Joyce Aldrich

UPDATE:
It was my teacher! Is that the coolest thing ever?



Those of you who know me well, know that I had an all time favorite teacher named Joyce Aldrich. It seems she may have found me. She left me a comment and asked me to respond via my posts.

Here you go!!

Ms. Aldrich taught me grammar in 11th grade at good old WHS. On the first day of class, she told us to bring a notebook to class and that we were going to fill it with grammar rules. She also told us to keep it because it would come in handy. (I had mine until it disappeared sometime after I got married.) The very first thing we wrote in that notebook was this:

Each, either, neither, and the body and one words are singular.
Some, any, none, most, and all are plural.

I am thrilled to think that she may have found my blog!! I'm giddy with excitement! I absolutely loved her! I loved her class. I loved the way she taught. She was fair. She was just the best!! It is because of Joyce that I help out in my son's English class. It is because of Joyce, that I can edit papers, letters, and essays. My friends and family call on me to "fix" their papers. It is all because of that Grammar and Usage class I took. I don't know if she ever knew what an influence she had on me... She probably does after reading this, though, huh??

Joyce was very stylish, too. She wore the most fabulous clothes - my fave outfit was her leather skirt! OMG! I remember sitting in the front row thinking, "I want to dress like Joyce when I grow up!!" Heck... I still want to dress like Joyce!

So, Joyce... If it's really you... Please, please, please email me at ladybugxing at gmail dot com.

More Snow!

We got another 10 inches of snow on Sunday.
Our snowblower isn't blowing snow... The auger isn't turning. No, it's not the shear bolt. I think it might be the belt. I haven't checked it. It's been too snowy and cold. Maybe later today - it's supposed to be 50 degrees.

LLB was the first one out there in the snow with Zebbie right behind her. She made a fort - complete with exit tunnel. It was very cool! The snow wasn't sledding snow, it was snowman snow. LLB did make a snowman - he was leaning against a tree enjoying the view. Sorry no picture...

Mr. and #1 shoveled the driveway. All 2/10 of a mile of it. We have a pusher shovel from Canada that works great. They did a terrific job! As a matter of fact, Mr. finished our driveway before the guy across the street finished his with a plow attached to his ATV. So much for horse power...

Yesterday #1 had an 8am ortho appointment and we had no school. Well, my children had no school, but the private school where I teach had school. Oh yippee. I had to go in. LLB felt bad for me and came with me. Isn't that sweet? She's a great kid!

Today the children have a 2 hour delay.
#1 says,"Are you sure we have a 2 hour delay?"
"Yes, I got an email from the school."
"Are you sure it's a real email?"
Deliver me...

We all have 10:30 dentist appointments - don't worry it's just for cleanings.
#1 is NOT happy.
His comment, "Why couldn't we have gone yesterday?"
"Because your appointment is today."
"Why didn't you change it?"
I'm rolling my eyes... I'm biting my tongue...

My ebay stuff is doing well. If you are interested in my Hanna stuff, get your bids in fast - today is the last day on most of it. I've got a lot of people watching...

Plan? What Plan?

Did you ever plan out a Saturday and then find out that your plan is not going to work?

I had planned to take the children to their Jazz lesson, then continue on to town and have #1 fitted for his tux. While #1 was getting fitted, I was going to look for a ball gown for LLB. After that, I had planned on a quick stop at the local Wmart for a couple stupid things.

You know what I'm doing now?
I'm dropping the children at Jazz and continuing on to town by myself. I'm stopping in at the local Wmart to pick up my couple stupid things and a gift card. If I have time, I'm stopping at the formalwear shop to see if they have any clearance gowns for LLB. (I'm umm... frugal, remember?). I'll run back to Jazz to get the cherubs. On the way home, I'll drop #1 at his friend's house for a birthday party. I'll bring LLB home, she'll eat and change. I'll drive her to her friend's house for the afternoon.

Do you see a tux fitting in there anywhere? No... Me neither... I'll have to do that this week - before Wednesday. Why before Wednesday? The coupon expires on Wednesday. (I told you I was frugal... okay cheap!)

