Chasing Butterflies - Take 2

I chased them again today. It was actually a big, red dragon fly that caught my eye out the window this morning. He was huge and perched up high on my lady slipper plant. I thought he looked so cool there and so I reached for my camera to see if I could snap his picture real quick. Mr. Dragonfly would not entertain that idea in the least. Not even one little bit. He flew off straight away before I even got the lens cap off! I was disappointed and stood there for a moment more to see if he would return. But he didn't. But just as I decided to head back in the house and get some work done, I spied this butterfly friend visiting my lantana bush right there beside me. I was excited as this big guy has been rather elusive for me here lately. I keep trying to catch him, and he seems to know it! We've had many a good chase here this past week. I really had given up on the idea and then...there he was! He was fairly cooperative and I did get a few snaps that I can live with. They aren't perfect...but I still thought that they were pretty neat. Butterflies have really, really long noses! Or tongues...can't remember which it is...but it shows up really clearly and really cool in some of the pictures. Neat creatures, butterflies are. So fragile and swift...so beautiful and light. One of God's finer designs I think!

Score One for Crazy Mommy!

Well, I just got the most fantastic news from my Clara! Apparently, after hand shaking now, the whole class has to sanitize their hands! I asked Clara what happened....and she said that her teacher said that "Clara's mommy thinks we should use the hand gel after we shake hands!" So now the whole class knows it's Clara's neurotic mom who insisted on this new rule and regimen. But I am OKAY with that! One day they will thank me and their mothers will thank me for all the germs that will no longer be shared between them, for the snot that will no longer be swapped and for the extra shot of germ killing protection that will be at the very least, a temporary germ deterrent. I am overjoyed to get this news! And I know that I will sleep better tonight as a result. It's one small step for Mommy...one giant leap for germ warfare! I feel it is a real moment of triumph! The teacher did not call me or respond to my e-mail OR send any kind of note of response home. It's that "crazy mother" flag that has been raised I am sure! But as long as my baby girl's hands are clean and free of other children's body fluids and other exciting things...I am SO fine with that new designation! Just call me C-Mama! (C for CRAZY!!!!!!). And on that note....C-Mama is signing off for now!

Neurotic Mom Speaks Out

Okay...so I simply could NOT take it any longer. The whole hand shaking thing in Clara's class. DRIVING ME NUTS!!! Yesterday, in Clara's bag was the class newsletter. Under the "Powerful Performances" section was this note:

If you visit our class in the morning you would see children greeting each other with a handshake
and saying good morning to their friends. This is part of a responsive classroom approach that I
have introduced to the children. We are learning to be listeners why others talk. The children are
learning about good character traits and how to be tolerant of others diversities.

UUGGGGHHH!!!!!!! So the hand shaking thing. I just want it to stop. Really. Deep down, I don't even want to work with it, I just don't want it to happen. PERIOD. However....life throws us things and we don't always get to have it the way we want it. And so...I realize that she will shake hands. But I absolutely 100% have GOT to know that my baby girl can go and wash her hands when it is all said and done. Nothing against all the other kids. I know that they are precious. And sweet and lovely and come from fine and wonderful, loving, clean homes. But I also know that right now, about 75% of her classmates have rivers of snot pouring out of their precious, sweet noses and a large amount of that snot is undoubtedly being swept away on the backs of the precious little hands. And I just don't think they should be snot swapping. Simple as that. Paranoid...yes. Over reacting...I'm sure. Neurotic control freak here?...ABSOLUTELY! But I am more than willing to admit it and air it out. And so I did today. I e-mailed the teacher and told her that I was simply not comfortable with the whole hand shaking ordeal and why. And that if that was going to be the practice, what I needed to see happening on the hand washing end. I went so far as to tell her that I didn't just want Clara's hands washed, but ALL of their hands washed. I mean...Clara having clean hands would be great...yes! But it doesn't accomplish much when the other 21 kids still have the great snot swap going on and are touching everything in the classroom that Clara also has to touch. (Geez! Listen to me. Sounds like I want my girl in a plastic bubble!....Honestly...if it were an option...and I could put her in a clear, protective, clean air, "you can be there but not have THERE be on her" bubble....well I think I would go for it!) As of yet, I have not gotten a response from the teacher. She is probably sitting there at her desk just a shaking that head of hers and saying things like "There's one totally psychotic and neurotic mom in every bunch!" She's probably put a big flag by my name and made a mental note to avoid all phone calls from me! Hopefully it won't reflect badly on Clara. She's such a sweet and bright and lovely child. Not so much though when she's sick! And so...it had to be done. I could not sleep another night knowing I let this situation go without speaking my mind.

