pretty smoothly. The boys have been super excellent in the morning getting ready to head out the door-always a bugaboo for dad. I asked big fry why have they been so good for me and could they do that for dad. He gives me a grin, "We don't want any yelling". Hmmmm note to hubby, yell more. This week has been hammer week, I can't get one naughty kid out the door before another one is waiting in line. And these aren't just run of the mill naughty. These are the ones that I am done being nice to, because we have met WAYYYYYY to often. This discipline thing is putting a crimp in my instructional leadership time, my great thoughts desert me. BUT I did think of a great metaphor for an upcoming staff meeting...dodge ball and the educational setting. We are playing dodge ball for an ice breaker and I was racking my brain to connect it to my vision and where we need to go. It came to me while I was in bed with a hot, tossing and turning small fry throwing his limbs across me. I will make you wait, if you are an advertiser or writer type (some of you are) I think you would LOVE the analogy, umm or metaphor. Not sure which I am walking for MS this weekend. For Maddie's mom. For my beautiful 30 year old coworker who has had ms for two years. Who has yet to give baby Maddie a bath because of the disease that leaves her to weak and scared to hold a slippery wet baby. I am humbled, truly There we are weird thoughts...hubby needs to come home, so I can go back to surface thinking...

I am here!

I am here, I am reading your posts, just not keeping myself updated. We are past frickin fractions, we maybe understand them a little better, got some after school help, whizzed through the daily work and yes then flunked the test. I am learning to let go.... We moved on to poopy poetry (which I can actually stand) EXCEPT Big fry didn't read the rubric right so on Wed at 8, the night before it is due, we are re-reading it-and there was LOTS left to do, LOTS. 3 out of 4 of us cried over the turmoil. Come to find out when we met with the teacher, "Don't fret there are LOTS who didn't get it." Humph, would have been nice to know before we jumped all over our child and his lack of attention to detail and organizing. The funny part is the kid loves the class and the stuff he writes is darn good, and he really thinks about it. Big Fry had his first track meet, wow if that didn't bring back memories of junior high track! Spring Dance is coming up, Big Fry plans to go with, "I am taking someone." This someone is Kaitlyn. I ask him "what if Kaitlyn dances with someone else". "Awe, I won't mind, it is just middle school mom". Whew Hubby is gone for the next 4 days so Mrs. Mom it is for me....

Happy Birthday Big Fry

Except from "I Love you the Purplest" for big fry on his 12th birthday

...I love you the reddest

I love you the color of the sky before it blazes into night.

I love you the color of the leopard's eyes

when it prowls through the jungle,

and the color of the campfire at the edge of the flame.

A wide open hug. The swirl of a magic cape.

The thunder of a shout.

The smile on Max's face grew and grew until his cheeks couldn't hold it in.

Then it came out in a big, thundery laugh.

To you big fry and all your many colors

Purple for your wide open heart that warms everyone you meet

Yellow for our contagious smile

Blue for the deep neverending passion for what you believe to be true

Happy Birthday!