A glimpse into Aaron's life.

Broken record moment: Aaron works 3rd shift.  I worked third shift last night too...8pm-6am pulling tags and putting up new ones.  I was okay until around 4:30 when my ipod batter died and I took a little break.  Bad idea-stopping made me realize my head was a little foggy.  Jake got to spend the night with our long time family friends (first time he has spent the night alone at a non-family members house.  But they really are family so I don't know if it counts or not) Sharon and Ron.  Sharon is my mom's best friend from high school and I grew up with her children.
I was excited to get home and get in bed for a nap/sleep but couldn't fall asleep.  When Aaron got home at 7:00 he gave me tip to read and it would make me fall right to sleep.  It didn't...I am at too good a part in Sense and Sensibility to fall asleep!  I finally gave up around 8:30 and slept, waking up every 15 minutes until 10:30 and I headed out to get the Jakester.  He had a great time with Sharon and Ron building with Lego's, playing Mario Kart, and using this very cool Crayola tracing thing-a-ma-gig from when Sharon's children were kids.  But he missed me and gave me about a million hugs and kisses when I got to their house. :)

Fast forward and it is almost 2pm and we have one of Jake's friends from church over until after Cub Scouts tonight.  His parents are chaperone's (sp?) at Youth Conference and we planned a couple of months ago to have him over a couple of times while they are gone so he could have a break from his 2 nieces under the age of 3. :)  Who knew it would fall on a day following my first time ever working 3rd shift.  I am glad I told BiLo I could work 2 days a week for the 3 weeks before going to Vermont (good gas money for the drive) so it could give me a glimpse into the sacrifice Aaron makes for our family 5 nights a week.  I told you he rocks.  My brain feels oddly empty and I don't feel like eating at all.  Maybe I should stay up all night more often.  I wouldn't ramble on all the time and I would have to lose some weight by not eating right?

Behind the times...

Why am I posting at 11 something at night?  Because I had to do a quick post to tell you: YOU MUST WATCH JERICHO...when I decided to check out a few other blogs I follow...An  hour later...You get the picture...When Aaron left for work at 9:00pm (I feel like a broken record, but just in case some one new happens upon my little blog: he works full time 3rd shift so he can go to school full time during the day.  He pretty much rocks.), I was laying on the couch with a headache wondering if I would be able to stay awake for the 2nd to last episode...Well, I did  stay awake and I watched the series finale too-AND IT WAS AWESOME.  I can't recall a show that ended as well as this one did.  I am sure there are tons of people that wouldn't agree, but I loved it.  Seriously, you need to watch this show!!!  It is so interesting and it makes you feel like if you looked out the window this could actually be happening.  It would be horrible!-but it really makes you thankful for the Constitution, those who are willing to fight for it, and having our freedoms intact.  If you are patriotic you will love it.  If you like dramas that could be true to life, you will love it!  There is some violence but nothing to graphic.  I am NOT a lover of violent movies or shows and I could handle this. There are some "worldly" moments, but they aren't vulgar or anything like that.  It is a good representation of our society and the effects of poor decisions.  Don't you love how I am giving a review of a TV show that isn't even on TV anymore?  You all have probably already seen it and are wondering where I have been.  If so, what did you think of it?  If you haven't and you are still wondering why the title of this post is "Behind the times.." than just take a look at the date on this ad for Jericho's 2nd and final season:

Returns Fall of 2007...I am a little behind the times.  :)  I vaguely remember seeing the previews of this, wanting to watch it, and for whatever reason we didn't.  We probably missed the first episode or something...That was back before we had a DVR and this is the kind of series that you must watch all the episodes to really be able to follow it.

Thank you Netflix's for bringing me up to date.  Thank you Norb and Elizabeth for introducing us to Netflix. :) Thank you Aaron for working 3rd shift and having down time so you could be bored and find this show to watch.   I am going to bed now, and plan on going to bed early for a week to make up for staying up late and watching all 29 episodes in a week and a half...What can I say? After almost 14 years of marriage it is hard to go to sleep alone.  I have no problem sleeping once I get in bed-it is the getting in bed part. :)  Have fun at work Aaron.  I think I stay up late partly out of guilt that I know you aren't able to sleep...You are the best.  But I am not going to lie:  I also couldn't go to sleep until I could barely keep my eyes open because I just had to see what would happen next! :)  Watch it. You will love it.