Besides that nagging little handshaking problem, the newsletter was chock full of typos! A pet peeve of mine for sure! The paragraph I typed above is exactly as it was typed in the newsletter. It SHOULD say...

If you VISITED our class in the morning, you would see children greeting each other with a handshake and
saying good morning to their friends. This is part of a responsive classroom approach that I have introduced
to the children. We are learning to be listeners WHILE others talk. The children are learning about good character traits and
how to be tolerant of OTHER'S diversities.

I happen to have a very low tolerance for typos and poor grammar. Especially from those who are charged with teaching such important lessons to my wee ones! There are many more in the newsletter. The part where the students were quoted was just slaughtered with mistakes! YIKES!!!! Again...there's that neurotic streak that just keeps showing itself here lately. I might need some therapy!

Speaking of needing some therapy...I attended the parent's orientation night last night for Max. Armed with a copy of his schedule, I navigated my way through all of his classes, meeting each of his teachers and hearing their expectations for the school year. I could see why he loves his science, math, and social studies teachers. His writing teacher is..............hmmm. Little? Young? As a man, wears more jewelry than I do. He looks about 16. He says he shaves...but I wondered if his shaving was kind of like little girls who insist on wearing those training bras, despite the fact that there is a very real absence of anything to train? Maybe he shaves in hopes that one day there might be something there TO shave? He seems nice enough. I have not collected enough information yet to really have an opinion. His guitar teacher was....interesting. His reading teacher...oddly nervous and I thought a bit boring. Time will tell for sure. She certainly started out with a book they all seem to hate and loathe. I nearly had a heart attack when the writing teacher told me they would be writing a 10,000 word, 40 page novel. Oh dear God...please no! I knew it would come one day. I am just horrified that that time is here upon us. Getting him to write the really short one page papers is an ordeal that requires the patience of Job and constant threats and standing over him. 10,000 words? TEN THOUSAND???????? And he only has 30 days in which to do it! November is the month you should all pray and fast for me. Because I imagine that is sure to be the longest and darkest month of my mothering life to date! My next heart attack of the evening came when the science teacher was pointing out all of the mini research papers that had come in and are due...incidentally...tomorrow. When I asked Max about it? He hasn't even started it. GRRRRRRRRR. That child and I...we are two VERY, very different people. I know of no other way to put it. POLAR OPPOSITES he and I! He is the one who always leaves me just bewildered and frustrated and aggravated and wondering how in the world, this beautiful boy with the gorgeous gray/green eyes and more intelligence than you can begin to fathom...can possibly be so horribly disorganized and distracted and so terribly off task all the time?! Despite showing him over and over and OVER and OVER again how to complete the simplest of tasks...he just doesn't get it. But he does. He just doesn't seem to execute it. Ever. Sometimes I think I would just love to know exactly what is going on in that little head of his. What is it that makes him pace back and forth so when he talks to you and is excited? What is it that gets his thought processes so off task? How is that he can absorb difficult mathematical concepts instantly and effortlessly, yet cannot remember to put on his deodorant each day? Mostly, I wonder what in the world God is trying to teach ME by giving me this young man? There must be many great lessons in this adventure for sure. That, or God has a wild and evil sense of humor. Well....that is to ponder another day. A question that simply will not be solved quickly...or simply!

And so...there are my neurotic wanderings and rantings for the day! Time to treadmill bond! Till later!

Full House

Well, all three of my kids are home sick today. Now...it's not as dire a situation as it might seem. Clara coughed her head off yesterday and did not sleep really well last night due to the coughing. Poor Ben's throat is still killing him and he can hardly talk. Max seems fine overall, but still keeps complaining that his stomach is hurting. And so...I made the executive mommy decision to keep the whole crew at home and resting in hopes that MAYBE, just maybe, a day of total rest will give their little bodies what they need to get on their feet and feel better and get on with the school year. I am feeling like they have been sick FOREVER! I know they haven't. But it HAS been two weeks. Clara started her first round of not feeling well back before her birthday. LIke on August 14th to be exact. Then she seemed to feel better for all of 4 days before she came down with another new and improved cold-like illness. Ben has not felt well for 4 days now. And Max (the least likely one of my crew to ever be sick) has been complaining off and on for a few days of mild, but similar symptoms. All of this sickness has made for very crabby children and it is starting to wear on the mommy who is quite tired of hearing them complain and fuss! So hopefully today will be a turning point for them. They are not too, too sick. I see the cabin fever starting to show itself a bit. On sick days like this, there is no t.v., no computer, no electronics of any kind. Just their rooms and their books and crayons. Dollies for Clara and legos for Ben, the guitar for Max. And then there is always napping which I have reminded them of already twice this morning. They find staying at home under these circumstances to be quite boring. Which I think is good for them. They are supposed to be at school and after a boring day like this at home, school looks OH so much better the next day! And hopefully...they will go back tomorrow with quieter and less present coughs, with soothed throats and iron tummies! Nothing like a day of rest and chicken noodle soup to help that dream become a reality!