Homework

I hate homework.

LLB had a science progress report come home this week. I got this from the teacher in the afternoon via email.

All of Mrs. W's science students will be coming home with a progress report. Please sign and have your child return it to school tomorrow.

If the work is shown a missing they may NOT make it up. All the students have been given the chance to correct or make up all the work. They did not taken advantage of that option.

Hmmm... This can't be good. They are all on her sh*t list for something. When I picked her up from school, LLB was upset and angry.
"Mom, she gave me a D and told me that this assignment was incomplete. I did it, though."
"What do you mean? You got a D in science?" (I knew she couldn't have gotten a D. She got A's on her tests.)
"No, just one home homework assignment. I got a 93.5 for my grade. But that D gave me a B for a grade and it's not fair. Look, here's my paper. The second sheet is missing. The staple is still in the corner, but the second page is gone. The substitute took it apart. We told him not to do that, but..." She was pracitcally sobbing - more from frustration than anything else.

Sure enough. I recognized the stupid homework assignment. She'd forgotten her book and had to stay up late to research the answers. I told her I'd take care of it.

I sent a note attached to the progress report and the offending homework. I told the teacher that LLB had indeed done those "missing" questions and also related the story about her forgotten book. I also requested that LLB be allowed to use a homework pass for that homework assignment. (A homework pass is earned. LLB has them stacked up from Sept. and has never ever used one. She always just does the homework.) The teacher's response, "No. I will not allow homework passes to be used."

Fine, but it still wasn't acceptable. She'd done the work. I sent another note.

LLB got in the car last night and told us that her science teacher had instructed her to re-do that missing paper - 6 rotten questions.

Great. We arrive home after ballet. I tell her to get her science book out and answer those questions. She says, "I forgot my book."

Good GOD! We have to research the answers on the internet AGAIN? I sigh. I breathe deeply. It doesn't work. I rant. She agrees. She has got to get organized.

We finish looking all this stuff up. She writes her answers out. I type them on the computer and print out the paper. I hand it to her. (We are typing everything for this class to be sure that we have a copy so we don't have to re-do any more assignments...)

"I'm sorry, Mom. It won't happen again."
"Really? That's what you said when you did this assignment the first time."
"Oh yeah... But, I'm really sorry."

This morning I make her lunch. I ask her where I should put it so she doesn't forget it. "Hang it on the door to the garage." Guess what she almost forgot? The lunchbox. The child would forget her head if weren't attached to her body!

This is the child who wants to fly airplanes for the Navy... Let's hope she remembers where she parked her plane!

She's a Zero

I took LLB to get some pants with legs long enough to go past her ankles. It was a sorry sight around here for a while! Those poor little scrawny ankles peeking out from the bottom of her jeans. They were calling to me, "Ladybug, please, it's cold! Get this child some new pants!! We're turning blue down here!!"

I originally thought she'd make it to the warm weather and I could hold off purchasing new jeans/pants until fall. Those blue ankles got to me. I couldn't take it!

We went to our neighborhood Kohls and hit the sale rack. Hmmm... what size? Grambug suggested 0 and 1. They looked about right. Grambug and I found every size 0 and 1 and piled it on top of a cart. LLB kept saying, "That's enough... No more... Really, that's enough." We didn't listen to her, we just kept piling. When we were sure she couldn't see over the top of the cart - or around it for that matter, we told her she could go try it all on.

Yes, we are cruel.
Yes, we helped her.
She must have tried on 25 pair of pants in sizes 0 - 3.

I never knew who wore a size 0. Now I do. LLB wears a size 0. She has no butt, no hips and legs up to her neck. Women who tell you they wear a zero - they lie - they have erased the 1 in front of the 0. There is no way anyone who has any curves whatsoever, could squeeze themselves into those pants!

But I digress...

We walked away with 4 pair of pants, 2 blazers, and 4 or 5 turtleneck sweaters for her, 2 pair of cords for the Mr., and 4 pair of jeans for the boy - oh and a pair of pants for me for less than $150. I think we did okay.

