Prayers...

for my sister please. I don't know how much detail she would wish me to share with the world so I won't go into detail here. Close friends of mine please be expecting an e-mail from me. That is all I am going to post for now so cover her in prayer please!

Why is it...

that the start of the school year always comes with some behavior issues for us. Seriously I am tired of this mess. Aidan really struggles with one classmate. They are in different classes this year and Aidan has finally realized, "I don't know what I thought was so special, I don't like him very much because he isn't nice to me." Well, this realization brought on "I am not going to be nice either" which prompted the child's mother to speak to me when the child complained to her because his feelings were hurt. After much discussion, Aidan has realized his mistakes and is making an apology to the child today. He has also punished himself by taking away his computer/tv priviledges for a week. This child is very hard on himself. Too much like his Mama in some ways. Anyway, we did have the conversation again which included, "You do not have to be friends with this child, but you do have to be nice to him even if he is not being nice to you. Also, if he is hurting you in some way you need to tell an adult." I seriously detest school sometimes. It brings home all kinds of issues we don't typically have.

I am so glad it is Friday. I am tried and frazzled. I have been invited to Girl's Night Out on Saturday. Not sure where we are going yet, but I am looking forward to some girlfriend time. Trying to juggle to many things right now and I don't feel as if I am doing anything well. Things are starting to slip through the cracks. I don't know how to fix it either. Too much on my plate some days. No more pity party for me. Moving on.

Have a great weekend everyone. I think ours is going to be wet and cold weather wise, but hopefully we can get some fun stuff going on here at home. Later taters!

Catching up on Aidan

Can you see?

This picture shows a little better. Aidan lost another tooth. Aidan has been losing about 1 tooth a month since this whole thing started. After being the only first grader who had not lost a tooth, second grade is quickly becoming the great equalizer. I wish I could capture his more natural smile on camera. He looks rather cute all snaggly. His other top tooth is loose as well so I am fairly certain it will go quickly too.

Flag football is in full swing. Every Tuesday and Thursday for the next month and a half we head back up to school after homework is done. Yesterday we were rained out and I was grateful. Since school started my weeks have been busy once again. B wants me to use some of my free time in the mornings while Ainsley is at school to work out at the Y. I would love to but I need to get somethings taken care of at home first. Painting some trim work and catching up on things. I will get there one day!

This morning was rather exciting around here. I was sitting quietly at my computer catching up on e-mail when I hear and explosion outside. My dog was out so she was at the door freaking out when I went to investigate. No smoke no people running around no power. Apparently a transformer blew, at least that is what I heard about 10 minutes later when the utility people showed up. I tell you that transformer going was loud. So far I can't get the dog to go back outside. Ahh well, I hope everyone is having a great week so far. It is Wednesday already and I am so far behind. I will figure this out eventually really.

Sputnik Fest

Last weekend we went to our town's Sputnik Fest. Apparently,47 years ago a piece of Sputnik was found in town in front of what is now an art museum. I have no idea what the building was then. Anyway, a group has now decided to commemorate the event with a festival. Now, I am all for a good festival, but this is a bit silly to me with how it is advertised. Aliens were everywhere. Now tell me what do aliens have to do with Sputnik? I do understand that inside the museum was a very nice display which I hope gave some history as to what Sputnik really was. We did not go inside because my Ainsley was scared of a costumed woman sitting near the door.

This is actually a sculpture outside the museum that was modified for the event.

Of course, my children's (and hubby's) favorite Star Wars characters were also on hand. I thought Ainsley would want to see Princess Leia, but no she was all over Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Aidan was impressed with the Gramorian Guard(sp?). He even had fake drool. I think Aidan really liked the gross out factor because Ainsley would not go near this guy.

Of course, no Star Wars character set is complete without some storm troopers.

My little aliens. Aidan was not too happy in this shot for some reason. Actually, besides all the silliness it was a nice family friendly even. Lots of vendors selling their wares, a local ice cream shop was on hand selling frozen treats, and $1 got the kids 2 rides on a bounce house slide. We ran in to many friends and acquantances as well so a fun day was had by all.