Then once they go back I just have to pray that they can fight off any new and improved germs that get hurled their way. There is a practice going on in Clara's class that is driving me insane. Apparently they are learning how to shake hands with one another in greeting. Not one to be a total party pooper...I told Clara that it was nice to shake hands...just be sure to use the hand sanitizer when she was finished. Then Clara told me they aren't allowed to use it except when they go lunch. Ooops...here comes the pooper! I have to say that this bit of information has literally kept me up at night. My first reaction when I learned of the hand shaking was "Oh no! No hand to hand contact! Hands to YOURSELF!!!" But I realize that her teacher is trying to teach them a skill...and while I totally and completely disagree that this is the age they need to learn it...I TRIED to get on board with it. But now that I know she has to shake those little dirty hands who have most likely been swiping away their own snot trails with those same little hands...and that she is not allowed to clean her own hands afterward...well, quite frankly, I am losing sleep over it. And during the daytime I am just turning it over and over again in my mind. And I have come to a place of great debate now. Do I call or e-mail this teacher and voice my concern? And in doing so am I setting her up for trouble with this teacher? I mean...to a point it all sounds a bit paranoid. "I would really prefer that MY child NOT shake hands, as it's a terribly germy business...but if she MUST shake hands, then I MUST insist that she have access to some soap immediately thereafter." Sounds like an overprotective and whiny, paranoid mom. Then again...after a LONG two weeks of constant illness and sore throats....I'm thinking it's time to put a stop to all of this. Ahh...the great dilemma! I will have to think on it some more.

For now, I need to go and bond with my treadmill since I could not make it into the gym today with all my sick charges at home! Perhaps some enlightening thought or solution will visit me there! Goodness knows there are enough other crazy thoughts whipping through my brain when I jump on that treadmill! We shall see!

The House of Grump!

Well...there is sickness....AGAIN in the Roberts house. Clara was miserable today, but made it through school. HOwever, when I picked her up she had a roaring headache and a low grade fever. She said she told the teacher twice her head was really hurting, but was told she would be just fine. Oh...she'll be fine all right. She'll be just fine at home with me tomorrow! The poor kid is coughing her head off. I'm sure her head was hurting after a full day of that. I have decided that teacher cannot be trusted to use good judgement in when to call the mommy or even when to send her to the nurse. And so...mommy is in charge now. Clara even felt bad enough this afternoon that she didn't even want to go to her dance class. And she usually loves to go to that! So there's that. Ben didn't even feel well enough to go to school. His sore throat is really, really fired up and he can hardly talk. He spent a very quiet day laying around and resting. Tons of snot coming from that boy! Not sure what his return status will be tomorrow as far as school goes. Chris came home from work today not feeling well. He was in bed asleep by the time I got back home this afternoon with Clara. Lots of misery and lots of grumpiness!

Before all the sickies came to roost, I did manage to squeeze in a trip to the gym this morning. Today I did the RPM class, which is a spinning class, again. I am trying it out here to see if I can develop a tolerance for it. I did it on Friday also and I have to tell you that my butt bones are still screaming in protest. My muscles are all fine. But my bones ain't a bit happy. I jumped back in the saddle again today, equipped with my beloved heart rate monitor (cue the music of doom!). I wanted to see just how many calories all that butt misery was worth! The verdict? NOT MANY! I burned only a whopping 380 calories in that class. My heart rate refused to go above 164 beats a minute. Despite the fact that I was sweating an ocean and was nauseas with exertion. Well...that made ME grumpy! I will have to now compare that to step class next Monday and see which class has the higher yield for me. I managed to make up the calorie burn and achieve a full 500 total with some weight lifting exercises after spin. Still. 380 calories kind of stinks! Oh well! Tomorrow is a new day...a new calorie total! Tomorrow is running day! That should be loads of fun!

Nothing else new going on. Lots of orders coming in right now that I need to get processed. Another busy week. Chris heads to Europe this weekend. It would be SO nice if everyone could just get well before he leaves. Know what I mean?! I am supposed to go to Spanish class tomorrow night...but I don't think I will go back. It's NOT a good idea to open up the conversational spanish class by telling everyone that they probably will NOT learn to speak much spanish in the class. Kind of kills the whole experience...know what I mean?

And so...now you know what's going on in the Casa de Roberts!

