Aaron

We went to the doctor today since Aaron had said that his rash was beginning to itch. The doctor looked at it and said....Fifth's Disease. Great!! I asked if he should stay home and if it was contagious and the doctor said it was contagious but two weeks ago!! Lovely. By the way, there is nothing that can be done about it! Cause you know I have money just laying around just trying to figure what to do with it!

More From the Gardens

The infamous lizard! This is as close as we could get for Jarred. Maybe his mom can blow it up for him. The kids had a journal that they filled out as we went. We rubbed tree bark and traced leaves. We also rubbed footprints that were in the Texas walk. We rolled down hills and walked and walked and walked...... We also fed koi and snapping turtles. It seems that we paid more attention to the wildlife than the flowers and plants. We did go into the rose gardens. The kids seemed to like how strong the roses smelled. We passed one lady who was there who had stronger perfume than the roses and I really had to hustle to keep the kids from saying anything. They did wonder why you would wear perfume like that. I couldn't help them with that one. The cardinal in the other picture was really posing for us. He must have sat there puffed up for several minutes. The kids thought he was cool especially since we had seen a female one and talked about camouflage and why it was important.

As we walked, I wanted to give them a little freedom so they could experience things so as we left an area I would quack. Yes, I said quack. They had to quack back to let me know that they were paying attention. I just figured that since they had to follow me like duckings, that we might as well act like ducks. Jarred did ask why we had to quack and I told him that we could tweet instead if he wanted. He opted for quacking. As my mom would say..You always have a choice. Sometimes its between peas and carrots, but its still a choice.

I am about to leave for afternoon carpool, but have to fold a load of laundry first. Man you leave it for even one day and I think that it reproduces!

Don't Give Me A Rash

Today was very fun. Lauren and I went to the Botanical Gardens with her class and we had a great time!.. However, before talking about that let me fill you in.

One of the carpool kids asked Aaron on Wednesday "Hey, what's that on your face?" Statements like tend to make a mom look up. I looked and he had a bad case of acne. I looked closer and it was all over his body. It actually looks like a giant case of hives. It is not raised or bothering him. He has no fever or anything else. The doctor said that she hadn't heard of anything so she thought he would be o.k. Makes you feel good, right? He should be fine. Its the should that got me... I let all the carpool parents know just in case. So if you see a lot of kids around with this odd looking rash, its my fault. I've told you about it...so DON'T GIVE ME A RASH.. HA!

I guess it works out because one of the little carpoolers threw up all over my house that same day. It was a busy day!

But on to the Gardens...

One of guys was so OCD about touching a lizard. It was so funny watching him try to catch one. Everywhere we went he was looking for one. We didn't get everywhere on the map, but these little guys were troopers and walked a great deal. I did seem to have more and more in my backpack at the end of the day, though.

Its now the weekend and time for a mommy's night out. Hellen and I are going to Starbucks to hang out. Tomorrow starts early with a baseball game and then shopping. The kids have friends spending the night and then Sunday is church and Sunday School. I'll try to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

Beauty in the Common Things: sleeping children

Listen in: A very LOUD TV show that my husband is watching

Good Night!

Catch up

It has been a while since I have been on to let you guys know what is happening. So let's take it from the top:

Me: I am trying to organize my days more. It seems to be working, but we'll see. I am the carpool mom for the neighborhood. At least once a week I watch two little guys for a friend. I have some time to myself from about 12:30 to 2:30. Oh, yeah, I also spend that time doing laundry, dishes, sweeping, showering, or anything else you can think of. I have been researching new schools for my guys to go to next year. I just don't feel that our current school district is meeting the needs of my kids. I am also on my way to be the crazy colorblind mom. My dad and I are going before the school board to talk about what they can do for kids who are colorblind in the school system. It looks like I am going to have to keep going to the top(state) to get anything done. I guess I am the crazy colorblindness mom.

Clark: Still working at a job he hates and still looking for something else. Coaching Aaron's Little League team and very involved with the LL board.

Aaron: Doing well in school and in baseball. His team is two and 0. He plays catcher and third base. He has a hard time hitting slow pitches but rocks with the fast ones.

Lauren: Doing well at school but keeps finishing her work too fast and is getting frustrated with how slow everyone else is going. She has several friends on the street now and I have several kids who keep coming to the door asking about her. She is very popular and seems to be in charge. She decided one day that she was able to ride her bike without her training wheels and did! She is like that.

Alex: He has decided to not know his letters and numbers. He won't show his teacher that he does know them so just in case we are doing alpha cards. I have written the alphabet on index cards and we are looking thru ads and old magazines to find pictures to match the sounds.

