News

Here's the happenings for us of late:

The prince registered for HIGH SCHOOL yesterday. He'll be taking math, science, English, PE, and for his electives he signed up for computer essentials, and Spanish. As alternates (if those aren't available) he chose chamber band (because it has guitars in it) and some other I can't remember. I'm sure he'll get into Spanish, but not sure about the computer class. I kind of hope it's full and that they place him in band. I'd like to check that out!

The princess has her first big dance competition this weekend. We're off to have her hair braided in a couple of hours and then have to be at the Holiday Inn by 11:30. We'll be there until early evening even though she only dances in one performance! Good times. I know she'll be great, and I hope they win a trophy, because it's all about the trophy at this age!

I am still battling my cold. Not any worse, but not any better. Mornings seem to start out pretty good, but I'm done by about 4pm. Whine, whine, whine. Let me call the waaaambulance!

The king becomes an hourly employee again on Sunday, complete with overtime pay. We've been missing that these years that he was a salaried employee. Now when he has to work after hours, we'll say, "Ca-Ching"! Of course, we give up quarterly bonuses to get overtime, so it's really a wash, but still, who doesn't want to say "ca-ching" a couple of times a week!

Have a great weekend!

And so it begins again...

Sydney--the queen is rooting for her.













Spencer--the princess is rooting for him.

Brendan--the prince is rooting for him.

Survivor begins again, as does our pool. Actually, it started a couple of weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to documenting it. Winner wins about $50 bucks!! Hope it's me!

Funny

I have caught the king's cold, and he swears I should try Zicam. So I bought the kind with the individual applicators that you swab into your nose. How the children and I laughed on the way home from work to think of what a DORK I must have looked like as people drove past us in the car and I had a swab shoved up my nose! I'm sure to the passer-by it looked like a cigarette was shoved up my nose!!! It was good for a laugh.

Today, I'm not so much believe in the powers of Zicam. I would like to check out the powers of a nap!

Henry and Ivy

Henry and Ivy came to visit last night. (Their mom is the king's cousin.) We loved playing with them. It seems the prince has a liking for babies and even mentioned that he thought Henry was more fun at 4 months old than he is now, at 19 months old! ;)

Ivy's little round face reminds me of the princess when she was that age.

Henry was very interested in the princess' fish tank.

Vegas Highlights

This was our hotel.

It's famous for gondola rides, among other things. (No, that's not us on the boat.)

The rides start outside but go inside too.
This bottom photo is taken INSIDE--built to look like outside!

The hotel comes with its own mall where we found this "live" statue.

Blake and Robin came up for lunch and some fun.

Do I look skinnier??

Because they had no king size beds available, we were upgraded to a room with pool view. Little do they know we actually like 2 queen beds, after all, we have been married 16 years, and it's really all about a good-night's sleep at this point!

Close-up of the pool and one from our bedroom window.

Highlight of the trip, and the reason I talked the king into going was the Elton John concert.

No cameras allowed so we had to be content with photos of his signs!

Elton's not this young or skinny anymore, but he still sounds like he is! It was a great show.

I'm ready to go back!

Magical Mystical Porch--Part 2

Would you believe the Magical Mystical Porch followed us to Vegas? We came back to our hotel late one night to find this package outside our door. We hadn't done any shopping! We decided it was best to just leave it there, although there was a tempting bottle of diet coke inside the big bag...

The entire package was gone the next day when we left our SUITE!

Happy Anniversary!

The King and I are celebrating 16 years today!

We'll have to really celebrate when it's 20 years on Febrary 20, 2013.

I feel a trip coming on!

I Need A Moment

I'm going to need a moment to get myself under control. Yesterday my BABY brought home the registration form and huge list of course offerings for HIGH SCHOOL!! Could I please have another month or two before having to think about this??? It's only February. We've got about 6 months yet before it happens so do I really have to start wrapping my brain around it now? I'm going to go pull myself together, wipe my tears, and focus on the fact that my other baby will be STARTING MIDDLE SCHOOL in about 6 months. WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Dumb Mom!

That would be me!

