Some fun, Some not!

So, I will start with the good stuff...

First, this has been a FUN week at school. Tuesday was Ultimate Game Day (I missed this because I was home being very sick)! The kids reported to me that it was mega-fun. Wednesday was TAKS football. Third grade took home the first place trophy for the first time ever! Thanks, Coach Estes! The cheerleaders also did an excellent job, I might add. Today, we walked to the park near our school and let the kids picnic and play. They were so good and had such a blast. We were worn out when we got back to the building! While we were at the park, this sweet (?) birdie decides to hobble to my shoe and perch for a while. I was quite popular for a few minutes with all my third grade friends. Then Parker tells me that Corey is pretty sure the bird has rabies (he could "just tell"), and that got me a bit paranoid! Then, I sort of felt like the bird was looking at me with his mean eyes, so I freaked a little. I ever-so-gently nudged him from my shoe. Then he climbed onto my backback and pooped! Yuck!

And now the not so good...

I had to go to COURT today! I did not know I would be going to court and talking to an actual JUDGE, or I would have at the very least redone the messy ponytail on my sweaty head (picnic today, remember?). A couple of weeks ago, I got a ticket. Well, 2 tickets, but one was Kevin's fault because he forgot to put a new insurance card in my car. The other was the police officer's fault for catching me driving 54 in a 40. So, already, you can see I am the victim here! Well, when I got to the FW Municipal Building, I go to the window and she says, "You have 3 tickets. One from November that hasn't been paid." ??? Oh, yeah. I mailed that in and checked probabtion on the back, and "they" (the powers-that-be in this great city) hadn't sent out the bill to pay them for it yet. UGH!!! So, while I thought I had already served my probation for that one, I was wrong. Now I am on probabtion AND I have to take Defensive Driving. I sat in the courtroom for an HOUR and TWENTY MINUTES! And I really wanted to tell that judge how MAD I was that it had taken them so long to get me a bill for the old ticket, and how, technically, I should be able to do probation now for this new ticket.......But I was a GOOD CITIZEN. I pretended to respect the judge's suggestion that I do both probation and the "driver's safety course." I think I even said, "Thank you, sir." Again, UGH!!! Why does it have to be such a hassle?

Well, that turned into a bit of a rant. But I feel better. I think I may have cleansed myself of this hatred toward city government. Wait...no, there it is. Still there. Thanks for listening. I mean reading. Or skimming.

So, who wants to take defensive driving with me??????

Fun Facts about Frogs

So we found this little guy in our yard tonight...

The boys started telling me all the things they know about frogs. Here are some insights from Andy:

They love to eat grass, sometimes. But mostly they love frog food.

They jump very fast, but walk very slow.

They can be still for a long time.

Sometimes they scare you.

And Ben tells me:

Frogs live in the ponds with their "mudders."

And now you know all about frogs.

3 different things

Well, I didn't want to write three separate posts, but I have 3 things to talk about:

1. Am I a loser??? The boys are at my parents' house all night tonight, and all Kevin and I came up with was dinner (at P.F. Chang's-yum!), Barnes & Noble, and home. And when we got home, Kevin went to the bedroom to read while I sat down to watch the season finale of The Office. Ummm...does this mean I am getting old? Okay, who am I kidding, this is how I have always been! But, am I a loser?

2. Our third graders went on a field trip to Casa Manana this week. I wrote a reminder on the board a few days ago: "Casa on Thursday--bring a sack lunch." So on Wednesday, as I reminded the class about bringing a lunch, one of my confused kiddos says, "Why do we need a lunch? Can't we eat there?" I say, "No, we are eating at the park. They don't serve food." He says, "But, that's what they do..." I'm like, "Huh???" He says, "Taco Casa. They make food there." "Ohhhhh...now I'm with you. Yeah, we are actually going to Casa MANANA. It's a theater." I've said it before, I'll say it again...I love my class!