When I went to put her things in her closet I noticed that it was pretty full. I went through it and removed all the things that don't fit anymore. I have started listing the good stuff on ebay if any of you are interested. You can check it out here.

I've got so much stuff that I'll be listing some more today and tomorrow as well... Most of it is LLB's Hanna Andersson stuff. I'm so sad to see it go, but... she's growing up. I'll have to put on my big girl panties and deal, I guess...

Friends

Leanne over at Intricate Art talked about friends today and it got me thinking about a particular friend of mine. I call people like her my high maintenance friends...

Here's the scoop:
I met this girl at church. She told me that her kids were in boarding school in Europe and that she was lonely. I told her that I would be her friend. We chatted the next day and decided to have lunch. She was sweet and nice, but there was something rumbling just under the surface. 20/20 hindsight tells me it was my gut telling me to RUN!

We went shopping, we went for walks, we had fun. Then one day she called and asked me if I'd ride with her to her husband's office to drop off a suit or something. I said sure. The next day it was something else - I declined. I have a very busy volunteer schedule with the school and I was excersizing as well. I needed time at home for laundry and such. I hadn't started blogging yet, but if I had, you all would have heard about her before.

There were various other requests and sometimes I could do it and sometimes I couldn't. She often got snippy when I couldn't/wouldn't help her out. One day she called and wanted my husband to take her car someplace. My thought, "Excuse me, Lady. You have a husband. Get him to do it." My words, "I'm sorry, Mr. isn't home. He's out. He won't be back for quite a while." (He was here, but really!) The last straw for me was when she basically tackled me on Christmas Eve at church two years ago. She wanted me to bring LLB to her house on Christmas Day so that LLB could play with her young cousin. Oh and I could chat with the mother of this girl. Oh and she wanted us at NOON. Umm...NO. I told her that it WAS Christmas and that we had company - The Grandbugs were in town. Christmas is a family day in our family. I told her that we might be able to slip away around 4pm. She told me that was not acceptable. I told her that I was sorry, but that was the best I could do. We didn't go. LLB didn't want to go. She wanted to stay home and play with her toys. I didn't blame her. I wanted to stay home, too.

The girl is still mad.

I don't much care.

I prefer real friends like MommaK and my friends W, S and J. You see them or not. You chat on the phone once a week or less. You run into each other or not. But, when you do have time to really sit and chat, it's like no time has passed. We share news of our families. We laugh. We chat. No one is offended because someone hasn't called. Believe you me - if any of those girls ever needed my help - I'm so there! I'd drop everything and run for any one of them.

Real friends are important.

