Things I'm lovin' today

1. My dog, because even though his back legs only want to work 60% of the time he still plays with his lovey's like a naughty puppy...

2. My new spring sneakers that the UPS man was kind enough to deliver on this heinous February day. O.k. the temp was decent but the wind and the gray skies...

3. My favorite homeschooler who has discovered he enjoys geometry

4. My favorite kindergartner who asks to do more Math when I pick him up from school

He's using the 10 blocks to help him do flash cards on the ipod...does not get it from me!

5. My husband who would not let me take his photo but is spectacular non the less...

Spring Fever

Today's weather was fantabulous! Exactly what we needed 'round these parts! Even Goldie are pet groundhog made her first appearance today.(for those of you that don't know about Goldie-that's another story for another day)

The boys could not wait to break out the bikes. That was fun for about a minute when we discovered Parks grew about 3 feet over the winter and he looked like a grown man on a junior BMX. Next came the roller blades and hockey sticks. That lasted until they spied the bug nets and decided to go on an expedition. I suggested they not get their hopes up of discovering many bugs as it's barely been above -35 with 60 mph winds for the last 2 months (slight exaggeration) but they ignored my warning. As I paced the kitchen dreading an impending Nick crisis, the perfectionist side of his Tourette OCD renders him unable to rationalize bugs will not be plentiful on February 17, Parker ran in the house screaming- "Mommy, Mommy, Nick needs a box double time fast!" I remind him of Mount Cardboard Boxmore in the garage- then I saw the large box he took and I started to get rather curious as to what may have been "discovered". Out to the back deck I went. I see them jointly carrying the box- now I'm starting to get worried what they may have found. Was it alive? Were they going to ask me to give it mouth-mouth. Nick has asked me more times than I care to remember to perform CPR on birds, voles, even a toad or 12. Up the box comes and low and behold, what's in it...a very lethargic caterpillar...silly Mommy, boys know their bugs are always waiting to be found.

Valentine's humiliation

Perhaps for the rest of the married world, Valentine's Day is some uber romantic day. For us, it involves my husband who travels constantly stressing over if he'll be in town and what to do if he is and me going overboard for him and the kids. This year he surprised me with an iphone. Apparently he'd been stalking Verizon waiting for the release. (I'm just glad the reason my current phone wasn't working was because he was secretly switching my info- I was sweating it out having to tell him I broke yet another phone!) I'm the reason they sell insurance on everything.

 Nick had his pine wood derby on Valentine's- I have to say I was annoyed by this fact. Not because we had some big plans but because I would have rather had a nice night home with my whole family than celebrate at the derby. We decided to split up on Valentine's- Bob would take Nick out to dinner and to the derby(thank God) and I would take Parks to dinner and watch "Furry Vengeance" for the millionth time (to this Bob was giving thanks). Enter the humiliating part of the evening-

Parks decided he wanted Chinese for dinner. I called ahead so we could just bring it home and I could eat it in my casuals (still haven't broken the shameful rut). When arriving I saw there was no one at all in the restaurant, I thought, How lucky we are to be able to just pop in and out. Well in a few short minutes I was wishing for lots of people to suddenly descend upon the place-or for a small, no injury causing meteor to slam into the place-anything to take the focus off of my 5 year old's filterless mouth. This child just says whatever he thinks and has not mastered the ability of whispering his thoughts. As I was paying and the owners were all right around us ( a mom, grandma, 2 girls and a boy) Parker says, (VERY LOUD) "I like the food they make better than food of America but (and at this point he takes his fingers to pull his eyes at a slant) I don't like their eyes better, can they see?." I was frozen in time. I looked at them and they looked at me. I'm in my brain willing myself to say something-anything. I offered up a mumbled, lame apology and hurried out to the car. We then marched right back in and Parker delivered his own apology. I spent the ride home over lecturing on differences and why we don't point them out. Then I called Bob and told him we need to start spending more time in the city.

As we curled up to watch the movie I realized my uncensored pumpkin had a fever. I wish I could blame his candidness on fever induced delirium. That's what I get for dodging the derby. Life lessons.

Chin up and all that

I declared today to be "pull up your big girl panties day." I don't know if anyone else has a month they dislike but for me it's February. And I start my dread of the darn month about half-way through January. I know it's not normal to dislike a month but I do. I can't stand February. It's not like it ever did anything to me. I don't dread Valentine's, I have several great friends who celebrate birthday's in the month. I think I'm just done with winter and so I choose to unrealistically direct all of my winter doom and gloom onto one poor month. Why not March you say...I've wondered this myself...the only reason I can surmise is it is the gateway to Spring so I forgive it for getting in some last minute windy, gray jabs. But back to my point of the day...I declared today to be my "chin up and all that crap" day. I've been schlepping through these last few weeks in a sad rotation of yoga pants, flannel jammies, and (gasp) sweat pants. I'm talking REAL sweatpants-the kind with elastic around the ankles. I'm so ashamed! All are beloved pieces of clothing but are not to be worn on a daily basis! Add to this winter desperation my Grandma passing away last week and I could see myself heading down a casual wear, carb coma one-way street. It was not pretty people! Thankfully I have a strong willed conscious and some great friends to put me back on track. So today I reclaimed the sass I inherited from the Grandma who when asked why she wanted to be cremated replied," Because they won't bury me face down for the world to kiss my ass!" 

Tonight in our own attempts to embrace February AND bring warmer days forth, we made summer smoothies and played corn hole or corn hog as my unique 5 yr old calls it. I'm not big on correcting those phrases that I'm going to be wishing I'd remembered to write down-I just jump up and down and fist pump when he yells, " CORN HOG!!!" I'm already wishing he still called umbrella's, rainbrella's. I prefer a twist on the norm...clearly