True Blove!!!!

I love my husband!

ABC's of Me!

A - Age: 34

B - Bed size: King

C - Chore you hate: Toilets

D - Dog's name: Maggie Mae

E - Essential start your day item: Exercise and Shower

F - Favorite color: Yellow

G - Gold or Silver: Gold

H - Height: 5' 5"

I - Instruments you play(ed): piano, oboe, violin, organ, other assorted small instruments

J - Job title: PPCD Teacher (PreK for Special Needs Children)

K - Kid(s): 3 - daughter 12 and two sons 10 and 8

L - Living arrangements: Me and my hubby with our children in the home we've fixed up!

M - Mom's name: Nancy

N - Nicknames: Mare, MK

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Just birth and with my son who had meningitis at 5 weeks old.

P - Pet Peeve: listening to people chew up hard candy! Aggghhhhh!

Q - Quote from a movie: "I've never seen anyone beat their trash like that" and "I've been blown up! Take me to the hospital!" (The Burbs)

R - Right or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: 2 sisters - Deanne and Debbie. They rock! :o)

T - Time you wake up: 4:40am

U- Underwear: what about it?

V-Vegetable you dislike: pickled beets, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, etc. 

W - Ways you run late: Laying in bed too long. :o)

X - X-rays you've had: just after pregnancy stuff - and dentist xrays. 

Y - Yummy food you make: Bacon Spaghetti

Z - Zoo favorite: Orangutans - of course! We have the same color hair! :o)

All Mixed Up!

Ok - so seriously!  I was so looking forward to the gym this morning.  Got up - dressed - got ready - headed out the door and as I'm getting in the car I notice it's a lot lighter out then usual.  It's usually dark out when I go - and just barely is starting to turn light on my way back.  Well - I check my watch and sure enough It's 6am instead of 5am!!!!!!!!!!  I don't know what how or why.  It was all so baffling.  And disappointing.  I just kept standing there in disbelief.  How could this happen?  However it did - I was too late.  Not enough time to go and get back and ready for school.  Bummer.

Then - we're getting ready.  Cowboy T had come in our room and crawled under the covers.  Bob starts talking about how today is Wednesday.  I then told him how I love Wednesday's because we have music therapy and library on Wednesdays.  This little head pops out from under the covers and say "Today is Tuesday Mom and Dad!  Not Wednesday!"  Again.  Stunned.

Finally - after a full day at school - filled with parent interactions, principal discussions - and interacting with everyone in the school - I picked up the kids.  Kbugs took one look at me and asked 'Have you been crying Mom?'  No - why?  Because you don't have any mascara on!  Now being a red head means that if I don't have mascara on - I don't have any eyelashes to speak of.  I have seen people's reactions when I've come to the door without makeup on.  They try and hide it after the initial shock - but you know what?  It's ok.  I scare myself too - when I finally look in the mirror and remember.  It's like a whole other Mary.  Muwahahahahaha!  heh heh heh  

Anyway - so yeah - whole day - no mascara.  Nice.  Why?  Because I forgot!!!!!!!!  Was there some kind of Opposite day or mix-up day notification I didn't get the memo on?   Seriously!  The overwhelming number of Mary Moments in one morning was simply stunning!  It's gotta be some kind of new record!  :o)

No More Chicken

Well after 14+ years of feeding my husband dinner and wondering why he always seemed to get so ill so suddenly - we have some answers.  Ever since he returned from his mission to Mexico he's had all kinds of stomach/intestinal/digestive problems.  In the blink of an eye he'd be incredibly ill and everything would have to be put on hold.  He went to doctors - had all kinds of tests run for all kinds of things.  They looked for parasites, did blood work, and ran tons of tests.  After many years he'd kind of just learned to live with the waves of illness as they came and went.  