Chasing Butterflies

Today my family was sick. Well...three of the five of us are fighting a cold. Sore throats, congestion, coughing. The usual yucky cold stuff! So we didn't go to church or anywhere. We just hung out around the house. I spent a great part of the day laying in the bed reading and resting. I cooked a huge pot of homemade from scratch chicken noodle soup. It has magical healing powers, so we should all be feeling top notch tomorrow! And I spent some of the day out in the front yard chasing butterflies. They seem to be wildly attracted to my neighbor's red and orange lantana bushes. There have been quite a variety of butterfly visitors out there over the past few days. And so I grabbed my camera and went out to try and capture the wildlife! This was one of my favorites from the day!

I am hoping that all of my crew is feeling better and is able to return to school tomorrow. I am done with sickness and ready to move on from this. This is the second round of yuckies for poor Clara. She got sick the end of the first week of school. Missed one day and was able to head back on Monday. Then the end of the second week she came down with this yucky head cold. She has been very, very miserable and more than a little short tempered and cranky. I can't blame her. I was more than a little bit miserable myself this morning.

We managed to accomplish much this weekend, despite everyone feeling poorly. We headed out to Pima Community College on Saturday morning so that I could register for a class and get a student ID. THIS because we bought a new mac laptop and part of the special they were running was that I could get the Photoshop CS3 (my DREAM software) for an unbelievable bargain price of just $300 instead of the $1200 it would cost me otherwise. The only hitch is that in order to install it I had to have proof that I was a student. And so...I am now a student! We went to register for a class....ANY class and get my photo student ID so that I could get my CS3 up and running. Tonight it IS up and running and I LOVE IT!!!! After my college registration adventure, we headed down to the Ford place to drop off Chris' truck. The power extendable folding mirrors weren't doing what they were supposed to do, so we dropped it off for some TLC and service! Then we went shopping for a new bedding set. Chris has decided ours was making him crazy and he didn't like the way it felt. So after 4 stops we finally found something we liked okay. Then we had lunch out. Then we headed to Costco to stock up on a few necessary items. After that, we settled in as a family and watched the movie Nim's Island. It was pretty good and I enjoyed it, as did Clara. We all slept quite well and I woke up to donuts and coffee this morning! Chocolate donuts to boot! What a special treat! I couldn't help but think of my friend Jenny who has donuts and coffee EVERY SATURDAY morning! I only had ONE donut...not six. But it was yummy and it was nice that my family thought of me! The rest of the day we pretty much just laid around and rested. Tonight, I think we are feeling better. I feel better I think. And hopefully tomorrow, we will all be as good as new!

Hanging Out in My Yard

Last night I had the great treat of getting to photograph this little guy in our driveway. He was a bit camera shy...so I only got about six shots of him. Actually, the exterminator today told me that it was probably a her, and NOT a him! So it was a lady friend! I DEFINITELY would have liked more! But alas, it was not to be. I find these tarantula dudes to be SO facsinating! Yet, this is only the fourth one I have seen since moving to Tucson, nearly 4 years ago. And every time I try to take their picture something happens...like being camera shy or like my nosy neighbors trying to save me from the very thing I am trying to photograph. There's that! But I got this one. It will have to do.

Then today, right before I went to pick up my kiddos, I saw this gorgeous guy hanging out on the lantana out front. He was so pretty and big....but SO busy and would hardly sit still for a second! Anyway...that's what's been hanging out in my yard the past 24 hours! What's in your yard?

ATTENTION LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...

AHEM....I have an announcement to make. And NO! I am NOT pregnant and NO amazing honors or medals or awards have been bestowed upon me in the recent days. No. My announcement is even MORE profound than any of that news. And my announcement is.....TONIGHT I COOKED! That's right. I cooked dinner. FROM SCRATCH. And it was very, VERY fancyesque! (Okay...so I totally made up that word and my spell check SO totally hates it!). On the menu tonight? Well, that would be Smoky Shrimp and Parmesan Polenta Cakes. Are you dazzled? Well...you SHOULD be! It was a dazzling dinner with a fantastic and beautiful presentation. AND only 231 calories for two polenta cakes! Now...you really should be dazzled when I share with you that when I decided to cook this recipe...I honestly had NO idea what the heck polenta was or where in the world one would purchase it. My only hint was that it came in a 17 ounce tube. And so I ASSUMED it MUST be cold. But cold what? Well...that was the mystery. I set out for Safeway this afternoon, shopping list in hand with all of the necessary ingredients and I started in the produce section. No polenta. Next I hit the hot dog section (just in case!) and no polenta. From there I hit the natural foods and soy section. NO polenta. I did not find it with the chicken, red meats or fish sections either. Nor with the sour creams or yogurts or cheeses. I was starting to get worried. But then I hit the "specialty and gourmet" foods area there right by the deli area....and there it was. Sun Dried Tomato Polenta. It was that or Mushroom Polenta. And I HATE mushrooms. And so Sun Dried it was! I threw it in the cart and we were in business! I should add here that in addition to not knowing what the heck polenta was or what it was made from, I also have no idea if I or anyone else in my family would like it. But it looked pretty and it was in my Cooking Light magazine...and so...polenta it was going to be. Well, I cooked it all up and it was.....DELICIOUS!!! I mean...totally YUMMY! Score one for mommy! Hooray! The totally big kudos for this dish? It was way easy and super quick...even by my standards! This one we will definitely have again. What did the kiddos say? Well....Max didn't try it. He is running a pretty good fever tonight and is a bit nauseaus. He got a couple of immunizations yesterday and he has had a tough time with this set. So he stuck to plain old Ramen Noodles...not that he would really have tried this anyway! And Ben tried it. Loved the shrimp...but told me the bread stuff (aka Polenta) was just disgusting. Clara wasn't here tonight because she is with her friend Sophia again. Chris and I thought it was outstanding. This will DEFINITELY be fixed again in our house! And so...that's my announcement of the day! Aren't you so impressed?! Here's a picture of the culinary creation!

