Mary Had a Little Lamb

I discovered this letter in Thomas' backpack!  It describes his personality perfectly.  It really is about "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

When I Grow Up

This is my favorite Thomas story in the last few months.  Here is the best I can do on who said what...

Teacher: Today we're going to talk about what you want to be when you grow up.  You can be anything you want to be!

Thomas (to himself): "Oooo....I want to be an astronaut"

Teacher: You can choose anything you want.  The sky is your limit!

Thomas:  Dang it!

This is the perfect example of how Thomas' brain works!!  I love it!!

Teaching

I made it through my first week as a teacher, and I love it!  What a fun week.  I am loving these kids.  They say the funniest things, and everyday they say something that makes me feel good about what I'm doing.  I can already tell I'm making a difference, and that is worth every bit of my effort!

Today, one of my precious girls was kind enough to let me know that I had a HUGE hole in my pants! I seriously think she was the only one that saw it because no one else made any comments, and I never heard any snickering, but the hole was big!  My pants ripped from the pocket straight down.  I mean, you could see my butt!  Luckily, I had on a long t-shirt.  So, I was pulling my shirt over my rear end all afternoon!  What a great way to END the week!!! :)

Do I HAVE to take a shower?

I've always heard how dirty boys are and how difficult it can be to get them to shower.  You would think I was torturing them every night just by saying, "Go take a shower!".  

The dermatologist recommended a cream for some sun spots on Thomas' face the other day, but after realizing they will go away on their own anyway, I refused the cream.  I explained to him that it was hard enough to get him in the shower.  And, if I'm lucky enough to get him in the shower, I have a hard time getting him to actually use the soap!  A cream needing to be used daily was not about to happen!

There are MANY nights that I have to send Thomas back to the shower to actually use soap. A sniff test is not an abnormal thing in our house!  (And, I might add, it isn't only a boy problem!)

We gave some women a good laugh yesterday in Target when we were passing the shampoo aisle.  I asked the kids if everyone had shampoo.  Mary Frances replied, "yes" (only to not wash her hair in the shower last night because she didn't have any shampoo)!??!  The boys said, "We don't use shampoo!" which brought a smile to everyone standing around us as I rolled my eyes and smiled with them!  What can I do other than stand there with them?  Oh well..."this too shall pass!"

Hairy Egg Yolks?

Chase just told me..."I don't like the yellow part of the egg because when I eat it, I can taste the hair from the baby chicken."

Car Wash Fiasco

So, I went through the car wash yesterday....

 I didn't realize that I took some of it with me until I made my next stop at PetSmart (which required me to go very slowly past about 10 stores in the Target shopping center)!

Not only was I surprised to find this, but I couldn't pull it off! So, I had to continue driving with it.  I am certain I will show up on EpicFail or twitter because I saw lots of people laughing, pointing, and even taking pictures!

I laughed out loud for 20 minutes as I enjoyed people gawking as much as I was mortified!  Oh well...at least my car was clean, right!?!

Funny Kids

The kids were demonstrating their break-dancing abilities this morning when Mary Frances exclaimed that she could do "the worm". So, when she got down and tried it out, we were all surprised, but only Thomas could find the words to describe what we were all thinking. With a confused look he said, "that looks more like a freaked-out mermaid". I couldn't come up with a more perfect description, and I laughed hysterically for several minutes!

Armpits

Thomas just asked why his armpits are so sweaty! He said, "my shirt is getting wet. They're like upside-down bath tubs."... And I've been giggling ever since!

Out of the mouth of babes....

I found this "story" in Mary Frances' folder this week! Apparently, some of the neighbor's think it's funny to use the word to rhyme with their baby sister's name! Needless to say, I was slightly embarrassed that she wrote this story at school!

Mary Frances just asked ms if she could have a horseback riding party in 2014!! Can we call her a planner?

South Geogia 6-pack

We actually purchased this from a liquor store exactly like this! (In case you can't tell, it's a 12-pack that has been cut in half and taped with packing tape!) Welcome to South Georgia!

Vacation?

We've just returned from our trip to the East Coast. After having to change our clocks on Saturday night for Daylight Savings and then having to adjust them to the Eastern Time Zone on Sunday, we decided that we may reconsider traveling that direction for Daylight Savings Weekend in the future!!

Anyhow... we started off the week in Monticello where Ray C. and the children had a wonderful time hanging out with family! My parents came down to get me so I could go to my grandfather's house for a few days to help them clean it up! We were able to get rid of a lot of empty boxes and papers from 15 years ago that he didn't care about having anymore! (By the way, he approved of everything!)
After a full day of cleaning and a good 8 hours of sleep, my aunt called early Wednesday morning to say that my uncle had died of a heart attack. My mother and grandfather were devastated, but we know God had a hand in the timing with us already being there for the news and Papa not being by himself.

So, we traveled to St. Simons Island, GA for all of the funeral arrangements and stayed there the remainder of the week in a condo that a friend graciously loaned us. Ray C. and the kids met us on the island, and we were able to enjoy being with family in a different situation than we had planned.
The children were amazing! They did so much "adult stuff" the whole week with great attitudes. They were actually very interested in the whole death process. We allowed them to see Uncle "T" in the casket, and they were not afraid at all. Chase kept touching him to be sure he really died. He was very confused about how he could die but still be here. We had some great conversations about death and souls.

Chase announced on Saturday morning that he couldn't wait to bury Uncle "T". When I asked why, he just shrugged his shoulders and said "cause I've never done it." My mom and I looked at each other and, at the same time, said to him, "We're not going to bury him ourselves, you know!" He actually thought we were going to dig the hole!