And now - after all these years - dinner after dinner - we know he's allergic to chicken!  As crazy as it sounds it's a rather common allergy.  It's actually an allergy to the protein in the chicken meat.  It's the same protein that's found in a lot of common allergy triggers.  Only thing is - Bob loves chicken.  We all do.  That's what we mainly eat (which is why he always got so sick).  So now we are rethinking our old family favorite recipes.  I'm trying to figure out how to rebuild some of them and some we'll just have to let slip by.  It's a strange place to be.  His all time favorite is chicken broccoli casserole - but I'm sure I can make that and omit the chicken - or find a broccoli cheese and rice casserole.  Ok - well I'm just thinking out loud now.  

Anyhow - while it's taking some adjustment - I'm so glad we know.  I feel terrible knowing how sick he got because of what we were eating - but how could we have known?!?!?!  Now he can avoid it at least and not have to suffer so much!  That will be very nice!

Here comes the storm!

In the past 8 minutes we've had over 1000 lightning strikes just here in our area.  It's a doozy of a storm.  Looks like the tornado warnings are next.  Maggie is scared out of her mind.  We're trying to pretend that we don't see her hiding in the corner of our room - because she's not allowed in here but we all feel bad for her.  :o)  Looks like the tornado warnings are headed our way next.  

I sure hope my little special needs students get to stay home today.  They're sure to be scared - and the responsibility of keeping them all safe on a day like this weighs heavy.

Can't remember the last time I've heard this much non-stop thunder.  Pretty cool.

Stand By Me

You must must must watch this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So great!!!!

Below is a link to a composite of an audio/video of song whereby additional tracks were laid in by different singers and musicians from different places around the world.  The finished product is tremendous! The song itself is that classic standard "Stand By Me" originally released in 1955 by The Staple Singers and released again in 1961 by the Drifters. So turn up the speaker volume!

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741

Really tough day today.

Tomorrow will be better.

What can YOU do with paint sticks?

We were doing an art project at school and I needed a paint stick for each child.  I have under 20 students between both classes - so I didn't need many.  (Although I'm actually getting 3 new ones this week that are turning 3!!!)  

So anyway - last week we went to the local Home Depot to get some.  Well the guy at the paint counter gave them to me for free when I told him what they were for.  I guess he didn't feel comfortable with the small number I asked for because he kept saying "Here!!!!  Take some more!!!!"  I had so many I couldn't even hold them all!  So generous!  Now our whole school can make bird feeders!  hahaha!

Now mind you - this was around 10pm and we were still out and about - squeezing the most we could into our Saturday.  It is not uncommon for us to go for little drives around town just for fun too.  The car is our little "get out of the house for a bit" haven.  We love chatting, hanging out together as we drive - running here and there.  Just taking a break for a bit.  One thing that commonly happens while driving is a sudden break out of singing.  Well - this night - since most of us had handfuls of paint sticks - when the song struck - so did the drumming!!!!  It was unanimous, unruly, wild and hilariously entertaining.  

So there we were - driving around close to 11pm singing patriotic marches and such while each beating together various complementary rhythms with paint sticks while cruising around town.    It was hilariously fun!  I think we baffled quite a few people at red lights.  We weren't your typical late night cruising car!  

We've decided that each passenger should have their own complimentary set of paint sticks in every car.  It's a great stress reducer and seriously - just a lot of fun!

Who knew paint sticks could be so entertaining!?!?!?!?  :o)

Sweet Dreams

I have challenged my kids to see if any of their friend's moms have ever loudly and lovingly belched "GOOD NIGHT" in one breath to them while being tucked in!!!!!

I think not.

(While I am some what embarrassed to admit this - there is a little part of me that is quite proud.  I do have boys you know!)  :o)

I'm walking now!!!!!

Well I'm a-walkin now!  Back in Dec I had bronchitis - I recovered slowly - but never fully.  Always a little symptom here and there - funky cough, stuffy nose,lingering stuff blah blah blah.

So last week - weird sore throat.  Last night out of no where a deep hurting cough.  

Woke up today and felt awful.  Enough is enough.  

Called the doc.  No appointments - but they said the nurse would call back.  She did - told her all.  She said come right now!  We'll  2:30 isn't a good time to say that.  Middle of class - too late in the day to get rides to pick up kids.  She told me just to make it there before 4.  Figured I could get the boys - go to doc - and figure something else out for Kbugs.  Couldn't reach Bob - he was teaching a training.  