Heather: She has a new job and is having a little trouble with math but is working hard to get thru it.

This sounds like a Christmas letter, but it does bring you up to date.

Yea, School

Tomorrow, Lauren will be going back to school for two days. I am still a little concerned about her cough. It seems to get worse the more she runs around and is active. Alex is still home, I think. He has more problems than she does with the cough. I know they are not contagious as far as the ear infections and strep throat, but the cold that started it all is still hanging around and do I want to share? I think not. Spring Break is coming up and that means hunting for fun things to do at a low cost. I think we will pull out all the crafts materials that we have and have a good time making a mess. Thank goodness for hardwood floors!! Just sweep and mop. I was going to go to bed early tonight. But..... Lauren wanted some mommy time, just us playing; and then the computer sucked me in and so here it is 10:15 and I am still going.
Now I am off again.

Tuesday??

Beauty n the common things: empty laundry baskets
Listen In: Silence this late and cat snores
Supper Plans: With the kids sick, we had beans and franks and grilled cheese
Today I Plan to: Doctor's visits
View From the Front Window:Stars, street lamp, one lonely cat out for a stroll.

I had to convince the doctor to see Alex today as well as Lauren. It was just as well because Alex has strep throat and Lauren has a double ear infection. They were so good as we had to wait almost an hour to see the doctor. The hard part is keeping them away from each other and the rest of the family. Spring Break is coming up and wouldn't that be a yucky to spend the week?

It looks like we are going to miss Open House. Great! Today when I went to pick up Lauren's homework, her teacher asked me if we had ever considered skipping a grade with her. There is so much to consider with that. I know she could handle the work, but what about the age difference with her peers? She would be a second grader with third graders. I am not sure that would be the best choice for her.We might just continue to supplement her from home with activities, etc. For example, I showed her the picture on my blog and told her that it showed a poem from one of my favorite authors, Robert Frost. When she asked me to tell her the poem, I showed her the book I had that had his complete works. She read the poem and I defined some words for her. She then said "Oh, I get it!" When I questioned her thinking, "yeah, right" she said it was about making choices and not choosing the same thing as everyone else. That's correct, by the way. I am constantly amazed by her every day.

Clark had the third interview with a company today and the next step is an all day meeting with company executives. His current job is giving him grief about taking time off but its not like he doesn't have his blackberry with him 24/7! They even wake him up at night. When he visited his grandmother in Tennessee, he had to drive to find a wireless connection to answer an email from work. She was not amused. At 93, she does expect him to spend time with her!! Go figure!!

A friend of mine gave me a great gift today. There was a version on The Wizard of Oz on TV not too long ago called The Tin man. I really enjoyed it and she picked one up for me when she bought her own. It was very sweet of her to remember me like that. It is good to have friends like that. Another friend of mine called Monday to see if I needed any help getting kids to school as I was feeling ill myself. She has a full time job and two kids of her own and yet thought of me. It makes you feel loved.

I am off to bed and will see you tomorrow.

Let's Segue into Spring.....

Hello to all!!

My sister's friend Julie, whose blog you can link to from mine, is a very together mother of 7 who does a very neat thing almost daily. I thought I would try it and sees what happens. I am not going to say I will do it daily, but we will see what happens.

Beauty in the Common Things: nap time
Listen In: the hum of the dryer, Alex trying to sing himself to sleep
Supper Plans: something with chicken breasts, corn, mixed veggies
Today I Plan To: do the dishes, clean up Lauren's room
View From the Front Window: the sun has just briefly broken through the clouds.


Lauren has been home since last Monday with a cough, congestion and an on/off fever. Alex has decided he felt left out and now he has it as well. Lauren woke up complaining of her ear hurting. Our doctor is out all week and I had to push for an appointment for her. I have been treating the symptoms and now I think it has gone into an ear infection. The earliest time I could get in to see someone is tomorrow at 10:30. It is a little frustrating to follow all the instructions and then when you KNOW that your child needs more from a doctor to be told that they are too busy. GRRR! Heather is looking for another job and is considering going to the University of North Texas for the fall. We have pulled Alex from morning pre-k to afternoon and I think it is going well. It will give me more time to spend with just him and work on his letters, etc. Aaron has just signed up for next year's classes. He is planning on taking all four pre-AP classes as well as a technologies class. He goes on a history field trip over spring break that has him visiting several museums in the area. That seems to be all that is going on. Girl Scouts keeps up and baseball is beginning. Hopefully I'll get back to you sooner than a month.