We really didn't forget Father's Day, I swear...

...I just forgot to post about it.  And we forgot (didn't forget just didn't make a priority...) to get cards in the mail to Papa G. and Papa Harmon-but we did talk to them on the phone.  Happy (late) Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

We started the celebration on Saturday by surprising Aaron with 2 of his favorite things:

1. Sweet and Sour chicken from his favorite local Chinese restaurant and
2. A blueberry cheesecake milkshake from a little drive-thru hamburger joint called Cookout.

I went to pick Jake up from his friend Corey's house after a day of swimming (yes I was jealous) and we picked them up on the way home.

We also let him do this since he:

Going to school full time and working 3rd shift full time is not much fun. (The little blue rug is for Sadie.  When we are sitting on the couch and she sits down next to it for us to pat her, she slides around on the hardwood floors.  How spoiled is that mutt?  Ruining the decor of the living room with an old blue bathmat just so she can sit her furry bum down without sliding all over the place.)

The next day I made 2 more of his favorite things:

1. Homemade rolls and

2. Homemade chocolate cookies.

So, you see we didn't forget Aaron.  Jake even wrote a song and played it on the piano for Aaron.  Thank you Aaron for all you do for our family.  Jake said it best one time when he said: "Daddy makes too many sacrifices for this family."  At first I didn't know how to respond, but then I just told him that is what good Daddies do and yours is the best.  Thank you Aaron. I love you.

A very long catch up and a brain declutter. (I am not proofreading this-just warning you...)

It seems like forever since I have posted!  Did you miss me?  I wasn't really gone.  I was at home enjoying FREEDOM!  We have had a fun time getting ready to home school, going to the park, playing the Wii, working on a project....We have been busy doing nothing and it has been FUN.  I am going to just make this a MASSIVE picture and brain declutter extraordinaire!  (I warned you ahead of time so don't be surprised when you see just how long this is...this is what happens when I don't post for a while. This could probably be about 5 separate posts...)

*I have mentioned before I am a Yankee (born and raised in NH), but I consider myself a converted Southerner (except when it is really hot and I wish I wasn't....).  Well, I often wish I had an accent like Paula Dean, but I don't think it will every happen.  What I am getting at, is that the other day we were watching something on the History channel or Discovery channel  (2 of our fav's...I also love Fox News and HGTV) and a Southerner said "thang" instead of  "thing" and I was instantly mesmerized...Not enough to remember who it was or what it was on apparently, but I really wanted to sound like that.  It wasn't a redneck or uneducated accent like people who don't live in the South think it is.  It was a civilized "thang"...Maybe one day I will get my wish and have a Southern accent...I girl can dream right?

*Jake was playing his recorder the other day and decided to write a song.  It took him about 10 minutes and was really AWESOME.  I am so impressed.  I told him that he could probably play it on the piano (which he wants to learn to play and is going to when Nee get home to teach him us.).  So, we sat down at the piano and I found the notes and he played it.  It really is a great song.  He played it on Father's Day for Aaron and Papa G.  He decided he wanted to wait and surprise Papa Harmon by playing it for him live on their piano, when we go down to Spartanburg some time soon. So, Nana don't tell.

*While I am typing this post Aaron is teaching Jake to play the guitar and they are writing down all the cords in a notebook for him to practice.  I told Jake the other day that when he was writing his song and playing it on the piano that, that was homeschooling.  He didn't believe me, but I asked him: have you ever written a song before?  (No)  Are you learning the first few notes on the piano (Yes).  That is learning!  It is educating yourself and finding your talents.  He was pretty psyched to think that an education is not just worksheets.  :)  I am excited too. 

*The other day while I was doing something (dishes or something...), I heard some noise coming from Jake's room and when I went down the hall to see what it was this is what I saw:

What is it you ask?  A club house of course!  This happened to be the day we thought maybe we would put Sadie's crate in Jake's room to see if she would start sleeping in there.  The night before she slept in his room, (not in her crate just on the floor...she has a nice comfy dog bed but choices to sleep on the hard floor?) but she peed on the floor!  I think she was nervous or something because she didn't know what to think when we shut her in there and Jake said she was pacing for a while.  She never pee's on the floor any more...Except today when we put a rug back down that she peed on a couple times when she was tiny, so we put it up until she was potty trained.  Fast forward a couple of months with no peeing....She pees in Jake's room and then pees on the rug we literally just put back out...Any way...back to the story.  This is what was going on in the club house:
Jake rediscovered his dress up clothes and was sharing them with Sadie.