Bell rang - ran to the car.  It. was. dead.  I'd left my lights on.  (Mary Moment!!!)  3:30pm - not good.  As I stood in the parking lot - all my co-workers (aka: friends!!!!) knew I didn't feel good and ran to my rescue.  One brought cables - another teacher's car was right next to mine so she came out to start her car - another friend's boyfriend put the cables on - since we all figured we'd do it wrong and blow ourselves up.  I was so grateful and thankful for such a wonderful group of friends who had me out of that parking lot in under ten minutes!  Love them!

Got the boys - swung around towards doctor.  Got stuck behind a funeral procession.  At first I was frustrated - then I realized it was getting me through all the red lights because they were headed the same direction - and right past my doctors office.  Made it with two minutes to spare and said a little prayer for the mourners.

So I waited and felt lousy like my head was going to explode.  But our wonderful family doctor who knows us well gave me some heavy duty whacked out antibiotics and strict directions to follow for my very own personal walking pneumonia.  

I'm just gonna walk on by . . . . . . . 

Thank You Google!

As of this moment there are:

259	days until Christmas
(6194 hours : 32 minutes : 49 seconds)

---

75063044

million gallons of water will come down the Mississippi before Christmas

0.00842

years on Uranus until Christmas

0.377

Martian years until Christmas

Your hair will grow

86.04

mm before Christmas

10.17

days on the Sun until Christmas

April Fool's Part II. The Final Conclusion

Bath toys swimming in the toilet on April Fool's day!  

All three screamed or let out some kind of hilarious unintelligible exclamation!  

It made my day.

Part I of our April Fool's Day can be found by clicking here:  Just the Beginning!

Part II

I emailed all their teachers the night before and asked them to wish them Happy Birthday for April Fool's day - which they all did and got a big kick out of. (every morning - as they leave the car - I tell them I love them - happy halloween (or some other random holiday) and happy birthday! Kbugs instantly knew when her teacher said it. She asked her teacher "Have you talked to my mom recently?" :o) Cowboy T's entire class sang to him.  She said the perplexed look on his face was priceless.  My Buddy's teacher is a fellow prankster and gave them a fake test they all fell for.  She's my kind of teacher!

Then the final kicker was late that night. Bob was in Canada - so we set it up about a week in advance - he started dropping hints that some departments at work were relocating there. So when he called home tonight we had this whole fake discussion about moving to Canada.   I acted all suspicious & went in the other room and closed the door - knowing with their curiosity they're ears would be glued to the door! It worked perfectly! When I came out they kept saying Is anything going on? I neither confirmed or denied - but they were all egging each other on and building it into something - all on their own. Buddy said he'd never leave the United States of America - Cowboy T was panickedly musing that we only have 6 license plates left to find in our license plate game & we'd never get to find them. I simply suggested that certainly there are license plates in Canada too - just different ones! Kbugs said she'd refuse to go to Girl's Camp in Canada because it would be too cold! Finally after a little bit of letting them dig themselves in deeper and deeper Buddy said - if we are moving - when would it be - and I replied on April 1st - on APRIL FOOLS!!!! Muwahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  They couldn't believe they'd fallen for it! We laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed.  Then we called Bob and let him know how it went.  Ahhhh the success of a parent team!!!  :o)  Their favorites of the day was Canada and the rubber ducks! I feel like we had a wonderfully successful day - and I've already got quite a few things in mind for next year! hahaha :o)

Uhh . . . pardon me????????

Random Quote of the Year:  Awarded to Cowboy T

Setting:  Driving along - lovely day.  Me and the kids.  Typical conversation.  Quiet lull - broken by this:

Cowboy T:  Umm . . . Mom?

Me:  Yes?

Cowboy T: (said slowly and ponderishly)  Do you have a criminal record?

I mean . . . what do you even say?!?!?  Clearly no - I don't - but is there some question in his mind that I might?  And what would give such an impression?  I don't think a parent ever really expects to hear that type of question from their child.  