Monday Memories

Monday Memories: Did I ever tell you About The Hair Monster? When #1 was little, I decided that he needed his hair cut. It was long - too long for a boy aged 14 months. He looked like a girl! I took him to a local salon. I was armed with toys, snacks, camera and the regular stuff in the diaper bag. The lady suggested he sit on my lap. She chatted with him and he seemed to be enjoying the show. He was fine until she started to cut his hair. Then, my friends, it was all over. He cried. He fussed. He moved. He got his hair cut, but it was not a fun time for anyone. I paid the lady and gave her a large tip. As I was on my way out the door, I heard a low mumble, "Don't ever let her bring him back here, puhleese." No fear... I'd never get him in there again, anyway. By the time #1 and I pulled out of our parking spot, I was a sweaty mess and he was asleep in his car seat. The next time he needed a haircut, I took him to a different place. You would have thought I was taking him to the guillotine. He cried through the whole haircut - which lasted approximately 2.5 minutes. He really didn't have much hair. I paid the lady and gave her a big tip. When I left there, I was a dribble and #1 had a few hairs cut and a lollipop for my troubles. Well, that's another salon I can't ever enter again... This scenario went on for months. I was running out of places to take him... Mr. kept telling me he was too little for the barber shop. I can't say I blame him for not wanting to take on the hair monster... Finally, I found a stylist, T, who I loved. I'd gone to elementary and high school with her. She was an absolute peach!! She was cutting my hair and I was telling her about the bad experiences #1 had had. She told me to bring him in the next day at 4pm. T told me that #1 would be fine and that even if he acted up she would not be offended. We could try again another day. It took some convincing, but I finally agreed. I got #1 up in the morning and explained that I had a friend, Miss T, who was going to cut his hair that afternoon. #1 is the kind of child that needs the schedule for the day set at breakfast (BTW - he still does!). I told him many times that morning that after nap, we would go to the hair dresser and Miss T would cut his hair. He got up from his nap and hopped into the car. I brought some snacks and some small toys. We arrived at the salon. When we walked in, Miss T came right over, got down on his level and introduced herself. He was immediately enthralled with her. I think this may have been the beginning of his first crush. She had him sit in the chair by himself, because "You are 2 and boys that are 2 are big boys". I held my breath. She told him that her squirt bottle only squirted water on hair - but only if he was perfectly still. He sat. He did not move. She showed him her "magic scissors". She let him touch the handles. He was falling for her hard!! She had him!! She snipped his hair and gave him the best haircut he'd ever had. (Not that he'd ever had a great haircut!) When she was done with the scissors she asked him if she could use the buzzer. He wasn't sure. Tears started to well in his eyes. (He was very afraid of the buzzer.) She showed it to him. She turned it on. "No tankyou Miff T.", he sniffed around his ever present binky. "Okay. Maybe another day we'll try that." He was amazed. She didn't make him endure the noise of that scary buzzer thing. When we left, he stood about 10 feet tall. He was very proud of himself. He kept saying, "Momma, I a big boy. I sit in the chair by mysewf. I get my hair cut wif Miss T. I yike her. I go back to see Miss T, k?" After that, no one but Miss T. cut #1's hair. She cut his hair until he was about 5. He was ready to move on to the barber and she was going to stay home with her first baby. Mr. was worried about #1's first visit to the barber. I decided to stay home. I'm not stupid! I'd done 4 years of haircuts - the last 3 were pretty good, but still. He prepped #1. "Only big kids get to go to the barber." "Okay, Dad. I'm big, right?" "You need to sit very still." "Yup." "The buzzer is the same kind Miss T. used on your hair. It's just a little noisier." "Ummm... okay." I waved goodbye. I hoped this would work out... There were only two barbers in town... When they returned, I had 2 well coiffed men. Both were laughing. #1 had lollipops - one in his mouth and one for his sister. We had finally tamed the hair monster!! LadyBug Click here for the Monday Memories Code, Blogroll, Graphics, & Other Information View More Monday Memories Participants Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!

Fish Farts

Overheard at LLB's sleepover last night:

Fish farts are those bubbles you see at the top of the tank.

You learn something every day, don't cha?

Ice Chips

I live in "the South". It's supposed to be mild here year round. We have seasons, but we aren't supposed to get this cold for this long. Technically it's supposed to be much more mild than New England, right??

Did I tell you how long my driveway is? It's about 2/10 of a mile long.
Do you know how much ice that is when the ice/snow cover is about 3 inches thick? That's a lotta ice.

Our driveway is curvy and goes down toward a creek that runs under the driveway. We have a bridge - not a real bridge, just dirt and gravel over these 2 large culvert pipe things. I'm not sure how the whole thing stays up, and I really don't much care. It works. I don't give it a second thought, I just drive over it.

Day 1 - After the snow and ice stopped falling from the sky, Mr. Bug went out and made 2 swipes with the snowblower for tire tracks and then the auger on the snowblower stopped turning. He parked it, covered it, and told it he'd see it in the spring. We had bare gravel most of the way down, but then the sun went down and the whole thing froze solid again.

Day 2 - We slid/drove down the driveway and went to a somewhat local home improvement super store to get some ice melt. Mr. Bug spread 50lbs of ice melt and 50lbs of sand. We chipped away at some of the ice. We thought we'd done enough...

Grambug and I went out that night for a meeting that involved champagne, chocolate, strawberries, and a few friends. When we returned, the sun had been down for quite a while and it was really cold. The ice chipping we had done was great for getting out of the driveway, but not in. We slid down towards the bridge. I said a quick prayer that we would go over it - not off of it. As we reached the other side and started up towards the house, Grambug said, "Well, that was creepy." (That was the understatement of the century!!)

