Growing Up

I know it sounds silly but I am so sad that my baby is growing up. I enrolled her in pre-k last night. I don't know that I am ready for this step. I know that she is but her dad and I are really struggling.

Garage Band

Charlie is playing in the back yard last night and she heard this jam session from of the teenagers whose house backs up to ours.
They are never loud for you to hear them inside the house and I just think it is awesome that there are still teenagers with bands instead of always inside playing Guitar Hero and Rock band. (sorry, I'll get off my soap box). She comes running inside. "Mom, I need my guitar. There's a band out there. Here are a few shots of her jamming with the "backyard" band next door.

Bounce, Bounce, Bounce

Dusty's parents bought Brantley this bouncy thing. As you can tell from the blurred picture he just adores it.
Well, last Sunday I was doing lots of laundry. Brantley was in the kitchen bouncing. He bounced in that chair for a good hour or so. All I heard as I folded laundry was bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce. I went into the laundry room to switch laundry. It got really quiet. When I walked back into the kitchen. This is what I saw.
The poor little guy had bounced himself to sleep. And like any "good" mommy, I took a picture of him before I returned him to his bed to finish out his nap in a more comfortable position.

Drawing 2

Here are some really great shots of Charlie working on her snow monster pictures.

Do you notice her cute new do? Yes Her hair will be this short for at least a year while we wait for several spots to grow back in due to her latest self hair cut. She had to throw her scissors away. Hopefully this will be the last time she cuts her own hair.

Paul Harvey 2

So, I am back on Paul Harvey. I was working in my scraproom (aka my living room, dining room, bedroom, and Brantley's room) going through some old layouts looking for some stamped one together for a friend to look at and I came across this in hard copy. It is one of my favorite things from Paul Harvey. I only hope that I can be this kind of a mother.

Life Lessons

We tried so hard to make things better for our children that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I'd like better.

I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would.

I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated. I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car. And I really hope nobody give you a brand new car when you are sixteen.

It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.

When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.

On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.

If you want a slingshot, i hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.

When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in our head.

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy/girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle.

May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.

I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbors window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you--tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me it's the only way to appreciate life.

Paul Harvey

Okay, I know that he died on Feb 28th and it is March 7th but it has been a busy week and I haven't had a chance to post. I am saddened by this death. Most "celebrity" deaths really don't effect me. I know, I am cold hearted in that way. But this one has just crushed me. I remember listening to Paul Harvey's the rest of the story every day at 12 noon with my grandfather in the summers. I am saddened that my children with never get the chance. I know it sounds corny but I would so buy a CD collection of Paul Harvey's greatest stories. Anyway, thank you for all the incredible "stories" Mr. Harvey. They really meant a lot to this kid.

drawing

Charlie has really started drawing lately. I just love her pictures. So much so that I have been making her let me scan them. Yes, I know I am a pesky mom. But they are just too cute. Here you have a snow monster with snowballs. She even tried writing a C. She did it backwards but hey we're half way there. She spent two days working on this picture.

She wanted to have her friends over. As a working mom, finding time to do this is very hard so we opted to have a pizza party where they could make their own pizza's for lunch. I made (encouraged) her draw to draw this. How great did she do! I know she's three but I think they are GREAT!