I like to call him "Obi-wan-ca-Jakey" when he puts this old Halloween costume on, but he had another name for himself that I can't remember at the moment...He wants to post some pic's on his blog too so he will probably tell you on there what his name was....
****BY THE WAY**** Did that get your attention?  His blog has changed to: jake-myschool.blogspot.com and it is not private after all.  Aaron thought it was fine to be public since I talk all about him on my blog anyway...Good point...So, if I sent you an invite to the old one, just forget all about it and go to this one from now on...Back to the regularly scheduled post. :)

He got hot and changed.  Can I even tell you what a joy it has been to watch Jake play and enjoy himself again?  It seemed any time we played before it was in a hurry because we had to do homework or get to bed since it is a school night.

*I forgot to mention Jake has been lucky enough to go to a b-day pool party and to a  friends house who has a pool in his neighborhood?  He is a fish and loves the water like I do.  That just popped in my head for some reason...Probably because I really want to go swimming...

*This is a picture of Jake reading from an awesome new collection of books a friend of mine from church brought to Cub Scouts to see if Jake wanted them.  She got them a the school she works at and thought her kids would like them.  They didn't...at all and since Jake had excitedly told her at Church (she is our Primary pianist) that he was going to be homeschooled she thought she would bring them to someone who would appreciate them.  And he does!  They are so cool and it is the whole set A-Z talking about cultures in different countries.   On a completely unrelated note (I can do that because I am brain decluttering...) see the peach he is eating?  I told Aaron I got peaches and he excitedly went to eat one and then informed we they weren't real peaches.  We are used to the peaches that are almost the size of a softball, that are so juicy you have to eat them outside because the juice drips down your arm all the way to your elbows...I wish I had one right now...Which makes me think of one other quick thing...Nana, Jake thinks you are very tough.  (Why did that make me think of Nana?  Because you get those awesome peaches in SC and there are awesome peach stands off the highway on the way to Nana and Papa Harmon's house....See how randomly my brain works...)  Any way.  Nana has a broken foot right now and went a week after hurting it before she went to the doctor to get it checked out.  So, in Jake's book you have to be tough to walk around on a broken foot for a week...In my book too, now that I think about it.  Jake stubbed his pinky toe today and said if it is broken (it's not...) than he will just be tough like Nana.  Just thought you would like that Nana. :)...

*Here is Jake working on his first homeschooling project.  We aren't "officially" starting until July 5th because July 1st is when we can start taking attendance according to the county we live in.  This is a project that Jake decided to do on his own, just because he wanted to.  That makes me a happy camper. :)

This is what it looks like so far.  It is a report on Black Mamba snakes, which happen to be the most dangerous snake, but not the most poisonous.  Jake will have to explain all that to ya.  He learned it in his research and it is all pretty cool if you like that kind of stuff.  Jake some how became a big snake fan and I am not sure how...The pattern on the poster is an extreme close up on the what a black mamba's scales look like.  Pretty cool huh?  I was excited because he let me help. :)

Aaron serenaded us while we painted.  He of course would not look at the camera, since he is a PTPP (picture taking party pooper).

Sadie just hung out looking all cute like she does.

So cute Jake couldn't resist playing with her and a few days later the project has not moved any further along than printed pic's from the internet of black mamba's (that I was REALLY sick of looking at on the computer desk so I made him move them to his room), and a sheet with "fun facts".  Did you know there was such a thing as "fun facts" about snakes because none of it sounds fun to me....