Back in the Swing of Things

Well...no doubt about it! School is BACK in session and life is CRAZY! I am exhausted beyond belief. Totally wiped out! I was SO in bed and snoring by 8;30 last night! YIKES! It seems I am living in the car again. That always seems to happen this time of year. This morning I got up really early (mostly because I was asleep so darned early last night!) and so I was on my treadmill before 6 a.m. and got in a nice 5 mile run this morning. Then I had to shower, make lunches and get all of my little ones out the door. I dropped Ben and Clara off and then came home instead of going on to the gym like i usually do. My back was killing me for some reason and so I spent a fair amount of time trying to get that straightened out and stretched a bit. And after a little while I did feel better. Then there was laundry to tackle and work to do, a house to straighten up, dishes to be dealt with and just a ton of stuff laying around all out of place. I got all of that under control (though you would never know that it was neat now that the kids came home!) and I had to go and sign Maxwell out of school early because he had an appointment for a physical today. Well, a good report and two shots later he was all clear to leave and so we went to Keva Juice (that's the standard treat for shot days!) and then we had to pick up Clara from Jackie's since she had gotten Clara and Ben for me from their school. I dropped Max and Clara off at the house and was home a whole almost 30 minutes, and then I had to go and pick up Ben from his art class. I got him all picked up and was again, home almost a whole 30 minutes before Ben's friend called and asked him to come over and play. SOOOOOO, back in the car again and I dropped him off. I now get to be home for about an hour and then I am heading to our church tonight for a conversational spanish class. I am having some pretty serious doubts about being able to hang with that class with so much going on. I am so tired I don't know if I am coming or going sometimes. I nearly fell asleep last night in the middle of Ben's 5th grade orientation. Tomorrow promises to be equally as busy!

On other notes...the picture business has been quite good here lately. Lots of appointments and lots of good stuff being turned out. I am still trying to work through this baby lighting thing. I keep thinking I've got it...and then the smallest change seems to just totally screw me up. I did a family of 5 the other day with a two week old baby. And it just was OFF the whole time. Part of it was that mom wanted the pics done...however, the REST of the family was VERY ANTI pictures. Apparently, just before baby was born they had had a photographer come to the house and do maternity family pics before their family grew. And apparently it was a LONG session at about 3 hours! WHEW! And you thought I took a lot of pictures!!!! Anyway...her crew had not forgotten that whole episode and they were less than excited about working with me. I have to say that that did NOTHING for my nerves or my comfort zone. Well, their pissy uncooperative attitudes did manage to turn out my poorest set of pictures with these lights yet. NO website material in that batch for sure! And I was left feeling VERY frustrated over the whole experience. AND SO...I'm just not sweating it anymore. I am moving on. That's easy to do today because TODAY the rest of my Christmas props arrived! HOORAY! So now I have new fun things to start playing with and practicing with for Christmas to see just how I want to shoot it! I will be recruiting a couple of families in here to play with positioning these props, etc. I am very excited. I just need a few days to catch my breath...and then I can get on that!

The kids seem to be adjusting back into the school schedule well. Maxwell is employing every single homework avoidance technique he can think of. So far today I have heard "I'm thirsty" and "I need some ibuprofen for my arm I got my shots in." and "I just needed to come down and get some gum." Hmmmm. It's always something with that kid of mine. Ben is LOVING the 5th grade (which is TOTALLY new for us!) and Clara is in her happy place amidst the excitement and fun of first grade. For the most part, it all seems to be going well and smooth. Now...we haven't done our parent conferences yet...and they don't really know our kids too well yet. So there is still plenty of time for things to go south! But for now...it looks good!

