My little graduate

Matthew and his teacher Mrs. Van Den Over

All 3 classes of Kindergarten sing a song

Yesterday was Kindergarten graduation at Matthew's school. Parents and grandparents were invited to a very nice program. I arrived shortly after 10 forgetting of course that many other proud parents and family members would also want to see their little darlings move on to the first grade so the lot was packed and I had to be creative in finding a place to park. I did get a good seat though. There were three classes of Kindergartners and each class was assigned a riser. Mathew was in the second row. The kids sang some really cute songs and the teachers read some poems and each child was asked what he or she wanted to be when they grew up and those answers were read by each child's teacher. Matthew said he wanted to be a Veterinarian. Strange, he never mentioned it to me--oh well. At the end the principal read the names and handed each child their diploma. Matthew walked away too fast so my photo of that moment is of him walking away. After the program was finished I got to go over to the classroom and pick him up and take him home with me. Matthew was actually upset that he could not ride the bus home--go figure. I will admit to getting a little misty-eyed during the program. My little guy is growing up and graduating. However, when the principal reminded us that this was the class of 2021 I did feel a little better, and a lot old.

It's not just another holiday

It's Memorial Day weekend. That 3-day fun time known as the unofficial start of summer and home to all those "Huge Blowout Sales" at most retailers most notably furniture stores and car dealerships. Depending on the day of the week my birthday falls I also get to celebrate one more year of life. Of course every holiday has a reason for it's existence whether it is religious such as Easter or Christmas, political such as Election Day and Presidents Day, or Military in nature such as Veteran's Day or Memorial Day. For those who don't know, Memorial Day was first called Decoration Day due to the practice of placing or leaving decorations on the graves of Civil War solders. Over time the name was changed to Memorial Day to honor all fallen solders in whatever war or conflict they served and the date was moved from May 30 to the last Monday in May. The moving the date part was due to Congress wanting a 3-day weekend.
I will confess that I do love the 3-day weekend, the food, the fun activities that are planned and yes, even the sales. Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in the "spirit" of the holiday but not the meaning of it. I will end this blog with a Memorial Day thank you. It's because of these people, many who I have never met or will never meet that I enjoy the freedom to write my blog.

Thank you to those grandparents who put their lives on hold to go fight a world war so terrible that it threatened all of humanity. Thank you to those who gave their lives in the hopes Korea would be communist free. Thank you to our parents and aunts and uncles who decided to honor their draft number and duty to country to fight an unpopular war instead of joining the protests or fleeing to Canada. Thank you to my fellow classmates both high school and college. You went over to fight a desert war and came back heroes. And finally, thank you to all of those who heard the call to duty after September 11. You were the future of our country and you gave your life to keep us safe.

Random chit chat

As the days get nicer it gets even harder to find the few minutes (or hours) it takes to do a post. So much is going on and I seem to have a million things to do with no time to do them. I'm sure it sounds pretty familiar to many of you who read this blog. I just happy that you all take the time to read my writings and ramblings.

School is soon out here with next week being the last week of classes. The kids are very excited for summer to be here but they really like school--except Matthew every morning when I have to wake his crabby butt up to get ready. Matthew is excited at the thought of 1st grade and the fact he gets to go all day to school. Carolyn has talked non stop about her new Kindergarten school and asks on a constant basis when she gets to go. On Monday she had her class field trip. It was a walk to a nearby park with a "picnic". Matthew goes next week to the zoo for his field trip. This week was his last show and tell. He had to bring something in that started with the letter of his first name and the class had to guess what it was. He brought some magnates. I had planned on giving Pansy's to both Matthew's and Carolyn's teachers as a gift since I had a couple of extra plants left over from my flower pots. Sadly, the plants selected look like something Charlie Brown would grow. The one has yet to bloom a flower and the other one has a scraggly flower and looks like it is almost at death's door. I went to Wal-Mart today and bought geraniums in the hopes that when I put them in the pretty pots they will look like an acceptable gift. As for the other flowers, I have an extra pot and I'll stick them there and hope they live.