*This is a park close to our house (we gave up on the ghetto park after we had to leave because several cop cars pulled into the parking lot with their lights on, to arrest a bunch of people in what was apparently a drug deal...And we had one of Jake's friends with us.  Luckily his grandmother understood when she came and picked him up...), that we LOVE.  We went twice in one day the end of last week.  Then we went back the next day again.  Jake made a couple of new friends and had a great time running around with them.  I had a great time not having to be the one running around and I painted my nails and cleaned out my purse while he played.  Actually it was the other way around.  I found the nail polish in my purse while cleaning it out and then I painted my nails.  We had to cut playing short (it had already been over an hour so they were getting tired since it was 9,000 degrees out) because one of the boys Jake was playing with a had teenage cousin who was playing too, that cussed a couple of times and then when he said "rape" and "hey my cousin tagged me and tried to touch my private parts!".  I don't think he was a child molester or anything like that.  I think he is just an idiot and doesn't know what is and is not appropriate to say around younger kids..  At any rate, I called Jake over and told him it was time to go, which he understood.  Sad isn't it?  I remember when I was little and  we used to play outside all day with our friends...It is a different world.  On a more positive note.  I showed Jake all the fun things we used to do on swings on the playground when I was a kid.  Like twist and swing at the same time.  Or hold onto each others chain and swing sideways together.  All those things he doesn't know about because he has never had swings at his schools because they are too dangerous.  And the last time we had a swing in our yard he was too little to show those things too. :)  I have heard more of my favorite Jake belly laughs in the past week than I have in a long time.

*This is Jake getting ready to roll the dice and pick what 5 states he is going to research first.  He decided he wants to start with geography, researching a few interesting people, and researching animals this summer.  Sounds good to me.  We are also going to be reading the Book of Mormon. 

Where ever the tiny little dice landed would be one of the states he would start with.  With exception of Florida and Texas, he just wanted to do those 2 first and he helped the dice land where it needed to land. :)

We were having a game day last Tuesday and took turns picking the games.  I love this card game called "5 State Rummy".  You have to get cards for 5 states that border each other.  While playing Jake decided he wanted to learn the states.

*We made Aaron blueberry streusel coffee cake one morning.  Don't be too impressed-it was out of a box.  But you can be impressed that I got if for almost free on sale plus my coupons...which I really need to cut out, I am so far behind...This is the best pic we could get with our resident PTPP.  Jake was concerned when we first started making it, that it had coffee in it, since the box said coffee cake.  I assured him it didn't and we enjoyed it's yumminess.

*This is a random picture of Jake playing Wii Fit Plus on our game day last week. (Out of order but I don't feel like moving it...)  He was doing the flying chicken one...It was much funnier than the picture makes it...

*I can't believe I haven't posted all this stuff already!!!  This is the very first lightening bug Jake caught of the season last week...I think it was on our game day last Tuesday...Yep it was because Sadie turned 6 months that day.  She goes to the vet on Thursday to get spade.

Sadie played with our neighbors dog "Bear" (he is the vicious looking one in the picture, but he really isn't...), while we caught lightening bugs.  Bear is Sadie's best dog friend.

I couldn't for the life of me get a shot of them running that wasn't blurry.  They are way to fast.  They ran from one yard to the next.  We don't have to worry one bit about Sadie running off if Bear is out to play with...If he isn't?  Forget about it-she is gone.  Little stinker...

Here is the mason jar filled with the bugs.  One lite up as I took the picture. :)

Love this sweaty headed boy.  Nee you can see your little bushes growing back in, in the back ground.

See all the little guys in there. Don't worry we let them all out before we went in for the night.

*Here is a where a picture of the Papa John's pizza we got the other night would be...but I can't put it up here because it is one of the pictures I took for the secret shop we did...don't tell them! You just order the pizza (you have to be approved to do it obviously...), answer some questions about the customer service. Take a few pictures of the pizza with your shopper number on it and you get a free pizza. This time it will cover the cost of the pizza, tip, and I get a $10 bonus because I haven't done it for a while and they really needed someone to do it. Did you know you could do that? It is the only time we order Papa John's. :)

*And last and definitely least...Did I mention that I dyed my hair "dark mahogany brown" about a week and a hal ago?  I have dark brown hair and I have been dying it for a few years because I am getting gray...I would have a skunk stripe on both sides of my face and they are starting to pop up other places throughout too...I usually just go with dark brown, but since I have red undertones anyway I decided to try the mahogany for a change. This is me waiting...

