Follow Up to Yesterday's Post

Last night before bed my daughter said, "Is it a school day tomorrow?"

Me: "Yep! It's Friday!"

DD: ((HUGE sigh))..."Man! I need a day off!"

LOL! See -- I told you the girl misses her sleep! I assured her the weekend was just around the corner.

(And man -- I could use a day off too!)

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!!

A day of excitement...

Even though the picture does not convey much excitement -- ha! I'll get to the picture in a minute.

My oldest has his first field trip today and he was so looking forward to it. At his old school they never took any and I think he gets to go on three or four this year. I am so anxious to hear all about it.

Our other big news of the day -- my daughter lost her first tooth last night and was excited out of her mind! It's all she can talk about. She could not WAIT to get out the door to show her teacher and friends at school the gap between her teeth. It was just the cutest thing.

Speaking of my daughter, we are well into the school schedule now and the poor thing is still not quite adjusted to her new sleeping pattern. She is my one child who loves to sleep in. We are putting her to bed earlier than we used to, but she still is SO tired in the morning. Luckily, she's not grumpy. The other day though, she wanted to play in her room after school. I walked in to find her like this. She has a book that opens up into a farm corral -- she hasn't played with it in months! But for some reason, she pulled it out on this particular day, set it up -- invited her stuffed animals in and then curled up and fell asleep. (And for some unknown reason she also had arranged her dress up shoes around the outside -- you can kind of see them -- ). She looked so cute. Poor thing. I feel bad for her when she's so tuckered out at the end of her school day.

And since I'm rambling about the kids...yesterday my oldest told me something that made me so sad. As most of you know, I transferred my kids to a new school this year. My oldest is in third grade and it took a little while, but after a couple of weeks, he seemed to be making a little group of new friends. Yesterday I asked him about a couple of the boys and if he still enjoyed playing with them. He said he didn't really play with them much anymore. He said the two he played with most often had kind of paired up as best friends and are playing without him now. So I asked who he plays with now and he said no one really -- just by himself. Can I tell you how much that breaks my heart??? I get a lump in my throat typing it. He seemed a little down in the dumps and he told me he wishes he had a best friend. But thankfully, he said the boys aren't mean to him or anything -- he's just feeling a little alone. It really makes me sad for him. I told him to try and be flexible and see what the other kids are playing and to just try to join in and have fun with what they are playing if they don't mind. It seems to be a trend -- last year, his best friend at his old school transferred out after being punched in the nose by another child and he has felt a little lost ever since then. The other boys in his class last year for the most part were either in trouble all the time or would tease my son, so he never had any boys that he "bonded" with so to speak. And now this year, he's struggling. It's so hard to see as a parent. I was never the most popular girl in school, but I always had my core group of friends and pretty much always had a best friend throughout the years. I'm hoping he can work things out soon so he doesn't feel rejected or lonely.

Ah well -- enough of my rambling for today. I have so much to do and yet here I sit typing away.

Hope you all are having a good week.

Let me tell you how to spell lazy....

R-I-T-A....

Yes, it's true. I'm being a huge LAZY bum today. It's 11:40am, I haven't showered and I have done very little around the house. I had an insanely busy day yesterday and I've been sick, so today I appear to be moving in slooooooowwwww motion.

And guess what??

I just don't even care! hee hee

However, I do need to pick my daughter up from school shortly, and leaving my house in jammies and funky bed hair is a big mistake. I would seriously frighten anyone who sees me....

So now that I've left you with that disturbing mental picture...I'm off. Here's wishing you a lazy day soon -- they really are quite necessary sometimes!

Random Act of Kindness Prompt -- Week Two

Good Morning! I have a to do list about a mile long today, so I don't have much time -- but I didn't want to forget to post my next RAK prompt, so here you go...

This week, I challenge you to make a donation of some sort. Clothes to Goodwill, money to your favorite charity (or even just your spare change in the Ronald McDonald House box at McDonalds!); Or how about some magazines to a women's shelter or clinic, toys to a daycare or childrens home, art/scrap supplies that you don't need to your child's school or to a new scrapper who may not have so much.

I could do any one of these things this week and will try to do several myself. Hope you join me!

Have a fantastic week my friends -- and Happy Fall (I am so excited it's Fall -- now if the weather would figure it out, I'd be all set -- it's still 90 degrees here)!!!

Things You Simply Need to Know in Life...

Alright...I've been tagged by Miss Amber -- here goes...names you need to know, in case of an emergency...

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) - Jackson Windstar (LOL!)

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) - Jamocha Chocolate Chip (does that just send fear through your veins????)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) - R Bar (not quite the same as "J Lo" or my friends "D Wag" and "C Don")

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) - Green Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) - Marie Rockford

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - Bar Ri

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The") - The Black Margarita

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) - Jerome Grace (I had to cheat a little here -- I only know one grandfather, so I used my grandfather & grandmother's names!)

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Obsession Caramels (good thing I will never need to use this one -- hee hee!)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Jean Richard

I'm not going to tag anyone else because I'm unsure who has been tagged and who hasn't -- but if you want to play, feel free!

Random Act of Kindness Prompt - Week One!

Good Monday Morning!

This week, I will start what I hope will become a weekly habit -- provided I can keep coming up with ideas. I also want to say that these prompts may be things you already do all the time, but I thought it would be fun to try to do them together. And really, they will be reminders to myself to do some little things that I try to do, but am not always consistent with.