Day 3 - Mr. purchased and dumped another 40lbs of salt - the big pellets this time. We waited about a half an hour or so. Then #1 and I went out to chip some ice, baby!!

That kid can sure swing an axe thing. (I don't know the technical term for that particular tool. The axe thing has a pointy part on one side and a flat part on the other. It weighs a good 20lbs.) He would hit the ice with the flat part and a chunk would let go. I'd toss it over the side. He moved right along. We got the end of the driveway clear as well as the bridge. I went behind him with the shovel and got rid of the small chunks and the snow. Mr. Bug joined us after we'd been at it for a little while. We were down to bare gravel at 4:30 yesterday afternoon. It only took us a couple hours...

The temperature is supposed to go up to above freezing today. The rest of it should start to melt.

I do live in the South, right??

Pillow Talk - 2

LLB was curled up in her bed trying to fall asleep. Marmalade appeared and sat on the corner of her pillow. He got comfy and promtly fell asleep.
Later that night, LLB awoke to find her sweet head totally off the pillow.
Marmalade was sleeping right smack in the middle of her pillow - again.
LLB turned onto her tummy to face him.
"Excuse me, Marmadoo... Get off of my pillow."
Marmalade opened one eye and looked at her.
"What do you think you are doing on my pillow. Get off!"
Marmalade lifted his head, looked right at her, and re-comfyfied himself and mumbled "I'm trying to sleep. Please be quiet."
"Marm... Get off!"
"Ummm.... No... No thankyou. I'm very happy right here in the middle of your pillow. It's warm. It's soft. It's smells good - like you."
"Nice try... at least move over."
"Hmmmm.... let me think.... mmm.... no."
LLB picked him up and put him off to one side of the pillow... (I would have tossed the poor boy across the room!)
He sighed, "Fine. This will have to do."
"Thank you, Marmadoo."
"You are very welcome... Now, go to sleep so I can scootch back."

This time LLB maintained her pillow position until daylight.

Score: LLB 1 - Marmalade 1

Thursday 13

Thirteen Things LadyBug Is Thinking About Today 1 We survived the snow and ice, but we lost our internet connection for quite a while. 2. We finally got it back yesterday afternoon after the sun came out to melt the ice off of our dish. 3. Fortunately, we didn't lose power!! 4. FYI: Our generators were due to be installed yesterday! Needless to say, they are being installed on Monday. 5. Those of you who don't live out in the country, don't realize that without power, we have no water. 6. No water means you can't flush or brush your teeth or... you get the drift. 7. The sledding is great! Definitely dangerous - but great! The children flew down the hills and managed to bail out before they hit the house or the trees... 8. Our driveway is partially clear but it looks like the Zamboni made a couple of trips on it. We are hoping for some sun today to melt it. 9. Just so you know, this is our 3rd day with no school. They sure are enjoying sleeping in! I am too, but still... 10. #1 and I took advantage of this no school situation and painted his room! It looks great. 11. I have get the trim paint today. I thought I had some, but I'm totally out. 12. I also need a curtain rod and some cool posters. He wants some Anime' posters... The duvet I got for $9.99 at Ikea is beautiful. He loves it!! He also loves his $1.49 rugs! I'll take a picture when it's finished. 13. My house is dry. My skin is dry. My eyes are so dry they look like they belong to a 90 year old woman. They itch like crazy and I look totally exhausted. Today I gave up on the eye cream and went for vaseline! I look absolutely rediculous, but it sure feels better... Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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The Rest of the Story

Okay... So I go to school yesterday and lo and behold, I still have a job. It seems that the kids who went to the counselor pulled a fast one. Just as I thought they did.

They told us that they had to see the counselor. When they arrived, the counselor wasn't expecting them and told them to go back to class. They did NOT go back to class. They hung around and waited for her.

The big hulabaloo was over the fact that the kid's parents knew that the kid went to the counselor, not that the kid skipped class or tried to pull a fast one. So - now we have a new rule. If a kid wants to see the counselor, they have to see the C (my director) and she will call over to make sure the kid is expected down there.