I got bored waiting for 30 minutes, when there was no one around (Jake was asleep and Aaron was at work) to distract me from the fact that I may look like a clown when I rinsed it out, so I took a picture of myself...That makes sense right?.. Can you tell by my facial expression how I am feeling about it? It was so much runnier than the regular dark brown and where I could see it on my forehead it was BRIGHT red...I have no after picture...yet.  I haven't really worn my hair down since because the roots are so red.  The rest of it looks pretty much like what it always looks like.  I am just waiting a couple of weeks to go back to my regular color.  After 4 days and 4 times washing my hair red dye was still coming out of my hair in the shower.  That never happens with the brown I use and it was the same brand.  So, I learned my lesson:  I will just stick with the color I've got...as long as it's not gray.  I am too young for gray...

Memorial Day, My B-day, Jake's a Bear, and Our Pool

We all had Memorial Day off this year which was so awesome! I have to admit I was reminiscing about our Memorial Day tradition in Asheville and really missing it this year...We used to go to Pisgah National Forest with a bunch of our good friends and play in the river and cook out.  We decided to do the cooking out part this year and Aaron cooked some ribs.  I am not a huge fan of ribs but my guys are so I was happy to eat a couple for my b-day celebration dinner.  My b-day wasn't until the next day, but Aaron had class and work that day which meant he wouldn't be home at all, so we celebrated a day early.  I got a ton of texts, phone calls, and Facebook happy b-days on Tuesday so I felt loved. Thanks everyone!  (I got so many emails saying I had messages on Facebook I decided I better go on...I am NEVER on Facebook.  I even got a couple of "Not sure why I am saying happy b-day here because you will never see it!"  messages on it.  I typed a little message saying thank you and I will most likely not be on until my next b-day if people are nice enough to do it again.  Why Facebook when you can blog?)

Aaron got cheesecake instead of cake because I LOVE IT!  It has become a fun tradition to look forward to.

Wednesday at Pack Meeting Jake got his Bear badge. Way to go dude!

All Jake's glasses are in serious need of some bending back in place.  We are going this week to have it done no matter what!  I can't take it any more...Take a look at the next pic and you will see what I mean....

They also worked together to see if they could catch water balloons in towels. :)

And last but not least for our week:  We bought a POOL!!!...For $10 at Walmart.  :)  It was in the 90's with HIGH humidity all week and we thought this would be a fun way to cool off for Sadie...and us too.

Sadie jumped around and splashed the water like crazy-she had a ball...Jake in the tiny pool with a dog who is going crazy...Not so much!  She acted like she was digging in the dirt or something which was pretty funny.  I kind of love Jake's face in this one. :)

Holding his breath since she was splashing water EVERYWHERE!

Jake was not loving it so much...This is his "Eye-yie-yie!" (how do you spell that?  I know it is Italian and we say it a lot...but never really thought about spelling it....You know what I mean right?), moment.  At least one of them was enjoying themselves.  Now when Sadie has been outside we have to check and see if we need to grab a towel before we can let her in. :)

That was pretty much our week...besides spending Thursday night going a project for AIG math that was so fun! Jake loves to research and do projects (he learned that love from me. I am so proud to have taught him so well!), and I think we will be using that love a lot in homeschooling. He doesn't even know he is homeschooling yet but he already want to do projects this summer on Black Beard the Pirate and Beethoven.  We are going to have so much fun homeschooling. :)

Don't drink the Kool Aid...

...That is Aaron's advice to me.  Remember the people in that cult a long time ago that all drank the Kool-Aid with poison in it and died because they were following what their leader told them to do?  I am heading it that direction as I am gearing up to home school.   I am trying to follow to the letter something that I think is going to work, but what if is doesn't?

Also, I  am not a perfect mom.  I have been known to lose it and raise my voice a little yell at times.  I have horrible follow through-I start things but have a hard time finishing them.  I have REALLY bad time management skills.  Jake and I are buddies and he can talk me into hanging out all day instead of cleaning or cooking.  Jake and I are a lot a like so sometimes we butt heads.  Jake is really smart when it comes to math...Me, not so much. 

The fear is creeping in.  I am becoming obsessed with a reading list.  I had a small breakdown when I learned that it is next to impossible to get one of the books on the suggested reading book list...I am scared.  My inner dialogue sounds something like this: "Can I do this?  I have to read EVER book on the suggested reading list in order to be able to do this...I am going to be able to do this whole "classic books" education?  I have just started reading the classics!  Do we need to look into a more structured curriculum?  Should I even be home schooling since I had to use spell check to spell curriculum right?????"  That is on a good day...

