Sutton pulled out his AR book a few weeks ago and asked if he could read it to me. I said sure. He said it was "a little sad".
It was "Knuffle Bunny". I've never heard of it.
Anyway, he starts reading and is doing just fine until he gets to the part where they are trying to find the bunny. He stops suddenly, looks at me, and tells me this is the sad part and he might start crying.
I told him to go ahead... and he bursts into tears. Absolutely heartbroken over the idea of the little girl losing her knuffle bunny. He just curled up into my chest and sobbed, absolutely breaking my heart.
I think he talked me into his OWN Knuffle Bunny at the same time.
When he finally stopped crying and we finished the story together, he asked me to tell his teacher he can't take his AR test on it because it's too sad and he's afraid he might cry at school. Then he wrapped his arms around my neck and said "Momma, hugs make my heart fill up".
Oh little boy.... if only you knew how much you make my own heart fill up.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
How to Torment Your Third Grader, ver. 1
It's Homecoming week in our school distric. Alyssa's school is doing Spirit Week in conjunction with homecoming.
Today is rock star day.
Being Supermom, I had NOTHING. So, I delegated. Told Roger to whip her up a guitar. He made an AWESOME one from a tennis racket, cardboard, zip ties, pink spray paint, and a sharpie. Seriously. Awesome. She loved it. The other two requested guitars of their own (NOPE! Only have one lousy tennis racket! SORRY!).
That left me with the outfit. At 7:15am. And we leave the house at 7:45am, hahahaha.
Found a pair of old tights that are too short for her long legs. Cut the feet off to make stripey leggings. Cut the toes off the feet and then cut a slit for her thumb to make "fingerless" gloves that matched the leggings. Put a denim skirt with rhinestone rainbows and a striped shirt on, used curl gel in her hair and sprayed it all over with gold glitter, added bright red lipstick, and VOILA! Third grade rock star!!
Told her to tell people her hit single is "I'm a 3rd Grade Math Star But Mi Speling Stinx", but she said no. Granted, it loses something in the saying vs typing it out, but whatever.
SO... given that today is choir morning, I drive them all to school, then wait with Alyssa for her bus. She sees some of the other kids who ride the bus and wants to go over, but wants me to walk with her. No problem. I'm looking my finest myself in jeans, flipflops, an old race shirt (halloween!), glasses, and unbrushed hair tied in a knot. Stellar!! The kids tell her she looks great. I ask if she wants me to stay or go - she mumbles she doesn't care. So I ask again, cuz with her you need a DEFINITE answer or whatever you do is wrong cuz she really does care. Third time she mumbles at me, I grab her guitar, throw my keys down, and start leaping around, pretending to play the guitar and singing "SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO NOW??" at the top of my lungs.
And complete with dancing.
She asked me to leave. hahahahahahaha Her friends, however, all thought it was funny!! The teacher on duty just about wet her pants laughing. The one dad standing there with his boys looked like he didn't know what to think (poor guy... I think I scared him!!).
I think secretly she enjoyed it though.
Today is rock star day.
Being Supermom, I had NOTHING. So, I delegated. Told Roger to whip her up a guitar. He made an AWESOME one from a tennis racket, cardboard, zip ties, pink spray paint, and a sharpie. Seriously. Awesome. She loved it. The other two requested guitars of their own (NOPE! Only have one lousy tennis racket! SORRY!).
That left me with the outfit. At 7:15am. And we leave the house at 7:45am, hahahaha.
Found a pair of old tights that are too short for her long legs. Cut the feet off to make stripey leggings. Cut the toes off the feet and then cut a slit for her thumb to make "fingerless" gloves that matched the leggings. Put a denim skirt with rhinestone rainbows and a striped shirt on, used curl gel in her hair and sprayed it all over with gold glitter, added bright red lipstick, and VOILA! Third grade rock star!!
Told her to tell people her hit single is "I'm a 3rd Grade Math Star But Mi Speling Stinx", but she said no. Granted, it loses something in the saying vs typing it out, but whatever.
SO... given that today is choir morning, I drive them all to school, then wait with Alyssa for her bus. She sees some of the other kids who ride the bus and wants to go over, but wants me to walk with her. No problem. I'm looking my finest myself in jeans, flipflops, an old race shirt (halloween!), glasses, and unbrushed hair tied in a knot. Stellar!! The kids tell her she looks great. I ask if she wants me to stay or go - she mumbles she doesn't care. So I ask again, cuz with her you need a DEFINITE answer or whatever you do is wrong cuz she really does care. Third time she mumbles at me, I grab her guitar, throw my keys down, and start leaping around, pretending to play the guitar and singing "SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO NOW??" at the top of my lungs.
And complete with dancing.
