Last Day of School: Tissue, Please

Friday was the last day of school for my yahoos.
The last day.
Where has the year gone??
It just flew by, really.

I took the afternoon off from work
so I could attend Ari's class party
and help out with field games.
And also be a part of the
"Fifth Grade Clap Out".

I'd never done this in years' past,
in fact, never heard of it before,
but since Joseph is a fifth grader,
well, you know.

So this is how it went down:
All of the other students,
teachers, staff,
and parents
gather in a long line outside
and then the 5th graders
stream past everyone
giving high-fives and clapping hands
in celebration of the end of elementary school
for them.

Turns out this little ritual is quite emotional,
as many of the girls were teary-eyed
and even a few boys.
Then before I knew it,
I had a lump in my throat too.
I am such a sap!
I didn't, ya know, outright CRY
but man,
I felt like I coulda if I wanted to.
Sheesh.

When Joseph came around,
his face was stoic--
no emotion other than a look that said,
"this is no dang fun."

As soon as he got to the end of the line,
he circled around and came to me with a big hug and a
"let's go."
So we looked back over our shoulders
at the crowd of mushy parents, teachers and kiddos
and decided we'd better get the heck outta there
before we were one big pile of mush ourselves.

What happened to the days of busting through the school doors
yelling,
"YEA!!! NO MORE SCHOOL!!" ??
So much drama for elementary school.

IN the car on the way home
the conversation naturally turned to the scene we'd just left--
where Joseph admitted he was "a little annoyed" by all the drama
because he too, felt "like cryin' a little" towards the end.
He declared it was the best year ever due to an awesome teacher
who loves Shakespeare so much he has his students put on a performance
every year--
and those students love it so much
that they return with their parents long after they've left the classroom
going onto middle school and high school,
just so they can enjoy a Night of Shakespeare
with Mr.Hinkle, community legend.

I listened while both Joseph and Arianna
shared their days ups and downs,
reminisced about favorites--
everything from friends to lunchroom "fettucine alfredo";
and what they were looking forward to this summer.

Just about the time we were getting close to home,
Joseph grinned and said,
"Right when I was leaving,
a girl came up and gave me a hug.
Then she whispered in my ear,
"I've had a crush on you all year."

Did I mention he's using "axe" body wash?
And did I mention I am not having to threaten him
to shower
lately?

When I asked what's her name,
he grinned and did the motion of
locking his lips with an invisible key.

Mums the word.

Yeah.

And can you imagine the courage (!) that little gal mustered
to get those words outta her mouth?!

Sheesh.
Where's a tissue?

Smile, No Really.

I finished my 7th year in 5th grade last night.

Thank you.

Got one year left

with The Caboose

then I'm good.

Last night,

was Joseph's 5th grade Promotion Celebration.

I know.

We'll celebrate anything

if it gives us a reason

for cake and lemonade.

There were parents holding 

bouquets of roses n' such

for their elementary school grads.

We're lucky that we got there at all.

We were 30 minutes early by mistake.

We thought it started at 6pm.

Otherwise we'd have been standing in the back.

But due to our awesome planning skills,

we actually sat on the 4th row.

I didn't buy flowers, though

we did go out for pizza afterwards.

Hey. He is Number Six.

I coulda gotten him a t-shirt that reads:

I AM NUMBER SIX.

Dang, my inspiration is always 

a day late.

 Hey, Joseph,

let's get a picture, k?

Just sit for one second.

"I don't do flash photography."~Joseph

 C'mon, Smile.

"Are you done yet?"~Joseph

 Nope. Ya look like a chipmunk. 

Just smile.

Like you're "normal".

"Mommmmm...c'mon."~Joseph

 Nope.

Ya look like Stanley Laurel.

See?

One more time.

That's all.

One more.

Let's try again.

Now, just just just

SMILE.

Hey! Where ya going?

aw nevermind.

A Real Boy's Desk

I spy with my little eye:


golf balls
binoculars
cub scout belt loop "Flag Football"
leatherman knife
climbing rope
Sunday tie
hymnal
Backpack Stove instruction guide
clothespin
pliers
candy wrapper
pinewood derby car
headlight
flashlight
clothes hangers
hockey puck
Boys Handy Guide to Everything
rock climbing harness pack
airsoft guns
airsoft pellets
Bottle rocket
air rocket engines
pocket knife
compass
caribeeners
pvc pipe 

Anyone have the number for the Producers of "Survivor"?