But, (I know you aren't supposed to start a sentence with but, but I do it all the time.  I write how I talk...) then I remember that there is no one better suited to teach my child than me.  I know him better than anyone.  I know that the school system is failing and that I have the best interest of my child in mind.  The school system does not, or they wouldn't be failing so miserably.  I will not drink the Kool-Aid.  I will not put all my eggs in one basket and assume it will work for my child.  I think the Thomas Jefferson Education is a great starting point.  A great break away from the conveyor belt that is the public school system.  If I don't read every book they suggest I am not setting myself up for failure.  I believe that they have created a great model and that we can make it work for us.  Maybe to the letter or maybe just bits and pieces...I can do this right?

Five Minute Friday: Deep Breath

I have really enjoyed a blog I stumbled upon called Pitterle Postings, and I have loved reading her Friday posts especially.  Patty is a gifted poet and writer!  She links up to "Five Minute Fridays" over at Gypsy Mama and I have been intrigued...So, I decided to give it a try.  I AM IN NO WAY CLAIMING TO BE A WRITER.  I am a rambler-that is probably why 5 minutes of just typing about a topic interests me.  So, here goes.  (This is the dialogue that went through my head this morning...)



The alarm is going off...already?  Deep Breath...I can do this.  I can get up and start the day...But I really don't want to...REALLY Deep breath.  I'm up, I'm up...Great Jake isn't up.  He is so grumpy when I have to wake him up!  It is such a better start to the day when he wakes me up....Deep breath.  Quick prayer.  Wake the poor boy up even though he was up late last night (late for him at least-the boy needs his sleep-he is only 9 1/2...almost 10 really...Where has this decade gone!?).  FOCUS!  I am starting to doze-WAKE UP!!!  Deep breath.  I am still in bed...Did I put the clothes in the dryer last night?  I hope so otherwise we are wearing unmatched socks again today.  I have got to remember to get dog food today...I wonder if Blogger will be working today...Did I just snore? DEEP BREATH...Aaron should be home soon.  How does he work 3rd shift-full time and go to school full time?  Because he loves us, that's how.  I married a great man.  Deep Breath.  If he can stay up all night for us, I can get my lazy self out of bed and wake up by almost a decade old baby...Where does the time go?  Deep breath...Another day is here...

How fun!  It is like a brain declutter and typing frenzy all in one!  You should try it!!  Link up here and join the fun!

Picture a day in May, Day 1: Funky Fingers

Ranee avert your eyes. She is not a fan of the Funky Fingers. It's a Harmon thing. Papa Harmon can do it too. Jake hasn't mastered all the fingers yet, but he will. (Their fingers bend back way too far too.)

In need of some serious brain declutter...

*I am supposed to be at work right now...instead I decided to take a mental health day...which translates into: my sleeping the last 3 nights has been not so good, I had food left over from YAD (I will tell you what that is in a minute...) and didn't want it to go bad in the car, I am slack, I just didn't want to go, I realized a couple of hours in the house by myself sounded heavenly, and since I was going in late I am only missing a whopping $32.46-before taxes. I can live without that $32.46 for a few hours of peace.

*I still haven't watched all of General Conference. I think I will go do that in my remaining time in a quiet, empty house. I need a spiritual uplift...and an easy one that I can just listen to and feel it sinking in. I don't have the energy to have to work at it today.

*I feel guilty talking about not having energy when Aaron works 3rd shift full time and goes to school full time. I am glad one of us is not a big baby.

*Yesterday I was taking a picture of a bell (you will see why in a minute) and Jake said "when are you going to take my picture?" I responded that he never wants me to so I wasn't going to bug him. To this he said: "Now that I have a camera I understand why you want to take pictures." I hope this lasts! I gave him Aaron's old work camera that never gets used and he is loving it! All this leads up to why I took the next picture...This is a new Lego set he got with the Easter money he got. Yes, he got enough Easter money to buy a $20 Lego set...I call it "guilt money". I thought I was going to feel guilty that we told Jake there is no Easter bunny, but I don't...I still need to post about our awesome conversation and coloring Easter eggs....
*Remember the 1000 piece puzzle I started...weeks ago? I am still not done with it. I have only really sat down about 4 times and worked on it. I ended up moving it to a small table so I didn't have to put it away. I WILL FINISH IT. Aaron said one day I am going to come home and it is all going to be in the box because he is sick of picking pieces off the floor. I will do it Aaron I swear. In fact I am going to do it tonight! I like doing it, I just don't make the time. For example I could be doing it right now, but instead I am blogging! Priorities people. :) I keep dusting it carefully so I don't lose any pieces. It is amazing how you can stare at the pieces and all the sudden your mind just spots one and knows right where it goes. I think that is the closet I will ever get to feeling like a genius.