I told C that we'd have to send the kids in pairs, because once they leave the classroom, I have no idea if they went where they said they were going. Right now, they are trying to get out of class so they can wander the halls and hide in the bathrooms. I also found out that they ask to go to the bathroom so that they can use their cell phones and "meet each other". So much for private school!!

Monday Music Mayhem

It's been a bit crazy around here the past couple of weeks, but things should slow down a little bit this week.

Last Monday, as I was setting up for my handbell class, a student came in and told me that she was going to the guidance counselor. This sounds relatively benign, but it opened the biggest can of worms!

I let her go to the guidance counselor, but I wasn't happy. I spoke with the director of music and told her that I had a student who went to the guidance counselor. The director was NOT happy. She told me that next time a student asks to go to the counselor during class that they can go, but they will have to take a demerit. UGH! It seems that the counselor has a nasty habit of allowing the kids to hang out in her office during music. She thinks music and art are fluff. That makes for an abrasive relationship between the Fine Arts Dept. and hers...

I emailed the parents of this child to ask for help. I explained the situation and basically told them that I understood that kids needed to the the counselor sometimes, but since I only have their kid for 2 classes a week and since I really didn't want to give demerits, was there another time this kid could see the counselor. You would have thought that I was asking them to eat poison or something!! The email I got back was scathing! It was copied to my Director and the headmaster and everything. Then I got email from the other people - I have no idea who some of them were. Good Gracious! The only person I didn't hear from was my Director. I'm thinking that this is a good thing - if it's not, I might not have a job this afternoon...

So what do you think? Is music fluff? Is there a place in a well-rounded education for music?

Confirmed

It's a happy day at The Crossing!

Both children were confirmed this morning. The Bishop came out to our tiny church to confirm them, so it was extra special. I often wonder - as I did this morning while I watched the Bishop place his hands on their heads to bless them - What will they be when they grow up. What will they do? Where will they go? I know that they are in God's hands and He will take care of them. I need not worry. They have taken the next step in their faith walks. They are on the right path...

It was really cool to see #1 and LLB side by side at the rail, heads bowed, looking so sweet and sincere. She - my old soul - with her insight and wisdom... He - my serious student and awesome musician - my Mr. Pious... Well, almost, but not quite... I know the real boy lurking beneath that jacket and tie!


On another note...

I have a confession to make.
I'm a mean nasty Mommy.
My children did not put their school things away like I asked them to do at least 20 times before they went to bed last night. I took both backpacks and #1's saxophone and hid them. (Mr. helped my carry their crap to the designated hiding spot.) I am sick and tired of tripping over their stuff!
When #1 got home from church he went looking for his sax. He couldn't find it.
I played stupid. "What did you do with it?", I asked.
"I put it in my room."
"Really... are you sure? If you put it in there, it should be there, right?"
"Yes. I know I did. Well, maybe it's in your car."
"It's not in my car. My car is empty. Ask Dad if he has seen it."
I grin just like the old Grinch as the boy walks off to find the Mr.
Mr. Bug proceeds to pitch a pretend hissy fit...
"What do you mean you don't know where your sax is?"
"Dad it's here. I just don't know where. I think I might have left it in your car."
"No - you left in in the family room. You really need to take better care of your things and put them away when you get home. Mom will show you where it is."
He arrives in the kitchen looking perplexed...
Let shed some light so the poor child can see the error of his ways...
"See this pile of laundry? You told me you would take it up last night when you went to bed." I grin. I'm really enjoying making the kid sweat...
"I didn't take it up. Sorry."
"You also didn't take up your sax. I tripped on it 3 times."
"I'm sorry. I procrastinated. I shouldn't procrastinate. I'll try not to let it happen again."
Such big words...
Alas, I let him off the hook. I think he may think twice before he leaves his stuff in my way... and if he doesn't - I have a new and improved hiding place lined up!!

Pillow Talk

Here's a Marmalade story for you...

LLB's room has been spotless for the past week - this is a miracle people, so work with me on this.

