2nd grade writing prompts: Take 3

What is the nicest present you could give to your parents?

The nicest present I could give to my parents would be is a day of sleep. I would have to feed my siblings and all that stuff. It would be this Saturday. It would be hard to watch the SEC Chapionchip. It would be as hard as doing pushps at 4:00 AM! That would be a good gift.

I have weird kids

I had this great brainchild of an idea to have a "Job Jar" this summer chock full of activities to give a bored, trouble-making child something to do when they seem to be getting into trouble. We also have an official chore list for each child (not Will...YET!) of things they are responsible for each morning and each evening. It's been really great so far! John has been very compliant and though he says the garbage can smells like skunks when he has to take the trash out, he doesn't complain.

The "Job Jar" is full of those tasks around the house that I don't particularly care for. The whole intent is to try to dissuade unruly behavior, so the jobs in the Job Jar are less than savory. For instance...

*Wipe down bathrooms with Clorox Wipe
*Clean baseboards with a dust rag
*Spot clean the kitchen floor
*Clean out the bugs from between the window and the screen (thank you, Sarah U., for that idea)

HOLD UP. Before you report me to child protective services, I have to tell you that Maddy has actually been CREATING TROUBLE (oh yes, she has) because she thinks these chores are a bundle of fun. Seriously. She will do something naughty only to immediately look up at me and say, "Can I get something to do from the job jar?"

Today, as she was spraying the glass door to the patio with Windex, she finally admitted that she has a problem. She actually verbalized her plot:

"Mommy, do you know why I get in trouble so much lately? It's because I love to get jobs from the Job Jar."

I have weird kids.

15 minutes of fame

Last week, Maddy graduated from preschool with much pomp & circumstance.

Literally.

They played that song while she marched down the center aisle with her classmates in their caps & gowns. It was precious!

Figuratively speaking, she did as well.

They had been rehearsing some songs to sing for the parents and I had heard some of the tunes, but had yet to see the hand motions.

Did I say hand motions? What I meant to say was that I had yet to see the full-body-action-move-and-groove-to-the-music-shakin'-what-your-mama-gave-ya dance theatrics that accompanied the songs. The rest of the class performed the basic hand-motions, but my daughter added that extra oomph and pizzazz that we all know she's capable of.

The video camera was shaking from the laughter of its operator (me) and you can hear the whole crowd giggling at the display. Afterwards, I had people coming up to me asking where she takes dance lessons (she doesn't) and how long she's been dancing like that (it was a first).

Today at the Y, I had a complete stranger come up to me and ask if my daughter was the one dancing at the preschool graduation last week (her daughter was in a different class at the school).

So, I guess it's safe to say that she has had her 15 minutes of fame and it was absolutely delightful!

Also, today at the Y, I left John with my friend Kirsten at the pool while I went to check the other kids out of the nursery to go swimming. When I came back to the pool, John was being filmed by News Channel 5 as he took a swim test, then they wanted to interview ME. AAGH!!! I had just finished a weight lifting class and was sweaty and all "ew gross"....yet they captured me on camera discussing the benefits of the new swim test safety procedures at the YMCA.

I have yet to see it air (we're an hour away from showtime) but I am predicting a heavy southern accent and some mascara smudges underneath my sweaty eyes. I always get a thicker accent when I get nervous....

The Curse of being firstborn

John had been wanting a Nintendo DS for quite some time before his Mimi made all those dreams come true this past Christmas. He was almost 8 years old and we had built up all the responsibility that goes with owning a small, expensive electronic item as something that he would have to "earn" by being mature enough for the task. So, he was delighted to no end when he opened his great gift a few months ago.

Thankfully, he was a doll and shared his DS with his little sister--she liked to play some of the games and he was fine to let her play. Well, then she started wanting to play a lot. And we started looking at our calendar and seeing all the long car trips we had coming up and realized what pleasant travelers we could have in the backseat of our mini-van if someway, somehow, somewhere, we could have one DS for each big kid.

Hmmmm.....

You know, Maddy is awfully mature. I mean, really--girls just are. They are. Seriously--she could handle the DS. She's good about keeping up with stuff. Uh huh. She's ready.

Next stop: Gamestop.

Yes, our 5 year old daughter BOUGHT HER OWN (pink, of course) Nintendo DS a few weeks ago and she thinks she is hot stuff with it!

It's hard to be the starter child!

Behavior-wise, Will gets away with murder compared to what we used to crack down hard on John about....at this rate, he'll be playing MarioKart in no time!

2nd grade writing prompts: Take 2

Where will you be in 10 years?

In ten years, I predict I will be 5 foot 11.  I will be graduating from high school.  Mabey I would even get a basketball scholership to Vanderbuilt. I hope I get a basketball schallership to a SEC team.  I will look super young.  I will love collage.  It sounds so fun!  I will have some idiot friends thoe.

2nd grade writing prompts: Take 1

Writing prompt from John's school composition pad:

What are some rules at your house?

Some rules at my house are not going into the woods by myself. I also can't go to my friends' house without asking. I can't yell when Vandy is playing and Will is sleeping. My dad doesn't like that rule. I don't like it either. Rules keep you safe. RULES.

Thanks for the memories

I know, I know. I haven't posted in a while. It's not for lack of thought....in the words of Willie Nelson, please know, faithful readers, that you were always on my mind. (I love being able to incorporate random old country songs into my blog...seeing as how the title of my blog is named after an old Eddie Arnold song "Welcome to my world, won't you come on in?"). Anyways, I have been a busy bee and have every intention in the world of keeping this up, but life gets in the way.

Excuses, excuses. Let's move on.

This past weekend, we went to KY to see my family and my 2 big kids got to spend loads of quality time with their 5 cousins. It was fabulous--I felt like I was on a "getaway" with Michael. My parenting requirements were minimal for those 48 hours. We stayed at my sister's house with Will (going from ordinarily having 3 kids to just 1 baby is a breeze!) and John & Maddy stayed with the cousins. During the day when we were all together, the kids were so enamored with the cousins that they needed me for all of nothing. They get along charmingly--no fights, they don't get tired of each other, and it's just fun all around. I need not take that for granted! They really do have a sweet relationship with each of the kids-

So, when we were getting ready to leave yesterday, my sister Beth asked a pensive Maddy if she was sad about leaving. (They are perpetually asking why we can't live closer to Louisville!). She thought about it for a moment, then looked up and said, "No, because I have memories."

PRECIOUS.

Today when I was unpacking their stuff, I came upon a note that one of the cousins had written for her before she left. It is a keepsake! It says, "I love you so much. You are the best girl cousin ever." Let's just focus on the sweetness that is involved here and not let her know that she is in fact, the only girl cousin for this particular family.