Because I am tired of my own kids today......

let's enjoy this little lady today. This is my niece Macie. For anyone who doesn't know, she is the daughter of Travis' sister, Amy. She is exactly 2 months older than Jack and about 2 years more mature than him.

I love my children dearly. They really are my whole life. However, today, just the sound of their voices is grating on my nerves. Parker has been whining about being bored and complaining about doing his homework. Which, by the way, consists of picking up a handful of leaves to press. And Jack. Well, Jack is annoyance personified. His voice, his manic behavior, his disobediance is all driving me nuts. I would say I need a break. Don't be mistaken, this is all part of being a parent and I wouldn't trade these two for anything and I am grateful for every minute (even the stressful ones) that God has given me with them. But an hour of peace and quiet would be welcome.

Homecoming

Aren't squinty-eyed pictures just the best!? That's sarcasm. It isn't always about the quality of the pictures, sometimes--well, most of the time--the memory itself is what is important.

Today is Mt. Zion's homecoming. We went to the parade but I didn't bring my camera so this is my layout from last year's parade. It pretty much looked the same this year.

What A Trooper

I've talked about poor Parker's first week of school before, but I made another page about it. The look on his face just rips my heart out. Poor kid. I love that Mrs. Fitzgerald wrote "what a trooper" on the bear. Parker stayed home sick yesterday with some strage bug but felt much bettter this morning so he was up and ready to go to school. Then he threw up around noon so I had to go get him. I think it was more from not eating anything than actually being sick. However, he has a temp again now, so maybe he does actually have something going on. His school attendance isn't looking so good right now!

Scrappin' Fool

I have been on a scrapping binge this past week so I have lots of pages to share--one page at a time though. I'm currently trying harder to just scrap the pictures and memories that I love and not worrying too much about whether they are fabulous scrapook pages worthy of a magazine. This is a concept all the scrapbookers should embrace from time to time.

Karma

-Do you believe in karma? I do when it concerns me. For instance, I just know that if I treat someone like crap, it will come back to haunt me. But I do not believe that everyone is affected by karma. Two of the most horrible, awful, mean, hateful girls I know from high school have gone on to lead charmed lives. They have had bumps in the road for sure, but overall, they get everything they want. If there were such a thing as karma for these two, they would be lonely, sad, pathetic women. But they aren't. Had to get that off my chest.

-Parker had a field trip to the pumpkin patch today and I didn't volunteer to go. It killed me, but I think he needs to spread his wings without his overprotective mother nearby. That is not to say that mothers shouldn't go on field trips. It's just that when I am around, Parker gets clingy and shy and I don't want to inhibit him on this trip. I hope someone took some pictures though!

-I HATE shopping with Jack. Every time I try to go anywhere with him, I vow to never do it again. I think today was the straw that broke this camel's back. He drives me nuts!

-I ordered this purse today and I am very excited. I hope it's as cute in person as I think it is in the picture. I took a leap of faith in ordering it.

-I also ordered a pair of shoes from Kohl's who screwed me with my last order. I'm trying to outsmart them so we will see if it works. I would try to explain the whole story, but it is somewhat confusing and probably makes me look like a fool. If I didn't already look like a fool, that is.

Kindergarten Midterms

Parker brought home his "midterm" report today. Didn't they just start school last week!? Well, I could have predicted what it would say.............he needs to work on coloring. He got "good" marked on everything else, but the coloring is lacking. UGGGHHHHH!!!! He does not like to color. Never has. I have tried and tried, but I don't believe it is something you can force. However, we have told him that when he is at school and his teacher wants him to color a picture, he must try his best. He is capable, just not willing. We will see if there is any improvement. I just don't know how you can make him want to color. I loved to color--still do! This is all reminding me of my early education too. I am not into music. Never have been. I can't carry a beat. I can't distinguish instruments in a musical piece. I don't know how to read music. I very rarely listen to the radio and I could not begin to tell you the last CD I bought for my own listening pleasure. Seriously, it has been since before I had Parker. Obviously I don't own an ipod. I don't dislike music. Certain songs move me. Especially those with religious themes, but I'm just not musically inclined. Anyway, I HATED music class. I hated trying to keep a beat. I can remember getting yelled at for not being able to keep the beat. Later, it was torture because we used to get our hymnals out and have to go around the class and each kid would read a note. I had to use a little cheat sheet to know them. The bottom line is, not every child is going to be able to do things like music and art. And I'm not sure they should really be expected to. However, a 6 year old should be able to color within the lines and that is all we are hoping for at this point. And I am very proud of him for getting good marks and all the behavioral stuff. He is such a rule-follower. (at school anyway) Just like his nerdy mom.

The apple patch

This is Jack and Isabella at the Okaw Valley Orchard (or as Jack calls it, the apple patch.) It was their first field trip and they had a lot of fun. I'm still adjusting to the fact that it's Jack at the co-op and not Parker. Today is picture day for Parker, so I am anxious to see how that goes. For the past 3 years, he has refused to get his picture taken at school. He looked mighty handsome when he left this morning, but you never know what will happen between now and picture-taking time!
By the way, to the left is Parker and Emma who is Isabella's big sister. Do you see a trend here?

blah, blah, blah

Obviously I have been messing with the layout/colors of my blog. I just can't seem to settle on anything I like. So, for now, simple seems best. Kind of like a gallery.

- A big thank you to Jennifer Schmidt who took these pictures of Jack on his first day of school. He got off to a rough start but came out smiling. It is soooo weird for me for him to be at preschool. Wasn't he just a baby two weeks ago?

- Parker is neutral with kindergarten. Doesn't love it. Doesn't hate it. That's o.k. I just didn't want it to be a battle to get him to go everyday.

- He enjoys the bus even though it makes me nervous. I know it is good for him. He's more capable of handling things than I give him credit for.

- Jack strips down to his underwear every time we walk into the house. It's driving me nuts. I'll be glad for cold weather and I'll set the thermostat at 65 degrees so he won't strip anymore.

- Today at Target, they had all their school supplies marked to 75% off. So, I loaded up on some glue sticks. At the checkout, I saw a lady who had a big basket full of Roseart crayons which were 3 cents for 24 crayons. Great deal, but those crayons suck. So, I say to the friend I am talking to, "I hate Roseart crayons. They don't color very well." She agrees. Unfortunately, the lady with 400 boxes of Roseart crayons hears me too. She says, "I'm an art teacher so they will work for my class." Then I try to dig myself out of my hole by saying, "Oh yeah. If I were buying for a classroom, I would by the cheapest thing I could find. Where do you teach? Do you like these kind of glue sticks? Because I know some teacher don't. What do you think?" Blah, blah, blah. The moral of the story is don't buy Roseart crayons because the suck and keep your opinions to yourself at Target.

- I just paid $40.oo each for Halloween costumes for Parker and Jack. I'll bet my parents didn't spend $80 on costumes for the two of us with all of our Halloween's combined. I'm a fool. A fool who is wrapped around two little Star Wars fans little fingers. So, I will have a little Jengo Fett and Boba Fett for Halloween this year. If you don't know who they are, watch Star Wars Episode 2. Come on, get with the game! I'm thinking about surprising them by dressing up as Princess Leia. They would flip. Or die of embarrassment. Either way, I win.

-Gotta go snuggle with Parker. I don't get to spend enough time with that kid these days. I miss him!

Labor Day Weekend

A little piece of our Labor Day weekend. Enjoying the St. Louis County Air Show. Actually I was way more impressed than the boys. They swam a little bit. We shopped a little bit. Nothing too exciting but a nice little getaway. (notice that the planes are upside down!)