I keep finding Marmalade curled up asleep on her pillow. No matter when I go in there, he's happly ensconced on her pillow. He looks so happy there.

Last night when LLB went to bed, he was perched on her pillow. He gave her the look that said, "Lady. I'm sleeping right here. Do NOT move me. I am happy here."
She sighed and settled for a corner of her pillow.
In the middle of the night she woke up to find that she was not on her pillow. Nor was she anywhere near her pillow. Marmalade was curled up right in the center of her pillow smiling in his sleep.
She rolled over to face him.
"Marmalade, wake up."
He opened his eyes and lifted his head and looked right at her.
"Marm, this is my bed and THIS is MY pillow."
"Why, yes, LLB it is. LLB, this is a very comfy pillow, by the way. I love it and this flannel snowman pillowcase is so soft and snuggly!"
"Yes. I know. Marm, move over and give me some pillow."
"Ummm.... no. I'd rather not. I'm very happy right here."
"Marm, I share my bed with you every night. I share my pillow with you and you know that nobody else in this house would let you near their pillows with that hideous fish breath of yours. Just give me some space, k?"
"Hmmm... no. I'm comfy and warm right here. It's cold on that side of the pillow."
"Marm, you're nuts. Just move over, please..."
"Make me."
"Okay." She moved him over and promptly fell asleep.
Marmalade sighed... It was just a matter of time.
He waited until she was asleep and he tiptoed back to the top of her head. He curled up in her warm blonde hair.
"Ahhh.. this is lovely..." And he very gently pushed her off the pillow.

Score: Marmalade 1 LLB 0

Wordless Wednesday

LLB's furniture is in. I haven't taken down her 80's wall paper, but it looks pretty good with the old fashioned furniture. I will take it down and paint this summer.

She's still contemplating her bedding and therefore wall color. We are kinda leaning toward the pink. She found some really cute things in the PBTeen catalog that would be perfect in her room. I'll hit the outlet in a few months and see if any of it is there. She particularly liked the pink daisy rug and the grosgrain ribbon roman shades. The child sure has great taste!!

#1 is finally ready for me to re-do his room. His room is getting done first. He deserves it because he is the oldest and his room is - how can I say this nicely? - ummm... vile. Right now he has 80's wall paper on some walls, coordinating paint on the others and a border around the whole thing that is country cows and horses. He really doesn't mind it, but I sure hate it.

I'm going to paint the walls a lighter shade of Powell Buff (the color in Grambug's living room). I thought about denim panels for his window - he has a big double window on one wall. I might go with something else, though. He liked the red/blue/beige patterned rug he saw in the PB catalog... of course he did. This child has excellent taste, too. He wants me to make his bed into a "pseudo couch" by putting his bed against the wall under the windows. I was thinking a denim spread might work for that. He wants big comfy pillows - I'll do those in red. I want to get him a big bulletin board for his wall so he can put up pictures of friends and stuff. So - that's my plan. What do you think??

What a Weekend!

I forgot how much furniture and stuff the Grandbugs own... I remember quite well now, though. They are still unpacking and shifting things around.

Auntie's antique pineapple bed looks terrific in the loft! It looks cozy and comfy. It will look even better with bedding and the extra furniture out of there. The twin white iron beds are all made up in the guest room and they look sweet! That room, too, will look better when all the boxes are out of there.

We had a small crisis yesterday. It seems that the phone jacks in the house aren't working. The only one that does work is the one in the kitchen. That is NOT a good thing. Grambug is furious. I can't say I blame her. We will be calling the phone company and the builder today... We don't know if it is because we have "temporary" phone service or if it is something else.

On our side of the door things are terrific. LLB has most of her furniture and her room looks great! We have to swap one dresser - the movers gave her the wrong one. #1 has his new mattress and box spring. He is a happy camper.

#1 had District Band this past weekend. The kids spent all day Friday and all day Saturday practicing. They had a concert on Saturday evening and it was terrific! Those kids worked hard and it showed! Mr. Bug, Grambug, and I were very impressed with their performance.

