Random

This one is for all my high school friends. I saw this picture at the bottom of the TMZ website. (yes, I'm very busy at work these days). Doesn't it look like Carrie?!

Full Week

I can't believe it is Thursday. I've been totally unproductive at work, but fairly productive at home. I cooked dinner (real home cooking) twice this week. Plus, I went running three times. I cleaned our bedroom. I volunteered at the kids' library. Attended the kids Open House. Worked on homework. Hit up grandparents for the kids' school fundraiser (thanks Grandma and Nano). (Speaking of, let me know if you want to sponsor Luke and/or Evie in their Boosterthon--flat donations accepted or sponsor them for a $1 per lap). Attended a Second Grade Parent's mixer. Took Luke to soccer. Stayed home with a sick little girl on Tuesday. And I took our dear Lindsey to the airport. Plus, we started potty training. It's been a full week already.

And how can I even explain how many times this little man has called out, "Momma!"?

Open House 2011

Last night was open house at the kids' school. They had fun showing us their classrooms and all their work. Evie was very proud of herself and Luke was just acting like his crazy self. The teachers always have the kids do some sort of work to show off their skills before open house. Evie's class got to draw self portraits. Evie's is sweet. (I figured out that those are supposed to be tiger paws on her shirt because the school's mascot is a tiger. And don't be disturbed, she actually has all 5 fingers in real life.)


Luke's class was asked to write about why we need rain (fitting for our drought), and what they do when it rains. Chuck and I couldn't help but laugh our heads off when we read Luke's. He's just so blunt.


I'll translate: "Let it rain, god becouse my tomeytos are dead."

Clearly, we still need to work on spelling and handwriting, but his picture of the dying tomato plants in our back yard is very accurate - all the way down to the red cages around the pathetic brown sticks that remain. The curious part about this is that we never talk about the tomatoes being dead. He never even sees them as far as I know. So, what makes him think of this stuff? All the other kids wrote about how it was hot, or the grass is brown, or it's not good for the animals. My kid wrote about my failed attempt at growing tomatoes in our backyard during a drought. It cracks me up!

We saw so many funny things on the walls that were written or drawn by students. I often wonder if the teachers get used to all the funny things that the kids say and do, or if they still laugh as hard as we do.

Back Across the Pond

Today a member of our family is leaving us. Lindsey is going home to England. She fits into our life so perfectly. I would have never imagined that someone from across the pond would become so much a part of our family. What a blessing it has been to have had her with us for a two-month visit. We fell right back into our old ways. She will never be a stranger in our home. I hope that we will be able to visit her sometime soon. Until then, we wish her all the best and all the love in the world!











You might notice that there is a certain little boy in the family who is going to miss her the most out of all of us. We love you, Lindsey!

Six and Beautiful!

So in love with my little Evie who turned SIX years old yesterday. She was thrilled and all she could think about was opening her presents.


It's been a drawn-out birthday celebration, starting with a party at Grandma's house Sunday with my entire family, and ending with a birthday dinner at Pappasito's.

Sitting with Grandma.

Thanks to all my brothers and sisters and their families for coming to celebrate Evie's sixth birthday. It was amazing to be all together! And thank you for the sweet gifts. Evie loves them all!

Last night we went to Pappasito's for Evie's birthday. She loves their beans. Ate two servings of them, plus ice cream!

Hugging Daddy at Pappasito's.

Georgie at Pappasito's.

Lindsey feeding her BFF at Pappasito's.

Lindsey and Crazy Luke.

Opening Presents.
They loved this wrapping paper!

The Mystery Present from Nano & Pawpaw which occupied Evie's thoughts and dreams in the days leading up to her birthday. There was more anticipation about this present than there was about the first episode of Two and a Half Men with Ashton Kutcher.

Mystery Present Revealed: Bead kit.

The AMAZING Cake!
Courtesy of Lindsey Molloy.

George blowing out Evie's candle.
Evie is there too, you just can't see her.

