Is she really five?

Happy Birthday JO!

In First Grade Already?

Je mentioned that she needed to bring candy for a boy in her school or he was going to give her a "paperclip shot".
Screech!
What did you say?...
No, you do not have to bring him candy, nor should you.

As we asked a few questions it turned out that this boy intended to bring a paperclip from home and use the end to poke her in the bottom. Thus the "shot". She seemed a little scared but sure that she had to give in. We all tried to explain that she didn't have to, no one can make you do this. By this morning she seemed to get it. I got a little more information out of her, and it seems that the incident happened on the bus. So I walked across the street to tell the bus driver that this had happened. She immediately knew the little boy in question, another first grader. She promised to take care of it. I had already emailed Je's teacher and she responded quickly that she would look into the situation. By noon, Je had talked to the counselor as had the little boy and the email said that his parents would be notified. I don't know the family or even their last name so I wonder how that will go. The bus driver told me when she dropped Je off that she and the principal had spoken to the little boy and that should encourage him not to repeat his threat. I was impressed by how seriously they take this at Je's school. They jumped right on to the problem and responded to my communication quickly. It is problematic that this little boy is only in first grade and already doing this. After school, Je told me that she knew of another little girl who'd been told to bring him candy or else. So far no one did, but this morning, Je was picking out some candy from her stash of parade candy. I made her put it back.
We've all been bullied at one time or another. I worry about it especially with Je because she is so tenderhearted, and reserved. She doesn't always stand up for herself. Jo probably will stand up for herself and tell the bully to leave her alone. Je hopefully will learn to do the same. She heard the same message from her parents, Nana, her teachers, the counselor and bus driver. Maybe it will sink in if she hears it from several directions.

Remember this, or this? We finally got rid of them a month or so ago. It was nice to have the living room looking like a living room again. The girls didn't seem to mind having the boxes go, at first. A week or so after they were gone they started bugging us for the tents my sister gave them for Christmas a few years ago. (Thanks, Min!) I held them off through vacation and their visit to grandmas but today, they wore me down.





And in case you missed the first day of school and were interested.... Every morning Je and Jo go stand on this rock in our yard. They call it the watching rock since they use it to watch for the bus. There goes any chance I had to get it out of my yard...

So she isn't deaf

Today, being the first day of first grade for Je, I tried to entertain Jo. Mom gave me a couple coupons for Penney's, so we went to the mall to bum around. I figured it was going to be too hot to be outside much and the mall has an indoor play land. Jo wanted a pretzel and I had a buy one get one in my purse. She was specific in her pretzel demand, she wanted to get a cinnamon pretzel and eat it at the mall like she does with Nana. Okay. One time you get a pretzel to go and you never hear the end of it. We each ate about half of the pretzels and brought the rest home. Shan came into the family room this evening and seeing them on the counter asked me how long I was going to leave his pretzel there without telling him it was there. Jo heard him, and from her bed all the way upstairs said "That's MY pretzel!" Oh yeah she has no hearing problems at all. Two floors away and she is protecting her pretzel.

I Can't Decide If it is Beautiful or Ugly

The kids spent the week at my inlaws last week. It was sooooooooo quiet around here. We (mostly I) eagerly set off Friday to go out there for the weekend. I looked up near the Elsworth/Lincoln County lines. I saw this:









As we drove they seemed to multiply. I counted 22 at one point.








Then we topped a hill and as we came around the corner...There were hundreds and hundreds of them. I can't decide if it is a beautiful site or a really really ugly one. Seriously. It is awe inspiring. We both gasped when we saw them all. I don't know if they are part of the answer to the energy question or just a pipe dream designed to make us feel like we are doing better. I like the idea of using the energy that God provides, solar, wind, water...but I don't know if they can be a miracle cure to the energy problem. I have a sneaking suspicion that the answer is going to be more about conservation and using less energy than finding a new souce to replace current sources. Which means work and change for all of us. Can we do it? We'll see.

What Have I Done?!

I eagerly went to PTO last fall for the first time. I volunteered cautiously for things, and added ideas to the discussion over the months. So I knew the other mothers a bit from that. The PTO president lives down the street across from my mom and knew that my kindergartner got off the bus there a couple afternoons a week. We had become friendly through this. So when she left a message on my machine yesterday, I wasn't alarmed. I was dreading the call a bit because, I knew, she needed volunteers for PTO. The last few years, the same group of moms have done the jobs in PTO because no one else would volunteer. Many of them are now burned out, and several have moved to other schools, or even out of district, and their kids have moved on to the middle school. So finding a new crop of parents has been a challenge. I think they had most jobs filled until recently when a sudden flurry of moves changed that. She had a list of PTO positions that needed filling. The easiest job on the list...PTO president. Seriously. I am the PTO president for my daughter's elementary school. On the bright side, I know from experience that the person in charge has an easier job than the person who does the pancake feed, or some of the other jobs. Thanks goodness. If I didn't have enough to do before...well I do now.