So I responded:  No - do you?  (And then - there was a disturbingly long pause) - and then to my relief he replied Nope!  Then I figured maybe I'd better investigate a little further in case I'd missed something.  I asked my Buddy if he did and he quickly and emphatically replied "NO!!!  I DO NOT HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD!!!"  So then I asked Kbugs.  Much to our shock she said, "Well . . . actually . . . "  :o)  hahaha!  I just love conversations with my kids!  No wonder they never take me seriously.  

But wait - back to the original question . . . is there some concern that I might have a record?!?!?  

Crazy kids!!!!

New bangs and a pretty smile!

Museum of Art

A local budding young artist is currently featuring a masterpiece at the local Museum of Art!  Woohooo!  Go Cowboy T!  On Monday he handed me an invitation inviting him and the family to a reception to honor the artists whose work was chosen for the exhibit.  Unfortunately the invitation had been in his backpack several days and the reception was held the previous Friday.  That's ok though - because we still got a chance to go see it and it looked marvelous!  He was quite proud of his work.  And - on top of that - the museum was really cool!  We'd never been there before - but the kids were very impressed with the interior architecture and feel of the building.  We had a lot of fun and we're so proud of our artist Cowboy!

Hip Hip Hooray!

He got an Honors rating!!!!  Hooray!  My Buddy was so nervous - but he was amazing!  The judge was impressed at how smooth he played and that he'd memorized so much music for a 5th grader.  Little did he know - he's only been playing a little over 3 months!  I'm just such a proud Mama!  He was SO excited when he saw his score.  When he told his teacher she just looked dumbfounded as she realized he'd memorized it all.  (That's the only way you can earn an Honors rating.)  Way to go Buddy!  :o)  You worked hard and earned that score!

Cello Man!

Today my Buddy will be playing a piece by Bach in front of judges on his cello for solo and ensemble.  This kid blows me away.  

He started playing in January.  He sat in his room and figured out how to play it - and in two days was caught up to the other cellos that had started playing in August.  He practices all the time.  I have NEVER had to remind him to practice.  So he decided to play in solo and ensemble and his teacher gave him three pieces to choose from.  She gave him 3 choices and he chose the hardest one.  He said he thinks she was a little irritated by that - BUT - when she heard him play it last week flawlessly - she was a-ok with his choice.  What she doesn't know - is that he has the entire song memorized - which will get him an honors rating if it goes well.  I asked him why he didn't tell her and he just said he didn't want to make a big deal of it and stand out.  What a kid!  He's going to do great!  I'm so proud of him!  I absolutely LOVE listening to him play!!!!!

Hallelujah it's Friday!!!!

I promise the rest of the April Fool's post is coming!  It was beautiful - completely successful and profoundly hilarious!  :o)

I'm so glad it's Friday!  I'm completely pooped, tired and exhausted!  It's been a great - but high stress week.  Thank goodness it's conference weekend!

For those of you praying for Spencer and Crystal's family - they could use some more prayers.  They were in a car accident yesterday.  A lady pulled out in front of them.  Their car is totaled.  The kids and Spencer are ok - but Crystal's wrist and elbow are broken a long with some ribs and a dislocated shoulder too.  Truly some jewels are being placed in their crowns for all they've been through.

Heh heh heh! My Favorite Day!!!!

Already the day has been a success!!!!!  :o)  Before 6:30am I have proudly launched and carried out 4 April fool's jokes on my children!  Muwahahahahahaha!!!!

I have been so nervous trying to think of things to top last year - but so far - it's going swimmingly!  (For last year - click here:  Last Year's April Fools!)

First was the rubber duckies floating in the toilet!!!!  Boy were they surprised when they each opened the lid!  hahahaha!!!!!  Then the toilet paper roll had a little piece of scotch tape - so it just rolled and rolled as it spun around!  hee hee hee  Then came the green milk for breakfast!  (gotta love food coloring!) and finally (for now!!!) the clocks all set two hours ahead!  hahahaha!!!  

And the day has just begun . . . 

Muwahahahahaha!