*Jake is really not a great sneaker-picker-outer. His sneakers are pitiful and needed to be demoted to play shoes. After school yesterday we went to look for shoes. We found the "perfect pair" that was on sale and it was BOGO 1/2 off so he got a pair of nice flip flop sandals for 1/2...Both pairs together were still less than the sneakers were full price. I love a bargain. Long story short: he has a field trip tomorrow and want to wear his old sneaks...This after he put on his new ones this morning and then decided to wear his flip flops...Finally he admitted they aren't as comfy as he thought....He just like the way they look, I think...UGH! I told him today after school, indoors, he needed to wear them a few hours and see if they are going to be keepers or not. You can exchange shoes after one day of very light wear right?...

*I realized on Sunday how out of practice I am on so many domestic things. Yes, I only work part time...But that means my home making skills are lacking for that part of the time, which adds up to 20-25 hours a week. That is enough to get me behind... a lot. Not to mention I am a slacker to begin with! On Sunday while I was trying to get the Easter meal all finished, Jake reminded me, oh so sweetly "If Nee was here (we always have Easter dinner with Nee and Papa Graves but they are on a mission) we would already have eaten on the fancy table by now."...Thanks for reminding me dude. We have gotten so used to quick meals served from the counter (not in serving dishes on the table. We still eat at the table...after we move the half done projects to the side...Seriously...help me please...), that it makes we wish for the "normal life" again. I will be the best home maker ever when I am at home full time again. I will never take it for granted again!

*The mom of a friend of Jake's from school called me the other day to ask if Jake is going on the field trip tomorrow. (He didn't go on the over night field trip last year...that's right an over night field trip in the 3rd grade...?...I didn't get it. I think that is why she was wondering if he was going) I told her he was and that wasn't the answer she was looking for. She is not feeling good about sending her son and was hoping I wasn't sending Jake so she could convince her son it was a good idea not to go. Two things went through my mind: I kind of take it as a compliment...and does it mean I am a bad mom that I feel okay about him going on the trip? Isn't it strange where your mind goes?

*I cooked down the ham bone from Easter dinner and made what I like to call a "poor mans meal", that was straight from my childhood. We are calling it ham bone soup. It smelled just like when I was little and my mom made it. It tasted just like it did when I was little...all except that part where the noodles absorbed so much of the juice the were totally mushy and gross...and no one like it except me. And I didn't like it enough to eat it again. Can you imagine how mushy the noodles would be after reheating it again?..

*Sadie may be smarter than I thought...We once saw a video on America's Funniest Video that showed a little lap dog dinging one of these bells to let her family know she needed to go out. I thought that was a pretty cool idea, and since we have a puppy I thought we would try it out. Long story short, when Sadie has to go potty we bring her to the back door, ding the bell with our foot and say "Potty?" and then open the door. We started on Saturday and she is already catching on. Last night Jake and I were sitting at the table and Aaron was at his desk, when we notice Sadie sliding the bell on the floor. Aaron was like, "I think she needs to go out." I asked her if she had to go potty, she wagged her tail and jumped around, I opened the door and she went right outside. She is a little doggy genius. Now we are going to take her paw and show her how to tap it (instead of us tapping it) and see if it will really work. (Ignore the messy floor and spots on the door that need to be painted please.)
*I need to be cleaning right now....
*YAD-Young Authors Day. Today I got up at 5:00 am (I am not a morning person...) to cook the 2 breakfast casseroles that I needed to bring in to Jake's class today. I am the class parent and I am counting down the days until it is all over...Today parents were invited to come in and hear the stories their children have been working on. I came home loving Jake's stories, having 1 1/2 casserole's left (the kids really just wanted the doughnuts...No surprise there. That is what I thought would happen, but that is what Jake's teach wanted...), and frazzled because I really am not a fan (at all) of Jake's teacher (she is mean. picture me saying that period rather than typing it...). I am so glad it is almost over....