Just Another Manic Monday...

The children are on spring break.
You got any ideas to keep them busy besides eating candy, playing computer or watching TV?

#1 is currently prone on the couch - arms behind head and foot resting on knee - watching some anime cartoon. LLB is still in bed. She's either sleeping or reading. This won't last long... They have chores to do. They doesn't know it yet, but they do... We have floors to wash, rugs to vacuum, bathrooms to clean, and laundry to fold.

Gee, when we get that done, we might be able to do something fun like go to school - I have to teach today. They have been conned -- oh.. umm... I mean convinced to go with me and join the school band for the 45 minutes I'll be in class.

This all sounds like great fun, doesn't it?

Happy Easter!

Yesterday, we made Easter eggs.


This morning, it seems the Bunny came to visit...
He dropped of a whole pile of loot!

I wonder if he remembered toothbrushes??

It's a Love - Hate Relationship

Snow...
Love it and hate it.
Love it in the winter.
Hate it in the spring.
Love it when I'm sledding.
Hate it when I'm driving.
Love it when everyone is safe and sound at home.
Hate it when one of us is out in it...

This is what I woke up to this morning...
Check out my poor little yellow tulips.
They have snow caps...
And they aren't even chocolate!

BTW: I started using Google Reader. Thanks to all of you who told me about it. It sure beats blogroll by a mile!!

But, like all things technological... I love it and I hate it.

I love it because I know instantly who has updated and I can read each post quickly - I just click right down the line. It takes very little effort, it loads fast, and I'm a lazy bum, so it's right up my alley!

I hate it because I have to click in to each individual blog to comment. I just want to comment from Reader. Why can't I do what I want?? I don't want to wait for the whole blog to load. Here I thought I was going to be saving time, but if I want to leave a comment... it saves me no time at all. It's kind of a bummer.

Basically, it comes down to this:
As a reader - I love it. As a person who loves comments - I hate it.

I guess I'll just have to deal...

Appetizer
When you travel, which mode of transportation do you prefer?
Airplane - it's quick. In my world, time is money. I hate to waste time driving for hours and hours to get somewhere. I'd rather spend a little more cash and arrive quicker, rested, and ready to go. Mr. tells me that sometimes it takes just as long to fly, but I'd still rather fly.

Soup
Have you ever met a blogging friend in person?
YES!! I met Daisy, Flip Flop, Melli, and Beckie. They are wonderful!!

Salad
When was the last time you were really, really tired?
Huh? When am I not?

Main Course
If you could have dinner with any one fictional character from a book or movie, who would it be?
Stephanie Plum from the Janet Evanovich series... She's a trip!

Dessert
Fill in the blank: One day, I hope to see _______________.
Hmm... Okay... I've got one. I hope to see my children graduate from the colleges of their choice and have long and happy lives with people they love.

Thursday 13

Thirteen Things LadyBug Is Thinking About Today 1. Tuesday I had lunch with a friend who I hadn't seen in quite a while. She is the sweetest thing on two feet and I had so missed spending time with her. 2. Grambug and I have started a walking program that Gram found in Family Circle magazine. It says we can lose a dress size in a month. LOL! I'll believe it when I see it. The first day we walked for 5 min. That got us to the mailbox... The second and third day we walked 10 whole minutes... I'm thinking that dress size isn't shrinking any time fast. 3. Yesterday I went on a field trip to the US Naval Academy at Annapolis with LLB. 4. She took it all in... I wasn't sure what she was thinking until one of the teachers scooped her in her arm and asked her if she could come to LLB's graduation from there. LLB grinned and said, "Absolutely!" 5. I told LLB that if she didn't like it she certainly didn't have to choose to go to school there - she has plenty of other colleges to choose from. Her answer, "Mom, I love it here. I want to go to college here. I don't want to leave. I want to stay here." 6. We saw a mock dorm room. We thought it was very nice and neat. One of the people touring with us is an Annapolis grad. His comment, "That room was not neat. It would never pass inspection. The sheets weren't folded correctly, the corners weren't square, and the cover was wrinkled." My thought, "OMG! I've got a lot of work to do..." 7. I was putting LLB to bed last night and she said, "Mom, will you teach me how to make my bed like they do?" "Sure. No problem. I can do that." I'm not sure 5 years is long enough to be able to teach her how to do that, but I'll give it my best shot. 8. #1 is also interested in the Naval Academy. I think he'd probably do better with Air Force - it seems they are a little more laid back. According to the Navy types I've spoken with, the AF is more like a country club. I'm not sure that's true... I found out #1 can take a summer "try me" course out in Colorado when he's a little older. I'll be saving my pennies for that! 9. His comment, "Mom, I already know how to make my bed and I'm very neat." "Yes, you are, dear, and that makes me very happy." 10. We were touring the pool area and LLB asked if she had to keep her bun in her hair while she was swimming or could she just wear a braid. LOL!! That kid is always thinking!! 11. Oh - I'm sure you all want to know how many kids I ended up with in my group for this field trip. Umm... 3. What a lovely number! Not 22. Not 15. Ah.. it was a very enjoyable field trip. There were 23 adults for 71 children. Now that ratio is so much better, don't you think? 12. The one thing that annoyed me during the field trip - an Asian man, who wasn't part of our group, kept photographing my LLB while we were touring the Academy. The first picture I thought, "Hmm... that's weird." The second picture I thought, "Hey, knock it off, Dude!" The third picture - I stepped in front of her so all he got was a picture of my oh so attractive torso. He was absolutely thrilled, I'm sure. 13. Next week is school vacation week. The children are definitely ready for a break. We don't have any huge plans so I asked them what they wanted to do. Their reply: They want to go to the spy museum. I think we might be able to squeeze that in. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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Tootin' Their Horns

Just in case you have forgotten, our children play instruments.
#1 plays sax. LLB plays trumpet.

They both tried out for District Band back in the fall. #1 made District. LLB did not. LLB was the only 6th grader to try out and she finished 24th out of 40. We were thrilled that she decided to even try out.

Fast forward to this past weekend. Both #1 and LLB are invited to play at Tri-County Band. They accept.

#1 is first chair sax. This is no surprise. He works hard and is a terrific sax player.

LLB's teacher tells her that she is 4th chair trumpet. This is huge! There are only 9 trumpets. She is the only 6th grader. She plays better than 5 other kids who are all a year or two older and have been playing a year or two longer. She is thrilled!

We picked them up after an all day rehearsal on Friday. Neither one of them could feel their lips. When we dropped them off on Saturday morning, they were ready to play for another 4 or 5 hours.

The concert that afternoon was terrific! #1 had a duet with a flute and nailed it. LLB did a great job, too.

Last night, LLB got her trumpet out to practice her school music. She started to play. When she got to the hard part she sailed right through it.
"Hey, Mom... I can play this now! I think it was all those hours of wicked hard music we played this weekend."
"You think?"
"Mom, I can do all of this AND I can hit a high F."
"Really???"
(There is a method to my madness... I don't make them do all this extra stuff for nothing!!)
She has a lightbulb moment. I can see it turn on in that little blond brain of hers.
"Oh... wow! I get it. Thanks, Mom."
I get a kiss on the cheek and a big old hug.
She returns to her practicing.

Life is good... Life is very very good.

Perfect Post

I found this blogger - she's a new read new for me - Not Winning Mother of the Year. I loved the title of her blog. She's funny. She's witty. She's normal. I love normal...

This post made me laugh. You all know laughter is what it's all about with me.

So, go give her some love!!