She asked me to leave. hahahahahahaha Her friends, however, all thought it was funny!! The teacher on duty just about wet her pants laughing. The one dad standing there with his boys looked like he didn't know what to think (poor guy... I think I scared him!!).
I think secretly she enjoyed it though.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Patience is a virtue....
And murder is a sin.
I had to keep repeating that to myself today. Alyssa stayed home from school with a sore throat and low-grade temp. Just enough to keep her out of school, not enough to make her feel really awful. As I had sewing to do, I suggested she come upstairs and join me. Had a (free!) pattern from Liberty Jane that I thought would be quite do-able for her.
Started off well enough. She made fun of my pattern weights (old D-cell batteries - hey, they work!) and enjoyed using my super-sharp spring loaded scissors a little too much.
Then the fun began.
Trying to get her to stitch a straight seam was near impossible!! Being the genius I am, I suggested perhaps she would let me draw a line on the fabric and she could simply stitch along it. This evoked tears and throwing herself on the floor, so I took that as a positive and drew the line on the fabric. Once she regained control of herself, she sat down and figured out that maybe Mommy's way wasn't so bad after all....
I also taught her to use the serger. Now this serger has seen me through roughly 25 years of sewing with nary a problem, but Alyssa was pretty sure it would amputate her fingers. After repeated questions on what I would do if she did indeed manage to cut her finger off, she gave it a try... and quickly discovered WHY sergers rock!!
Several tantrums, lunch, and a couple of cool-off drink breaks (and by cool-off, I mean temper, not temperature), and she was actually finished with her dress.
Now... the seams weren't as straight as *I* would have liked, and the hem got a little wonky, but I think she did a darn fine job for an eight year old kid with a 4-day beginner class under her belt!!
(she really is proud of herself... don't let the face fool you!!!)
I had to keep repeating that to myself today. Alyssa stayed home from school with a sore throat and low-grade temp. Just enough to keep her out of school, not enough to make her feel really awful. As I had sewing to do, I suggested she come upstairs and join me. Had a (free!) pattern from Liberty Jane that I thought would be quite do-able for her.
Started off well enough. She made fun of my pattern weights (old D-cell batteries - hey, they work!) and enjoyed using my super-sharp spring loaded scissors a little too much.
Then the fun began.
Trying to get her to stitch a straight seam was near impossible!! Being the genius I am, I suggested perhaps she would let me draw a line on the fabric and she could simply stitch along it. This evoked tears and throwing herself on the floor, so I took that as a positive and drew the line on the fabric. Once she regained control of herself, she sat down and figured out that maybe Mommy's way wasn't so bad after all....
I also taught her to use the serger. Now this serger has seen me through roughly 25 years of sewing with nary a problem, but Alyssa was pretty sure it would amputate her fingers. After repeated questions on what I would do if she did indeed manage to cut her finger off, she gave it a try... and quickly discovered WHY sergers rock!!
Several tantrums, lunch, and a couple of cool-off drink breaks (and by cool-off, I mean temper, not temperature), and she was actually finished with her dress.
Now... the seams weren't as straight as *I* would have liked, and the hem got a little wonky, but I think she did a darn fine job for an eight year old kid with a 4-day beginner class under her belt!!
(she really is proud of herself... don't let the face fool you!!!)
Friday, April 15, 2011
The Crazy Things He Says
I've always heard that children can see, hear, and remember things that others can't because they've never learned not to.
I'm not sure if Sutton has a very vivid imagination or if he has had several traumatic past lives, but whichever it is, it's amusing to me.
This evening he began recounting one of his favorites, telling me about "that time I died". Except this time he didn't drown like he usually does. No, instead he was shot in the eye. And after he was shot in the eye, he went to the doctor and got to pick out new eyes. (so maybe he wasn't dead after all??)
He chose one blue and one orange.... except maybe he didn't, maybe it was one orange and one green, he's not sure anymore. After all, it WAS a long time ago.
I guess being shot in the eye will do that to you.
I'm not sure if Sutton has a very vivid imagination or if he has had several traumatic past lives, but whichever it is, it's amusing to me.
This evening he began recounting one of his favorites, telling me about "that time I died". Except this time he didn't drown like he usually does. No, instead he was shot in the eye. And after he was shot in the eye, he went to the doctor and got to pick out new eyes. (so maybe he wasn't dead after all??)
He chose one blue and one orange.... except maybe he didn't, maybe it was one orange and one green, he's not sure anymore. After all, it WAS a long time ago.
I guess being shot in the eye will do that to you.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Introducing the Cast & Crew
I don't know how many times I find myself saying "Mom needs a glass of wine and some quiet time, guys!!", so what better title for the blog?
And without further ado (because odds are good I'll be interrupted anyways!), allow me to introduce the stars of the show.