Vacation Stop

We're on vacation! Yea! We stopped at Grant's Farm on our way to church camp. It was pretty hot, but we had a great time, the girls picked the pretty hats for a souvenir.


Mama and baby Clydesdale


Clydesdale stallion









We even fed bottles to the baby goats, who tried to eat everything, our shoe laces, my shirt and shorts, Je's hair...




they really liked it when we brushed their coats

To tired to wiggle

Today we painted a rental house for/with my mom and we are too tired to wiggle. Fortunately it was cloudy for most of the morning so it wasn't uncomfortable to paint. It has been a busy month around here. Not much blogworthy of note though. Je finally is beginning to enjoy softball. And a side benefit, she is improving. Nana came to a game and noticed how weird she was throwing sidearmed rather than overhanded. Je hadn't been too willing to practice with Daddy, so Nana told me to bring the bat and ball down the next time Je visited. So now, Je asks to practice with Nana, and she throws the ball correctly. She had a really good hit at the last game, with aunt, uncle, Nana, and cousins as witnesses. In her league, the girls get 4 pitches from the coach and if they don't hit a pitch, they get to hit off the tee. Usually, Je needs the tee. This time, she whacked it pretty good. She isn't committed to playing another season, but I think she is really having a good time. She could stay with the same coach, and since we really like his approach, we are probably going to give it another year. He is pretty low pressure, very positive, and a lot of fun. At a recent game, he brought a cooler full of water balloons for the girls to throw at him. They had a blast. That is probably the first time they had thrown that hard the whole season. Je played first base for an inning and did a pretty good job of stopping the ball, and going to first base with it. She only got the batter out once but her effort was great. That is one of my fondest memories from growing up. Lots of softball. We all three played for many years, and we had a great time doing it. Hours of catch with Daddy in the back yard, practices, games, sweating in the Kansas heat through a double header in July. Totally fun. Seriously. I want that for Je and Jo. Like my sister said recently I LOVE SUMMER!

Back by Popular Demand

Okay, so only my sister noticed and requested a post but still. I probably talked to most of my audience since my last post. Only one mentioned the lack of post. I had a busy month. As school wound down and we had field trips and play days etc. VBS wound up. It was all VBS all the time for the last couple weeks. But its over now for another year. I take it as a good sign that I am thinking about next year already. I have to write the report on this year before I forget the things I want to do differently, but other than that, I can't get started until July when the companies release their themes for next year. I can't even get the material until November so I have a slight break.
Just enough time to plan for the Christmas program. Funny stuff. Our theme this year for VBS was a beach party. The church looked great decorated. We had kind of a crunch with that since I couldn't do that until Sunday afternoon. Usually, I work Saturday morning, then finish Monday morning. This year, there was a 50th anniversary party on Saturday, so we had decorating with everyone after the fellowship lunch. We ended the week with a taco dinner for all the families and a beach party complete with boardwalk games etc. We had a shooting gallery with water guns and ping pong balls on golf tees, face painting, lasso golf, ring toss, and a soak the surfer. Our answer to the dunking booth. For a special treat, we rented a snow cone machine. The kids loved it. The weather was gorgeous. Just 24 hours before we had been under all kinds of watches and warnings but it all cleared out, the wind died down and the temp fell to a beautiful summer evening. I have one year to rest up to do it all again.

BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean livin''
I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain..
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Pretty is as Pretty does... but beautiful is just plain beautiful!
by Maya Angelou

The Perils of Caller ID

I have a new pet peeve. People who use their caller id as an answering machine. They look through the list of calls, and then call unfamiliar numbers to find out who the people are. I just got a call from a gentleman who demanded to know who I was. I answered the phone, "Hello?" His response was, "Who is this?" No hello, my name is and I was wondering... etc. Really people. If I call someone, and don't reach them, I leave a message. If I don't leave a message, I will try again, or it wasn't that important. If someone calls my cell phone in error, I certainly am not going to use my minutes to find out that it was a wrong number. If it isn't important enough to leave a message, then it must be not worth me finding out who they are. I am tired of getting calls from people who want to know who called them. Get a machine people. If I need to speak with you, I will leave a message. Caller id, is not as good as an answering machine. Trust me on this. You may now return to your regularly scheduled activities. Rant over.