If I don't get to post again, I hope everyone has a good weekend. A neighbor just stopped by to invite Ainsley to a birthday party tomorrow. She made some apologies because it was a class party, but the little girl had invited Ainsley verbally. We already had plans to head to a nearby town so B could do some shopping he needed to do tomorrow, so now I am not sure what to do. We will most likely continue with out plans, but now I feel badly. Oh well. I can't be everywhere and I was looking forward to possibly seeing Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. The children's book this is loosely based on is amazing and a favorite in our house. Have a good weekend everyone!

ETA: By the way... I have finally been given permission to tell some great news. I am going to be an Auntie! A real Auntie!

Kites over Lake Michigan

Once again I am very behind in my posting. I have sat down several times to post and something always seems to get in the way. In this post I am back-tracking a bit and posting some photos of the Kite festival here in town on Labor Day weekend. My SIL was visiting that weekend and the weather was perfect even though they were a bit short on wind. The large kites had trouble getting off the ground. This was the only appearance of the teddy bear as he crashed just after being photographed.

This one made it into the air later in the day as I have seen in a friends photos.

The flags had plenty of breeze and are always lovely.

Very patriotic!

They also had a candy drop which my children participated in, however I will not recommend this in the future. They dropped lollipops from a kite which landed in the sand and they children scrambled for. The organizers made sure all the children shared so no one left without candy. Needless to say, said candy was covered in sand because they were slightly buried after they were dropped. After a good rinsing, the kids enjoyed their treats.

Next up: Sputnik fest and a shared bounty.

Whew!

This has been a very long week for me. Busy was the word. My SIL was visiting this weekend, so my Monday chores (including grocery shopping) got pushed to later days in the week. By the time I was actually able to get to the store, I had no bread and no fresh fruit in the house! Bible study started and fall sports started. B is out of town as well. Next week should be better and more normal so I will get into a more steady groove.

I will have some pictures to post as well as I need to work on them a bit. Grasping our last bit of summer. After having fall like temperatures in August, we sure have warmed up quite a bit and for that I am grateful. I am starting to be ready for fall as the leaves are starting to turn. Must pull out my camera for my annual beginning of fall photo.

This week I also committed to going to my cousin's wedding in Philly in October. I should have booked a hotel months ago apparently because the locations at which they had special pricing and near the venue are booked. Either I get a place further away and rent a car, or I bunk with my parents. When I mentioned renting a car, my Mom made my decision for me. For my safety's sake (according to her), I will be bunking with my parents. Most likely that means I will sleep on the couch or on the floor, but I will deal with it. It is only 2 nights. I feel like such a loser, but oh well it is saving me some money. Air fair was very reasonable I will say. I was able to get a ticket for under $250 on Midwest. I highly recommend them as all their flights are first class style seating and they serve warm chocolate chip cookies. That was pre-recession though. Humm, hopefully they haven't changed things too much. Anyway, I am off for now and hope everyone has a lovely weekend! Later taters!

Cleaning house...

once again I am getting ready for a house guest. One of the Mom's from Aidan's class commented on how many guests we have had this summer. Actually, this year we have only had a few compared to years past. My in-laws just stayed for a long time. My SIL is coming into town sometime tonight, so I have been cleaning bathrooms, mopping floors, etc. All my weekly chores will be done in one day so I can take the rest of the week off. I am not going to get away with not vacuuming though. My dog sheds like such a beast! I vacuum every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and when we have guests and my Dyson vacuums up a squirrel every time! I am hoping for nice weather so that we can get out and about this weekend.

School went well yesterday. Aidan commented on how different his new classroom is compared to last year. I hope he adjusts well as each year will be more and more classwork and less and less play time. Ainsley had a wonderful day as well. She told me about all the fun things in class and was very disappointed that she was one of the parent pick up kids as opposed to a bus kid. I told her Mommy just enjoys spending time with you and likes picking you up. Really the thought of putting my 4 year old on the bus is horrifying! I did not let Aidan ride in Kindergarten either. Mommy hang up I suppose. If that is her only complaint then I am happy. Well, I am off to finish cleaning the upstairs bath. If I don't get another chance to post this week, Have a happy Labor day holiday weekend everyone!

First Day of School

They are happy to be back in school. Mommy is sad they are back in school. I love the relaxed schedule of summer. Soon we will be in high gear for fall. Hopefully I will have a good post to share tomorrow of all their adventures today.