Wordless Wednesday: Easter

 

I survived Spring Break!

Why is this such a big deal?

Normally, my spring break coincides with my kids'.  And my husband's.  

Not this year.  

This year I was off one week, the kids were off another, and my husband was off a third.  

Bloodly everlasting hell.

Not only did I have to work while all 4 kids were off, my sitter had spring break that week too.  

So she decided to spend it on a Mexican cruise, not watching my kids.  

And it was the beginning of testing "season" for my work - the single most stressful month of the year.  

So I was terrified, to put it mildly. 

But I decided to rock it.  

So we were bussssssssssssssssssssssssy.

Monkey Zoo anyone?

We saw the Easter Bunny.

We watched Frozen entirely too many times.

And we played entirely too many video games.

We went to a bounce house.

We dyed Easter eggs.

We broke Easter eggs.

We read... a lot.

We built forts.

And we spent a lot of time at McDonald's. 

And I managed to help get 100 students tested, coordinate rally points for the transfer of computers to the next testing sites, teach a college class, train a teacher, put together a presentation on Internet safety, and plan and host Easter dinner.

And now, I am going to have a bottle glass of wine and take a nap that lasts for about a week. 

Mom Court of Law

My husband and I found this the other night... laundry detergent.  All over the kids' bathroom.

I immediately began the mom inquisition.  You know the one: "We won't be mad if you tell us the truth.  But if you lie to us, we will be very, very angry and WE. WILL. KNOW.  And then you will be in bigger trouble."

My children's arguments:

Girlie 
She's thinking very hard.  "Well, maybe I did it.  I don't remember.  Maybe when I brushed my teeth?  No, I used your bathroom.  Maybe I was sleepwalking?"

Verdict - Case dismissed.  Once I realized she was trying to claim credit for it so I would be happy to know who made the mess, I realized she was innocent. 

Boyo 
He's not making eye contact and staring at a spot over my left shoulder.  "I didn't do it.  It wasn't me."

Verdict - very suspicious.  Very, very suspicious.  Probably guilty.

KK
She starts grinning at me and throws her arms up in the air: "I do it!"

Verdict - mental incompetence - she had no clue what was going on. 

Husband
"Oh, I may have knocked it over when I was fixing the dryer."  

Wordless Wednesday: KK and Merida... I mean Ariel.

When we got to Ariel and I said, "Who is this?" KK shouted out "Merida!"

Insults Overheard At Our House

~
"You STUPID AT-AT!"
(my son was taken to task for using the word stupid.)

~
"YOU BIG BABY!"
(Please note -- this was shouted at the baby)

~
"You BIG BELUGA!"
(I had no idea... and then I heard Donald Duck say it on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)

~
"You POOPIE HEAD!"
(my daughter was taken to task for potty talk)

~
"You are a dirty rotten SITH!"
(my husband was pretty proud of Girlie for shouting that one out.)

~
"Toilet user!"
(No idea)


~
"SWIPER!  YOU BAD SWIPER! AW MAN!"
(Dora, for those of you who are fortunate enough to not know that.)

~
"You live in a garbage can!"
(Thanks, Sesame Street)

~
"Mo-om!  Boyo's a TOY BREAKER!"
(Doc McStuffins)

~
"You're ANAKIN WHEN HE'S BAD!"
(my husband was pretty proud of Boyo for that one.)

~
"Oh, yeah! Well, you eat your veg-et-ables!"
(huh.  That's new.) 

To Save Our Friendship

I learned a few important things the other day:

1. Bullying starts in first grade, apparently.
2. First grade girls are vicious.
3. Girlie can handle it with aplomb.

I was picking up carpool when her teacher flagged me down.  I immediately did the parent thought process, "Uh oh, what happened?  What did she do?  Wait, she is the one who never has behavioral problems.  Was there a spelling test?  A math test?  Did I forget her lunch?  If she was hurt, the school would have called, right?"

These, and a thousand other thoughts that were a lot worse, went running quickly through my head.  And then everything stopped as her teacher explained what had actually happened.

Apparently, there have been bullying incidents happening in the class among the girls.  Enough to the point where the teacher has been making a point to address it with the class on a regular basis, and teach them how to not be a bully and how to make nice choices. 

He said that while he was on the playground, he noticed a little girl starting to bully Girlie.  Concerned that Girlie wouldn't know how to handle the situation, he headed over to intervene.  He came to a halt though, when he heard what Girlie said in response to the bullying.

"Well, I'm going to walk away now.  You are hurting my feelings, and to save our friendship I need to take a break from you." 

And then Girlie walked passed her teacher and went to play with a different group of girls. 

At lunch, the teacher noticed Girlie and the girl who had said mean things earlier sitting together.  So he asked Girlie what had happened earlier. 

Girlie said, "I told her how I felt.  She said she was sorry.  We took a break and now we are friends again." 

Her teacher told me that he had never seen a first grader act that way before.  And he was really proud of her for it. 

So am I. 

Wordless Wednesday: Remembering My Friend