3. So, the 2 or 3 of you that read this blog already know this, but Emily rocks! She is just the best kind of person. Someone you know you can depend on, even at the very last minute. And she doesn't make you feel dumb for not knowing everything, or anything, in my case, about A/V equipment. (A/V equipment make me think of Napoleon Dynamite, which makes me laugh.) And so, not only did she make sure movie day happened for third grade, she also generously agreed to coach our football team. And she even knows what she's talking about. She said something to them about a running play, and I was thinking "What the heck is a running play? Don't they run on every play???" Well, that's why she's coaching and I am helping the cheerleaders.
So those were the three things I wanted to say.

the ref

Ben has this toy whistle he bought at Chuck E. Cheese. It sounds like a real whistle--loud! He recently rediscovered it, and today has started using it to let us know when Andy has done him wrong! Tonight, each time Andy took a toy from from Ben or ran him over, Ben would blow the whistle at him. He did it like 10 times in an hour. It has been cracking me up! The nice thing is, he hasn't been running to me to tattle on Andy. I guess the whistle is enough punishment! So, Kevin and I think maybe we have a little referee in the making!

Random thoughts

So, life around here has been a little slow, which is actually exactly the way I like it. We had no big plans for the weekend, so Kevin, the boys, and I spent all of the weekend together. We haven't done that in a looong time! Friday, we got to spend some fun time with our friend Parker. My boys pretty much think he hung the moon! Saturday was just family fun time, doing laundry, shopping, blah, blah, blah. Kevin took the boys to Wal-Mart at around 8 p.m. on Saturday night (yeah, he's totally on top of it, guys) to buy my Mother's Day gift--a new electric griddle (yes, it's what I asked for). We make pancakes about once a week for dinner, so it's going to come in very handy! My real present is sitting in the garage. I got a new car!!! I was pretty much sick of paying way too much at the pump for the Expedition. I drive about 50 miles a day!

So, today was back to school for the boys and me. Andy's class took a field trip to the zoo, and Kevin went with them. He's such a cool dad!

There are only 16 days of school left! That seems impossible! I love, love, love my class so much. I am looking forward to summer with my boys, but I am sure I will shed some tears on the last day of school this year. My class is just so awesome. They impress me everyday, and I will miss sharing days with them.

And now, in honor of Mother's Day, the top 5 reasons I love being a mom:

5-The smell of baby lotion on freshly bathed skin

4-Bedtime stories

3-Just listening to the things the boys say to each other when they think no one is listening (like when Ben was tiny and Andy tried to teach him to say "Merica Nidol," which is what Andy used to call American Idol)

2-Chubby baby feet, clean or dirty

1-The way a kiss from me nearly instantly silences their cries

Oh, I love these BOYS!

Happy 4th Birthday, Andy!

I cannot believe that this baby is four years old. It seems like I waited forever for him to be here, and now I can't remember life without him. He wanted to have dinner at Double Dave's tonight. And now that Andy is 4, he is no longer free! Bummer!

Buzz and Batman

Don't let these innocent faces fool you...

They are ready to strike!

Fun in the sun!

Today was GORGEOUS! The weather was perfect, and the wind was pretty much non-existent. (Windy days are no bueno for people with allergies--Kevin and Ben!) I didn't take many pictures because I had my hands full trying to help Andy learn to pedal and steer (at the same time) his new "big-boy bike!" He did a great job, but really was only interested in making it to the playground. I think it's gonna be a while before he wears the yellow jersey! He had no interest in getting on the bike to ride back to the house. "It's just too hard!"




And one funny thing from Andy the other morning in the car...He takes off his shoe and says his big toe hurts when he bends it. So I say, "Okay, let me rub it for a minute." He says, "Well, I think I just have had too much sugar this week. I had a sucker yesterday and a Dr. Pepper, so now all the sugar is stuck in my feet. And it hurts." Ummm, I don't know what he is talking about, unless he has confused all of my talk about too much sugar hurting his teeth with hurting his feet. He makes me laugh every day.

Parties R Fun!

This morning, we had Andy's birthday party at Jumping Party. I didn't think I was ready for the whole having a party somewhere else, but it was awesome! No pre-cleaning, no clean-up!!! The kids had a blast! Andy doesn't actually turn four until Tuesday, but he's been saying that he's four for about 2 weeks now, so who cares??? Here are some of the highlights:

Andy LOVES to climb and slide and climb and slide...Ben only ate the icing!
Collin showed Mika how to use the "blower thingy"
Two of my favorite Power Rangers!

A super fun day! Andy told my mom tonight the the best part of the party was playing with his friends (awwww). Yes, indeed!