Hannah is 10 years old, my firstborn. Very bright, she also lacks in common sense. I sometimes wonder how a child who is so quick to understand new concepts can miss the obvious. But then, she's blonde and takes after her father. Yup, that explains a lot!
Alyssa.... whoa.... Alyssa. At 8 years old, she suffers from classic middle child syndrome. She is also the child I was (cursed) blessed with when my mother yelled "I HOPE YOU HAVE A CHILD JUST LIKE YOU SOME DAY!!". Dark haired and dark eyed, she is the polar opposite of her sister in pretty much every way possible. Definitely my child.
Last but not least is the 5 year old Sutton. He is usually more levelheaded than either of his sisters but that may just be his age. He still likes to sleep with us more often than not and snores like a freight train. I see much of his father in him, yet me as well. Poor dude.
Co-Starring:
Roger, the father, my husband. We've been married almost twelve years and people still think it's a crazy story. He's a cradle robber according to his family, given that he is eight and a half years older than I am. He's also very introverted, although I'd like to think that's changed at least a little. Really though, he makes a heck of a fine chauffeur and pours a mean glass of wine.
The crew consists of a menagerie of animals. Our two Labs, Emma & Molly, are fat, old, and sweet. They do terrible things like eat entire loaves of bread, snore, and sleep a lot. We have four cats as well. Harry is 16 and grumpy. He meows his demands at me and I bow accordingly. Micah is 9 and very opinionated and loud. He has his opinion and will not hesitate to share it with you. Sam is 7 and likes to drool on my head. It's disgusting. Charlie is 1 and doesn't understand he is a cat. Orphaned before his eyes were open, he's now 20 pounds of what we're not sure. He's the kind of cat everyone likes. Too bad he doesn't like new people! Oh, there is also a guinea pig, Penelope. One of these days she's going to finally get old and die and there will be no more.
And the director of this whole shindig is me. I'm a not-yet 40 year old mom who teeters on the edge of insanity. I love my kids even though I'd like to kill them half the time, and thoroughly enjoy looking at the lighter side of things. If you can't laugh about it, it's not good. ;) I like to run (and yeah, I'm SLOW!), sew, read, knit, crochet, and sing, except I'm terrible at singing so I reserve that for my poor running friends. I'm also Canadian, which explains the drinking!!
And without further ado (because odds are good I'll be interrupted anyways!), allow me to introduce the stars of the show.
Hannah is 10 years old, my firstborn. Very bright, she also lacks in common sense. I sometimes wonder how a child who is so quick to understand new concepts can miss the obvious. But then, she's blonde and takes after her father. Yup, that explains a lot!
Alyssa.... whoa.... Alyssa. At 8 years old, she suffers from classic middle child syndrome. She is also the child I was (cursed) blessed with when my mother yelled "I HOPE YOU HAVE A CHILD JUST LIKE YOU SOME DAY!!". Dark haired and dark eyed, she is the polar opposite of her sister in pretty much every way possible. Definitely my child.
Last but not least is the 5 year old Sutton. He is usually more levelheaded than either of his sisters but that may just be his age. He still likes to sleep with us more often than not and snores like a freight train. I see much of his father in him, yet me as well. Poor dude.
Co-Starring:
Roger, the father, my husband. We've been married almost twelve years and people still think it's a crazy story. He's a cradle robber according to his family, given that he is eight and a half years older than I am. He's also very introverted, although I'd like to think that's changed at least a little. Really though, he makes a heck of a fine chauffeur and pours a mean glass of wine.
The crew consists of a menagerie of animals. Our two Labs, Emma & Molly, are fat, old, and sweet. They do terrible things like eat entire loaves of bread, snore, and sleep a lot. We have four cats as well. Harry is 16 and grumpy. He meows his demands at me and I bow accordingly. Micah is 9 and very opinionated and loud. He has his opinion and will not hesitate to share it with you. Sam is 7 and likes to drool on my head. It's disgusting. Charlie is 1 and doesn't understand he is a cat. Orphaned before his eyes were open, he's now 20 pounds of what we're not sure. He's the kind of cat everyone likes. Too bad he doesn't like new people! Oh, there is also a guinea pig, Penelope. One of these days she's going to finally get old and die and there will be no more.
And the director of this whole shindig is me. I'm a not-yet 40 year old mom who teeters on the edge of insanity. I love my kids even though I'd like to kill them half the time, and thoroughly enjoy looking at the lighter side of things. If you can't laugh about it, it's not good. ;) I like to run (and yeah, I'm SLOW!), sew, read, knit, crochet, and sing, except I'm terrible at singing so I reserve that for my poor running friends. I'm also Canadian, which explains the drinking!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)