6:36 AM

Boofus creeped into our room this morning,
wrapped both arms around his sleeping daddy's shoulders,
laid his head on the large pillow
and says,
"I'm barely on the edge."

We scooted over to make room,
half-awake, half- asleep.

"I had some weird dreams last night.
I dreamed about fried chicken."

Mr W and I crack up in laughter--
eyes still closed.

"N' I dreamed about a big organizer.
N' it was for jerky.  Turkey jerky, jalopeno jerky,
teriyaki jerky, beef jerky, buffalo jerky..."

Dad: "Did ya go to bed hungry, Boof?"

Boofus: "Yeah."

Me: "I am so blogging this."

I love waking up laughing.

I'm With the Band

Last night was two concerts for Joseph and Arianna--
he, on the clarinet and she, on the violin.
Joseph's been going to band under duress since about December.
Begging for permission to quit.
Mr W and I told him he could not quit but had to finish out the year he committed.

Before we left the house last night,

I asked Joseph if he needed to shower,

and he said 

"Mom, I've been nervous today. Band had to play for the whole school! I was so nervous, I was sweating. I forgot all the notes!  Mr. Schwartz said if we didn't know them, just fake it, so I did! And the kid sitting next to me, J*, wet his pants! I looked over at his lap and saw a big circle of pee! Can I just quit band right now?  Just quit. It's okay, another kid did. Can I? Can I? "

Ahhhh elementary school.

When we got to the school, 

I told Joseph to remind his bandmate to go potty

before they got on stage.

It was better than I expected.
Much better.

Lemme just say that the music was so good,
I didn't recognize any of it!
Each time a piece would begin,
I'd think--
"Did Ari ever practice that?
I don't think she knows it.
This does not sound like a cat in a blender."

"Is Joseph really playing his clarinet?
I never heard him play this song."

I was watching to see if he was faking it,
and
watching the pee-pot kid next to him.

The concert was good.
 I did ask Joseph afterwards if he played or faked it--
"I played the whole time, Mom.  Mr. Schwartz thinks I'll do good in middle school next year."

"So you're thinking you wanna be in band again next year?" I asked.

"Uh yeah. This was fun."

I'm getting a t-shirt
Rock on.

Joseph and His Hats of Many Colors

See this Boy? This boy loves hats.

 Your son at five is your master, at ten your slave, at fifteen your double, and after that, your friend or your foe, depending on his bringing up.  ~Author Unknown

He who can be a good son will be a good father.  ~Author Unknown

 Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant.  ~Epictetus

 Giving your son a skill is better than giving him one thousand pieces of gold. 

 ~Chinese Proverb

 When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry.  

~William Shakespeare

I asked him why he wears a hat every.single.day.


He just shrugged his shoulders, as if he didn't know.
"So I don't have to brush my hair?"
And that question in his voice made me wonder,
perhaps it's not just the hats that he loves.

The Time I Drove My Kids Up The Walls

Call it "payback" if you will.

Or just 

Good, Clean Fun.

 But strapping/harnessing your kids up and 

belaying them up concrete walls is what all the cool kids are doing these days.

 This is the place 

they love most to go:

City Rock

downtown Colorado Springs.

 It's not a bad way to spend an afternoon with the yahoos.

They get some great exercise,

learn some creativity skills,

n' we do it together.

 There are all sorts of climbing trails--for the novices who need lots of steps and grips,
to trails for experts and wanna-be experts...it's all there and we're all using the same kind of gear...
so this is one sport that the kids can grow up with and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg...as long as you're safety minded!

 The Caboose is a natural at this...

she being the curtain climber she is, 

took right to climbing up walls.

 The Boof-dog looks drugged

but he's just high

on life.

har har

 The Caboose likes free climbing...

no strings on these walls, 

but the floor is padded,

 so there'd be a soft landing if she falls.

This is a really great way 

to be active in the middle of winter!

I highly recommend it!

The kids love it,

and it's not expensive--

even if you have to rent your gear;

totally worth it!

First things First: (go to the bottom and turn off the music player)
Sue was the first to correctly identify Brian Regan as the phrase-coiner (I think I just made that word up) of "Take Luck"....enjoy.




