Planking

Betcha thought this would be a photo of one of the Medinas "planking"... fortunately my girlies are too young and my hubby is too old to know about this new fad.

Nope, tonight I put together "practice planks" for Caitlin's class, the Pirates.  I hope they like them!

3-hole punched white boards with their class nickname

FedEx shipping label stuck on back to hold the marker and towel

(I thought that was BRILLS!)

They'll also get a high-five pencil and magnets.

So I've been watching Bye Bye Birdie while assembling the planks.  I forgot how much I love this movie.  I remember the first time I saw it.  I was sleeping over with my cousins' on a trip to St. Louis.  My aunt was a baker and left really early in the morning.  I don't know if it was every day or just the day I was there, but the oldest (Kellie) put the movie on for the us kids to watch as we woke up. So fun.

We love you Conrad

O Yes we do-oo

We love you Conrad

And we'll be true-oo

So now I'm thinking about planking.  I might do a whole planking post starring moi.  It'll be funny.  Maybe roll video... "Did she die?"... "No, she's just planking."

Lame Post

Sick yesterday. Tired today.

Too tired to report, blog, and take pictures.

Here's the best I can do...

Dodgeball

So... I could hear screaming and laughter as I was walking up to the door this evening.  I thought "what a happy house."

Then I opened the door as a yellow ball bounced against a wall and I... made the house a less happy place. Really? My two girlies and the hubby were playing dodgeball in my LIVING ROOM.  Lamps, piano, belleek, crystal... REALLY?

The game moved outside and the target was hubby.  He needed to be punished.

Round One

Dodged honey's orange ball but Caitlin makes a solid hit with the yellow one.

Round Two

One-two no balls dodged! Solid hits from both my girlies.

Take a look at honey's dodge-ball attitude.

Round Three

Wham! Orange ball to the head!

I think hubby has been properly schooled about dodgeball in the house!

Who's yo mama!

The Occasional Wicked Witch

Mostly she's a kind and obedient child.

Occasionally she's not.

I'm keepin' it real today.

My girlies are wonderful... except when they are not.

Polar bears, hamsters, and guppies

They all eat their young.

I'm just sayin'... 

...the teenage years are just beginning.

Lullaby

Hubby lullaby-ed himself.

Seriously.

He was strumming his guitar and fell asleep... his pick still in his left hand.

Seriously.

My hubby is hi-larious... even when he's sleeping.

Speed Dating

I thought speed dating was a way to meet a lot of single people in one evening...

... or it's a 35 minute date with my husband!

Michael has tomorrow off so we were so excited to go on a date.  We though it would be OK to leave the girlies home for a couple of hours since we would only be 5 minutes away... and we're old... we're talking about the 5:30 matinee and then dinner.

From my front door and back... we were gone 35 minutes.

We decided to see Contagion because who doesn't like a world-coming-to-end movie? Popcorn, yes. Drinks, yes.

The phone buzzed (I keep it in my bra) just as the second trailer was starting. Sigh.  This better be good. Siobain was going to get in big trouble if this was a "can I turn the channel" kind of question.

There was sobbing in the background. Something about Caitlin drinking too much water and she couldn't stop going to the bathroom. Sounds like an excuse to get mommy and daddy home, maybe too soon to leave them home alone.

We got our money back and drove home. As we were pulling into the driveway my phone buzzes again.

"We're fine Mommy, she's calm now...

...so you should stay and enjoy your movie." Siobian

It's not about quantity it's about quality time.

So we are going to call our 35 minutes HIGH quality!

Kick Back!

Kicking our feet back, it's Friday NIGHT!

Caitlin woke up feeling better today.  

I'm convinced it's because of the purrrr cure... even if it was a 24 hr bug. 

Siobain is spending time on her computer, reading a book, and eating sun flower seeds... living it up big time after a hard weeks work!

Purrrrr Cure

I didn't think I would get to post today.  Caitlin has been sick all day long. Vomiting, cramping, diarrhea... really uncomfortable... Not really good photo-ops.

Even in her sleep she would moan and say "mommy I don't feel good."  Michael took a turn this evening while I crashed... then my turn again when he had to go to sleep.

She couldn't get comfortable this evening.  We tried everything.  I was just hoping to get her to sleep before the next bad bout but she couldn't relax enough to fall asleep... until the purrrr cure hopped on the bed.

Kitty stretched on the bed and Caitlin reached out to her... Kitty put her paw on Caitlin's hand and started purring.

She purred for 20 minutes... until Caitlin's fever broke and she fell asleep.

Animals are so powerful.

Dog and Pony Show

I love my dog.

He makes me happy.

He's so handsome.

He loves me too.