The kids sat through the funeral and the burial service and were excited to see that Grandaddy was the preacher for a change! Jean asked my dad to do the service because Uncle "T" thought so much of him. In fact, he said that he was one of three of the most incredible men he'd known in his life!

The entire week was a celebration of Uncle "T"'s life - exactly the way he would have wanted it!

In response to a picture of my dad with his deer, Mary Frances said, "when you lose your job, you should do things you like more often - to make you feel better!"

I Slept in!

AMAZING!! I have actually been able to sleep in a few times this summer. That may not sound like much to the average person, but it has been YEARS since I have slept in even once!! With three kids, someone is always up early (before 7) and wanting food, drinks, or entertainment! So, I was surprised when I woke up at 9:00 this morning!

The kids had been up for a while. So, when I walked out of my room, I saw chocolate syrup and milk still sitting on the table and the kids were playing the Wii. Chase piped up and said, "We snuck Fritos while you were sleeping. Mary Frances added, "and we made chocolate milk for coffee!"

There was no "hello" or "good morning", just stating what had happened while I was snoozing. Who could blame them? I just laughed and put the milk and syrup away!

I was just thankful for sleep!

Mother's Day

This is the best card I have ever gotten! Mary Frances made it for me at school. One of my favorite parts is just that it is in her writing and her way of sounding out words. So, I'll translate it below!

The Best Mother

Loves me even if I lose softball games.
Always packs my lunch box.
Gives me notes in my lunch box.
Lets me go to slumber parties. (That was actually a hint!)
Takes me to school.
Takes me to the movies.
Takes me to get my nails done.
Is zany and oh la la!!
Has a green thumb.
(She was quick to explain that this does not mean that I pick their boogers!)
Loves me all the time.
Loves me bigger than her arms!

This made me cry. It's the best gift I could have asked for on Mother's day!

Beep Beep

Chase put a coin in the crack of my steering wheel last week - where the horn is! So, my horn keeps beeping randomly when I turn or stop at a light. It is SOO embarrasing! Crazy kid! Of course, if I take it back to the mechanic, they'll just laugh at me, too, because last time we took the car it was to remove the coins in the CD player. We even had them talk to Chase about putting coins into slots of the van! A lot of good that did, huh!?!

Day 2

We slept until NINE this morning!! I seriously don't think I have done that since before kids - even on days when the kids have been elsewhere! It was so amazingly wonderful!

After lounging around and getting some work done on the computer, the kids made lunch! Really! They made sandwiches for all three of us and called me in there when they were done! I had a drink, turkey and cheese sandwich, and chips! What a turn around!! Is this my life?

After lunch we went bowling and had a blast! We all got strikes. Mary Frances actually got two and gave us a perfect bow after each one! There were no losers. I was the first winner. Thomas was the second winner, and Mary Frances was the third winner! I love their twists on things!After a game of bowling, we stopped for a drink at Sonic and then took Thomas to get his allergy shot. Then, we went to the public library. The kids were disappointed about missing their library days at school this week. So, they asked it we could visit the public library instead on each of their days. Why not?

I loved watching them choose their books. At school they have learned all about how to choose good books. Mary Frances told me the way she chooses hers is to read it a little to see if she likes it.

Thomas requested a "book buddy" which holds the place on the shelf while you are pulling books out. The librarian didn't have one but did give them strips of paper to use instead.

After that, we went to the grocery store and then off to pick up Honey, Grandaddy, and Chase! We were so excited to see them! The kids were thrilled to be back together. It never ceases to amaze me or make me feel all warm inside at how much they view themselves as a unit.

They all had a hard time being away from each other! In fact, Chase hugged all over the kids, but completely forgot about me even though he called me several times while he was gone and said, "I hope you miss me" in the most pathetic voice you've ever heard!

Well, we're all back together -- except Ray C. who is SICK in Guatemala! We're hoping and praying he feels better tomorrow!

We're off to the rodeo tomorrow!! Yeehaw!

King Bed

It's a good thing we have a King Bed, huh?

Pumpkin Hiney

We pass this funny sight several times a day, and it has given us GREAT joy and laughter this fall. So, I wanted to share it with you all and document it for later in life! Just before we get to it, one person yells "pumpkin hiney," and everyone else stops their conversations (or arguing) to check it out for another laugh!!

Isn't it hilarious?

Halloween

The kids love Halloween. We don't go very far from our end of the street because there is so much going on! All of our neighbors come outside and sit in the driveway just before dark. So, we hand out candy from there! The kids have such a blast together!

This is a picture of Thomas and Chase carefully checking out the Haunted House next door. Our neighbor's son came home with a friend and turned her garage into a haunted house! I told the kids before we went outside that it would be too scary and they shouldn't go in, but they wanted to see it. So, they walked in and got the scary part but it didn't affect them! It wasn't too bad! Although, someone did jump out at them!


My cow, fairy garden princess, and cowboy! Thomas had suggested that Chase could take a rope and that every time he hit Thomas with the rope, Thomas would have to give him a piece of his candy. However, after explaining to Thomas that Chase would take all of his candy, he saw the problem and gave up on the rope idea!


Look what I did! The kids and I chose what we wanted and then I carved it! They helped pull out all the guts and seeds!

Our neighbor's son and daughter! Meredith is mentally handicapped. She was afraid of her mom (the witch) all night. So, she stayed with me and helped hand out candy! We had a good time!The Haunted House - and Chase checking it out once again! He was determined that they were not going to scare him - AND THEY DIDN'T!