Second:
The Boofus is feeling better now that I've spent twenty bucks on a co-pay for the doctor to tell us,
that, while the flu test AND the strept test came out negative,
The Boof-dawg has "flu-like symptoms" from a viral infection.
Translating into:
Go home. Get in bed. Drink lots of fluid. Take ibuprophen and call back in the morning.
Oh and eat some chicken noodle soup, the doc says.
"Great! I'll make some for you today, Boof." says I.
"Nah. I'd rather have ravioli. Not yours tho', can we buy it in the can?"

The boy who wouldn't eat for two days,
has eaten two cans of Chef Boy ArDee's ravioli.
Nevermind that I offered to make my homestyle chicken noodle soup
or
my homemade ravioli...
not good enough, says he.
Apparently, my son is addicted to preservatives
and artificial flavors, food dyes and additives.
Mmmmm, good stuff there, hunh?

One good thing came from my twenty dollar co-pay though--
I have a professional witness that my yahoo refuses to eat healthy food.
N' I feel good about that.
Ya know, in case I ever need an impartial witness that I tried to keep
this stubborn boy healthy, I got one.
And she's not only a doctor,
she's a Mom.
How much more street-cred do ya need, right?

Oh, and that wall? hit it. Bam.
Would it be a bad thing if I put my pj's on before dinner?

Take Luck!

I usually have 3 days off work a week--
Friday or Saturday
Sunday and Monday.

I'm home this morning because the Boofus is way sick.
He slept in my bed last night
so I could keep an eye on him and tend to his needs.
Mr W slept in his bed--
so he could get some sleep b/c of course,
he still had work today.

The Boofus had a rough night,
which means I had a rough night.

I'm taking him to the doctor this morning at 11:30
and see what's up.
I hate it when the yahoos are sick, don't you?

But on the flip side,
I'm home.
And I'm usually scheduled out on my days off
so that I don't get alot done around the house--
like cleaning junk drawers or the laundry room,
being creative and moving things around.

But for whatever reason,
I've got energy to do this stuff today
before I hit that inevitable brick wall of
exhaustion--
yeah I know it's there--
but for right now,
I'm pretending it's not.
Cuz I've got things to do.


*Changing Sheets
*Washing Pillows
*Lysol-ing the house down to kill them thar bugs.
*Cleaning that one junk drawer that has birthday napkins, sparklers, shishkabob stix, birthday candles, take out menus, and heaven only knows what else.
*Sweeping up the 4" layer of dryer lint in the laundry room so as to avert a fire danger.
*Move my family room furniture around since I got a new ottoman for my birthday. What? Like I'd want diamonds or froo-froo stuff for my 49th bday? I don't think so.  I wanted a peice of furniture that the whole family could put their feet on and think about ME.  Whoa--is that freudian or what?? lol
*Clean up the loft/office space of shoes, plates, dvds, and whatsits.
*Water the plants!
* Take out dinner and get that going in the crockpot.


Yeah, I've got loads to do today.
Wish me luck!

Oh and if you've gotten this far,
if you know who coined the phrase of my blog title today,
and leave it in my comments box,
you'll totally make my day.

First Correct Answer Wins!
What? Oh just a little something I've picked up
from All About Home.

The Dentist, Dog Poop, and Chicken n Stars Soup!

Monday began like an other Monday.
A few whines and sighs
at the week that lay before me,
dragging my bahooey outta bed
and going to work.

Not that I mind working.
I don't.
But, still, working 40 hours
has introduced other challenges--
like staying on top of housework--
I look around and ask outloud,
"Hey! Where's the Mother that works here?
What is all this mess?"
and more importantly,
a job is
sucking time away for things I like--
like grocery shopping
and
facebook.

Well, last Sunday my Nana had a toothache.
SO we made an appointment to see our awesome dentist,
Dr. Rogers.
He comes from a long line of awesome-ness.
his brother is also Dr. Rogers
and was our
Bishop Rogers until our ward boundaries changed last Spring.
But neither of them are related to our
Bishop Rodgers, also Dr. Rodgers
in Meridian, Idaho.

Ya still here?

Anywho,
we had an appointment for Nana.
Then, on Wednesday afternoon,
Monsieur Boofus chipped a tooth.
So then we had two appointments to see
Dr. Rogers.
Nana needed her wisdom teeth removed.
All four of 'em.
Ugh.

