Wordless Wednesday

Yay!!

My baby got a sticker today and the world, although spinning out of control around me, is starting to make sense again. No, the former has nothing to do with the latter. Let's just say that I think I am going to be okay. I have located my Zen center. Next time I lose it, I will be sure to let you know.

I hope that everyone has a great day and that you have at least one moment not worrying about the state of the world.

girls*rock

Mr. Goodlooking all decked out in 2007

Here's hoping for a good week at school for my baby. He says that he is going to try AS HARD AS HE CAN.

Have I mentioned that we LOVE our backyard?

We love homework (well, some of us do)

Super Z is struggling a bit with school. Apparently he wants to talk instead of listen (surprise surprise.) He also does not want to finish his classwork in a timely manner. These new school struggles are forcing me to break out parenting tricks that I didn't even know I had...do I have them?

The not wanting to do work comes home with him as well.

"Homework is what I hate. Please, Mom, please," was his plea yesterday as he wrote the letter Ff over and over.

He does the work, but with no small amount of huffing, stalling, puffing, and complaining.

I have decided to try a reward board. I have to figure out how to make one and exactly how it will work, but I am pretty sure that rewards and praise are the key to getting this boy to learn. I hope...

Now, Princess H on the other hand. She loves homework.

"Homework pease. Write my name"

Let's hope that this love of learning sticks around.

My Pretties

Sweetness and Silence

This weekend we did not leave the house much. We pressed the pause button and just stood still. It is so nice to do that every once in a while. We cleaned the house. I bought groceries. The kids played outside. We watched movies. That pretty much sums it up. I was not ready for it to end.

It is on weekends like this one that I really get to appreciate my kids. I notice that Princess H's two favorite things to do are snuggle on the couch and run in the backyard. As long as she is doing one of those two things that hard headed little girl is nowhere to be seen. Usually the only sour point will be choosing who to snuggle with, Mama or Daddy? More often than not it is Daddy. But I don't take it too hard, he is just a lot more still than me. My constant state of motion is not very snuggle friendly.

It is also on weekends like this that I get to appreciate how inventive and brave my son is. Whether is be rolling down inclines splayed across a skateboard on his stomach, ramping ditches and crashing on his bike (over and over again), or walking straight up to the newly discovered boys on our new street and introducing himself, he is always a pleasure to watch. I also have to say that he is a pretty good snuggler himself. My Z doesn't mind my motion, he moves just as much as I do. He can actually put his arm around me while he is riding his bike and I am walking. I call this the snuggle in motion.

I love these people so much. I love every single minute with them. Especially the moments filled with nothing but them.

Stress Causes Pimples

So stress apparently makes me break out like I did in the seventh grade. Thankfully, it doesn't make me wear high waters or poof my bangs....that might be too much to handle. I am not sure if even the level of popularity that I have attained at 32 years of age could withstand such madness.

Stress also makes me stare at uninteresting things like doorknobs and frayed threads for way longer than necessary.

I am ready for stress to leave my life. I want no good stress, no bad stress, no personal stress, no stress that causes pimples, no stress that makes me stare, no stress that makes me itch and scratch like a madwoman, no life stress, no family stress, no money stress, no job stress, no back stress from heavy lifting, no kid stress, no lack of sleep stress, no my plant is wilting stress, no I can't eat that stress, no why can't we ever go home again stress, no husband stress, no why is my hair getting thin stress, no why do I lose weight in my boobs first stress, no will it or won't it work out stress, no travel stress, no car stress, no sad stress, no anger induced stress, no stress at all.

I am tired tired tired.

I need a break.

Mamaw

My Mamaw Etheridge died yesterday. I am so grateful for those days that I spent with her in July. She was a wonderful woman and a fantastic Mamaw. I will miss her all the time. Just knowing that I can't see her breaks my heart. I don't really know what else to say right now.

What did you say?

Setting: In the van with the windows down on the way to school. We didn't go to pick up the boy who usually rides to school with us.

Super Z: Hey! We didn't go get Steve!

Mom: He is sick.

Super Z: What?

Mom: He is sick.

Super Z: What did you say?

Mom: He is throwing up. He can't go to school.

Super Z: How big is he now?

Mom: What??

Super Z: How big has he growed?

Mom: He is the same size as yesterday.?????

Super Z: So he will be growed up tomorrow?

Silence....light dawns.

Mom: He is THROWING UP, not growing up. He has a virus.

Super Z: What is that?

Mom: It is a germ that makes you sick.

Super Z: Like if you step on it you throw up?