Yesterday the princess did a stellar job in the morning, during the spelling bee. In the afternoon it was time for "THE MOVIE". You know, 5th grade. Girls in a room with the nurse. Free deodorant and other things...

I saw her just after "THE MOVIE" as she was headed out to recess. She said to me, "We should celebrate tonight with Dairy Queen."

Now in my tiny brain, all I can think about is the immediate past. THE MOVIE. I've already forgotten about the spelling bee. And I must have had a very confused look on my face because she said, "You know, for the spelling bee."

"Oh, right," I said, as the light bulb went on. "I was trying to figure out why you wanted to celebrate your entrance into womanhood, although I'd take any excuse for Dairy Queen if you want to celebrate that too!" She wasn't all that amused!

DUH!

Spelling BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Wow! The princess is an awesome speller. She made it through the first round (we can't remember the word). She made it through the second round with 'extravaganza'. She made it through the 3rd round (again, we can't remember the word). The fourth round did her in with 'gnash'. HARD words, especially in round 2. She was one of only 2 fifth graders to make it to the 4th round! We're sooooooooooooooooo proud of her!!

4th Grade Funny

Today a 4th grader was trying to correct a quiz. She was trying to decide if the passage she read was science fiction, nonfiction, HISTORICAL fiction, or fiction. She writes down her answer, and when I went to check it she had written, "HYSTERICAL" fiction!!!! Crack me up!

In 2 hours I'll be at the airport, drinking something alcoholic!!!

Less than 24 hours!

In less than 24 hours (if the flight arrives on time), I'll be in Vegas. Try not to be jealous!!

Can't WAIT!

Math Riddle

What did 0 say to 8?






Ready?








Scroll down...









NICE BELT!!!
I love that one!

25 Things About Me

I got "tagged" to do this on my blog so here goes:

1. I was a nanny for 2 years in Connecticut.
2. I couldn't spell "Connecticut" until I lived there.
3. I get better as a mother as my kids get older--even in spite of the "loophole" blog entry. (I'll be excellent by the time they are in their 50's!)
4. At work I see about 800 kids in one week (same 400 kids 2/week).
5. I know about 80% of them by name.
6. I'm going to see Elton John in Vegas in less than 50 HOURS Vegas.
7. I LOVE Las Vegas, and it's not about gambling for me.
8. I never held a "job" in high school, but I babysat most Friday and Saturday nights and made enough money to keep me in gas, clothing, and records.
9. I used to really like Survivor, but I think I'm over that now.
10. My sister and I had our souls switched in the cosmos before birth because though I'm the first-born, she has far more first-born tendencies than I do.
11. I'm the RELUCTANT chairman of the 8th Grade Graduation Committee this year.
12. I have low self-confidence, but I usually LOOK very confident.
13. I have found that looking self-confident is enough to survive most situations.
14. I have a crush on George Clooney. Who doesn't?
15. I wish I had started studying computers in high school and majored in it in college.
16. I still toy with getting a teaching degree.
17. I'm wearing purple under ware today.
18. I take a dance class, and I like it, but I am NOT good at it.
19. I love to read and have recently read: The Bonesetters Daughter, Twilight, Whistling in the Dark, Multiple Blessings.
20. My favorite Beatles song is The Long and Winding Road.
21. I used to want 6 boys when I was growing up.
22. I'm not nearly as worked up about spills on the carpet as my husband is.
23. I love sitting on a warm beach and cooling off in the water even though I'm sort of afraid of fish and seaweed creeps me out.
24. I don't believe in past lives but I do believe there's life on other planets, and I've seen 2 UFOs in my lifetime--so far.
25. Ben Franklin said, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy", but I think he really meant margaritas!

Are You Kidding Me???

Just after posting the last entry, the king and I heard a weird sound in the basement. The princess had finished a shower 20 minutes earlier, so why did we hear water gushing downstairs when she was sitting with us????



You guessed it. The water line broke. Under the stairs. The king had it turned off w/in 30 seconds, but it had sprayed all over under the stairs. It wouldn't be a big deal except that ALL OUR CHRISTMAS STUFF was under there. ALL OF IT!!! We had to empty out each box, including the box with the fake tree, because water was inside some of the boxes--an inch deep in one of them.