My first RAK prompt to you, is to leave an unexpected note for a loved one or friend. Just a little "I love you" in your child's lunchbox -- or maybe a note in your spouse's car or somewhere, letting him know you appreciate him. Perhaps you have a friend at work or in your neighborhood who deserves a note letting them know you think they are great.

You never know when a small, simple act of kindness will be just what someone needs!

Hope you all had a pleasant weekend and I wish you a great week!

Do You Smell Smoke???

If so, don't worry -- it's just me -- using my brain -- putting my thinking cap to work!! LOL I had a little lightbulb moment last night.

I always think I should do something more than just ramble on my blog (although I am QUITE good at rambling, wouldn't you say??) I have thought of doing journaling prompts for all my scrapping friends or something along those lines (which I may still do), but for now, I think I may do a random act of kindness prompt each Monday. What do you think? Will you join me now and then if I do that? I think I will just post an idea each week that is an easy little kindness we can all try to do together. Because honestly -- I always have good intentions of doing certain things -- and often, they don't get done. Maybe if I put it in writing -- it will help. And it won't be anything too difficult.

So stay tuned...I'll post my first one on Monday!!

Hugs -- and happy weekend!

Just some smiles to start your weekend...

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!

Hope you enjoy these cheesy smiles!

Yes, there is music on my blog....

I hope it didn't startle you. In fact, the video for the song playing is all the way at the bottom of my blog. It's rather big -- I was too lazy to see if I could resize it. But I love this song and the message of it.

Moving on....

Last week, my oldest son was the "Star of the Week" at school. Each day he got to do/bring something to help the other kids get to know him better. One day was family pictures, one day he brought his favorite book, one day was show and tell. Then, one day he had to write about something important to him. He chose his family (thankfully, he chose us over a video game or some type of food! LOL). He wrote one short sentence about each member of our family. For some reason I cannot explain, he wrote very "light" things about everyone -- "My dad is tall...my sister has long hair...my brother loves Thomas the Tank Engine..."; but then for me -- out of all the things he could have written -- he wrote, "My mom never knew her dad." I was really stunned.

It's true. I don't know my dad. We rarely talk about this in our house. It comes up every now and then because obviously, my kids don't have a grandfather on my side and they'll question it once in a while. I can't tell them much. My dad was out of my life before I was born (he didn't want a child), so my mom has pretty much kept me in the dark about him. I know his name -- and I know he didn't treat my mom too well. I have lived my entire life without a father, so although I have been curious about him at times, it has never really bothered me. But it appears, it really bothers my son.

I asked him why, of all things he could have written, he thought to share this fact about me. He said he didn't want to talk about it because he didn't want to upset me. He said he knew it had to upset me to talk about it, because he could not imagine going his whole life without knowing his daddy.

Doesn't it amaze you sometimes -- the things your kids remember or think about? I would have never guessed that my son ever even thinks about the fact that I don't have my father in my life. My son is eight -- he has lots of eight-year old things on his mind. He frustrates me many times because I feel like he thinks about himself first and foremost and can be very selfish. But then he'll show me a side that is thoughtful and compassionate -- a side that feels sad for me. And I think -- maybe I don't give the poor boy enough credit.

People who think kids aren't affected or take no notice of what goes on around them are SO wrong. I am very aware that my kids take in pretty much everything -- but still, they will say or do something sometimes that makes me realize even MORE how much they really are in tune to their surroundings and what is going on in our lives.

Okay -- enough of my rambling for today. Happy Monday to you -- and have a great week!!!

I am blessed...

Look at these little monkeys...a picture from our day at the zoo. Am I the luckiest mom alive or what? I like to think so!

Have a GREAT day!!!

Something important...

Found this on Cami's blog -- wanted to share it here as well.

Sad story of a man who was the victim of random violence -- is now paralyzed, has nine children to support -- Rusty Pickle is trying to help them out.

Read about it here --- http://www.legacyscrapbooking.com/legacy_lounge/viewtopic.php?t=330

What day is it anyway???

We went to the zoo on Saturday, and as always, I felt the need to take a kazillion pictures of the animals. It's ridiculous how many animal photos I now have -- but for some reason I can't help myself -- they are so darn cute! Rachel couldn't get enough of this baby camel -- and look at those little meerkat faces -- I think I need one as a pet. Ryan and Rachel each brought a notebook and took notes on what we saw. It was rather cute. Rachel is not really reading yet, so I had to tell her how to spell each animal name. It made for a slow-moving trip at the zoo, but my kids can't get enough of the animals, so it was really a lot of fun.

Our weekend also included a trip to Chuck E. Cheese (yes, this was our anniversary "dinner" -- sad, but fun! LOL), swimming, a night of fireworks, a church picnic -- it was jam-packed. And can I just say how ready I am for Fall temps??? The humidity has got to go. I'm ready for sweater weather!!!

On another note -- I have GOT to start scrapping again. It has easily been two months since I did a layout. When I've gone this long without creating, I have the hardest time getting back into it. I have the desire, but when I sit down to work -- I move in slooooow motion -- as if I've forgotten how to use my supplies.

Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend ~~~ and just a reminder ~~~ today is TUESDAY, not Monday. (hee hee -- don't you hate that "what day is it anyway???" feeling after a long weekend?)