She had a blast and loved every minute of her birthday, including her cookies in her class and getting ice cream with Sarah and Meridith.

There is so much fun in a birthday when you're young!

Happy birthday to my sweet angel!

Sorry for my absence. I've been busy at work. What?! That's right, busy at work!

Un-freakin-believable.

From Lindsey, who is at home with the kids today.

Bless her soul.

What can I say?
It was Champagne Thursday last night.

Pretty Princess!

George loves to play dress up with Evie. Unfortunately, all we have for dress up are princess dresses. It doesn't seem to bother him at all.

Don't smurf with me . . .

The kids went to see the Smurf movie the week it came out in theaters. For some reason, whenever they toot they say "I smurfed!" It cracks me up! I love hearing the question, "Did you smurf?" or when Lindsey asks, "Are you smurfing with me?" The replacement of the word "smurf" for just about any other word is just hilarious to me. Plus it makes me think of little blue creatures that are three apples high. It's a flashback to my past. What can I say?

Make Believe

I don't think it is much of a surprise that there is inappropriate laughter that often takes place at our house. Still, I was appalled when Luke announced the make believe game he and Evie were playing last night. I knew they were behind the couch in our den playing with Legos and other toys, but Luke made my eyes widen in shock when he popped up from behind the couch and explained, "Mom. We're pretending that this great big building that we made out of Legos was hit by a plane and now we're praying for all the people who died."

My mouth dropped. My breath hitched. My lips formed an "O". And I eventually said, "Okay."

He popped back down behind the couch. I looked at Lindsey and mouthed the words, "Oh. My. God."

After the kids when to bed a few minutes later, I popped behind the couch and found this.



True to their word, they had been playing make believe 9/11. My feelings are mixed. They obviously learned about this in school, but they clearly don't know how horribly this event affected us who lived it and the country that is still recovering from it. So, wow. Any suggestions?

*And yes, I realize there is a split infinitive in there. Get over it.

30 Day Challenge Busted.

Let me confess that dieting and exercising are just not happening. I'm afraid that my desire to be there for my kids as they experience this whole ADD/2nd grade/kindergarten/soccer thing is really just overtaking my desire to be thin and attractive. Oh, and plus there is my great desire to drink wine after two hours of second grade homework and spelling review. It also helps ease the pain of Luke's grades and frustration.

So, my 30 day challenge quickly circled the drain and is so far gone, that I don't think I can salvage it. Nonetheless, I still have the desire at the end of the day to be thinner. This desire also shows up at the beginning of the day when I'm trying to find an outfit that will fit and flatter this unwieldy figure. So, enough about me and my woes - which are really petty - and on to the rest of life.

Movie Quote 88

Movie Quote 88: Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays.


Just so you know, that would be me. Blah.

Susie Homemaker . . . Almost.

You're not going to believe it!

I've become so freakin' homemaker-ish!

No kidding!

I actually had Luke help me bake three loaves of pumpkin bread this week. Luke loves that stuff, so he loves to help cook it. I also promised him (without confirming) that it would help him earn a scout belt loop. (Apparently, cooking is not a skill awarded with a belt loop in scouts, so I'm going to have to figure out some other way to reward his hard work.)

Anyway, we had three loaves and I decided to send some to the kids' teachers. That's right, I just moved up in the rankings at school with the kids' teachers. I'm a freakin' genius!

So, on Tuesday I sent the kids to school with these clever little packages for their teachers. I rock!




In bigger news, I also (and this is HUGE!) signed up to be . . .



wait for it . . .



wait for it . . .










HOMEROOM MOM!


Oh, yeah baby! I totally fell victim to the pleading letters from the PTA that said Luke's class still didn't have a homeroom mom. As you may have read here, I really love the idea of being a homeroom mom, but my career and lifestyle pretty much prohibit it. I mean, it's not like I've been ordered to stay 50 feet away from all schools and playgrounds, but seriously, it is most likely that your kids' first experience with a tipsy adult will take place in my presence. I'm just sayin'.

