drip drip drop little April showers and more!

...This morning I awoke to heavy rain and thunder. I love that here in Oklahoma, there really is such a thing as April Showers. The Texas Panhandle where I grew up never had that really. April Winds but no April Showers.

Anyway, let me tell you about my week.

Yesterday my son's glasses broke but were fixed easily. I bought 2 pair of shoes at a store that sells "good for feet" shoes but I am going to return them today. Buyer's remorse. I am having to talk to myself about this situation because I feel guilty about buying them and guilty about returning them. This is what I am telling myself:

"It is perfectly within my right to return these shoes. Who cares if they ask you why? It is none of their business. You are the one who spent the money. Don't feel bad for returning them. You are right."

:] (That is trying to be my sheepish grin. Can you tell?)

Moving on...

Rhett learned how to play marbles at Boy Scouts. Noah has been non-stop potty talking. And getting mad at everyone and everything. Fun times.

But here is something useful for you:

About a week ago, Noah came up to me and said:

"Mom, do you know that 3000 people in Africa die everyday because they don't have clean drinking water? But did you know that there are these straws that they can use that make germy water become clean? You put dirt in water, then drink it through the straw and it comes out clean!"

Then he walked away. I had no idea where he obtained that information but thought he had watched a commercial about it.

Fast forward to today. Rhett says, "Oh, Mom! It is Hat Day and I need to bring a dollar."

Why?

"Because it is our Earth Day project. The project is for these people in Africa who don't have clean drinking water. The dollar helps them buy straws so the drinking water can be clean."

Ah. It all makes sense. I don't know if this is the charity the school is sending the money to, but Straws for Life explains it better than my boys or I could.

Anything else?

Oh, Rhett finished his first "big" book. Aunt Jana gave him Book One of Percy Jackson and The Olympians in March and he completed it earlier this week. He was so excited and wanted Book Two right away. I am so amazed. That book had about 350 pages. I am going to have to show him the website. It looks really cool. Harry Potter cool.

One more thing:

Noah took his graduation pictures yesterday, complete with a collared shirt, tie and cap and gown. He will have a graduation ceremony on May 27, 2009. Aww.

I really can't believe he will be in 1st grade. Wasn't Rhett just there? Now Noah is reading, writing and graduating kindergarten. Just amazing.

Have a great day!

He's the Big Bad Wolf, Big Bad Wolf

...Fairy Tale Day is today for the 2nd Graders. Rhett is the wolf from The True Story of the Three Little Pigs so that is the reason for the prison garb. Aren't we lucky that he had that striped shirt? Yes, we are.

This picture isn't that great in quality but I wanted you to see the full costume. Notice the hairy ankles, the hairy hands, and the cup of sugar. If you haven't read this particular fairy tale (you should because it is very funny) then I'll tell you that the wolf is the narrator who is trying to overcome his "big, bad" image. It is most important that you know these two things: he needed a cup of sugar for a cake he was baking for his sick grandma and he had a bad cold. :)
The mask was actually very fun to make. I bought that furry yarn and glued the strands on a cat mask covered with brown felt. I glued bigger ears on the mask too. But my very clever husband helped me come up with the idea on how to make the nose and teeth. Paper towel roll and a plastic fork! The one thing I forgot to make was the tail but Rhett didn't seem to notice.

Rhett was most excited to wear this today. He even got up early and wore his mask through breakfast. :)

As for Rhett's health: his hands are healing very well and show little scars now, which Rhett loves. His fingers are still catching occasionally, but the doctor said it could be a month before that stops.

And for his stomach: I honestly think most of his stomach problems stems from stress. There may be some acid reflux but not enough to be taking medicine for sure. Some days he eats whatever and never complains. There are other days, mostly on weekends where he stays up late and eats way to much sugar, that he does say his stomach hurts but usually if I give him a ginger candy or a cup of apple juice, he is fine. When he is worried about something, his stomach hurts immediately. The good thing is that he is knows this.


And Knowing is half the battle. GI Joe!

:)

a note on Earth Day

...I want to let you know that Vanilla Honeybee Ice Cream is so yummy! Very light and fresh tasting. A every once in awhile treat because let's face it, HD ice cream is more expensive but once you taste it, you know why. I put the ice cream in a cone (no water used to wash dishes and no trash to throw away) and all the kids ate it up fast and we didn't mind that it was melting all over us because it was about 95 degrees yesterday.

