THE GOOD, THE BAD

THE GOOD: I didn't have to miss playground time cause of my doctors appointment. At least I got to school on time.

THE BAD: I had to miss a little bit of Drama cause Ms. M was testing me for reading.  And I told my friends that I went to 13 different countries, and they said I was lying.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, No It's a Shooting Star

We're driving home from baseball tonight, LATE, it's dark.  I soon come to realize that the amount of times Chance has actually been outside when it's dark is very limited.  Yes, I do need my evening time which is why my kids get put to bed before the roosters go home.  But I am coming to realize he is almost 7 and the kid has seen stars only a handful of times.  My wake up call went something like this as he describes the airplane coming in for a landing:

MOM!!!  I see a shooting star!  No, I see 3 shooting stars, no 4!!!  And they are all shooting together.  And they are blinking!  See, there they go, shooting across the sky, really really low!!!

Pathetic

Quote of the Day, and this didn't come from Chance.  So that leaves.......guess who.

"Pleeeeeeeeeease make me cookies.  Do not make me call my mother."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKS

I can't believe it's been a whole year.  I remember sitting in church a long while back and the preacher said that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.  Seems like ever since we had kiddos, this is the case.  It feels like it was just yesterday we were in the Zurich "hotel" hospital drinking cappuccinos and eating massive amounts of croissants to recover from the traumatic birth of Brooks.  But oh it was worth it.  What can I say, this little man has completely changed our lives, brought us so much joy, let us be parents all over again.  We can't imagine a world without him, and feel so amazingly blessed that he is a part of our lives.

I didn't really plan anything big for the day, keeping it low key and at the pace of of the little man.  Mimi drove up for the big occasion and Nanny and Pappy came over to celebrate it as well.  Brooks had been toying with the idea of walking all week but decided to go ahead and hold off until the big day.  He took his first "official" steps on his actual birthday. 

He even walked outside to greet everyone as the arrived and show off his new moves.  Thank goodness for helium balloons to offer a feeling of security.

We did lots of things that Brooks likes to do........bubbles:

Water table:

Eating (birthday boys never let go of their balloons though):

Present unwrapping (with the help of big brother, whether you want it or not!):

Playing with your new toys:

And most importantly, getting completely drenched in cake.  Brooks wasn't so sure about it at first, but quickly warmed up to the fact that, oh this is why mommy can't stop eating this stuff.

And while the birthday boy would have liked to remain green all day, he had to go get dipped in the bath to round off the day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR VERY SPECIAL BOY!  We love you!

THE GOOD, THE BAD

THE GOOD: My class read for 22 minutes today.  (They are working towards reading alone for 30 minutes)
THE BAD: Yesterday on the playground me and E and A decided form a secret club.  Today E didn't want to play with me.  He only wanted to play with his other friend and didn't include me.  I even told him he could be the boss of the club but he said no. :(  I really miss my friends in Zurich.

On a side note, I've gotta say I'm pretty darn impressed with the kid for going at it with a positive attitude and getting out there.  It's gotta be hard to move to a new place and try to fit in.  Boy can I relate.  He was given a 2 week project to complete his "ME".  He is so cretive, and such a hard worker.  He worked very diligently to get this done and way before deadline.  I'm pretty proud!

A Little Lake Action

Goal for this past weekend: GET OUT OF THE HOUSE.  No more yard work, no cleaning, no errands.  Just get out and have some fun.  Like the good ole days.  I've been missing the footloose and fantsy free weekends that we used to have in Zurich. Funny how the memory is so selective, funny how you only remember the really good or the really bad and nothing in between.  At least that's how it works for me, and currently my mind is in the grieving Zurich phase of, woah is me, life in Zurich was SO GREAT ALL THE TIME. I'm sure that is how it REALLY was! It doesn't help that I read the blogs of all our friends there and read about all their fun adventures.  Common theme here: Stacey, your behavior is NOT helping the situation. 

So, self therapy to the rescue: The Lake.

I was very pleasantly surprised when we pulled up and found little jetty like cliffs, each with their own private picnic tabled gazebos and grills.  And then we had a nice little cove/beach to play on. 

We fired up some burgers on the grill, gave Brooks a watermelon to devour and we were set.

The boys took a dip in the lake, and I got taunted a little for being such a wimp.......no thank you Mr. Water Moccasin and gigantic man eating carp, I don't want to be your swimming companion. 

The view from the lake while I was watching the swimmers was quite fab. 

And we even happened upon an ancient ruin from the original settlers of this region while there.......for a moment I felt like I was back in Europe.

The Good, The Bad

THE GOOD: I got my 7th Red Star Award today.  We are going to put them all in a box until I get a lot, then we'll get a prize.  (Sounds shady to me?)

THE BAD: Well...........hmmmmm.  I did get a boo-boo.

Speaking English

Sometimes it's still a little shocking to be able to hear and understand the language around me.  I think towards the end of living in Zurich, I really liked NOT being able to listen in on others conversations.  I lived in a world of "tune out" that I really enjoyed.  Being back I keep finding myself occasionally shocked at what people do say.  Like the weatherman that said,

"Today is currently a smothering 107 degrees.  But hey, at least it's not 110."

110?  Did this guy REALLY just say that?  Since when is 110 a temperature marker?  The "non-occuring" global warming has already gotten to this guys head.

The Good, The Bad

Apparently the my questioning abilities are doing down hill, or the non-verbal teenage grunting has set in a little prematurely.

THE GOOD: Ah nothing.
THE BAD: I don't know.

"It was just a normal day, mom"

The Good, The Bad

THE GOOD: We got to go out to recess today and the playground had monkey bars that if you fell down there was this thing that would lift you up, and I made it all the way across but I had to use the lifter once. 

THE BAD: There was no prize for the 5 Star Awards I got, you have to be in second grade to get a prize.  (What kind of ridiculous rule is that........give my kid Stars and the hope of a bigger prize when he gets 5, then say just kidding you don't get a prize, you are not old enough.)