Projects

Missed post note... need to get a new power cord for my computer. My mac died before I could post yesterday.  I could have used Siobain's pc notebook... but then I would have had to go buy a wig after pulling all my hair out.  I did use her computer a couple times this weekend... but had to ask for so much help I decided I couldn't do anything beyond checking the movie times...

Anywho... It is late September and the big projects are rolling in.  Caitlin is currently working on a BioPoem. She is having so much fun. She's already completed the eleven line poem and is now working on the "frame" that the poem with be put into... a mini-me!

Caitlin's mini-me in progress...

Little miss Siobain... I wonder if I will ever see her beautiful face again.  It's been buried in a book since school started.  Her current project is for Texas History...

She does NOT have time to smile and take pictures.  I shouldn't torture her... I should just let her work... but it's not in my nature.

She missed school today.  The doctor says she can return tomorrow. She's not feeling any better but she doesn't want to get behind.  Four pre-AP classes pile up quickly... but she's a planner and a doer... not a procrastinator like me :)

King Gas History

We had a funny day today.

First there was homework in the morning.  When hubby got home he was a little irritated, apparently people park their brains before entering the airport.  He felt a little better after we laughed at his stories.  Even the girls got a kick out of them...

1st... some lady accused him of looking at her breasts.  That's like one small part of the story... but it's the BEST part.

2nd... someone tried to fly with a swiss army knife... and hubby almost got knifed in the thigh when it was dropped with the knife extended (all by accident.)

3rd... some moron couple x-rayed their dog.  For real.  Put it through the machine. I would have taken the dog away from them because they are obviously too stupid to own a pet.

He was in a better mood after he made us laugh.  We decided to go see The Lion King, but in 2D because we are not big fans of 3D... not enough bang for the buck.

We all really enjoyed the movie on the big screen.  I always love the music.  I couldn't understand why the girlies were giggling so often... until I found out that every time Mufasa would talk hubby whispered "cooooohhhh paaaaahhh," that's Darth Vader breathing....

After the movie I wanted to go visit Gorgeous and go to Half-price bookstore.... but honey so much homework we didn't have time to do both.  We'll see Gorgeous tomorrow so we decided to hit the book store.

Somethin' 'bout those 2nd hand books... I had the WORST onset of gas ever.  There was no dog to blame it on either.  Everyone has gas.  I know. But I prefer to blame it on others... the girlies laughed at me as I made a mad dash for the ladies room.  Fireworks popping in my wake...

Honey was getting anxious, not because of my gas issue, but because she has so much homework!  She has scheduled her time and to keep on schedule she had to finish 2 portions of her history project tonight.

She is such a good girl!  I'm so proud of her!

Caitlin.... well, 3rd grade doesn't have the same pressures...

Caitlin re-enacting a Lion King dance.

Caitlin's lion roar on pride rock.

We were going to have pasta for dinner.  Hubby went and picked it up from a place down the street.  For honey we had asked for the aflredo on the side... it soaked the bag and when hubby went to take it out of the car we had pasta everywhere.  Not a good end to his day.

So now I don't know what we are having for dindin... but we'll eat something :)

Waldo?

Where's Waldo Wackadoo?

How does one wear this scarf(?)... 

Wackadoo knows it should NOT be worn as pictured.

It's F-R-I-D-A-Y!!!!

The wackadoo is tired!  And so are wackadoo's kiddos. We are looking forward to a few moments of rest this weekend. Wackadoo is going to go back to work now...

Later  tonight, wackadoo is going to write about being the "ass" in assume...

Sponge

Siobain is sick and achy today.  Her nose so stuffed up.  But she keeps working hard.

a sponge in her head

learns english and history

math and science too

Hump Day

We made it!

Seven tests. 4 special projects. Daily homework. Daily reading. Sleep. Food. Free time.

Just a few more days in THIS week. 

Then, hopefully, we get to do it over again next week.

Self

Caitlin is working on a poster about herself for religious class. Right now it's a work in progress...

At first she wanted to do all Hermoine pictures... Because that is what she loves RIGHT NOW.  I suggested that she share other things about herself too, like her family...

"OK" and off she started.  I haven't interfered beyond that suggestion. I tend to want to "control" the girls' projects a bit.  Suggesting layouts and photos and words. But Caitlin knows what she wants to put on her board.  She has a definite sense of her"self".  I am proud of that and she is proud of her board (in progress.)

I envy her knowledge of self.  I've lost mine along the way. I don't know "me" anymore. There are too may "truths" that contradict. I'm learning that some things that I have come to believe true are just safety mechanisms I've created to survive. Facing those false truths is hard and they are painful to undo.  

I've found two things that are my truth anchors: I love my family and I believe in God... the rest I'm still working on. 