Stiches

I've learned that whenever the least convenient time for an emergency room visit, that is when you will need to make one. Today, I chaperoned Je's class trip to the Outdoor Ed center. We hiked the trail, listened to birds, looked at coyote scat, saw a Canada goose. We studied creature eyes Eyes up front they like to hunt, eyes on the side, they like to hide. We studied the apple, from seed to sauce, and sampled homemade applesauce. It was a busy day. As I was leaving school to go change for tutoring, I called my mom to let her know that Je would come home on the bus. She was at the immediate care clinic with Jo who had fallen at my friend Ellen's and cut her knee open. She needed 4 stitches. I met Mom and Jo at Mom's house after they were done, so Jo could have Hippo. Y'all know how crucial Hippo is. Jo seemed fine, so I went on to tutoring. I was thanking God that I had remembered to give Ellen my mom's cell number this morning, since Mom wasn't home and I wasn't near a car. I also was thanking God for friends at the Doctor's who could vouch for Mom's relationship with my child, so Jo could get treated without a lot of fuss. Thank you Dr. B.

School Days

I've learned that sometimes my husband has a clue. Intellectually speaking, I knew May is a busy month for many people. End-of-school-year activities and all that. I vaguely remember being a little busier when I was teaching in May. Now, that I am a parent of a school kid, I am dazed. It is a lot of stuff. Really. Field trips, programs, volunteer appreciation days, teacher appreciation days, and Field Day, not to be confused with Field trips. Jo has the end of preschool picnic on the same day as Je Field Day. I was really stressed trying to figure out how to be at both activities. The picnic is for parents to come, and the Field Day needs parent volunteers to help. My husband, (not usually this logical) suggested that I go to field day a little late, after I drop Jo off at preschool, and then, sneak out a little early, to go picnic. Seriously. How simple is that. I cannot believe I was so stressed when it is an easy solution. I emailed the coordinator for Field Day and told her my plan. She said no problem, she was just glad to have the help for part of the day. Now if every scheduling conflict could be this easy. May looks hectic already.

We're Adding On

Mom got a new water heater this week, and we got a new box to join the first in the living room.













We cut a door in the new box and Voila!















The girls moved their rooms (at least it seemed like it) into the boxes, and are planning another sleepover in their new accomodations.















Such cheap fun.

WFMW-Hair bows

One of the things I like to do is use frou frouy hair bows for my kids. Since they both have hair...I mean a lot of hair...it is a challenge to get things to stay. Most cute hair things don't stay in very well. I like Gymboree's elastic bands with the curly ribbon. Elastic bands stay the best in their hair. Especially the very thick Je's hair. I have used the barrettes over plain rubber bands, but they come out sometimes. My problem is, that Gymboree hair things are expensive. Full price is $4-5 for one set. Given the number of color options that could be some serious money. I found plain white plastic barrettes on ebay, and began sewing ribbon bows on the barrettes, but since barrettes are less durable than rubber bands, they don't hold up as well. Last week, I was at Walmart and found some cute ribbon with softballs on it. Je has started softball this year, and since she is a little reluctant, I thought new hair bows might be nice. I bought some thick elastic bands, and some ribbon in her team color, lime green. It was at the Target $1 shop for scrapbooking. The set I bought had several designs, with lime green and other colors, in stripes and polka dots. I decided to try to make bows on elastic bands.

First I took one of our favorites for a pattern. Then, I laid out 10 strips of ribbon and cut them about 8 inches long. I laid the strips on top of each other, folded them over the elastic, and stitched right above the elastic band. I sprayed the ribbon with spray starch, then used a micro (1/2 inch) curling iron to curl the ribbon. It works best after the starch has dried.

And....


Voila....












I found directions online for curling fabric ribbon permanently. Instead of pins, I used wooden springed clothes pins. I think they worked pretty well. I also melted the raw edge of the ribbons to prevent fraying. I held the grill lighter close to the ribbon, but not close enough to burn it. The down side is that you have to curl the ribbon before attaching it to the band. I didn't do that so I improvised with the curling iron. I tried the curling technique using dowel rods and the oven, and it worked very well. I made another set after this one with that ribbon. It was a little harder to get the lengths even, but the finished result was pretty good.
I only used six strips of ribbon after I curled them. I was afraid if I did more I would have trouble controlling the ribbon. Next time I will try ribbon all the same width and try more strips. I wanted to do it with what I had on hand. All in all, I am pretty happy with the results. I definitely will try this again, to match the girls outfits. I know it is anal but...I like things to match. It works for me!