What else? Well...I am thinking that's about all we have time for right about now. I need to jump off of here and go and attempt to restore some order to this house....again! You got to love the pace of the school year!

Turning Six

Our baby girl turned six this past Wednesday. It has been a whirlwind of a week! Clara woke up bright and early on her birthday anticipating all of her presents and the celebrations of the day. She was ecstatic to open a big horse for her Generation Girl doll and some new clothes for her webkinz puppy. Then it was off for a half day of school. I signed her out at noon to take her to a special birthday lunch and then she had a doctor's appointment. Our kids ADORE our pediatrician and it is a huge treat for Clara to get to see her ON her birthday! Dr. Villar does such a grand job of making Clara feel SO special and important on those birthday visits. They exchange gifts. Clara always brings Dr. Villar books for her exam rooms that she no longer reads and Dr. Villar always has a little treat bag for Clara. I could never ever ask for a better pediatrician than the one that we are blessed with now!


We celebrated Clara's birthday officially on Saturday with a party at Bedroxx Bowling. She was SO excited to be there with all of her best little girlfriends. There were 10 little girls total and they all had such a good time. They bowled and cheered one another on. Clara LOVED seeing her picture come up on the screen over and over again. Then we headed into the party room for pizza and hot dogs and cake and ice cream. And of course....presents! Again, Clara was blessed with so many sweet and thoughtful gifts from her friends! She got the cutest new little dance leotard! And a Ken Barbie doll (which she was SO happy about!). And a new webkinz and a really neat storybook making kit. There were polly pockets and dolly clothes and Barbie clothes design sets and cool tote bags. She got another Barbie whose dress flips over and transforms into another fancier dress and she sings all sorts of cool songs. That one was a big hit for sure! There were other goodies too. She was so showered with special things. It really was a fantastic day for her. The only down side of the whole day was that she was not feeling well at all. She was feverish and pumped full of motrin and tylenol. She has been running a fever and had a sore throat and headache since Thursday afternoon. She actually was in urgent care early that morning before her party to make sure that she didn't have strep throat. They said she was not streppy...so that was good. Just viral. And so she just pushed through it. Now it is Sunday morning and she still is not feeling well. Still feverish. Still headachy and still sore throat. Bless her little heart. We just aren't kicking this one too quickly. So we are being VERY quiet and resting today in hopes of being able to return to school tomorrow!





And so...now we are caught up!

Jacob

On Friday afternoon I had the fantastic privilege of photographing the Pusch Ridge Football JV and Varsity teams. It was such a good time and that is such a nice group of young men. They were SUCH good sports about being out in the middle of a scorching hot field all dressed up in their pads and uniforms saying "Cheese" for me! For the most part I was quite happy with the way the pictures turned out. This one is of our good friend, Jacob. His picture was one of my favorites. Partly because it was just a great picture and partly because I marvel at how much I have seen this kid grow over the past 3 years. I mean...WOW! I originally posted his picture here so his mom could see it since her e-mail kept kicking it back to me! But now that it is here...I like it and I just thought that I should let you in on who this awesome young man is!

The Sound of Silence

It's a beautiful thing! The house is absolutely dead quiet. Not a sound. No t.v., no video games, no chatting Clara, no fighting kids, no Guitar Hero blasting in the family room. NOTHING! Just total and absolute silence. As I sit surveying all of this blissful quiet I declare it to be a good thing. No...a VERY good thing. You simply can't realize how divine it is....until you simply don't have it for 3 months. And then...like a cool, refreshing drink after a long hot walk through the desert...you get it. And it's just this amazing and nearly deafening sound of....nothing. I am in a very good place with this new found quiet today!


The morning started off bright and early. Max was the first to head out the door, catching his bus right about 7:40. Then it took an AWFUL lot to convince Clara that it was most certainly NOT time to head right out the door with her because her school didn't start for another hour. She was quite difficult to convince! I nearly drove her down there just so she could see the LOCKED gates and obvious absence of children and parents and cars and life! Finally I convinced her to chill out and I made myself a quick breakfast of eggs. (Yuck! I hate eggs in the morning. Talk about a challenge for me!) THEN it was time to take Ben and Clara. Oscar came along too and I dropped him off at Chris' mom's house while I got the kids all settled. That worked out REALLY well because the school was NUTS and there was NO parking and cars were parked along the street as far as the eye could see. TOTAL CRAZINESS! Clara made a beeline for her classroom and barely looked back as she said goodbye. No seperation anxiety from that girl of mine! Ben was horrified that I walked him in to class. He is WAY too old for that kind of crap was the definite sense I got from his huffy attitude and rolling eyes! But I walked him anyway so that I could let his teacher know about his recent surgery and his activity restrictions. Once that matter was settled, I returned to Jackie's to fetch Oscar and he was off to the groomer! And so...with all three kids off at school and Oscar off to the doggie day spa....well that left me free to hit the gym...or do about any of a million other things! However....last year, on the first day of school, I blew off the gym and went shopping and doing other things instead and managed to break my toe within the first hour of my new freedom. I decided not to even attempt anything other than trying to beat this body of mine into submission. Plus...I was so darned sore from my workout on Tuesday that I was thinking doing that class again might help work some of the soreness out. I did the class. It was just as hard today as it was on Tuesday...parts of it even harder! But I DID feel better when it was all said and done. AFter the gym, I had to run by Ritz camera and pick up my polarizer lens that I had ordered. Then I swung by the grocery and then on to get Oscar from his glamour session.