Sigma Dreadnought

My handsome musician was playing "I've Just Seen A Face" by The Beatles when I walked into the house. Live music is a gift.  And hubby gives it to us almost every day. Today he was playing his left handed Sigma Dreadnought... it has a "warm" sound.  He gave me a lot more information... I prefer the music to the details...

Tornado Kathleen

the eye of the storm

destruction swirls around me

tears left in my wake

Oompa Loompa

All the girlies and Jason got together to watch Charlie and The Chocolate Factory STARRING Eleanor! I was so pleasantly surprised with the play.  Far exceeded my expectations of an all children cast.

Oompa Loompa Eleanor and Caitlin

This was Kate's very first play.  She was soooo good!

All my girlies (and some random dude)

Bonus - Sweet Dreamer Haiku

My sweet dreamer fell asleep on my arm while we cuddled and watched a movie...

I know what she is dreaming about... she is Hermoine, saving the world.

Every day she talks about how excited she is to be Hermoine for Halloween.

sweet dreams to my youngest girlie

a good witch she'll be

with wild brown hair and a wand

smart, pretty and wise

Pretty Girlies

Fact

Scooby-Doo Where Are You?

Zoinks! 

...ruh-roh...

Whenever someone gets home Spartacus grabs the closest object in pure, wiggling excitement.  He follows you around with it until you give him some love.  Then he puts it down.  He never does any damage.  A shoe. A stuffed animal. A book.  He just has to hold on to something!

... but he never puts it back where he found it...

Wake-up Calls

Caitlin has been told that she needs to be at school on time.

Daddy has been told, by Caitlin, that she needs to be at school on time.

Mommy has been told, by Daddy, that Caitlin needs to be at school on time.

I need a wake-up call.

.... a second wake-up call.

......... and a third wake-up call.

Then... on time to school this cute little girlie will be...

I would like to note... 

Siobain is always on time this year... 

her school start 30 minutes after Caitlin's.

I know what your thinking... "HOW can she not get her children to school on time? What kind of mother is she?"

I'm a mother who deals with drama EVERY MORNING!

So tomorrow we will wake up early to accommodate the drama into our schedule...

FINE, yes, I admit it! The drama is usually mine.

Apparently...

...we are ready for Halloween... on September 6th. 

56 days and counting.

Have I ever mentioned that I am anti-Halloween.

And yet... I get to look at this bath mat and hand towels for the next 56 days...

No one in this house gets to go shopping without me ever again!

Bonus - The Ugliest Earring

This... is the ugliest earring I've ever seen.

To each their own.  For some, this might be beautiful.  

For sure someone worked hard on it.  

There is craftsmanship and probably some heart and soul too...

...but to me, it is the ugliest earring i've ever seen.

This is the post of the ugliest earring i've ever seen... it's longer than it looks.

And I stepped on it in my bare feet... a puncture half an inch deep.

This is the tetanus shot needle...

...that punctured my left arm...

...for the puncture from the post of the ugliest earring I've ever seen.

These are the socks...

... that I wore with black slip-ons...

...to protect the puncture from the post of the ugliest earring I've ever seen.

Bonus - Gorgeous!

"Oh my gosh! Gorgeous, you are going to look gorgeous!" - Princess Eleanor

My girlies only have one grandparent.  Fortunately she is the best grandparent one could ask for.  Even my girlies Eleanor, Mia, and Kate, who are lucky enough to have 3 fantastic grandparents each, only have one Gorgeous!

I hope I am half the grandma that Gorgeous is.

She is beautiful.

She is kind.

She is smart.

She is love.

She is ladylike.

She is... everything.

And all her grandgirlies know it.

"Let's dress Gorgeous up!"

Gorgeous didn't flinch as the eye liner was going on...

Two attendants to apply concealer... oh the pampering!

Such attention and concentration to the brows.

We must not neglect the jewels... the more the better.

The girlies are tickled and so proud.

Gorgeous is their Gorgeous and she IS gorgeous!

The Princess Girlies

I was amongst royalty today.  So exciting.

I missed mass yesterday so we went today.  It was so busy! More people than usual. (But there were still only about 30, so I was comfortable.)

I avoided parking near the fire hydrant since I ran into a few weeks ago.  So imagine my surprise when I hit something AGAIN while backing out... a tree.  I've no luck parking at the monastery.

On the way to pick Gorgeous up for breakfast Caitlin asked if Eleanor was going to be there.  She always asks.  I let her know that she would not be there.

But surprise of all surprises... Eleanor WAS at Gorgeous' tree house! And all the girlies turned into princesses.

Here come the beautiful princesses. Rapunzel Eleanor and Belle Caitlin.

We welcome you to our treehouse kingdom, where princesses can do anything.

The royal pose.

A break for tea.

Cheers to the little people.

The Royal wave.

Princess Mia joins the ladies for another pose.

Princess Siobain... has gone into retirement... but she'll always be a princess to me.