So we had two appointments yesterday morning...
at 7am.
Can I just
Do I even have to say what a pain
So we are grateful that we could go into the dentist
at 7am.

As we got into the car to go,
from the backseat I hear,
"Man, it stinks back here."
"It smells bad, Mom."

"What? Open the windows then--
it's probably leftover french fries from the other night
when we ate on the way to Mutual."

"No, it smells like dog uh, crap."

"Don't say 'crap'."


****

So we go into the office.
Boofus is seen first--
he's out pretty fast--
the chipped tooth was a baby tooth
and the permanent tooth is coming down,
thus pushing the now-dead baby tooth out--
they pulled it out
and everyone's good to go.

Since Nana's appointment is so long,
I told the yahoos to get in the car
and I'd run them to school.

I look around the lobby and Boofus isn't there--
the Caboose says,
"Oh Joseph's in the bathroom-- he found dog poop on his shoe."

Nice.

This means that the dentist and all of the nice dental assistants
got a whiff of dog poop
while my son was with them.
In their tiny rooms.
At 7 am in the morning.

And he's in their bathroom cleaning it??

Kill me now.

Luckily, (eye to the sky),
he did not clean it in the bathroom
beyond taking a swipe at it with tissue--
he came out tip toe-ing,
and waited until we got home to wash it--
in the kitchen sink!!!

Seriously?!!

No no no!!! I cried--
"OUTSIDE"...
and he did.
And his momma was happy.

And he went to school with a wet shoe.
And one less tooth.

I went back to the Dentist's office,
wearing the invisible cone of shame,
to pick up Nana.

The dental assistant came out
beforehand to tell me it had been a difficult procedure--
I wont' go into the details
but it wasn't good.

Finally,
the moment of truth--
Nana comes walking out with what looks like a diaper on her head
but is in fact, a cold pack.

Of course, I took pictures.

But have been forbidden to share them

with anyone who isn't a blood relative.

Anyway, Nana knew she looked funny,

and we both started laughing...

and laughed all the way to the car,

thru the Sonic line to get her a banana shake,

where she couldn't feel her lips or tongue--

as the liquid poured out her mouth

and onto her lap.

thru the bank drive thru lane to deposit a check

and finally when we tucked her into my bed

with a remote in hand.

She laughed until she cried little tiny tears down her cheeks.

Then she settled in and watched 47 episodes of "House"

for the rest of the day.

And we gave her what we give everyone in our house who is sick

and needs a little pick-me-up:

Campbell's Chicken and Stars soup.

MMMM Good.

I was so happy to get my first paycheck yesterday!!
Oh the things I was gonna do with it!!
I had a list going on the fridge.
Not on the list??--
Going to the dentist and paying a bill of $587.00.
Nope, that was not on there.
Not even close.

Excuse me while I go make myself some
Campbells' Chicken and Stars soup.

It's All Music To My Ears

Fall means

Back to School,

Seasons Changing

Making New Friends

Reuniting with Old Pals

and

Getting the kids to try new things:

~The Caboose chose the violin~

~Her bff, Natster, is "accompanying" on the piano~

~Boofus chose the trumpet~

All Together Now!

This is the scene at our house in the mornings

as the yahoos wait for the bus...

it's loud

it's funny

it's a cornucopia of sounds!

And I love it.

Do your yahoos play instruments?

How about you? Did you take lessons in your yahoo days?

Where We Went N' What We Did--Elitches Amusement Park

In honor of the Fifteenth Anniversary of

The Family: A Proclamation to the World:

"Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when 

founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles

 of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, 

and wholesome recreational activities." 

Quiz:

How many times will a Momza ride

the water-ride

in a row because

her littlest yahoos ask her to?

 Once?

Twice?

 Five times?

Ten?  Did you say TEN?

Is that your final answer?

Ding! Ding! Ding!

But what about when the Momza has had enough--

how many times would the yahoos ride it alone??

Fifteen times!

 Cold, wet and happy!

The Caboose and Me...soakin' wet to the bone. 

Yahoos keep me young--

and help me to see there's still magic!

If you'd like to join in the Celebration, go over to Chocolate on My Cranium's and she'll get ya started!