I don't think anything is damaged beyond repair though some of the packaging is lost. Meanwhile it looks like Christmas threw up all over my family room. The princess even said, "I don't usually think we have that much Christmas stuff until it's all spread out like this."



The plumber who installed this mess when the house was built is here fixing it right now. We are so thankful we were home and not distracted. I'm hoping this plumber doesn't charge us for the visit. This is the third house by this builder on our block to have water problems. Really!!



When I count my blessings I am:



A--thankful we were home and not at work

B--thankful we were home and not on our trip that we'll be taking in 3 days

C--thankful that all was saved except a couple of strings of light

D--thankful it wasn't fire



But really, what is it with this family and water problems?????

The Magical Mystical Porch

No, not Porsche--a porch.

Shortly after we moved into our house, we came home to find 4 very nice, Columbia lawn chairs on our porch, no note. No one ever came to claim them so they became ours. Today, as we were leaving for school I noticed a box on our porch. Low and behold, we now have 6 nice souffle bowls! Again, no note. I'll wait a few days and see if anyone claims them, but if not...

I love the magical, mystical porch. I wish we'd find an envelope full of big money on it.

Happy Birthday Royal Cousin!

A very happy birthday greeting to Prince Andrew

(the "other" Prince Andrew, that is!)

After thought

It occurs to me that the best title for the whole loophole saga might have been

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE!

Loophole Update

If you didn't read the previous entry, read it first.

As I suspected, the principal had bigger fish to fry. He told the prince to be honest and no harm would come to him. The prince was honest. The principal let it go. Mothers are not so forgiving. As I mentioned previously, the prince will be hanging with his boring family this weekend.

One funny side note--as if all of this wasn't funny enough: When the prince went in to see the principal the second time (the time when he was honest), he had to pass through a waist-high swinging door, and it FELL OFF THE WALL as the prince walked by. Not the prince's fault, but funny none-the-less. It lightened the situation a bit! (Did I mention this was a brand new building this fall?) (And have I mentioned that there's a special place in heaven for people who work in middle schools?)

I'm off to find a loophole that says I don't need to cook for the next few weeks!

Lookin' for Loopholes

How best to tell this story?

Here's some background: The prince's middle school is about 100 yards from the building I work in, but at lunch time they are to remain in their own area and not wander around the campus. That has never been an issue until this year.

The prince is convinced he is the only 8th grader w/o a cell phone. He tells me that if he only had a cell phone he could text me important questions and pieces of information as the day goes by. Never mind that the middle school rule is that all cell phones must be turned off and locked in lockers during the day. (Most kids keep them in their pockets!)

Remember the post about the prince wanting to join the dance team? He seems to feel the need to "fight the establishment," and I'm usually glad it's directed at the school, and not at us most of the time!!!

More background: the middle school has been experiencing some problems with kids recently including a 6th grade girl caught drinking a beer on the school bus in the morning and 6 boys (4 8th grade and 2 7th grade) being suspended for a week this past Wednesday for a big ol' fight at lunch time that resulted in one kid having his head cracked open. Gotta love springtime and testosterone!

That's the background. Here's the story.

A few weeks ago the prince asked me if I had a copy of the student handbook for middle school. I said yes, but why? He said he was going to look for loopholes to the "no sliding on the ice" rule at school. I informed him that he didn't need to be sliding, breaking rules, or looking for loopholes. End of story, as far as I was concerned.

Last week, his friend was coming home after school with us, and they were sitting in the back of the van with a copy of the school handbook. I heard them saying, "There it is. That's the loophole we need." I have learned that is sometimes better not to even ask. He's a good kid. Gets good grades. Let the middle school deal with this little rebellion! So I don't even ask about the loophole they've found. Really, I don't want to know or deal with it!!

Meanwhile, for the last few weeks the prince has taken to coming to see me during lunch, usually with 1 or 2 friends in tow, to ask if he can do this after school or if he can do that next weekend...You know, if he only had a cell phone...