Nonetheless, I answered the call! I stepped up to the plate! I'm taking the bull by the horns! (And any other phrases you want to use to describe it.) I'm officially a homeroom mom!

Now the genius part about this is that I'm sharing this honor (by chance) with one of my friends who is also a working mom (actually owns her own business - flippin' rock star that she is!). So, the pressure is off. I have a partner in crime! Plus, I can't wait to spy on Luke and his friends in class. How lucky am I? -- Totally lucky, very blessed, and mostly crazy.

Luke.

This morning I met with our pediatrician to discuss the possibility of Luke having ADD. *big sigh*



I can't say I didn't see this coming. I did. All the way back in Kindergarten.

Still, I was freaking out Friday night when his 2nd grade teacher sent home a note requesting a parent-teacher conference as soon as possible.

I called her that evening. She called me back at 9:30 p.m. We spoke until 11:00. That's right an hour and a half. That's a long time to talk about one kid (unless you only have one kid).

So, we talked about the problems Luke is having. He's already behind all his classmates and we're only in the third week of the school year. She was super sweet about everything and I was soooo glad she called. I want him to succeed and to be happy in school - what parent doesn't want their kids to be happy, right? She was wonderful. She told me what she was seeing. She asked what I was seeing. She said we are doing all the right things at home. And then she suggested that we talk to his pediatrician. Thank God. I have been waiting for one of his teachers to finally say the words, since all I've heard are the following things:

Unfocused. Talks. Daydreaming. Not a mean bone in his body. Can't stay on task.

These are all words and phrases the teachers (since Kindergarten) have used to describe my sweet boy. He's actually fairly bright - and I'm not trying to claim that my kid is the smartest in the class. He's just plain good at reading, competent at math, and terrible with spelling (like his mother).

The problem is that he can't concentrate for long enough to actually do his work. He gets behind on spelling tests and dictation tests. He'll miss several problems or fail to turn a math worksheet over and finish the entire thing. He is not a genius that is bored in class, like some people claim. No. The situation is that he will get distracted by just about anything.

For the past year and a half I've sought informal counsel from friends of mine who are teachers. Each one told me that if it isn't affecting his grades, I should wait until 3rd grade to have him tested. Well, by the end of his first grade year, Luke's grades had plummeted. He actually had C's on his report card. It was disheartening.


We've had his hearing and eyesight checked. He's wearing glasses now. Things haven't improved.

So, after speaking with our wonderful pediatrician this morning, I am currently arranging to have Luke tested by a psychologist to rule out IQ deficiency (not a problem that I can tell), learning disabilities/differences (also, unlikely), and finally, ADD/ADHD. I don't think he is particularly hyper, he just gets distracted when walking from his bedroom to the bathroom to brush his teeth. I'm not even sure he would remember to go pee if it wasn't for fear of soiling himself.

So, while I am grateful that none of my children has been diagnosed with any major ailment or disease or disorder (and I thank God for that everyday), I am somewhat heavyhearted to know that Luke is having issues. And the worst part about it is that he hates school now. He cries in the morning that he hates school and he hates homework. In his words, he wishes homework and school had never been invented. It shouldn't be like this. As his sweet teacher said, "Every second grader should love going to school. It should be the most exciting thing for him to see and learn new things." Sadly, we are no longer at that point with Luke. He is simply frustrated and sad. I hope that whatever we figure out with the psychologist will bring my sweet Luke back and help him to fall in love with school again.

He's just too awesome to not be happy.

Beyond Cute.

His cuteness is not overrated. It's even better if you can hear him talk and watch him smile at you.







Make no mistake, Luke and Evie were this cute too! You can see that here and here.

Oh my gosh, and here is one of my favorites!

Basketball!

Here he is with his basketball. He loves to play basketball. Loves it!

Love him!

Too Cute!

George is cuter than you can possibly imagine right now. I need to take a bunch of pictures so I can prove it!