The Final Countdown

There are so few days left of school that I have lost the will to rise at 6:00 am-ish and pack a lunch. I actually lost that desire around Halloween, but I muddled through.

Our kitchen chalkboard has been a source of comfort...

Well that 21 isn't very comforting, but it's where we started counting.  It felt like 121.

19 days... a tiny bit better.  2 days better.

Now 6.5 is lots better.  I know you're wondering about that half day that appeared.  It was there all along; I just hadn't been counting it as an actual day of school.  The boy?  He wanted it in there.  He's a stickler for details.

This was sometime last week.  The summer fever is so bad around here, I can't even muster the strength to update the chalkboard.

So the end of the first year of Middle School is upon us.  By the middle of this week, I will be the mom of a 7th grader. Wow.

Bring on the lazy mornings, the popsicles, the fire pit parties, the beach, the movies, and the freckles.

Just leave out the snakes and the 99+ degree weather.

Please.

To Cheer My Soul

Phew.  It has been one of those weeks.  Everything that's happened will make a great blog story, so I am only posting a picture today.
It's a picture that cheers my heart, and I hope it will cheer yours.

I think I mentioned the cat has been getting piggyback rides.
I think I may have even posted a picture last week.
Well that ol' picture just didn't make the experience come alive like I needed it to.
So I took another one, and oh my word...
I cannot stop laughing.

So I made it my screen saver, and I laugh every time I look at it.
Her face just says it all.
Her face is saying how I feel today...

So, enjoy.

And yes, I am worried she may come to kill me in my sleep.

Brunch, Soccer, Bad Pizza, and Mother's Day

Well the weekend's over, and it was a busy one. Getting up this morning was so unpleasant.

I hosted a brunch Saturday morning for some of the other Chaplain wives.  We were "farewell-ing" one wife and "welcoming" a new one.  We do that a lot in the Army.
When the last gal was out the door, I cleared the dishes and we zoomed to the last soccer game of the season. 

I'm usually pretty happy to see a sport season end, but this time I was sad.  The boy enjoys soccer so much.  Even practice makes him happy.
He tied up the game with an awesome goal, and the whole crew went out for pizza and trophies.

The pizza place is one of those places where the pizza is cheap and yummy when you're eating it, but later you regret even going in the door.  Dan/Daddy says it's like ant poison, and we are the ants.  It looks good, it smells good, it tastes good... but then when we eat it, we crawl back to our anthill, curl up, and die.  I didn't die, but I did have a stomachache.

Mother's Day was rainy and gray, but the boy treated me like a queen.
He wanted to make me breakfast in bed, but I got up too soon.  So he made me breakfast on the couch.
He gave me a new charm for my bracelet, and after church, we went out to lunch.

The weather couldn't have been better for doing absolutely nothing, which is what we did.  I tried to squeeze in a nap, but the dog had other plans... like eating my blanket and licking my toes because she was trapped inside also.
The boy played some video games, read a book, watched some Nickelodeon, and ate 2.5 boxes of cereal.
For dinner, we drove to Sonic.  We wore our comfy "lay around the house" clothes, and we took the Sunday paper with us.  We ate our ice cream and read the comics... it was probably my favorite part of the whole day.

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the Mommas out there. 
We are all under-paid.

Things My Dog Has Eaten

I keep asking Dan/Daddy when "owning a dog"  is going to start being fun. 
I do love animals; I really do.  This animal, however, makes me tired.  My cat does not make me tired.  My dog makes me tired just watching her... not to mention taking care of her. 
I chase after her, I pick up after her, I feed her, I clean up her messes, and then I get happy when she takes a nap.  I didn't work this hard when the boy was a toddler.
I should also mention that the boy is the primary caretaker for this dog... I'm just on duty when he's at school.
My least favorite dog activity is taking stuff away from her.  I spend 99% of the day removing things from her mouth.  Non-food things.
These are the things my dog has eaten in the last few weeks:

1.  a Lincoln Log
2.  a snow globe Dan/Daddy brought me as a gift from Ireland
3.  2 cat toys
4.  another Lincoln Log
5.  2 lava rocks from the gas fireplace
6.  a wooden figurine of a wolf that the boy put together and painted
7.  a wooden figurine of an owl that the boy put together and painted
8.  a collectible sea turtle that I bought on vacation

We take her on looooong walks.  The boy plays (hard) with her... until they're both about to have heart attacks.  She gets plenty of exercise.
She has 284 doggie toys, chewing toys, and bones.  We swap them out and hide them and try to keep her mind busy.  She gets plenty of mental stimulation and chewing fun.
The house is - to the best of our ability - dog proofed.  We are not "knickknack" people.  We own 5 and she's eaten 4 of them.
If she weren't in her crate at night, she would have eaten us by now.

My dog, I'm convinced, exists only to drive me nuts. 
She doesn't have to drive far.

10 on Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, people.  Hop over to Roots and Rings for today's questions...

1. Who is your favorite talk show host?
Ellen Degeneres.

2. How do you style your hair on a daily basis?
Usually straight, au naturel.  I am trying to grow it out, and I'm amazed I've grown it out this far without strangling somebody.

3. If you were stuck in your bedroom for a week, what would you need in order to not go crazy?
Short hair again, my computer, the TV and the remote, unlimited cash for ordering food, lots of magazines, and my phone.

4. What are the best non-reality shows on television?
All I ever watch (besides reality TV) is Criminal Minds and the news.

5. Do you mow your own lawn and clean your own house?
Yes and yes.  It is the boy's job to do the lawn, but we always help out.  Now why doesn't anyone help me out with the housework?

6. As an adult, what is the best part of summer?
Air-conditioning, Happy Hour at Sonic, and NOT getting up to take the boy to school.

7. If you could ask one celebrity one question, who and what would you ask?
I would ask Oprah to give me some money.
Kidding.  Sort of.

8. Post a picture.

Have I mentioned the cat's been getting piggyback rides?


9. How many books do you read a year?
Never as many as I want to.  Umm... maybe 10?

10. Which national chain makes the best delivery pizza?
We go back and forth on this one, and we usually go with Pizza Hut (for the price) or Papa Johns (for the dipping sauces).

I Love Funny

So many funny little moments roll past me.  I always laugh and think,
"I need to write that down."
or...
"I should blog about that."
But then I forget.  Or I get distracted by all the not funny little moments.
I even used to scrapbook all the cute and amusing things that came out of the boy's mouth.  Then when I started blogging, the cute and amusing things he says became blog posts.
I wish I still had the energy/time/desire/urge to scrapbook again.
I wish I would take the time to have a blog book printed.
While I find my energy, time, desire, and urge again, here are some of his latest funnies...
before I forget.


While driving home from church a few weeks ago, we were listening to Michael Jackson.  I was singing along to Thriller, and I asked the boy,
"Does it embarrass you that your Momma knows all the words to Thriller?"
He said, "Nope... I think it's cool."
(Score: 1 for the boy.)

On a ridiculously hot day, I was wearing a tank top.  The kind of tank top I never wear alone... always under something else.  But, we were at home, and I was hot.
The boy asked,  "What kind of outfit is that?"
(Score: -1 for the boy.)

We were headed to school this morning and had to wait for a horse trailer to pull out in front of us.  The boy said,
"That horse trailer is full of cows.... and those cows are MOOOOOving."
Not laughing was not an option.  That kid cracks me up.
(Score: 1 for the comedian.)

I hope and pray your day is more funny than not funny.  I like funny so much better.

Berry Picking

The boy and I went strawberry eating (I mean, picking) Saturday.

At first he was a little hesitant about eating them from the field... There might be rules.  Or bugs.

After a little encouragement from his criminal mother, he was popping them in.

It was a beautiful day, even though getting up early on a Saturday is not something I enjoy.  I'm glad we did.