Surprises

I found these on my camera.

I bet you could guess who left me those little treasures before you even got to that last one of giant baby.  I hope you enjoyed those as much as I did.

Now, I wonder if Theodore knows where I can find my remote control...

It’s Friday. Wear yellow. For teachers.

The following is a repost from a blog titled "Warren's Piece."  I don't know Warren, but I like his writing.  This is a good read.  Check it out.  And if you want to read more from Warren, click here: http://warrenhanson.blogspot.com/

In a few days it will be Friday again. I will go to the gym, as I do every weekday. Shortly after I arrive, my friend Don will come in. He will be wearing red. He will survey the rest of us, nodding cordial greetings to anyone else wearing red. When he comes to me, he will greet me politely, but with a slight air of disapproval. I do not wear red on Fridays.

The first time this happened, I didn’t know what to make of it. After a couple of weeks, I asked someone. “It’s to show support for our troops.” Don is retired military, and supporting our troops is important to him, as it should be to all of us. Being in the military is brave and dangerous work.

But I don’t think my wearing a red shirt to the gym gives any tangible support to our troops. It doesn’t send them food or birthday cards. Or supply them with gear. Or give them rest when they are weary. I don’t believe that one person in the military would benefit one bit from my wearing red on Friday. I don’t think they know whether I wear red or not. If I wore a red shirt to the gym, it wouldn’t be to support our troops. It would be to support Don.

So why have I decided to start wearing yellow on Fridays?

I’m going to do it to show my support for another group that does brave and dangerous work. Teachers.

Teachers are just as important to our national security as soldiers. Maybe more important. Every person in our military has had the help and support of dedicated and hard-working teachers. We all got that help and support, whether we are in the military or not.

But our teachers are under attack. They are being blamed for all the ills of our educational system. Their budgets are being cut. Their workloads are increasing. Their ability to do their jobs well is being stripped away. Many are losing their jobs entirely. And every single one of the attackers is the beneficiary of dedicated and hard-working teachers in their own lives.

One high school English teacher whom I know (quite well) had a wooden barstool near her desk where she would often sit to give her lectures. One day one of her students, displeased with being asked to pay attention, picked up that heavy barstool and threw it across the room, hurled a thick textbook against the wall, then glared at the teacher and snarled, “You’re goin’ down!” The teacher reported the behavior and sent the kid to the office for the standard disciplinary regimen. The next day, back in school as though nothing had happened, he smirked at this teacher as he passed her in the hallway. As I said, brave and dangerous work.

Our teachers need our support just as much as our troops do. Maybe more. It’s just my own opinion, of course, but, hey, it’s my blog. I can opine as I wish.

So I’m starting my own way of showing that support. I’m going to wear yellow on Fridays. I like yellow. It’s bright. Positive. Like sunshine. I think that’s a good metaphor for what teachers give us.

This Friday I will be wearing a yellow t-shirt to the gym. Nobody will probably notice, though Don will notice that, once again, I will not be wearing red.

Later that day I will be meeting with an elementary school librarian (a vanishing breed), and I will be wearing yellow. She probably won’t notice either. But if she asks, I’ll say, “It’s to remind me to thank you for what you do.”

Wearing yellow won’t do anything tangible for our teachers. It won’t reimburse them for the supplies they pay for out of their own pockets. It won’t give them back the evenings and weekends they spend grading papers at home. Teachers will not noticeably benefit. They won’t even know I’m doing it.

I don’t expect anyone else to join me in wearing yellow on Fridays. I won’t give anyone dirty looks for not following suit. This is for me. Every time I put on that yellow shirt, it will remind me (as if I need reminding) that teachers matter. And they have my support. Every day.

Spring Break: Days Three, Four, and Five

I've been so busy enjoying my Spring Break, I haven't had time to blog about it since Tuesday.  So, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Wednesday:

I spent Wednesday night laughing and catching up with my dear, old (and by "old" I mean, known-her-since-birth) friend, Jenny.  I love how we can go 3 months or 13 years without seeing each other and we just pick up right where we left off.  I can thank facebook for bringing her back into my life a little over a year ago.  She graduates from college in May and is moving back home for good, so I am looking forward to many more nights together like Wednesday night.  I just love that girl.

I spent Thursday antiquing in the Heights with my very best friend, Rebecca.  We found this wonderful little antique shop that specializes in rare, old books.  I found a treasure in the form of a children's song book that was published in 1880.  It looks great on top of my piano that nobody in my household knows how to play!  Thursday was fun and laid back, as most of my time with Becky tends to be.

Thursday night, Becky and Joe and their girls came over to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with us.  We had our yearly corned beef and cabbage with Irish soda bread and "green coke."  I hate that I did not take any pictures of this event.  Well, I did get this one.  Happy Birthday Joe!

Friday was spent "zoo-ing!"

That's a stork behind us.  This picture seemed appropriate.  :)

Oh and these guys were there too...

It's been a wonderful week and we still have a full weekend ahead of us.  I love Spring Break!

Spring Break: Day Two

1 pizza + 4 cokes + 75 tokens = 2 hours of playtime, 4 happy children, 1 good long naptime, and 1 happy momma!  That's that new math right there.

Spring Break: Day One

I am getting a little ahead of myself.  I have yet to blog about last week's Open House at the boys' school, where Alfred was in the 3rd grade program and I took 101 pictures.  Or about Heidi's baby shower that I gave yesterday.  But I wanted to tell about the afternoon I had out with Charlotte today.  And I warn you now, it's very likely that I am the only person in the world interested in this story.  But that is probably true for all of my blog posts!  I do love this little blog of mine.