Andrew has also had a busy few weeks too. Last week I had his follow up appointment with the ENT about the ongoing ear and adenoid/tonsil problems. The good news is that the little guy tested negative for allergies. Of course this means that the acid reflux is probably the problem so I was told to bump the medication up and not feed the kid acid triggering foods or feed him late night snacks, including sippy cups of soy milk. So far it has helped and I'm hopeful in a few months I won't have to either share the bed with the midnight wanderer or spend hours sitting in the chair waiting for the Motrin to kick in so the kid can lay down without pain. Later that week Andrew had a 6 month review with the Birth to 3 people. They like to do progress meetings and re-evaluate the goals in his plan. The week before this meeting my speech therapist gave Andrew a quick screen to see how he would compare to other 30 month olds. There were a few areas of concern so he asked for an OT to be present. We had the meeting at my house--I love the fact that this program is home based so I don't have to run all over the place just for meetings and evaluations. Because Andrew is 6 months away from his 3rd birthday a representative from the school also was there. Matthew's preschool teacher had been promoted this past year to the job of Early Childhood/Birth to 3 Coordinator so it was nice to have her there. After meeting with everyone it was decided that Andrew was having some problems with his fine motor skills and would benefit from Occupational Therapy. He starts working with Carrie the OT tomorrow morning. It was also suggested that I have his vision checked to rule out any sight problems that would make some of these tasks difficult such as stringing beads or drawing lines and circles. I made an appointment for this Friday. I'm hoping everything checks out normal. Glasses can be expensive as I have found out with Matthew. I should probably get Andrew's hearing checked again but that is a sometime this summer project.

One last tidbit before I sign off for the day. Hubby ran his second 5K race this past Friday. Unlike the previous race, the weather was cold and very very windy. He made good time and came close to what he ran the week before. He has said he is done with the racing. Of course we still have that mile and a half to run this August for our black belt test. He's not too worried. I of course still have yet to run a full mile so I'm still working on that goal. Did I ever mention that I hate running???

Celebrations

Wow it's Wednesday already. These days it seems that my time is so used up that I'm forever looking for a few free minutes of peace and quiet. Last Friday was hubby's birthday and he took the day off. Of course it rained so the plans he wanted to make and the plans I wanted to make were put on hold and instead we went out to lunch with the kids and hung out at home. The pie I made him turned out great. There was a small problem with the pie though, I discovered little finger marks all over the meringue when I set it out to cool. Andrew turned out to be the culprit but we found out the little guy is not fond of raisins. He kept spitting them out every time Jim gave him a bite of pie. Carolyn, however really really liked the pie and happily ate every bite offered her and more. On Saturday the whole family was up and about early. We had decided to do the Avera Brest Cancer Event. Our Tae Kwan Do instructor had put a team together and planned on running the 5K portion. After talking it over Jim decided to try doing the 5K with Miss Jenn (our instructor) and I would take the kids and do the 1.5 mile fun walk. Another student had wanted to do the walk and he agreed to be my helper so we were a go for the day. The night before I had stopped by to get our stuff and forgot to make sure I had the correct T- shirt sizes and sure enough they gave me the wrong sizes but by then it was too late so I went over and switched shirts on race day. Hubby let me out to walk and took the kids and parked the van. We had a meeting place set up but I went to the wrong spot so there was a bit of nervousness as I stood among a sea of 5,000 looking for a guy with 3 kids pulling a red wagon. Fortunately I spotted the loving husband and Miss Jenn right before the race started and was able to reunite with the kids. Andrew was a bit on the tired side and a little cold so he decided that the only way he was going to do this event was if he was held. Yep, that's right, I walked the 1.5 mile route carrying 30+ pounds of toddler. Lets just say my arms were a little sore the next morning. Hubby made great time, finishing in under 40 minutes. When we finished up at the event we went home ate breakfast and headed off to Yankton. The main reason for going down to Yankton was to get my nephew Austin. We had wanted to have him watch the kids while we went out for date night. After leaving Yankton we stopped off at the Mall as Austin had some things he needed at Sears and then we went over to one of the furniture stores and hubby got his very comfy recliner. The one we got a few weeks ago was the one I liked and was comfortable for me to sit in but it was a little too short for hubby's reclining comfort. The new chair is very comfortable but I think it is a tad on the big side. Later that night after returning home and getting the kids fed and ready for bed hubby and I headed out to watch the new Star Trek Movie. The movie was totally worth the $8 and I would see it again in a heartbeat. Sunday was Mother's Day. I got some very nice cards and a dozen very beautiful red roses from the kids and Jim. Due to the ring stuff last month I wasn't expecting much in terms of gifts--I'll take my newly replaced diamond any day. I had invited Jim's family over to celebrate both his birthday and Mother's day so I was up early baking my hummingbird cake and trying to get the rest of the house cleaned. The cake turned out great. It tasted like a really rich banana bread and the cream cheese frosting (with butter) was perfect. I don't know if I'll make this cake very often but it is a keeper. My next cake project is for Carolyn's birthday. She wants a Barbie Princess cake. I plan on trying to do one. According to my mother in law, the trick of the skirt is to bake two bundt cake and put them together. I ordered a cake decorating kit so I hope I get it in time to do this cake. In the meantime I'll be looking for bundt cake recipes and trying to figure out which frosting will work the best. Any ideas would be welcomed.