And now I am sitting here in this blissful quiet, catching up on some work, watching Oscar wander around the house looking for the kids (he just cant seem to figure out where they are hiding!) and just enjoying this first day of the school year. Life is so very lovely!

9.5 Hours and Counting!

Well! Tomorrow is the "Big Day"! The one I have been dreaming of since....oh...May 22nd or so! Tomorrow is the first day of the 2008-2009 school year! Hallelujah!!! I am SO excited. Tomorrow morning will find all three of my kiddos in new clothes and squeaky new shoes with shiny new packpacks and virgin lunchboxes that have never seen the inside of the school cafeteria! They will all be dispatched, according to their designated timeslots, off to the wild new adventures this current school year has in store for them! I am SO happy. I am practically trembling with joy and excitement as I sit here typing this tonight! Ahhhh! Even Oscar has a morning appointment away from the house! He is meeting with his groomer for an intensive day at the doggie spa! Life is good! In anticipation of such a miraculous and special day, I purchased....are you ready for this?.....NEW TOILET BRUSHES!!!! Yes! I have HUGE housecleaning plans for tomorrow! Not only will I clean it...but it will STAY that way for a WHOLE 4 to 6 hours! WOW!!!!! It's kind of one of those events you need to stop and have a moment of silence over! I led our family in prayer tonight when we had our evening meal. My prayer was full of thanksgiving for the wonderful summer that we all shared and that it all flew by so blessedly quickly! I prayed for the schools tomorrow as they open up their doors to all of these sweet students and I especially prayed for the teachers who would be blessed with my own three special and endearing children! We proceeded to enjoy a wonderful steak dinner by candlelight to celebrate the start of the school year. Clara was VERY excited...but I have to say the Max met our celebration meal with a bit of skepticism and negativity. Obviously he was not sharing the celebratory vibes that I was generating. Or, it could have been the green beans that were on his plate...or the combination of the two! Anyway...I had a WONDERFUL dinner and am just sitting here tonight VERY, very excited about tomorrow! And so....here's to the 2008-2009 school year! May it be wonderful and wonderfully blessed! CHEERS!!!!

Clara and Chris share a "happy hug" as we begin our feast of celebration!

On the flip side, Max is not at all amused by the festivities or convinced that he has ANY reason to celebrate ANYTHING!!!

Ahhhh! The feast! Big juicy steaks, a cool fresh salad with yummy blue cheese dressing and thai green beans! Delicious!

Dinner Table Dialogue

I just love dinner time at our house. We try very hard to sit down as a family and share the evening meal together always. It doesn't always work...but we try. It's the time we get to chat with our children about their day and their activities, their friends, their adventures, their dreams and goal and hopes and ambitions. (Okay...I might be getting a little carried away there. Crossed into Dreamland for a few seconds! Got to love a mother's dreams and fantasies though, right?!) Tonight, pasta was on the menu. On the bright side, noone immediately asked for another alternative. Noone claimed not to be hungry. And no one declared that the evening meal was another child abuse attempt. So that was all good. As we all settled into our meals the conversation took off and there was lively banter all about. I noticed Maxwell devour his bread through all of this and then simply push his pasta around on his plate. Just like last night, I reminded him that I had cooked...and therefore, not eating would simply not be tolerated. Tonight, I switched us to a whole wheat pasta. I rather liked it. And it was when I asked Chris if HE liked it that I realized that Maxwell had decided that I had burned the pasta and was not digging it. Whole wheat pasta is, after all, brown. I should mention here, that Maxwell thinks my cooking is bad. Not because it is. I cook just fine. I don't like to cook really...but I am perfectly capable and can cook plenty of yummy things. But if what you happen to be cooking comes in a crockpot, involves any vegetables, or fish or chicken in any form other than a nugget...well...it's gross. Maxwell had a friend over today and Max offered him a brownie that I had just taken out of the oven. They were one of those pre-made...just throw it in the oven and bake brownie trays. I like to have them on hand for a quick, warm treat without all the mess. At first, his friend said "No thanks". And then I hear MY SON tell his friend "Don't worry...they are good. My mom didn't make them." WHAT!!!?????!!!! Honestly. The abuse I suffer from my children! I will just go on record here by saying that I bake a damn fine brownie, thank you very much. Anyway, at that point I realized that my son has very little faith in my ability to prepare anything good and delicious. And so...he was eyeing my pasta dinner tonight...totally convinced that my lack of cooking skills had again, claimed another good meal since the pasta was brown. I told him it was simply a whole wheat pasta. At that point Clara suggested that maybe he was better off with broccoli than with pasta. (See previous post for the highlights on that one!). Maxwell, at that point suggested that maybe Clara should have a knuckle sandwich. Okay. Cue the parents stepping in and reminding them about speaking in love and kind words and building one another up...not tearing each other down. It's like they totally just didn't hear us. Clara quickly responds with "You think you got a knuckle sandwich for me? I'll give you a knuckle sandwich...." The love was palpable. And thus, the mommy fantasy where her family indulges in a delicious, nutritious, satisfying meal while sharing their hopes and dreams for the future and enjoying some good natured humor...well...NOT HAPPENING! So much for that insane dream! I do believe it's the thing of t.v. land!