This past Thursday he shows up with FIVE friends so ask some stupid question about the weekend. I tell him later that he is to no longer come to my room. He doesn't have permission to leave his area by the aides or by me. STAY IN YOUR OWN AREA. (I'm being a mom.)

Friday my phone rings in my room in the afternoon. Caller ID tells me it's the middle school principal. Now, he calls me once-in-awhile for school-related stuff that has nothing to do with the prince, but something tells me this call will be about the prince.

"Hi prince's Mom. This is the principal. The prince and some of his friends were seen headed to your area of campus today at lunch time. When I spoke to the prince about that, he said he came to talk to you. Is that true?"

"No. The prince came to see me YESTERDAY. I told him not to come see me anymore. I did not see him TODAY. Please feel free to handle this however you feel is appropriate." Much discussion followed about which boys were with him yesterday, today...I didn't hear from the principal again.

I'm thinking that might have been the loophole the prince and his friend thought they found the other day. I also think that, in the big picture of middle school troubles, this will be but a blip on the principal's radar. But I've yet to hear from the prince on the subject. He had a friend spending the night last night so I didn't bring it up. However, when another friend called last night to see if they could all go to the basketball game and mall today, I told the prince that since I'd had a call from the principal yesterday, the answer was no. He didn't argue with me AT ALL. I can hardly wait to hear his version events once his friend goes home!

The prince will be having a nice weekend HOME ALONE WITH HIS FAMILY this weekend!!! Looking for loopholes, no doubt!

A Day In The Life...

A typical Wednesday:

The queen is up at 5:45 to get ready for work.
The princess gets up at 6:00, dresses, does hair, teeth, eats breakfast.
The prince gets up at 6:15, showers, eats, brushes teeth.
We are out the door at 7:00.
The king gets up at 7:00, is to work by 8:30, works all day, and is back home around 6:00.
Meanwhile, the queen works all day.
The prince has 7 classes: science, music, English, social studies, drama club during lunch, PE, math, student aide in kindergarten.
The princess has reading, then either music, art, or PE, then math or language, extended studies, lunch, then science or social studies (these and the morning set rotate every other day), recess, keyboarding.
School is out at 3:00.
The prince goes to weight training from 3:00-4:00.
The queen has a class from 3:30-5:00.
The princess hangs out in the room next to the queen's class.
At 5:00 we head home for a quick dinner, but we're headed into 5:00 traffic so it takes more than the usual 20 minutes to get home.
The prince has guitar lessons from 6:30-7:00.
The queen has dance from 7:00-8:00.
Is homework done? Has the princess showered?
Tomorrow we'll do it all again!

PHEW!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my little sisty! (Sorry about the photo quality.)

You Know You're a Redneck

My lab phone rang the other day. It was a teacher who was expecting the prince to deliver something to her after school. She said, "Tell the prince not to come over. I just got a call from my husband and have to meet him at the emergency room."

"Oh, no," I said. "Is he okay?"

"Well, he cut his leg with a chain saw."

She seemed very calm while relaying this to me so I said, "Why are you calling me. Just GO!!"

"Oh, no," she said, "This is not the FIRST time he's done this."

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing and said to her, "You know you're a redneck when you can start a sentence, 'I just cut my leg with a chain saw AGAIN."

Super Brian to the Rescue

Super Brian saved us again. Even though he had some difficulty with the previous task we threw at him, tonight he had our computer woes fixed in mere minutes! We crashed out old computer last week to give it new life. The king got if up and running, but it wasn't recognizing our printer and it was liking our neighbor's internet connection more than our own. Brian had both problems fixed in minutes. He's the greatest!!! Thanks, Brian!

Spelling Queen

Maybe that title is presumptuous, but I am proudly announcing that the princess has been selected, along with 9 other 5th graders, to compete in the school spelling bee. She'll compete against 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Rock on, speller girl!

Gas Prices

On Tuesday, gas was $1.31/gallon.
Wednesday I gassed up and paid $1.39/gallon.
On Thursday the price was $1.49/gallon.
On Friday the price was $1.59/gallon.

Does this mean the economy is on the upswing???