Mom: Sure, something like that.

The Boss

Princess H is growing up so fast. My baby is disappearing and this bossy little girl is taking her place.

One of her favorite things to say is, "I the Henna, I the boss."

She is definitely the boss of her Daddy. What the Princess wants, the Princess gets. I think that it is impossible for Randy to tell her no. When he tries to tell her no, he just ends up saying nothing and looking on helplessly as she does what she wants. What can I say? Randy has always been helpless under the influence of pretty girls.

She tries to be the boss of her brother. This doesn't go over too well. Unlike his Dad, the Z is immune to the charms of the Princess. I will usually hear "You are not the boss, little girl." at least once for every time that I hear, "I the Henna, I the boss." Ah the bickering, the fighting, the screeches, the "Don't touch me!!"s from the back seat. The joy of two children.

There is only one person who can successfully put the Princess in her place though, the real boss...the Mommy. The Mommy is a champion at saying, "No." Now if only she can learn to not want to pull her hair out two minutes into a Princess Tantrum (the typical response to a boss smack down) the Mommy will be thrilled. :)

Things I Loved About Our Weekend at the Lake

1) Hanging with this bunch (and the grownups too) is always a lot of fun, but at the lake it is even better because there is plenty to keep these babies (big an small)entertained.

2) Swimming with the Princess was wonderful. She is a water baby at heart. This girl has no fear at all. She bellows, "Mama!!!" at Wild Indian pitch and nose dives into the water. Thank God for life jackets.

3) Zane was in Heaven. Taylor + Dirt + Water + a cooler full of Kool Aid drinks + a room full of bunk beds + a boat + a tube + Sissy + Music and dancing = Heaven.

4) Although I am not a boater it was awesome seeing the big kids (and Randy) brave the tubes and the knee boards behind the boats. Who knows? Maybe next summer ( a few pounds from now) I will try it myself.

5) The House has a 2000 square foot screened porch with a grill. Good food, good views, nice breezes, and shade. I, of course, read and relaxed and had at least 40 zen moments on the porch.

6) Off of the porch there were steps leading down to the pier. The kids and I practically lived in the lake. We only settled for the pool when it was too late (or we were too tired...we being me) to make it down to the lake. Oh yeah! And there was a water slide off of the pier into the lake.

7) Mimi also came and spent the day with us. My Mom, my sister, my niece, and my baby girl are four of my favorite girls in the world. ANY time with them is great, but the lake time was especially nice.

8) H and I ate tons of fresh fruit in our time on the porch. There were good groceries (and wine) in abundance. Fried fish, grilled steaks, grilled burgers, fresh plums, nectarines, Honey Smacks, Doritos and French onion dip...The list goes on and on. My sister is a hell of a cook and a grocery shopper. I didn't lose much weight that weekend. :)

9) The house had music piped onto the porch and out onto the pier. There was plenty of music and a little bit of dancing (again, there was plenty of beer and wine). Here are Mom and Tim cutting a rug to Strokin'.

10) It was all great. The best part was just chilling with my sister and her bunch. I love them. I love her. She is my favorite.

( Oh and did I mention that Randy was there too? And the children went to bed by 10 every night...and we didn't? It was very very nice.)

Super Z's first day of school pics (Only a month late)

My House

The Big News

Today is my birthday. I have only eight years to go till 40...No, that is not the big news.

I am so sorry that I didn't get this out to you on Thursday. I seem to not have Internet this week. Hmmm, what could that be all about? :)

Today is also my 5 year anniversary at my job. My oh my, does time fly when you are having fun, or what??? No, that isn't the big news either.

The biggest news in the world this week is that I have flowers. They are lovely. I think they are called Lantana??? Do you want to know where these flowers are? They are in MY dirt. That is right. Dirt that I OWN and pay taxes on.

And where is that dirt? It is in front of MY cute little yellow house. The house that I BOUGHT. The house that I closed on Thursday!!!

I am so happy. I am so happy that I actually cry from happiness about once a day. The sight of Super Z in the back yard or Princess H digging in the flower bed is enough to reduce me to a pile of mush.

I am so sorry that you all had to be left hanging. I just couldn't risk anything going wrong. Oh God, and then I would have had to tell you guys about that while crying and dying of a nervous breakdown. I am afraid that it would have been too much to handle.

But yay!!! Now you know!!! How wonderful is that??? How awesome???

I will be back at you with pictures and regular posts as soon as my Internet and cable are hooked up. Come on Mr. Comcast. Don't make us wait too long... Please???