The Box

It seems we are concerned a lot about sleeping around here. it isn't that I think they are cuter when asleep but over the weekend...Daddy was out of town and it was only reflecting on moments like these that kept me from infantacide. My mom gave the girls the box from her new chair, and they decided that it would be a great place to sleep. Since Friday was a teacher work day and it was a girls only weekend, they had a sleep over. They did it both Thursday and Friday night and are planning another sleep in the box night for tonight. Since tomorrow is Kindergarten Round up, Jessa has another Friday off.

So she really doesn't like her bed

This is the sight that greeted me as I went upstairs at halftime. I had to step over her to get the camera. Notice the lovely 4th of July sock on her one foot. Classic really. She's been particularly hard to get to bed recently. Maybe I should have offered her the kitchen floor days ago.

I think I mentioned Mark Schultz in the post about the Extrodinary Women Conference. I brought back a CD for Shan, and he has been playing it almost non-stop since I got back. I enjoy it as well, so I've been playing it a lot too. When Jo and I got in the car to meet my mom for lunch yesterday she asked for a specific song,

"make a little noise for the Lord"

. It is a phrase from the intro to When you Give I couldn't find that song on playlist.com but I added all the Mark Schultz music I could find on there. I will leave it up for a while so if you aren't familiar with this guy you can listen. He is a Kansas native so give him a listen.

New Look

I tinkered with the colors and picture for my header. That is the girls on Easter morning before church. I rolled their hair in sponge rollers the night before (just like my mom used to do with my sisters and I) It really curled well. A few years ago, I tried to roll Je's hair, but by morning the rollers all came out. Jo had curly hair until she cut it last year. Now it is pretty straight. My sister and her family were in town for the Easter weekend and Friday the girls stayed over with their cousins at Nana's for a slumber party. Big fun! Nana rolled Jo's hair and the cousin hair. She didn't have enough rollers to do all three girls' hair, and said if she had done Je's hair, she wouldn't have had enough rollers to do anyone else's hair. I went out last Saturday and bought enough little rollers to do both my girls hair. They loved it so it will be a treat for them.

When I look at the picture above, I am struck by how classic it is of my two. They are pretty joyful little girls. Jo likes hats and fancy shoes. Je does too, a little, but her hats never stay on long. We signed Je up for softball at Ken Berry League this year. She was dead set against it until we told her she had to try it this year, and if she didn't like it she didn't have to do it again. She is anxious of new things. She has had two practices and found a little girl from her school is on her team. It is growing on her. She is trying to talk Daddy into helping coach. We will see how that goes. Jo already said she wants to play next year.

I've been a bit under the weather today. I've had a little cough and congestion for a couple days then, last night around 12:30, I got so cold I was afraid I would bite my tongue with the shivers. Shan piled four down throws on me to warm me up. By 3 am I had to kick them all off and turn on the fan. Needless to say I didn't sleep well. Hopefully tonight will be better, I am supposed to substitute in Jo's Sabbath School class tomorrow. Her regular teacher will be in Shawnee for her son's installation as a Deacon. I grew up with her son. He has been a good friend,and was an usher in our wedding. But when I think about him being grown up enough to be a deacon it shocks me. Of course, he's been married for over 10 years, has three kids and a doctorate so what's up with that.

I just heard my husband return with dinner. Saturday is pizza night at our house.

Funny Kurt!

Our mechanic is a friend. His son wrestled for Shannon for four years before graduating last year, and he and his wife are wonderful people. When our previous mechanic missed a couple of repairs we switched to Kurt. Our car dealer gave us a free oil change, and then I had to have some minor warranty work done, so I haven't had the van in to our mechanic. Shan's pickup needed an oil change and a little work on the gearshift, so he took it in this morning and I picked him up before our day. We got donuts and took the girls to the zoo. We were taking advantage of the nice weather and spring break. This afternoon we went back to pick up the truck. Kurt was just closing down for the day, and was outside the shop when we got there. Shan went in and I got out to get in the driver's side of the van. He hollered a greeting over. A few minutes later I he walked over:

K: "You didn't get rid of your jeep did you?"

Me: "Yeah, it was time"

K: "Man, I still have a kid to put through school"



Very funny, Kurt. That's why we got rid of it, it was keeping mechanics in business.