The flowers are beautiful and everyone (neighbors included) had a great time planting them.

Tomorrow, I'll have pictures of Rhett as the Big Bad Wolf and also an update on how he is doing. I would do it now but then I would have to change the title of my post and I'm just not into thinking right now.

Bye!

Earth Day 2009

...Happy Earth Day!

I have some exciting news that totally relates to Earth Day. Next year, I am going to be the head of the Green Team Committee for the PTA at Rhett and Noah's school! I have ideas already swirling in my head and already at least 3 people have come up to me (during the meeting today) to tell me ideas and give support. Yay!

I think I mentioned awhile back how the school uses Styrofoam trays during lunch and how appalled I was. I didn't know how to go about bringing that up but now I have a committee to help me with that and with other ideas on how to help the school become more environmentally friendly. So excited.

So, what are you going to do for Earth Day? I think we are going to plant some flowers with the neighbors and then have Honeybee Vanilla ice cream from Häagen-Dazs® and celebrate the fact that we are helping fund research to help the honeybees. If I can't find the ice cream? I'll let you know what I do. But it will be great. And I'll use my reusable shopping bags no matter what.

Whatever you do for Earth Day, whether it is simple as not buying a plastic water bottle or turning off your lights or as big as planting a tree, I hope you feel good about it and enjoy the day. Hey, you can even buy a Louis Vuitton bag and know you are helping Mother Earth! What do you think Seth? :)

Some more Earth Day links:

Top 10 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day
Earthday Network
The Green Effect

Have a wonderful, beautiful day.

missing: Noah's mom

...This morning, I told Noah to go get a bath and added, "While you are taking a bath, I am going to take a shower.

10 minutes later, I get out of the shower and hear my child wailing.

I run to the bathroom, thinking the worst. (I don't really know off-hand what that is, just that it would be bad).

He looks at me and says in his saddest voice, "Where were you?"

note to self: Always tell Noah things twice.

i've always craved attention

...how fun is this? I am finally on a billboard! I knew someday they would see that I am totally worthy. Ha! Ha! Actually, it is this very cool site: Photofunia.

You can upload any photo and do fun things like put yourself on a Vogue cover or become Mona Lisa. Just something fun to do on a lazy, rainy day like today.

...

...For the past week, I have been trying to write something, anything, on this little blog, but I must have writer's block because all I have come up with was a lame Happy Easter post. Seriously, it is bad. I think I have something to say, then I can't write it down. My fingers freeze. My brain goes blank.

I didn't think one could suffer writer's block for a blog. But I guess one can.

And at the risk of boring you with dentist and doctor's appointments that we went to today, I will stop writing this post too.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get my groove back.

Happy Easter

...Ok, I haven't been in a melancholy mood all week. I have just been busy doing other things. And I haven't felt like blogging. But I do want to say thank you for everyone's comments. You all are very sweet.

But I did want to say welcome to my cousin Michelle. She has joined the blogging world! I am so glad because I miss keeping up with her. We used to live in the same town for a short while and that was so nice. Anyway, I'll soon add her link to the side.

I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

See you Monday.

melancholy mood

...Sometimes I wish I were

a better mom; one who would spend more time with her kids and not get impatient

a better housekeeper; one who could finish laundry the same day she starts it

a better wife; one who would rub her husband's back before he has to ask

a better friend; one who would email or call when she thinks about them instead of letting days then weeks go by before she realizes that she never did email or call

In those times, I just have to give myself a break. And remember that I am doing the best I can.

Then I remind myself how lucky I am.

meeting Tedd Arnold

...Yesterday, Rhett and Noah attended Parts and More Parts author, Tedd Arnold. If you know those books (and also the Fly Guy books) then you know that you will recognize his "scribbled" illustrations in every book he has ever illustrated. They are fantastic and the way he does it makes it even more so!

The boys were so impressed that Mr. Arnold did not just sign the book, he drew them each a picture! (I was too.) It was such a cool experience and one that won't be forgotten.

no more fun

...The happiness of missing school has worn off. Rhett now feels pain in his fingers. He also has an ear infection. Double whammy.

We bought wind pants at Wal-mart so tomorrow at school he will be able to go to the restroom without help.

He couldn't help but pull back the bandages to sneak a peak of the stitches. They are so fascinating I guess.

That's my little update for today.