After the concert, we thought we'd hit Costco for pizza. (We are such big spenders!!) Guess what? Costco closes at 6pm on Saturday. Who knew?? We ended up at our favorite burger joint instead. LLB and Grandpa had stayed behind because LLB had a really nasty cold that had her napping in her bed at lunchtime, and curled up on the couch when we left.

Last night, #1 had a Super Bowl Party to attend. He went to his buddy's house and had a great time with a terrific bunch of kids. I was allowed to stay and chat with his friend's mom. I thoroughly enjoyed myself! I never get to say more than a few words at one time to her because we are usually both running. It was really nice to sit and chat.

I guess that catches you all up on our comings and goings...

Friday's Fiasco

Well, it's not yet a fiasco, but if I keep my expectations low, whatever happens will all be good, right?

Let me fill you in on yesterday...
I completed the archeological dig and only sneezed about 25 times. Not too bad!! I moved dressers, I rearranged shelves, I took the bed down, I disassembled a "desk". I was very busy in LLB's room. I'll post pix and explanations of what was before once her "new" furniture is in there. I should have taken "before" pictures, but I didn't... I just couldn't expose the world to that disaster.

We were supposed to get snow starting at 6pm. At 2pm, the school system cancelled all afterschool activities - the sun was shining!! There were wispy white clouds in the sky - not snow clouds... Alas, the children were home earlier than expected.

The Grandbugs arrived around 1pm and look like they are happy to be here. We went to lunch at our favorite burger joint and then came back and waited for the phone guy. Did you get that time? The phone guy was supposed to arrive between 8am and noon. I saw his truck through the trees at 12:45, so I ran down the driveway to make sure he knew where he was supposed to be. He's a total dork - a nice dork, but still a dork. He arrived at the house at 4pm and then told us that he'd have to come back. He gave the Grandbugs temporary phone by stringing wires all along my fenceline and across the yard to their house. Did that make Grandbug happy? Ummm... no. Basically we waited all day and still have no real phone. Grrrrr...

So now it is morning. We are waiting for the truck. There is no snow - there is not a flake to be found (outside anyway -- inside we got a few flakes!!). We are enjoying the calm before the storm... I'm just waiting for the chaos to begin...

I'll try to visit you all, but no promises for a couple of days.

Thursday 13

Thirteen Things LadyBug Is Thinking About Today 1. The Grandbugs arrive today. Yippee!!! 2. The telephone company is coming sometime between 8am and noon to install their phone service. 3. I have to call the propane company and set up automatic delivery and get them to come out an install something or other to make the generators go. 4. I have to disassemble LLB's current bed and do an archeological dig under there so we can put up the new bed and roll out her new rug. I have stalled on that last little item in her room... I'm afraid... I'm very afraid... I have my pith helmet and my mag light... I should be okay. 5. I have to get the Christmas dishes out of Grambug's cabinet. I forgot. Oh and that mountain of laundry I got done last week is back. How does that happen? 6. I am in charge of the Middle School Honor Roll Breakfast next week. Where does one find 200 fresh donuts in the middle of nowhere? 7. I am learning how to do tatting. It's the art of lacemaking with a shuttle. It's really cool. They say it's the easiest thing to do but the hardest to learn. 8. I finally figured it out yesterday!! I'm psyched. I can't wait to see the lady who is teaching me - she's going to be shocked! She's been working with me since before Christmas... I'm a slow learner!! I knew my problem had to be with the tension... it was. But now I got it!! 9. We went to a band open house at the High School last night. It seems Marching Band is an extracurricular activity. Now we know why they have so few kids marching... #1 is going to try it. 10. There are many music opportunities at the High School and most of them are extracurricular. #1 will be trying out for saxophone ensemble and jazz band. They are all after school. (I'm loving the after school part!!) 11. Zebbie is feeling much better. We are going to try regular food today. 12. It is supposed to snow tonight. The furniture is supposed to arrive tomorrow. 13. #1 has District Band tomorrow and Saturday. If it snows I have to drive him, as the school busses won't be running. I hope the idiot drivers out there tomorrow remember that 4 wheel drive does not mean 4 wheel stop. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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