First, because of yesterday's baby shower, the one I will write about later, our house is practically model home clean. The only messy room left in the place was Charlotte's room, so we straightened and organized all her toys today.  And while I was in the middle of my OCD mania, (I mean, spring cleaning) I finally cleaned out all her clothes that she has outgrown.  I've been needing to do that for weeks.  So, Baby Girl was left with 2 outfits, 2 dresses, about 4 sets of pajamas, about 8 pairs of shoes and a whole lot of empty closet space!  (I know.  EIGHT pairs of shoes.  A girl can never have too many shoes.  Am I right?)  I called up my friend Mandy, and gave her Charlotte's entire 4T wardrobe.  Yay for Emerson and Harper!  Boo for Charlotte! 

So, we went shopping.

First stop: Payless.  She may have 8 pair of shoes, but no white ones.  And no flip flops.  Charlotte loves shopping for shoes.  That's probably part of the reason she has so many.  After Payless, we went to Kohl's.  The entire way to the store, Charlotte was very confused about where we were headed, because "Wal-Mart has plenty of clothes."  That's my girl.  Once we got to Kohl's, Charlotte was in heaven.  There was a whole wall of night gowns!  If you know my daughter, you know why that would be so exciting to her!  My girl would wear nothing but night gowns and jammies, if we let her.  But they kind of look at you funny at church...

Anyway, long story short, here's her new wears.

And the first thing she wanted to do when we got home was put on her new jammies and watch a movie in her bed.  She said to me (hours later, at dinnertime), "Momma, I am so tired of shopping."  It's not even 8:00 yet and she is in bed for the night!  My girl knows how to shop till she drops!

Oh!  And she asked my why her night gown has a "curtain" on it!  I just laughed and told her it's supposed to make it extra pretty.  She liked that.  And she liked that her night gown came with a magic wand too. 

So, I think I am with Charlotte.  It is time for my jammies and some TV time.  Goodnight all!  More Tales of Spring Break tomorrow...

Spring Break

Spring Break is here!  Yay!  That is all.

Theodore's (sort of) Birthday

My baby turned three over a week ago.  I hope you haven't been holding your breath.  If so, breathe deep.  Here it is...

Theodore is a leapling.  When I was pregnant with him, I hoped and wished that he'd be born on Leap Day, just because I thought it was cool.  Apart from Oliver sharing a birthday with Elvis, my other children have perfectly regular birthdates.  Some say that I willed myself into labor.  I don't think I am quite that strong willed, but it is still pretty cool to have a leapling.  It made me a little sad on his first birthday when I didn't get to have that special one minute celebration right at the time he was born, as I had done with the other three.  Okay, that's a hyperbolous statement.  (Is hyperbolous a word?)  On Alfred's exact one year old to the minute birthday, I was right in the middle of cleaning up his baby puke in the back seat of my car.  Not really a celebration by anyone's standards.  But I digress...

We created a series of birthday traditions with Alfred and followed suit with the other three children.  The first birthday was a home party.  The second was at McDonalds, and the third, Chuck E Cheese.  After that, they are all different.  Once you turn four, you tend to have your own opinions about how to spend your birthday.  So, without further ramblings, I give you cute pictures of Theodore's third birthday at Chuck E Cheese.  I hope you are sitting down.  This kid is cute!

My boy loves to "play bowling."  I am not sure where he gets his strategy from...

Okay.  So maybe I do.  His good looks isn't the only thing he gets from his Daddy.

His honored guests.

Yes.  Those are homemade, sprinkled coated cupcakes.  Did I mention I am super mom?  Just ask Theodore.  He'll tell you.

I love that face.

Oh and the candles were (accidentally) relighting candles.  Those were fun.  And his confused little face was precious.  I was laughing too much to get a picture of that!

He was all about dancing with Chuck E and friends.

The obligatory photo op.

I love this picture.  Does that boy mean business or what?!

And now some birthday present pictures that would probably only be interesting to those who attended.  And well, they lived it...  But here they are anyway!

I think this was the only arcade thing Theodore did the whole day other than his favorite "play bowling."

Oh, and the funny story I promised in my earlier post...  We decided that since there was no February 29th this year and Theodore had no idea he was even turning three, that we'd surprise him with his party.  We got all the way to Chuck E Cheese.  Daddy whispered in his ear, "You're three now."  He looked at Daddy, then at me, put both fists in the air and quietly said, "Yesss!!!"  It was adorable!

So there you have it folks.  That was the big day.  Fun was had by all.  My baby is not so much of a baby anymore.  But you know, he's such a fun little guy, that I think I am okay with finally putting the baby stage behind us.

I love you, Theodore.  You make life fun, surprising, and a little bit (okay, a lot) tiring everyday.  And boy, do you make me smile.  I can't wait to see what more you have in store for us in all the birthdays to come.  Happy Birthday Big Guy.

Coming Soon...

My baby turned 3.  One of these days (very soon!) I will post pictures and a cute story about that day.  But for now, I must stare at the TV until I fall asleep.  It's been one of those days.  Stay tuned, dear readers...

Update:  I just spent the last hour trying to understand twitter to no avail.  I don't think I am going to sign up to tweet.  That is an hour of my life I will never get back.  Instead of all that, I could have had that birthday post done.  Maybe I can still fit in a episode of Grey's Anatomy tonight.  Maybe cute pictures tomorrow...