On another note totally not related to anything...I am so tired tonight. I did the new Bodypump release today at the gym and my butt was officially kicked. By the time that class was over, my chest muscles were DEAD thanks to way too many push ups. My shoulders were dead due to too many pushups after the chest pushups. My triceps were screaming thanks to tricep dips after too many grueling tricep presses. My butt was TOTALLY seized up after some major stability lunges. And I thought I might need a medic to come and get me off the floor before it was all said and done! Can't wait until Thursday so I can do it again!

It's a new day tomorrow. Body Combat is on the schedule. I SO love this class!!! Then I get to have my teeth cleaned. Oh hooray and yippy skippy! How special for me! Max starts guitar lessons again tomorrow night...and THEN!!!!!! It's off to bed with everyone for the first day of school on Thursday! Stay tuned!

You Try To Be a Good Mom...

But sometimes your kids just don't appreciate it or recognize the love and effort that went into it. For instance....tonight...I cooked. That's right. I COOKED! I mean...I'm in a pretty darned good mood. School starts in...what's that?! Only 3 more days?! Not that I am counting or anything...but really...I so totally am! It's that magical and wonderful time of year. The smell of freshly sharpened pencils is in the air. Along with the squeak of brand new shoes and the sound of new zippy backpacks! Ahhhh yes. One of my most favorite times of the year. My sanity is just within reach...right there over the Thursday, August 7th, 8:45 a.m. horizon! The anticipation is palpable! And so...since I was in such a good mood I decided to cook a nice, balanced and nutritious dinner for my little family. I had visions of them walking into the kitchen and saying things like "That smells delicious Mom!" and "Yum! When do we eat?!" What I got was..."Fish...ooooh gross. I'm not hungry." and "Can I have something else?" . But my good mood was not to be deterred. I stuck to my guns. The only compromise I made was in baking a simpler and plainer fish fillet for my kids than what Chris and I were enjoying. The moment arrived. Clara and Ben devoured their broccoli, grilled veggies and fish...while Max sat and gave us the death stare. Now. I knew at this point that my mommy vision was less than likely to come to fruition. We were at an all out standoff. Max was determined to resist the vegetable movement and I was equally determined that he would embrace them and love the vegetables as I do. Shall I end my post here and leave you hanging?!

Well...the games began. The threats began. I informed Maxwell that I had cooked (he's not a dumb child and he knows that this fact alone carries significant weight) and that I fully expected him to eat it. And not only did I expect him to eat it, I expected no vomit episode to be involved (like Sunday afternoon lunch) and that I also fully expected a "Thank You Mom for the lovely dinner" compliment at the end. We had a terrific stare down and this is how dinner progessed.

One yummy, nutricious and delicious meal for my main man Max!


"Fine! If I don't try to eat this crap my mom is gonna kill me!"

"Oh Geez! It's so much grosser than I expected! Uggggh! Disgusting!"

"I think I'm gonna be sick!"

"Oh man, my life totally sucks! I think I'm gonna hurl!" "Oh! And I hate my mom!"

"You know Mom, when the javelinas come and eat your plants, they only eat like the very tops of your flowers. Just from here up. Why can't I just eat that part too??"

"Well, Because Max...YOU are NOT a javelina! Eat your dad gum broccoli or there are NO video game priviledges for a MONTH!!!!!" "Go ahead. PUSH ME on this issue and see how it turns out for you!"

Suddenly, that glass of water is VERY, very special and like, the BEST water EVER in the state of ARIZONA!


FINAL SCORE???? Mom-1 Max-0
He ATE it!