Happy Birthday Sweetie-pie

Today is Jim's birthday. I won't mention how old he is but I'm sure many of you can figure it out on your own. One thing I love about him is his ability to totally hit it out of the park when it comes to finding me the perfect gift. I can honestly say that I do not have a gift horror story or even remember a time when I got a lousy "what were you thinking?" type of gift. Unfortunately, I inherited the bad gift giving gene. Every year I try and try to get the perfect gift and every year the poor man is stuck with my pathetic attempts and earnest failures. He must really love me since he has had to endure so many bad Christmas, birthday, and anniversary gifts. This year I decided to dedicate a blog post to him. I figured the least I could do was tell the whole world how wonderful he was. I'll keep it short and simple.

Happy birthday honey. You are the sweetest most wonderful husband and father in the whole wide world. You work hard to support your family and are admired and respected by your friends and co-workers. You are a loving and devoted father who sees spending time with the kids as a privilege not a chore. You take them on outings and read them stories. You are always there to kiss them good night and tuck them into bed. You have a unique sense of humor that always makes me laugh. Together there is nothing that we can't find funny, even if it is not always PC or "G" rated. When you're not being funny then you are sharing your other talents with the world such as your sense of organization and attention to details. If not for you then I'd be totally lost and probably broke. And finally, you are my true companion and best friend. You love me for who I am and put up with all my crazy quirks and flaws. You go out of your way to help me out and even when I've gone and screwed things up you still manage to forgive me and love me in the morning. I love you with all my heart and thank you for choosing me as your life partner.

OK, I'm done being sappy. Hubby is going to roll his eyes and sigh and walk away shaking his head like he always does. Secretly, I'm sure he's gotta love this gift. That and the gift certificate I got him for his favorite store, and the sour cream raisin pie I'm making him.


PS...Hubby's birthday is Friday, May 8. I started this post around midnight and for some reason it is listed as a Thursday post instead of the Friday post I had intended.

Because you really want to know

Finally it's Friday! Another week has gone by. It's been one of those weeks. I posted on Tuesday about my busy weekend and mentioned that this week was fixing to be just as hectic. Well, it did not disappoint. Hubby left me bright and early (5 AM early) for his trip out to Indiana and Ohio. He goes out there every month for meetings and to inspect the plants and make sure that they are not having major issues. The recession has cut down on his travel so this is the only major out of state trip he takes. I also don't think there are any more plant start ups so I don't have to worry about the 6 week "ethanol season" that usually starts about this time of the year. I had tons of stuff to do so after going back to sleep for a few hours it was up again and getting Matthew out the door by 7:30. I needed to get a pan of brownies baked and I wanted to get my rummage sale stuff together so I could mark and price it. My plan was to have the brownies frosted and ready to put in the MOPS bake sale and tag everything so that I could go over to the church and drop it off between 6:30 and 7. I have class at 8 so I wanted to be done and over to the Wellness Center in time. I was able to mark the clothing in the afternoon while Carolyn was at school and Matthew was at speech/PT. Of course Andrew decided not to take a nap so he "helped" me. I did not have a lot of stuff, just a large garbage bag full of clothes and a few other miscellaneous items. I was so proud of myself, I got supper fixed on time and the kids were bathed and ready to go by 6. We went over to the church where the sale was being held. Our chapter of MOPS meets at Faith Baptist Church in Sioux Falls and the church generously lets us use the building for the sale. Matthew was a huge help when it came time to put my stuff out on the tables. He was able (with a few commands) to take clothing and put it on the correct table. I actually was early to class so I was able to have a few "me" minutes. By the time we got done with class and home Matthew was passed out in the car and Andrew and Carolyn weren't too far behind so bedtime was super easy. I was able to watch my current favorite guilty pleasure TV show "Deadliest Catch" on Discovery Channel. I can't stand the so called reality shows on most networks but there is something about a show where real people are out doing a very dangerous job that is totally captivating.

I had planned to make Wednesday my easy day. I took the boys and grocery shopped in the afternoon while Carolyn was at school and I planned to make that my only outing of the day. I didn't have class and I wanted to let the kids have a night where they weren't going somewhere and give them a chance to go to bed early and catch up on sleep. You know the saying about the best layed plans... There is also the fact that every time hubby goes out of town something bad happens. So far in the past three years or so I've dealt with stomach flu (a couple times), really nasty ear infections ( every kid at least once), croup, being locked in a bedroom and having to call the police to get me out, losing my set of van keys and hubby has the spare in his pocket, forgetting to turn off the DVD player in the van resulting in a dead battery (we have a battery jumper), having Andrew get a hold of the phone and call 911--yes two officers showed up at my door, and you get the picture. So supper was done and the kids were playing while I was cleaning up the mess. I wasn't planning on going anywhere so I wasn't in a rush about baths or in a hurry to zoom though kitchen detail. I heard Andrew sobbing in the bedroom and he didn't quit right away so I went in picked him up and assuming Matthew was the problem, scolded Matthew for making his brother cry. After a few moments of sippy cup and a lap, Andrew turned and looked at me and that's when I saw the reason for the tears. He had the mother of all goose eggs on his forehead. It looked like something out of a sci/fi movie. I then called Matthew over to ask what what happened and what did he do to his brother (yes, I'm such a good Mom). Matthew told me that Andrew was jumping on the bed (Matthew's) and fell foreword and bumped his head. I think it was probably the headboard that did it but it could have been the wall. The sheer size of the bump and the speed in which it appeared made me realize that Urgent Care was now on the agenda. I got the kids ready and loaded up and off we went. Thankfully it wasn't that busy so we were out in less than an hour. Andrew showed no signs of neurological problems and did not appear to have a skull fracture --yeah, no ER and CAT scans-- so I was given the head trauma sheet and told to bring him in to ER if he develops any of the symptoms. I'm hoping this is a wake up call to all the kids on why Mommy gets upset whey they jump on the bed (I doubt it). So much for a quiet night.

Yesterday was my day to work at the sale. When I originally signed up I was hoping the hubby would help with watching the kids but he was going to be gone so I figured if I took the later shift and cleaned up I would not have to deal with school schedules and I could make my class by 8. We got over there a little early so one of the other moms was able to leave and pick her kids up at school. There were two of us moms who brought kids so instead of taking tuns and watching them in the nursery we just let the kids play in the area of the sale. They actually did pretty good. Around 5 my kids started getting hungry so I called hubby to see if he was in the state yet and his plane had just landed so he was able to come over to the church and pick the kids up and take them to McDonald's for supper. After they got done he came back to the church and helped us put the tables away and set the chair back up. Thanks sweetie. He took off to help teach the kids Tae Kwan Do class and I kept the kids with me and we showed up a little before 8. For some strange reason, everyone was very tired when we got home. This morning I had my last MOPS meeting and both Andrew and Carolyn were passed out and I had to wake them up in order to get there on time. It never fails, give me a morning where no one has to get up early and I've got kids bouncing out of bed by 7 and on the days I need to get out of the house I've got pumpkins. Oh well.

$18.55 ...That's how much I made on the MOPS rummage sale.